Nick Jonas - Live in Concert at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY [Sunday, 10/4/15] [Review]

During the very late part of the summer (I believe that it was about a month or so ago), Nick Jonas played a free show at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, NY, which isn't too terribly far from me. It is approximately thirty miles, a forty-five minute to an hour drive. I could not find anyone who was interested in going with me, though, and I didn't want to go to the fair alone. Some things happen for a reason, though, because I recently found out (as did everyone, since it was so recently announced) that he was playing in Utica, NY at Mohawk Valley Community College, so I had a second chance to see him! This time around, the concert was not free, but as an MVCC employee (I am an adjunct professor of English), I got a discount, and the ticket was only $20. This was probably a much more intimate, not to mention comfortable, setting than the fair probably would have been, too, and considering the fact that this may have just been the best show that I have ever attended, the $20 was well worth it. One thing that Nick Jonas definitely knows how to do is put on a good show!

A duo opened for Nick, and I quite honestly wasn't crazy over them, so I was glad that their set was only a few songs. I can't remember what they were called; it sounded like they said Cassie & Monroe, but they said that they had a Twitter account, and when I ran a search for them on Twitter, I found nothing. They were sort of like a blend of pop and rap, with one of them singing and the other rapping. Their songs were silly and fun, but as I said, I was there to see Nick and wasn't really all that into them. Fortunately, after their set, fans didn't have long to wait until Nick began his set. Immediately, I was pleasantly taken aback by the screens on stage, demonstrating all sorts of strange, trippy images, some of which seemed an awful lot like a James Bond film intro. I don't know why (probably because the concert was in a gym on a community college campus), but I really wasn't expecting the show to be so visually stunning, but I sure was in for a night to remember, a night of vivid colors, flashing lights, and an awesome setlist, which was as follows:

1. Chains
2. Numb
3. Wilderness
4. Good Thing
5. I Want You
6. Who I Am / Give Love a Try / Hotline Bling
7. Warning
8. Push
9. Under You
10. Santa Barbara
11. Levels
12. Teacher
13. Take Over
14. Jealous

I was really pleased with the setlist. With the exceptions of "Avalanche," 'Nothing Would Be Better," and "Closer," he performed almost the entirety of the album and then some, and the songs flowed pretty nicely together. I somehow knew that he would open with "Chains" and was right about that. The screen on stage, which was demonstrating moving white shapes, opened up as a door through which Nick entered, making his appearance in a plaid shirt and causing the crowd to roar with excitement. Nick was backed by a band on stage, which I think was guitarist, bassist, and drummer, and the live rendition of "Chains" was pretty awesome because with the band, it was a heavier, rock rendition of the song, which, on the album, is pretty light and soft. "Wilderness" was one of my favorite performances of the show, which is probably mainly because it is my favorite song on the album, and "Good Thing" was a whole lot of fun, too. He is really animated on stage, and you can tell that he is genuinely having fun. The fact that he agreed to play at the New York State Fair for free last month really shows that he does what he does for the right reasons, too.

One highlight for the majority of the crowd really seemed to be when he performed a medley of older songs from his days with the Jonas Brothers and with Nick Jonas & the Administration. This seemed to evoke the most amount of excitement and participation from the audience. Also included in this medley was a brief cover of Drake's "Hotline Bling," with which I honestly had not been familiar. A true highlight for me was his performance of "Push," as this was so fun to watch. Before the song began, a translucent curtain came down behind which Nick stood, and the curtain displayed images of water, making it look as if Nick were under a waterfall (this was one of many really exciting, visually stunning performances of which I captured some video). After this performance, Nick announced that he is currently in the process of working on a new record (which is really exciting!) and then said that the next song was new. The song was called "Under You," and this is a really fun song of which I can't wait to hear the studio version. It was catchy, and I was singing along to it (not to mention enjoying the vibrant colors on the stage) by the end of the performance.

