Bella Sol Music Festival @ Harmony Park 5/23-5/26

Memorial Day Weekend has long been considered to be the kick off of the much anticipated summer music festival season, and this is due in large part to The Big Wu. For nine, count 'em, nine years, The Big Wu took all the money they made tirelessly touring the country throughout the year and threw a huge party with a few thousand friends. It was a party that always hosted stellar musical acts from far and wide contributing unique and diverse music from many genres. That spirit was alive and well at this years Bella Sol Festival at Harmony Park in Geneva MN. Now in its second year (being called Bella Luna last year), Bella Sol brought together fierce bluegrass, thumping hip hop, soothing Southern pshycadelic rock, thrashing metal guitar, and of course a good dose of rock and fucking roll.

I left the big city mid Thursday afternoon to make the 90 mile trek south to Harmony Park, a magical haven of hundreds of huge hundreds-of-years-old oak trees, and was not surprised to find that hundreds of people were already there setting up for the long weekend, despite the festival not officially starting until Friday afternoon. Thursday night's big draw was, aside from securing a decent camping spot near friends and this hula tree girl, the fantastic Chicago based Cornmeal.



I was pleased to learn that they were recently awarded the "New Groove Jammy", which has recognized such brilliant one time newcomers as the Colorado's Yonder Mountain String Band, the blazin steel guitar work of Robert Randolph & The Family Band, the Anastasio/Gordon collaborators the Benevento/Russo Duo, and the lovely and talented Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Although the entire band is incredibly gifted, Cornmeal's stage presence is dominated by one Allie Kral, a young, smiling fiddler who could give that devil down in Georgia a run for his money. Thursday night's Cornmeal set was unexpectedly quiet, with local laws stipulating that there could be no amplification after 10 or 11 pm or some bullshit like that. This proved to be a disappointment throughout the weekend, as people craving some late night tunes each night discovered a tent stage that had far more crowd noise than it did beautiful sounds coming from the stage. Of course I always appreciate hearing some acoustic jams, but it was just too damn quiet in that tent.

Fortunately for the throngs of Cornmeal fans, they played again on The Main Stage the next evening, and proceeded to get the feet stomping and the people jumping. A couple of my favorite moments from that set were the opening number "When the World's Got You Down", an uplifting high energy Cornmeal original, and "Walk and Don't Look Back", a brilliantly covered Mick Jagger/Peter Tosh song.

Also earning honorable mention from Friday's schedule were Dance Band, the Minneapolis based "geekfunk" troupe who are known for their funkiness coupled with their...well, geekiness. right. i guess that's why they describe it as "geekfunk".

Down Lo put on a great show Friday night, and they had guest emcee Deploi of L.A.'s House of Vibe Allstars, who happened to be backing the previous act, Chali 2na.

Chali 2na is what I was most looking forward to all weekend. The guy just fucking rocks. Known for being a founding member of the hip hop phenom Jurassic Five, 2na came on stage after the House of Vibe Allstars, led by Deploi, warmed up the crowd with their funky R&B sounds. Much to the delight of the crowd, Chali 2na and his sidekick Laid Law whipped through a number of J5 tracks as well as a bunch of his own strong solo material. 2na's lyrics are sharp, quick witted, masterfully rhymed, and delivered with his trademark one of a kind deep smooth voice.

Pnuma Trio put on an excellent late night spacefunk synth show, complete with lights that could be seen far into the campgrounds.

Saturday's musical highlights included Desdamona rockin the mic in the early afternoon, God Johnson, who had this dude grooving so hard his arm fell off, or rather popped out of the goddamn socket, Pert Near Sandstone, with guest mandolinist Eric Berry of Trampled by Turtles, and Heatbox, the Minneapolis performer who does all sorts of crazy shit with his voice - beatboxing, rapping, singing, and a really cool looping thing. I really enjoyed the song that says about a million times and is incredibly catchy, "Thank you for the Jack and Coke".

