Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood in Concert at Madison Square Gardens

Night 1: February 25th

Together again after ~40 years.

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood initially collaborated in the late 60s through the formation of a group called Blind Faith. While highly successful, the band stayed together only for a short time, long enough to launch one album and a tour and to create an appetite for a new sound: the fusion of blues and rock music.

As an audience, we were then starved for years, until we received another taste of the duo during the 2007 Clapton and Winwood collaboration at the Chicago Crossroads Guitar festival. And now, in 2008, there is finally more food to satisfy the craving. The superstars granted us a spectacular 3-night showdown at the Gardens in New York in late February.

Despite all the anticipation, the night started out on a slightly embarrassing note. Steve Winwood was on the piano and another guy was playing back up guitar. The guy on the guitar was really good. A few of us commented that said guy looked a lot like Eric Clapton. But of course it could not have been him…nobody puts Eric in the corner (shameless quote stealing from Dirty Dancing)! A while later, when this guy on the guitar started doing solo pieces, someone said that the backup guitarist got a great promotion. We all chuckled. How embarrassing for us, self-proclaimed fans, to realize that the guitarist was indeed Eric Clapton. Oops. We quickly and quietly got over our gaffe, and enjoyed the superb show.

It was wonderful to see such talented musicians, in no-frills attire, completely relaxed, sharing stories, and laughing, as they alternated between solo and combined segments. Clapton and Winwood performed hit songs from their own repertoire as well as from other greats. Winwood, on the piano, rendered a powerful vocal performance of “Georgia on My Mind”, and if you closed your eyes, you could almost think that you were listening to Ray Charles. Clapton displayed his skills on the guitar across many songs, including, “Presence of the Lord” and “Kind Hearted Woman Blues.” The Clapton/Winwood duo continued to rock the house for several hours, and we left the concert well-fed that night.

Today though, we are again hungry, and longing for the date and time of the next meal. Eric, Steve – we hope it will be soon.

Spice Girls in Concert, Madison Square Gardens

The Return of The Spice Girls, Madison Square Gardens, NYC

Feb. 18, 2008

We entered the room and the first row was filled with pre-teens. We were more than a decade older than this crowd, but we didn't care. We were here to see the iconic Spice Girls. So what if the majority of the adults there were parents of the tween set? Pride wasn't going to get between us and our girls.

The lights went out indicating that the show was about to start. The high-pitched screams - which were to be our constant companions throughout the show - started and increased to a deafening pitch once the Spice Girls appeared on stage.

Posh was in a shiny, skin tight, rubber outfit. Scary was in her typical leopard print. Ginger had on a cute, very short dress. Baby, was demurely attired in a girly dress which graced her mid-thigh. Sporty, I believe wore a pants suit. Everyone, except Sporty, had cleavage exposed. Everyone looked extremely hot - beautiful, toned and ready for action.

The outfits were one of the highlights of the show. Where can I buy a pair of Scary's red hot boots? Ginger's fitted dress, the color of the British flag, was stunning. Not to mention Posh's black lingerie-looking 'I am not sure what', with an extended train at the back.

Although a majority of the fans were part of the teen or pre-teen set, you really couldn't tell by some of the elements included in the show. For example:

• Scary's skin-tight leopard print outfit, which she accompanied with a mic-whip, i.e. a microphone with a whip-like extension, which Scary proceeded to swing like only a whip should be swung


• Scary gyrating and then straddling a ladder


• Screen shots of Posh in a bra and S&M looking black outfit


• Each girl holding the end of a dog collar, which was tied around a man's neck; said man happened to be crawling on all fours in front of each one of the Spices

Hopefully, the tweens won't understand?

Aside from (or because of??) those non-PG 13 episodes, the show was a lot of fun. Girl power was alive and breathing all over you. You became nostalgic of happy, simple times...innocence with shiny red boots.

Word on the street is that the girls are canceling their tour. The rumor says that their egos are too big for one show to contain. It's a pity, because the show was fantastic. Forget about the fact that only Sporty Spice can sing and that none of them can really dance. Those ladies put on a marvelous spectacle, full of glitter, sexy outfits and charismatic performances. Posh Spice even deigned to smile at the audience.

