Category: Music Page 9 of 18

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.

The judges have spoken and M.K. Nobilette has been sent back to San Francisco, a town she loves, where a loyal female fan base kept her in the competition until March 20th, 2014. Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr., did not see fit to use their “save” for the baseball-cap wearing Bieber lookalike.

The bottom three this night, (besides M.K.) were Dexter Roberts of Fayette, Alabama, and Sam Woolf of Bradenton, Florida. I’m having trouble coming up with the reasons why the good-looking young Woolf keeps ending up in the bottom three, but perhaps his timid, non-assertiveness is the answer, since Caleb Johnson—a far less attractive youth, but a very confident and talented one—seems to be a big crowd favorite. Yes, this is a singing competition, but, in some ways, it mirrors the “Q” factor ratings that network talking heads are given for how “likeable” the audiences find them. It was a low “Q” rating that doomed Cheryl Tieg’s attempts to become one of those talking heads years ago.

The night featured Jennifer Lopez dancing in a skimpy outfit, backed up by girls half her age, singing “ILuhYaPapi.” She resurrected her “Jenny from the block” image and the song, (which was mainly a choreographed dance number), drew heavily on her Hispanic heritage. On a Yahoo “answer” blog, someone searching for the title of the song was answered by “Noneofurbusiness” with the title (I Luh Ya Papi) and the remark, “Worst song ever and the title puts us Latinos to shame, like we can’t speak English.”

I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say “worst song ever,” but I do wonder how long Jennifer plans to continue with the revealing outfits and the ultra-sexy schtick. She is the mother of 6-year-old twins (Emme and Max) and has been married 3 times. On July 24th, she will turn 45. Madonna is 11 years older than Jennifer and still at it, so perhaps that is the answer.

The other performers this night were a new band from Harry Connick’s part of the world, Royal Teeth, who sang “Wild.” It consisted of a lot of confetti flying and Harry Connick, Jr., saying (just before they performed), “These guys are awesome.” Again, not going there, but they were peppy.

If I were handicapping this race, it would be a good bet that “someone from the South” will win. I say that because, of the remaining contestants—now reduced to only 9—6 of those 9 or 2/3 are Southerners. North Carolina has 2 entries (Caleb Johnson and Majesty Rose), while Alabama has 3 (C.J. Harris, Dexter Roberts and Jessica Meuse.) I’m counting Florida’s Sam Woolf in that number. That means that only Michigan (Jena Irene and Malaya Watson) has an outside chance with a Midwestern win and Alex Preston stands alone as the representative of the East coast (Mont Vernon, New Hampshire). With M.K. Nobilette gone, the west coast has no contestants remaining.

Since C.J. Harris was given a pass despite one of the most out-of-tune performances ever, and has been consistently sharp throughout the competition, he obviously has a high “Q” quotient. His fan base is motivated to keep him in the competition, even when he sang out-of-key for an entire song. I’m less certain that Majesty Rose and Sam Woolf can keep dodging the bullet of the bottom three, but Caleb Johnson certainly has to be considered a front-runner. I’d put Alex Preston in that category if he weren’t so nerdy, overall.

I, personally, would like to see Jena Irene and Malaya Watson hang in there, but they are female and, historically, the voting is done by teen-aged girls. This is not to say that a female contestant cannot win, since many have, but it is to say that perhaps in the years that a female won the competition, they might not have been competing against a powerhouse singer like Caleb.

I could live with the loud showman Caleb Johnson coming in Numero Uno and claiming the crown, but I’ll reserve judgment on who will be the next-to-last contestant standing, [whom barely anyone remembers after the final night.] (Anyone remember the name of the contestant Philip Phillips bested without looking it up? I thought not.) Those singers go on to have careers on Broadway and make a very nice living at it, thank you very much, so kudos to all. We all know that Chris Daughtry didn’t win, and neither did Jennifer Hudson, and they seem to be doing just fine.

I’d look for Jessica Meuse to be eliminated in the near future, and I’m still scratching my head over Majesty Rose and her many brushes with the axe. (Gotta’ get that ‘Q’ factor up, girl!)
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“American Idol” of March 19, 2014: Who’s In It to Win It?

By Connie Wilson

On March 20, 2014

In Music, Reviews

So, who did well and who did poorly on “American Idol” on March 19, 2014?

There are 10 contestants left. Who was—far and away—the worst of the lot this night?
That one is easy to answer, since C.J. Harris singing “Invisible” by Hunter Hayes was so far off-key that it was painful to listen to. The judges all noted this—some more kindly than others. Keith Urban started off the criticism, saying, “Tonight it was really shaky with staying in tune.” He went on to try to soften the blow of his criticism by saying, “I understand it. I’d really encourage you to work on it, because you have everything else going for you.” (I’m tempted to state the obvious, “A singer who can’t sing in tune: Hmmmmmm.) Jennifer Lopez added, “This wasn’t what it should have been,” and both Urban and Lopez made mention of what a great job C.J. had done during rehearsals. This prompted Harry Connick, Jr. to reveal that that is why he never goes to rehearsals. “I want to see what happens when the red light goes on.” Harry said, “You really seem to feel the lyrics. It’s a discipline thing. You have a tendency to sing sharp. You can do it. You have the discipline to do it, but you must get the pitch thing under control.”

