Not quite “The Last Waltz,” Engelbert Humperdinck serenades Des Plaines Theatre before Arcada

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The longevity of Engelbert Humperdinck is practically unmatched, who at 88-years-old, boasts well over six decades in show business and continues recording or traveling at the pace of a man at least half his age.

Granted, the latest tour is titled “The Last Waltz,” but as the frequent balladeer and occasional rocker told Chicago Concert Reviews, “It’s what I love to do and I want to keep doing it until I can’t do it anymore.”

Luckily for those who couldn’t get a ticket to the sold out Des Plaines Theatre or the Arcada Theatre on Wednesday, April 9, he could quite possibly return, if only because his vocal abilities and demand from fans of multiple ages remains.

Either way, the esteemed British singer gave locals a thorough overview of an iconic songbook, spanning the early 1960s through the latest “All About Love” album and beyond, always applying an easygoing yet charismatic delivery style.

Whether it was “Another Time, Another Place,” “All This World And The Seven Seas” or the recently revived “A Man Without Love” from “Moon Knight,” Humperdinck and a five-piece band were regularly on point.

The headliner frequently cracked jokes in between tunes, but was purely serious while serenading faithful with the additional romance of “After The Lovin’,” “Spanish Eyes” and “Quando, Quando, Quando,” amongst many others.

This 95-minute night got especially interesting as Humperdinck demonstrated the interpretive versatility of Journey’s “Faithfully,” Barry White’s “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything,” Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s “Old Time Rock And Roll” and Toby Keith’s “Don’t Let The Old Man In.”

He of course performed signatures such as “The Last Waltz” and “Release Me,” cleverly changing the latter’s line “and let me love again” to “and I’ll be back again.”

In the short term, it prompted an encore that pondered “How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” and reinforced the future plan of “We’ll Meet Again,” which may have made for this elegant evening’s grand goodbye, though it was far from end of Engelbert.

Engelbert Humperdinck performs at the Arcada Theatre on Wednesday, April 9. For additional details, visit Engelbert.com and ArcadaLive.com.

Upcoming shows at the Des Plaines Theatre include “How Lucky Can One Man Get” (Apr. 9); Al Di Meola (Apr. 11); Made In America (Apr. 12); The Sixties Show (Apr. 13); Arrival From Sweden (Apr. 17); The Yardbirds (Apr. 18); “Treasure Island” (Apr. 19): Sabbath (Apr. 19); Thunderstruck (Apr. 24); Jon Anderson And The Band Geeks (Apr. 25); Infinity (Apr. 26); The Cryan’ Shames (Apr. 27); Our House (May 1); Dweezil Zappa (May 2); George Michael Reborn (May 3); Spyro Gyra (May 4); Feels Like The First Time (May 9); Sanremo Giovani (May 11); Laurel Canyon Folkies (May 16); Big Bam Boom (May 17); Sincerely Sinatra (May 18) and Voices Of Rock Radio (May 31). For additional details, visit DesPlainesTheatre.com.

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