Category: Music

Connie plays 4 musical instruments and her daughter is a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville with a degree in Music Business and once worked for Taylor Swift. She may comment on concerts or reminisce on concerts of old.

David Archuleta Emerges as Frontrunner After May 6th “Idol”

By Connie Wilson

On May 7, 2008

In Music, Pop Culture, Television

David Archuleta Emerges As Clear Front-Runner After May 6^th “Idol”

Not that this will surprise anyone, but David Archuleta has to be considered the front-runner after all three judges praised his vocal prowess and he blew away the competition with his renditions of “Love Me Tender” and “Stand By Me” during Rock & Roll Hall of Fame week. The big loser: the dreadlocked Jason Castro, who forgot the words to Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” looked as awful as usual, and earned, from Simon this succinct review: “Jason, I’d pack your suitcase.” (Ouch!)

Most of us have been saying, “Jason, pack your suitcase for weeks now, so the Castro kid is beginning to remind a bit of that lesser talent, Sanjia Malakar, who consistently made it through after inferior performances. His gimmick: his hair. I’d think about a haircut, were I Jason, but, failing that, at least get Bob Marley’s music right. Simon summed up his performance of Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” as “utterly atrocious” and something that was more like the open auditions days, not the final four. The ending of the “Mr. Tambourine Man” song sounded horrible, the guitar Jason clutched seem to really be just a prop, and from his breathy opening to his weak close, Jason was outclasses. The lyric he sang that applies? “If I am guilty, I will pay.” He was definitely guilty of all the above, and I have a feeling he will pay.

Most improved of the four remaining performers, as was the case last week, was Syesha Mercado, who came out and did “Proud Mary” proud, followed by Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna’ Come.” Randy reduced Syesha to tears by brusquely criticizing her red-hot vocals, and Ryan Seacrest got a laugh by saying, “Well, Randy. Thanks for the buzz kill.” When Randy attempted to explain his overly harsh criticism of one of the night’s outstanding performers and two of the night’s most consistently good performances (2^nd only to David Archuleta’s), Seacrest cut him off, saying, “We’re running out of time. ‘Hell’s Kitchen”s gonna start.”

David Cook performed his first song, Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” to criticism from Randy (“Just an OK choice”) that was echoed by the others, and, later, said he agreed with the judges and would wipe the memory of his first song away by performing more strongly on his second song, which, unfortunately, was a Who song that, aside from it use on “C.S.I.” episodes, is not that big a crowd-pleaser and ended with the words “Teenage waste” or “Teen waste,” hardly an uplifting image.

For me, there was no stronger performer for the evening than the other David (Archuleta), followed by Syesha, David Cook and…last and certainly least, Jason Castro, who has overstayed his welcome and should have been gone long before Carly Smithson, Michael Johns and/or Brooke White.

Actor Jeff Daniels Visits Rock Island, Illinois, to Raise Money for Michigan Theater

By Connie Wilson

On May 4, 2008

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

Actor Jeff Daniels, the actor we know from films like “Dumb and Dumber” and “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” traveled from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Rock Island, Illinois’ Circa Dinner Theater to play acoustic guitar and sing his own songs for a small but enthusiastic audience on Thursday, May 1^st. The performance was a fund-raiser for the small theater back home, dubbed the Purple Rose in honor of the Woody Allen film “The Purple Rose of Cairo” in which he starred.

Daniels is well-known from his roles in such films as “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo” and “The Squid and the Whale.” He’s made 45 films and will soon be heard as the voice of an animated character in “Space Chimps” (for which, he humorously remarked to the crowd, he had recently been offered…and turned down… a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.)

To be honest, I didn’t expect much in the way of musical excellence when I decided to take a chance and attend the concert on a Thursday night. I just knew that Daniels is a very fine actor and seems to be a very “centered” regular guy, in appearances such as one he recently made on “David Letterman.” As the former “Times” movie critic and a bona fide movie fan, I went to see Jeff Bridges, the actor, and the fact that he was just as talented, musically, as he is gifted, dramatically, was the frosting on the cake.

I was unable to convince either my husband (who refused, outright, to go) or my friend (who voted for the Rolling Stones documentary “Shine A Light,” instead) to accompany me, so I went alone, entering after the performance had begun.

