Patrice debuted an original song to start off the show and for once I actually paid attention. Most of the Creed-like overenuciation issues I've had with her melted away. She was comfortable and confident - the song, which seemed an amalgam of 80's Alt-Rock which updated well, was rocking and had a great hook as well as some changes that kept it unpredictable. It was a total 10.
Normally that would be impossible to follow, but follow it they did, as Magni went up and kicked the shit out of Smells Like Teen Spirit. I still think he sang it almost a little bit too clean, too pretty and neat - his voice is almost too good - but this isn't about singing anymore. His physical performance is what sold it, he had energy just flying off of him from the stage. It was magical. But I have to admit I was a little uncomfortable seeing anyone but Kurt (or Weird Al) do that song. It's so iconic. Mythic. Seeing someone do it for a contest reality show almost felt like I was watching something be cheapened. Yeah, yeah - I know they've been doing Nirvana songs since year one - but this was the first time it made me uneasy. What this show is about - which is a huge corporate premarketing of a packaged band of ex-stars is Sooo not what Kurt was about. The honesty, the depth and heart he brought to rock is totally absent from this band.Now, that's something that even I wouldn't expect me to say - because I've been bitching and railing at the wind about Kurts weak vocals and shitty guitar playing for a decade and half. When Jerry Cantrell finally - FINALLY - yanked down Kurt's empty boxers by stating he was a great songwriter - but a lousy guitar player on Vh'1's "I love the 90's" - I was ecstactic. I'd been waiting forever for someone admit that shit. He fucked up a lot of things in rock n roll. He took out the sex, he took out the fun - he took out the joy - and left us with hundreds of punk-ass whiner rock emo bands in his wake. Most of those guys are just plain lousy vocalists and even worse guitarists - and they revel in that shit. They claim all their imperfections make them "more emotional". That's such a load of B.S. You want to hear a musician who know how to emote? Go listen to Sarah Vaughn. Or Bonnie Raite. Blues is all about the emotion. I've said it before, I'll say it again - Fuck Emo - it's justa buncha hack posuers, who should spend their time on synchronized guitar hopping contests, not Rock.
But... hearing a singer as good as Magni do "Teen Spirit" just didn't sound "right" to me. He did a great performance, and there's nothing I can say he did wrong - he absolutely did bring the emotion too it, even keying on one particularly line to bond with Lukas and the hamsters. I just felt weird about it.
Next up was Ryan, with his original song - and he just completely tore the shit down, and did something I said a couple weeks back with Josh - you don't just have to stand there like you feet are trapped in cement just because you have a guitar strapped to you. Move your ASS. In Ryan's case it actually helped him because his normal lack of timing and co-ordination was completely absent. The song was great, like Patrice's it has the potential to either be a great album track or even a hit single all on it's own. Good stuff. And just as SuavePorn had suggested to Patrice - Ryan played his guitar for a while then tossed it across the stage. Talk about heeding the advice. This guy wants this gig, badly. And even if he doesn't get it - just like Zayra he's now gotten some exposure that I'm sure he has A&R people salivating and just praying that he loses so they can snap him up. When he got off stage my first words where "Where the hell did this guy come from?"Two seconds later Navarro says "Where the hell did this guy come from?" Had me rolling on that one. Ryan's proven he's no little bitch (unlike the other Ryan Starr from AI and Surreal Life who is definately a beyoitch!) - he's a Rocker. My favorite original song from last years was Deanna and Ty's "My Truth" - now I have two new favorites.