Saturday night's headliners, That One Guy and Buckethead, unfortunately did not do a whole lot for me. That 1 Guy's 'Magic Pipe' is a fascinating piece of musical machinery, and he is a very talented Guy, but I think he would be better off just playing the damn thing and losing most of the schtick. The zany lyrics and oddball humor would be perfect for a company picnic, but we are highly developed music fanatics at a freaky festival, not office drones enjoying a wine cooler at the park.

Buckethead and his backing tape were equally lackluster. As one of my friends remarked after we had watched him for no more than two minutes, "Sure, the guy shreds, but so what?" I think he really hit the nail on the head there. Watching a dude with an upside-down KFC bucket on his head and wearing a spooky white mask to hide his face play manic heavy metal riffs by himself on stage for an hour and a half sounds like a great time, but it just wasn't all it's cracked up to be. The one part I did really enjoy was when That 1 Guy joined forces with Buckethead for a song or two at the end of the show. Both very unique and talented dudes, to be sure.

Sunday was the single most fabulous day of music I have seen in quite a long time.
One of the shows I was most looking forward to all weekend was The Big Wu, who have for years epitomized our unique and communal music scene. Seeing Jason Fladager joining his former bandmates on stage for the duration of their set only added to the special atmosphere of the mid afternoon set, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new and old school Wusters shaking their asses to classics like "Make Believer", "S.O.S." "Texas Fireball", "House of Wu", and "Red Sky". I have probably seen The Big Wu play more times than any other band on this lovely planet, and I simply do not get to see them as much these days. It was an exciting and somehow soothing set of music, and they had the place rocking as if it was midnight.


Scheduled for a late afternoon set before JGB was Simmonett and Young, the former being the brilliant singer/songwriter/guitar picker of Trampled by Turtles, and the latter having recently been officially and permanently inducted into Trampled by Turtles. Ryan Young and his fiddle make a spectacular addition to the band. Simmonett and Young generally put on a relatively low key, acoustic show, which would have been great on its owm, but today we were in luck. Banjo Dave Carroll was on the premises to play with his other band, Two Many Banjos. Eric Berry had already made an appearance with Pert Near, and Tim Sauxhaug had been seen around the campgrounds. Rumors quickly circulated-could it be?? Indeed it could. The guys decided to treat us to just about the best surprise performance imaginable. That made my weekend, again.


Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band were simply phenomenal. A nice "Cats Under the Stars" opener, then "After Midnight > Elenore Rigby > After Midnight" was absolutely dynamite, and suddenly the show was over. It had flown by way too fast.

Moonalice played a lovely nonstop set with a beautiful "Stella Blue" right in the middle, and they had these awesome posters they were giving away.




As if the day just had not sufficiently rocked already, the White Iron Band was next. Lead singer Matt Pudas affectionately teased his younger brother Mark who joined the band onstage about his appearance after he had his ear ripped off in what I can only imagine was a wicked bar room brawl at Mayslacks a few weeks back. Chants of "Log Jam" "Log Jam" "Log Jam" erupted from the both the crowd and the stage throughout the set, and WIB played a few chords of Phish's "Fluffhead" with a chant of "Gauze-head" for the younger Pudas. White Iron's set included foot stompers like "Borderline" "Willie Nelson Ruined my Life" and "Minnesota Song". Unfortunately they didn't even play "Whiskey River" once, just teased it at the close of the show. I remember back in the days when they would do it three or four times a night. Nonetheless it was, as always, a high energy rocking good time with the White Iron band.


North Mississippi Allstars, power trio of funk/swamp blues was a fantastic show of Southern rock force, and the first few songs featured Melvin Seals sitting in on keys.

Two Many Banjos closed out the night in the quiet tent stage.