Daniels, clad in jeans, a rumpled flannel shirt and a battered brown hat, asked the crowd at the outset, “How many of you have no idea what I’m about to do?” I had a vague idea: he was going to sing songs he had written in an attempt to raise money for his Michigan Purple Rose Theatre through the $25.50 ticket price. You could also purchase either of his two CD’s, one of which, “Jeff Daniels Live and Unplugged To Benefit the Purple Rose Theatre” I bought. It is very good and the material is extremely clever.

It turned out that Jeff can both play and sing with proficiency and that his material is entertaining in the best sense of that word. When asked by David Burke of the Quad City Times about the difference between his movie career and his sidelight, singing, Daniels responded, “The thing about the singing that I enjoy a lot is that, especially when you’re writing, you’re in complete control of everything. It’s the exact opposite of the movie actor…It’s just that it’s (a movie) out of your control creatively. (Here) I’m the writer, I’m the director, I’m the editor, I’m the entertainer, I’m the performer, and all those people who I’ve been and am are out there with me…Plus, the fact that, with me, they (audiences) expect the worst. ‘Oh, yeah, another actor/singer/songwriter who sucks.'” (with sarcasm).

As it turns out, Daniels does not suck. His songs are clever slices of life, such as his song about actors who think they can sing, simply because they are actors, entitled “If William Shatner Can, I Can Too,” which mentions actor/singers ranging from Shatner to Russell Crowe to Adam Sandler. (Bruce Willis and Johnny Depp are not mentioned, but the Olson Twins are.)

Daniels is loose onstage, singing songs about the time he “accidentally” lost his wife, Kathy, at a truck stop in Erie, Pennsylvania, entitled “Recreational Vehicle,” and musing on the many common rites of passage in life, such as teaching his daughter to drive, his love affair with the Detroit Tigers baseball team and his first car (a blue Valiant) and/or growing old.

While in the Quad Cities, Daniels stopped at a local analog recording studio to record his song(s) “Are You As Excited About Me As I Am?” that reminded of the theme of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and “The Dirty Harry Blues,” about playing the villain opposite Clint Eastwood’s good guy, in the film “Bloodwork.” Daniels said he was inspired to write the first song mentioned after walking the red carpet at an Awards night. Sample lyric(s): “I was everything to everyone, Just for a moment, I’m who I used to be. Shine like a diamond, bright as the sun, I used to be everything to everyone.”

His “Dirty Harry Blues” contained a killer impression of Eastwood calling him up on the phone and asking him to play the villain in “Bloodwork.” The denouement was his shooting death (in the film) at Eastwood’s hands, after his make-up girl told him, “It’s a good day to die.”

Daniels called to his “roadie” (his son) to help him involve audience members in performing what he dubbed “Doing the Big Bay Shuffle” and in playing a wooden train whistle on the song “I’m on a Detroit Train.” The audience gave Daniels several standing ovations and seemed to really enjoy his show, from start to finish.

Daniels mused about aging, saying, “You do have regrets when you’re 50. I’m 50 years old…I’m old. Not falling apart, just going downhill and every other week you’re updating your will.” He reminisced about hearing Mary Hart telling the world on Entertainment Weekly that he was fifty years old that day. Research into Ms. Hart’s birth date revealed that she was born November 8, 1950, making her a full 7 years older than Daniels…a fact he seemed to revel in discovering.

Daniels name-dropped a bit, but in a humble way. In addition to the Eastwood story, which never implied that he and Clint were good friends, Daniels told the story of working with stars like Eastwood and Jim Carrey with humility and mentioned the making of two Civil War films, “Gettysburg” and “Gods and Generals.” In describing Ted Turner, Daniels said, with affection, “If it’s on his mind, it’s out of his mouth,” and told the story of Turner coming up to him, onset, in full costume, saluting him (also in unform) and saying, “Colonel: hold at all costs.”

When the actor mentioned the offer of a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (which Turner has been given), Daniels reminisced about seeing old-time movie stars Esther Williams and Margaret O’Brien that day, actresses who really represented their era of movie stars with class and glamour. They were there to meet and greet Turner (who was receiving his star) and told Daniels how grateful they were to Turner for his television movie channel. They said, “We get to see who we used to be.” Sad commentary on the fleeting nature of fame and “all that crap,” as Jeff Daniels referred to it. He seems very “grounded” about his Hollywood persona, unlike many others.

Jeff Daniels’ frequent references to his “twenty-eight foot Jayko” RV, his family, his home state of Michigan, his humble gratitude that his parents supported his acting aspirations, his interest in the great American pastime (i.e., baseball, specifically the Detroit Tigers) made him seem like the regular, ordinary guy next door.

Reviews in the next day’s paper locally were glowing, with Sean Leary of the (Moline, Illinois) Daily Dispatch suggesting that Daniels could be “the next Jimmy Buffett. Leary hailed Daniels’ performance as “loose and funny” and lauded the performer as “natural and humble.”

David Burke of the (Davenport, Iowa) Quad City Times told me that Jeff and his son (and his son’s two college-age friends) had driven all the way to Rock Island from Michigan in the aforementioned RV, and shared several heart-warming incidents from their interview, displaying as much awe at meeting Daniels as Daniels showed when he talked about the time he met George Harrison, (who signed his guitar.)

The suggestion was made that, if Daniels decides to make the trip this way again, the hall won’t be half empty as it was this night. Word travels fast in smaller towns, and the word on Jeff Daniels and his singing talent was all good.

“Shine A Light” Shines A Light on the Rolling Stones

By Connie Wilson

On May 2, 2008

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

One of my favorite parts of Martin Scorsese’s documentary film focusing on the Rolling Stones occurs before the music even starts. Mick Jagger calls up Scorsese to express his concern over the large tracking cameras that will be used (nearly 24 cameras were employed in the filming) and whether they will intrude on the audience’s appreciation of their benefit concert for Bill Clinton’s foundation at the Beacon Theater in New York.

Filmed in 2006, the small ornate venue offered a great deal more intimacy than the Stones’ stadium shows, which generally seat thousands. (The only small show I attended, the “No Security” tour, took place at the United Center in Chicago; my friend was hit in the head by a drumstick that Charlie Watts pitched into the crowd and still managed not to catch it! Charlie’s drumsticks, I can report, have his name burned into the side, so they would have made a great souvenir, but it was not to be, despite my friend’s goose-egg on her forehead. I remember saying, “Didn’t you ever play softball?”)

As a long-time Stones fan, I have seen them “live” on every tour since 1982. “Steel Wheels” was the best, when I saw them in Ames, Iowa. An absolutely awesome experience. That tour was followed by the “Voodoo Lounge” tour (Chicago), the “Bridges to Babylon” tour (2x, Ames and Minneapolis), a smaller more intimate show in Chicago at the United Center dubbed the “No Security” tour, and their most recent outing two times in Chicago, “A Bigger Bang.” [I will say that I have never been colder in my life than at the fall Soldier Field concert this last time. Elvis Costello opened for the Stones this last time ( opening acts I have seen include Lenny Kravitz, Blues Traveler, and the Goo Goo Dolls, among others.]

Scorsese is noticeably frazzled on film by the Stones’ failure to know exactly what the order of their set is going to be until the last minute. We see shots of Mick on an airplane, going over the set list and then shots of Scorsese being given a “late-breaking” bulletin of the order of the songs. He wants to know so he can have the right camera in the right place at the right time, but, like the rest of us, he is clueless until the concert actually begins.

Scorsese really gets in close on the band, wrinkles and all, with Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (“The Aviator,” “J.F.K.”) overseeing a nineteen-person team boasting three multiple Oscar winners in addition to Albert Maysles. Albert Maysles and his brother, David, made the Stones’ tour documentary “Gimme Shelter” in 1969, which became famous for the Hell’s Angels incident (the Hell’s Angels were hired to provide “security”) that caused the death of an audience member.

The Stones perform 19 songs, delivering some seldom-performed gems like “She Was Hot,” “All Down the Line,” and a country-flavored “Loving Cup,” which was a duet with Jack White of the White Stripes. Jagger also brought out Christina Aguilera to duet with him on “Live With Me,” which involved a bumping and grinding dance, with Christina clad in what appeared to be black tights and a man’s shirt, wearing a black formal tux tie loosely draped around her neck, untied. Another guest performing onstage was Buddy Guy, blues icon from Chicago, who sang “Champagne & Reefer” with Mick.

