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CELEBRITY, CULTURE

Grace Jones at the Hollywood Bowl : The Diva Reborn

By / 27 Jul 2009 @ 9:21 am / 8848 views

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Last night was an epic night in my life. We went to see Grace Jones at the Hollywood Bowl and were obviously really excited to be the first in the US to see her perform after all these years. Jones took a 30-year-hiatus from making music, because according to her she had nothing to say. But with last nights performance I can guarantee that her energy, at now 61, and talent has been brewing inside her for a long time. I could have never expected the caliber of performance that she delivered.

With 7 breathtaking wardrobe changes she stole our hearts time and again. In between songs she would go back stage to change and carry on a very Grace Jones monologue with that raspy and powerful voice, as we awaited her extravagant return. Her costumes were designed by infamous costume designer Eiko Ishioka, known for her Oscar winning wardrobe in Bram Stroker’s 1992 Dracula, Cirque du Soleil: Varekai, and the costumes for the Beijing-2008 Olympics to give you an idea of a few iconic pieces of her work. The woman is an outright genius!

I feel like my jaw was dropped through 80 percent of her show- it was one trick after another. A 61-year-old woman on six inch stilettos dancing around the stage, or a huge voluptuous red gown drowning her in fabric until she turned around for us to see that her back was totally bare – a full booty shot! Or was it her 10 ft long legs, perfectly toned as if she were in her prime. The woman is extraterrestrial, out of this world fantastic! My words are too vapid and undemonstrative to describe the emotion that overcame me last night, but here are some photos we took to share with you of each outfit change.

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Bulgarian born, Los Angeles raised – Ani is the Mini Boss of TrendLand. Having worked as fashion designer, stylist, art director and producer, she fuses all her budding experience into TrendLand’s creative platform and tries to stay on top of Frenchies grammar as much as possible. Contact the author

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  • Walk TalKi

    I had the pleasure of seeing her as well and new that what I was experiencing, when I was experience would never happen this way again. I agree with you words do not describe the emensity.

  • Randall

    I am in awe!!!

  • David Bartlett

    LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE & EVENING !! Thanks for posting!

  • Pingback: Selectism | Around the Web | Selectism.com

  • egad

    I saw her at Bond’s in NYC in 1981 on the “Nightclubbing” tour – one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, and by now I have seen thousands. Saw her twice in the mid-late 80′s and they were the worst shows I have ever seen. She was hours late for both then performed for 15 minutes one time then 20 minutes another. People were so enraged they nearly tore up the places. I really like her and the new CD is good. Hopefully she found medication or other means to even out her manic self-destructive behavior.

  • John

    I , too, was there last night and cannot fully express how incredible it was. She is a consummate performe and worked her crowd. As the LA Times said I was one of the WeHo folks dancing in the cheap seats. I don’t think I have enjoyed anything that much in a long time. Merci Beaucoup Mlle Jones! Je t’adore!

  • http://cyanaboutique.com Mini Boss

    in response to egad…she is an icon, a diva, one of the biggest that ever lived. she did things her way and though it ended her career it was her way. She came back and people are still in awe, it’s partially that destructive factor that makes her as interesting as she is? dont you think?
    that is so cool that you have seen her so many times. im sure each time was very different.

  • Christopher Barrios

    I’ve waited since the 70′s to see this Diva and was blown away by her awesome performance and ability to control every moment on stage! I along with six other die hard fans waited for a little over 2 hours to meet the amazing Grace Jones. She sent word to us that she was grateful we were waiting and she was more than happy to meet us and sign autographs for us. She came out looking fabulous and was incredibly gracious and funny. Grace told us she had injured her leg so she wanted to sit in her car while she signed for us. She sat turned out to us and asked for us one by one and we each met this amazing artist and had the opportunity to chat with her alone. She signed my poster for the event, which she said she had not seen til I handed it to her to sign and said she loved the poster and wanted one and asked one of her people why she didn’t have one, which they quiclky informed her they would get one for her. She was so kind to the seven of us. I asked her what was the second encore going to be since she had to cut it becasue of the Hollywood Bowl’s Sunday 10:30 curfew cut off, and she said in her sexy deep voice, “ahhhhh Slave To The Rhythm”. So worth the 30 year wait! Great Diva!

