Location:Carson, CA
Location:Carson, CA
The concert season is slowly ramping up. Seen any good shows? Here were a few:
Mariah Carey played to two packed houses at the Gibson Amphitheatre, delivering her reliably satisfying show to her “lambs” or whatever she wants to demean her fans with these days.
She laid a straightforward show, playing nothing but hits and was disarmingly charming to the crowd, in her own special “Princess Mimi” way. It was typical, vintage Mariah which would satisfy every fan everywhere, with spot on singing and Mariah’s typical lack of dancing. Excellent show all around.
Gabriel Iglesias played the Wiltern Theatre, amid heavy security due to a threat against him levied earlier that day. A collegue of mine warned me to watch out for this comedian as he will be the next big thing and she was right. Iglesias, on a Comedy Central-sponsored tour, had a warm and acceptably different style of mexican-american humor, not so wrapped up in heavy Spanish which you get at a George Lopez show. Iglesias’ show is quite funny, approachable and charming, and his delivery is such that you find yourself relating to his anecdotes, despite ever being in his shoes. Watch out for Gabriel Iglesias – you’ll be seeing more of him!
Diane Birch, a former client of AyesseMedia and darling of the L.A. indie scene in 2005 played the Wiltern Theatre for the first time, opening for Nick Jonas. This clearly was one of those “buy-in” opening slots, as their music and audiences simply didn’t mesh. Unfortunately, the charm and goofiness of Birch’s earlier performances were lost somewhere in her UK travels. Birch’s performance, although technically proficient and the music was quite well performed, seemed soul-less and contrived, which could explain why her sales are not skyrocketing given the euphoric nature of Jonas’ audience. Birch just didn’t seem to connect with the audience, despite a clearly planted set of fans who tried to rally cheers at every pause. We had the advantage of seeing her shows between 2005 and 2006 in Los Angeles, and she carried such a charm and approachability which was unrivaled in any other singer/songwriter of her day. We feel sad to say that such approachability is gone, leaving what can only be described as another singer/songwriter pushed into the same “do this and you’ll be famous” formula which has proven to fail time and again in this modern era of music. Her songs didn’t have those hooks you look for in a hit, and were very singer/songwritery, but not in a way which makes you want to buy a song. We hope that she comes back with a bit more of the old-school charm which made her the name she was 5 years ago.
Justin Bieber, fresh of his conquering of millions of tween-age hearts, blew up the Hollywood Palladium on Valentines Day (yes it’s not March, but I still had to mention it!) He led with one of the worst acts we’ve seen in seven years – the robotic and talentless Wonder Girls – which gave him an easy road to travel in terms of charming his audience. Look, let’s cut to the chase with this guy – he can’t sing and can barely dance. He’s cute as a button and makes the tweeners discover themselves far faster than any parent wants to believe or admit - and that’s why the girls were literally killing themselves to get close. Before he even hit the stage, security was removing girls from the barricade pit area at a rate of almost 30 per minute…then the show started. We witnessed girls kicking and pushing their way close, only to be crushed in the throng of other girls. Many a girl went partially shoeless due to the massive melee at the front, with almost 40 per minute of girls being removed from the barricade or blocked from accessing the stage during the show, all of them inexplicably losing their shoes in the process. Never did see where any of these shoes went.
Bieber sure knows how to throw a raucous party. We’re hotly waiting for his upcoming “keep my career alive and relevant” VH1 show, probably coming soon…just as soon as he turns 18.
Make sure you check out Scarlett Cherry tonight at Air Conditioned Lounge in Venice. Part of the magic of the Zodiac Show, Scarlett Cherry is backed by a powerful band of professional musicians and is sure to deliver a fantastic experience in a fun, chill venue.
Looking for something more Hollywood? Check out the always unique Honeybreath at Spaceland, bringing their dark, classic alternative-ish charm to the hallowed halls of Spaceland tonight.
Or you can go and see all the other bands in town doing variations of what everyone else is doing.
But why would you torture yourself?
On the web:
Scarlett Cherry (www.scarlettcherry.com)
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