We're sorry, but we couldn’t find any events. Try updating your location and date range, or use more general keywords.
From his distinctive growl famously described as “soaked in a vat of bourbon” to his experimental vaudeville musical style, Tom Waits is first and foremost a remarkable artist who immersively dabbles in songwriting, composing, acting and, of course, playing haunting songs. Though his trademark style is gruff, his most famous hits “Downtown Train” and “Jersey Girl” were made more universally popular when covered by prominent--and smoother voiced--rock stars Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen, respectively. Waits has always been comfortable with his relative obscurity, preferring the warm loyalty of his equally oddball fan group to the limelight offered by pop culture, while still occasionally enjoying dipping his toe in Hollywood. His unconventional sound hasn’t slowed his success, as his sold-out tours, Grammy awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame attest. Though currently not touring, Waits occasionally performs one-off concerts that are stripped down, intimate and interactive, with the singer-songwriter telling stories and speaking conversationally with the ticket holders. His last circuit, the Glitter and Doom Tour, finished in 2008, while his latest album, "Bad as Me," was released in 2011 with an accompanying music video for the title track offered in 2012.
Born and raised in Southern California, Tom Waits taught himself piano and developed a love for Mexican ballads while crossing the border with his Spanish teacher father. He signed with Asylum Records in 1972 and put out his first record, "Closing Time," a year later. The following three decades were filled with whiskey-tinged tours and jazzy, folk-rock albums with bizarre instrumentation, including "Small Change," "Swordfishtrombones" and "Rain Dogs," the last of which received rave critical reviews. During this period, he also appeared in films, including "The Outsiders," "Ironweed," "Bram Stoker’s Dracula" and "Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California." Awarded Grammys, nominated for an Oscar and welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, there are very few areas of achievement Waits has missed, including publishing a book of poems in 2011 to benefit Redwood Empire Food Bank. Idiosyncratic, articulate and gruff, Tom Waits offers music and film as experience to his followers, as well as entertainment.
Backed by the Kronos Quartet, Tom Waits put on a dazzling performance, played hauntingly beautiful songs, and told a funny story about a guy in a speakeasy. His performance was easily the best part of the show. I hope he lives a long, healthy life so I can continue seeing his work.
I have seen Tom Waits three times over the years. Each time I had to travel a great distance to see him (Seattle in '99, Akron in '06, and Atlanta in '08) because he was not playing anywhere near my homestead. Each time I was rewarded with a stellar performance backed by a great band in a beautiful venue. He always spends a portion of the show with just himself at the piano, and you never know exactly what he'll play. Every set is a little different. He does not tour often, so he always sells out, so be alert when tickets go on sale.
Saw him in El Paso in 2008. Cannot wait until he comes back -- have never been to a better show!
This show was the biggest letdown of my concert going life. Tom Waits, how could anything be better? This is what I thought going into the show. In reality, the show which was in Dallas at a newer venue called the Palladium was the worst show I've attended in thirty some odd years of life. With respect to Tom Waits, whom, prior to taking the stage, it was whispered amongst those in the audience, personally ordered the air conditioner shut off in the venue which, again, was located in TEXAS in JUNE, on account of either his ailing voice or to perpetuate a pentecostal revival type atmosphere - I truthfully do not know which - and then kept the audience waiting for him to take the stage a good hour or more only to deliver a bad sounding, boring, heartless performance, I do hereby state objectively that this show from his Glitter and Doom tour was short on the Glitter, fair on the doom and heavy on disappointment. Furthermore, it was also rumored that Waits ordered all of the bars in the venue - in his line of sight - be closed down for the duration of the performance. I guess he has his reasons. Seems like a strange thing to do given his past references to alcohol consumption but the man is an artist and perhaps he felt the audience had shelled out over a hundred dollars per ticket and needed to be focusing all of their attention on his show. What I can say definitively is this, I was a huge fan of Mr. Waits, had never had the privilege of seeing him until this show and the end result is that I have lost a lot of interest in the artist. This may be immature on my part but it's the effect the concert had on me. I doubt Mr. Waits cares one bit. Were I in his position I would not. I won't lay the blame solely at his feet. The venue was a disaster. I will NEVER go to another concert at the Palladium in Dallas. For all I know the place has been condemned. Probably I will never go to another Tom Waits show either. These comments are based around my experience. Others might have loved simply being in the same shoddy club as Mr. Waits. At least one of my friends who attended this same show and hung out at one of the open bars the whole time claimed as much. I have or had a good deal of respect for Mr. Waits. Possibly I am reacting childishly. It's possible that the fault lay completely at Palladium's front door and not on Mr. Waits. Still, I paid good money for this show and it felt like Tom just phoned in the show. If he was ill, if his voice was damaged, as the rumor mill claimed, then this must be weighed in the assessment of the performance.