Uh….Hear! Hear! (Pun intended).

Most of the early singers did not set the stage on fire, with M.K.—red streaks in her newly-pouffed hair—stumbling gracelessly around the stage singing “Perfect” by Pink. Dexter followed, singing Georgia Lines’ song “Cruise”, with Connick being particularly explicit in his critique, calling it “meandering” and “bereft of joy.” Keith Urban said he liked the beginning of the song, but not the end. I agree with Harry Connick, Jr.

By the time Jena sang “Clarity” by Zed featuring Foxes, the crowd was ready for something better, and Jena delivered it. Keith pronounced it “the best performance of the night, so far” (which didn’t take much) and the light stick distributed to the crowd and Jena’s urging the crowd to wave them in time to her song was the mark of a more-polished performer than those who preceded her. Jena admitted to a love for electronic music, which caused Harry Connick to say, “I can really see you succeeding in that. I’m starting to get a really clear idea of who you are.”

Alex Preston got the most glowing reviews of the night for his rendition of “One Direction’s” song “The Story of My Life.” Usually, Harry Styles and the boys share the singing, no doubt somewhat based on range. Alex did it all and earned comments from Harry that Alex had “really hit the bull’s eye with the artistry. Really nice choices.” Keith echoed the praise, saying, “I thought that was really good, Brother,” and with Jennifer adding, “I loved it. You were very comfortable. You were like Buddy Holly, but without the glasses. You evoke greatness.” While I agree that Alex did, indeed, deliver, I question whether he has the crowd appeal of a Philip Phillips, last year’s winner.

Caleb Johnson came at some point after Alex with his loud rendition of Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory.” Harry pointed out the obvious: Caleb has a powerhouse voice and few of the other contestants can match him for straight-out volume. Harry (Connick) compared the contest to David and Goliath saying, “You’re smart to do it.” He awarded Caleb an “A+” for originality, saying, “You do loud really, really well.” Keith was less impressed, finding the piece “lumbering” and Jennifer said she didn’t feel anything when Caleb sang, except that he could deliver power like no other contestant. A comment was made about the consistency with which Caleb delivers the goods.

Malaya, who had the dubious honor of immediately following Alex Preston, did a great job of selling Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.” Jennifer remarked on how Malaya sang “tenderly, beautifully, with so much feeling” and delivered the lyrics unchanged. She pronounced Malaya’s version “awesome.” Keith also praised Malaya for leaving the song alone and developing more vocal control. Harry Connick, Jr., —often the harshest critic—said, “You were completely present in every single word…The thing I liked was how sincere you were with every single word.”

So, score one for Malaya, Alex and Jena and deduct points from C.J., M.K. and Caleb.

Jessica Meuse sang “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, which sounded very country. Jennifer said, of the song, “It fell right in your wheelhouse.” Harry pronounced her rendition(s) to be “one-dimensional” and Keith felt it had a “sixties country pop beat.” Comments were made about the fact that the lyrics are bleak, but the beat is so upbeat, with Harry expecting more of the message of the song to register in Jessica’s face as she sang.

Majesty Rose sang “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, prompting Harry to say, “I love what you did. I think you’re really smart,” but Keith didn’t find the completely folk version to his liking and Jennifer Lopez commented that she “saw fear” for the first time, following Majesty’s falling into the bottom three last week. I liked Majesty Rose tonight and I liked her from the beginning. This is usually the Kiss of Death on a night when my alma mater lost in overtime to Tennessee for the NCAA tournament berth.

Last, but not least, Sam Woolf sang “We Are Young by Fun featuring Janelle Monae. The program was running out of time, but Jennifer said, “I loved it. You sounded so much better than last week” and the other judges urged Sam to be more “assertive” and to “Come out on the stage and own this.” Sam is the cutest boy left, so I doubt if he’ll be cut.

It will be interesting to see if the rest of America is so tone-deaf that they couldn’t hear how poorly C.J. Harris’ performance was. There was much talk of how he was making barbecue sandwiches last year at this time. I fear he may be returning to making and wrapping BBQ, if the viewers at home are honest.

However, given the politics of things, it will probably be someone who gave a superlative performance (Alex comes to mind) who will not garner the votes.

Personally, I loved Malaya’s Bruno Mars song, thought Sam (Woolf) picked a great song for such a youthful-in-appearance singer, and enjoyed Jena’s glowstick schtick. I’m also confident that Caleb will deliver (again) with a better song next time, and I hope that Majesty Rose makes the cut. As for the rest: meh.

The Beatles at the San Francisco Cow Palace, “Live”

By Connie Wilson

On February 3, 2014

In Editorial, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest

Back when the Earth’s crust was warm, I convinced my parents to buy me a round-trip ticket from Marion to San Francisco so that I could attend Berkeley for summer school. The ticket cost $75. (I still have the receipt).

It was “the summer of love” and the boy I met there, from Philadelphia (William Hopkins) bought a purple Czechoslovokian motorcyle, which he did not know how to drive. He was living in a fraternity house on campus; I was in a dorm that overlooked San Francisco Bay, and my roommate, who asked me to be in her wedding, was engaged to a sailor who was about to ship out to Vietnam. (The ceremony was at China Lake, and I was the only other female present amongst a large group of sailors about to ship out to go to war in Vietnam. That made me very popular).