We were also lucky to have Chuck Hues, the very talented Rochester artist who has worked for 10K and the Grateful Dead, at teh festival all weekend working on this gorgeous sunny mural next to the stage:



There was another fella, Chuck U, painting on the other side of the Main stage, as well. There were hundreds of young children around, from less than one year old to young teenagers, who all had a good time running around and playing, enjoying the music and swings and toys and people. It was a mighty windy weekend, but we only got a little bit of rain here and there, and Sunday turned out to be a day of Sun. It was a wonderful weekend overall with unbelievably great music throughout the weekend, plenty of old and new friends, and that Magical Harmony Park atmosphere.

I see that planning has already begun for next year's Bella Madre Festival, and you can count on seeing me there.

I miss these trees already.

American Idol - The Finale: Part 2

Our two hour finale extravaganza begins with our finalists doing a huge sing along with the so you think you can dance dancers, then the Davids join together for what I believe is a Nickelback song from Spiederman, "Hero". Maybe there was a tie and the duo wins the competition. They actually sound pretty good together.

The love guru promotion is pretty damn stupid and goes on for way too long, but at least he insults the Davids a bit. Seacrest hops on the love guru's magic carpet/pillow and is taken for a ride. I am not going to see that movie.

Next Syesha is up and Seal appears from nowhere to join her. She's still not cool.

Jason Castro is back to sing "Hallelujah" again. Without question this was his strongest performance of the season. In fact it was on of the highlights of the season in general for me. At least he gets a chance to redeem himself, and its awesome again.

Now it's a dumb "Let the Good Times Roll" montage of this seasons ford commercials greatest hits, then the traditional Ford giveaway to the Two remaining contestants. It's not too surprising that his year they are giving away hybrids, what with gas prices the way they are.

The hits keep coming as the Top Six ladies take on a Donna Summer "Hot Stuff" medley. Of course Donna Summers herself is in the house doing her new single, and shes rockin a solid bling mic. Ryan Seacrest tries to fufill a lifelong dream by sneaking into the mix with the male dancers, and he looks like a fool. Then its a "Last Dance"
party.

Carly Smithson and Micheal Johns doing "The Letter" rocks. Like, really fucking rox. The two of them together are spectacular, and this is totally one of the best moments of the season. Then Jimmy Kimmell comes out and slams Sanjaya, which is always appreciated.

We are treated to a great Simon Cowell montage, then the rest of the top six fellas introduce the top 2 as if they are prom king and queen. A Bryan Adams medley begins and I dont like where this is going. Sure enough, Bryan Adams is now onstage and no wonder this guy sold out the Pantages Theatre here in MPLS.

More rock and roll now with David Cook and ZZ Top. "Sharp Dressed Man" is always a rockin song and it is enjoyable. Then Mikayla Gordon from years ago checks in with Cook's music teacher in Kansas City.

Grahm Nash and Brooke White do "Teach Your Children" and I am glad Brooke is long gone.
The Jonas Brothers, the darlings of disney rock, take the stage in an unbearable performance, then the " I am your brother....love you forever..." guy is all alone on stage, but is soon backed up by the USC cheerleading squad and marching band.

Jordin Sparks is here in a golden tinfoil ensemble, and she has her buddy Blake Lewis out in the audience singing along. She sounds pretty good.

Now we've got a Gladys Knight and the Pips gag, with Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downy Jr goofing around. That was mildly entertaining.

Carrie Underwood is here with some crazy white outfit that doesn't cover the bottom half of her body at all.

One (please?!!?!!?) last time with a Top 12 singalong, and this time it is a George Micheal one, with the ladies singing "Faith" and the guys singing "Father Figure" the n all joining in for a harmonious "Freedom". Amanda Overmeyer-how did she make it to the Top 24, let along the Top 12? Man she sucks. The Top Davids introduce Mr. Micheal himself and Paula Abdul simply cannot contain her enthusiasm, and starts shaking her ass immediately. George Micheal kills all the momentum that has been building and slows the show down to a crawl. Paula is clearly in love.

