American Idol - The Top 36 Part II

Last week, Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace and Michael Sarver won the most votes to advance into the Top 12, leaving Anoop and Tatiana behind. Hopefully Anoop can still find his way into the finals with some luck in the Wild Card round. This week we see the second group of twelve perform and Jasmine Murray is first up.

"Love Song" is her choice and although she has an ok voice there is absolutely no way she is going forward.

Matt Giraud is next and he takes up a Chris Martin impression for "Viva la Vida", complete with the Coldplay hop. Judges and fans alike are disappointed that he did not go the soul route and It's unlikely that he will not be dueling at a piano again by this time next week.

Jeanne Vailes decides on Maroon 5's "This Love". As the Governator would say, "Big mistake." What a dumb song and she did a horrible job singing it, but the judges agree she has great legs.

Nick Mitchell is up with his take on "I'm Telling You" and although the crowd loves him and I must admit it was somewhat entertaining, the judges must be kicking themselves for allowing this joker to use their stage to launch his William Hung-esque career. He should have took the whole thing seriously and maybe he would have had a shot, as he's got a decent voice when he wants to.

Allison Iraheta chooses Heart's "Alone" after a brutally boring interview with Seacrest, and instantly redeems herself. Wow. Best voals from a female yet in the Top 36. She better go on.

Kris Allen-who is this guy? He sings Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and it seems like an odd choice at first, but it had some really great moments and this dude can perform. The ladies will like him and it's a crime we have not seen him for one second all season.

Megan Joy Corkery does Corinne Bailey Rae "Put Your Records On". Her tattoos apparently make her modern and relevant to the judges, but she can't compete with the show that Allison just put on. She's got that crackly voice thing going on, but I don't like it one bit.

Matt Breitzke, the big fella, chooses "If You Could Only See", a song straight off late 90's light rock radio. Boo. Matt has a pretty good voice but shows a lack of style and will not make it through.

Jesse Langseth is the second young woman from Minneapolis to sing in the To p36 and her chances of making it are little better than Bubble Tea maker Casey Carlson. That's a shame, because Jessie is Johnny Lang's little sis and I bet she can really sing the blues. Tonight though, she does not appear to have done herself any favors with "Betty Davis Eyes".

Kai Kalama, I like this guy. I do not like his decision to throw it back to 1966 with "What becomes of the Brokenhearted". Such a forgettable performance that he will unfortunately find out what becomes of the brokenhearted. Better luck next time, with something from our generation.

Mishavonna Henson continues the bad pop song theme of Matt and Jeanne with Train's "Drops of Jupiter" aka the "deep fried chicken" song. Man what a bad song. Adios Mishavonna.

Adam Lambert takes on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and while it at first seems like way too theatrical and overdone, he manages to put his own little spin on it and ends of doing a good job with it. If he does not make it through he can expect to do well on Broadway.

So tonight's winners were, hands down, Allsion Iraheta with the power vocals, Chris Allen the talented unknown and either Adam Lambert or Nick Mitchell. Hopefully Adam.

American Idol - The Top 36 Part I

After what seemed like an unusually arduous nine hours of the audition process and another three of the Hollywood round, we have met our Top 36 and the live performances and voting have finally begun. The first batch of twelve contestants has their pick of any song that has ever been in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 Charts.

Jackie Tohn is first and her loungey rendition of Elvis's "Little Less Conversation" guarantees this will be her final week on American Idol. The judges love her moves?! Paula says "I've always loved you" and she is a "true performer". Abdul is starting with the bullshit right away I see. Simon gets his first boos of the season as he tells the truth. Also - what hideous 80's Nike high tops she's wearing.

Rick Braddy predictably is accompanied by the Braddy Bunch, and his "A Song for You" was decent but I don't think will make the grade. This visiting with the parents business is already getting old.

Alexis Grace, the cute pink haired chick, sings Aretha's "Never Loved a Man" and even though it is straight up weak. She doesn't have a strong enough voice to be attempting that kind of song. Inexplicably, the judges love it. They are in a good and/or forgiving mood.

Brent Keith is 29, old for an Idol contestant, and is singing "Hicktown". He's got a decent voice but what a lame song. Are there really enough people out there who embrace being hicks that he'll survive? No.

Stevie Wright is just 17 and goes for a little Taylor Swift to show her youth. It is, to use the words of my man Cowell, absolutely dreadful. Man she really sounded bad. Finally Randy is ready to say "it wasn't great". Master of Understatement, that Randy Jackson is. Simon rightly remarks that she has "Zero chance of making it". Ouch.

Anoop Desai is the man, even though made the ridiculous decision to perform Bobby Brown's "My Perogative" in Hollywood. If he can steer clear of more bad song choices he's got a chance of making it to the next round. "Angel of Mine" is tonight's selection, and while it was a little boring, he did pretty well with it. Simon mentions his "massive likeablity".

Casey Carlson, the lovely young woman from Minneapolis does the Police's "Every Little Thing She Does" and every little moment of that was disappointing if not excruciating. Simon calls it "atrocious" and unfortunately that's about the last of her we'll see. We still have one Minneapolis chick to go in the next couple weeks, Jessie Langseth. She is Kid Johnny Lang's kid sister.

