Saturday, March 30, 2013

Mandy Patinkin Tarrytown Music Hall 3/30/13


I went to hear Mandy Patinkin, because I am a Grobanite and Josh keeps mentioning Mandy.  First, Josh mentioned him as the kind of performer that Josh aspired to be before he met David Foster.  Second, Josh has mentioned Mandy as a potential running mate for the 2016 presidential campaign, when Josh will be 35 and therefore old enough to be President.

The Tarrytown Music Hall is an old theater that was first a Music Hall, then a movie theater, and now a Music Hall again.  It's in need of repairs, but the community is working on it.  It's a community project to maintain and renovate it.   I don't know exactly how many people it seats -- maybe 300?  maybe 500? I'm not sure.  It's got great acoustics.

I am grateful to say that this concert was not overamplified, unlike the Chris Botti concert I heard in the same hall a few weeks back.

It was just Mandy and a piano, very simple, very effective.

Mandy has great stage presence, great timing, a masterful command of his material and a powerful, beautiful, expressive voice.  He held our attention well and performed for at least 90 minutes, with no teleprompter, no intermission, 2 encores, and only a few errors in lyrics, which he handled with poise and humor.  He is still high energy and handsome, with a strong, square jaw.  He does not go in for toupees or  hair dye.  His hair is gray and receding, but he does not try to hide it.   He stays natural and simple, which I prefer.   I had my binoculars with me, so I could focus in on his face.  He was not wearing any visible makeup.

His high notes are still great.  His lower notes, unfortunately, have become quite tremulous to the point where the pitch of the notes was hard to discern, which was probably the only bad thing about this concert.  He was still fun to listen to, though, and he struck me as very genuine, the real deal.

I was impressed when he talked about his upcoming 35th anniversary of meeting his wife.  They're still married and going strong.  That's very cool.  

The acoustics were so great, and the audience was so hushed, that every little audience noise was audible everywhere, which was a bit frustrating, but, still, on the whole, I prefer a quieter concert, where I was not in the least tempted to put in ear plugs.

There was a program, but, unfortunately, it did not list what songs were being sung.  Clearly other people in the audience recognized these songs, but I did not.  Therefore I cannot look them up and figure them out, which I would like to be able to do.  I got the feeling that Mandy changed the program some as they went along.  Fortunately the pianist was up to the changes and kept up beautifully.

I went to wait for him by the stage door.  Some people got pictures, but he left before I could get one.

I did get to shout after him, though, my question, which was whether he had heard that Josh Groban was planning to run for President with him in 2016.  He shouted back "Yeah, we'll be great," with sarcasm.  

Clearly he does not believe that this is a real campaign or that there is any chance that they will be elected.

I believe that Josh also thinks that this campaign is a joke.

It is certainly the case that entertainers have conducted joke campaigns for president in the past.  I seem to recall that comedian Pat Paulsen did that when I was a kid.  So far, no joke campaigns for US President have resulted in the joke candidates actually being elected.  

Probably the same will be true of the present campaign, I suppose.

But I have this funny feeling about it.  People could write them in.  It could happen.   You never know.

----------------
Addendum:

I'm going through YouTube videos to hear how Mandy used to sound.  Apparently, he used to sing in a higher register most of the time in the past.  In this concert, much more of what he sang was lower.

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2nd Addendum:

He ended the concert with "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."


Monday, March 25, 2013

Judith Hill on The Voice


Now this is very curious indeed.

Shortly after I blogged about how Josh should notice Judith Hill more, suddenly she's everywhere.  She's doing a movie "Twenty Feet from Stardom."  She's on "The Voice."  And, curiously, some of her big YouTube videos seem to have disappeared, like the one where she sang "Heal the World" on Chinese TV and the one where she sang a duet with a Japanese funk performer about sisterhood on Japanese TV and the one where she sang "Man in the Mirror" with Michael Jackson's band on  US TV.

On the one hand, I've been critical of Judith that she doesn't blow her own horn enough.  That she could have been much bigger if she did.

On the other hand, somehow, now things are arranged so that no one realizes that this is the international celebrity who sang "Heal the World" for an estimated audience of 1 billion people at Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center.  

So now she is on The Voice and no one seems to recognize her.  How is that possible?  How can they not recognize her?

I just don't get it.

Michael Jackson chose 3 female vocalists to be featured in his "This is It" stationary tour at the O2 in the UK.  These were Lady Gaga, Charice, and Judith Hill. The others now have substantial international followings. 

