Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at Sandy Amphitheater

 
I am a huge fan of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real!  I have seen them at USANA (backing Neil Young), at the Commonwealth Room, at Red Butte Garden, and at Sandy Amphitheater.  Last night I went back to Sandy Amphitheater to see them again and I absolutely loved the show!  They were in town promoting their latest release Sticks and Stones (it is so good) and the majority of the songs in their main set came from this album.  They started the show with "Alcohallelujah" and continued with the title track, "Every Time I Drink," "If I Didn't Love You," "Overpass," "Icarus,""All Four Winds" (my favorite from the new album), "The View," "Lying," "Wrong House," and "Ladder of Love."  I really enjoyed hearing these new songs performed live because Nelson and the band looked like they were having such a great time playing them and they sounded really tight despite the fact that they haven't played them as much as the older songs.  However, I was thrilled to hear so many of my favorites, including "Fool Me Once," "Four Letter Word," "Just Outside of Austin" (with a really cool piano intro), "Carolina," "(Forget About) Georgia," "Die Alone," and "Find Yourself" (with lots of participation from the crowd during the chorus).  They also sang a cover of Willie Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning" which was awesome!  I was really hoping that they would play "Set Me Down on a Cloud," which is my favorite Promise of the Real song, so I was absolutely thrilled when I heard the opening notes!  It was the perfect song to end their main set with!  For the encore, they performed a rousing rendition of "Something Real" with an extended intro featuring the drums.  I am not a big fan of country music but I absolutely love this band (they do have more of a rock-country sound) and I love Nelson's voice (he sounds like his dad Willie Nelson but a bit edgier).  Nelson wasn't as talkative as I have seen him be but he and the band gave a really energetic performance with very little down time between the songs.  They had a stripped down stage filled with lots of instruments and, since I was sitting on the fifth row (he definitely made eye contact with me), it was fascinating to watch Nelson playing the guitar.  There was a major thunderstorm near the end of the show but even the rain couldn't dampen my enthusiasm (the rain stopped just before "Set Me Down on a Cloud" which made me very happy).  I had so much fun and I hope they come back again next year!

Note:  I have loved every Promise of the Real concert but if I had to pick a favorite it would be the show at the Commonwealth Room.  This was right after the movie A Star Is Born came out (Promise of the Real portrayed Jackson Maine's band) and they played "Shallow."  It was sans Lady Gaga but it was epic!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Tuacahn Amphitheatre

I always like to see at least one show at Tuacahn every year so I took a quick road trip to St. George for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Tarzan and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are the other shows being performed in repertory) last night.  I really love this musical and I knew it would be spectacular against the red rock!  Quasimodo (Justin Luciano) has been hidden by his master Frollo (Randal Keith) in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral all of his life because he is deformed.  He wonders what it would be like to leave the cathedral and decides that he will be safe on the streets of Paris during the Feast of Fools.  He is eventually crowned the King of the Fools but when the crowd turns on him the gypsy Esmeralda (Sophia Marie Guerrero) rescues him.  She also catches the eye of the captain of the cathedral guard Phoebus de Martin (Sean Thompson) who falls in love with her and she bewitches Frollo who becomes obsessed with possessing her.  When Esmeralda rejects Frollo, he orders Phoebus to arrest her but when he refuses they both become fugitives who are given sanctuary in the cathedral by Quasimodo until the final confrontation in the bell tower.  The four main leads are amazing!  My favorite song in the show is "God Help the Outcasts" and Guerrero sings it beautifully; Keith's version of "Hellfire" is incredibly dramatic (it is also staged brilliantly with a projection of Esmeralda dancing in flames on the rose window of the cathedral); Luciano's rendition of "Heaven's Light" brought tears to my eyes; and Thompson is so romantic when he sings "Someday" with Guerrero.  The ensemble also does an excellent job narrating the story in "The Bells of Notre Dame" and its multiple reprises.  One of my favorite aspects of the show is the use of gargoyles as characters who help and inspire Quasimodo.  Most productions that I've seen use three actors who are costumed as actual gargoyles but this show features many of them who appear on the outside of the cathedral and the bell towers and then are brought to life as puppets by the ensemble.  This change is particularly effective in the song "Made of Stone" when they accuse Quasimodo.  The choreography is very energetic and engaging, especially in "Topsy Turvy" (I loved the ribbons) and "The Rhythm of the Tambourine."  As with most productions at Tuacahn, there are lots of fun details which set this apart from the other versions I have seen.  Phoebus appears in the cathedral square for the first time on horseback, King Louis XI visits Frollo in a carriage pulled by horses, real fire is used to burn the brothel down, Quasimodo really swings from a rope to save Esmeralda from the pyre, and he really throws Frollo from the bell tower (with some amazing special effects).  Finally, the set is absolutely spectacular!  The stage is dominated by a Gothic cathedral with two large bell towers on either side.  A large screen behind the cathedral features various projections (I especially loved the beautiful rose window when the inside of the cathedral is shown) and I think they are used very effectively.  The area in front of the cathedral becomes a square with the addition of a few set pieces and it becomes the inside of the cathedral when the doors open and pews and votive stands are added.  I was very impressed with this show and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets to this and the other shows this season).

Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles at the Eccles

I love the Beatles and, even though I never had the opportunity to see them live, I have seen many tribute bands.  One of the best is Rain and I was so excited to be able to see them again last night at the Eccles Theatre.  It was an amazing show and I sang every single word (so did everyone around me).  Steve Landes (John Lennon), Paul Curatolo (Paul McCartney), Alastar McNeil (George Harrison) and Aaron Chiazza (Ringo Starr) look and sound a lot like the Beatles so it really feels like you are actually seeing them and the background images turn the concert into an incredibly immersive experience (the crowd even screamed as much as the early fans).  The concert was divided into different sets (or eras!) and it began with the Beatlemania set.  The lads were dressed in their signature black suits and Cuban-heeled boots and they performed "All My Loving," "Please Please Me," "This Boy," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Roll Over Beethoven," "A Hard Day's Night," "If I Fell," "You Can't Do That," and "Yesterday" with background images from the Ed Sullivan Show.  The next set was Shea Stadium featuring "I Feel Fine," "Day Tripper," and "Twist and Shout" (which got the crowd up and dancing) with costumes and background images from that epic concert.  Next came the Revolver & Rubber Soul (my favorite albums by the Beatles) set with performances of "Drive My Car," "The Word," "Eleanor Rigby," "In My Life," and "Nowhere Man."  During this set they were dressed casually with video footage of the Beatles from that period projected on the screens.  After the intermission came the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band set with the iconic uniforms and lots of psychedelic images on the screens.  I really loved this set because it included "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "She's Leaving Home," "Lovely Rita," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)," and "A Day in the Life" which was brilliant!  Then came the Rooftop Concert set which mimicked the concert the Beatles performed on the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters in London.  They wore the same outfits the Beatles wore then (including John Lennon's fur coat) and the images on the screen made it seem like they were really on the roof.  They performed some of the setlist from this show, including "Get Back," "Dig a Pony,"and "Don't Let Me Down," with a bonus performance of "Let It Be."  The final set was Abbey Road and the costumes were based on what the Beatles wore on the cover of this album and the images on the screen were from the famous recording studio.  They performed "Come Together," "You Never Give Me Your Money," "Mean Mr. Mustard," "Polythene Pam," "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window," "Golden Slumbers," "Cary That Weight," and "The End."  Of course they performed "Hey Jude" for the encore and the entire crowd sang along which was really fun!  I'm so glad that I decided to see this show again because it featured a completely different setlist so I got to hear quite a few songs that I have never heard performed live before (I can't believe I still remember the words to "She's Leaving Home" and "Lovely Rita").  Due to popular demand another show was added tonight and there are still a few tickets available (go here).  I highly recommend it to all Beatles fans.

