Category: Kansas City Star

Peter, Bjorn and John Heart Hip Hop

by thedailyrecord, posted in band feature, Kansas City Star

(Above: Kanye West and Peter, Bjorn and John marry indie rock to hip hop in  “Young Folks.”)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

The distance between whistling and beat-boxing shrank considerably once Kanye West got involved.

When West sampled Peter, Bjorn and John’s whistle-based sensation “Young Folks” for his mixtape, he not only united the worlds of indie rock and hip-hop, he also awakened Peter, Bjorn and John’s burgeoning love of urban music.

“When I first heard his version I thought it was a joke,” drummer John Eriksson said. “I didn’t think it’s strange, though, because a lot of hip-hop artists are trying to get more rock with a lot of electric guitars and the rest.”

West proved his indie rock cred when he asked the Swedish trio to perform the mashup during his set at the 2007 Way Out West festival. The collaboration helped open the band’s ears to new ways of presenting its music. The commercial follow-up to “Young Folks” was this year’s “Living Thing,” which disposed of guitars and traditional drumming and embraced icy synthesizers, spare arrangements and altered percussion.

“Many people think the drums on ‘Living Thing’ are programmed, but it’s not,” said Eriksson, whose band performs Friday night at the Granada in Lawrence. “Eighty percent of the sounds are acoustic but turned to make it sound like a drum machine or given a spaced-out, futuristic sound.”

Hip-hop wasn’t much of an influence when the band formed in 1999, but at the end of the “Living Thing” sessions, singer Peter Moren tried what would have been unthinkable 10 years ago and rapped an entire song.

“I didn’t think it was good enough (to make the album), so we tried to get someone else to do the vocals,” Eriksson said. “That’s how we met Mick Boogie, who helped us come up with the idea of having other people rap over all of our songs.”

The resulting remix album was dubbed “Re-Living Thing” and features original rhymes by GZA, Talib Kweli, Three 6 Mafia, Bun B and Rhymefest, with production from Jazzy Jeff, 6th Sense and Apple Juice Kid.

“I’ve only heard three versions so far. Jazzy Jeff did a fantastic job on his track, and I can’t wait to hear the others,” Eriksson said. “Knowing GZA from Wu Tang is on there makes me want to cry, almost. It seems surreal he’s doing something with one of our songs. I don’t know how Mick convinced him to take part. Maybe they played chess and Mick won.”

After the band released an online- and vinyl-only instrumental album last year and commissioned friends to make different arrangements of past singles for vinyl release, Eriksson feels like Peter, Bjorn and John fans should be up for anything.

“I think our fans are used to us doing weird, surprising stuff. A couple tracks on last year’s instrumental album have a Swedish narrative in the old dialect,” Eriksson said. “After five albums, by now people should be open to who we are. Maybe our next album will be trash-metal mixed with Stockhausen.”

Hesitant or curious fans won’t have to part with much to hear the results. “Re-Living Thing” will be released online today for free.

“That’s just how it works these days. Music is free,” Eriksson said. “When you make music, you don’t think about how to make money. Usually other people do that.”

Eriksson said most of the band’s money comes from licensing songs like “Young Folks” to TV shows and commercials. The corporate funds pay for the band’s creative ventures, like jazz and hip-hop remixes.

“When people ask us if they can use songs in commercials, we think about what the commercial is for. We won’t say yes to banks, McDonald’s and things we don’t agree with,” Eriksson said. “When it’s something we like — like TV shows, beer, maybe ice cream, stuff people need — we have no problem. It’s the only way we can make money. I wish we could sell albums, but most of our money is from that.”

Friday
Peter, Bjorn and John perform Friday night at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts in Lawrence. Cowboy Indian Bear opens at 9 p.m. Tickets to the all-ages show are $15. Visit www.thegranada.com.

Review: Blondie

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Blondie perform “My Heart Will Go On” and validate the cliche: It’s the singer, not the song.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Blondie performed all four of their No. 1 hits during Tuesday’s concert at Crossroads KC, but they opened their encore set with someone else’s chart topper.

Playing with an energy that recalled their CBGB’s heyday, the sextet slammed through a surprising cover of Celine Dion’s “Titanic hit “My Heart Will Go On.” It is unsure what was more shocking: that Blondie covered Celine Dion; or that it was really, really good.

If Blondie ever get around to making another album, that cover should definitely be included. Until then, the back catalog satisfied the nearly full venue. The 80-minute set played like a greatest hits album and clocked in at about the same length.

High points included a blistering “Rapture” that went from the rap hit to punk to a blues jam and finally ended up in the band’s hip-hop update, “No Exit.” Debbie Harry’s voice isn’t as strong as it used to be, but “Maria” put to rest any questions on her strength as a singer. She nailed the big notes of the chorus and the lower register of the verses.

