What a way to dive into Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season then to go see something a little bit different. Charo made her way to the WNY this past Wednesday night to play the beautiful West Herr Riviera Theatre. A woman who made her name back in the 1970’s, was on every TV show it seemed (from Fantasy Island to The Love Boat to Hollywood Squares to name a few). She was shaking her hips a generation before Shairka made it fashionable. Charo had one of the best catchphrases of the time period in “Cuchi Cuchi.” Along with her dance moves, Charo has another talent. One that supersedes her singing and dancing. She is a professionally trained flamenco guitar player. To me personally, I was really interested in hearing her play the guitar.
Charo took to the stage for an earlier show time of 7:30pm. She was all smiles and thanking the audience telling them they were here heroes for all the years they have supported her. She did a lot of talking throughout her show. Unfortunately for me, it was very hard to understand her due to her thick Spanish accent. It didn’t really matter as she came off so personable and likeable, as she sang and danced her way though the first part of her show. She made her way into the crowd to sing “Hot, Hot, Hot” with the audience. She posed and took selfies with some of the people and sang and danced with others. She had one guy take off her shirt and dance with her. The band had to play that song twice. The reason being was she was knee deep in the crowd and enjoying herself so she couldn’t get back in time for the next song. She talked about meeting the band Abba back in the mid 1970’s. She then performed a few of their songs in “Fernando” and Chiquitita.” After her bandmate brought out a skirt to attach to her dress, she said she needed to look more classy before she played the guitar. For most of the rest of the set, Charo played her guitar and it was wonderful. She defiantly showed why she is highly regarded in playing the guitar. What a treat!
This show wasn’t your usual booking and personally, I liked that. For people who grew up on 70’s and 80’s TV shows, Charo delivered a wonderful and entertaining show for all who were in attendance.
Setlist:
Mambo #5 (Dámaso Pérez Prado cover)
Movie
Bamboleo
Carnival Nights
Hot Hot Hot (Arrow cover)
Fernando/Chiquitita (Abba covers)
Caliente
Malaguena
Recuerdos
Leyenda/Concierto de Arranjuez
Espana Cani
Bolero
Samba
We would like to thank David Fillenwarth from West Herr Riviera Theatre for the credentials to review the show.
