Over the weekend a few friends and I headed to Charlotte, NC for a much needed reprieve from NYC. While there, we checked out a pretty sweet roster of singer-song writers at The Evening Muse in downtown Charlotte. Among the performers was The Benjy Davis Project, led by, Benjy Davis (go figure!).
You can check out the full recap of The Benjy Davis Projectset as well as Tony Lucca’s(love this man!) at my music site: The Round Table. But, I wanted to share that I picked up the group’s latest cd, Dust, at the show and I’m obsessed with it, especially this one song called “Still Sweet.” Why you ask? Well, because of this perfect little verse:
Just because we had some good times, doesn’t mean I miss them
I’ve been seeing blue skies every day
But I guess the truth of the matter is that I’ve been madder at you than you’ve been at me
I’m still bitter
And you’re still sweet
Um… can we say perfection? Well, almost perfect, I can’t say that you’re “still sweet,” but I’m most definitely still bitter. Listen to the full track below.
I don’t condone violence at all — but the Perez Hilton/Will i. am incident is ridiculous. Feel free to read my full take at The Round Table, but for those just interested in seeing what Kelly had to say check the video below. Perez talk starts around 3:40 mark — be sure to keep watching until 4:49 mark when interviewer tells Kelly that Perez was actually crying on their talk show. Kelly’s reaction is classic.
All I have to say is — Perez, if Kelly Clarkson, quite possibly the nicest celeb on the planet is talking smack, you definitely made some enemies in the entertainment world.
Yeah, I’m on the Twilight bandwagon. Have been for quite some time. I feel like it’s my “tween” obession I had to latch on to since I was never a fan of the Harry Potter book series. Well, in all fairness, I’ve loved Kristen Stewart aka KStew for quite sometime – not just for her acting chops, but also because of her attitude. You can tell she doesn’t give a crap about all the headlines, gossip rags and blockbuster status – she just wants to create movies she believes in (check out Land of Women!). I mean, I can’t hate on an 18 yr old for that thought pattern when we have so many limelight suckers in this world.
Also, I kinda love the fact that she clearly is messing with Rob Pattinson’s head. Prime example from MTV Movie Awards when they won “best kiss.” Yes, I know it was staged between the actors, but she makes playing hard to get look soo damn easy. You go, KStew.
The fine folks at Current tv warn us about Twitter overkill thanks to celebrity invasion of the site. Twitter, once a micro-blogging site used by early adopters, tech geeks, and let’s face it, PR folks, to communicate with others, has now become as mainstream as it can get with everyone from Perez Hilton, Oprah Winfrey, and yes, even Britney Spears (or more appropriately her handlers) keeping us up on all that they’re doing.
Yup, it’s oh so exciting. At the very least, the video is good for a laugh – if you can get passed the fact that they made P.Diddy sound like Ja Rule. “It’s Muuuurrrrddaaaaa.”
Keri Hilson tends to be a “watercooler” topic for me and my buddy Opaul to discuss at The Round Table. Basically, it boils down to both of us wanting more from Keri and for her not to fall into what we affectionately call the “Christina Milian trap.”
The Christina Milian trap is essentially being pigeon-holed into a songwriter who gives all her hot tracks to other female performers and blow up their status. Keri Hilson is definitely going down this track as of late — which is sad because I had such high hopes for her after catching her during Justin Timberlake’s FSLS tour. During the show’s intermission, Timbaland had Keri cover current hits of the moment, including Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone” aka SUBG.
Now, SUBG was covered by everyone from Robyn, The Gossip, Ted Leo, and even The Aquabats, but what set Keri’s rendition apart was the subtle R&B touch. The beat is pretty generic, standard Timbaland fare, but it works. Peep Keri’s version below. In the meantime, I’ll take some solace in that Keri’s starting to release moderately good tunes in “Knock You Down” and “Turnin Me On” (remix), but I’m still waiting on her to full on SING a damn track vs. relying on catchy beats to do the talking.
It’s no secret I’m a March Madness junkie — I also happen to be a big fan of Guitar Hero. While, the original commerical re-enacting the scene from “Risky Business” featuring Arod and Michael Phelps was absolutely creepy — I’d say Guitar Hero’s ad firm hit the nail on the head with this one.
Yup, it features 4 of college basketball’s greatest coaches (at least the ones that can still slide across a floor without breaking a hip). So, check out Rick Pitino, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams and Bob Knight’s ode to “Risky Business.”
The only problem is Metallica’s presenence – FAIL. I’m still mad at them for Napster.
Um, I can’t even tell you how many quarters I used to pump in this game while vacationing as a kid with my folks in Virgina Beach. The total is probably around a year of college tuition, which is sad in itself. Needless to say, when I saw Skate or Die can be played online now, I pissed myself. Amazing. Skate on kiddies. You’re welcome.
Wanted to share my recent recap of Tony Lucca and Sara Bareillies performance from last night. Be sure to stop by The Round Table to share your thoughts/comments….