Drummer Clem Burke was the group’s secret weapon. Throughout the night, the founding member set the tone by opening and closing most numbers, driving the rest of the band with his powerful playing and delivering emphatic fills that always seemed to enhance the performance. His moody playing underlined the dark moodiness of the one-two of “Fade Away and Radiate” and “Screaming Skin.”

When the band stretched out on “Atomic,” Harry retreated to the shadows at the side of the stage. She may have been out of the spotlight, but it was clear with the two detours into her solo catalog that Harry was always in the driver’s seat.

Harry reclaimed center stage with the reggae sing-along of “The Tide Is High” that drew the biggest response of the night. Harry made sure the crowd stayed involved by switching from to a cover of “I’ll Take You There.” She may have transformed the Staples Singers’ hit from social anthem to come-on, but the audience still hung on every word. When the band flipped back to “Tide,” there were scores of arms waving and fingers aloft, responding to the chorus “The tide is high but I’m holding on/I’m gonna be your number one.”

Fifty minutes earlier it was the band holding one finger in the air, as the performers frantically signaled to the soundman to turn up their monitors. Opening number “Call Me” suffered from dropped coverage, with Harry’s weak vocals buried in a horrible mix that seemed to frustrate both band and audience. The sound improved during “Hanging on the Telephone,” the next number, but it took until the fourth song, “The Hardest Part,” for everything to click.

Once the sound was solved, the band rocked like a finely tuned machine. Although only half of the six musicians onstage were original members, most of the rest have been onboard since the band reunited 10 years ago.

The evening ended with three straight No. 1 hits. After the Dion cover and the disco thump of “Heart of Glass,” Blondie segued into “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” Michael Jackson moments have become the cliché of the summer, but this inspired pairing made complete musical sense and kept bodies moving.

Few of Blondie’s peers in the late ‘70s New York punk scene had as much mainstream success as Blondie, and even fewer of those acts are still going today. Although the night may have ended sooner than expected, there were few complaints with what it delivered. At this point, we’re happy to take what we can get.

Setlist: Call Me, Hanging on the Telephone, Two Times Blue, The Hardest Part, Fade Away and Radiate, Screaming Skin, Maria, Atomic, The Tide Is High/I’ll Take You There, You’re Too Hot, Rapture/jam/No Exit, One Way Or Another. Encore: My Heart Will Go On, Heart of Glass, Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

Review: Motley Crue

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

motley

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood” album may end with the ballad “Time For Change,” but Sunday night the band gave its fans at the Sprint Center nearly two hours of the same ol’ situation.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the “Feelgood” album, the hair metal icons spent the first hour of their set playing it in order. Kicking off with the title track, the band performed in a small padded cell erected onstage. It looked pretty cool head-on, but offered zero visibility from the sides or the rafters. Fortunately the cell went away and the stage opened up as the quartet slid into the second number, “Slice of Your Pie.”The performance capped the six-hour Crue Fest 2 that also featured Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman and Drowning Pool. The audio quality in the three-quarters-full arena was solid, given that the day’s style of music didn’t demand any attention to its nuances.

Resurrecting albums in concert is the latest rock trend, but it’s a rarely a sure-fire success. Most albums have – no matter how classic – have a few tracks that can be skipped, and what goes down well on album doesn’t always play well live.

“Feelgood” is a great example. On the one hand, fans got to live top-to-bottom the record from the band’s most successful period. However, there were good reasons why songs like “Without You” and “She Goes Down” were mothballed.

Pacing was another issue. The massive response to “Kickstart My Heart” was tempered by the ballad “Without You” and a bizarre Tommy Lee solo moment onstage where he chastised security for not tossing drumsticks into the crowd that landed short of the barricade.

The Crue seemed looser and happier when they shed the album cycle. After a Mick Mars guitar solo, the band tore through their favorites with an energy that ignited the already-reved crowed.

“Saints of Los Angeles” was one of two songs performed that didn’t date from the ‘80s and one of the stronger moments. Although it is just a couple years old, the audience sang along with every word. The pyro-heavy closing set was at its peak during “Wild Side” and “Shout at the Devil,” when flashpots erupted with every “shout.”

Lee slid behind the piano bench for “Home Sweet Home” as his bandmates crowded around the grand piano like drunken saloon crooners. After picking up an assist from the two omnipresent female backing vocalists/dancers during the electric section, the song ended with Lee and vocalist Vince Neil singing from the piano bench together.

The backing singers wore black leather boots that would have made Gene Simmons envious and legs that would have made him covetous. After one hour and 45 minutes onstage, the women – who were barely older than the “Dr. Feelgood” album the evening celebrated – showed off their assets as the band roared through “Girls Girls Girls.”