Micael Sarver, the oil rig Roughneck, is sporting a shirt with an enormous and glamorous cross on either side of it, and sings that stupid Gavin Degraw song. Song sucks but he performed it ok.

Anne Marie Boscovich's take on Aretha's "Natural Woman" starts out allright then quickly tanks. She just aint got the chops for that song. Why do these girls insist on trying Aretha?

Stephen Fowler showed so much promise that despite forgetting the lyrics twice in Hollywood and walking off the stage in frustration without finishing the song, he has made it this far. His choice of Michael Jackson's "Rock with You" seems like a good idea at first, but he looked nervous and missed some important notes. Paula refers to the song as the "kiss of death" for anyone but MJ himself.

Tatiana Del Toro shocks the world with her impressive version of Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love For You". Seriously, I don't think anyone saw that coming. She has proved her tendency to go (way) over the top, but she managed to keep her voice under control and pretty much nailed that song. The other girls hate her. Her floral dress is humorously ugly, as is her inappropriate plea directly to voters as Seacrest debriefs her on the couch upstairs. "Thank you America, please vote for me, this is my dream and it's up to you to make it come true." That's a lot of responsibility to put on voters sweetheart. Well if she doesn't make the cut that is probably why. She had the best female vocal performance of the night hands down, but that last display of desperation and rambling when she was only supposed to make a cute 11 gesture with her hands may do her in. She really showed some unexpected composure until that last moment.

Last up is Danny Gokey, the church music teacher whose wife passed away. He is an early frontrunner, and although his pick of Mariah Carey's "Hero" is a little preachy, his talent is undeniable. It's a little early in the season for inspiration of this nature, but I suppose I'll let it slide, what with the dead wife and all. Why this song Danny, why? "Because I fucking can, James" would be his response. Possibly without the cursin'. Fair enough. Of course, Paula can't resist calling Danny a hero and she pictures "sold out arenas". He'll be tough to beat for the guys this week.

So making it to the Top 12 will be Danny Gokey, Tatiana (unless her last ditch effort to obtain votes turned off enough Americans-She's probably lost the modest midwestern vote-in which case Alexis Grace will advance) and the third will be either Annop Desai or Stephen Fowler. Season 8 is on!

Broken Billy @ the Cabooze 1/28

Featuring Ian Alexy on guitar, Jimmy Rogers on bass and Royce Rock on drums, Broken Billy is one talented trio.

God Johnson performs Appetite for Destruction 2/14

After successfully paying tribute to Talking Heads and The Rolling Stones at past album themed shows, God Johnson took on what Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed the 61st best album of all time, Appetite for Destruction. I would have to put it in my Top 10 most influential records of my youth. It's hard to overstate just how important this album was. It was the first tape I ever owned. Sure, I had Thriller on record and a few tapes I called my own, the Top Gun Soundtrack among the earliest, but Appetite was something new and exciting and wonderfully rebellious but not entirely relatable and/or understandable for a 9 year old boy in suburban Minnesota. Still something spoke to me, and millions of other young rock and roll fans. I suppose it was the Paradise City video, or the Welcome to the Jungle video at first. These are some of the best songs of that decade.





Of course the Paradise City video is one of the coolest videos ever, but Axl won't let me embed it here.



I remember being at Target and my mom being pretty skeptical about getting this particular cassette tape for me, with its blasphemous cover featuring five long haired skulls adorning a cross. (That was the cover that was not banned. The original cover, what became the artwork inside the album cover was even more shocking.) The record, of course, has so much booze and sex and violence and cursing in it that certain songs mandated that the volume be turned down so as to not get in trouble or go to hell. I also had an awesome black-light poster of the cover in my bedroom.

Discussing the relevance of the album on our collective musical development with friends before the show, I realized I was not the only one whose first tape was GnR's Appetite. For many in the audience at Trocadero's on Saturday night, seeing Appetite for Destruction performed in its entirety was like seeing a friend from the distant past, one you forgot you appreciated so much back in the day. Choosing Valentine's Day for such a bold performance only added to its brilliance.

Like the other album tributes, GJ did it right. The universal symbols of Axl Rose and Slash were prominent: the red bandana atop the lead singer and Slash's signature top hat/long curly black hair obscuring modern day Slash Jason Fladager. Every song rocked, as did Steve Davern as Axl, who also helped with vocal duties on the Sticky Fingers tribute. He nailed Axl shriek after marvelous Axl shriek as he lead the crowd in what was essentially a 12 song singalong.







Following the spectacular GnfnR set, GJ threw down some funk on "The Wrath" and Scott Rourke revisited his David Byrne persona. With God Johnson playing fewer shows these days, hearing a set of their own tunes was a perfect nightcap.










Opening the show was Absolut Gruv, who were impressive and ended their set with a nice Elizabeth Reed featuring GJ frontman Jason Fladager.

