GWEN STEFANI (June 2007)

The Setting
The White River Amphitheater is one of the best local settings for a concert! While I love the Gorge and the acoustics there, White River is pretty darn good. There was a huge spread in the ages of the fans at the show, 5 to 75 easy. And nobody seemed to care about the faint drizzle that came down intermittently. The crowd was ready to be entertained and made it clear by constantly jumping around. My voice can carry when I want it to, and there were many fans there that put my screaming to shame.

Lady Sovereign
This teenage import rapper from the UK is being compared to Eminem. While her music occasionally had a great beat, I had trouble getting past the profanity, when I could understand it. It is obvious that she is out to prove some things and trying to play off the chip on her shoulder. I do have to say that I was impressed with her delivery. Her flow and energy permeated her set.

Akon
I think the crowd went the most wild when Akon’s DJ busted out with Kelly Clarkston music. It is obvious that Akon is working on cleaning up his act, on stage anyway, from his recent antics. I enjoyed his show more than I expected that I would due to lots of good sounds and interaction with the crowd. He did strip out of his shirt and, to pull a line from my friend Paul, obviously fits the current standard of “six pack ab rap.” I do have to admit that I was caught singing along to “Don’t Matter” but I was very floored by how many little girls with blond, pigtailed hair and braces knew every word of all of his other songs.

Goddess Gwen
Jesse Flohr, Gwen’s record label rep with Interscope Records was so nice! He called me the day of the concert to let me know not to panic about not being able to get in the gates to be able to meet at our scheduled time. He took pictures using fans personal cameras and called me the next day to get my email to send me more photos. I was impressed with his organization skills and professionalism. Gwen took an extra minute to say hi and thank you to everyone and gave additional attention to the young fans, which is always refreshing to see. She is absolutely beautiful with a body that is impossible to believe that it produced a child. If she didn’t come across so sweet, I would have wanted to vomit.

I really enjoyed her stage set-up. She did a wardrobe change nearly every song. Her dancers were very talented. At times it seemed more like a Broadway production than a rock concert. Elaborate lights and visual effects. She was even able to dance around in her high heels on a treadmill like belt running through the stage. It was great to hear her dedicate “Cool” to Tony Kanal from No Doubt, even though she didn’t do any No Doubt music. She did however say that she would be working on a No Doubt album next. The crowd was thrilled with “The Sweet Escape” of course. Just based on her performance, one of my new favorites that I never paid attention to before was “Early Winter”. During her encore, she left the stage and was running around in the stands. It’s obvious that Gwen really enjoys performing and ensures that her energy is reflected back to the crowd, which just endears her more than ever to her fans.


THE POLICE (June 2007)
The Crowd: You know that it is going to be a concert unlike any other when the line at the espresso stand in the mezzanine is longer than the line to buy a beer. The crowd was all in jeans and fleece with tennis shoes. The place was packed and everyone was up on their feet for the whole time The Police played, however, I think they forgot that you are supposed to show your appreciation to the band by groovin’ to the music, not just standing around in a trance. I don’t think there was anyone there who was not at the Synchronicity concert back in ’83. Except this time, everyone is 20 pounds heavier, there to reminisce (not rock) and obviously up past their bedtime. It would not have seemed out of place to have Rogaine sponsoring the tour and AARP with a membership drive booth set up! Maybe next time it just needs to be a matinee in order for the crowd to show some excitement. Those of you going tonight, please redeem our city by showing some of the energy and enthusiasm Seattle is known for.

FictionPlane: Play FictionPlane please! These guys rocked! Those people who were not in there seats for this opening band, missed out. Joe Sumner is the lead vocals and bass player for this band, who just also so happens to be Sting’s son. Biggest hit that the crowd went wild for was “Two Sisters”. You can definitely hear some of the UK rock influences that the band has. In particular, I was really into the U2 vibe.  I talked to lots of fans in between the bands. Those that had heard FictionPlane enjoyed them. Almost no one knew about the father son relationship. The band is at Silver Platters in Seattle today (6/7) at noon to do some signing. Go buy the CD!

The Police: Sting is a god! His vocals are phenomenal. He definitely had his stuff together. I think that he has been playing the same guitar for the past 25 years though, it was so worn. It sure played harmonious music though. Stewart Copeland on the drums seemed to still have the spark in his eye and played flamboyantly. He had 2 different stations set up that he just bounded back and forth in between, depending on if they were playing more of the reggae blues or the punk rock. Andy Stewart was another story. I hope that someone tells me he has had a cold for a week and hasn’t slept. He appeared to be in a zoned out trace. There was definitely no synchronicity when it came to his involvement. Maybe when the band hits Florida, he’ll just decide to stay there and retire.

Worth It? Without a doubt! Sting was all that a front man should be and carried the band very well. The set had all of the great tunes that you hoped would still sound as sweet, and thanks to his melodious voice that never seems to age, they were. I can die happy as I have swayed to The Master singing “Every Breath You Take” and rocked out on my air guitar to “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”. They did not need an elaborate set or flashy dancers, just the consistent beat of the drums, the sole soothing strumming of the bass, and familiar lyrics crooned to a fulfilled crowd.

I have to start off with a round of snaps for the staff at STAR 101.5. My girls, Courtlin and Kaelin, got to come with me to the station to pick up the tickets on Friday and were just thrilled to meet Jen and Leonard. I also got to meet up with Annie and Megan at the concert. Everyone was very friendly. Thanks for making this an experience of a lifetime!

On to the concert! The crowd was incredible; I met some great fans and had a fantastic day! Jeremy Rubin, John’s rep with Columbia Records, greeted me and my guest before the show. He was a true professional that showed great patience with some very confused and uninformed venue workers. He did have some guidelines for us ahead of time, and my apologies to Ana, but we were not allowed to bring up you-know-who. John came across authentically warm and down-to-earth. I did get to ask him about the tattoo on his arm and what the empty box was for. Being the gorgeous flirt that he is, he flashed me a fantastic grin and told me my name was going there. Of course I thanked him for continuing to spell it correctly.  He then told me the real answer was that it is going to be for his kid. And yes, somehow I did control the urge to offer to help with that, and instead thanked him for the guitar and an unforgettable experience!

Rocco Deluca, who started off the evening, appears to be a talented guitar player who needs some grooming in terms of presentation and entertaining the audience.

Ben Folds then took over. While the music and the quality of voice were very soothing and captivating, I was disappointed that they played one of Dr. Dre’s songs that had so much profanity in it, I can’t even tell you the name of the song on the air. There were many parents and grandparents there with children that were pretty upset. It was a great set if you had the ability to hear without listening. And that’s too bad because it didn’t show the true writing ability that Ben has. But man, can he play that piano!

John Mayer and the creative, soul resounding lyrics of his music are amazing! Listening to him play live was so much more than listening to his recordings. He and his band interspersed phenomenal solos continuously throughout the evening. I felt like the whole band was playing and improvising because of the need to express themselves as well as the desire to connect with and show appreciation to the fans. No matter how many times you have seen him perform, it is never the same “canned” show. I love how he moves so fluidly from blues to funky guitar rock and so much in between. Anytime you have the opportunity to see him perform live, I am sure that he will exceed your expectations. I, for one, will not miss another of his tours.