One day, we learned that the Beatles were going to play the San Francisco Cow Palace, and I convinced Colgate—err, Bill—to cut class with me and drive up and see if we could get in. We got tickets in the 7th row for $7 and it was the craziest, most hysterical concert I’ve ever attended. The closest I have seen young girls go nuts were the pre-teens at the Taylor Swift concert in Moline on May 8, 2010, when my daughter was working for 13 Management and got me extremely good seats.

The Beatles were brought in in an armored car. But they were late. The restive crowd began stomping on the bleacher seats.

Finally, they emerged and began playing, especially some songs from their new release, HELP! The National Anthem was played by King Curtiss and his band (a noted saxophonist of the day). On the bill after that, Shirley Bassey came out and sang the theme from “Goldfinger,” which was then a new release. “Cannibal and the Headhunters” came out and sat down on the stage and did a sort of “choo choo train” number. And The Astronauts from Colorado were supposed to be on the bill. I was looking forward to hearing them (again) because they had played at some Beta Theta Pi parties at the University (of Iowa) and I’d heard them before, but they didn’t show up.

Security at the Cow Palace was always bad. In fact, this night, it consisted of only one guy and chicken wire waist high. Therefore, some random fellow went streaking across the stage, stole John’s hat and Ringo’s drumsticks. The concert was delayed a bit while someone fetched more drumsticks.

I remember thinking that George didn’t add much. He literally just stood there, like a stick in the mud. My favorite (then and now) was Paul, but it was definitely Paul and John who ran the show. THe best parts were the punctuation of various rhythms with the head shaking that became their trademark.

People down in front started standing on the folding chairs, and, one by one, they went down like dominoes. (*Note to self: do not stand on folding chairs.) After the concert was over, they herded the crowd out through a narrow concrete-passageway. My feet were not touching the ground, but I was moving. It was scary. I thought I was going to e crushed by the crowd. (I’ve experienced this only once since, at the Hubert Humphrey Dome Rolling Stones “Bridges to Babylon” tour, when they refused to open the doors because the roof might collapse.)

It is a concert I will never forget, and I offer the video up to you on the occasion of the 50th year since the Beatles came to America. (The audio on this clip was added from a different concert, so at times the lips don’t seem to “synch up” with the music.)

Ever since this concert experience, I’ve been gun-shy about being “down front” in a mosh pit sort of atmosphere, which is why, when the Dave Matthews Band played Palmer Auditorium, I took my young daughter up in the balcony, rather than down front, and, after audience members began crowd surfing and were dropped on their heads, I was glad we were far away.)

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County Plays Davenport, Iowa, on Nov. 3, 2013

By Connie Wilson

On November 4, 2013

In Local, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County

Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T. Bone Burnett have collaborated on a musical entitled “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County” and it has been touring 20 small towns, including the performance on November 3, 2013 at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa.

Only two stops remain on the tour, one in South Bend, Indiana, and one in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I can’t help but wonder if the troupe will then take the show to Chicago and/or New York and this is their way of working the bugs out.

The 15 singers and 4 musicians who comprise the cast spin the tale of ghosts who cannot be freed until the truth is told. That device is one King has used before, most recently with passengers at a railroad station who are stranded there, seemingly forever, as ghosts.

Bruce Greenwood as Joe McCandless and Emily Skinner as his wife, Monique, head up the cast of “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.”

One of the most pleasant surprises of the evening was how good Bruce Greenwood’s singing voice is. This talented character actor has played many, many television and movie role, including a major role in the Denzel Washington film Flight and as Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek Into Darkness. However, Greenwood apparently played in a cover band 25 years ago, so this was familiar territory. Greenwood’s solo on the song “How Many Days” in Act I is one of the highlights of the entire play.

Two brothers went the Cain and Able route in this story now set in Mississippi (although supposedly Mellencamp had property in Indiana with a cabin with a similar story that he related to King). The boys fought over a girl, as brothers often do, and things did not go well.

The original brothers are Greenwood’s older siblings, Andy and Jack, but the lead character’s grown sons, Frank and Drake McCandless, are Joe McCandless’ concern now, as they seem to be on the same path to destruction. The women in the lives of the two pairs of brothers, Jenna and Anna, are well-played (and sung) by Kate Ferber and Kylie Brown. As Anna says, “I’m a whole lotta’ big girl and I know what men like. I want to make damn sure you know what you’ve gotten yourself into now.”

Unless Joe McCandless (Greenwood) tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about a fateful night in 1967, his own sons in 2007 may suffer a similar fate and wind up in the limbo or Purgatory represented by the Dreamland Cafe…”the place where lost people go.”
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The sets in this touring production were spare, mostly consisting of chairs and a large drop cloth representing the cabin where all the mayhem begins. If this does go on to Broadway (or Chicago), I hope they drop the Prairie Home Companion spare style and put up a cabin like the house in “Fences,” a Denzel Washington vehicle. It would add a lot to the production.

