Crossroads Guitar Festival, Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill..Saturday, June 26, 2010

A terrific day, a terrific experience of absolute guitar overload..

Highlights: Bill Murray clowning around all day introducing acts in various guises and costumes..
Seeing Bert Jansch come out of seclusion for the first time in years to play some serious and enlightening folk tunes..
ZZ Top in all their glory, 90 degree heat in three piece rhinestone suits..sweatin’ it and playin’ it
warm hugs and laughs abound after a wonderful set with Buddy Guy, Ronnie Wood and Jonny Lang..
the incomparable guitar maestro, Jeff Beck, scorching it up, as usual, and not breaking a sweat..man, scary how good he is..no one can touch him..I mean NO ONE..
Eric with Steve Winwood, and also Jeff Beck..what else is their to say?

Good times…and sitting with my dear friend Johnny Mars…good times…

Them Crooked Vultures, Aragon ballroom, Tuesday May 18 2010

What can I say… A splendid show of musical might and prowess! forget the “supergroup” tag..this a Band, with a capital B, each enjoying their respective roles…

the only downside: getting to the Aragon nice and early during soundcheck..setting up shop in what I thought the perfect spot to get the best possible shots of Dave Grohl and his drum kit, only to find out before the band actually comes on, that they “forgot” to add a microphone and its stand for the “rhythm” guitarist, which COMPLETELY blocks my view of David’s face at his drum kit! What to do? Wade through this standing room only crowd, fighting for another decent spot to reel off some pics of the master and his drums..always remember- gotta improvise…

Talk about timing..first off, I’ve been looking forward to this show for months, when I got word from Peter’s management about getting hired to shoot the show in Montreal, opening night and all. Envisioning the perfect shots in my head, getting Peter with the conductor conducively performing in one shot, blah blah blah..man, my head can spin in so many directions about project’s like this..thinking 3-dimensionally while dreaming…just to get the perfect shot of shots.

Have to say, visuals aside, Peter is a guy who never disappoints when performing. I knew in advance about the two sets: first set, all covers from the recent album “Scratch my Back”, second set from Peter’s catalog.

Peter’s timing for opening night couldn’t have been worse. Wouldn’t you know it, he’s opening on the night of game 7 of the playoffs with the Canadians going against the Capitals in Washington. Montreal is a HOCKEY town, period. The biggest sports bar for hockey in Montreal also happens to be in the Bell Centre, so you’ve got Peter performing, and absolutely crazy in delerium hockey fans in the same venue, if you can imagine that.

I bring this up for a reason. Playing your songs with a full orchestra brings delicateness into the picture..softness added to the music..nothing like trying to appreciate the strings in an orchestra, and then off in the distance hearing thunderous applause from the Canadians scoring a goal in the first period. Canadian fans aside, I’m more than pleased with Peter’s performance and presentation.

I Haven’t heard his upper-register sound this clear and soulful in years..every note he sung was spot on..I mean SPOT-ON! Maybe it’s because of age, not playing 130 shows a year anymore, who knows..hearing him perform opening night is breathtaking to behold.

In my opinion, adding an orchestra, no guitar, no drums, provides a reinvention of the songs, both covers and Peter’s own music..the strings the tympany, only add nuances to Peter’s voice..It simply makes you appreciate Peter even more.

I’m personally flummoxed at some of the criticism being thrown at Peter for his new album “Scratch my Back”. I think all the songs work. Excellent choices throughout. Guess what? They sound even better live. So who cares if it’s not all original material? So who cares how long it takes for him to conceive and produce new songs..personally, Peter told me he has been busy with a lot of projects over the past few years..collaborating with Hot Chip, Trent Reznor, the soundtrack to “Wall-E”, let alone this massive undertaking with a full orchestra..
Too bad there’s only 5 dates total for this gorgeous tour..2 in Montreal, 2 in New York, 1 in Los Angeles..such a massive undertaking, done up “Peter Style”, requires big bucks..Hence no big tour.

For the lucky few who can attend: You’re in for a treat..a treat indeed..

I have to admit, having read most of the reviews of this current tour that Muse has put forth across the states, that I’m a bit perplexed. What, praytell, were these critic’s expecting? What infuriates me is that most of the reviews I’ve read compare this over the top tour with science fiction, the band Queen and Freddie Mercury in particular, the grandiose stage design, etc…ENOUGH ALREADY! Accept the concept! Give in! A lot of thought and heart went into the unusual layout! Matt Bellamy thoughtfully conceived a unique design to allow the songs to be interpreted in a stark, yet positive way! And it was glorious to behold.!.