Godsmack: I arrived about 20 minutes into the metal quartet’s one hour set. The Massachusetts-based band had spent some time apart, but is back on the road for the first time in over a year celebrating its 10th anniversary. Their setlist was heavy on the hits, and included one new song, “Whiskey Hangover.”

The band also celebrated the acts that inspired them, tossing a bit of Pantera’s “Walk” into “Keep Away,” which drew a huge response. Later on, singer/guitarist Sully Erna hopped behind a second drumkit for a friendly drum duel. As the drummers went back and forth, the band slipped in snippets of their favorite tunes, letting the audience supply the words. Some of the choices, like “Back in Black,” “War Pigs” and Led Zepplin’s “Moby Dick,” were expected. “Aqualung” and “Tom Sawyer” hinted at a different side of the group.

After a one-two punch of “Whatever” and “I Stand Alone,” the band ceded the stage to Motley Crue with the promise of more new music to come. In a few years, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them headlining their own rock caravan.

Setlists

Motley Crue: the “Dr. Feelgood” album: Dr. Feelgood, Slice of Your Pie, Rattlesnake Shake, Kickstart My Heart, Without You, Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.), Sticky Sweet, She Goes Down, Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Time for Change; guitar solo, Wild Side, Saints of Los Angeles, Shout at the Devil, Primal Scream/encore: Home Sweet Home, Girls Girls Girls

Godsmack (partial): Keep Away/Walk, Speak, Whiskey Hangover, Voodoo, Batalla de los Tambores, Whatever, I Stand Alone

Review: Chickenfoot

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Chickenfoot live it up going “Down the Drain,” one of the highlights of their performance Tuesday night at the Uptown Theater.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

On paper, there was a potential disaster: Chickenfoot, the hard-rock supergroup that includes members of Van Halen and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ignored several of those groups’ Top 10 hits to concentrate solely on new material at their Tuesday night concert at the Uptown Theater.

However, what sometimes comes across as forced and stiff on album, was loose and fun as former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar and bass player Michael Anthony, Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani tore through their new songs like a set of old favorites for a nearly sold-out crowd.

For the two hours they were onstage, the Uptown felt like a rock club. Throughout the night, Smith perpetually tossed drumsticks into the audience as Hagar signed autographs and slapped hands. The curtain draped across the back half of the stage pushed the band so close that Smith was able to pick out a pretty blonde in the front row and convince her to administer a spanking.

The night opened like the album, with “Avienda Revolution.” The second number, “Soap on a Rope,” featured a big greasy guitar riff that wouldn’t have been out of place in Hagar and Anthony’s old band. As Satriani reeled off one of his gravity-defying solos, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Anthony, smiling and bopping like the two had played together since high school.

Anthony broke out the Jack Daniels bass for barn-burning “Down the Drain.” Hagar introduced the number saying it was born out of a studio jam, but the way the group changed textures and tempos while maintaining intensity proved that this band was more than a vanity project.

Satriani rarely works with vocalists, so it was interesting to watch how he interacted with Hagar. Typically, his fingers say so much it’s difficult to get a word in edgewise, but he served the songs well, tastefully stepping back during the verses instead of just spinning his wheels until the next solo.

“Bitten by the Wolf” was the lone number during the main set that didn’t come from Chickenfoot’s self-titled album. The bluesy acoustic number was well received, but the crowd tore the roof off singing along to the next song, “Oh Yeah,” which has generated some radio airplay.

After the obligatory Hagar car song “Turnin’ Left” -– an ode to NASCAR –- the Red Rocker finally strapped on an electric guitar for the closing ballad “Future in the Past.” He reached for the six-string again, playing lap slide to introduce “Bad Motor Scooter,” a number Hagar wrote with Montrose in the ‘70s. It was the lone nod to any back catalog.

The night ended with another car song, Deep Purple’s “Highway Star,” but the band lingered onstage long after the song was over. As Smith, Anthony and Hagar reveled in the fans, Satriani filmed the moment for posterity. The fun was so infectious, everyone was reluctant to leave and break up the party.

Admittedly, it would have been nice to hear “Dreams” or “By the Way,” but why look to the past when there’s so much promise in the future?

Setlist: Avienda Revolution, Sexy Little Thing, Soap on a Rope, My Kinda Girl, Down the Drain, Bitten by the Wolf, Oh Yeah, Learning to Fall, Get It Up, Turnin’ Left, Future in the Past/encore: Bad Motor Scooter, Highway Star

ckft

Review: Alice Cooper

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: One of the many deaths of Alice Cooper – and “School’s Out.”)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Friday’s concert was barely 15 minutes old when Alice Cooper was forced under the guillotine. The crime was impaling a roadie and the sold out Ameristar Casino crowd was witnesses to his guilt.