Finally we are at the moment of truth, and when given a chance for final thoughts, Randy and Paula ramble incoherently as usual and Simon Cowell apologizes for being harsh on Cook last night, saying it was not quite the blowout they had initially called. For the first time, Simon says he doesn't care who wins.


Down to results and David Cook has taken the prize with an astonishing 12 million votes more than Archuleta. This is a magnificent day for America. Despite being outsung last night, America has decided overwhelmingly that David Cook is way better than Archuleta. Whew, that was a close one.

American Idol - The Finale: Part 1

It's that famous announcer who says "lets get ready to rumble" introducing the two finalists, who are clad in boxer robes. They advertised this as the "showdown of showdowns" and "Double D Day", which is offensive to both America and women with large breasts, but it looks like they have settled on a boxing theme for this Finale.

Cook is in blue and Archuleta in red. They smack gloves and the battle royale begins. Big David and Little David, as Seacrest refers to them, will “go three rounds”, each singing three songs. Clive Davis and Andrew Lloyd Weber will be on hand for this first part of the finale and hopefully they will stop with the boxing analogies already.

Cook is up first and Clive Davis has picked “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. I think it actually sounds pretty good, but it also sounds suspiciously like one of those songs on the God Rock compilation commercials. “Amen, Amen” says Abdul, and Simon calls it “phenomenal”. DC looks like he just cannot believe he is here in the American Idol Finale. Not a bad start.

Clive Davis'choice for The Mighty Archuleta is “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and he starts out in that classic perched on the stairs position, then stands and walks briskly to center stage as he delivers the well delivered climax. Randy calls it one of the best of the season, Paula is in love and Simon thinks it may have been his best ever, and gives the round to Archuleta. A strong performance by both contenders, for sure., but D Arch probably generated more enthusiasm from both the judges and audience.

Round 2 is here and this angry boxing coach offers more boxing/American Idol advice. This round is contestants choice of “new songs”. These would be the songs that won the songwriting competetion and will be whoever wins this thing's first single.

David Cook begins his song with guitar slung and I feel a little bad that Cook got stuck with this horrible song. The lights are visually offensive and the lyrics are absolutely brutal. The poor guy had no choice but to sing this hunk of junk and it did nothing to help his chances. Randy and Paula found it agreeable but Simon thought it was a “lightweight” performance. No doubt.

Archuleta’s new song is perfect for his first album entitled “Songs that will make you want to jump off a cliff”, out in time for the summer Idols tour. “This moment, nothing can take it away from me….” Goes the song, Randy wasn’t crazy about it but thinks he could sing the phone book, etc. "Fantastically self centered’ says Cowell. “Round 2 goes to Archuleta”.

Round three is contestants choice. Collective Soul’s “The World I have Known” or whatever, is David Cook's last opportunity to impress America and become the reigning champion of this competetion he accidentally entered. David cook, wait a minute- this is a song about a guy looking off the side of a building he is about to jump off but changing his mind at the last moment. I’d have to say this is a losing choice. If Archuleta does a decent job with “Imagine", David Cook comes in second place. Cook cries at the end of the song, as if he has just done something magnificent. The judges applaud it. Simon calls it “completely and utterly” the wrong song choice. I completely and utterly agree.

“Imagine” the John Lennon classic that Archuleta took the world by storm with a couple months back, is Archuleta’s final pick to wow America. A wise move indeed.

"Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man, imagine all the people, sharing for the world..." he sings. I don’t know if asking Americans to imagine a life without possessions is the way to secure tens of millions of votes, but then again Americans are pretty good about ignoring lyrics when convenient. That was a brilliant choice by Archuleta, who has now I think won this boxing match with a TKO. Randy Jackson claims that they knew all season it would come down to the two Davids, which I find hard to believe. “Stunning” says Paula, and Archuleta is on the verge of tears. Simon calls it "a knockout".

I think Cook's one good and two poor performances were no match for Archuleta’s 3 solid performances. This is what I have feared all season long, but I’m afraid it looks like it will happen. David Archuleta will be the next American Idol.

