REVIEW: Jersey Boys

It's been a while my friends.  My bad.  Let me hit you with this review, check it.

Jersey Boys is labeled as being "The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons".  There are a few things you KNOW going into this thing.

1. Everybody says you will love it
2. The music will be very good

Those are givens, but those don't necessarily mean that the musical will be good.  So was it?

BRUUCE!!! Nov 7 @ MSG Review

First Tri-State area performance for Bruce and the E Street Band since Giants Stadium, and this one was at Madison Square Garden.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the venue, because Bruce rocked Giants Stadium to the ground, I just wasn't sure that Madison Square Garden would be able to handle it.

MSG held up, and so did Bruce and the Legendary E Street Band.

Let's check out the set list...

BRUUCE!!! Oct 9 Review & Recap

Well everybody, it's over.  It's finally over.  October 09, 2009 at Giants Stadium, Bruce rocked the house (and built a house...of love, and faith, and music, and Jersey Soul, and noise...), and now all we have to look forward to is their hiatus.

Well, let me break down the set list for you, and provided you with some comments from my evening.  The moral of this story?  "Old people suck, and just aren't fun."  I'm not talking about Bruce, but I am talking about certain people - you know who you are.  Here's the set list (and as always, the handwritten list to the right.

BRUUCE!!! Oct 2 & 3 Review

Well everybody - week one of Bruce rocking the Meadowlands is done.

Below are the official set lists, and my comments, but let me first say this. Noticeably missing for all three concerts was Patti Scalfa, Bruce Springsteen's wife. They've been having relationship problems (according to the media that are even less credible than myself), so to me this is just weird. I know the stories that when they are in Jersey she spends time with the kids. Well great, if I was fucking Bruce maybe I'd be able to get a check for doing nothing - but most of America has to work for what they get! If you are performing at a place that is 20 minutes from your home base, get the sand out and show up. The rest of the band is there. Personally, she doesn't bring much to the table as she is just a backup singer who bangs Bruce, so she stand on the opposite side of Steven Van Zant - primo real estate! Show up! That's all you have to do. Show up! Bruce is the performer who is supposed to be able to relate to the average American. Personally, I cannot relate to the fact that they're performing around the corner from her house and Patti just needs to spend time with her daughter who is on an equestrian tour. Fuck that shit, fuck that shit big time. Show up and do your god damn job.

October 02, 2009

Wrecking Ball

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

No Surrender

Outlaw Pete

Hungry Heart

Working on a Dream

Badlands

Adam Raised a Cain

Something in the Night

Candy's Room

Racing in the Street

The Promised Land

Factory

Streets of Fire

Prove it All Night

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Waiting on a Sunny Day

I'm Going Down

Be True

Jailhouse Rock

Thunder Road

Long Walk Home

The Rising

Born to Run

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Cadillac Ranch

Bobby Jean

American Land

Dancin' in the Dark

Rosalita

October 03, 2009

Wrecking Ball

Out in the Street

Outlaw Pete

Hungry Heart

Working on a Dream

Born in the USA

Cover Me

Darlington County

Working on the Highway

Downbound Train

I'm on Fire

No Surrender

Bobby Jean

I'm Going Down

Glory Days

Dancing in the Dark

My Hometown

The Promised Land

Last to Die

Long Walk Home

The Rising

Born to Run

Jersey Girl

------

Kitty's Back

Detroit Medley

American Land

Waiting on a Sunny Day

Thunder Road

I am partial to the performance on Sept. 30, because he played both Atlantic City and Growing Up - which are two of my favorite Bruce songs, and two of which I wasn't expecting him to play. Badlands is another one of my favorite songs, but I expect him to play it either first, or at least at SOME point in the performance. Saturday's show featured no Badlands. Still a great show, but I wanted Badlands more than most of the crowd, and Mike Francesa, wants Thunder Road - "You ain't gettin' no Thunda Road!" I really liked the Kitty's Back to the Detroit Medley portion of the Saturday night show. Those are songs that are great jams, and I wasn't expecting him to play that at all. Not a popular choice, but I was totally digging it. Unfortunately, Saturday's performance didn't have either Badlands OR Rosalita, which deviated from the handwritten set list. Still, a hell of a concert. Bruce is a phenomenal performer.

