Breakfast on the Road: Roger Hodgson Live

Monday, November 12th, 2012 by The Professor

Legendary composer Roger Hodgson is entertaining enthusiastic audiences

– by Radio RockonTour host Timothy Tilghman

Roger Hodgson formerly from Supertramp is currently embarking on his first solo tour featuring an outstanding support band. The backing musicians include Kevin Adamson on keyboards, David Carpenter on bass, Bryan Head on drums, and Aaron MacDonald providing his talents as a multi-instrumentalist embellishing the Hodgson compositions on stage.

Hodgson’s popular Breakfast In America Tour arrived in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday, November 9, 2012. The band sounded flawless in performance as if it was practically studio perfect. The modern wonders of technology breathe inspired life into the classic Supertramp catalogue penned by Roger Hodgson. One is left to image what The Beatles might have achieved soundwise if this state of the art equipment had been available to them on tour almost five decades ago.

Hodgson himself segued between keyboards, a 12 string acoustic guitar and onto Grand Piano in sharing his musical gift with the Franklin County crowd. Without question, the exceptional level of musicianship presented by Hodgson and company simply topped off the scale. The sparse stage motif left the music to do all the convincing that if you missed Breakfast, then you missed the most important musical fuel out on the touring circuit.

Blending his Supertramp singles with choice solo material selections, the Grove Theatre patrons erupted in appreciative applause throughout the evening. It’s wonderfully rare that a seasoned artist delivers an entire repertoire at such high caliber. The positive impact of love as a powerful theme in music is truly compelling. The Shippensburg venue is a fantastic facility to enjoy intimate concerts, and Hodgson was well suited to appear here.

Hodgson prefaced many of his songs by revealing personal insight into composing his material. He sang four stellar tracks from the 1979 classic album Breakfast In America. A real treat was hearing “The Awakening” accompanied on his 12 string acoustic guitar, an unrecorded tune that Hodgson said is an invaluable lesson about forgiveness. The beautiful melody and touching sentiment exemplify his hallmark traits as a quality composer among his celebrated peers.

Although the ecstatic audience stood up for several standing ovations during the evening performance, it was at the end of the night that Hodgson encouraged his fans to enjoy themselves by standing and clapping along with his second encore. As the lights went up so did the house in unison as Hodgson launched into “Give A Little Bit” ensuring everybody was motivated by its infectious chorus.

Grove Theater, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, November 9, 2012 setlist: [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/take-the-long-way-home/id449815550?uo=4″ title=”Take The Long Way Home” text=”Take The Long Way Home”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/school-live/id502038005?i=502038340&uo=4″ title=”School” text=”School”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/in-jeopardy/id110449627?i=110449645&uo=4″ title=”In Jeopardy” text=”In Jeopardy”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lovers-in-the-wind/id110449627?i=110449652&uo=4″ title=”Lovers In the Wind” text=”Lovers In the Wind”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hide-in-your-shell-live/id502038005?i=502038331&uo=4″ title=”Hide In Your Shell” text=”Hide In Your Shell”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/easy-does-it/id111466?i=111446&uo=4″ title=”Easy Does It” text=”Easy Does It”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sister-moonshine/id81776249?i=81776294&uo=4″ title=”Sister Moonshine” text=”Sister Moonshine”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/breakfast-in-america-live/id502038005?i=502038336&uo=4″ title=”Breakfast In America” text=”Breakfast In America”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lady/id16018606?i=16018473&uo=4″ title=”Lady” text=”Lady”] * Rosie Had Everything Planned * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-logical-song/id111521?i=111503&uo=4″ title=”The Logical Song” text=”The Logical Song”] * intermission * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/child-of-vision/id1485110?i=1485106&uo=4″ title=”Child Of Vision” text=”Child Of Vision”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/only-because-you-lord-is-it/id502038005?i=502038337&uo=4″ title=”Lord Is It Mine” text=”Lord Is It Mine”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/death-and-a-zoo/id502522497?i=502522507&uo=4″ title=”Death And A Zoo” text=”Death And A Zoo”] * If Everyone Is Listening * The Awakening * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dont-leave-me-now/id43265?i=43263&uo=4″ title=”Don’t Leave Me Now” text=”Don’t Leave Me Now”] * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/music-video/dreamer-live/id329080746?uo=4″ title=”Dreamer” text=”Dreamer”] * Fool’s Overture * Encore: The Two Of Us * [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/music-video/give-a-little-bit-live/id329081131?uo=4″ title=”Give A Little Bit” text=”Give A Little Bit”]

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The Scottish Firecracker: Sheena Easton Live

Monday, October 22nd, 2012 by The Professor

Sheena Easton graces an intimate stage in Hanover

-by Radio RockonTour host Timothy Tilghman

`80’s singing sensation Sheena Easton came to Hanover, Maryland, on October 18, 2012. All dolled up in a tight black pantsuit, she no longer flaunts her sexy attributes, now projecting a subtle matronly image on stage these days. However, her accent is just as saucy and alluring still fueling Easton’s ageless feminine magnetism.

Not exactly a disco-pop-rocker these days, Easton has switched stage gears appearing as a casual cabaret act. Joe Sparker is the tour’s musical director handling keyboards and backing vocals. Her support musicians are Dave Hart on guitar, Eric Tewalt on Saxophone, flute and backing vocals, Phillip Ingram on vocals, and hometown champion Earl Campbell on drums.

Easton jovially interacted with the house crowd talking openly about herself, her popular singing career, and her displeasure about aging with her 54th birthday looming soon on the horizon. She eagerly thanked everyone for coming out on a school night to party with her in concert. After she paused in performance to sip her tea, she quipped it was from Long Island.