As his head flopped into the basket, Cooper emerged unscathed and unamused, briefly holding up his severed head like a “Twilight Zone” Hamlet before signaling his band to start “Welcome to My Nightmare.”

From the guillotine to the hangman’s noose to the iron maiden, Cooper’s Theater of Death definitely lived up to its name. More than a rock concert, the 90-minute spectacle was a brutal slab of rock theater set to a heavy soundtrack.

Backed by a tight, thunderous four-piece band, Cooper both opened and closed the show with “School’s Out.” In between he hit on nearly every phase of his massive back catalog. Flipping from blues-based hard rock to industrial metal, Cooper and co. did a good job unearthing album tracks and delivering the hits.

Big numbers like “I’m Eighteen” and “Poison” got the expected responses but lesser-known numbers were just as good. Cooper belted the “Ballad of Dwight Fry” from a straightjacket. Later he performed “Nurse Rozetta” from a wheelchair, setting up her PG strip-tease during “Be My Lover.”

The only time the group dialed down from 11 were the back-to-back acoustic numbers “Only Women Bleed” and “I Never Cry.” Cooper delivered “Bleed” with a lifeless Rozetta across his lap and “Cry” hanging from the gallows. The setting rendered the ballads less tender but more powerful.

Cooper uses props in the same way as the Flaming Lips. The added spectacle definitely makes the evening more entertaining, but would be worthless without the great music supporting them. Cooper’s band drove this point the two times they were given the stage alone. Deprived of their leader and all his tricks, they rocked hard and kept the audience riveted.

After an instrumental number, Cooper returned with some of his biggest numbers. It was hilarious to watch the group of graying mid-life dudes in the crowd go nuts over the silver Mardi Gras beads he tossed out during “Dirty Diamonds.” For the next number – “Billion Dollar Babies” – he presented a saber loaded with fake money, which was sprinkled over the front rows.

The main set ended with the one-two punch of “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and “Under My Wheels.” Although they’d been played to death, the band was clearly having a blast, duckwalking backward across the stage and grinning from ear to ear. It was hard to tell who was having more fun, the band or the crowd. Ultimately it didn’t matter. It was clear both sides lived for this stuff.

Setlist: School’s Out, Department of Youth, I’m Eighteen, Wicked Young Man, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Go To Hell, Guilty, Welcome To My Nightmare, Cold Ethyl, Poison, The Awakening, From the Inside, Nurse Rozetta -> Is It My Body, Be My Lover, Only Women Bleed, I Never Cry, instrumental, Vengeance Is Mine , Devil’s Food -> Dirty Diamonds, Billion Dollar Babies, Killer, No More Mr. Nice Guy -> Under My Wheels / School’s Out (encore)

Review: Toots and the Maytals, the Wailers

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Toots and the Maytals deliver “54-46 Was My Number” to a massive French audience in 2009.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

For four hours Sunday night, the back lot behind Grinder’s felt like a Jamaican resort.

The balmy summer weather was the perfect accompaniment to the music. Toots and the Maytals, the group that invented the word “reggae,” and the Wailers, the band that took it mainstream, celebrated both the roots and the future of the genre for a partially packed but fully appreciative audience.

While both groups feature only one founding member, it was more than enough for each ensemble. Led by bass player Aston “Family Man” Barrett, the Wailers blasted through an energetic hour of Bob Marley’s greatest hits.

The 10-piece band stuck closely to the original arrangements handed down from Mount Marley, but no one seemed to be looking for anything new. The Wailers played the hits for a crowd who had worn out their copies of “Legend” and needed no prompting to sing and dance along.

With a deck stacked so deeply, it was hard to go wrong, but a few songs stood out. “Jamming” took its title literally enough to feature some nice guitar work. “Wait In Vain” featured some nice harmony vocals from lead singer Elan Atias and the two female backing vocalists. The trio tossed the audience a curveball in the middle of that number when they worked “We Are the World” and a shout-out to Michael Jackson in the chorus.

The Wailers’ set ended with an epic medley of “Exodus” and “Punky Reggae Party.” Anchored by the wah guitar strumming and keyboard riff and garnished by horns, the 10-minute performance suggested a slithering, dancing convoy.

When “Exodus” was over, so was the set. It seemed a shame to shut down a band that felt like it was just getting start. The puzzlement was compounded by 45-minute wait before Toots and the Maytals came on.

Toots Hibbert made up for the wait between sets by opening with the song most people wanted to hear -– “Pressure Drop” -– and blasting through his best-known numbers. The music Hibbert made with the Maytals isn’t as famous as Marley’s, but it’s just as influential, mixing gospel, soul, funk and folk.