Friday Oct. 02 Bruce played songs from Darkness on the Edge of Town, which is a great album, and Sat. Oct. 03 played songs from Born in the USA. This is a special treat he's trying to give the Jersey crowd for the last performance at this Giants Stadium. I could also go for a block of The Rising - a little Lonesome Day and other songs! Very good album, and because it's one of his more recent albums, probably doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Fortunately, I had no problems with old men demanding I sit down either of these performances, and I had a great time. My tailgate on Friday night was a little longer than Wednesday nights, and it was myself, BuDaChick and two of BuDaChick's friends - good tailgate, good performance, good time! Saturday was a little bit more dramatic. The idea was an all day tailgate, weather permitting. At one point, it wasn't looking like the weather would permit at all - we kept the faith and drove through the rain, hit Jersey and BOOM! Rain stops, sun comes out, tailgate commences! It was myself, BuDaChick, BuDaChick's mom and BuDaChick's mom's friend, my buddy "DaMayo", and our friend "Mac'n'Kev" met us their via the train with his brother and his brother's girlfriend. Great tailgate, great people. Instead of all getting split up, we ending up joining together again in Section 227 for some Level 2 dance-partying and some bad ass Brucery!

I know that my man Mac'n'Kev wants to say hi to some girls in Section 227, Rows 3, or 4 or 5 - I don't know where you guys were sitting, but he definitely liked one and/or a few of you. I know this because he didn't know your names, not even close to knowing them, and cared to ask me to find out. I lean over and say "HI! I'm BuDaMan, what's your name?!" She says, "HI! I'm Tracy!...", immediately turning to the Mac'n'Kev to say, "...YOU DIDN'T KNOW MY NAME?!?" AH! Caught! I knew I liked her right then and there. To be able to sniff out that tride and true man-tactic in the heat of a rocking Bruce concert, well done sir (ma'am). I don't think it worked out though, because Mac'n'Kev was having a dance party with her friend a few more songs into the evening.

Good times - great times! I hope everyone I went with for the first time had a great concert, and I hope our tailgating lived up to the billing! Be back next week with a review of next Friday's concert.

BRUUCE!!! Sept. 30 - Giants Stadium #1

It's here people - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the final concerts of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Siick.

I was there, and if I can describe it in one word: awesome. If I have the option of describing it in two words: fucking awesome. It was bad ass. Here is the official set list:

Wrecking Ball

Seeds

Johnny 99

Atlantic City

Outlaw Pete

Hungry Heart

Working on a Dream

Thunder Road

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Night

Backstreets

Born to Run

She's the One

Meeting Across the River

Jungleland

Waiting on a Sunny Day

The Promised Land

Into the Fire

Lonesome Day

The Rising

Badlands

No Surrender

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

Raise Your Hand

E Street Shuffle

Growing Up

American Land

Dancin' In The Dark

Hard Times

Rosalita

Bruce came on about 8:15pm and opened with Wrecking Ball, a new song he was rumored to be writing specifically for the final Giants Stadium concerts. It was true - and awesome. Bruce and the E Street Band managed to rock out for about 3 and a half hours, pretty much non stop as always. Overall a great concert.

Highlights of the night for me were Atlantic City and Growing Up as they're probably my favorite Bruce songs, and I wasn't expecting him to play either one LET ALONE BOTH. Awesome. Other highlights were American Land which was about 10 minutes long and I haven't heard live, and that went right into Dancing in the Dark. Bruce brought up an old lady on stage during this song and started dancing with her like she was Courtney Cox pre-Arquette. It was pretty awesome.

During the final concerts at Giants Stadium Bruce will be doing something "a little special" as he called it. They will be picking an album and playing songs from that album somewhere in the middle of the show. Last night was Born to Run. Friday will be Darkness on the Edge of Town, Saturday will be Born in the USA, next Thursday should be Born to Run again, and the final concert next Friday should be Born in the USA.

*SIDE STORY* I want to say somewhere around "Into the Fire", a good amount of the crowd sat down. I just want to point out that myself and BuDaChick did not sit down once, and only two times in the entire concert did a portion of the crowd sit - it was that awesome. Anyhoo... I get a tap on my shoulder, "Can you sit down?" I don't really feel like sitting down, but I decide to check with MY Boss, and BuDaChick replied, "No.", I said okay, and turned back to enjoy the show. Another second or two later I get a more hurried tap on my arm, "HEY, WILL YOU SIT DOWN?!" I turn around and say, "No. We don't want." I turn back to the show. This gentleman was very angry with this, because in no time I was forced to turn around, grabbed on the arm and was shook by him, and shortly after was threatened that he would urinate on my seat. I was called an asshole, to which I replied, "Yes. Yes I am an asshole. Now calm the fuck down, and don't touch me." We weren't the only people standing in the stadium, first of all, there were people standing next to us, and in this moron's row as well. My position is that if you pay for the seat, you can do whatever you want in that space. This guys point was that no one was standing in front of me and that I should sit down. I told him to go fuck himself, and his buddy chimed in. Another minute or two of this and I am really starting to get annoyed with this disturbance - I WANT TO WATCH BRUCE GODDAMMIT! I told these douchebag's that they would need to stop - they dared me to get security, and another five minutes later there were dudes in yellow jackets checking out the area. Listen people - don't fuck with anyone else in a public place, period. I didn't really care to get the security, but this fucker called me out on it. I wouldn't have cared if he was just asking me, but the moment he put his hands on me I was furious. This guy was a little too old for me to deck him and have me not be in the news and headed for a trial, which is a perfect excuse because there I'm so non-confrontational that I wouldn't have done anything anyway. You can tap people on the shoulder (excuse me, I'm trying to make my way through), but you cannot clench your knuckles around anyones arm or shoulders or boobs or ass - it's just not appropriate. Count it!