Posh appeared to be the most popular Spice - maybe one of the reasons for the tour cancellation? Each time the lights focused on Posh, the audience's screams rose to a volume higher than for any of the other girls. I am not surprised. Posh has made a name for herself as 1/2 of the great 'Posh & Becks' celebrity couple - most famous couple in Britain, and who are working very hard for similar fame here in the U.S. Posh can't sing to save her life, but that is quite inconsequential. She has created a phenomenon and you are entertained by just watching her strut and pose.

Cute moment of the night went to the portion of the show where all the ladies - sans Sporty - brought their children on to the stage and jointly performed "Mama". Posh had Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. Baby had Beau. Ginger held Bluebell Madonna and Scary was with Eddie Murphy's, Angel Iris. Sporty shared kids with the Spice mothers during the song. Cruz - Posh's youngest - showed signs of being just like mom, i.e. craving the spotlight. Little Cruz wowed the audience with slick break dancing moves, a few hand stands and flips...all of this and he's only 3 years old. He had to be pulled off of the stage by his mummy.

Girls, please reconsider and continue with the tour. Each one of you rocked the house. You all look great. Your fans appreciate you and are in need of you. Get over yourselves and perform. You know you want to.

http://www.thespicegirls.com/

Stevie Wonder headlining A Wonder Autumn Night -11/17/07

I had worked all day, was going to have to work for most of the night, and on top of that I was experiencing fever chills and body pains (painful hints of a future cold) - BUT nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to prevent me from seeing Stevie Wonder perform live in concert on Saturday.

My determination paid off. The concert was the best I have seen in my life. I still haven't returned to planet earth from Stevie-land. Please don't rush me, I like it up here.

My cousin Karyn and I- thanks to my company - had the privilege of Club Lounge tickets to see Stevie Wonder perform on Saturday at Madison Square Gardens. We arrived at 8:45pm - the show was scheduled to start at 8pm - and started freaking out when we heard that Stevie was already on stage. There were no opening acts! We calmed down a bit when we realized that we had only missed one song. Phew!

Stevie is a master. It took me a second to grasp that I was actually witnessing this legend perform live. Mr. Wonder captivated us all - aside from his tremendous vocal ability, his superb skills on the piano and harmonica and his cadre of hit songs - Stevie utilized multiple other techniques to ensure that we were thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

Here are some examples of how he did it. Stevie

• Duelled aggressively on the harmonica with another expert player to the tune of For Once in My Life; at one point Steve and the other player actually got down on their knees as they continued to musically duke it out
  
• Teased the men in the audience about their sexual prowess - he felt that Detroit men were more skilled than NY men, since the NY men were unable to properly sing a somewhat risque chorus after much coaching from Stevie
  
• Coaxed the audience into singing one of his hits using a country twang
  
• Shared stories of his fumbled attempts to hit on a girl when he was 15 or 16 and then launched into the love song he wrote for her (My Cherie Amour)
  
• Showcased his very talented drummers
  
• Altered his voice as he "sang" and played the piano to a medley of non-Stevie popular songs (oldies and current)
  
• Pushed strongly for world peace; he went so far as to suggest that anyone who was only focused on a hate agenda should just die and go to hell, so the rest of us could get on with the peace and love business
  
• Topped it all off with HUGE SURPRISES

Now, here's more on the HUGE SURPRISES.

Stevie at one point during the concert began speaking about his mom and mentioned that she had 2 favourite singers - Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. Years ago, Stevie had taken one of Tony's songs and created a new version, i.e. his hit For Once in My Life. Mr. Wonder then told us that it was his honor to be able to perform this song live with Mr. Bennett. This didn't really register with the audience, until we saw THE TONY BENNETT walking out on stage. I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Was this really happening? Both legends proceeded to sing. Mr. Bennett was a bit tempered at first, but he was just teasing us, and for the rest of the song he belted out the notes. Tony still has it, folks.

Best concert ever? By far. AND, as if that weren't all way more than enough, we got the shock of our lives when Stevie began performing Superstitious and guess who walks out on stage in a full black, body-hugging suit with high-heeled boots and an electric guitar?! Prince!! YES, Prince!!!!!!!! Do you know how much I love Prince? I grew up on his songs. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. Still can't. As my cousin said, "Prince does not walk among us". Well, ultra-superstar Prince, performed wonderfully on the electric guitar (duh!), walked the stage like only Prince could, and smiled/smirked at us as he rocked the house. I really wanted him to sing, but it was Stevie's night. Prince strutted off at the end of Superstitious to thunderous applause from the audience.