The earliest highlight wasn’t an original number, though. Hibbert and the seven-piece Maytals transformed “Louie Louie” to something that sounded like a Jamaican version of Booker T and the MGs that ended in double-time with Hibbert screaming like Ronald Isley at the end of “Shout” and verbally jousting with his two female backing singers. The trick worked so well it was reprised several times throughout the set.

A slowed-down reading of “Bam Bam” found Hibbert on acoustic guitar with an arrangement that betrayed the song’s sea shanty roots. Hibbert stayed on acoustic for a ferocious “Funky Kingston,” which more than lived up to its title. He blew a blues harp on “My Love Is So Strong” and dared the crowd to keep up with his fast dance moves several times.

The indefatigable Hibbert still has great pipes and he showed them off frequently. An improvised tribute to Kinston went from soul ballad to blues shuffle to reggae groove before getting a big gospel finish. The Maytals’ church collided with a great cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” that reclaimed the number from Dwight Schrute and Andy Bernard’s break room shenanigans.

The Maytals’ 95-minute set ended with romps through “Broadway Jungle” and “54-46 Was My Number” that culminated in another gospel blow-out and the band riffing on “Beat It.”

Public Property opened the evening with a 30-minute set played against the setting sun and an arriving audience. The six-piece band was definitely a disciple of the acts who followed. Their infectious set including the catchy “Choo-Choo Song.”

Setlists

The Wailers: Intro/horn instrumental, Lively Up Yourself, Rastaman Vibration, I Shot the Sheriff, Jamming, Wait In Vain ->We Are the World, Three Little Birds, One Love, Exodus/Punky Reggae Party

Toots and the Maytals: Pressure Drop, Pomp and Pride, Louie Louie, Reggae Got Soul, Time Tough, Bam Bam, Funky Kingston, unknown song, My Love is So Strong, Sweet and Dandy, Reggae Music All Right (improv), Take Me Home Country Roads, You Know, Light Your Light, Monkey Man/encore/Broadway Jungle, 54-46 Was My Number

Keep reading:

Review: Toots and the Maytals (2007)

Review: Sly and Robbie (2009)

Jamie Foxx brings it to Sprint Center on Saturday

by thedailyrecord, posted in band feature, Kansas City Star
(Above: Jamie Foxx celebrates society’s greatest scapegoat.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Three days after Michael Jackson’s death, Jamie Foxx appeared as host of the BET Awards clad in a red leather, Thriller-era jacket and sequined glove. After performing “Beat It” and telling a few jokes about Jackson’s ever-changing nose, Foxx paid tribute to the fallen icon by moonwalking across the stage.

And when Foxx performs a concert at the Sprint Center on Saturday, Jackson again will have his moment.

“We definitely do a Michael Jackson moment at our shows and let his music play,” Foxx said in a recent telephone interview. “A lot of the media’s Michael Jackson coverage has become a circus. We try to concentrate on what he gave us — his music.”

After walking the tightrope of poking fun at Jackson without offending, Foxx closed out the BET Awards with a duet of “I’ll Be There” with Ne-Yo. After the pair finished, Jackson’s sister Janet and father, Joe, came out and thanked everyone for their support.

“My job that night was to keep things light, keep things fun,” Foxx said. “Having the family there was tough, because I wanted to be respectful and I knew Janet was going to come out at the end. I have to commend BET, though. They had to do an awards show when the biggest entertainer in the world passes away. With very little money and very little time, they completely turned the show around.”

When Foxx last played Kansas City at the Music Hall in March, 2007, he was best known for his Oscar-winning performance as Ray Charles and parodying that character on the hit single “Gold Digger” with Kanye West. For this tour, Foxx has the success and chops under his belt to prove that he’s not just another actor living out a fantasy as a musician.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned since the last tour is that you should go out while your record is hot, not wait two years,” Foxx said, remembering his 2005 hit “Unpredictable,” which he didn’t promote until 2007. “Right now, this very moment, ‘Blame It’ is still rolling (on the charts). It’s sizzling.”

When Stevie Wonder played Starlight Theatre recently, he stopped the show for a few minutes to have the soundman pump his favorite song this year through the PA. Within moments, the crowd that had been grooving to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and “Living for the City” was grinding to Foxx’s “Blame It.”

Even without the endorsements, “Blame It” is one of the unofficial songs of the summer. It topped the Urban Contemporary charts for 12 consecutive weeks and as of mid-July it had been in the Top 40 for 26 weeks.

Like many of the previous summertime hits, “Blame It” gets a boost from the ubiquitous T-Pain. He won’t be at the Sprint Center, but Foxx said audiences won’t miss T-Pain or any of the other artists that appear on his albums.

