Celebrating the Life of Whitney Houston 1963-2012

On Saturday evening my daughter told me that Whitney Houston died.  I screamed!  So today I'm celebrating the life of the very gifted Ms. Whitney Houston.

Michael Jackson - The King of Pop 1958 - 2009

Truly the world has lost one of the greatest musical geniuses, Michael Jackson. I grew up on MJ music and am still a fan. Here are three of my favorite music videos by MJ.

Chicagoan on the Year - My Girl, Dee Alexander

News Flash!!!

I'm glad so happy for My Girl, Ms. Dee Dee, aka Hollywood. I had planned to feature Dee on this blog, but what can I say. She is Front page news of the Chicago Tribune. Dee is named Chicagoan of the Year.

Here is the story.

Chicago Tribune

Giving You the Best I've Got - Anita Baker

We had to start the evening off right. Six of us went to the GrillRoom on Monroe and Dearborn a few blocks from the Chicago Theatre. The food was delish and the company was just fine. We eat, drank, joked and laughed until some of us cried. After two hours of our pre-show social hour, we headed to the theatre to listen to the "love" songstress Ms Anita Baker.

It's been a while since Ms. Baker came to Chicago, and I was looking forward to the concert. The show started at 8:10pm, opening act by a local comedian. I forgot his name. He was uum.., all right, I guess. When he left the stage, I was relieved, not because he was so bad; but because I wanted to hear Anita Baker sing.

Well I have to give it to you straight. There is some good, bad, and ugly that came out of this show. First the good: Ms Baker is still giving you the best she's got. She can sing. Her voice is soft and smooth, but strong. If you aren't in love the words and her singing will make you wish for it. Sing, Sing: "I want to know what good love feels like good love, good love. Morning, noon, and night...,". She sang most of her old hits. This was not a promotional tour; So I was very pleased to hear classic Anita Baker. She announced to the audience that she was 49 years old, happy and proud. She wore a pretty black flowing ankle length dress with rhinestone and/or sequins accents. The overlay was sheer, long sleeves. Very Anita Baker. The band and back up singers were very good. I enjoyed the singing.

Now the bad: After the comedian left the stage, we waited and waited and waited an hour and fifteen minutes for the featured artist to show. In the meantime, we listened to all of her recorded songs over the sound system. Not good. They could have played anyone else: Toni Braxton, Luther, Barry White, Jill Scott, but not the featured artist. We wanted to hear her live. When she finally appeared on stage, we noticed that there were no sponsor for the show. Usually there are banners of the various sponsors. So we assumed this show/tour was self sponsored by the artist. Throughout the concert she gave the band and the sound people instructions on what key, beat, melody, and to reverb or not. Half way through, she started taking requests. I wanted her to sing anything, everything at that point. The people in front of us checked the metra train schedule and proceeded to leave just passed the halfway mark of the concert. So they didn't get their monies worth. Now that's bad.

Finally, the ugly. The sound technican could not get the reverb right. She said, "Turn it up. You're not getting paid for tonight. I told you to turn up the reverb. Chuckle, Chuckle. I'm temperamental." If that wasn't bad enough, as Ms. Baker danced across the stage, her "red" bra peaked from behind her beautiful black dress.

As I said, the singing and music were great. I still love her music. But, no one can do it all. I hope next tour Ms. Baker gets adequate help from sponsors and/or a good production crew.

Peace.

Anita Baker at the Chicago Theatre

Tonight me and my crew are going to see Ms. Anita Baker at the Chicago Theatre. It has been a while since I've seen her in concert. Today, I had planned to finish one of my dresses to wear to the concert. Not going to happen. It is COLD and the weather forecast is far from pleasing: snow, then rain and sleet. Wearing wool lined pants. Update on concert later.

Peace

Remembering Luther Vandross

On my way home from work yesterday, I decided to get my car washed. A group of us are going to see Anita Baker tonight. I'm a designated driver. The carwash facility has a climate controlled waiting room where customers can sit and watch television while their cars are being washed. My DD and I immediately proceeded to the waitingroom. As we entered the room, we heard and saw Luther Vandross singing his chart buster: Superstar - sing, sing "Say it's alright, it's alright, Say, ooh, baby, It's alright, it's alright, alright now..,." I smiled, then chuckled to myself as I had fond memories of Luther coming to Chi-Town years ago at this time of year. Watching the video reminded me of just how much I miss going to Luther concerts, anticipating new music, and viewing television appearances (Oprah, the grammies, Christmas specials).

Pandora's Radio

Check out Pandora Radio. First, test drive it.
You can do so by opening the website and typing in the name of a song or artist.
The test drive plays four or five songs; then you can decide to subscribe.

To subscribe:
Click Continue Listening button
Type in login information
Click Continue
Click Listen for Free
Click Continue
Click Create a New Station
Type Name of song or artist. It creates a radio station of similar songs and/or artists. eg., Ms. Jill Scott.
The station gives you the option to rate the songs. It's free. Free forever.


Enjoy!

Peace..,

The Great Luciano Pavarotti

Earlier this month the great Luciano Pavarotti passed after battling pancreatic cancer. Below he performs with two legendary R&B artists, James Brown and Barry White. Enjoy.

James Brown & Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti & Barry White

The Beyonce Experience!

On Saturday night my sisters (other family members), and I attended the Beyonce Concert at the United Center (the Chicago Bulls stadium). Robin Thicke was the opening act. He crooned songs from his album, the Evolution of Robin Thicke. Near the end of his session, he sang his latest hit "If You Believe" then ended with "Lost without You". His performance was pretty good. But nothing compares to the "Beyonce Experience". It was truly an experience! This woman is an entertainer, who can SING! The tickets were very pricey; I first decided not to go, but my sister encouraged me to come along. (She brought my ticket without my approval). Ms. "B" sang my hundred dollars worth and then some. She, the band, and dancers were on stage for two hours. And for two hours the entire act was on 10. The all female band included three drummers, a base guitarist, two pianists, and several other musicians. I don't want to get into the theatrics of the show, as not to give it away. Some of you may be thinking about attending the "Beyonce Experience" when it comes to your town.