"Santa Barbara" was another highlight for me. Behind Nick was an image of what appeared to be the sun, and the crowd passionately raised their hands and waved them back and forth during the emotional chanting part of the song. I really started to feel very emotional during this performance. Parts of this show really felt like a religious experience, like Nick was sharing a deeply personal part of himself with his audience. Some artists have the ability to do that while others do not as much. He definitely does, which is a large part of the reason why I enjoyed this show so much. "Teacher" is an upbeat, fun song and is definitely a colorful highlight on the album, so of course, it was here, too. Lots of bright, vivid colors such as pink and yellow flashed behind him, and silhouettes of women's legs and women's bodies flashed and danced behind him, which was one part that really reminded me a great deal of James Bond. A lot of the backing videos and images were, as I said, very trippy, and they also flashed quickly and brightly. I kept thinking that as much as I was really enjoying it, I was grateful that I didn't have epilepsy.

After Nick performed "Take Over," the lights of the stage shut down, and Nick wandered off somewhere. I watched in amusement as some people left, believing the concert to be over. I was amused for three central reasons. (1) He didn't even say goodbye. (2) Who would believe that he would perform a show and not perform "Jealous"? Really? (3) They obviously had not been to many shows before, if any, because there is always an encore. That's part of the experience. Hearing "Jealous" was really exciting because it is the song that made me a fan of Nick, and you could tell that the whole crowd was really hyped to be hearing it. The stage flashed with pink and blue lights, with tropical, beachy images of palm trees appearing behind Nick. As I said, this was probably the best show that I have ever attended. Nick was just so vibrant and genuinely happy to be there, and whoever put all that hard work into the videos showing behind Nick really needs to be commended. This show might have also featured the best sound quality that I have ever heard at a show, with the volume of Nick's vocals being perfect and his voice being crisp and clear. If I ever get the opportunity to see him again, I surely will! Thank you for a magical night, Nick Jonas!

Rose McGowan - RM486 - Single [Review]

Rose McGowan recently released her debut single "RM486," and to put it simply, I can't get enough of it. A lot of news sources are referring to it as her music debut, which isn't technically true. McGowan has recorded music before for the Grindhouse: Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror soundtrack, recording songs such as "You Belong to Me" and "Two Against the World." This is, however, her single debut as well as her debut as an original musician. I went a while not knowing what the title was in reference to, but McGowan has told Billboard that RM are her initials, while 486 is in reference to an abortion drug. I'm still not 100% sure what that has to do with the song, but at least the title is not completely confusing to me now (although I am honestly surprised that I didn't figure out that RM is in reference to her initials on my own). The song grabbed my attention when I saw it advertised because I know Rose McGowan from her role as Paige Matthews on Charmed and from her brief role as young Cora on Once Upon a Time. The advertisement was actually for the music video (which features a shorter edit of the song), one of the most interesting music videos that I have ever seen. The music video features Rose McGowan portraying multiple different characters such as a nude, bald, and completely white alien with very long fingernails and a character with blood-red skin covered in glitter.

The song itself is very electronic in nature and has an outer spacey feel to it, sounding almost like a retro song from the eighties. There are a couple of artists of whom it reminds me as well as an artist of whom the music video reminds me, but I will keep the comparisons to myself out of respect for Rose, who has said that she wants nothing more than to be herself, to not be compared to other musicians. The song opens with the following monologue: "I've seen things that people can't imagine, attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark, and all those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die. Time to die." This is a quote from the 1982 sci-fi film Blade Runner, a quote which is almost verbatim but is loosely paraphrased. The vocals here are considerably quieter than the accompanying music and are a bit difficult to understand without looking up the lyrics (even Genius does not know some of the lyrics), and this is honestly true in regards to most of the song's vocals, due, in part, to the vocals being so echoey. The song's chorus says that she is "only here to paint color on the sun," which I think is in reference to Rose wanting to make a difference with her art and with her music. Painting color on the sun (if, of course, such a thing were possible) would affect the entire world because the entire world would see it, and the entire world would be more colorful. I believe that that is what Rose is saying here, that she wants to make an impact.