The ghosts are also pretty cut-rate, depicted as such by the wearing of raggedy choir robes in off white. “Here we are and here we’ll stay until the truth sets us free” is the familiar unifying message from King.

“The Shape,” (aka, the Devil) tempts Jenna (Kate Ferber) or Anna (Kylie Brown).

There is a figure representative of Satan who acts much like Joel Gray in “Cabaret” and is analogous to the small devil that is the conscience of the main character in “Animal House.” (good angel on one shoulder; bad devil on the other.)

The liner notes for Jake La Botz, who plays “the Shape,” were interesting, describing him as dropping out of high school at 15 and hitting the road for hobo camps. Then Jake was a roofer, boilermaker, graphic factory worker, and obituary writer before he turned to the guitar and became a back-up artist to such greats as Ray Charles, Etta James, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Taj Mahal. His unique outfit, consisting of a vest, no shirt, multiple tattoos and a walking stick, was also unusual.

Greenwood told David Burke of the Quad City Times that the play was about “the corrosive nature of secrets and how elusive redemption can be.” He added, “But with Stephen King, it’s so dark…It’s like Prairie Home Companion on acid.

Supposedly, the production took 13 years to stage. I can only assume that’s because King was churning out more novels (“Dr. Sleep,” the continuation of “The Shining” most recently) because his part in the play seems the easiest. There are a lot of clichés utilized in what is billed as “Libretto by Stephen King.” They start early, when young Joe (Zac Ballard) hears talk of having his “britches tanned” and they continue through such well-worn expressions as “rode hard and put away damp” and lines like, “Does the phrase ‘up shit creek’ ring a bell?'”

Those colloquialisms didn’t scream “original,” to me. King’s words do ring truer on lines like “Too late always comes too early.” There is also a familiar echo to the line, “You can never do the right thing after you just closed up the local honky-tonk.” That struck me as about as original as the old “a motorcycle is an accident waiting to happen” cliché and “Slap my tail and call me Stinky” didn’t strike me as Deathless Prose or Great Writing, either.

But I digress.

The original songs (Mellencamp and T. Bone Burnett) are the real saving grace of this production. Many sound as though they could become classics. (Any time you put “home” in the lyric, it seems to signal a home run.) There were those in the cast who stood out like a diamond amongst zircons, Greenwood most of all, and the caretaker, sung by Eric Moore, who has previously appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and Man of LaMancha was outstanding.

All in all, it will be interesting to see if the play now goes to a larger venue and, if so, what they charge for tickets. Tickets at the Adler ranged from $39.50 to $59.50 to $69.50. The theater was not full, but the audience gave the cast a standing ovation at the end of the three hours.

On this tour of smaller houses, the 20 cities included Bloomington, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; Knoxville, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Evansville, Indiana; Indianapolis, Indiana; Akron, Ohio Columbus, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Madison, Wisconsin; Rockford, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sioux City, Iowa; Ames, Iowa; Davenport, Iowa; South Bend, Indiana; and Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the tour ends on November 6th.

August 7, August 8, August 9, 2013: Replica Ships, Chicago, Phillip Phillips & John Mayer @ Tingley Park

By Connie Wilson

On August 10, 2013

In Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

Last 3 days have been busy.

First, the Nina and the Pinta, replica ships, visited Davenport, Iowa on the Mississippi River. I felt obligated to take some pictures of same, which I will share with you here.

Phillip Phillips

Then, we arrived in Chicago for the John Mayer/Phillip Phillips concert at Tingley Park (Midwest Bank Amphitheater), which was tonight, August 9th. Video will be available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/xGOi6V-9rm8

Phillip Phillips

John Mayer

However, there are some still shots I can share with you here.

Tomorrow, the Tall Ships at Navy Pier.

“Chicago” Plays Moline; Gives Local Musician Chance to Open Show

By Connie Wilson

On June 18, 2013

In Local, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

“Chicago” takes a bow after over two hours of music.

“Chicago,” the band, played the IWireless Center in Moline, Illinois last night (June 17, 2013) to a roughly half-full house.

Tim Stop (Stopulos) of Bettendorf opens for “Chicago” at the IWireless Center (formerly the Mark of the Quad Cities) in Moline, Illinois, on Monday, June 17, 2013.

Local singer/songwriter Tim Stopulos (Tim Stop) opened for them, singing five original songs. The young Bettendorf Assumption graduate who has been following his dream since graduating from Wake Forest. did a fine job displaying poise and polish. He would be a contender on a competition show such as “The Voice” or “American Idol.”

“Chicago,” the band, performing at the IWireless Center in Moline, Illinois, on Monday, June 17, 2013.

For the past three summers, I’ve attended the “Chicago” concerts across the street from me at Northerly Isle Pavilion in Chicago (also known as Charter Isle Pavilion). The first year I saw them in concert, they were paired with “Earth, Wind & Fire.” It was a phenomenal concert. The second year I saw them (same venue), they were paired with “America.” Last year when I saw them, they were on tour with the “Doobie Brothers.”

Robert Lamm on keyboards for “Chicago” on June 17th, 2013.

