Connie Francis Happy Mother's Day Concert A sometimes hoarse and breathless-sounding Connie Francis soldiered courageously through an almost non-stop 90-minute set at the Convention and Exhibition Centre last night. At times, she showed the soaring form that made her one of the most prolific female hit-makers, but troublesome moments - particularly in the lower register - left many wondering how much longer she can keep it up. When she hit it, she hit it, as in the torchy and vocally demanding Mama - de rigueur for a show billed as a Mother's Day special - and the appalling but also demanding Where the Boys Are, which she unaccountably sang twice. As if aware she was up against it, Francis opened the show with Let Me Try Again before launching into a rollicking version of Buddy Holly's Oh Boy. A couple more numbers, then it was into the songs people had come to hear, starting with the hit that launched her career in 1958, Who's Sorry Now? Memories of rockin' Connie returned with Stupid Cupid - which began her long and successful partnership with then-unknown Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield - and Lipstick on Your Collar, but she couldn't find the range to do justice to one of her biggest hits, the ballad Everybody's Somebody's Fool. Francis took a brief break after the first performance of Where The Boys Are and came back sounding refreshed with a passable rendition of the Ritchie Valens hit La Bamba. A surprise inclusion was Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling from the movie High Noon, which she said got on the list 'because it was a hit for 12 weeks in China'. Francis, 67, deserves full marks for giving a full set, unlike some others of her vintage who go off stage after as little as 15 minutes. She was also fighting a sound system that left a lot to be desired, distorting her voice and too often letting the band drown her out. But overall, it was a disappointment for fans and would have left those encountering her for the first time wondering what all the fuss was about.