What would you do at this point in the concert? Well, despite being completely entrenched in my Stevie alternate reality, I continued to clap and rock with Stevie through a few more of his hits. Mr. Wonder then closed the show by walking arm-in-arm with his backup singers to each corner of the stage, bowing, shaking his bootie, and smiling hard. The audience continued clapping for about 5 mins after Stevie's departure, hoping for an encore which never materialized. I didn't really care...I had already died and gone to Stevie-land.

Mr. Wonder, you are magnificent. Thank you for a fabulous night.

Ricky Martin Loves His Bon Bon

I was on my way back home from evening service at church, when I got a call from Maya. She had an extra ticket to the Ricky Martin concert in Madison Square Gardens and wanted to know if I was interested. When would I need to leave? In 5 minutes? Absolutely! Count me in.

We got to the concert about 1hr and 15 mins. late. We had seats in the Club Suite (thanks to our company) and missed about 10 mins. of Ricky's performance. There was no opening act and so for the first hour of the concert, the audience just waited patiently for Ricky to show up.

Overall, I give the show a grade of C-, sharply dropping from my original A/A- during the last 10-15 mins. of the performance.

Ricky started out very strong. He built us up with hits like Livin La Vida Loca, and She's All I Ever Had, combined with well choreographed dance moves and slick visual effects. At times the backing band overpowered Ricky, and you could hardly hear him singing. In addition, he performed a lot of remixes, where his actual singing time was less than in the original versions. However, Ricky's charisma carried the day and the audience lapped it up.

Something stood out for me as I watched Ricky tonight. This man clearly loves his Bon Bon. Aside from strutting his stuff in tight pants and extra tight little shirts - only Rick can rock the '80s look in 2007 - there was a segment of the program where we got to view, in detail, Ricky's anatomy. A cage-like structure descended onto the stage and the audience was shown video clips of Ricky naked (no full frontal - phew!), with close ups of his tattoos and select body parts. I did not get the significance of this interlude - it seemed to be simply a way for Ricky to pay homage to Ricky.

As the performance continued, the screams grew louder, and people were swaying to the beat and shaking their own bon-bons. Then, Ricky said goodbye. We, the obedient audience, of course play our role - we scream, we clap...Ricky re-emerges for the encore. He sings one or two more songs and says goodbye again. He still hasn't sung Shake Your Bon-Bon, so I am guessing he wants another encore.

As Ricky is lowered into the stage, I realize that the show is actually finished. This is absolutely ridiculous. Are we expected to come to a Ricky Martin concert and not hear him perform Shake Your Bon-Bon? No matter how much Ricky shimmied, no matter how much he strutted, no matter how many super-tight tanks he wore, that does not make up for leaving us without performing Bon-Bon. I want my money back, Ricky (technically, my company's money). How disappointing! I still cannot believe you left us that way.

I will still give you a C- , but I am being generous.

Marc Anthony and J.Lo Concert

My cousin Karyn and I went to the Marc Anthony and J. Lo concert on Monday night in Madison Square Gardens. Thanks to my company (again), we were able to enjoy the Club Suite experience. Learning from my last adventure (see http://kerijam.blogspot.com/2007/09/monday-with-bjork.html), we decided not to be on time and showed up about 1/2 hr late. We missed the comedian - which I heard may have been a blessing in disguise.

Marc started the show. He had the crowd screaming pretty much from start to finish. He has fantastic vocal ability and is just a pleasure to watch. He's a hottie tottie Tom Thumb (sorry!). Marc belted out his tunes, the audience sang along when prompted (and also when not), and Marc wowed us with some of his sexy Latin moves. At one point, someone from the audience threw a piece of cloth on stage. Nothing risque, it was the Puerto Rican flag. Marc opened the flag covered his face and body with it, knelt on the ground and continued to sing his heart out. I thought that was such a nice touch...really powerful connection with the audience...plus who knows where that flag had been.

I was highly impressed with Marc's performance, and may likely buy a couple of his CDs, but let's face it, I was there to see J.Lo.