“For those songs with features, I have guys who sing those parts, so we don’t miss a step,” Foxx said. “My back-up singer does a great job performing T-Pain’s part. It’s a lot of fun, but it also taught me another lesson: Don’t lean on your features too heavily when recording, so you can still do them alone on tour.”

Before Foxx was an Oscar-winning actor or a comedian on “In Living Color” and “Def Comedy Jam,” he was a musician. Foxx started taking piano lessons at age 5 and released his first album in 1994. It took 11 years and an appearance on Twista’s “Slow Jamz” — again with West — before Foxx released a follow-up album.

When he began performing as a musician on the big stage, Foxx drew on his experiences as an actor and comedian.

“Through playing live I learned how to pace myself,” Foxx said. “I learned I could take my time with a slow song. As a comedian, I am always looking for a reaction. But when you sing a slow song, you don’t need an immediate reaction. Sometimes people want to take it all in before they respond. I don’t need to go all over the stage to make sure they like it.”

Whatever the tempo, Foxx pulls on his acting background and treats each song as if he’s playing a character. Upbeat songs get a character who knows how to party and have fun, Foxx said.

“When it’s time for slower music, I change clothes and put on a suit,” he said. “For ‘Blame It,’ I wear a sparkly jacket, because that’s what I felt that character would wear. Everything’s always a character.”

Foxx appeared as a different kind of musician earlier this year. In the movie “The Soloist,” he portrayed a homeless, schizophrenic, classically trained cellist. Don’t look for that character to appear onstage.

“No more cello for me,” Foxx said. “I just play piano.”

the show
Jamie Foxx and his 50-city “Intuition Tour” come to Kansas City at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Sprint Center. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $59.75 and $69.75 at www.ticketmaster.com.

Review: No Doubt, Paramore

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: No Doubt perform “Running” at Starlight Theater on July 6, 2009.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

On its first tour in seven years, No Doubt might be packing large venues like Starlight Theatre on Monday night, but it’s playing them like a hungry band working the crowd for a place to crash afterward.

The few times the band paused during its 95-minute set, singer Gwen Stefani read the crowd’s homemade signs and called fans toting gifts up to the stage.

After tossing a sign spray-painted with a request for “Total Hate 95,” one fan was rewarded with a performance of the rare number. Later, after accepting the cross-stitched logos another fan made, a genuinely touched Stefani hauled her admirer onstage for a quick photo op.

When she wasn’t speaking to the crowd, Stefani and company were giving them exactly what they wanted: a heavy dose of the hits that made the band big in the first place. The setlist resembled the track list of the greatest hits album No Doubt released before going on hiatus, a celebration of the 11 years they’ve shared.

The opening ska bounce of “Spiderwebs” had the crowd eating out of Stefani’s hand, singing, swaying and dancing on cue. That number fell into the electro pop of “Hella Good.” The tempos may have changed throughout the night, but the energy never lagged. Through it all, Stefani was never still, dancing, spinning, jumping and unceasingly working the crowd.

The other five musicians onstage gave no evidence of any time apart. Drummer Adrian Young sat in the middle of the all-white stage, his kit the centerpiece of a six-legged platform that looked like a futuristic insect. He was flanked by multi-instrumentalists Stephen Bradley and Gabrial McNair, who handled horns, keyboards and backing vocals. Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont and bass player Tony Kanal navigated the rest of the stage.

Behind them all, a large screen played videos during most songs. The best bits were the James Bond parody during “Ex-Girlfriend” and the homemade videos of the band’s early days accompanying the ballad “Running.”

“Don’t Speak” drew the biggest response, but it was nearly matched by “Just a Girl,” which closed the main set. As Dumont played its spidery opening riff, Stefani dropped to the floor and counted out push-ups with the crowd. After reaching 10, she sprung to her feet and launched into the verse. Both feats drew massive cheers.

One got the feeling during Paramore’s 40-minute set that the band brought as many fans as the headliners. The power pop quintet’s set was marked by a constant stream of young fans rushing as close to the stage as their parents would let them to snap a photo.

The setlist tipped heavily toward the 2007 album “Riot,” which delighted the devoted, who hung on singer Hayley Williams’ every word. The two new songs, which blended almost too well with the older material, and set-closing “Decode” from the “Twilight” soundtrack, were extra treats.

Bedouin Soundclash opened the evening with a 30-minute set.

After No Doubt returned for “Rock Steady,” Bedouin Soundclash and Paramore joined the band for “Stand and Deliver.” Nearly all of the dozen musicians onstage pounded the various drums brought out while Stefani and Williams swapped verses. No Doubt drummer Young managed to stand out in the crowd by parading around wearing only a pink-and-white tutu, marching snare drum and calf-high athletic socks.