I am in love with the beat of this song and with the therapeutic "feel good" tone to it. I have been listening to it non-stop for days now. As I said, my only complaint with the song is that I wish that McGowan's vocals were louder and easier to understand, but I do sincerely hope that McGowan will continue down this path of original music and will eventually release a full-length album (and by eventually, I mean soon). Although she has said that she doesn't know for sure if and when an album will come out because she isn't signed to a record label (yet), she has also said that she has come to hate the world of acting because (for one reason) it is, most of the time, through the voices of men, meaning that most writers, producers, directors, etc. are men, which is true. I therefore don't see her doing much more acting if that is how she feels about it. She seems really enthusiastic about this song and about being a musician in general, so I think that we can expect more from her as long as she gets signed, and even if she doesn't get signed, she managed to put together and release this amazing song, so I am thinking that she can put together and release more amazing singles and maybe even release a full-length album independently. I really don't think that she would have any problem getting signed to a record label, though. She is well-known already, and "RM486" is getting quite a bit of media hype. Here's to wishing Rose McGowan the best of luck painting color on the sun!

Madonna - Rebel Heart Tour - Live at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY [Saturday, 9/19/15] [Review]

When the Rebel Heart era started, my friend David (who is also a huge fan of Madonna) and I decided that we would make it a point to see her live this time around. We made such plans early on and vowed that we would make it happen come hell or high water. Here's the thing about Madonna. She's talented when it comes to performing, songwriting, dancing, and even singing (I say even because some people dispute this, saying that her ability to sing live without any digital aid is not that great, something that I think that she has proven wrong on more than one occasion), and she has obviously left a legendary mark over the last thirty+ years, but I will just say this - there is a line from her unreleased leaked track "Two Steps Behind Me" that says that "tickets are going to cost," and even though I am taking that out of context, it certainly is true. Two tickets for me and my friend costed over $300, and those were for pretty shoddy seats. We were not only at a considerable distance from the stage but also had a side angle (photograph of my view of the stage is inserted below), which prevented me from seeing quite a bit, such as many of the tour videos that played behind dear Madge. Really good seats close to the stage costed anywhere between $2,000 and $5,000, and no, I didn't accidentally add extra zeros. That was obviously out of the question, and it amazes me that anyone in their right mind would be able to afford that. It really makes me wonder who sets these prices. If it's Madonna herself, then as much as I respect her as an artist, it would seem that she has a bit of a superiority complex. Then again, though, if people are actually willing to pay that kind of money, then I guess that it's reasonable that someone would take advantage of that.

Several months before attending the show, David and I created our own setlists. I think that his was more of a dream setlist, but I did my best to make mine as realistic as possible. I was anxious to see how close that I would be. This is the setlist that I created:

1. Illuminati
2. Iconic
3. Borrowed Time
4. Hollywood
5. Hung Up / Addicted
6. Ghosttown
7. Give Me All Your Luvin'
8. Bitch I'm Madonna
9. Girl Gone Wild
10. Vogue
11. Borderline
12. Turn Up the Radio
13. Give It 2 Me
14. Unapologetic Bitch
15. Devil Pray
16. Holy Water
17. Erotica / S.E.X.
18. Human Nature
19. Veni Vidi Vici
20. Rebel Heart
21. Celebration
22. Like a Prayer / Living for Love

I was, however, way off on my predictions. The only "dream" inclusion was a mashup of "Hung Up" and "Addicted." I knew that she wouldn't perform "Addicted," anyway, let alone perform it mashed up with "Hung Up" (but I sure do wish that someone would do that). Although I was wrong about what song that she would open with, my expectation was that "Iconic" would, at the very least, be near the beginning of the show, and I was right about that, as the show opened with "Iconic." I was also right about "Devil Pray" and "Holy Water" being played back to back, but it was actually in reverse order and closer to the beginning of the show. Aside from that, I was terribly wrong, and it really pains me to admit that I was, overall, disappointed with what I got. I would have preferred my setlist. For starters, Madonna closed with a pretty generic performance of "Holiday," violating my expectation that she would close with "Living for Love" (since closing with the lead single from the associated album is essentially what she has done since the Drowned World Tour in 2001). The main reason why I was disappointed with that is that she has closed so many tours with "Holiday," so it was nothing new. The Who's That Girl world tour, The Girlie Show, and the Re-Invention World Tour all closed with "Holiday." I was also really disappointed with the "Living for Love" performance itself. It was essentially the same performance that we have seen in the past (with the cape and the minotaurs), and I was quite honestly fine with that. It worked in the past, and I didn't mind being presented with something familiar but also still fresh. What I didn't like, however, was that it was a remix that was performed, a remix that essentially killed the power and strength of the chorus.