Jennifer came on with a bang and flash of lights. It was so obvious that she was pregnant - but hey, let's play the game and wait for the "official announcement". J.Lo started out by saying how many faces she recognized in the audience. Whaaa? Seriously, J.Lo - you are a native New Yorker, but are we to believe that you remember us little folk from back in the day?? I found out later that her mom, sister and some friends were up front and center. Logic returns.

Aside from wearing more clothing, and being more restrained in her dance movements, J.Lo delivered her usual great performance. She started with some of her classics, and surprised the audience with in-person duets with Fat Joe and LL Cool J. Apparently Jah Rule is busy with something, and so only his recorded voice participated that night. LL Cool J was the true star - he got more applause and screams than J.Lo. Watch out, LL!

My biggest and most pleasant surprise of the night was that J.Lo sang live and sang well! Her voice has improved!! Great job, J.Lo. You were able to carry the tunes in a powerful voice. You will never be Beyonce, Aretha or Whitney, but you definitely outshone Britney and are far, far improved from your earlier days.

The night ended with J.Lo and Marc dueting. It was moving to see their affection and tenderness for each other. Marc held J.Lo around her waist as they sang with great emotion to each other. Sold! Where can I buy the album?

Congrats, J. Lo and Marc! May you have many happy years together and have a wonderful time with your new bundle of joy!

Monday with Bjork

I had a fun Monday night. I went with a friend, Nadia, to see Bjork in concert @ Madison Square Gardens. Thanks to my firm, we were able to enjoy the Club Suite experience - private room with snacks, dinner and drinks and a great view of the stage.

The concert started a little after 8pm with one of two opening acts - Santogold (Brooklyn-based performer). She had 2 good songs out of ~10 she performed. I am sure if I had heard about her beforehand, and had listened to her music in advance, I could have been more supportive. It was sometimes hard to hear her, and I was not invested enough to decipher what she was saying. To her credit, she had a very good finish - she saved her best 2 songs for last.

After about a 1/2 hr break, we then heard the Klaxons (UK-based group) - they had a higher success rate, about 70% of their songs were enjoyable. One of the singers was barefoot and dressed in a monk's robe.

Bjork hit the stage at 10pm. She was fantastic. High energy, peculiar, fluffy gold outfit (remember her terrible swan dress from a few years back?), and very strong vocals. A true performer. We couldn't always understand what she was singing, but she was highly entertaining and made good use of the stage, displaying in-rhythm dance moves as she pranced to and fro.

All in all it was a good night, although we felt the wait for Bjork was too long and the first performer a bit mediocre.

Santogold Profile

Santogold(out of Brooklyn NYC) has teamed up with producers like Switch, FreQNasty, Naeem (Spankrock), Disco D, and XXXchange for her forthcoming solo album. The handful of tracks that have already surfaced definitely showcase her versatility and talent as a vocalist, as well as a nice range of production styles and influences. Santi began with her rock band Stiffed in 2001 making new wave tinged punk/ska. Santi has since gone on with her solo career after hooking up with Lizard King records (most known for signing The Killers). While the backbone of her sound remains rooted in her punk/reggae past, her music is about as new sounding and exciting as pop gets right now!

http://this.bigstereo.net/2007/02/26/santogold/

Klaxons Profile

Klaxons are a Mercury Prize winning English band, based in London. The word 'klaxon' is derived from the Greek verb klazō, meaning "to shriek", and most commonly refers to air-raid sirens or other warning devices. They are currently signed to Rinse Records, their own branch of Polydor Records. Following the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on January 29, 2007. The album won the 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize. After headlining their first tour (the 2006 NME Indie Rave Tour), as well as playing numerous festivals worldwide, the band are currently working on their second album.They have also announced a full UK tour for November - December 2007 (their biggest UK tour to date).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaxons

http://www.klaxons.net/index.php

Bjork Profile

Björk first came to prominence as one of the lead vocalists of the avant-pop Icelandic sextet the Sugarcubes, but when she launched a solo career after the group's 1992 demise, she quickly eclipsed her old band's popularity. Björk went a different direction and immersed herself in dance and club culture, working with many of the biggest names in the genre, including Nellee Hooper, Underworld, and Tricky. Debut, her first solo effort (except for an Icelandic-only smash released when she was just 11 years old), not only established her new artistic direction, but it became an international hit, making her one of the '90s most unlikely stars. Björk's latest album VOLTA hit stores on May 8th.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjork

http://www.thegarden.com/events/bjork-09-07.html