Michael Jackson’s This Is It opens with a slow burn, which is probably the way the man who the film was created in honor of would have wanted it; a scroll about the film’s origins that oddly glides over the manner of his untimely passing, the title card, and then a series of reactions from the show’s would-be dancers, all gathered to audition for the man who, to hear them tell it, inspired him to dance. When Michael does finally arrive on screen, then, the viewer has been prepared for his arrival—and yet, it’s still kind of incredible, to see this man who for so long had loomed as something larger than life, in part because he really wanted to, actually appear on screen in something resembling his element. MORE »
POSTS FROM "ON THE SCENE" CATEGORY
ON THE SCENE
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”: What Could Have Been, What Might Have Been Anyway
ON THE SCENE
Prince Invites Some People Over For A Party
Saturday night, Prince threw open the gates at Minneapolis’ Paisley Park for what he called “The Last Jam Of 2009.” Tickets were cheap–only $40, and $31.21 for members of his online fan club LotusFlow3r—and there was also a coat and canned-food drive for the Minneapolis area’s less fortunate. Idolator’s Lucas Jensen just happened to be in Minneapolis for the weekend, and so he headed out to the show—and got to see a bunch of Jackson 5 covers, a Sly and the Family Stone tribute set featuring Family Stone bassist Larry Graham, and a ton of the Purple One’s hits. Lucas’ iPhoned-in reactions, and the set list, after the jump.) MORE »
ON THE SCENE
R. Kelly Prepares To Write A New Chapter
Friday night R. Kelly performed in New York at the former Felt Forum, now a theater named after a bank that went belly-up because of the excesses of the previous decade. The tour was Kells’ “Ladies Make Some Noise Tour,” in which the default mode for the evening involved a) ladies b) making some noise, particularly when lyrics involving doing the nasty were thrust from the stage. Oh, and there was also thrown underwear—from both sides of the stage. MORE »
ON THE SCENE
A Brief Note About Monday Night’s Maxwell Show
Guys out there who are looking for pointers on how to make your lady feel good: R & B singer Maxwell showed the other night at Madison Square Garden that the one-two punch of saying that you don’t mind getting down with her lady during her time of the month, and subsequently covering Kate Bush is more than enough to turn the legs of any woman to rubber. A clip of his “This Woman’s Work” performance from Monday after the jump. MORE »
ON THE SCENE
Kelly Clarkson Takes Control In Allentown
Yesterday my pal Jami and I took a two-hours-and-change drive to Allentown, Pa., the home of the Great Allentown Fair (now in its 157th year). The reason: The evening’s grandstand entertainment was headlined by Kelly Clarkson, who was bookended by the Earth, Wind & Fire/Chicago double bill and Tim McGraw on the fair’s roster of entertainment, and who was there to show a slice of northeastern America just what being an American Idol means in this time of fragmented pop landscapes and Taylor Hicks victories. MORE »
ON THE SCENE
Jay-Z, Kanye, Fact, And Fiction Collide At Webster Hall
Last night’s Diesel : U : Music show at Webster Hall was a hot ticket, thanks to a bill stocked with highly bloggable acts like Clipse and the Roots, and rumors swirling all week that Jay-Z—in the tri-state area for his All Points West appearance this evening—was going to surprise the crowd by bringing the house down. We sent Jeff Rosenthal of ItsTheReal.com to suss out the rumors and scope out the scene; as it turned out, Jay didn’t show up, but one of his town-running cohorts did. MORE »
ON THE SCENE
Taylor Momsen’s Birthday Party Was Not Really A “Sweet” Sixteen
Last night I ventured to New York’s Hiro Ballroom for the 16th birthday party of Taylor Momsen, who stars on the cult-beloved TV show Gossip Girl and who fancies herself a rocker chick in the Sassy cover girl mold. (Note this recent quote from her Teen Vogue cover story: “I would eat a boy my age alive.”) The “party” wasn’t a meet-and-greet affair as much as it was an opportunity for her band, the Pretty Reckless, to perform in front of a crowd of radio-station contest winners, assorted VIPs (including some video-camera-wielding family members), and co-stars. (Who, it should be noted, I didn’t see at all, due to them presumably being ensconced in the club’s roped-off upstairs area.) MORE »
ON THE SCENE
It took them a long time, but finally–finally!–Sonic Youth have nabbed the coveted “Artist On The Verge” tag from the big-box retailer Target. Way to go, guys! (Click through for the full-sized pic.) MORE »
ON THE SCENE
You know what’s worse than watching your favorite team squander a lead against their chief division rival, then lose to that team in extra innings? Having your team’s last hope in the bottom of the eleventh come out to a Creed song… before he grounds out to end the game. It’s like, maybe if you had better at-bat music, you’d get a little more psyched up to start a rally there, Brian Schneider. [MLB.com] MORE »
ON THE SCENE
What Was Your Last Visit To A Big-Box Retailer’s Music Section Like?
Last night I visited my local Target, and I decided to swing by its ever-shrinking music section just to see what was going on. What I saw were a lot of depleted shelves (including the new-release area, although that might have been waiting for today’s supply of Black Eyed Peas discs), many copies of Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak, and the fully-stocked display of Sony MusicPass cards that has remained pretty much intact since last year’s holiday season, save one card for Blake Lewis’ Audio Day Dream that was moved into the country section because someone was either trying to be “funny” or realizing that the whole MusicPass thing was pretty much a dumb idea and ditching it before they went to the checkout lanes. There were also two people in there browsing CDs! MORE »
