Music / Concert

More often than not, I don’t listen to too many female musicians. Most of them fall into the hard rock (Lita Ford, Donnas) or 80’s/90’s pop dance (Taylor Dayne, Sheena Easton). Occasionally, I will be wowed by good looks and a magical voice. I am a man after all. But when I received Sheryl Crow: Miles from Memphis – Live at the Pantages Theatre, on Blu-Ray, I was not sure what to think. Sure, she had looks but Crow’s music is ever-changing. However, I am certainly willing to give it a listen.

As one could probably guess from my tender age of thirty five years, I listen to lots of 80's music. Not only did I grow up in it, the music was energetic and often thoughtful (without being too depressing). But the thing I remember most about the music on a whole is the brilliant videos behind them. David Byrne of Talking Heads was the head (literally) of one of my favorites, Burning Down the House. A great musician and pop legend, David Byrne is back to entertain us in Ride, Rise, Roar.

There is a place in London of the United Kingdom that is down in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that used to be the first Church of Christ. However, throughout the years the populace decreased that flowed into the church and it became a shell of its former self. Still a goregous location, in 2001 it became home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. That building is called Cadogan Hall. Fast forward to 2009, a band called Marillion decided to play there which led to this 2011 release.

I have a penchant lately for reviewing stand up comedians. This is mostly a good thing. After all, stand up specials aren't usually that long, have few extras and will hopefully provoke a laugh from yours truly. But lately, it seems that the comedians I get to review aren't really that funny. Hopefully that trend changes with Daniel Tosh, star of the tv show Tosh.O. Heck, I wasn't even aware he did stand-up. Well, here goes nothing.

One of the most underappreciated films in my opinion in the last ten years is Undercover Brother. Stop looking at me strangely! Seriously, it was a very funny movie. It was because of one man and I don’t mean Neil Patrick Harris (though he was hilarious). That man would be Eddie Griffin

Not quite a concert film, not quite a drama. This film follows a young man named Bruno, who sleeps with his life long crush, the night before she moves from Toronto to Paris. On this final night, Broken Social Scene are playing a free show and Bruno uses a connection to get backstage passes as a last ditch effort to win over his crush. All the while, we are treated to a multi camera view of that very same concert, running the duration of the entire film.

Musically, I've been told before that I'm not that broad. I primarily like my hard rock and it doesn’t matter whether it is a flashy piece from the 80's or a grungy alternative piece from the 90's. But there is something that a lot of the music I listen to has in common with each other. A great guitar track. From the brilliance of an Andy Timmons to the soothing energetic sound of a Tom Cochrane. It is only fitting that a blu-ray capturing the guitar god simply known as Jeff Beck graces my door step. Furthermore, he is having a party honoring the late Les Paul. This ought to be a treat.

Michael McDonald has been around for a very long time. In fact, with his white hair and beard McDonald makes a perfect little musical Santa. The man began his career as a backup singer for Steely Dan but made his real fame when he became part of The Doobie Brothers in the 1970's. But by 1982 it was already all over for the super-group. After about 5 years of wall-to-wall hits the group disbanded, and McDonald went out on his own.

Supergroups generally don’t last very long. In one album and out the next, it is usually a case of too many egos trying to co-exist. A favorite band of mine can certainly be described as a supergroup: Velvet Revolver. The lineup is made up of powerhouses from such great bands as Guns n Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. It is grandiose power rock and a whole lot of awesomeness.

Most of the huge names of Broadway are gone. Certainly there are young talents that have created some memorable shows. Perhaps one day they will build up the mountain of classics that we received from the likes of Rodgers, Hammerstein, Bernstein, and others. There are even a couple of writers out there that have amassed that kind of a career. Andrew Lloyd Weber absolutely comes to mind as a fine example. But Stephen Sondheim is the last of a dying breed.