Newsies at HCT

There was a time when Newsies was at the top of the list of shows that I wanted to see. I was so eager to see it that I went to Los Angeles because it was playing at the Pantages Theatre and then the Broadway touring production came to SLC the following year so I got to see it again! I have since seen it multiple times (it is very popular in Utah) but I really love it and was so excited to see HCT's version last night! It is a fun production and I thoroughly enjoyed it! A group of newspaper delivery boys (and girls in this production) led by Jack Kelly (Matthew Sanguine) decide to go on strike when Joseph Pulitzer (Douglas Irey) raises the price of newspapers. With a little help from a fledgling reporter named Katherine Plumber (Rachel Martorana), the so-called newsies get the attention of Governor Theodore Roosevelt (Ryland Despain) and score a victory for all of the working children in New York. I love all of the music in this show but my favorite song has always been "The World Will Know." Sanguine and the ensemble performed it with so much passion that I had goosebumps! I also really enjoyed Martorana's rendition of "Watch What Happens" because she infuses it with both vulnerability and determination to succeed and Gunnar Russell (as Crutchie) gave the best performance I’ve seen of "Letter from the Refuge" because it is incredibly poignant! The highlight of this show has always been its high-energy choreography and HCT did not disappoint! Everyone in the ensemble is an amazing performer and the big production numbers "Carrying the Banner," "The World Will Know," "Seize the Day," "King of New York," and "Once and for All" are outstanding. The choreography features a few of the iconic leaps and spins from the original Broadway production but it is also innovative enough to keep it fresh and exciting. At first I felt that Sanguine was too old for the role of Jack (who is supposed to be a teenager) but he eventually won me over and I enjoyed his charisma and bravado. The other standouts in the cast for me were Hyrum Smith as Davey and Flynn Mitchell (who steals every scene he is in) as Les because they play off of Sanguine so well. The set also maintains the spirit of the original Broadway production but, because it is Hale, it is even more dramatic with one large multi-level metal tower in the middle of the stage which splits apart and is reconfigured multiple times. It is quite thrilling to see the actors climbing and swinging on all of the different levels and configurations. I did find the use of an actual chalkboard for the newspaper headlines, while clever, to be a bit underwhelming and it was hard to see Jack's drawings. The previous production of Newsies at HCT utilized the LED screens that surround the theatre for the headlines and drawings and I think that was more effective. Other than that minor complaint, I had a great time with this show and I highly recommend seeing it with your kids (the children and teens in my audience absolutely loved it).  It runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through August 26 (go here for tickets).

Dark Corners

My July Book of the Month selection was Dark Corners by Megan Goldin (the other options were The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange, The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, Hello Stranger by Katherine Center, and Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong). I picked it because I recently read and enjoyed The Night Swim (the first in the Rachel Krall series) and was eager for another case involving the popular podcast host. I think I liked this one even more! A violent criminal named Terrence Bailey, who was once the main suspect in a series of brutal murders against women, is about to be released from prison after serving time for breaking and entering. Two days before his release he receives a random visit from a young and successful social media influencer named Maddison Logan and then she disappears several hours later. In the course of their investigation, the FBI discovers that Logan spoke with Bailey about Krall during their meeting and they want to know why so they reluctantly ask for her help. Both Krall and the FBI come to believe that Bailey is somehow responsible for Logan's disappearance and she suspects that she might be the next victim. The narrative alternates between Krall's POV as she investigates Logan's last movements at an influencer convention and those of a rideshare driver who may or may not be Bailey's accomplice and an FBI agent racing against time. This is a fast-paced mystery filled with lots of suspenseful twists and turns that kept me reading into the early morning hours (and kept me guessing until the very end) but I especially enjoyed the deep dive into influencer culture because it is a lot more cut-throat than I imagined and I was absolutely fascinated (and, as someone who follows a few influncers on social media, I was also appalled). Rachel Krall is a great character (I love intelligent, strong, and independent female protagonists) and I particularly liked her development from a passive role as a reporter looking into a crime that happened years ago in the first novel to a more active participant in an on-going investigation in this one and I hope to see more of her in future installments of the series. The only aspect of the narrative the fell flat for me was the sudden romance between Krall and an FBI agent because it was a bit cringe-worthy and seemed out of character but this is a minor criticism. Even though this is the second in a series I think it works as a standalone (there are only a few references to the first novel and they are thoroughly explained) and I definitely recommend it to fans of mysteries.