  • egad

    Hey, based on what people said here about the Hollywood Bowl show I bought a ticket to the Hammerstein show on Thursday. I have loved her for years.
    I was really sad when she was in her lost years. However, paying good money and wasting nights, 1 a New Year’s eve, for 2 non-shows really pissed me off.
    I am looking forward to Thursday – maybe it will close the circle and the wheel will turn on. There are only 3 “La Vie en Rose” – Edith Piaf, Grace Jones and Louis Armstrong, in that order.

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  • http://myspace.com/pyrotec PYROTEC

    AMAZING!!!

  • egad

    The Hammerstein Ballroom show was excellent! Stood on the floor about 7 people back from center stage right.
    Great show in every way. “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound….”

  • Christopher Barrios

    In response to egad…awesome! Considering your past negative experiences with Lady Grace’s shows I’ve got to say my hat off to you for allowing your “love” for this phenom artist allow you to risk it all and attend H.Ballroom’s show in NY!!! Glad to hear it was fantastic and perhaps indeed the circle is closed and the wheel will turn on….
    I’m still a bit numb from last Sunday’s show here in L.A. @ The Hollywood Bowl. Framing my poster she signed tomorrow!

  • egad

    “Alors je sens en moi,mon
    coeur qui bat…”
    “…gotta catch that buzz…”

  • tony c

    Saw MS JONES at the Hammerstein Ballroom 7/30/09…and believe me…I would ONLY STAND for HER and will be redoing the STANDING in October for Kylie ..but it is a great SPOT…I just have never been there….and as for Grace..I really got sentimental when she started singing some of the old great music…we used to have a drag queen called YUBA at The Anvil(an after hours club in NYC) that was Grace reincarnated..where is HE??..OK besides the phenomenal costumes, I did not peek at only ONE on this site before the show….start there cause they were ALL works of art…then the music and Grace performing….ALL FRIGGIN magical!!!..I had a feeling coming over me, I was standing in STUDIO 54 and seeing her there for just a moment..but at 61yo this woman, through everything, has SURVIVED and this album is amazing!!….can you imagine someone who is a performance artist..and that’s what she really is….NOT PERFORMING ANYMORE as an artist would kill me but she just could NOT deal with ALL THAT BS of the executives etc and that’s in the song “CORPORATE CANNIBAL” and the dress with all the $$ signs on it!!..I really don’t blame her..how many obstacles to cross to get your music out there, when you have EVIDENCE already that it WORKS AND SELLS!!!..I had that feeling when she told the story how this new album came about that THIS was her “swan song” performance :-( ..PLEASE GRACE DO NOT STOP HERE!!!..You’re to precious a JEWEL for us Humans that really understand you and your amazing music!…I did have to leave at 11pm, so did not see the last costume change..what song did she sing??

    Cheers…
    Tony(nyc)

    BTW: WHAT A GREAT AUDIENCE CROWD we had!!..you can email me @ pointer165@gmail.com

  • Blaze

    Hello, FYI Grace played four shows in Sydney in early January 09 including the opening of the Festival of Sydney. She was beyond.

  • DrBOP

    Simply…one of the BEST reviews of a concert ever….the BEST concert photos ever….for the BEST of the BEST EVER!!! Grace Jones images are IMMORTAL….2000 years from now they will picture a part of the 20th/21st century zeitgiest with images of Ms. Jones…isn’t that a mindblower!

  • StevenX

    Great pics, great story. Only error I saw was saying it had been a 30-yr hiatus; it’s been 20. “Bulletproof Heart” came out in 1989.

  • http://www.trendland.net Greg May

    Say what you will about GRACE JONES but this diva truly loves her fans! I met her one night following her performance in a Ft. Lauderdale club and danced with her. Do you think you could dance with DONNA SUMMER or LADY GAGA following their concerts?

Grace Jones at the Hollywood Bowl : The Diva Reborn