The Venue inside of Hammond, Indiana’s Horseshoe Casino always has some of the best acts that come through the area. The setting for a show is a top notch facility with not a bad seat in the house. The theater will start to fill up and the entertainer du jour will start their show. On Saturday night, a seasoned performer graced the halls of The Venue with her angelic voice. After a half century of singing for her supper, musical super star Patti LaBelle sang her heart out for a packed house. It was just awesome!
From the opening song to her final bow, Patti Labelle was a graceful musical angel and the eyes of the concert goers could not be turned away. The very young looking Labelle was sporting a mini dress and showing lots of leg as she sang hard for everyone. This ripened singer really knows how to put on a show. Her voice was strong and beautiful with a lot of dynamics. She was just phenomenal in every way.
“If You Asked Me Too” was introduced as that hit song by Celine Dion in which she sold millions of copies of the song and Patti “only sold two” she said jokingly. She then began her original song and did it better than anyone else had. It was being performed the way it should always be done, by Patti Labelle.
Everyone was dancing in their seats when “New Attitude” started up. The song made famous through the 1984 movie Beverly Hills Cop was so intense with energy. The representation of the digital age was present within The Venue and this song took people back to fond memories of a crappy blue Chevy Nova being driven down Rodeo Drive.
The show marched on through a sea of hits. She nailed a great version of “Over the Rainbow” taking the crowd under her spell. When the opening line “Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister” started out, people started dancing. “Lady Marmalade” was being done live and the queen of the stage was in command. She sang the song “On My Own” that she had done with Michael McDonald and it was beautiful.
During the course of the show, the set list seemed to go on and on with the band sounding incredible. The bass, the drums, the guitars, the singers, the keys, and Patti made a flawless combination. Never a sour note or an offbeat moment could be noticed. The group of traveling entertainers came in and tore the roof off of The Venue.
The night came to the point where the band has to pretend like the show is over. They wave their goodbyes and walk off stage. The lights never went out on the stage and The Venue started to get loud. They absolutely had to have some more of Patti Labelle and her smoking band. Finally a little bit of life is seen on the stage and the place cheers with excitement.
The anticipation was killing everyone. What was she going to do to close out the night? Which one of her hits was she going to bring out now? The crowd anticipated a gem and that is what they received. The strongest performance of the night was not a song written by Patti Labelle. Instead, she chose a song from the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, to end it. The “Earth Song” started to ring the first few notes and everyone in the place knew what she was about to do. Did she really dare to touch such a strong song of Jackson’s? She did! The song was perfect all the way through and Michael would be so proud to see the incredible version done.
She finally waved goodbye for real and Patti was gone. The band and this pop music icon had just taken a crowd and put smiles on everyone’s faces. The entire evening had been a nonstop session of sweet music. No one could have been disappointed by the performance that had been seen. It just wasn’t possible.
If you are looking for a good concert to see you might get lucky at The Venue in Hammond, Indiana’s Horseshoe Casino. On a beautiful Saturday evening in July, a crowd of people got lucky and saw Patti Labelle. It was just awesome!
