Author: Mike Farley (Page 33 of 63)

American Idol: A Mostly Mediocre Start

February 21, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night the ladies performed on “American Idol,” and most of them were as bland as the guys were the night before. Not that it’s ever easy to predict who is actually going to win this thing, but the last two nights definitely proved that there are quite a few pretenders this season, despite the “best season ever” hype they have been stuffing down our throats. Like we did with the guys, here are the good, bad and in-between from last night’s contestants:

THE VERY GOOD

Amanda Overmyer has at least two other lives–as a nurse, and as a biker. And she’s an old rocker soul at 23. Well, singer might be the one tag we’ll all be putting on Amanda if she keeps this up. For me, it was hands down the best showing of all 24 auditions. She avoided the stereotypical Janis Joplin and instead took on the classic “Baby Please Don’t Go.” Aside from some weird scat stuff, she just showed some phenomenal pipes. Randy loved it, Paula said it was authentic, and Simon said he really likes her too. Well, I’m here to tell you…she was better than the judges gave her credit for.

THE GOOD

Alaina Whitaker, who looks a bit like Carrie Underwood Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Aight Start

February 20, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “American Idol” had a bit of everything, but the 12 guys who kicked off the America voting portion of the season just didn’t blow everyone away on the first night as in previous seasons. Still, there were some standouts and some clunkers, some back-and-forth between judges and between some bitter contestants. As we have done the last two years, we’ll pick the good, the bad and the in-between. It was a ’60s theme, so all of the contestants were singing songs that were released before they were born. Here we go….

THE GOOD

David Hernandez kicked things off with “Midnight Hour” and to me appeared pretty confident and natural, and he definitely has a great voice. Randy said it was a good way to start, Paula agreed and Simon said it was better than he expected it to be.

25-year-old David Cook sang a rock version of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” and it wasn’t bad at all. In fact it was better than I anticipated. Randy said it was weird at the start but that David worked it out. Paula agreed (as she often does with Randy), and Simon said it was good except for some shouting in the middle.

David Archuleta is 17 and just has a natural voice and an innocence Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Pop, Rock

Road Warriors 52

February 15, 2008 / Mike Farley

The 2008 Honda Civic Tour featuring Panic at the Disco has been selling out shows like crazy already, and with that a second set of dates has been added. The tour kicks off April 10, and for tickets and all confirmed shows, you can visit www.hondacivictour.com.

Radiohead will return to the US in May, and then after a summer tour in the UK and Europe, they will be back for more shows. Here are the confirmed dates for the first leg:

May 5 – Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, Florida
May 6 – Ford Amphitheatre – Tampa, Florida
May 8 – Lakewood Amphitheatre – Atlanta, Georgia
May 9 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Charlotte, North Carolina
May 11 – Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge – Bristow, Virginia
May 14 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – St Louis, Missouri
May 17 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, Texas
May 18 – Superpages.com Center – Dallas, Texas

In support of her new album, Pocket Full of Sunshine, British artist Natasha Bedingfield will hit the road for a US tour this spring. Check out www.natashabedingfieldusa.com for all the details.

Stone Temple Pilots will reunite to play Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio, which takes place May 17 and 18. Other confirmed acts include Kid Rock, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down, Staind, Papa Roach, Flyleaf, Finger Eleven and more. It will be STP’s first show in over seven years.

The Mars Volta have confirmed a Spring US tour in support of their latest, The Bedlam in Goliath, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200. Here are the dates Continue reading »

Alternative, Concerts, Country, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Down To 24

February 14, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night we got down from 50 contestants to 24 on “American Idol.” That means, from here on out, America decides who stays and who goes. You gotta love how they plod along through the initial auditions and then blast through Hollywood week like they have somewhere else to be. But I’m not complaining.

Anyway, the one-hour episode last night was all about having the remaining 50 go up an elevator and walk across a long, hardwood floor to sit in front of the three judges and meet their fate. You can see how excruciating it is on their faces and how the judges just have to mess with them and make them wait as long as possible to learn about their decision. And right from the start of the show, they let us know that not every decision was unanimous, and that Simon did not agree with all of the final calls.

With that, here are some of the contestants that were sent packing Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Hollywood Week Returns

February 13, 2008 / Mike Farley

Hollywood Week began last night on “American Idol,” and they are definitely changing things up this season. For one, by tonight, if someone sucked on their initial Hollywood audition, they would be given a second chance a few days later. Secondly, we went from 164 contestants down to 50 after some brutal, immediate eliminations. Thirdly, no group performances. Fourthly, they could play an instrument while performing. And finally, we will have our 24 finalists by tonight. Geez, that was fast.

Anyway, in making short work of Hollywood Week, we were asked to give Fox an extra hour of our day, as it was a 2-hour episode, and tonight we go back to one hour. I’m not complaining, only telling you that there is a lot to summarize in short space here. So I’ll do it by telling you who looked great, who looked mediocre and who sucked and went home. Here we go….

Absolute finalists:

David Hernandez—I don’t remember this guy from the initial rounds, but he sang “Love the One You’re With,” with a really cool arrangement to boot. He was really, really good and I would definitely peg him as top 24 material.

Amanda Obermeyer, the biker nurse, threw another twist Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Hip Hop, Lyrics, Pop, Rap, Rock