Who would have thought back in the ’80s that these two talented ladies would be under one roof for a concert. Last Saturday, January 14, Taylor Dayne and Sheena Easton rocked the Downey Theater with their timeless classic hits. Concertgoers consisted mostly of baby boomers and Gen Xers who brought their millennial and Gen Z kids. Both performers interacted with the audience throughout the show and demonstrated their impressive vocal abilities. These ladies were not shy about their ages (Taylor 62, Sheena 64). They revealed their ages to the audience but they still got those cliché descriptors of live performers – entertaining, euphonious voices, energetic and intimate.
Taylor Dayne
This is my second time to see Taylor Dayne. The last time I saw her was at the Freestyle concert in Los Angeles. She never ceased to amaze me. Her dance moves were still notable and just packed with enthusiasm and vitality.
Taylor Dayne who was the first one to step onstage had her first hit in 1987 with the song “Tell It to My Heart”. Over the course of her three-decade career she scored number ones with “Love Will Lead You Back” “Prove Your Love” and “I’ll Always Love You”. Donning a green mini dress with a jacket and thigh boots, Dayne rocked the crowd with her fast beat hits and serenaded them with romantic ballads. Prior to the concert, I did a meet-and-greet with Dayne. She came out of her room and went in the hallway and greeted her fans. She was very personable. I was the second one who had a photo-op with her and she was gracious enough to do a number of poses with me.
In the theater, Dayne launched right into the fast-paced dance tune of “With Every Beat of My Heart”. The crowd cheered and started to be giddy. Before belting the lyrics of “I Will Always Love You” Dayne mentioned that in one of the awards shows in the 80s, she revealed that her fellow nominees were George Michael, Anita Baker and Whitney Houston, although she didn’t win, they were all incredible artists. Dayne sustained a high note with one of my favorites “Love Will Lead You Back” where the dedicated crowd shouted the lyrics of this ballad.
Keeping spirits high and delivering commanding vocals, Dayne serenaded the audience with her groundbreaking 1987 debut single “Tell It To My Heart”. The crowd was whipped into a dancing frenzy with this last song of her show. Dayne created a perfect atmosphere for dancing and fun for all generations. At 62, she still got a high-octane energy and still got the moves. She strutted through the orchestra seats – high fiving the fans, hugging them and shaking their hands. I, for one had a chance to hug her when she was walking behind my row.
In almost every aspect, Dayne delivered a remarkable performance with her soulful voice and a joyful burst of dance tunes.
Sheena Easton
Growing up in the ’80s in the Philippines I was a true Sheena Easton fan. I loved everything about her – her hair, make-up, her videos and her collaboration with the late Prince. So when I heard she will have a concert, I wasted no time. I’ve seen so many concerts but never seen her live. This was really a treat for me that I got to see her after around 30 plus years (you do the math of how young I am).
As we all know, Easton had a lot of hits in the 80s and the 90s. According to Wikipedia, she has recorded 15 studio albums, released 45 singles total worldwide, and had 20 consecutive US singles, including 15 US Top 40 singles, seven US Top Tens and one US #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1981 and 1991. Morning Train (Nine To Five) reached number 1 in 1981 at the Billboard chart for two weeks.
Donning a blue shimmery dress with a see-through embroidered sleeves, Sheena Easton opened with her 1984 Top 10 hit “Strut”. After her first song, Easton acknowledged the attendees of the show “Ladies Night Out”. “I know we have a party crowd in tonight. Saturday night … it’s pouring out there and you still came.” She connected with the audience with her humor about aging and the audience loved it. “My spanx have to work for an entire extra hour. And they’re exhausting at this point. And I have a huge hair and all this dampness – three cans of hair spray this is all I can manage. You know I love me some big hair and you just know that.” The crowd cheered loud when she mentioned about the ’80s and ’90s. “So ya’ll know the ’80s and the ’90s. That’s awesome because I have not had a hit since then. So you will hopefully remember these as we go through them. And you know they’ll come back to you and maybe you’ll be like “‘Oh I didn’t know she did that one'”
Easton took the audience through a thrilling wave of emotions. She illustrated how heartbroken she was with her past relationships. “I’ve done songs about love and as we all know love does not always have a happy ending. Love can leave you trash and in the gutter in more ways than one. Unfortunately, this next one, one of my very very early ballads is a completely true story.” Then she rendered a melodic ballad and one of her most-recognized tunes “Almost Over You”. Growing up in the Philippines I mastered this song in my mini karaoke machine. So when she sang this song it transported me to my early teen memories.
Following “Almost Over You” she covered Roxette’s “It Must’ve been Love” and “Always Something There to Remind You” recorded by Naked Eyes and originally recorded by Dionne Warwick.
Easton maintained audience engagement when she started to mention about the late talented artist Prince. She has worked with Prince with songs like “The Lover in Me”, “The Arms of Orion”, “Eternity” but the most popular ones are “U Got the Look” and “Sugar Walls”. She remarked, “Most people when they think of Prince they think of his uptown pulse, the grooves, the funk …all of that stuff. I think of his tender and his sweet side. I love a Prince ballad.” She added “I’m gonna do two sweet moments to my sweet friend.” Easton performed two Prince ballads “The Arms of Orion” and “Nothing Compares 2 U”, written for Sinead O’Connor with her friend/singer Brandon Nix who has such a powerful voice. Easton and Nix continued with more Prince hits but this time she calls it “sexy” songs with “U Got the Look” and “Sugar Walls”.
Following the Prince hits, was a beautiful rendition of “We’ve Got Tonight” which was released in 1983. Easton and Nix blend seamlessly as a duo with this song.
A song that made an indelible impression on me was the song “When He Shines” in which she showcased her enormous voice which was masterful and expressive. Easton mentioned that “When He Shines” is a thank you from all the ladies to all of the amazing men out there that just light up our world and make it shine.
Towards the last part of the show, Easton performed “The Lover in Me” and one of my favorites “Telefone” which made me get up and danced. It was so popular in the Philippines that was even covered by the Philippines concert queen herself Pops Fernandez. It was a nostalgic celebration of my teen life.
For the final serenade of her set Easton performed “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” and the James Bond theme song, “For Your Eyes Only” (1981). Morning Train was the biggest hit of her career where it reached number one in 1981 in the US Billboard Chart for two weeks and “For Your Eyes Only” reached number four in 1981. There was a palpable excitement in the air when Easton performed her breakout hit “Morning Train” and you could hear a pin drop when she sang her final song “For Your Eyes Only”. The audience roared with Easton’s stellar performance. She was also funny, self-deprecating and warm.
Off the bat, the performances were excellent and packed with a punch. The show felt like each person in attendance would talk about for some time. The set lists from Dayne and Easton were condensed to a handful of each their most recognized tunes. Ladies Night was full of entertaining moments and dynamic stage presence. Their vocals sounded the same or even better after several decades when their MTV videos appeared. But most importantly the audience reconnected with Dayne and Easton that became such an important part of their youth years.
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