And if all this wasn't bad enough, then came a Storm. She had dropped out of the original song fight with Ryan, partly because she's a charitable persons and partly because she can "spank the crap" out of just about anything. And tonight she proved it. Last year, Jordis had crash and burned massively on an Aerosmith song. I've done them before and they are a stone cold BITCH for a singer - Storm heated that bitch up and spit her out. A lot of it was the band and the strength of their backing vocals, which were a) actually better than Aerosmith's who've been using pre-recording backing vocals for years and b) blended perfectly with Storms lead. Getting your voice to sound natural with other people's voices isn't easy. You have to plan things out carefully. It's not just about the lead vocal, all the vocals become like a single instrument if you do it right. They did it right.I've been in bands for years and the shit these guys pull off week after week just totally blows my mind. Now my bands were all originals, but I have had to learn some cover songs for a 70's tribute show (hence the Aerosmith) and it's a totally different animal. All those lyrics. Ugh.... Makes my head spin. I got nothing bad to say about Storm, in fact this may have been her best looking and sounding performance so far. Dave complimented her too saying she did this week what he had hoped for last week. Pfft. Whatever dude. She rocked both times. "Come over her a take it, Bitch!". Classic.
The first disappointment of the night was Dilana doing "Every Breath You Take". It was dull and Booo-ring. Plus I think she completely missed the creepy factor of this song. It's not a love song, it's about obsession - it's about holding on to someone so tightly - you become a stalker. She totally missed it. Plus her outfit was like circus clown gear. I thought we were done with the tragic fashion disasters when Z left. I guess I was wrong. Sure, she sang it ok, and obviously didn't even attempt the falsetto-voice ending she had been practicing. No need to attract the neighborhood dogs.It's also interesting to note that they didn't bring up anything about the way she dished dirt on just about everyone in the house in her interviews. Supernova glossed over it totally. Their praise of her performance was overdone. Obviously Dilana is being handled with the kid gloves on, but she simply didn't do anything special other than look like a demented Barbie who just been gang-raped - and liked it.
If they guys have settled on Dilana, well more power too 'em - but I think their making a HUGE mistake. She can sing, she can perform - and even do the Michael Jackson kick - but she's not what these guys need. They need someone like Storm, Ryan or to be fair, Lukas - someone who has the taste and balls to tell them when their shit stinks, plus the talent to clean it up and take it to the next level as a musician, song writer as well as a performer. Dilana probably is a front runner, but she's not that person.
Toby's reworked version of "Layla" was probably his best performance to date. He's learned the art of the "Hoodie reveal" which Dilana used in week 1, and later Ryan used on Week 6 for "Paint it Black". No eye makeup though. But still a great performance. He sang it well, totally controlled the stage. Nice. He's not among my favorites, but this time he definately brought it. When he first took off the hoodie and I saw writing on his chest my first thought was "Soy Bomb!?!"The last performance of the night was probably the biggest disappointment. Lukas doing some Killers song. Ugh. I'm not a Killers fan, and he really didn't sing it that well. Pitchy as all get out. He seemed like he was phoning it in - and again with the back to the audience almost half the time. Although in this case he seemed like he was really vibing with the band - it is kind of rude. They band gets paid to be there no matter what, the audience paid money to see a show, ok? Give it to them. His mood do tend to affect his performances, and many of the quick camera shots to Lukas seemed to be setting up something that didn't really pay off in the final edit. Maybe he was still pissed off at Dilana for talking shit about him to TWO of the press people who came to the mansion that week, I don't know - but he didn't "Wow" me this time and he can't afford to slack-off with so many of the others doing so well and the gifted writer issue being relatively neutral.
To my mind the people that deserved to be in the bottom three were Dilana and Lukas, but I also know - that aint gonna happen. At the end of the show it was Storm, Toby and Patrice. Storm was a surprise - I don't know what that's about, maybe the Lukatics are Dilaniacs are starting to take their toll.
We'll all find out tonight.
Vyan
P.S. Also being Broadcast last night, simultaneous to Rock Star was Part III and IV of Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" on HBO. During last years RockStar, I was so caught up in the program and the raging debates over J.D. and Ty, as well as Race in Rock, that I didn't watch the news the week that Hurricane Katrina hit News Orleans. I damn neared missed it until about three or four days afterward. The first anniversary of Katrina is approaching and New Orleans, the city that gave us not just Zydeco, but also gave birth to Jazz, Blues and ultimately ROCK - has died. The city was murdered by neglect. I'm not ignoring it this time. Neither should you.
My review of Act I and II is here -- I'll be writing up III and IV later today or tomorrow.
Vyan
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