Artist Empowerment

I saw Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl last night and I was blown away…

Here are several things that I found interesting/remarkable:

1) Radiohead fans are hard-core and that is an understatement!  Right before they went on, the fans all around us were arguing the specific date/venue of the last public performance of “Creep.”

2) More smoke emanated from the audience than from the smoke machine on stage.  I don’t smoke the kind herb but I think everyone in the audience left with a bit more haze than when they came in.

3) The sound was close to perfect and the stage/lighting enhanced the experience tenfold.

4) Just when you thought the show was over, they played another song…and they played…and they played.  They must’ve performed at least 25 songs!

5) The fact that they didn’t play “Street Spirit” and “Paranoid Android’ was my only complaint.

As artists, we should all strive to reach that standard of entertainment.

Two night ago, I saw a sassy grandma with a deep, rich voice feel herself up on stage at the Hollywood Bowl.

Very strange, indeed…

At the age of 70, Etta James still has it.  When she sings in her lower register, she has a resonance that I have never heard in a woman’s voice.

Her voice literally engulfed the space of the entire 16,000 capacity open-air venue, which is no easy feat.  Even when she spoke between songs, you could feel the boomy bass in your bones.

Her X-rated antics were another noteworthy aspect of her performance.  A friend of mine had warned me that she was sassy and sensual but seeing a 70 year-old feel herself up on stage was definitely a first, something that one cannot prepare for.

What made it even more bizzare was the fact that her two sons were performing on stage with her!

An incredible talent like Etta James can get away with a lot on stage, even at the age of 70 when half of her audience is terrified, red-faced and unsure whether to laugh, cry or cover their eyes!