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THE WEB GOSSIP
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THE WEB GOSSIP
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Chris Gilman With David Salidor And The CarsB.B. DAZE --- Last Monday found us at NYC's B.B. King's witnessing a rare, intimate performance by Canadian-balladeer Gordon Lightfoot. As we said on Sunday, we sort of lost track of him during the 80's and 90's, but, after suffering some health issues, the now-gaunt, 73-old performer strode out on stage, backed by a magnificent band, and performed a show that was solid, compassionate, and amazingly entertaining. Still possessing a wry, witty sense of humor, Lightfoot dazzled the sold-out house with everything he did and said. He actually did two-sets during the first show; claiming he wanted to go out for a cigarette, but whatever occurred, his second run was even better than the first; and, the first set he ended with his signature song “Sundown.” Lightfoot is a consummate craftsman and everything he did on that stage that night attested to that fact. His upbeat, almost jazz-inspired number“Baby Step Back” was adored by the crowd and made me wonder why the artist didn't do more songs in that style. Most of his material is so Lightfoot-like that this one was a nice change and a certain treat for the adoring audience. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” is a hauntingly beautiful song …. most definitely Lightfoot-like! I regret now not keeping up with the artist, it was a magnificent show in every way. Last night we caught, through the courtesy of the club's Peter Abraham, the amazing-in-every way Todd Rundgren. A bit of back story: In our college days, we were thoroughly engrossed with whatever Rundgren did. His songs like “We Gotta Get You A Woman” and “I Saw The Light,” were not only great songs, but staples from our youth. The Philadelphia-born was quite simply a genius on so many levels. A tad indulgent perhaps … but, always awesome. You knew, that each time you saw him, you were going to get quite a show. Honestly, with Todd ... it was always 70/30. In addition to having one of the more remarkable music careers out there, he was also a successful producer; Badfinger; Metaloaf; Hall & Oates and Grand Funk Railroad coming immediately to mind. In addition to his solo work, he also fronted an aggregation he called Utopia which would present a stunning visual presentation as well as musical. This is an artist that once had an entire mime-group (The Hello People) come on during his show and perform -- almost like the musical Andy Kauffman. I'd say he's produced so much memorable work that sitting in the audience last night (amazingly in the exact seat where I was on Monday!) the group of fans around me all had different wish-lists of what they'd hope he perform. When Todd finally hit the stage, to the strands of his terrific song “Real Man,” it was immediately apparent his voice was not 100%. Still, he put on a great, great show. With a terrific band, featuring Kasim Sulton on bass and Prairie Prince on drums (longtime, comfortable mates indeed); it was simply outstanding. Rundgren-staples “The Dream Goes On Forever,” “Can We Still Be Friends” and, the remarkable duet of r&b songs (including the awesome “I'm So Proud”) from his A Wizard, A True Star album was perfection indeed. He also performed a version of Marvin Gaye's “I Want You,” that was to me, the standout of the evening. It made me wonder why the Runt-man has never done an r&b album before; at least not to my knowledge. Rundgren is am amazingly perceptive performer; talking with the crowd and introducing the various songs was almost as much fun as watching him try to sing them! I knew the production values (including the band) would be stellar and they certainly were. I last caught him when he was performing as part of The New Cars; WPLJ here in NYC had a special show at the much-missed China Club. He was just sensational, but when he broke into the song "Black Maria" from his acclaimed 1972 double-album Something/Anything ... the room went wild. Just an outstanding show on so many levels. Needless to say, the room was SRO. If you've never experienced Rundgren, you should. He has always been one of the most original and remarkable artists … ever!
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Elton JohnWILL LEE RULES --- I finally caught VH1's airing of the 9/11 - Concert For New York City, from ten years back; actually the last half-hour which included Elton John (terrific!) and McCartney himself. Macca was great; although it was bit odd to hear him plugging songs from his-then new album Driving Rain. Beyond that, it was interesting that he had, of all people, Will Lee playing bass for him … and, never acknowledged that fact. The fact that Lee is in the Beatles-tribute band the Fab Faux would have made for an interesting moment … right? My friend Tom Cuddy told me that Lee's first job in the business was as a guitarist for … Barry Manilow! Mind-blowing … right?
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Ryan ReynoldsSUMMER THOUGHTS --- As the summer of 2011 sets in the West; let's do a quick review of what worked … and, didn't work: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, delivered impressively. A terrific story, melded with splendid acting and stunning direction by David Yates. Green Lantern certainly did not work. Despite the always reliable Ryan Reynolds; the CGI-on screen was just too hard to take. Thor and Captain America certainly whetted the appetites for The Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye) coming next summer. Also, my picks for the winners of the summer are, Crazy, Stupid Love and The Help. As much as I wanted to love Hangover 2 … it was a bit of a stretch … right? I feel bad for Tom Hanks' Larry Crowne (with Julia Roberts); it wasn't as bad as you'd think. Odd reception for two of Hollywood's best. Special kudos to Super 8 and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Music wise, Katy Perry's “Last Friday Night” and Foster The People's “Pumped Up Kicks” sort of ruled the airwaves.
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Pete TownshendWHO WHO WHO --- Pete Townshend is assembling a deluxe edition of the Who's 1973 rock opus Quadrophenia for a tentative November release. "I am sitting in a pile of notes, desk diaries, photos, original lyrics and writing liner notes," says Townshend. "My demos are among the best I've ever done, and include some real quirky tracks that didn't make it onto the final album.."
For the kids who've never heard of this album ... check it out. It does not disappoint.
Photos By: Sara De Boer/Walter McBride/Retna
Cars Photo Courtesy Of WPLJ
For the kids who've never heard of this album ... check it out. It does not disappoint.
Photos By: Sara De Boer/Walter McBride/Retna
Cars Photo Courtesy Of WPLJ
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