Last night Sara Bareillies brought her “Gravity” tour to New York City’s famed Joe’s Pub for the second show of a three set series. Joe’s Pub is an NYC gem of a venue for music lovers looking to experience a live show in an intimate setting. Bareilles’ stage decor embraced the intimate theme as it resembled a cozy living room, which only enhanced her stripped down, acoustic performance.
I’ve seen Sara Bareillies perform once before at Irving Plaza, but I left that show feeling a bit underwhelmed by her, in hindsight now seeing her at Joe’s, I realize that the Irving Plaza venue didn’t do her much justice.
Bareilles took to the stage around 8p and immediately launched into witty stage banter with the crowd and encouraged a very interactive environment – asking fans to sing along, dance, clap, or just shout things at her – but “no throwing objects, because it hurts.” Bareilles said she liked intimate venues and often treats them as an episode of VH1’s Storytellers, which the crowd got a kick out of. She then talked about feeling guilty for recycling the same jokes from the night before and vowed to give us something different — then launched into a humorous ad-lib teaser of “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor with the help of her immensely talented percussionist (and vocalist) Joshua Day.
Though Bareilles performed the staples of her debut album Little Voice like “Bottle it Up,” “Love Song,” “Vegas,” and “Come Round Soon,” she gave these tracks a fresh twist by re-arranging them to fit with her acoustic backing of guitar player, double bass player, and percussionist as she switched from piano to guitar on occasion. She also mixed in some new material she’s been working on, which has a lot of promise. I’m especially excited for “Gonna Get Over You,” which as Bareilles described it is a song about “depression — which is best encased in a happy sound beat.” Um…I know, right up my alley! My second favorite moment was Bareilles closing out the show with “Gravity” accompanied by herself on piano – absolutely break-taking, no one moved through out the song.
Last night I left with a new respect for Sara Bareillies, realizing she is a true talent. It’s hard to gauge a performer these days because let’s face it – it’s way too easy to make anyone sound good in a recording studio. The true test is seeing someone perform in an acoustic setting – and Sara Bareilles proved she has both the talent as a song-writer and the chops as a singer to play in the big leagues. She’s also pretty wise for selecting Tony Lucca as an opener for her tour.
I’ve talked about Tony in the past quite a bit – so you know how much I adore this man. He’s a true true talent that is deserving of mass attention. I’m thinking he won over quite a few Sara Bareilles fans last night at the show with his inspired performance. Typically a love song kinda guy, Tony went for a more politically fueled performance while working out some new material as well, including “True Story,” which he was stoked is getting spun on Sirius Radio Coffee Shop channel. Thankfully, f he also managed to squeeze in two of my favorite tracks from his older catalogue: “Melancholy Collar,” “Death of Me” and “Pretty Things.”
You can view pictures and clips of last night’s performances at my Flickr page. Set lists below as well as video clips.
Sara Bareillies:
Goodbye Song
Fairytale (aka “Feminist anthem”)
One Sweet Love
Come Round Soon
Vegas
Bottle it Up
Love Song
Gonna Get Over You
Many the Miles (aka “many the shit”)
Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (U2 cover)
Gravity (solo on piano)
Tony Lucca:
Melancholoy Collar
Close Enough
Giving It All Away
I Can, I Will, I Do
True Story
Death of Me
Pretty Things
I know I had some fun with the whole Rihanna/Chris Brown saga on my last post, but really that isn’t representative of how I really feel about the incident – truly it’s been weighing heavy on my heart. I was headed up to Boston for a work trip really early the other day and I had this sensation that I needed to write about it.
While waiting for my train to depart, I started penning a post at The Round Table entitled ” ‘Rehab:’ Foreshadowing of Rihanna’s Abuse?” At first, I wasn’t sure where it came from. I mean, I have been listening to a ton of Rihanna as of late – but couldn’t figure out why until after I had an exchange with my friend and fellow writer, AP, who put what I was feeling into perspective.
I started thinking about those robotic tendencies, a certain coldness I once bashed her for, and all of a sudden it clicked and made sense (or at least in my mind) that maybe this is much deeper than just an isolated event.. Again, all the facts aren’t out there yet, so I don’t want to speculate too much, but still I’m intrigued.
This morning I was on my favorite gossip site, ONTD, when I saw this vlog from IllDoctrine.com called “Beyond Chris and Rihanna,” where he sits down with VIBE writer, Elizabeth Mendez Berry, for persepctive on the situation. Mendez-Berry penned the piece called “Love Hurts – ‘Rap’s Black Eye’” which asks the question: How much is hip hop’s culture to blame for violence on women? She explored personal accounts of wives of hip hop stars, most notably the story of Liza Rios, the wife of the late Big Punisher.
Mendez-Berry was careful in choosing her words regarding Chris and Rihanna, like we all are, but still she brings to light a pretty alarming statistic “the number one cause of death for women ages 15-45 is intimate partner homicide by men.” She admits to not be so concerned with the Chris/Rihanna story vs. the story of millions of women nationwide who don’t receive the attention they should. It’s a pretty eye-opening look at the situation – you can check it out below.
Check out this pint size singer cover Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It” into Lou Reed’s “Walking on the Wild Side.” Love her. Peep the new video for “Tonight” at the Round Table.