Ruben Studdard closes the show and its all but clear that he is celebrating David Cook home.

American Idol - The Top Three Results

We are one week away from the finale, and although these three final contestants are far from my favorites of the season, it looks like it will be a very close finish and I say it could go either Cook or Archuleta's way next week. First though, we must deal with Syesha once and for all.

Our finalists kick it off tonight with a lamer than usual singalong, this time it's "Aint no Stopppin us Now"

Tonight's Ford commercial features a Fortune Teller machine that dispenses keys to brand new Fords. Sweet.

56 million people voted last night and I am still pretty sure the least amount of them voted for Syesha.

Fantasia Barrino, American Idol winner #3, takes the stage and puts on a manic performance and while Simon looks very concerned, everyone else seems to be having a good time. Wow she has a lot of energy.

David Archuleta simply cannot stop saying "Oh my gosh" (or is it garsh) when he visits his hometown of Murray City, Utah. He also does a lot of crying. His mustached mayor proudly proclaims May 9, 2008 to be David Archuleta Day. D Arch doesn't seem to have a whole lot of male fans.

In Syesha's hometown of Sarasota, Florida, a County Commissioner is the one who announces Syesha Mercado day. That is way more impressive than just a mayor. Syesha's mayor even does a handstand in honor of Syesha. Of course, Syesha is in tears by the end of her trip home as well.

I never heard this story before about how David Cook wa not even going to try out, he just went along to Omaha with his little brother who was auditioning and a producer encouraged him to give it a whirl. That is pretty incredible. Back home in Kansas City, David Cook seems to have the most fans of all. He even gets a member of Congress to proclaim David Cook day. He has got Syesha and Archuleta beat there! That is probably a good indication of who will win next week-who got the most high powered politician to come out in support of them and their honorary day. Cook also throws out the first pitch at a Royals game. Looks like he's got a decent throwing arm, which is obviously also an important feature of an Idol champion.

On to results an after a little bit of ado, David Archuleta and David Cook are in the finale next week, and Syesha heads home. She of course goes out smiling, and doesn't seem to be too shocked by this news. She will be ok. Look for her in toothpaste commercials in the not too distant future.

Next week the finale will no doubt be a doozy as always, and I will be hoping for the lesser of two evil Davids to prevail.

American Idol - The Final Three

We are down to The Final Three, a high school student, an actress, and a bartender. This is the worst Final Three ever. Nonetheless I must trudge through a few more episodes, like sitting through the end of a terrible movie that you have wasted too much time on to walk away from.

Tonight each contestant will sing three songs, one they chose, one the judges chose and one the producers picked.

David Archuleta is informed by a large mustached guy at some county fair or something that Paula Abdul has chosen “And So it Goes” by Billy Joel. Give me a fucking break Paula. Randy thought Paula chose a "dope song", and "hes in the zone" and "in it to win it". Randy’s breaking out the big guns already. Paula loved it of course and Simon thought it was good, but predictable. “I don’t think it was outstanding…” "YES IT WAS!!" screams a crazed tweenie in front.

Syesha receives a txt from Randy, telling her she’ll be singing “If I Aint Got You” by Alicia Keys. Syesha loves Alica and this song. It is a gift from Randy, but I just think Syesha aint nearly cool enough to be attempting Alicia. That was another colgate white smile commercial from Syesha. Randy and Paula are proud and Simon wishes Randy would have chosen something where Syesha wouldn’t be doing an impression. It was a decent impression but Alicia is infinitely better than this actress.

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” is Simon's choice for David Cook, and what an unusual but brilliant choice it is. My man has done David Cook a huge favor with this unlikely Roberta Flack number, and the crowd goes wild. Randy echos Simon’s earlier critique, saying he wished he wouldn’t have chosen an older number like that and it was predictable. “Round one goes to Cook and Cowell” proclaims Simon, and I must concur.

“With You” by Chris Brown is David Archuleta’s choice, and what an odd pick. He’s awkwardly bouncing around and it’s just a strange affair all around. Randy thinks it was a bit weird, and David says “I totally understand, its weird to hear a white guy say ‘my boo’” According to Simon, it was like a chiwawua trying to take on a tiger. Archuleta merely laughs.

Syesha has chosen “Fever” and I will predict right now that she will not be will us next week. She is completely out of control. This would be an excellent audition for a burlesque show but it is not quite right for this advanced stage of American Idol. She struts all over the stage and puts as much effort into her performance and corny sex appeal theatrics as her singing. The judges all question this song choice, with Simon saying she would regret it. I for one am quite glad she will not be in the Finale.

"The appropriate song for the appropriate moment" is David Cook’s description of “Dare you to Move” by Switchfoot. I think they are a Christian alternative rock band. Simon will not like this one bit, he’s gone straight back to the 93X songs of years past. Again, worst Top Three ever. Randy thought it was pitchy, and not his best.
Paula rambles about wanting more and Simon thought it was ok.

“Longer” by Daniel Fogelburger or something is what some nameless producer picked for Archuleta, and what a lame song. The judges can’t really give Archuletra a hard time since this clunker wasn’t his idea but Simon says the song and lyrics were horrible. That’s funny hahah.

Syesha gets some club number and she does a pretty dead on Beyonce impression. I think she was a goner anyway but this will be the final nail in her coffin. Again she is overdoing the sex thing and is trying to shake her ass as if she has an as back there. I aint buying it for one second. Randy again thought it was just allright,
Paula informs us that the song is from Happy Feet, and there is some question about whether the song is about penguins before Simon shoots Syesha's dreams right in the bright smiling face by telling her it was not good enough to make it into the final round. Ouch. Simon is harsh but honest. Also, Syesha does a great impression of a dancing penguin.


David Cook closes the show with the Aerosmith monster hit/atrocity that is “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. You know, that torturous song from that horrible Armageddon movie. What an obnoxious way to end this particular night. The producers should not be given this indulgence next year.
Randy the articulate says it was "Just ok", "See you in the finals" says Paula and Simon thinks "David Cook wins the night!". He also says some bullshit about this being one of the great songs of all time. Once in a great while you have to question the taste and wisdom of a man who put the Power Rangers and the Teletubbies on record.

So there you have it folks, Syesha puts on a few last miserable performances before she goes back to the glamorous world of tv commercials. Of course we still have to wait and see that America found her as unimpressive as I did tonight.

American Idol - The Results 5/7

Over 50 million votes were cast last night, and the bottom three were less than one million votes from each other.

Out Final Four gather on stage to sing “Reeling in the Years”. What is the reason behind that? Is Steely Dan in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Ricky Minor takes a strange center stage guitar solo, and what a wretched group song that was.

Only four left, and only two will be safe from elimination. David Archuleta is in the Final Three.

Now for an Idolmania scene in Las Vegas, with Castro being assaulted with a kiss from a fan, Castro giving a dolphin a kiss, the finalists going to the Beatles Love circus show, etc. Then we’re back with David Cook learning his fate. Cook is safe as well, and all is as it should be in the world. Syesha and Castro have earned the fewest votes. No surprises there.

Tonight’s Ford commercial is a Matador theme with a dusty Mustang chasing the finalists, who are all suited up in crazy colorful bull killing outfits.

Next we take viewers’ stupid questions over the phone, and when asked whatr he's had to overcome during the competition, Jason Castro answers with ‘the dead brain’. I am not sure you have overcome that quite yet my friend. Simon is asked why he’s not been knighted, a question he cannot answer. This is a giant waste of time.

Maroon Five is back, and they get Paula up on her feet. I don’t know why they come on the show so often but I wish they would just stop. Then Bo Bice performs a song that is a ripoff of about 50 different songs at once. Again Paula is on her feet.

