Rock Star - 7/16 Live Performance Report **MAJOR SPOILERS**

[LAGuy]

I will have a full report on today's taping of the Live Performance Show up on Monday. But I wanted to pop in and say "You are in for an AWESOME show this week!" Easily the best one so far!

The rockers are really starting to bring it! Though not everyone was successful (see: Josh, Dana, Jenny), tonight featured Personal Best performances from several of them (see: Patrice, Phil, and Magni). But leave it to Dilana to show them all how it’s really done. I don’t know how Supernova can avoid giving her the encore again this week.

For now, here's the song list:

Patrice – Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
Josh – Come As You Are (Nirvana)
Storm – Just What I Needed (The Cars)
Lukas – Let’s Spend the Night Together (The Rolling Stones)
Jill – All Right Now (Free)
Ryan – Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Phil – White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane) [with Jason on bass]
Dana – It’s My Life (Bon Jovi)
Toby – Runaway Train (Soul Asylum)
Magni – Plush (Stone Temple Pilots)
Zayra – Everybody Hurts (R.E.M.)
Jenny – Drive (Incubus)
Dilana – Zombie (The Cranberries)

I'll have much more to say later!

[Mantenna]

Some excellent songs this week! "Helter Skelter"? "Just What I Needed"? "Plush"? Heck yes!

And we get to hear Jason play some bass. Sweet. He's certainly better than Gerry from INXS.

Oh, but Zayra is doing "Everybody Hurts"? Shoot. Everybody will hurt after that wonderful song is freakified.

[libra1022]

Oh, but Zayra is doing "Everybody Hurts"? Shoot. Everybody will hurt after that wonderful song is freakified.

You are so right Manny! When I read that all that came to my mind was "oh yeah, we definitely will soon!".

Can't wait to come home later tonight and read the full report, thanks for atleast leaving a teaser LAGuy!

[Broadway]

Dang..... Zombie is right up Dilana's alley. It fits her ten-pack-a-day, smoker's voice perfectly... she's got a knack for song choices. (And no, that wasn't a criticism of her voice; I like the gravelly sound.)

How DID Zayra do with that song, LAGuy? That was my head scratcher moment, too.

[Arielflies]

I see White Rabbit is featured this week and while I really wanted to hear Dilana sing it (after last weeks Ring of Fire) I'll keep an open mind about Phil.

[especialk]

Thanks for the sneak preview LA Guy - It looks like they have some different songs from last year too which is a bonus (maybe except for Fortunate Son and the requisite Nirvana song). Don't remember any Incubus or STP, though, which seems to be right up SuperNova's alley. Can't wait to hear Dilana, since I love that Cranberries song!

[LAGuy]

Okay, folks! As promised, here's the Full Report. Sorry 'bout the length, but there was a lot of ground to cover.

First of all, there was no Butch Walker or other Guest Judge this week. Although the agency that handles the ticketing for Rock Star had indicated on their website that the Guest Judge would be JD, he – like Slash last week – was not there.

With so many Rockers in the competition, there’s still no time for a Q&A. But we did get to see a little of the “reality” footage at the top of the show - depicting some of the battles that went on over song selection this week (especially between Patrice and Jill.) Tommy said he loves a good cat fight, and was glad to see that the Rockers were starting to take the whole thing more seriously.

Patrice – Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
Great way to kick off the show. Patrice fought for this song – and delivered her best performance to date, imo. Dave said her voice sounded “killer”, but found the performance to be a little “cutesy”. Tommy thought it was rockin’ and gave her a “horns up”. Gilby said she sang great and that he really dug it, while Jason noted that her stage experience really showed through. (P.S. There was lots of love on display between Patrice and Jill in the Rockers Pod after, so any hard feelings over the song selection must be gone.)

Josh – Come As You Are (Nirvana)
When I heard that Josh chose Nirvana, I didn’t get it. Then, seeing how badly he wanted the song in the “reality” clip gave me hope that maybe he would bring something special to it. Alas, my initial qualms turned out to be right. Josh did a completely acoustic version of the song – and it just was all kinds of wrong, as it highlighted the apparently vast stylistic difference between himself and Supernova. Dave thought Josh sounded “terrific”, but also wanted him to bring something heavier next time, saying that SN would be playing Wembley (!) and not coffee houses. Comments from the rest basically followed suit, with Tommy cutting to the heart of the matter by saying that he wants to see Josh “break sh*t.”

Storm – Just What I Needed (The Cars)
A good performance, but nothing we haven’t already seen from her. Storm definitely toned down most of her overly-dramatic tics and flourishes – enough so that Dave thought there was a “night & day difference” between last week and this. Gilby, however, didn’t seem so sure. He said Storm is a “hard one” [to critique] because the thing that makes her so uniquely herself is also the thing that makes him question whether she is right for SN. And yet he’d hate to see her change herself. Tommy, after initially deferring to make a comment, finally offered up that he wanted to see more of her (wink, wink). To which Storm responded, “I have 6 letters for you: Google.”

Lukas – Let’s Spend the Night Together (The Rolling Stones)
I definitely need to take a second look at this one. If most of you are like the judges, you are gonna LOVE it. It really was pretty good, and I can’t fault Lukas’ voice or the arrangement. However, even though Lukas is one of my favorites, I found some of his “Jagger-esque” movements so distracting that they prevented me from getting into his performance. But Lukas doesn’t need my approval, as he got it in spades from the judges. Dave tried to fake him out a bit at the start by saying that Lukas was “arrogant - [pause] - and absolutely awesome!” Tommy, yet again making their possible ultimate selection of Lukas seem like a foregone conclusion, said that Lukas was “raising the bar” and that he wanted a seat at it. Gilby and Jason were also highly complimentary, especially praising him for “making the song his own.” Like I said, I really need to take a second look…

Jill – All Right Now (Free)
Though not quite up to her performance of Bring Me to Life at last week’s Elimination Show, this was Jill’s best showing on the Live Performance Show. Tommy said that he was “definitely all right now.” (How long did it take you to come up with that one, T?) Although Gilby thought she over-sang in parts, Jason paid her the highest compliment, saying that this was the first time he could really imagine seeing Supernova playing behind her.

Ryan – