Depeche Mode, TD Garden Boston, MA 06/09/2018

Last night after waiting a little over 30 years I finally saw Depeche Mode in concert. I was totally rocked and amazed! Well worth the wait. The band pulled in an audience that spanned generations. David Gahan was shirtless in a vest sporting his tattoos, pencil thin mustache, slicked back hair and slightly dangerous facade. He has tremendous stage presence that reached out across the Garden. They started with Going Backwards from their new 2017 album Spirit. The track is quite relevant to the times we are in and prove this band still has something to offer. We got World In My Eyes and Martin Gore gave us The Things You Said. Had almost forgot about Everything Counts so it was great to be reminded about that one. Positively loved hearing Enjoy The Silence. It's funny back in the day when my Mom didn't quite get the alternative rock scene even she got into Enjoy The Silence. Never Let Me Down Again was in there and Martin's voice could bring chills on I Want You Now. And I totally flipped when the night was finished with Personal Jesus. That was always my song. A side note: They did not perform People Are People or Policy Of Truth which you would expect. They are are not the only artists to leave out of their setlist some of their biggest hits. I have heard artists say they get tired of performing the same songs over and over. But the thing is you created something we love and we want the experience of hearing it live. So to all the artists out there keep that in my mind for your fans. Otherwise, I had my Personal Jesus moment and I reached out and touched faith.

The Post (Movie 2017)

The Post takes you into 1971 just when the Pentagon Papers are about to be printed by the press. For several years there had been many nation wide protests against our involvement in the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers had been a study created in 1967 by Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense. It was to notate the history of the war but was not meant for the public. With good reason, it showed for several Presidential administrations the American people were being lied to as to the real intentions of our military being there and the fact that the war was not winnable. The New York Times first gets access to these explosive documents but are held up when President Nixon has a court injunction slapped on them. The Washington Post which had been playing runner up to The Times had to make the decision to print when the Pentagon Papers then falls in their laps. Highly unusual for the times was the fact The Post was owned and run by a woman. Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) was heir to the newspaper and it is fascinating to watch her in this business of communication struggle to find her voice and take charge. She is surrounded by men who have their own agendas. Some are afraid for the future of the newspaper if they print the documents. Others, such as her editor-in chief, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) believe it's about freedom of the press. Katharine believed in the American people's right to know and freedom of the press. Of course, when they did print the White House went after them and it went to the Supreme Court. I say thank goodness the First Amendment was upheld. As the movie reminds us what Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black said "The press was to serve the governed, not the governors." The film also stars Bradley Whitford and was directed by Steven Spielberg.

Labyrinth (Movie 1986)

Over the weekend I decided to revisit what has become a cult classic, the movie Labyrinth. It was released in 1986 and had 2 creative geniuses involved in its making- Jim Henson and David Bowie. At this point Jim Henson had already begun to tap into the darker side of his creativity with The Dark Crystal which came out in 1982. He was bringing forth stories that were ominous compared to the lighthearted Muppets but still were accessible to young people. The movie Labyrinth presents us with the story of a hero’s journey like from mythological tales of old. Our hero is a teenage girl, Sarah, played by a very young Jennifer Connelly. Sarah likes to pretend and live in her own little fantasy world and is not happy when the responsibility of looking after her baby brother intrudes. She creates her own trouble when she wishes out loud that the Goblin King from the book she recreates scenes from would take him away forever. He is real and he is listening. And like that the baby is gone from his crib and before Sarah is Jareth, The Goblin King in the form of David Bowie. He lets her know now she can go play and do what she wants. But now all she wants is her baby brother. The only way she can get him back is to go through the expanse of the Labyrinth to The Goblin King’s castle. However, she only has 13 hours to do it before little Toby becomes a goblin. Her quest as we see will not just lead her to her brother but finally into adulthood and the lessons that come with it. In one scene she yells at Jareth “That’s not fair!” He replies back “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is.” Another scene has a creature burdened down with material things and she begins to pile Sarah’s possessions onto Sarah until she realizes what is happening. She throws them off and continues on to find what really matters which is her brother, Toby. When Hoggle, a goblin she has befriended along the way, hinders her progress because of his fear of Jareth, she learns sometimes we have to forgive. David Bowie as The Goblin King can be menacing and seductive. When I saw this movie all those years ago I have to admit was the first time I found David Bowie powerfully sexy. I melt every time I see the ballroom scene. Forget the baby brother, he could kidnap me. Jim Henson gave Bowie a lot of freedom with writing his own dialogue for the picture. And of course he wrote and performed the fantastic songs for the soundtrack. It is sad that both Henson and Bowie are gone but we have this wonderful masterpiece to still watch where both of their incredible talents came together.

Gladys Knight, Chevalier Theatre Medford, MA 05/13/2018

The Grammy Award winning Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight came to Medford tonight and did not disappoint. Without hesitation I would go to see her again. She came out in a light grey top and leggings with a silver sequined jacket and boots. My heart soared with hearing You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me. It seems I'm not the only one who loves If I Were Your Woman because the place went as bananas as I did when she sang it. And it sounded as good as the original recording. We all were on board the Midnight Train To Georgia. She performed I Heard It Through The Grapevine and the place was jammin' to I've Got To Use My Imagination. She did great covers like Sam Smith's Stay With Me, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were and Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me. She had a 6 piece band and 3 back up singers. She was nice to let each of her back up singers have a moment in the spotlight to sing. Gladys filled the theater with a real positive and spiritual energy. I think when she sang the cover I Hope You Dance it spoke to who she is. Gladys was born on May 28th which is my Mom's birthday, so it was strange to be at her concert on Mother's Day. I was trying to really not think of the day to be truthful but Gladys did a sweet tribute by singing M-O-T-H-E-R. She said she missed her Mom. Me too Gladys. She finished out the night with the 1987 Top 20 hit Love Overboard.

Counterpart (TV Series, Starz 2017)

I binged watched the 10 episodes of Counterpart on Starz. This thriller series is well written, intelligent and fascinating. J.K. Simmons plays Howard Silk who is a low level agent at a bureaucratic UN agency in Berlin. He finds out the place he has worked at for 30 years has a secret. Back in 1987 East German scientists created a duplicate of our universe and underground where he works is where you can crossover to the parallel world. It has however been diverging since the crossing was opened. Both our world and theirs treat the crossing as a border to be respected the same as countries do and there are diplomats, spies and intrigue. Howard becomes drawn in when his counterpart comes over to our world. Unlike himself this Howard has more confidence and has moved up in his organization to intelligence. Howard’s wife who is in the hospital and been in a coma for 6 weeks is in danger for some reason and the other Howard has come over to prevent her from being killed. This series presents so much to chew on. Like can we really escape our identity? Do circumstances really matter or in the end are we really just who we are? Also, do we ever truly know the people we are close to? Or, are we just accepting what we want to believe of them? I don’t think it’s an accident that this is set in Berlin which was the gateway of East and West Germany during the Cold War. Two halves of the same whole. J.K. Simmons proves just what a superb actor he is in this series. You can see the differences in Howard and his counterpart but it’s not over the top. So believable. There are great twists and turns in the plot. It also stars Stephen Rea (V For Vendetta)  and Richard Schiff (The Good Doctor). Can’t wait for the second season!

Frankie Valli, Chevalier Theatre Medford, MA 04/12/2018

Oh, what a night! I love going to concerts of the legends because I get the chance to witness music history. Tonight I got the chance to hear the original Jersey boy, Frankie Valli. At 83 years of age he still has that unmistakable voice and ability to hit those falsetto notes. He wore a black suit and mid way through the show changed into a gray jacket. Class. He was backed by 4 singers who filled in as The Four Seasons and a 9 piece band. The setlist was amazing. Working My Way Back To You, Dawn (Go Away) and Swearin' To God. So many other great songs too. Very interesting to hear that Silence Is Golden was just the B side to the single Rag Doll but still became a top 20 hit. The place was feeling it when he sang his #1 hit Grease which was the title song for the movie and was written by another legend, Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees.I teared up when he performed My Eyes Adored You which was released back in 1974. Even as a young child I felt the beauty of that song and still do. And honestly, what's wrong with you if you don't like December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night). So much fun to hear live. Oh my goodness his voice on Sherry-just perfection. He finished the show with Rag Doll and Let's Hang On.

Trust (TV Seris, FX 2018)

Trust is based on actual events of one the wealthiest families, the Gettys. Donald Sutherland plays the patriarch of the family, J. Paul Getty who founded Getty Oil Company. It starts out in the year 1973 playing Pink Floyd's Money which sums it up. Money made the family and money destroys the family. We see the material goods. The large, beautiful house and pool. Old man Getty can basically buy people. He has a harem of women in his house. But there is no love. His children really have no desire to follow in his footsteps and become businessmen. Some get caught up in drugs. He has already lost one son and we come into the story as another son has killed himself. He gets the glimmer of hope when a grandson shows up for the funeral and they seem to connect. However, he soon turns into a disappoint too. Getty is a cold man and behaves like he is a king in his home. He has someone dress him and brush his teeth. The irony is with all the money he can be so cheap. Like keeping track of the cost of the newspaper or having a pay phone in the house. There is so much eccentricity here. Like buying a lioness and having it in the house. It makes one think is this what too much money does to a person. Think of Michael Jackson when he had a zoo in his backyard and went around carrying his chimpanzee, Bubbles. As the series continues it will get into the kidnapping of the grandson. It's turning into a fascinating look of this famous family. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy) and Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry) also star.