APAP - Hilton Hotel, NYC, January 6th - 10th, 2017

Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) is one of my favorite music based event series to come around every January. Held at NYC’s flagship Hilton Hotel on 6th Avenue at 54th Street, it consists of loads of eclectic showcases of musical artists/groups, workshops, luncheons, discussions and more. This includes many tribute bands/artists and original artists performing. This year I was most interested in guitarist Larry Carlton and John Pizzarelli playing together, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats, (featured in photo) Peaches & Herb, Terence Blanchard and Heart To Heart, which is a tribute to Heart that features two former members, those being bassist Steve Fossen and drummer Michael Derosier. There are tons more.

New York Comic Con - Jacob Javitz Center, NYC, October 6th - 9th, 2016

I always look forward to the annual New York Comic Con convention, held at the Javitz Center and other surrounding venues. Designed as a fan convention covering comics, animation, graphic novels, Japanese manga comics, video games, movies, toys and television shows, the convention has grown, to borrow a familiar related phrase, “in leaps and bounds” since being formed in 2006. In fact, that would be an understatement. It’s a massive success, with a staggering 180,000 fans attending this year’s three day convention.

Produced by ReedPop, it’s a blast for these fans that come in droves and often dressed up in a comic related persona. Personally, I’m especially interested in the actors and personalities that represent characters they’ve played. Some of the actors appearing at the convention haven’t portrayed a character per se. Adam West, (pictured) who of course played Batman in the 1960’s television show, was a highlight for me. Others were, in random order, Lee Majors, Geena Davis, Matt Damon and Keanu Reeves.

KT Tunstall - Barrymore Theater September 23rd 2016

Having decided to start fresh, Scotland’s KT Tunstall downsized her life and moved to California. Thinking she would focus on music for television or film,  she found herself instead waking up at night with big pop choruses in her head. Perhaps it was driving around L.A. listening to Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac or driving through Laurel Canyon where so much great music was born.  Unable to ignore the songs brewing in her brain, KT went about capturing them on tape and found herself with a record. The idea of family and community resonates through KIN with the album veering away from her previous collection’s downbeat folk to reconnect with her debut’s brash, upstart pop: engineered in embraceable lyrics and filled with insatiable hooks. “A songwriter’s brain is like a juicer blending all their influence together,” KT says, “and you hope you come up with something original, and not something that tastes like beets.” Whether drawing from her love of Patti Smith and Bo Diddley or inspired by seventies FM radio, KT stokes that star-making machinery with big beats and even bigger emotions.
Kicking off her Madison show with a story about her current manager, Jeff, who hails from Milwaukee, and gave her a special gift for the Madison gig after a conversation she had with him about KT being such a honey badger. Tearing off her jacket to reveal a Bucky Badger muscle shirt before launching into a rousing, “If Only,” a pattern was set that KT employed through her nearly two hour show. Tales of song’s meaning, lessons from watching other performers, moving to Venice Beach, the passing of her Dad, all these were tools for KT to connect and engage with the Barrymore crowd. Teaching choruses, starting handclapping choirs and reading t-shirts of the crowd; there was a genuine warmth beneath her rockin’ swagger. Noticing children in the audience after singing a song with a less than family-friendly phrase or two, she explained those words were actually just, “Scottish.”
A veritable dynamo, the pint-sized singer, songwriter and guitarist bounced happily all over the stage, duck-walking and scissor-kicking while her husky voice roared in the rock-pop anthems and curled like a kitten in the tender well-crafted ballads. Ms. Tunstall’s energy was positively infectious, bringing the crowd to their feet and energizing her talented band-mates to match her inexhaustible passion. As a long-time songwriter, KT appreciates other songwriter’s songs as well; injecting a subtle nod to, “Seven Nation Army,” into one of her tunes, melting a good chunk of, “Walk Like An Egyptian,” into her, “Hold On,” and adding a killer cover of Chaka Khan’s, “Ain’t Nobody,” into her encore; insisting a proper Friday night out had to include a cover. Claiming the new record has found her the happiest she’s ever been, KT ended the evening sharing her answer to the meaning of life; enjoy yourself. Whether fanatical fan or casual observer, KT went all out to guarantee any time spent with her insured everyone absolutely enjoyed themselves.

Tavares - BB King’s, NYC, 9.9.16

Before I discuss this show, let me provide some background. Tavares are a group of five Cape Verdean brothers from New Bedford, MA. They’ve been around since the late ‘60’s, and started to get successful in the mid ‘70’s while on Capital Records. A big further break came with their inclusion of the hugely popular Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, released in the last days of ‘77. They had a version of “More Than A Woman” on it, with the Bee Gees original version being more successful, but both are strong and defined the sound of the time. Unfortunately the group didn’t sustain more big hits after that, but could continue touring. With some hiatuses throughout the decades since, they still tour. Currently it’s with four of the five guys.

Sheena Easton - BB King’s, NYC, 7.14.16

At 57 Sheena Easton still looks hot. Especially in her tight fitting blue dress and silver high heels. She’s put on some weight since being in her 20’s during her ‘80’s heyday, but she’s still quite sexy. And she can still sing well and hit the notes. This little girl from Glasgow, Scotland was very big in the early to mid ‘80’s, but as she noted herself during the show she didn’t sustain that popularity past that era and most all of her successful songs are from then. But hits she has, as well as a very unique distinction in being the first and only artist in history to have a Top 5 hit on five different Billboard charts consecutively, with Morning Train (9 to 5) (Pop & Adult Contemporary), “We’ve Got Tonight” with Kenny Rogers (Country), “Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)” (Dance), and “Sugar Walls” (R&B). Easton’s other hits include the James Bond theme “For Your Eyes Only”, “Strut”, “U Got the Look” and “The Arms of Orion” both with Prince, who wrote and produced them, “The Lover in Me” and “What Comes Naturally”. “For Your Eyes Only” is a beautiful song that Sheena delivered very well here. The theme song from the ‘82 James Bond film of the same name, it captures the 007 franchise at its height of popularity in the late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s with Roger Moore as the lead. For me he was the best Bond. Sheena also has the distinction of being the only singer of any Bond film to be shown singing the theme song.