ReVue

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Celtic Tenors

THE CELTIC TENORS

The Stiefel Theatre, Salina, KS

Daryl Simpson, Matthew Gilsenan, Colm Rogan, and James Nelson

THE CELTIC TENORS . . . Unique! These Irish lads are quite something. I knew next to nothing about this group when I did a quick interview with them before the show. They had arrived late for sound check and the interview almost didn't happen. But after talking to them before the show and then getting to hear their music? This is a group to watch.

The Celtic Tenors covered just about every musical genre, other than rap and heavy metal, in their own unique style. Primarily they sang with piano or guitar accompaniment and let their voices be their instruments. In fact, near the end of the show, they sang "Danny Boy" without instruments or microphones. The auditorium was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. And the audience . . . could hear them just fine! The range and volume of their voices were some of the strongest I've ever heard.

Each member of the group had a signature strength. Daryl smiled the entire time. He smiled through the interview, he smiled through the show, and he was still smiling at the meet and greet afterwards. Matthew kissed all the girls. He gave me and my colleague a kiss on the cheek after the interview, he blew a kiss to a female audience member during the show, and he was still hugging and kissing all the girls at the meet and greet afterwards. James was just himself. He was friendly and knowledgeable at the interview. He was friendly throughout the show and he was still very friendly at the meet and greet afterwards. We didn't get to meet Colm at the interview but we did get to talk to him extensively at the meet and greet. My colleague had on a Pantera t-shirt and Colm was very taken with it. He asked Jody, my colleague, if she had liked the show since she was heavily into metal music. He seemed stunned and confused when she overwhelming gave the show her seal of approval.

Something quite funny happened around the intermission. At the beginning of the show, Matthew had a beard. After the intermission, he did not. We were quick to notice and then eventually it was pointed out to the audience. Apparently he had orders from his wife to shave it off. The big joke of the evening was that at all their shows, he has a beard for the first half of the show and then at intermission he shaves it off!

It was a terrific show and these guys were lots of fun. Their talent is tremendous. The meet and greet after the show was the icing on the cake. Keep up the good work, fellas. I hope they travel back through Kansas again, very soon.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Jimmy Fortune

JIMMY FORTUNE (formerly with The Statler Brothers)

The Old Mill Dinner Theatre, Buhler, KS

Check out Jimmy's new CD: "Windows".

Included on this CD is the song that he sang when he auditioned for The Statler Brothers.

A Roy Orbison hit entitled, "Crying".

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Changes Are Coming!

     You may have noticed a new tab at the top of my blog. A calendar. If you can't get to it, don't worry, the calendar is under construction. There will be more tabs that join the calendar tab as I go through this next year.

     There is so much entertainment in Salina and the surrounding area. I go to a fraction of the available entertainment in the area. I'm only one person and can't get to it all. I am, however, going to provide a calendar to keep everyone up to date on what's happening in the area. If you have an entertainment event that you would like listed, shoot me an email, let me know what it is and all the pertinent info. I'll get it put up on the calendar.

     Also, if you attend an event, take photo's, write a review or would just like to let others know about an entertainment experience that you've had out in the community, shoot me an email and let me know about it. I'll post it on ReVue.

     It's an exciting time at ReVue! This upcoming year is going to be full of surprises.  Don't forget to comment on the posts. Good or bad, I'll post them for all to see.  The year's not over yet and I have a few more reviews to post this year.

     MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Get The Led Out---The Music of Led Zeppelin

GET THE LED OUT-THE MUSIC OF LED ZEPPELIN
The Stiefel Theatre, Salina, KS
© Lydia Lowe 11/18/2011


This stage says: "Hey, this is a rock-n-roll show" with classic style.


Left to right: Andrew Lipke, Paul Hammond, Paul Sinclair

Left to right: Diana DeSantis, Jimmy Marchiano, Andrew Lipke

Left to right: Billy Childs, Adam Ferraioli, Diana DeSantis

The band signs autographs after the show.

GET THE LED OUT-the music of Led Zeppelin . . .the curtain came up on a stage decked out with big amps, expensive instruments, guys with long hair and tight jeans, and a big sound. This is the rock-n-roll type of show that I remember from the 1970's. Today's rock-n-roll groups just don't have the style that groups from the 1970's had. You know it's going to be a great show when they hand the audience earplugs as they enter the theater.

The music was amazing! This is a tribute band like none other. GTLO is not about re-creating the band-Led Zeppelin, but re-creating the music of this super group. The accuracy of the music is what it's all about for GTLO. The music was loud and the beat was pounding. There are over 80 songs in the Led Zeppelin repertoire which gives GTLO a vast amount of music to work with and present to the audience.

This was the first time the group has been to Kansas. The Stiefel Theatre was packed to nearly capacity. People were dancing in the seats, the aisles, and up next to the stage. There was clapping, yelling, and singing out loud along with the lyrics to the songs. Even the lights on the stage were more of the vintage variety. There were lots of blues, greens, golds, and white.

GTLO played from 8:00 to after 11:00 p.m. The audience really got their money's worth with this concert. After the concert, the band came out and signed autographs for every person that stayed to meet and talk with them. It was awesome.

Earlier in the day, during the sound check, GTLO had invited area youth to the theatre to a guitar workshop. They also played an acoustic set that was taped for KJAG Radio and interviewed with other area radio stations, too.

During one of the songs, I noticed one of the guys, Andrew Lipke, off to the side running his hands through the air creating an unusual sound. I asked him about it while I was in the meet and greet line. He said it was a Theramin. Check out this link to find out more about what a Thermin is: Theremin on Wikipedia.

This group is a class act and I can't wait for them to make a return visit. I think they should play The Stiefel Theatre every year, make it an annual event.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Eye Candy

"EYE CANDY" ART EXHIBITION

John and Margie Kuhn
The Art Center, Hutchinson, KS
© Lydia Lowe 11/12/2011

This is just a taste of the show at the Hutchinson Art Center.
Go check it out before the show is over.
The ephemera will make you smile and the flowers will make you gasp with delight!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Mark Bowling

MARK BOWLING
Metropolitan Coffee, Hutchinson, KS
© Lydia Lowe 11/05/2011

MARK BOWLING . . . is a singer/songwriter that I would characterize as a folk singer which immediately brings to mind another folk singer/songwriter, John Denver. The parallels are amazing! Even Mark agrees that his style is similar to that of John Denver. He didn't set out to become the next John Denver, he just fell into it.

Mark is very unassuming and has no desire to be in the spotlight. He enjoys writing songs and performing them in the privacy of his studio. His hope is to have other artists perform his songs one day. I'm not sure that other performers could do his songs justice. Mark's songs are deeply personal and reflect pieces of his life. Many songs are serious and introspective, as well as funny and lighthearted. Yet, the songs have a universal appeal.

At the time that I saw Mark perform, he had just come back from Nashville, where he had presented some of his songs to music executives. Mark and two other song writing hopefuls had presented songs. The other two writers had been sharply criticized by the music company for all sorts of different problems with their songs. Mark didn't receive any criticisms for the songs that he presented.

Truly Mark Bowling is a singer/songwriter to watch. Will Mark sell his songs and propel well-known country music artists to number one slots on the music charts? Or will he take the "John Denver" route, writing and performing his own songs as a singer/songwriter? Only the future knows for sure.