Somehow Travis Payne threw all of Michael Jackson's grieving fans to Lady Gaga, when he explained in a TV interview how enthusiastically MJ had described her.  She got a lot of MJ's people, too, like Payne himself and MJ's clothing designer (Zaldy?).  Though she was a good performer before that, the quality of her videos and choreography suddenly went through the roof when MJ's people went over to her.  It was as if MJ had left her his fortune, not the money, but the market position.

David Foster picked up Charice a bit the way MJ had, through Oprah -- though Oprah had consciously directed her to Foster, not, perhaps, realizing that MJ had also seen her and planned to take her to the O2.  She talked about this on stage a bit in a YouTube video I saw.  While Charice has few US appearances, she has a huge following in her native Philippines and also quite a bit in Japan and Korea.  She's definitely a star in some quarters, at least.

David Foster knew about Judith Hill, too. He had her as a backup singer on the Foster & Friends DVD.  Josh Groban had her as a backup singer as well.  You can see her in the Brave video.

Yet, it was Judith Hill who sang a duet with MJ the day that he died.  He was so taken with her performance that he broke into full voice, something that he was trying to avoid during rehearsals, because it hurt his throat.  That duet appears in the "This is It" movie, where you can clearly see how beautiful and talented Judith is.  This means that he thought she was a worthy performer, worthy of duetting with him.

She went on to write "I'll Always be MIssing You Michael," which was distributed to millions of people.

Everyone, seeing Judith Hill, at the Staples Center said "A Star is Born."   She was flown to a number of foreign countries, like Japan, China, and Brazil.  

She seems to have remained obscure.   It does not seem that any of the celebrity judges recognized her on The Voice.  How is that?

I suppose in part she chose not to promote herself.  She had that whole guilt thing about not making money off MJ's death.  She certainly did not tweet photos of her trips abroad to her new fans.

Now she's learned that she has to keep us in the loop, so suddenly she's tweeting up a storm.  I guess she must have gotten an agent or a manager or something, who is putting her in line.

Still the whole thing is so mysterious.  Was the disappearance of the youtube videos of the foreign appearances engineered to make her look more obscure before she appeared on The Voice, or was that a coincidence?  

Could Usher really not have recognized her?  He had performed with MJ, in the past.  He must have seen "This is It," probably numerous times.  He also performed at the Staples Center at MJ's memorial service.  Could he possibly have forgotten her? Is he pretending not to know who she is?   Or does he in fact recognize her and just feel surprised to see her on the show?

I love Judith Hill and I want her to do well, but this all seems so odd.   

I don't know what the rules for The Voice are.  Maybe this is normal, for someone who has some professional credentials to appear on there along with real amateurs?  Are they going to reveal that she has professional credentials?

-------------------

OK, I see that they do explain this.

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/reality-rocks/voice-season-4-premiere-shakira-usher-come-compete-020127146.html

She refused the recording contracts she was offered back then, because she didn't want to make money off Michael's death.  Hmm.

This reminds me of Josh, you know?

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Eric Whitacre March 21, 2013 Alice Tully Hall

Concert by Eric Whitacre, Alice Tully Hall, New York City,Thursday, March 21, 2013, 1 p.m.

I first discovered Eric Whitacre, because I had set my radio alarm clock to WQXR, the classical radio station in New York City, and I awoke to a very beautiful choral piece. The DJ said it had been recorded using videos submitted by people over the Internet. I was intrigued and went and looked the video up on YouTube. I listened to it again, and loved it. Not only was the sound very beautiful, but also I loved that Eric had organized the little video images from his contributors all over the world in creative ways that were visually beautiful.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhWDCw3Mng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rRaL-Czxw


If you read the rest of this blog, you will see that I have a quixotic quest for a world anthem, a Michael Jackson inspired quest, to find world unity through common culture, and especially a unifying song. Eric wasn't doing precisely what I was seeking in my quixotic quest, but it seemed related.

Later I looked him up in various places, wikipedia, facebook and twitter, for instance. I misunderstood his wikipedia entry. I thought it said that he had actually been in Depeche Mode. I was interested in that group, because Josh Groban had once mentioned it as a group he loved in high school. Again, if you've read the rest of this blog, you will see that I'm a Grobanite. I think I even tweeted Josh that this guy had been in Depeche Mode, which I now see is not true, which I'm sure Josh must have known, since he is so good at networking in the music industry.

Eric does have a beautiful voice himself. He put up a recording on his soundcloud & tweeted a link to it once. 

https://soundcloud.com/ericwhitacre/trust-me-1986

I liked this performance and suspect that Depeche Mode made a mistake in not including him, but perhaps their mistake was the world's gain.  He might not have been doing the virtual choral pieces if he had been in Depeche Mode. In any case, Eric himself did not sing at this concert. He just conducted the chorus, in music he had either composed or arranged.