Back to results, and Seacrest walks us through all the relevant commentary from the judges on last night's episode, and Jason is reminded that he was instructed by Simon Cowell to pack his suitcase. Without missing a beat, Jason responds that he did in fact pack his suitcase. This dude is ready to go, and has been more uncomfortable each week for like a month now. America has cast the fewest votes for Jason Castro, and we must say goodbye to Jason and his uneasy chuckles and dead brain and sub par treatment of Mighty Bob and Minne Bob. So with one last poor representation of "I Shot the Sheriff", we say farewell to Jason Castro.

American Idol - the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Edition

Tonight’s theme is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and each of our four finalists will perform two songs each from those legendary artists who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

David Cook exemplifies what a bad song choice is with Duran Duran’s “Hungry like the Wolf” Seriously dude, wtf? It’s a totally lame, uninspired performance, and the judges aren’t that impressed, but Paula says something about still having an appetite or losing her appetite or something.

Syesha is up with “Proud Mary”, and she doesn’t seem to know that Tina Turner didn’t write the song. It’s clear at the outset that she is going to do a full on Tina impression and of course it comes off as stagey and overdone. She's almost out of control. It’s a good old Syesha screamfest that did no justice to John Fogerty or Tina Turner. Randy thinks she’s in the zone and she’s showing the heat, Paula has nothing but good things to say and Simon thought it was a bad impression of Tina Turner. Me too.

Jason Castro is next and he is singing a song that he likes and has never performed before. I am pretty sure there has never been a Bob Marley song on American Idol before now, and I’d say it’s a pretty gutsy, even dangerous move. He performs it without much enthusiasm or conviction, and it is far from his best. Again, it's like he's not really trying very hard, and he is continuing to go downhill. Randy and Paula aren’t with it, and no surprise that Simon finds it “utterly atrocious”...and thinks ”you cant do that!”

David Archuleta is singing "Stand by Me", a typically sentimental Archuleta number. He seems to be rushing the lyrics a bit, and even though it's not all that fun or entertaining, it was an outstanding vocal. I just wish he wasn’t such a goddamn dork. He even threw in something about beautiful girls for the chicas in the front row. Randy loves it, Paula loves it, and Simon takes another swipe at Castro, saying David could have whistled it and it would have been better than Jason, and D Arch had the best of the night so far.

David Cook is back with “Baba O’Reilly” from the Who. He changes up the arrangement, starting real slow and building up to…nothing. It actually sounded like it could have been very cool, but it didn’t go anywhere and suddenly it was over. Randy thinks he’s great. Paula wants more and is humbled by watching him, and Simon welcomes David Cook back to the competition with a warm smile.

Syesha is going to do “A Change Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. She acknowledges that it was written as an anthem for the civil rights movement, but it has taken on new meaning for her now that she is in the final four. That doesn’t sound quite right. Nor does the song, she is trying to make this a song about her future or something, all cheery and smiley, but it was nearing disrespectful. Randy thought it was disconnected and not good, and Paula blabbers on about Syesha's dreams coming true. Simon agrees with Paula. I think he’s putting his money on the last female contestant. Syesha cries and cries and cries and when given the opportunity repeats her whole intro about how much the song means and how much research she did and on and on.

Castro is sticking with the Bob, Dylan this time thankfully. This has a better chance. Until he forgets some of the words. A horrible stumble. Wow. Somehow he pushes forward and manages to remember all the rest of those crazy jingle jangle lyrics. "It is what it is" says Paula Abdul, "I'd pack your suitcase." says Simon. I'd have to agree.

“Love me Tender” is Archuleta's second choice of the evening, and he has slowed down a slow song, to the delight of ladies everywhere. Damn that guy can sing. Simon says he not only beat he comp he crushed them. David looks concerned for his competition, then thanks Simon. I think him and Cook are going to the finals.

Castro or Syesha must leave manana. And next week, the other of those two.