BRUUCE!!! Going on hiatus?! Guh?!

"Put down the chicken fingah!" Apparently Bruce is going to put his down for a little while after he finishes this final leg of the Working on a Dream tour in November. Bruce is coming to rock out the Tri-State area at the end of September to close out all music concerts at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (WE LOVE THE BLUE!) Steven Van Zandt, best known for his dashiki, and the character Silvio Dante from the Soprano's (he also plays guitar, and his love affair with Bruce Springsteen spurned Bruce to write Bobby Jean about him [don't believe me, look it up f*cker] ), has stated that they are "going to take a break". Today Bruce tickets went on salefor Madison Square Garden for the first week of November (thanks to the BuDa-ChiCk, I will be there Nov. 8), and shortly after those performances, and ending in Buffalo, NY on Nov. 22. Let me just say, there better be some "Boss" sliding crotch shots into cameras - enough to last me through this 'hiatus'. At 60+ years old, who knows, it could be time for the band to sit back and collect their social security checks, sign up for Medicaid, end their days at 5:30pm, and take up daily cantankerous arguments with grocery box boys about how they are bruising the cantaloupe. Frankly, I'm scared. BRUCE! DON'T GO! I'LL BE YOUR "JUKEBOX GRADUATE FOR FIRST MATE"!!!!

REVIEW: In The Heights

Let me preface this with the following: I love the boniqua's. I do. This Broadway musical was full of them! In The Heights is a musical about people from Washington Heights and received multiple awards as well as critical acclaim, including the winner Best Musical 2008 Music Award. This is a tale about way uptown NYC; a story of "American Dreaming to a Latin Beat". Nothing against Latin beats, when they're good they're great, but this was a mixture of Broadway pop and forced rap lyrics weren't rhyming to contrived hip-hop beats. Fortunately, between every confusing song there were the dancing boniqua's, the highlight of the show. If you have, or haven't seen the show, I will try not to spoil anything for you, but the song "96,000" was some of the worst crap I've ever had to force myself to listen to - that, and when my girlfriend flips to the Wedding Central Channel, yeesh!

The characters consist of two male leads and two female leads, and they were all outshone by the woman who played the grandma (and she sucked!). This old lady managed to produce some of the worst acting as a completely unbelievable latino grandmother, and then during her song Paciencia Y Fe, managed to completely wow me with her vocals - credit where credit is due, but the English translation of that song is Patience and Faith. From the 0.00001% of me that I think could be Jewish, Oy Vey. You see where this crapfest is going?

One female lead, Vanessa (Marcy Harriell), looked like a baby eater. What's a baby eater you say? They are people that, by the look of their face, would appear as though they would eat babes - skeletal face, larger eyes than their head should fit, larger mouth than proportional, larger teeth for the already large mouth; those are some characteristics of a baby eat. Yeah, Vanessa, she looked like one. The other female lead, Nina (Mandy Gonzalez), was playing a person who went to college for a year and was forced to drop out. Unfortunately for us, Mandy Gonzalez looked like the was on the wrong side of 35. First year of college, really? Really?! C'mon! To top it off, they both produced my #1 singing pet peeve - singing the "R's". "Fah-theRRR!" Amateur.

Maybe I'm a little too harsh. I guess I just don't see what the big fuss is about. The Broadway pop stuff wasn't turrible, but the forced rap/hip-hop was just horrendous. Two interesting notes; in that crap song "96,000" they reference Frodo. I gave a little chuckle from that, because there was nothing else to keep me interesting. Second interesting note: The main character's name is Usnavi (Oos-Nah-Vee), and he says that his parents named his after a sign on a boat when they got to America - U.S.Navy. Ahh, stupid people. On the positive side, the choreography was excellent; thank god and whoever else for the boniqua's!

Other bad songs from the musical; Champagne, and In the Heights. Let's try rhyming! Most flagrant lyrical infraction since Steve Miller Band rhymed "...facts is..." with "...taxes..." (2nd verse). You've been warned!