I did not spoil myself regarding the setlist prior to seeing the show. I wanted to be surprised by what I heard, but before going in, I determined that she would most definitely perform "La Isla Bonita." I didn't put that on my predicted setlist because it didn't occur to me until afterward that Madonna always performs "La Isla Bonita." It must be a favorite of hers because ever since the song was released on True Blue in 1986, she has performed it on every single tour. It's a good song and is certainly a classic, but it's getting old. I found myself really disappointed with the setlist overall because aside from the Rebel Heart songs that she performed, most of the songs that were included were old songs from the eighties that have been done time and time again ("Burning Up," "Material Girl," "Everybody," "Lucky Star," etc.). I understand that they're classics, but absolutely nothing from American Life (my favorite Madonna album and also the album that I feel fits the best with the rebel theme) was performed, and only one song between Music and Rebel Heart was performed, which was "Candy Shop" from 2008's Hard Candy. "Candy Shop" is not a single, but this seems to be another song that Madonna enjoys performing live because she has done so on every tour since the Sticky & Sweet Tour. Although they were not on my setlist (because, as I said, it was primarily meant to be a realistic prediction, not a dream setlist), I really would have liked to have heard more Rebel Heart songs like "Inside Out," "Wash All Over Me," and "Hold Tight." It is also a sin that she didn't perform "Veni Vidi Vici" because even though it isn't really one of my favorites from Rebel Heart, the reflective, introspective nature of it made it a necessity to perform on the tour, and it should have either been near the beginning of the setlist or near the end.

There were, for me, three primary highlights of the show. The first was the fourth song performed, a medley of "Holy Water" and "Vogue." This performance reminded me of The Girlie Show (the tour to promote the 1992 album Erotica), primarily because of its provocative, sexual nature (see performance here). I remember leaning over to David and saying that if she hadn't already taken heat from conservatives, she surely would. Much to my surprise, I have not seen any related headlines. Another highlight for me was her acoustic performance of "True Blue." Although an oldie, she hasn't performed the song in nearly twenty years, and, as I said, it was an acoustic rendition (see here), and it was absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait for a studio version to surface. The third highlight for me was the title track, "Rebel Heart." Although I was disappointed (but not the least bit surprised) that she performed the album version of the song as opposed to the superior Avicii demo version, it was still such a surreal experience to hear the melody live. The Avicii demo is the first song from this era that I (and probably most Madonna fans) heard, and I was blown away by how good that it was. If the album had collectively lived up to the standards set by that demo, then it most certainly would have been her best album yet. Although I couldn't see it all very well, a video played while Madonna sang the song, a video featuring fanmade artwork and whatnot, and near the end of the performance, I felt overwhelmed by emotion and got teary-eyed. As I said, it was just a really surreal experience to hear that song being performed live in front of me.

The majority of the remainder of the show was, however, rather disappointing, especially since, overall, it did not match the intended goal of the era - which was, as it has been put (even in the intro of the show), a revolution. "Messiah" is a beautiful song, one of my absolute favorites from the album, and although I am glad that it was included at all (I honestly didn't expect that it would be), it deserved to be actually performed rather than serve as an interlude. I really enjoyed most of the outfits (especially this utterly beautiful, colorful dress worn during the middle section of the show), but as I said, I didn't have the greatest view. That's why I can't really effectively review the dancing, the props, etc.; I didn't get a good view. In fact, David tried to point out a depiction of the Last Supper to me, but I couldn't see it. It's a shame that tickets to see her are so majorly overpriced because I would have immensely enjoyed myself had the seats been better. Madonna seemed really free and happy, and all that I could think throughout a majority of the show was how lucky the people on the bottom floor near the stage were. Even the merchandise was majorly overpriced. I got a t-shirt because I wanted a keepsake, but it was $40. Hoodies were, I believe, $75. David and I wanted programs but did not get them because I believe that they were $30 apiece. Again, I don't know who decides on these prices, but it's ridiculous. Seeing Madonna was on my mental bucket list, and I feel so lucky and blessed that I was able to make that a reality, but if I were ever to see her again, it probably wouldn't be unless it were close and/or if I had the money to afford (a) better seat(s) because otherwise, I don't think that it would be worth it. I think that I will get much more out of this tour when I see it on blu-ray or DVD than I did seeing it live.