By Michael P Coleman
Do you remember your first concert? Mine was the Pointer Sisters and Lionel Richie in the fall of 1983, and it was a high energy extravaganza that I still fondly remember, more than three decades later.
So I know what to expect when the Pointer Sisters take the stage on July 20th at the California State Fair.
“We’re old school,” longtime member Ruth Pointer proudly told me. “We have an incredible, amazing band that’s been with us for a long time. We just get up there and sing! We don’t have dancers, nobody’s swinging from the rafters or on trapezes, there are no fireworks or smoke going on…we just like to get up and sing and have a good time. Folks should bring their dancing shoes and hopefully we’ll conjure up good memories with those incredible songs.”
Just in case you need a reminder, “those incredible songs” include high octane romps like “I’m So Excited” and “Jump (For My Love),” from the group’s multi-platinum Break Out album, and sultry slow burners like “He’s So Shy” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire.”
Ruth’s is that deep, robust, sexy voice behind the group’s smashes “Automatic” and “Neutron Dance.” I asked Pointer, 70, which hits we could expect to revisit at the fair.
“All of them,” she exclaimed. “We sing the songs our fans want to hear, which are the songs who made us who we are. I’m proud our songs have stood the test of time. We present a concert that whole families can come to, and parents don’t have to cover their children’s ears during any of the show.”
The Pointer Sisters hail from Oakland and pranced into the international spotlight in the 1970s, somewhere between Diana Ross & the Supremes and Destiny’s Child. The current Pointer Sisters lineup is a multi-generational affair, with Ruth being joined onstage by her daughter and granddaughter. One of her sisters, June, passed away a few years ago while another, Anita, just retired from touring.
While the trio’s lineup is a little different, Pointer promises the exceptional showmanship and impeccable harmonies for which the Pointers Sisters are known, and the Grammy winner is excited to be coming back to Sactown.
“I used to have a dear friend who lived in Sacramento who would come see us,” the legend remembered, “and Sacramento is a memory from my childhood. We used to come through during church camp meetings and stuff. “
While Pointer was reminiscing, I asked her whether she remembered that 1983 tour as fondly I as do.
“It was the best tour that we ever did,” she said. “We had just released “Neutron Dance,” and I wasn’t crazy about that song. I didn’t really want to sing it. We were [preparing for] the last concert of the tour, in Hawaii, and one of Lionel’s crew came to our dressing room before the show and asked if we’d add it to the show, as it was featured in the movie Beverly Hills Cop which had just come out, and people were going crazy over the song.”
“I never will forget the minute that intro started,” she smiled. “The audience rushed the stage and started screaming louder than I’d ever heard an audience scream! I almost forgot the lyrics, because I’d never seen a reaction like that before! We really had the best time!”
About 2,500 lucky people can prepare to have “the best time,” all over again, with the Pointer Sisters this Wednesday at the California State Fair.
The Pointer Sisters’ July 20th show is free to fair attendees, but advance tickets right down front are available, along with information about all of the California State Fair’s events and attractions, at castatefair.org.
Look for more of Coleman’s conversation with Ruth Pointer, including her insights on her new memoir Still So Excited, this fall in The Hub magazine and on sacculturalhub.com.
Michael P Coleman is a Sacramento-based freelance writer who is SO EXCITED to see the Pointer Sisters again. He has secretly been in love with Ruth Pointer since 1983. Please don’t tell her. Connect with him at michaelpcoleman.com or on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP
