Karla Bonoff

Karla Bonoff has been on the scene since Grease was first released in movie theatres, so you know that she is a seasoned professional since she is still going. This songstress rose to fame and fortune when she first sang background vocals for Linda Ronstadt and Wendy Waldman in the mid 70s, which led to her being given the opportunity to release her self-titled debut album.

This evening she sings some of her biggest hits to date, accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, including the huge hit “Somebody’s Eyes” which was featured on the Footloose soundtrack, which inspires the audience to since loud and proud, some even getting up to dance, after all it is from the Footloose soundtrack! “Personally” is another crowd favourite. Her storytelling throughout her songs is captivating to say the least, and she encourages audience participation. Like Joni Mitchell once said, the more personal the song is, the more resonant that is with someone experiencing it. That is exactly what Bonoff is capable of, and fair play to her for still doing it to this day!

Karla is amazing and she gave a beautiful, fun, moving concert in Sacramento Friday night. Her voice is as true as the first time I heard her in the 70s. And such a nice person, sharing her life experiences. Thank you ever so much Karla - 40 years of enjoyment and this wonderful event for my birthday.

Now for the bad. What a MESS the soundboard person made of it! His incompetence exceeds my vocabulary (at least minus the expletives). First, Karla has to STOP her opening song and speak to him from the stage to get him to turn on her monitors...and then for the first two songs he had the electric guitar accompaniment cranked like a Zep concert, drowning out her voice. My Cuisinart can mix better than that! Horrible.

He finally got a bit of balance, but then late in the concert tried to add a ridiculous amount of re-verb to her voice.

All this in a hall that seats 250 people (yes two hundred fifty) so we aren't talking trying to balance audio at a football stadium.

Embarrassing and a shame.

I got the good fortune to see Karla Bonoff in concert in Albuquerque a little over a year ago. Some people don't know that she wrote a number of Linda Ronstadt hit songs. Hearing her sing up close in person gave her goose bumps. She sang those songs and it sounded like Linda Ronstadt herself. Her voice is still strong. She is a wonderful singer and composer. If you have a chance to see her in concert don't hesitate.