Easton’s repertoire contained several cover songs. She even commented herself confirming that it had been quite a while since she had a hit single cresting on the top of the charts. Both Easton and Phillip Ingram shared duet vocals on a couple of love ballads together. Her engaging personae was sprightly and sparked spontaneous laughter throughout the Thursday night with her loyal fans.

Easton polled the patrons on whether she should sing her slutty songs on stage. They roared in approval for her to do so. Unfortunately, her lackluster dance-beat medley of “U Got The Look”, “Sugar Walls” and “The Glamorous Life” was rather disappointing in delivery. It was her signature Top 40 hits that were the highlights of her appearance. The vivacious “Strut”, “Morning Train”, and 007 classic “For Your Eyes Only” were truly the tiptop tunes of the entire evening.

Rams Head Center Stage is essentially a brand new venue that opened recently in Anne Arundel County. However, there were some impaired visual blind spots depending on far from center view one was seated inside. The show went on too quickly really, but a splendid time was had by all, and her audience clearly enjoyed themselves seeing their beloved icon.

Sheena Easton, Rams Head Center Stage,  Hanover, Maryland October 18, 2012 setlist: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher * Almost Over You * The Lover In Me * How Deep Is The Ocean * How Sweet It Is * U Got The Look > Sugar Walls > The Glamorous Life * We’ve Got Tonight * Strut * In The Winter * Say A Little Prayer > House Is Not A Home > One Less Bell To Answer * Telefone (Long Distance Affair) * 9 To 5 (Morning Train) * Anyway * For Your Eyes Only

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Narcissist R Moi: Madonna Live

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 by The Professor

The Material Maven is fixated on a steroid-hyped episode

-by Radio RockonTour host Timothy Tilghman

What’s gotten into the once virginal Material Girl? Madonna appears to have leapt totally over the top with the peculiar excesses on her 2012 MDNA Tour. Louise Ciccone has retooled her stage personae into that of an over-sexed gansta moll with a bustling ensemble cast in tow gleefully choreographing her rapid descent as a bargain-basement carbon copy of her former celebrity status. How quickly self-consumption can ruin a reputation.

Madonna gave the first of two capacity-crowd concerts Sunday night in Washington, D.C, on September 23, 2012. Tickets were not all that hard to come by out on the walk. Finding a below market-priced seat, however, was a tricky proposition. It seemed the younger you were, the more you were apt to enjoy the exaggerated stage production concocted by Lady Madonna. To beleaguer matters, the Voguestress did not open the show until 10:30 pm. The dreaded end did not occur until after midnight at 12:25 am!

One major disappointment with her 2012 tour is the fact that Madonna rearranged many of her songs altering the structure of her familiar hits. Loyal fans wanna hear what they remember as the song on the radio or on the record. Significantly reconstructing established material is rather a turnoff for seasoned fans. This fact can actually dissuade the overall mood of an audience expecting to be entertained.

Curiously, there were rather subtle similarities between Madge’s 2012 stage romp and Pink Floyd’s The Wall if you knew what to recognize among the changing staging. The engine roar of a helicopter in flight, an image of a large white-bricked Wall, and a small furnished bedroom in the Paradise Motel wherein Madonna is confronted a masked menace attempting to molest her during “Gang Bang”.

Our tramp-vamp found herself under assault in a dingy urban flat brandishing a silver pistol. The two commence in struggle, and Madonna capped the violent intruder complete with several blood splatterings that appeared on the jumbotron for maximum effect. Why all of this gratuitous violence? What purpose does fabricated turmoil serve to promote her stage act? Whatever Maddy was trying to convey visually made no connection whatsoever.

The Cougar may only be 54, but Madonna demonstrated she is ready for action. Flaunting her flourishing sexuality like an aging brothel Madam, her sexually aggressive antics were borderline comical when she revealed her round buttocks wearing a black G-string thong! In an interactive burlesque sequence, she knelt before a male audience member and asked him to write on her back what he thought about her. He scrawled the word SEXY on her bare back to the approval of the randy spectators.

Madonna is desperately seeking for a measure to remain relevant in today’s youth-driven music scene and with today’s fickle downloading public. Performing at the 2012 Super Bowl 46 Half-Time gig was an overdue career pinnacle. No popular female artist has held onto the fascination of Americans for as long as Madge has. Hopefully, Madonna will be able to continue creatively and record more commercially viable albums that score on the charts in the future.

Madonna, Verizon Center, Washington, DC, September 23, 2012 setlist: Transgression: Gregorian Chant Virgin Mary Intro (with Kalakan + with snippets of “Lekhah Dodi” and “Birjina Gaztetto Bat Zegoen”) * Girl Gone Wild (with samples from “Material Girl” and “Give It 2 Me”) * Revolver * Gang Bang * Papa Don’t Preach * Hung Up (with samples from “Girl Gone Wild”) * I Don’t Give A * Prophecy: Best Friend (video interlude; with samples from “Heartbeat”) * Express Yourself (with snippets of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga and “She’s Not Me”) * Give Me All Your Luvin’ * Turning Up the Hits: (video interlude; with samples from several Madonna songs) * Turn Up The Radio * Open Your Heart (with Kalakan + with snippets from “Sagarra Jo!” by Kalakan) * Holiday * Masterpiece (with Kalakan) * Masculine/Feminine: Justify My Love (video interlude) * Vogue * Candy Shop (with samples from “Ashamed Of Myself” by Kelley Polar + snippets of “Erotica”) * Human Nature * Like A Virgin (with samples from “Evgeni’s Waltz” by Abel Korzeniowski) * Love Spent * Celebration: Nobody Knows Me (video interlude) * I’m Addicted * I’m A Sinner (with Kalakan + with snippets of “Cyber-Raga”) * Like A Prayer * Encore: Celebration (with samples from “Girl Gone Wild”)

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