Tony Bennett at The Kravis Center, Friday, March 22, 2016

It’s not everyday one gets to witness a legend defy time and the ravages of age. Last night, Tony Bennett did just that, flirting with musical immortality and transfixing the nearly sold-out house. The 90 years-young singer was flamboyant, buoyant, electric and ever the smooth entertainer during the duration of his 120 minute performance, which began with a few numbers shared with Mr. Bennett’s daughter, Antonia Bennett.

After that easy-going opening of 5 songs, Tony got down to business with a crowd-pleasing set list that included many classics including “I left my heart in San Francisco” and “Fly me to the Moon.”

Here is the complete set list, courtesy of setlist.fm:

  1. Watch What Happens
  2. They All Laughed
  3. This Is All I Ask
  4. I Got Rhythm
  5. (In My) Solitude
  6. Sing You Sinners
  7. Steppin’ Out With My Baby
  8. But Beautiful
  9. Our Love Is Here to Stay
  10. The Way You Look Tonight
  11. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
  12. Just in Time
  13. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
  14. The Good Life
  15. How Do You Keep the Music Playing?
  16. The Shadow of Your Smile
  17. One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)
  18. For Once in My Life
  19. I’m Old Fashioned
  20. I Left My Heart in San Francisco
  21. Who Cares?
  22. Smile
  23. When You’re Smiling
  24. Fly Me to the Moon

The performance was more than a nostalgia trip however. In between songs Mr. Bennett entranced the enraptured audience with tales of his life, backstories to the tunes he was about to perform.

The highlight of the night may have been “When Your’e Smiling”. The lovely little love song was sung entirely a capella with a hushed and incredulous audience in complete concentration. The performance was staggering and added to the spirit of joy and love in the air. Mr. Bennett was both gracious and humble in his stage presence and one can see how these traits have contributed to his longevity.

For one night Tony Bennett provided those present with an inspiration lesson in life: No matter how bad things get, you can always sing. We’ll always have Tony Bennett.