Diana Ross takes Austin crowd higher in hit-filled set with Music Legacy Tour at ACL Live
To no one’s shock, Diana Ross has picked up a few untouchable skills. Nobody drags a fabulous coat around the stage like she does. Few can pull off sequined chartreuse like the original dream girl. And no one, I mean no one, connects with their fans like The Boss.
Ross brought her Music Legacy Tour to ACL Live on Tuesday and treated Austin to a nostalgic evening of greatest hits (and a couple newer songs from her 2021 album “Thank You,” too). The vibes were silly, the room was packed and the mountains just weren’t darn high enough.
Here are four things you missed if you weren’t at Ross’ show.
Diana Ross deserves to be worshiped like the diva that she is
When the concert started, the band broke out into horn-heavy fanfare. “Are you ready for The Boss?” the two backup singers rang out like Greek muses. You’d think Cecil B. DeMille directed the evening.Ross came out to “I’m Coming Out,” natch, her platinum-certified party-starter from 1980. It’s a gay rights anthem, too, which wasn’t remarked upon Tuesday, but the star’s folding fan was color-coordinated with that chartreuse gown. What an ally.
Motown Records signed The Supremes in 1961, and Ross’ onstage magic has endured those 63 years without losing a bit of shine. On songs like “More Today Than Yesterday,” she iconically stuck her arms out like she was flying on the bow of the Titanic. Any good impersonator knows that to channel Ross, you need to periodically brush your mane back from your face with gentle fingers; the O.G. also knows this, and obliged often. Her performance style is still smiley and sweet, especially on Supremes numbers like “Baby Love.”
And Ross was funny, too. She flashed a bicep when a song invoked strength and rubbed her tummy a little on “Love Child.” By the end of the night, she was goofing around with a hot pink feather boa on top of her head while singing “I Will Survive.”
“If I can move like this and I’m 47 …” she joked while stirring the audience into dance.In recent years, a few old-school divas have received late-career appreciation and gotten well-deserved flowers. Stevie Nicks hung out with Haim and starred on “American Horror Story.” Cher stole the “Mamma Mia” sequel out from under Meryl Streep. And well, Dolly Parton is more famous than she’s ever been — just count how many Catholic-style saint candles bear her blonde bouffant at any given gift shop.
Any conversation about living legends still shining in the celestial firmament must include chart-smashing polymath Ms. Ross. After decades of blazing trails for pop stars and Black women in music, not a single sequin is out of place.
Few singers have amassed quite the songbook of Diana Ross.
As the name of Ross’ tour implies, she put her legacy front and center. Tuesday’s concert included a few Supremes hits at the top. She punctuated “Stop! In the Name of Love” with an outstretched palm like the Motown days never ended.
There were tastes of the 1970s — a groovy bit of “Love Hangover,” a disco pick-me-up with “The Boss” and a ballad-tastic rendition of “Touch Me In the Morning,” the lyrics of which seemed a fitting thesis for a night of memories. “We don't have tomorrow/ But we had yesterday,” indeed.Fans of Ross’ film work got to enjoy beloved tunes from “Mahogany,” “The Wiz” and “Lady Sings the Blues.” To represent that last one, which netted Ross a best actress Oscar nomination for playing Billie Holiday, she selected “Don’t Explain.” It was the highlight of the night. The Holiday cover let Ross embrace a smokier side, her voice an ember burning strong in a pile of lovelorn ashes. And like a true diva, she took advantage of the song’s piano solo to don a new feathered cloak and dab a hanky on her brow.
For an all-to-brief moment, Ross took us to 1995 with “Take Me Higher,” performed as part of a medley. If there was one missed opportunity, it was giving a short, straightforward rendition of that glorious club single. In the era of “Renaissance,” how nice would it have been to revel in that slice of sweaty dance floor pop?
(OK, if there were two missed opportunities, then the second was not performing “Turn Up the Sunshine,” a 2022 collab with Tame Impala from a “Minions” movie soundtrack, of all things. It’s a dope song.)
Tuesday’s concert was a family affair
About midway through the show, Ross brought out her eldest daughter, Rhonda Ross, a singer-songwriter who travels with the star on tour. They did a sweet duet on “Count On Me,” a song Rhonda wrote for her mom.
Mama Ross let her daughter take the spotlight during a costume change. She performed four songs — examples of what she calls “motivational music.” Rhonda Ross had plenty of brio on the stage, but it was a tough spot to be in, following some of the best pop classics ever written with coffeehouse poetry.
The energy in the audience notably dipped before Ross returned to bring things home, sparkling in a gown the color of pink Champagne and a billowing, cotton-candy coat. By “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Ross had the crowd fully back.
The fans and Diana Ross share a Supreme bond
And Ross really, really had that crowd. The super fans showed up to ACL Live, and she met them with a love that felt genuine and generous. At moments, she made intentional eye contact with fans. “I see you,” she said often. “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” was not just a song title for the singer, either.
During a rollicking “Upside Down,” a fan gave Ross a bouquet. The singer juggled it in her hands with a mic and a fan.
After chiding the audience to dance, she brought one woman up on stage to “show them how it’s done.” A little hip-shaking led into a lovely hug.
During “Ease On Down the Road,” two ladies next to me in their own sequined outfits took each other’s arms, and they strutted down imaginary yellow bricks in the balcony of ACL Live. Another woman in my row, who danced the whole night, told me that she was in elementary school when she first saw Ross perform as part of The Supremes.
Ross ended the night with “Thank You,” the title track from her latest album. The level to which the star — again, an American icon with a career that spans six decades — made herself available to the concert-goers was touching.
One person in the front row took Ross’ hand and kissed it. Several folks handed her records to autograph, which she did. She passed one person her microphone while she signed his treasure. (They showed superhuman restraint and didn’t speak into it.) Ross held out one album’s cover to the crowd. From the cheap seats, it looked like 1970’s “Everything Is Everything,” featuring a 20-something Ross in a sparkly nude bodysuit. She laughed a “get a load of this kid” laugh.Earlier in the evening, Ross said, “You guys know I’ve got a birthday coming up. I’m turning 80.” The crowd roared. She said she preferred to turn that numeral upside down and make it into an infinity sign.
“They’re going to have to drag me off the stage,” she said.
Setlist for Diana Ross at ACL Live
“I’m Coming Out”
“More Today Than Yesterday”
“Baby Love”
“Stop! In the Name of Love”
“Come See About Me”
“You Can’t Hurry Love”
“Love Child”
“Touch Me In the Morning”
“The Boss”
“Don’t Explain”
“Upside Down”
“Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)”
Medley: “Love Hangover”/”Take Me Higher”/”Ease On Down the Road”
“Count On Me”
Rhonda Ross interlude
“If the World Just Danced”
“Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
“Theme from ‘Mahogany’ (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)”
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
Encores
“I Will Survive”
“Thank You”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Diana Ross, grand dame of divas, shared her Supreme gifts with Austin