The band has reached the point where they are definitely an arena act, and have the balls to produce and develop a show that will last in your noggin for times to come! The pictures I took speak volumes, yet really don’t allow the full on complexity of the over-all stage appearance, unless you were concievably standing at the back of the venue to try to soak it all in…(hard for a photographer to get the close-ups from 75 yards away)..so everyone lighten up! MUSE is going to be around for decades to come! Bobby

LADY GAGA ARRIVES IN CHICAGO, COMMANDING YOUR ATTENTION

Let us begin before the show, before the doors open to the venue of the Rosemont Theatre, on this cold Friday night. Local news crews are out en masse, filming up and down the crowd seeking fan reaction for there 10:00 news feed. Next to me stands a mother with her daughter, calm, collected, until the white light of the news camera lights up..then the mother “lights up” too: “I think Lady Gaga is pure filth, with a capital F!!!..I’m only here because my daughter likes her!” I chime in: “Ma’am, have you seen her tour before?’ “No!” She says, “I don’t need to!…I just know that she’s vile…just VILE!!’ “Ma’am, you know what your mantra should be for 2010? DON’T – FEAR – ART!! And so it goes.

What happens next before Lady Gaga goes on is also a sight to behold. The mixers and crew at the back of the house decide to interject 6 songs of Michael Jackson to the delight of the crowd…everything from “Beat It” to “Smooth Criminal” to “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough”, and on and on. There is a reason for this, more than getting this crowd pumped up,, Michael Jackson’s camp were actively pursuing Lady Gaga during his rehearsals in LA before the round of London gigs were set to begin at the O2 Arena. Aparently Micheal was interested in her doing a song together, in which Lady Gaga would get artistic control, including choreography…alas, it would never happen, hence the celebration of Michael’s msic before Lady Gaga’s show begins. Needless to say it works in getting this crowd punped up!

Questions: Is Lady Gaga’s show over the top with multiple costume changes? YES.
Is Lady Gaga’s show colorful and full of performance art vignettes? YES.
Is Lady Gaga’s show raunchy and full of some nasty dialog? YES.

And that is the point. Like Madonna (an obvious influence), Pink, Kylie Minogue, Britney, etc, Lady Gaga is pursuing a brand of pop that is more of a spectacle, where visual, choreography, shock value is just as important as the music itself.

To have the show in a 3-D ish perspective sloped down into a gigantic picture frame adds to the allure of pure showmanship. Each song is meticulously thought out as if to see an exhibit in an art gallery- some pieces attract your attention, others, you simply walk on by. Personally, I would’ve put the kabash on the constant stage banter..some- ok- but not all the time between and during songs. Case in point: What stops a show dead in its tracks? 5 minutes of chatting to the crowd, at the keyboard during a slow rendition of “Poker Face”, which seemed to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to complete. It needlessly doesn’t provide any musical nourishment to me at all, to the point where that I wished I could’ve stretched out to take a short nap.

Shows like this, spctacles like this deserve so much more. If given the chance, make it a non-stop dance party. I would want my audience drained, exhausted upon leaving the venue, period, end of story.Yes, Lady Gaga’s show is high voltage fun. Yes, I left gratified, feeling that I accomplished visually, capturing visually the essence of her show. The drawbacks that I feel are common to my past experieces with shows of this type, including the Madonna’s, the Pink’s, etc..that is that downtime absolutely throws the show to a halt, with not only the fans, but the artist as well. You stand around dumbfounded until things pick up again.

Maybe between costume changes you can launch into a DJ, positioned either stage left or stage right, doing a mash up of your hits with other artists….something…anything..
The Lady Gaga wannabees, imitators were definitely out en masse, including one guy dressed in a giant panda outfit, with a sign taped to his chest: “PANDAS FOR GAGA”. The poor guy’s panda head was so big, he was asked by security to remove it becuse it was obsrtucting other ticketholders view of the stage.
Definitely, Lady Gaga commands your undivided attention.The only dilemma’s left: Venue size when she tours again (figure arena size from here on out).

What the fans will wear the next time she comes through town?