Music / Concert

“I’m often asked, ‘What do I do for a living?’ And I answer: ‘I do what I want.”

For the better part of the last 20 years, CeeLo Green has ferociously defied musical expectations by zigging when you expect him to zag. (If you thought the former frontman of hip-hop collective Goodie Mob would eventually become one of the judges on TV’s #1 singing competition, then go buy a lotto ticket immediately because you have a gift.) I happened to be in Las Vegas earlier this year when I saw a poster for CeeLo’s Sin City Loberace show. And for the first time I can remember in regards to CeeLoo’s career, I thought, “Hey that actually makes sense.”
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Hugh Laurie is not the first — and he certainly won’t be the last — actor who decided he wanted a career in music too. The move might come as a surprise to people who primarily know Laurie from his sterling eight-year run as the misanthropic title character on House M.D. (Though not if you watched the show carefully.) In the past, Laurie has rocked out with some of his small-screen comrades for charity. But it turns out that after eight years of playing one of the crankiest characters in television history, Laurie was ready to sing the blues.
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Caroline Esmeralda van de Leeuw didn’t know she was a jazz singer until somebody told her. Growing up in Amsterdam, she was too lazy and impatient to properly learn how to play an instrument. Fortunately, she was blessed with a sultry, soulful and sassy singing voice. Caro Emerald has used that voice to smash chart records in the Netherlands. Earlier this year, her second album, “The Shocking Miss Emerald”, reached #1 in the United Kingdom. And that’s where she happened to be when I was introduced to her funky brand of jazz.
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For a variety of reasons, fewer people seem to be retiring when they turn 65. That’s long been the case for legendary musicians like Bryan Ferry, who was at that milestone age when he filmed this concert in Lyon, France during the summer of 2011. Ferry has always combined his own “old soul” sensibility with a forward-thinking approach to creating music. So this show, with Ferry now an actual senior citizen, turned out to be an ideal time to check in on the former Roxy Music frontman.
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Supergroups are hot right now: witness the astonishing box office dominance of The Avengers, as well as Warner Bros./D.C. Comics’ frantic attempts to replicate Marvel’s success. But the idea of a supergroup — a collective whose members have previously achieved individual success — has been around for a very long time, and is most commonly found in the world of music. The members of PSMS (Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Tony MacAlpine and Derek Sherinian) certainly fit the supergroup bill. Late last year, they united to rock the faces off their fans in Europe and Asia.
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Carlos Santana is too cool for words. When I say that, I refer to both his widely-acknowledged status as a “Guitar God” and to the fact that he doesn’t utter a single word until the 30-minute mark of Invitation to Illumination, his 2011 reunion with John McLaughlin. Having another rock deity on stage appears to have inspired Santana, who performs with an extra little bounce in his step during this Montreux Jazz Festival show. This Blu-ray also has the unintended consequence of serving as a tribute to the festival’s late founder.
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Coming off the staggering crossover success of the world’s loveliest and catchiest booty call song — “It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk/ And I need you now” — Lady Antebellum were the kings (and queen) of the country pop world. (Non-Taylor Swift division, of course.) That means the pressure was on for their follow-up third album. Though Own the Night brought the band a more modest truckload of critical and commercial kudos than Need You Now, it also inspired the raucous world tour captured on this Blu-ray, a must-have for any Lady A fan.
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When Duran Duran’s new concert film arrived at UpcomingDiscs headquarters, the staff was practically fighting over the Blu-ray. (“You take it!” “No, YOU take it!”) Needless to say, no one was tripping over themselves to spend a significant amount of time with a band once dubbed “the prettiest boys in rock.” When I expressed admiration for a few of their songs, I became this site’s Duran Duran Fan (By Default). After watching this lively 2011 performance, I feel pretty good about removing the “By Default” portion of my title and simply calling myself a fan of the band.
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