|
(LAS VEGAS) - The New England Patriots...what can I say?
They are the masters of the football universe, agreed? FIrst the perfect season, 16 wins, and now this. It just doesn't get any better than this for the Boston fans who are still celebrating the Red Sox World Series win. I predict we will see the Pats return to the Super Bowl, because that is the only real goal left here. Anyone doubt this?
I taped an appearance on Celebrity Chef Connection, a fairly new show based here in Vegas and soon we will have a cool button here that you can press and voila - I will appear on your computer and show you my recipe for "Secret Sauce". I'll have a full report on the taping and the new FOOD section we will have here shortly on VIT.
THE MYSTERY OF MAX
Next week, an interesting piece on our very own Don Vito, Max Redfire Wheeler, the amazing poet, artist and retired actor. As Sylva M from Sacramento asked, "why do you refer to Max Redfire as Don Vito sometimes, I am intrigued, as I am by his poetry"
Well, Sylvia, it all goes down to the circumstances that caused me to meet the Max for the first time, and I'll tell that story next week.
(At left: Teen idol Frankie Avalon with Steve at a recent show)
 (LAS VEGAS) - It's cold and rainy here, unusual (the rain part) but much needed. They had over a foot of snow in the past couple of days just a half hour away from here on Mount Charleston. We drove up there recently to look at the snow, and the skiers at the ski resort, hard to believe it's just a short hop away from the Strip where it almost never snows.
It's officially winter here, but 50 or 60 during the say is a lot better than the frigid snowy blizzard - type weather that is the norm for the New England area where I grew up.
FRANKIE AVALON
Back in the late seventies, I opened for Frankie Avalon in Bermuda. It wa a great gig, and I got to hang out with the former teen idol. We spent a couple of days sitting on the beach (people spotting him on the beach did double takes, it was hilarious. Often they would come over to us and say, "Where's Annette?" and Frankie would smile and try to seem gracious, and then when they walked away, he would whisper to me, "morons".
He is so funny, and another pure entertainer, and as you can see in the picture above, he still looks better than me.
VAN HALEN COMES TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN
Saw Van Halen in concert last weekend, a wild concert, the first time David Lee Roth appeared as the front man, and although I liked Sammy Hagar, I have to admit that Roth did an amazing job, if he would just stop smiling that big phony smile. Actually, my seat in the 5th row allowed me to see great detail, and it looked like his face was plastic, so he probably can't stop smiling. Eddie Van Halen was in fine form as well, plucking and strumming and screeching the guitar with great skill and flawless timing. His smile is genuine. He's obviously happy to be onstage with his brother Alex on drums (could be the best in rock) and his young son Wolfgang playing bass guitar. He brims with pride every time he looks over at his son, and together they are making music that sounds exactly as it did back in 1984, which was when they all played together. COurse, Wolfgang was not an original member, the band is older than he is. Bassist Michael Anthony completed the original line-up, but he was replaced for this tour (and forever). Seems he had some not-so-nice things to say about the Van Halen brothers, and then went out on tour with Hagar and did Van Halen songs, which basically sealed his fate as a traitor and ex-band member.
The sound was off the charts, crisp vocals and guitars, the ultimate rock concert of high energy blow your face out rock and roll, and after over 2 hours of non-stop full sensory assault, the boys did an encore of "Jump" and the noise level was so high that the windows all shattered and grown men were seen weeping.
It took me 2 days for my hearing to return to normal. What a great experience it was.
BEST OF2007 ROCK & ROLL
I got an email from "Joel R" asking me what the best music show was that I saw in 2007. I can't begin to pick just one, they were all wonderful. That said, a few stand out in my mind as the best of the best. Allow me to share the top 3 with you.
Definitely at the top of the heap would be Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone. I've written about all 3 concerts we saw in 2007, and if you missed any of those (check archives) I'll summarize here; high energy, great music, party-like atmosphere as Peter, the rock legend from Manchester, England, is such a real entertainer, in addition to still having the voice and looks, his humor and strong connection he has with his audiences makes his concerts unforgettable experiences. I know. I've seen him a number of times, since the 70's when he was on a show with Donovan. He seems to get better with age. Like fine wine.
Next would be another Englishman, a Liverpool native called Gerry Marsden. Gerry and the Pacemakers has only played in Las Vegas twice in their entire history. Jan and I were at both. He's another full-service entertainer, loads of personality and funny, and when he sings his hits, Gerry knocks them out of the park.
It was a great year for music shows, with an emphasis on classics, oldies acts, always a thrill to see the original legendary bands.
Bob Seeger come to mind right off, as he sounded pretty much exactly as he did in the 70's and 80's, when I would drive to Detroit to see him perform, probably saw him a dozen times back then. This show was full of the same energy and great music.And the completely gray hair. The only thing missing was his famous crowd surfing he often did.
Have a great week.
Magically yours,
Steve
READ STEVE'S BLOG
<TOP>
|
