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Greek Theatre: Tori Amos

Greek Theatre: Tori Amos
with special guest One Eskimo
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 7:30 PM

She is one of my favorite artists to see live and I understand she loves to play the Greek.This tour was in support of her "Sinful Attraction" album which I love.

 Lotus and I did a Dine and ride plan and had a 3 course meal at the "Vermont". I would do this again because parking at the Greek sucks and the meal at the "Vermont" was great.

Getting tickets through Ticketmasters presale does not give you access to the best seats. I was not happy with our seats and next time would rather pay extra to a ticket broker for a better seat.

If you look below you can see that she sang 22 songs and gave us one hell of a show. Cornflake Girl is always one of my favorites.When it comes to her playing the piano she does it better then anyone else I know. I thought her energy level was infectious and she gave us a show of shows. On this tour she was backed up by her bassist and a drummer which showcased more of Tori's piano playing and voice.

Main Set

    * Give
    * Siren
    * Graveyard
    * Cornflake Girl
    * Icicle
    * Sugar
    * Marys Of The Sea
    * Bells For Her
    * Carbon
    * Liquid Diamonds

Lizard Lounge

    * Mary Jane
    * Jackie’s Strength

(band returns)

    * China
    * Curtain Call
    * Fast Horse
    * Space Dog
    * Mother Revolution
    * Precious Things
    * Strong Black Vine

Encore

    * Police Me
    * Big Wheel
    * Tear In Your Hand

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra: Blame It On Rio with Bebel Gilberto and Seu Jorge

Fireworks Finale with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra: Blame It On Rio
Sunday, September 13, 2009

Featured Artists:

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra with Thomas Wilkins, conductor

Seu Jorge, special guest

Bebel Gilberto, special guest

I came for Bebel Gilberto the Fireworks and not the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's rendition of Brazilian music. I did enjoy the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's perfromance of Matthew Naughtin's folkloric "Amazon Journey. The theme from "Somewhere in Time" they performed did not belong on the evening's Rio play list.

I have not hear of Seu Jorge the other guest star before that evening. He is known for the music he did for the movie "City of God". Later in the concert he gave us his interpretations of David Bowie in The Life Aquatic. He has a solo album Cru (Wrasse Records, 2005). Jorge was once a homeless kid in a favela (Brazilian slum) outside of Rio de Janeiro. Jorge landed the part of Knockout Ned in City of God, the film. I have mixed views on his music and would have to give him another listen on his recorded album before finalizing my opinions.

But as I stated earlier I was at the show for Bossa nova songstress Bebel Gilberto. She is the daughter of bossa nova guitar legend João Gilberto and the daughter of singer Miúcha.I have been captivated by her voice every since her brilliant debut album Tanto Tempo. Carlinhos Brown, the dreadlocked Bahian musician-producer did a duet with Bebel on "Aganju".

I have seen fireworks at the bowl before but this show's fireworks was outstanding. I caught myself Oh'ing and Ah'ing like a little kid.

Hollywood Bowl: Grace Jones • of Montreal • Dengue Fever

Grace Jones • of Montreal • Dengue Fever
Sunday, July 26, 2009, 7:00 PM
Grace Jones costume designer Eiko Ishioka

This is one of the best shows I have seen at the Bowl. Grace Jones just rocked the bowl on so many levels. She did 7 costume changes and bantered with the audience while she changed into the next costume.  I saw her during the disco area in NYC at the Saint at the height of her career. At 61-year-old she showed us that she has not lost any of her edginess or performance art approach to her style of performance. During her La Vie En Rose number she was in this stunning red dress. During the song she turned around for us to see that her back was totally bare. When she sang Hurricane and stood into a large fan the back of the dress floated in the air displaying the awesome power of wind like a hurricane my jaws dropped. What a performance artist who can sing and take us on a wild journey like no other performer.

The only disappointment was she ran out of time and did not get to sing my favorite "Slave to the Rhythm".

Below are some of the songs and costumes she wore during her performance.

Grace Jones' Set List with Costume
1. This Is Life

2. Williams Blood

3. My Jamaican Guy

4. La Vie En Rose

5. Love is the Drug

6. Corporate Cannibal

7. Devil in My Life
8. Demolition Man
9. Libertango

10. Hurricane

encore
11. Pull Up to the Bumper

Hollywood Bowl: Sergio Mendes • Eddie Palmieri • Poncho Sanchez

Sergio Mendes • Eddie Palmieri • Poncho Sanchez

Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 8:00 PM
Poncho Sanchez opened the evening and got everyone in the mood for some great Latin jazz. His band was tight and his personality infectious. Poncho Sanchez covered Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver and even Parliament-Funkadelic. Puerto Rican piano titan Eddie Palmieri is the ultimate musician and I enjoyed his set very much. Eddie Palmieri's New York crew offered a ferocious rip through Thelonious Monk's "In Walked Bud."