The night ended with “Sunday Morning,” which, like so many No Doubt triumphs, hit the sweet spot between pop, ska, dance and rock. When the music ended, band members lingered onstage signing autographs, tossing souvenirs and shaking hands.

Just as they did in their native Southern California clubs a lifetime ago.

SETLISTS
No Doubt: Spiderwebs, Hella Good, Underneath It All, Excuse Me Mr., Ex-Girlfriend, End It On This, Total Hate 95, Simple Kind of Life, Bathwater, Guns of Navarone, New, Hey Baby, Running, Different People, Don’t Speak, It’s My Life, Just a Girl//encore: Rock Steady, Stand and Deliver, Sunday Morning

Paramore: Misery Business, For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic, Pressure, Ignorance (new song), Crush Crush Crush, When It Rains, Where the Lines Overlap (new song), That’s What You Get, Let the Flames Begin, Decode

Review: Earth, Wind and Fire with Chicago

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star
(Above: Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire team up to rock “25 or 4 to 6.” That song ended the duo’s three-hour performance at the Sprint Center on Sunday.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire took the stage Sunday night at the Sprint Center armed with enough musicians for a intramural football team and sufficient horns to start a Glenn Miller Orchestra franchise.

The 18-strong band opened with a tag-team of each other’s hits, opening appropriately with “Beginning” followed by “Never” and an extended “We Can Make It Happen.” The bands played like there was a penalty for letting the energy lag, barely pausing to take a breath between numbers.

With the crowd warmed up, Chicago departed leaving Earth, Wind and Fire to entertain on their own. The soul veterans were more than up to the task. They kicked off their hour-long set with “Boogie Wonderland,” which activated the hidden springs in each seat that forced everyone to their feet.

“Serpentine Fire” and the Latin-influenced “Evil” made sure everyone kept moving until the cascade of slow jams: “That’s the Way of the World,” “After the Love is Gone” and a cover of Chicago’s “Wishing You Were Here.” That number got a smooth jazz make-over that featured original member Philip Bailey’s pillow-soft falsetto.

The spotlights turned on the energetic crowd for a sing-along through “Got to Get You Into My Life,” which found the band working the lip of the stage shaking hands with the crowd. After “Fantasy,” the stage went dark and three huge neon drums were wheeled to center stage. Armed with neon drumsticks and shirts with lights the ad hoc drum corp. created an impressive groove that segued into the set-ending “Let’s Groove.”

Chicago did themselves a favor by scheduling a 20-minute intermission before their set, but they still had a hard time matching EWF’s energy. “Saturday in the Park” got things off to a good start and their cover of “I Can’t Let Go” returned the favor EWF paid with “Wishing You Were Here.”

Unfortunately, the band slipped into soft rock mode after an spirited “Alive Again.” “Look Away” melted into “Hard Habit To Break,” “You’re the Inspiration,” “Just You and Me” and “Hold Me Now.” True, all the songs were hits and drew enthusiastic vocal support from the crowd, but putting them all together killed the pacing and energy.

After coaxing the audience back to their feet, Chicago’s 50-minute set closed with “Stronger Every Day.”
Despite just seven original members across the two groups, strong arrangements meant key departed musicians like Maurice White and Peter Cetera weren’t missed. With so much talent onstage, special effects took a back seat – the musicians were more than enough spectacle.

The stage featured a two-tiered riser with a drum kit on each side at the top which made the structure resemble twin pyramids. There was plenty of space out front for the artists to run around. None of them made better use of this space than EWF founding bass player Verdine White, who strutted in fringed bell-bottoms and appeared to be having the time of his life.

The upper deck of the Sprint Center was curtained off, leaving a cozy lower bowl that didn’t have many empty seats. The sound was good. Not clear enough to pick out each specific instrument, but each section was distinct. Drums thumped, guitars sizzled and horns punched.

This was the groups’ third tour together and it’s easy to see why both musicians and audiences keep coming back. While similar outings could turn into a battle of the bands, Chicago and EWF complement each other well. Both are known for soaring vocals and intricate horn lines and really are two sides of the same coin.

The night ended the same way it began, with both bands onstage trading hits. EWF’s “September” led into Chicago’s “Free,” which featured the sax players from both bands sparring over a White bassline that recalled the finer moments of Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins in James Brown’s band.

The bands nailed the night shut with a run on “Sing A Song,” “Does Anybody Know What Time It Is,” “Shining Star” and “25 or 4 to 6” that didn’t leave any other option but to dance. Three hours after taking the stage together, the musicians celebrated each other like a sports team winning the pennant. In a way, they had.