The Dead to Perform at Obama Inauguration, or Worst President Ever > Best President Ever

Like the Obama Steal Your Face logo created for the first of two Obama fundraisers during the campaign, it just doesn't get much cooler than this. The Dead will play an Inauguration ball in Washington D.C. the night the Best President Ever takes over for the Worst President Ever. Dozens of other prominent and awsome artists are taking place in events that will begin several days before the actual beautiful transfer of power. Other artists celebrating will be

Bruce Springsteen
Bono
Beyonce
Mary J. Blige
Herbie Hancock
John Legend
John Mellencamp
Usher Raymond IV
Shakira
James Taylor
will.i.am
Stevie Wonder.

Some of these concerts will be shown live by HBO.

I love America.

Phil Lesh: “...And that’s why I always say there’s nothing more American than The Grateful Dead.”



From Relix.com

https://www.relix.com/Features/Daily_News/The_Dead_to_Perform_at_Obama_Inauguration_200901153637.html

The surviving members of the Grateful Dead will perform in Washington, DC this coming Tuesday as part of Barack Obama’s Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball. Also on the bill is DJ Cassidy.

Other recent additions to the inaugural festivities include: The Derek Trucks Band with Susan Tedeschi and Wil Gravatt Band at the Southern Ball Common, Jack Johnson and Don Cagen Orchestra at the President Obama Home States Ball, Maroon 5 at the Vice President Biden Home States Ball, Sheryl Crow and Fabulous Motown Revue at the Midwestern Ball, James Taylor and Liquid Pleasure with Kenny Mann at the Eastern Ball, Yolanda Adams, Carole King, BeBe Winans and Dartmouth Gospel Choir at Finance Welcome Brunch, Carole King at the Bi-Partisan Dinner at Union Station, Honoring Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Faith Hill at the Bi-Partisan Dinner at the National Building Museum, Honoring General Colin Powell and Patti LaBelle at Bi-Partisan Dinner at the Hilton Washington, Honoring Senator John McCain.

The President-Elect’s staff had already lined up an impressive mix of musicians for the high-profile series of events, ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Beyonce to John Mellencamp to Usher to Bettye LaVette, Stevie Wonder and Bono.

The announcement should come as no surprise to Deadheads. Last February, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Heart put aside their differences to play a joint Obama benefit at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre and, this past October, the reformed Dead played its first show since 2004 at an Obama benefit held in State College, PA. Likewise, Weir, Hart, Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Dead guitarist Warren Haynes, onetime Grateful Dead keyboardist Bruce Hornsby and Phish bassist Mike Gordon performed at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s inauguration party in 2007.

Weir cited RatDog’s election-night performance in Washington, DC as his 2008 favorite performance in the answers to his Relix "Year in Review" questionnaire. “Not because it was us, but because of the night,” he said after some thought.

When asked about the Grateful Dead community by Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools in the February/March issue of Relix, Lesh remarked, “It’s not just the music. I mean, look what Obama did. It’s a seed of a community of various types.” He also used a question pertaining to Obama’s belief in a “team of rivals” to riff on the current state of American politics. “[The idea of a consensus has] been lost, it really has, with all this ideological culture war bullshit,” Lesh says. “And that’s why I always say there’s nothing more American than The Grateful Dead.”

The Dead will kick off its first tour since 2004 at Greensboro, NC’s Greensboro Coliseum on April 12. The group appears on the cover of the February/March issue of Relix .

Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank @ the Cabooze 12/28

Having recently returned from a trip out west opening for Trampled by Turtles that reportedly saw a great many full houses, The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank were in prime shape for a late December Sunday night show at the Cabooze. After a nice opening set from the Pistol Whippin Party Penguins, the place had a great crowd ready for some rock. Brothers Ian and Teague Alexy were joined by sometimes drummer Paul Grill for an energetic set that brought us favorites like "2010", "Holyoke" and "Minnesota Song".
(I just noticed that the version of that tune on Myspace boasts guest Marco Benevento doing some big time piano work.
http://www.myspace.com/hobonephewsofunclefrank)

Guest fiddler Ryan Young (of TBT and Pert Near Sandstone) joined for a few songs and incited more feverish grooving on the dance floor. These guys always throw down and put on a great show. You can catch them on Feb 14th along with TBT and Two Many Banjos at the Cabooze in what will surely be a sold out show and a hootin Happy Valentines Day.

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings @ The Pantages 12/2

Here in Minnesota, we have a State Fair so damn cool that they provided free Sharon Jones shows for fairgoers the first two nights of the yearly great Minnesota get together. So, fortunately this was the second time this season we got to see Sharon Jones and her fantastic funk soul backing band, The Dap Kings. Ms. Jones is simply phenomenal, and her energy is virtually unmatched in today's music biz. Our seats at downtown Minneapolis' beautiful Pantages Theatre were in the second row of the Orchestra Pit, but we were informed by security during the opening band's set that the seats would be removed and it would be a free for all dance party in front of the stage. No big surprise there, but Brianna managed to stay front and center the entire show and take what are some of the coolest concert photographs ever. Dig: