Wednesday, November 21, 2007

RAIN - The Beatles Experience

"OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!..."



That is an abbreviated, dare I say, orgasmic expression of what I was feeling during the show I went to last night at the Blumenthal: 4 guys, dressed like The Beatles, acting like The Beatles, sounding like The Beatles (just perfect) and playing The Beatles canon - live. Granted, I'm all of 24 years of age. I never saw The Beatles perform live, obviously. I grew up listening to my parent's Beatles records, because my parents were always fans and I naturally assimilated into the fanship. However, when you know the Fab Four's music forwards and backwards (err...maybe not, unless you know that Paul is dead and he was the Walrus), hearing it played with such expertise, live, on seemingly period instruments, it really makes you wish you had been born much, much earlier.



The concert covers The Beatles' various "transformations" from their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to the Abbey Road years. The curtain rises on a pretty good replica of the Sullivan set, with the four guys singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and most of the more popular early tunes with such precision that for a very brief moment as the first song began, I was nearly let down, thinking they were using a backup recording. Hidden cameras on stage capture the same camera angles used on the TV broadcast, which is then shown on big screens on either side of the stage. Couple that with vintage footage interspersed along with the live shots, the very real clang and clamber of authentic Beatles music right in front of you, as opposed to the CD player, and you have yourself a time machine, kiddos.



Even their 1965 concert at Shea Stadium in New York is brought to life with some special lighting, sound and effects. This is followed (after a quick costume and set change whilst the audience is entertained with music and images of the later 60's on the screens) by what I had been waiting for the most. The curtain rises again and with a whoosh of neon colors, smoke and lighting, you've got yourself St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The same campy 18th century hot pink, green, blue and orange suits that are now iconic, and George in his tri-cornered feathered hat. It seemed the over-50 crowd was particularly fond of this set, what with the flashing psychedelic lights, and the spot-on renditions of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "A Little Help From My Friends", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and "A Day In the Life".

Oddly enough, this weirder (read: drug music) side of the Beatles isn't included in the India/Abbey Road phase that's introduced after the intermission: with that, all the usual later songs are played with the same perfection and ends with George playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and reached such a crescendo that it had everyone in the Belk giving him a standing ovation, cheering, much hand waving and "peace" signs. Oh brother. But this only magnified when the next "scene" brought the four guys back on stage wearing their Abbey Road album cover outfits (man, was I digging John's white suit) singing "Come Together" and "Get Back" and other favorites. It wasn't so much the visuals as it was the way the original songs were being treated so reverently, along with recreated footage of late 60's Beatles concerts. It was topped off by John signing an uncanny "Imagine", wearing his Vietnam army jacket and touting the peace thing again, and Paul singing a heartfelt "Hey Jude", with audience participation to the hilt.

My only complaint was that it wasn't long enough for the simple reason I couldn't get enough of what I was hearing. Otherwise, I think it was the most wise investment I've made in the Charlotte arts scene this fall. Searching for "Rain Beatles Experience" on You Tube will give you a bunch of clips so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about.

If you're a Beatles fan or just want to know what exactly your parents are talking about when it comes to their own memories, I heartily recommend going to this the next time Rain is in town. Go to www.rainthebeatlesexperience.com to learn more. C'mon, be hip. Remember: if it wasn't for your parents, you wouldn't be here.

OMG OMG OMG OMG.....

Monday, October 1, 2007

Olga Kern and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

I attended the opening concert of the 2007-2008 Classics concert series this past Friday. Now, Charlotte has always had the opportunity to receive great international talent in its midst. The Carolina Concert Series (which hosts more visiting European orchestras than any other organization in the region) presents such a strong line up of big name talent, often rivaling the CSO. Yet it was a delightful treat to hear the up and coming Russian pianist Olga Kern perform at the Belk Theatre with the Symphony. A striking blond, dressed in a fiery red dress and heels as she strode to the piano, is the kind of attractive young musician that garners attention for her passionate renditions, much like violinist Joshua Bell. But this night, the music obviously took center stage.

Like most first fine arts performances of a season, upon the arrival of the conductor to the stage, everyone stands and sings the national anthem. As the focus of the program was Russian composers, we sang to Igor Stravinsky's much less robust 1941 symphonic version. It's also the Stravinsky's 125th birthday this year, so go figure.

Also on the lineup was American composer Jennifer Higdon's "blue cathedral", a short, ethereal and absolutely spell-binding piece that brings to mind, as intended by Hidgon, a glass cathedral floating in the clouds. Using various bells, chimes, percussion instruments, and even the gentle tinkling of silver Chinese health balls (which members of the orchestra gently shook in their hands in unison at one point), Higdon's musical portrait of an imaginative and contemplative sanctuary had the sort of healing quality that brought to mind the transition from mortal realms to spiritual. It is little wonder that she wrote the piece to mark the death of her brother to cancer.

Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements" was also another inspired piece, originally intended for score to the 1943 film "Song of Bernadette". Instead, it became his imaginary soundtrack to a war documentary he had seen on China's scorched-earth tactics. The music, like all Stravinsky, is like an earful of Picasso...disjointed, patchy, only vaguely following a common color or musical theme, yet bold enough to hold your interest. Some compare the sudden jumps in rhythm and tone to an audible example of channel surfing the tv, going back and forth between musical ideas (think of the "Fox News Alert" ditty sandwiched between a random MTV pop song and maybe something airy on Lifetime). It's not for the faint of heart (or ears, in this matter).

Finally, one of my personal favorites, Segei Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, was played beautifully by Kern. Various themes from this particular piece have shown up everywhere in pop culture, from classic movies to Top 40 songs, because the melody is so defined and memorable. A sense of romance, longing, and deep yearning drenches every note, making it impossible to dismiss or ignore what you hear. Kern's interpretation of it was nearly perfect (if not played a tad slower than I'm personally used to) and she received such an ovation that she played two encores (quite rare, it's usually only the traditional one encore): a Russian folk dance and "Flight of the Bumblebee". Her enthusiasm was catching, the energy was enough to set the hall on fire, and everyone went home happy, including myself.


And so that was it. I've kept my word and posted once again. ;-) Your thoughts are appreciated!

Monday, July 23, 2007

My very first post...weehoo!

Alright everybody, welcome to my new blog. Some of you out there reading this will already know who I am, others maybe not so much. So let me introduce myself.

I use to write for Charlotte Arts Magazine back in 2005-2006. I was only an intern, but I had opportunities to interview people in the local and international arts fields, like Charlotte Symphony Orchestra conductor Christoph Perick, Russian National Ballet Artistic Director Sergei Radchenko, French conductor Phillipe Entremont, and other local and national dancers, singers, actors, and musicians. It was great fun and while the magazine is no longer running, I still frequent the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and other such venues. So, in the spirit of that, this will be my space to enlighten the masses who still care about the fate of live theatre in the 21st century...or those who can tell the difference between an adagio and arpeggio. ;-) So enjoy and feel free to comment, rant, rave and praise!