I was of course really excited to hear Sergio Mendes again because I love Bossa Nova and his Brazil 66 music. About a third of the program was given over to a string of rappers, including Q-Tip. When he added the rap addition to his set as he did last year I was bored and waited for the set to end. He performed Brazil 66 classics like Berimbau, Agua de Beber, and Mas Que Nada. I was excited to see and hear the original Brazil 66 singer Lani Hall take the stage.

Mariza @ Walt Disney Hall

Mariza @ The Walt Disney Hall - March 18, 2009

Mariza: The word fado means destiny, it means fate. Fado is a music that come from the traditional neighborhoods where the working classes settled down centuries ago, like the Alfama in Lisbon. They were the ones who started singing in the beginning. Fado happened in the taverna, with wine and people sitting around tables just singing. Fado players weren't professional; they had other jobs -- a plumber, a taxi driver or something like that. But they knew how to play the Portuguese guitar and they knew another person who knew how to sing it.

Last night I was treated to an amazing performance by Portugal's leading Fado singer Mariza. She was accompanied by a group of gifted musicians. Angelo Freire on the pear-shaped, 12-string Portuguese guitar; Diogo Clemente on classical guitar; Marino de Freitas on bass; Simon James on piano and trumpet; and drummer-percussionist Vicky Marques. What was equally amazing is Angelo her guitarrista is only 19 years old.

She is a gifted and talented singer with an incredible voice. She moved me as she did everyone in the audience. She connected to the audience on many different levels. Her storries and banter with the audience and her fellow musicians made the large hall seem small and intimate.

She was gracious and honored to perform in the Disney Hall built by her personal close friend Frank Gerhy who was in the audience. In an interview Gerhy stated, "When I met Mariza and heard her sing I was immediately connected to a whole bunch of things and Lisbon became symbolic of the greatest place on earth". "Once she did a concert here, I was staggered by how she understood this room quickly. She just got it," said Gehry as he sat with Mariza on stage, the soaring ceiling overhead."I would like to see her more visible in the U.S. and I would like people to hear about and understand the connection between Southern California and Lisbon, the light, and the quality and the character of life." "When I hear her sing, she represents Lisbon to me. Maybe it's my own fantasy and I've built it up into something. But she does. It's Lisbon and Lisbon is a great story."

My favorite song of the evening was "Beijo de Saudade" (Kiss of Yearning), a song she did on the latest record "terra" with Tito Paris a famous Cape Verde singer. Introducing her rendition of "Beijo de Saudade" (Kiss of Yearning), she announced that "This song has a little perfume from Cape Verde." She concluded the number, sung half in Portuguese and half in Creole, by blowing a kiss to the audience. It reminded me of one of my favorite Cape Verde singer Cesaria Evora.

In her introduction to her song "Tasco de Mouraria" (Tavern in Mouraria), she cited her recollections of "the glasses of red wine, the smell of the chorizo" in the family tavern.During her encore she treated the audience to her rendetion of "Cry Me A River" she brought the house down.

Discography:
"Fado em Mim" (2001), "Fao Curvo"(2003), "Transparente" (2005), "Concerto Em Lisboa" (2006), Terra" (2008)



Links: Website    Links:YouTube

Paris Piano Trio

The Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary's College
Chamber Music in Historic Sites.

Paris Piano Trio
Régis Pasquier, violin; Roland Pidoux, cello; Jean-Claude Pennetier, piano

They performed the trios by Fauré (in d, Op. 120) and Ravel along with the virtuosity and passion of Rachmaninov (No. 2 in d, Op. 9, “Elégiaque”).

This was our first concert as part of the The Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary's College series Chamber Music in Historic Sites.

The setting was Doheny Mansion, Pompeian Room. Both lavish and eclectic in its design, the Doheny Mansion was built for the Oliver P. Posey family in 1899 by the firm of Theodore Eisen and Sumner Hunt.French Chateauesque influenced by Gothic, English Tudor and even California Mission. The Pompeian Room's spectacular Tiffany glass dome of gold-favrile glass and surrounding art-glass panels where done by the Los Angeles Art Glass Company.

What I loved about these programs is they are bringing back the idea of a Salon in historical places. I always wish I could of transported back in time when Salons where in fashion. To be in the Doheny Pompeian room listening to this caliber of musical artistry was inspiring.

The Trio's first major tour of the United States, in January 1998, won superlatives from critics and presenters across the country.The Trio's recordings include Tchaikovsky and Shostakovitch on the Lyrinx label in 1998, the trios of Schubert and Brahms, and the chamber music of Chausson on the Harmonia Mundi label, all released under the name "Les Musiciens," by which they are known in Europe . 