Alice Tully Hall has marvelous acoustics, and was the perfect place to hear the subtle music that Eric creates. The lovely movement of individual voices in complex harmonies was easily distinguishable. It was, perhaps, something of a visit home for Eric, because, although he is currently a musician in residence at Cambridge University, he graduated from Julliard, which is adjacent to Alice Tully Hall.

Although, Eric is considered a classical musician, I would not say that this music was unequivocally classical. It was strongly new music influenced.

For me, that was a good thing, because classical music gives me narcolepsy. I hate when that happens, because then I feel that I'm wasting the money I spent on the concert. At this concert, there were only a couple of songs that had that characteristic structure that knocks me out. Mostly, I was enthralled with the complex movement of the 20 or so voices of his choir.

The sound is at once sweet and eerie. I really loved it.

The soloist, Elin Manahn Thomas, had an extraordinary and unique voice, very high, very clear, very beautiful and yet also somewhat eerie, like a cross between an electronic instrument and a person, with almost the tonality of a boy soprano, but not quite. It was really fun to listen to her.

The chorus performed mostly a capella. The men were on a slightly raised platform, with the women in front . There seemed to be equal numbers of men and women. It was odd that when the soloist was not singing she went to the back of the raised platform and sat down, facing upstage, behind the men. It looked for all the world as if she had been made to sit in a corner, like a naughty child.

The concert was only 70 minutes long, with no intermission. I would have liked to see it go on longer.

There was a program, but the list of songs performed did not match the program, with some being omitted, others added, and the order changed.

The hall was, sadly, not filled. Still, amongst those there, I am pleased to report that I saw a very diverse age range & approximately equal numbers of males and females.  I like that when music appeals to all ages.  That makes me feel that it's more universal. There were also a number of non-white audience members. This was nice to see, also, given that the performers were all young and white. Eric is auditioning people for a performance 3/30/14 in NYC. Maybe he will get a more diverse crew for that.

The guy sitting next to me was clapping too loudly & hurting my ears. I learned -- from my visits to Live with Kelly, when Josh was co-hosting, from Gelman, the producer there -- that the way to make more noise as an audience applauding is not to hit one's hands together harder, but to clap more often. I wish that was more generally known.

Eric was kindly autographing tickets and CDs (that were also sold there) after the perfomance.  I got 3 CDs autographed, plus my ticket.








This was definitely a wonderful experience. I really loved the music, and Eric made very creative use of poetry from ee cumings and Ogden Nash.


-----------------

Addendum: 

Alice Tully Hall is really an ideal venue for complex acoustic music like Eric's.  It is small, so you're never too far from the show.  The acoustics of the hall are superb.  The seats are comfortable.

Eric makes wonderful use of singers with exceptionally good high notes.  You can really hear that in Alice Tully Hall. 

Unfortunately, the CDs just can't entirely reproduce that sound.  You should definitely try to hear a live performance.  I hope he comes out with a DVD as those do better with the really high frequencies.  Also, I thought the CDs would have the virtual choir recordings on them, but they don't.  They have conventional choirs.

Another Eric Whitacre video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ty3HVeAkdc

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Open letter to Stevie Wonder


I would like to send a message to Stevie Wonder.  This message follows.  Someone please read it to him.  PLEASE.


Dear Stevie:

I am a Grobanite.  I follow Josh Groban.  

I saw a few interviews recently where he described a conversation he had with you.  Apparently, you asked him to get together with you to write a song to save the world.  He said that he was too chicken to call.

That's a recurring problem for him, nerves.

However, as a fan, I've been trying to interest him in this sort of project for several years, but he really does not seem interested.

I personally have a quixotic quest for a world anthem, a song that could unite the world.  I was inspired on this quest by listening to the works and interviews of Michael Jackson.  I'm glad to hear that you also have such a quest.

Seeing as Josh has not seemed interested in this sort of project, I have located another performer who *is* interested and who is probably more likely to achieve this goal, because she is a cute little girl.  As you may recall, Michael Jackson felt that the key to healing the world was music, dancing, and children.

Unfortunately, this little girl is about to become a teenager, which is problematic; still, right now, she seems to still be interested.

This girl is Connie Talbot, who came in second on Britain's Got talent in 2007, when she was 6.   She is very popular in Asia.

Here is a link to a youtube video where she is singing a duet of Michael Jackson's song "Heal the World"  with a Chinese boy in Asia.


Here is a link to a youtube video where she sings "Building Bridges," a song she co-wrote with Toby Gad and Rune Westberg .