My favorite parts of the IMAX film involved the old archival footage of the Stones being interviewed as young men just starting out in the business. Charlie Watts, now the white-haired grizzled drummer, talks in his salad days about how he would have liked to have been a painter, but didn’t have the vision, so he could only aspire to be a “designer” (if he hadn’t become a member of the band). I would have enjoyed three times the quantity of “clips” of the early Stones that Scorsese included, but he’s the Oscar-winning director, and I’m just an audience member who is fascinated by strolling down memory lane.( I couldn’t help but compare the scarcity of clips with a brilliant documentary on Freddie Mercury I saw at the Chicago Film Festival this past fall that had ten times the amount of personal clips.) I also enjoyed the classics included like “Brown Sugar,” “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” (the Stones’ first Number One hit in this country back in 1965) and “Start Me Up.”

Also interesting was the appearance of the Clintons (yes, those Clintons), Bill, Hillary and Hillary’s mother, who came onstage before the show to introduce the Stones. Bill announced that, for his sixtieth birthday, he wanted to “open for the Stones” and, by introducing them, he got his wish. The Clintons had at least 30 family members and friends present in the lower balcony of the small theater. Since the “f” bomb was unleashed at least three or four times during the concert, and Mick’s dancing has always been suggestive, I couldn’t help but think that, —if the tables were turned, and Obama played as dirty as Hillary in her campaigning—-Obama would be mentioning the Clintons participation in the concert with a holier-than-thou attitude, tsk-tsking all the way to the polls. (It’s certainly what Hillary has done with the Reverend Wright and his Wrong-headed ranting.)

A friend of mine, with whom I play Trivia in Pub Quiz (a British chat room online) told a story of meeting Charlie Watts and his Mrs., along with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood (and families) at a posh restaurant in London one night. He described Charlie Watts as being as nice as could be, and described Ronnie and Keith as “borrowing” the waiters’ jackets and passing a cheese tray, to the amusement of their party.

I still remember walking through what was then the Union’s “River Room” at the University of Iowa in 1963 and hearing “Hey, You! Get Offa’ My Cloud” blasting from an old style juke box with colored lights. The Stones signed with Decca Records that year, later touring the United Kingdom with the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley. In 1964, the Stones released their first album, “England’s Newest Hit Makers.” They also toured the United States for the first time that year and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1971, Rolling Stones Records released the “Sticky Fingers” LP, with a cover design by Andy Warhol that is now iconic. The Stones received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. The “Bigger Bang” tour of 2005 grossed half a billion dollars, with paid attendance of 4.68 billion, according to George Varga’s “Mature Focus'” May issue (p.56), and I attended two of those “live” concerts.

During their long career, the Stones have undertaken some fantastic tours and released notable albums. In the sixties it was:” The Rolling Stones, Now!” followed by “Their Satanic Majesties Request,” Beggars Banquet,” “Let It Bleed.” In the seventies, with “Sticky Fingers” “Exile on Main Street” and “It’s Only Rock & Roll”, the Stones were still hot. The eighties brought us “Some Girls” (the Stones sang at least 3 of the songs from the album during the IMAX event), “Emotional Rescue,” “Tattoo You,” and “Still Life.”

The latest release from the Kings of Rock & Roll and the greatest arena band ever is the soundtrack to the film “Shine A Light,” (now showing at an IMAX Theater near you.) I admire the fact that Keith, Mick, Charlie and Ronnie ( assisted by the nine members in their touring ensemble group, such as Lisa Fisher of Brooklyn) have let it all hang out in the aging department. After seeing the horror-show that now is Kenny Rogers’ face, I appreciate the fact that the Stones still enjoy what they are doing, do it well, don’t seem to have lost a step, and are letting themselves mature naturally. When you see Mick Jagger doing his chicken-on-acid dancing, non-stop, while wearing a long blue-black coat that seems to have been made of ostrich feathers, never stopping to rest, it is difficult to believe that the man was 62 when this was filmed.

As for Martin Scorsese’s filming them onstage at the Beacon Theatre in 2006, who better than the man who was assistant director of the Oscar-winning documentary “Woodstock” forty years ago, and also directed “The Last Waltz,” the story of The Band’s 1976 all-star farewell performance?