Paris Piano Trio

Program

G. Fauré (1845-1924)
Piano Trio in d, Op. 120
            Allegro, ma non troppo
            Andantino
            Allegro vivo

M. Ravel (1875-1937)
Piano Trio
            Modéré
            Pantoum:  Assez vif
            Passacaille:  Très large
            Finale:  Animé

S. Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Trio élégiaque in d, Op. 9
            Moderato
            Quasi variazione
            Allegro risoluto

KCRW's World Music Festival July 27, 2008 Hollywood Bowl

Derrhoof: I am sorry but Deerhoof should never had the opportunity to play at the bowl. They where not at the level musically IMHO to warrant such an venue. They were really bad both as musicians and vocal artist.

.
Senegalese Singer Fallou Dieng was a pleasant surprise but miscast for this event.

Gnarls Barkley CRAZY
Gnarls Barkley "Crazy"

 
I was really looking forward to Gnarls Barkley and Danger Mouse. I love his song Crazy and he did a great live version. Their performance was electric but the volume drowned out everybody on the stage. It was one big loud sound that really took away from the performance. It was a shame because I really like their material. I saw a lot of people leaving more then the usual.

Gnarls Barkley - Gone Daddy Gone (Live Abbey Road 2007)

KCRW's World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl

Sunday, June 29, 2008, 7:00 PM
Featured Artists:
Gilberto Gil
Devendra Banhart
The Album Leaf featuring Mike Heron from The Incredible String Band

This was the worst pairing of performers planned by KCRW's World Festival team. Why do they think people who are into Gilberto Gil would want to hear Devendra Banhart  or The Album Leaf. You had Gilberto Gil with his breezy tropicalia, bossa nova and sultry samba matched with Banhart bad version of modern rock-tinged folk with classic world traditions. Don't even get me going on how bad The Album Leaf featuring Mike Heron from The Incredible String Band were that night!

I believe I have a wide interest in music but this match up made no sense at all. Gilberto Gil was great and took us through a musical history of Brazilian music. To me the only distraction in his preformance was a new song he did that had some rap and hard rock influence. I do not know why Brazils top Bossa Nova artist need to venture into rap or hard rock. Sergio Mendes did the same thing at his last bowl performance. There is nothing wrong with Bossa Nova today or in the future.

Donna Summers at the Hollywood Bowl Aug 23rd 2008

Donna Summers played the Hollywood Bowl for two nights August 22nd and 23rd. We went to the Saturday night show and the show was sold out. The crowd was very mixed from young to old. She did several numbers from her new 2008 release Crayons, which has produced two No. 1 dance singles, “I’m A Fire” and “Stamp Your Feet". I enjoyed  “I’m A Fire” but did not like the over produced “Stamp Your Feet". I really did not like a lot of her other new material. She was trying to hard to fit into todays pop musical flavor of the month. One of her producers was involved with High School Musical. That speaks volumes if you know what I mean.

She really had the crowd going when she stuck to her classics like "I Feel Love","MacArthur Park," "Bad Girls," "Hot Stuff," "Dim All The Lights," "On The Radio," "She Works Hard For The Money" and "Enough Is Enough. The biggest problem was she would get the crowd on the feet with her older material and then stop the momentum cold with her new material. I would of rather heard a few of her new at the beginning and then finish with all of the old. What she did not sing was her 1975 international hit, “Love to Love You Baby,” which was produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.

I was glad I went but equally disappointed in her new material.

First set: Overture (instrumental) / The Queen Is Back / I Feel Love / Dim All the Lights / I’m a Fire / Sand on My Feet / On the Radio / Mr. Music / Crayons

(Intermission)

Second set: No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) / MacArthur Park / Bring Down the Reign / Stamp Your Feet / Slide Over Backwards / Selah (sung by backing vocalist Mary Bernard) / She Works Hard for the Money / Bad Girls / Hot Stuff

Encore: Fame (The Game) / Last Dance

Police at the Hollywood Bowl

Andy Summers,Stewart Copeland and Sting

Song Set:

Bring On the Night
Message In A Bottle
Walking On the Moon
Demolition Man
Voices Inside My Head
When the World Is Coming Down, You Make the Best Of What’s Still Around
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
Driven To Tears
There’s A Hole In My Life
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
I Can’t Stand Losing You
Roxanne

Encore Song Set:

King of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breathe You Take

Opening Act: Elvis Costello

I have seen a lot of live bands and I mean a LOT! The Police exceeded all of my expectations and I had a LOT! They were in top form in every manner. They "Rocked the House" and I rocked with them. The played their hearts out and the crowd loved it. Andy Summer really showed the crowd that he was a master guitarist. Sting not only was in great vocal form he took bass playing up a few notches. Stewart played hard all night and did not need the band to stop the music for a drum solo to prove his chops.

I enjoyed the closeup video of them playing projected behind the band to make it seem more intimate. We had great garden box seats which we used as our personal dance floor throughout the night. I love the bowl and seeing them in this venue was magical. I am not a big fan of stadium concerts so I was happy to see them do a set at the bowl.