The band first formed in Chicago in 1967. The musicians were mostly DePaul music students, starting with saxophonist Walter Parazaider, whose apartment they used for practice sessions. Original members then were guitarist Terry Kath— (often credited with being the original heart and soul of the group)—; Danny Seraphine on drums; James Pankow on trombone; Lee Loughnane on trumpet; Robert Lamm from Roosevelt University on keyboards; and, eventually, local bass player Peter Cetera.

James Pankow, original band member, on trombone during the “Chicago” concert of June 17th, 2013. (IWireless Center).

Four original members of the band performed with the group last night: Robert Lamm on keyboards; Lee Loughnane on trumpet; Walt Parazaider on saxophone, flute and woodwinds; and James “Jimmy” Pankow on trombone.

The group were originally not called “Chicago,” at all, but “The Big Thing.” Then, the band changed its name to “The Chicago Transit Authority,” about the time they moved to Los Angeles in June of 1968 and signed with Columbia Records, with James William Guercio, their manager and friend taking the band where the action was.

Soon, the REAL Chicago Transit Authority threatened to sue if the group didn’t change its name. So the group became simply “Chicago” and it remains so today, one of the longest-running bands never to have broken up or taken a long hiatus, second only to the Beach Boys in terms of singles, albums and longevity.

James “Jimmy” Pankow always strips down to a shirtless number (usually with plunging neckline) later in the show. Why? No idea.

Wikipedia lists “Chicago’s” number of albums as 120 million albums sold, 22 gold albums, 18 platinum albums and 8 multi-platinum albums. Of those, five were Number One albums and there were 21 Top Ten Hits from the rock, jazz, fusion, progressive rock, soft rock musicians. It is surprising that the group has won only one Grammy, awarded in 1977 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. In 1976, “Chicago X” contained Cetera’s composition “If You Leave Me Now,” which became the group’s first Number One single.

For its final number, the band unfurled a flag, singing a relatively new song with the lyric “I Just Want to be Free.”

The band has had hits like “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It is?”, “Saturday in the Park,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “Glory of Love” (the theme song for Karate Kid II) and “You’re the Inspiration”, written by Robert Lamm for Kenny Rogers in a 3 hour period before Lamm was to fly to Italy, but a song which Rogers never recorded. [Cetera calls Robert Lamm, in a January 15, 2007 interview before “Live at Lake City” with Orchestra Concert, “One of the great songwriters of that generation.”]

“Chicago” is credited with being the leading U.S. singles-charting group in the 1970s and their breakthrough album,”Chicago II,” began the band’s tradition of the iconic numbering of each subsequent album. How many albums have there been? Somewhere around 30, with promises that there will be a new one come fall of 2010.

Guitarist par excellence Keith Howard, who has been with the band for each of the performances I’ve seen over recent years.

“Chicago” is unique in that it is a relatively faceless band. Its members are replaceable and interchangeable, although the death of founding member Terry Kath in 1978 from an accidental gunshot wound, as described in a VH1 “Behind the Music” special was a low point. (Supposedly, Kath was horsing around with a firearm and had just said, “Don’t worry, guys. It isn’t even loaded. See?”)

Also in that VH1 special, original band member Pankow said, in 2000, “One record company said to us, ‘˜Man, if you get rid of the horn section, we’ll sign you.” With incredulity, Pankow continues, “That’s like telling Elton John to get rid of the piano!” [One original member of the group, Danny Seraphine—who was fired by the group in the 1990’s for not getting along with some of the replacement musicians—was so incensed by the focus of the VH-1 special on Kath’s death that he demanded that all references to his participation be removed. Seraphine has since formed the California Transit Authority and, in 2006, the group played the CD USA’s New Year’s Eve party on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.]

Despite Terry Kath’s tragic accidental death, the group soldiered on, bringing in Donnie Dacus to assume lead singer duties in April of 1978. He left the group after “Chicago 13” in 1979, as the band began to move away from jazz and rock and more towards pop ballads.

In 1981, Columbia Records dropped the band, but Warner Brothers picked them up. Bill Champlin left in August of 2009, to be replaced by Lou Pardini. Tris Imbodden, originally the drummer for Kenny Loggins, replaced Seraphine. In 2009, sometimes the only “original” member of the group onstage would be Robert Lamm. Lately, when I’ve seen them, trombonist James “Jimmy” Pankow, with his rolled up sleeves and plunging neckline shirts, has given good horn and good show. I can’t help but smile. In his sixties (66, said the local newspaper), he is still going strong, as are the other “original” members.

My favorite band member from the past four shows remains guitarist Keith Howard, who shreds his solos with flair. For that matter, there was a lengthy percussion piece that allowed other band members to take a breather and, with at least two percussionists and two keyboard artists at all times, the ten members on stage were keyboards (2), percussion (up to 3 on any song), woodwind (usually sax, but sometimes flute, 1), cornet (1), guitar (2) and the irrepressible trombone (1).

In an interview at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida (the band was playing there and was also singing the national anthem at the Florida Marlins game of April 10, 2009), Robert Lamm was interviewed and appears in a YouTube interview saying, of the group’s longevity, “I think it’s as simple as we enjoy each others company and we’ve all grown as musicians.” When asked how they got together initially, he answers, “By Providence.”
When asked about how the music business has changed since “Chicago” formed in 1967 and began churning out its hits in the 70s, Lamm becomes more serious on the video: “How changed? Technology. As human beings we’ve changed, but a ‘˜Chicago’ concert is always memorable and always maintains a high level of quality.” He noted that the group had 70 singles that were played on the radio back in the day and says, “If we were trying to break now, I have no idea where we’d go. I find it very puzzling.” He also said that he did not, at first, follow “American Idol,” which asked to use some of his songs. “I was sort of looking down my nose at it, but now I’m kind of in to it. I like the idea of it.”

The group appeared on Season 9’s Finale of “American Idol” on May 26, 2010, with eventual winner Lee DeWyze singing along to a medley of some of their hits.

A characteristically over-the-top give-it-all-you’ve-got performance on June 17th in Moline, with a twenty-minute intermission and, hopefully, a break for a young local musician who has been making it in Chicago and across the Midwest for years, but deserves wider recognition of his talent.

Sources: www.chicagosuntimes article by Bill Zwecker for RedCarpet on 5/27/2010; Fox-WFLD, Channel 32 on May 27, 2010; Youtube video of April 10, 2009 Florida Marlins game with “Chicago” performing the national anthem; April 10, 2009 interview with Robert Lamm at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Interview with Peter Cetera on Jan. 15, 2007 YouTube video prior to “Live at Lake City” with Orchestra concert; www.wikipedia.com; “Chicago” and “Earth, Wind and Fire” concert at Northerly Isle Pavilion in Chicago; “Chicago” and “America” concert at Northerly Isle Pavilion in Chicago and June 17, 2013 concert at IWireless Center in Moline, IL.

The Rolling Stones Rock the United Center in Chicago on May 28, 2013

By Connie Wilson

On May 29, 2013

In Music, Reviews

The Rolling Stones backdrop for “Honky Tonk Woman” in Chicago.

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form] Chicago, IL – The Rolling Stones played the first of 3 shows in Chicago’s United Center on Tuesday May 28th, 2013. Despite the power outage to 21,000 Chicago residents caused by severe weather in the Chicago area, the Stones had plenty of power: power riffs from guitar greats Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood and frontman power from perennial hipster Mick Jagger.

Mick Jagger, dancing non-stop, onstage at the United Center in Chicago on May 28, 2013.

Jagger gave a senior class in aerobics for the almost-70 (in July) set that went on, uninterruptedly, for 2 and ½ hours, despite starting nearly 45 minutes late. He defied both age and the tornado-like weather that dumped at least 2 inches of rain on the area just before 8 p.m. showtime. Flash flood warnings were issued for the area and a small tornado touched down in the western suburbs.

Mick Jagger on the lip-shaped stage he prowled during the Tuesday night (May 31) show.

Opening with “Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud,” a song popular in 1963), Mick Jagger appeared onstage wearing a black sparkly jacket (with tails) and continued to give a senior seminar in “How to Continue Rocking for 50 Years” by never slowing down during the entire show.

Film of the very young Jagger and Richards was projected on the large screen behind the stage, along with clips of other music greats.

The second song on the band’s play list was “It’s Only Rock & Roll” followed by “Paint It Black,” which led to a brief break where Mick Jagger referred to the United Center as “The house that M.J. built,” meaning Michael Jackson.

Opening of the concert: “Hey, You, Get Of Of My Cloud.” May 28, 2013. Tuesday. Chicago’s United Center.

Nearly every major hit the band has recorded (minus,for me, “Time Is On Our Side”) was performed in this first of 3 shows with ticket prices of $150 to $600 a ticket. One of the best sequences featured the band playing “Wild Horses.” It featured filmed tributes to many greats projected on the screen behind the band, including Leadbelly, B.B.King, Bo Diddley, Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Elvis Presley, the Staple Singers, Howlin’ Wolf, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Charles “Bird” Parker, Merle Haggard, Miles Davis, Little Walter, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sonny Rollins, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Little Richard and Tina Turner.

The show continued for an entertaining 150 minutes with hits like “Honky Tonk Woman, “Brown Sugar,” “Midnight Rambler,” “Miss You,” “Paint it Black,” “Sympathy for the Devil” (with Mick wearing a boa feather decorated cape), “Start Me Up,” and “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”

I’ve seen the Rolling Stones at least 13 times; the lack of camaraderie between Mick and Keith was never more apparent than at this show. Still, name another band still going this strong after 50 years.
See them while you can, because nobody lives forever.

Saturday, February 2, 2013 in Sydney, Australia

By Connie Wilson

On February 2, 2013

In Music, travel

Our 8th floor digs at 44 Bridge Street.

A gray day here in Australia with temperatures near 70 Fahrenheit. We watched “Network” and “Midnight Express” till 3:30 a.m.. so we got a late start.

Much like my obstructed view in Chicago, we can see the Harbour but the view is obstructed by buildings.

Stacey joined us at 3 p.m. and we took off for Circular Quay Theater, 2 blocks away and saw “Silver Linings Playbook.” Cost of an adult ticket? $18. Cost of a ticket for a senior? $11.

Cornet player Paul Wheeler and me, post movie, in Sydney, Australia.

Afterwards, we strolled next door and had fish and chips and burgers at a bar nearby where Paul Wheeler played cornet.

Stacey and Craig and I on Circular Quay on Saturday, February 2nd after the movie “Silver Linings Playbook.”

We walked back to Bridge Street and Stacey left to “socialize” with her friends.

Craig and cornetist Paul Wheeler.

Tomorrow, we’ll hit the Museum with the Anish Khapour exhibit. We already visited the Museum right across the street from us and the Mint and Parliament and also strolled past the Hospital.

Ringo Starr is touring Australia. It’s like a European-ized version of the United States. The cornet player was invited to the book signing on Thursday (5 to 8 p.m.) at the Galaxy Bookstore on York Street.

Prince Plays Chicago’s United Center: September 24, 2012

By Connie Wilson

On September 25, 2012

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

Prince in Chicago, 9/24/2012.

Prince had not played Chicago in 8 years, but his first of 3 shows on Monday, September 24, 2012, was well worth the wait. If you’re going, make sure that you don’t bail before the final third encore, either, or you’ll miss all his Big Hits. There were many naysayers complaining about the long delay before he reappeared, in a different plain black outfit, to play his big hits, because it was a work night and at least half of the crowd had gone home. There was also disappointment at the House of Blues, where the rumor was that Prince would be present and play. He was present, but he didn’t play. For me—someone who didn’t have to go to work early in the morning—I was willing to wait (Maybe it’s all the waiting you do at political rallies that has me conditioned.) There was a long wait at the beginning of the concert and the delay between the end of the first encore and my move to the floor and all the “hits” was substantial: also more than an hour. So, it was midnight before the evening ended, after the 8 p.m. ticketed start time was also delayed.

Prince takes a bow before the first of 2 encore periods.

I saw Prince play at the (Moline, IL) Civic Center years ago, when he was fighting with his record label, had just started using the symbol and played only one recognizable “hit” from his catalogue: “Raspberry Beret.” Although the 6 of us waited all night for “Little Red Corvette” or “1999” or “Purple Rain” or “When Doves Cry,” I don’t remember that we heard any of them. There were 2 large Chow dog-like statues set up on each side of a proscenium stage that reminded me of a fancy Chinese restaurant. There was none of the dancing that I had heard was so mesmerizing in his act.

When Prince played the United Center in Chicago on the first of 3 nights of shows on Monday, September 24, 2012, there was lots of dancing. The stage, itself, was the now-familiar Prince emblem. The Purple One was clad in black and white, in a half-white (left side) and half-black (right side) suit that made me think of an old Cesar Romero role…[it may have been the Joker, on television]…where his face was painted half-white and half-black.

Overview.. Symbol-shaped stage.

The singer was accompanied by a 20-member ensemble and, my seat-mate said, was either rolled in or carried in in a box. (I missed this, as the smoke machines and the fake sound of a rainstorm projected against the Prince symbol with lightning on the giant overhead screen had practically obscured the stage to the point that I was afraid Prince was having trouble finding the stage.)

The concert was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. I was nearly an hour late but missed nothing. There was no “lead-in” band, but there were many fancy electrical things and color changes for the stage, onto which were projected swirling patterns and polka dots at other points in the show. At several points, Prince climbed atop the electrified grand piano to sing and dance.

For this show and the extra one added on the third day of his performances in the “Welcome to” format he has used in other cities, 11 horns fill the arena, giving the band a large sound. Prince has said, “My favorite instrument is the band,” which he fine-tuned during rehearsals in his 70,000 square foot headquarters southwest of Minneapolis.

Prince last performed in Chicago in 2004, pulling in more than $87 million and reviving his career. Now 54, he has not released an album since 2010 because, as he told Gregg Kot of the Chicago “Tribune,” in a September 23^rd interview, he doesn’t see much point in releasing albums when: “We’re in a singles market again. It’s crazy for me to walk into that with a new album. Young people have decided they like to listen to music in a certain way, through earbuds, and that’s fine with me as long as it doesn’t bother them that they’re not hearing 90% of the music that way.” He adds, “But I don’t have to record to eat or to get out of debt or to pay my taxes. I looked forward to the day I could do this. Freedom is an interesting thing. You have to work really hard to get free.”

Prince did many covers during the show— (too many, according to my seatmate, since Prince’s own catalogue is so deep) —and some were surprising (“Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough,” “The Arms of an Angel”). There was a semi-odd gospel song featuring the 3 female back-up singers and Prince was extremely generous in sharing the stage with a bald African-American female singer named Shelby. Shelby was an unusual choice, compared to Prince’s other female protégés over the years. She sang well, but we all paid to hear Prince and Shelby got a lot of his onstage time.

There were also some minor technical glitches where the amplifiers were heard to hum and drone. At one point, Prince tossed the guitar with the leopard-skin strap over the edge of the stage to a stagehand. Shelby’s microphone did not not work properly at one point, so Prince gave her his.

But, more than anything, Prince seemed to want the crowd to enjoy themselves, constantly cheerleading with phrases like, “I can’t hear you” and “Right now, I’d like to hear my favorite sound in the world—you!” He instructed the 3 back-up singers to go out into the crowd and bring audience members up onstage to dance. He also danced a lot in tiny red heels (I’ll bet his feet hurt at the end of the long show) and if you want(ed) to hear “Little Red Corvette,” “1999” and the songs I had come for, you had to stay till the very end, ending at midnight and enduring a 20-minute wait while Prince changed and many moved from the nosebleed sections to the floor as people departed before the final set.

As usual, I was seated next to a Bobblehead who howled and danced like Randy Quaid might have danced in the National Lampoon movie “Vacation.” I thought he was going to hurt either himself or me.

Prince knows the sound he wants from his big band. He told Gregg Kot: “Remember the scene in the movie ‘Amadeus’ where he’s dying, and he’s hearing the music in his head? It becomes impossible to explain. He doesn’t have the vocabulary. Now, I’m short—literally and also when I speak—and it’s easy to get all ‘Can’t you hear this? Can’t you hear what I’m hearing?’ And so I use humor when I feel my blood pressure going up.” He attributes his longevity as an artist to being a practicing Jehovah’s Witness for the past 20 years.

Of earlier times, he said, “I nearly had a nervous breakdown on ‘The Purple Rain’ tour in 1984 because it was the same every night. It’s work to play the same songs the same way for 70 shows. To me, it’s not work to learn lots of different songs so that the experience is fresh to us each night.” He also attributes his longevity to personal changes in his life since the 80s and 90s.

“The world is so jagged. I like smooth waves. It’s the way I live now. In the 90s, we had a lot of crazy people in here. Now, no one argues, no one swears, no one smokes, and no one talks harsh. We all enjoy each other. You don’t know what that’s like till you start living like that, because, for a long time, I didn’t. It was affecting me in my head, which, in turn, affected me in my throat. I changed the way I operate. A lot of my contemporaries didn’t. That’s the reason I’m still here and a lot of them aren’t.”

The show was very enjoyable, especially when I think back to the snoozer I saw at Moline, Illinois’ Civic Center (“The Mark of the Quad Cities” it was called then). This one was up-tempo and lively and designed to please and entertain. As Prince reminisced with Gregg Kot of the “Tribune,” that’s the way he likes it: “I remember those Park West shows in Chicago that I played when I was just starting out. I’ll dream about the Park West sometimes. I can see it so clearly in my dreams. That wide-open look from the stage, the people right up on you. Those were life-changing shows.”

ThrillerFest in New York City & Other Things That Have Kept Me Away from the Blog

By Connie Wilson

On August 6, 2012

In Books, Music, Politics, travel

I’ve been away from the keyboard for a variety of reasons:

1) I attended ThrillerFest in New York City July 11-14 and had the opportunity to hear wisdom from many great writers. Pictures are a few. The HWA’s own W.D. Gagliani was on one panel, as was Nate Kenyon (“Diablo: The Order”). I had the opportunity to see the Terra Cotta soldiers at the Discovery Center on W. 44th Street and, as a special treat, I got to wait in LaGuardia airport from 6 p.m. until almost midnight (the plane was supposed to leave at 8 p.m.)

ThrillerFest in NYC in July.

Joseph Finder, author of “Paranoia,” “Company Man,” et. al.

Lady Liberty has a small wardrobe malfunction n Times Square.

: Jon Land, author of the Caitlin Strong series.
Grand Central Terminal, right next to the Hyatt where Thrillerfest was held.

2) Upon our return, we spent some time at the beach with Scott, Jessica, Ava & Elise.

Ava & Elise with Grandpa at the 31st St. Beach in Chicago.

3) Then, of course, there was my birthday. We dined at Nellicoat, which used to be a different restaurant on Randolph, but is now very fancy.

Nellicoat, the fancy restaurant on Randolph Street where we dined on my birthday with son Scott and daughter-in-law Jessica.

4) July 28, Saturday: Chicago and the Doobie Brothers at Northerly Isle Pavilion (birthday celebration).

Northerly Isle Pavilion, July 28th, 2012: Chicago and the Doobie Brothers.

The Doobie Brothers appeared with Chicago this year (7/29/2012).

Chicago skyline at dusk.

5) Last, but certainly not least, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on “Hellfire & Damnation II,” which went “live” as an E-book on July 28th. It’s a truly entertaining book, with illustrations for each story and a great cover from Vincent Chong of the UK, plus a Fro the Author section explaining the inspiration for the stories. There will be a 5-day period when the book on Amazon Kindle will be free, but that has yet to be determined. Stay tuned for the exact dates, which will probably be near Halloween.

“Hellfire & Damnation II” available now in paperback from Amazon and Barnes & Noble and in Kindle E-book from Amazon. Stay tuned for free download dates, which will be somewhere near Halloween.

6) Lollapalooza has been ongoing in Chicago all weekend. I’ve been listening to the groups from my balcony, except when a very bad storm caused authorities to evacuate the park. The last band that got to play its set as originally scheduled was “Moon Taxi” from Nashville, friends of my daughter’s. At about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, the high winds and rain swept in. However, the concert continued after a brief period of time, allowing the Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform, at least. On Sunday, Florence & the Machine and Jack White played and they sounded great.

: Lollapalooza, August 3-5.