Here is an exceptional performance by Connie, which shows how incredibly powerful Connie can be 


I want you to go with Connie Talbot and do a concert in North Korea on their TV.  The president of North Korea is married to a pop singer. This proves that he can be seduced by music. 

I believe this project is urgent.  

I hope you get this message.

Yours truly,

Arrow

All that Echoes

I was so happy when Josh's album debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, but have been so frustrated to see it fall.  I think it's such a great album, but I'm powerless over these things.  I've told all my friends on FB that I love the album.  That's about all I can do.

I hate so much of the music that is popular -- always have.  I can't even listen to the radio most of the time, because I don't like what I'm hearing.  Josh creates music that is in a very small set of what I can listen to.

It's as if other people belong to a different species or something, that they love music I can't tolerate.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Crystal Bowersox 3/6/13 7 p.m. Joe's Pub -- Concert Review


Crystal Bowersox, Joe's Pub, 3/6/13 7:00 p.m.

This was supposed to be a trip with a friend to see Jackie Evancho at Lincoln Center, but Jackie Evancho cancelled, so we went to Crystal Bowersox instead. 

Of course, these performers are very different.

First the venue.  This concert was in Joe's Pub at the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette in Manhattan, NY.  

This is an interesting place.  There are at least two, maybe more, performance spaces there.  In the center, is a large lobby or maybe it's an atrium.  They serve some refreshments there.  Joe's Pub is to the left.  

The outside is very attractive, with nice lighting that makes it look very welcoming.  I wish I had taken a picture of that.  

Joe's Pub is a full service restaurant with a sound stage.  You have to buy dinner to take in the concert, at least for the seats that I bought.  These seats were only $20 a piece, but dinner for two, with tax and tip, was $90 -- and that was with no alcohol.

Unfortunately, this is one of those restaurants that follow the new trend of serving undersized portions with the idea that you'll make it up in desert.  Since I can't eat desert, it ends up being skimpy.  Then the orange juice they brought me was mostly ice.  If you order the juice, ask for no ice.

As soon as we got in there & saw the relatively small size of the place, maybe seating about 100 or so, and the relatively large size of the speakers, I asked the waiter if it would be loud.  He said it would be.

Fortunately, I always travel with ear plugs.  My friend, however, does not, so she ran out & got ear plugs, which she was *very* glad she did.

The opening act was Crystal's backup band without her.  

They were barely tolerable with ear plugs.  Even with the ear plugs, the vibrations were enough to send an unpleasant tingle throughout my body.

Adding to the effect was the passage of the subway down the street in front, which created more vibrations whenever it went by.  At first, I thought that was the music, but Crystal was the one who pointed out that it was the subway.

However, even worse was the extremely boring nature of the music that these young men performed.  The songs all sounded the same and even the parts of the songs all sounded the same.  My friend called this music a "drone."

Impressively, these same fellows showed remarkable versatility once Crystal came out on stage, though.

She did a fine job.  As everyone knows, she has a wonderful voice.  She did quite a variety of different songs, some from her new album, and some of of the songs were quieter.   She is able to make all sorts of wonderful different tones and effects.    Also she looked thinner to me than when she was on Tv.

The only one that I dared take my ear plugs out for was when she did an encore  and sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" alone with the piano.  That was quite nice, though still a bit loud when she belted strongly.  

She only sang for an hour, which was a bit disappointing, but they had booked her for a second concert at 9:30.  I guess there was a lot of interest in hearing her, which is nice.

I noticed that John Krajicek, who I believe is the guy who beat Jackie Evancho, was on Monday, but was only booked for one concert, not two.

This all goes to show that you have to come in second on these talent shows.  Both Jackie and Crystal came in second, as did Susan Boyle, Rhydian Roberts, Connie Talbot, and Sung-bong Choi -- all of whom I like.

Crystal made the very nice announcement that she has been cast on Broadway to play Patsy Cline, which she seemed very pleased and overwhelmed by.  I do hope that in order to play the woman with short dark hair Crystal won't have to cut off her wonderful blond dreadlocks.  

Only because i've started taking note of these things, I should note that the audience was almost entirely white.    There was a diversity of ages, and seemingly equal numbers of men & women, though.  

I am enclosing some photos







I had to zoom on the computer using the photos I had taken.   I could not figure out how to zoom on the camera itself.  It's a new cell phone, but perhaps that's just as well, because then you can see both Crystal and the band.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar enough with Crystal's songs to give  set list, but my friend said that one of the songs was a Patsy Cline song

Maybe this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYtrGjJOMpE

My ticket:



Addendum 4/21/13:

Finally got back to Joe's pub & got a photo of the outside -- so pretty