Stevie Wonder celebrates Michael Jackson at Starlight

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, Motown

(Above: Stevie Wonder performs “Never Can Say Goodbye” the day after Michael Jackson’s death. Wonder dedicated his performance at Starlight Theater to Jackson.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Stevie Wonder walked on stage at Starlight Theatre on Friday night with zero fanfare and cut to the heart of the night before playing a single note.

“God blessed us with a talented man who brought us joy with his dancing, music, videos and all of that,” Wonder said as part of his five-minute monologue about his friend and former Motown labelmate Michael Jackson.
Finally settling behind his grand piano, Wonder delivered a powerful acapella performance of “Love’s In Need of Love Today” that gave me goosebumps. After two verses, the band joined in. When the song was over, Wonder led them into a spontaneous version of “Kansas City” that caught most of the musicians off-guard.It was that kind of night. The mood altered between moving tributes to Jackson, who died the day before, upbeat hits and random moments.

It took Wonder a half hour to get the nearly sold-out crowd on its feet. Once “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” finally did the trick, Wonder ensured they stayed up by playing the signature bassline to “Billie Jean.” With no vocal support from the stage, Wonder let the crowd sing the entire song.

The audience did a good job at impromptu karoke the first time around, but was less successful in carrying “I Can’t Help It.” Wonder has good reason to be proud of the song he wrote for Jackson that ended up on his “Off the Wall” album, but few in the audience were familiar with the number.

The crowd did better on Wonder’s classic material. “All I Do,” “Higher Ground” and “Living for the City” all drew big responses.

Later in the set, Wonder led the band through a jam with his vocoder. Safe behind the distortion of this electronic vocal altering device, Wonder was surprisingly honest.

“Last night and today I was in so much pain,” Wonder said, “but I knew if I played for you I would play a little better.”

Still employing the vocoder, Wonder segued into the Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye.” The poignant moment was made even more mournful by the vocal alteration and Wonder’s decision to let a male backing singer take the final verse. Emotions built as Wonder led the crowd through the chorus again and again, turning the song into a remembrance and a celebration.

Wonder was backed by a 14-piece band that included four backing vocalists – including his daughter Aisha Morris – two percussionists, keyboard players and guitarist and a rhythm and horn section.

Given his orchestrations on record, it was no surprise the band arrangements were sublime. The ensemble knew the right moments to back off and give Wonder the spotlight and the right time to come in and kick the performance up a notch. As usual, the sound at Starlight was great.

After the South American syncopation of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” Wonder paused for a moment behind the keyboard. Playing a gorgeous piece of music, he started humming and mumbling until the words congealed into stream-of-consciousness thoughts about Jackson being “in the arms of God.” The energy from this moving melody was poured into an amazing reading of “You and I” that found Wonder showing of his vocal range and its resilience to time and age.

Randomness struck again in the last 30 minutes of the night when Wonder had his sound man play Jamie Foxx and T-Pain’s “Blame It (On the Alcohol)” over the PA while he rested his throat and the band hydrated. That was followed by a jazz number performed by Wonder’s daughter. The song was pleasant, but not what folks came to hear.

Two other shortcomings also bear mention. The only time Wonder played harmonica was during a cover of Chick Corea’s “Spain.” His solo brief solo there was both a tease and a crime. Also, Wonder’s ‘60s catalog was completely ignored. “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” from 1970 was as far back as Wonder went for the night, which meant “Uptight,” “Hey Love,” “My Cherie Amor” and others were forgotten.

Wonder ended the night with the murderer’s row of “I Just Called To Say I Love You,” “Sir Duke,” “Superstition” and “As” that more than erased any minor missteps. As the final notes of “As” died out, the strains of “ABC” faded in. The Jackson 5 number kicked off a pre-recorded medley of Wonder’s favorite Jackson moments.

As the tape played, everyone remained onstage dancing, singing along and brushing away stray tears. Two hours and 20 minutes after taking the stage, Wonder and his band filed slowly offstage as “Man in the Mirror” played. There was no encore, but there was nothing left to say.

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Setlist: Love’s In Need of Love Today, Going to Kansas City> Bird of Beauty> As If You Read My Mind> Master Blaster (Jammin’), Billie Jean, Did I Hear You Say You Love Me> All I Do, I Can’t Help It, Vocoder Jam> Never Can Say Goodbye > Higher Ground, Spain> Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing, Improvised MJ tribute> You and I, Living For the City, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Blame It (On the Alcohol) (Jamie Foxx and T-Pain song played over PA), I’m Going to Laugh You Right Out of My Life (Aisha Morris, lead vocals), Sir Duke> Superstition, As, Michael Jackson medley (played over PA)

Keep reading:
More Stevie Wonder articles from The Daily Record.

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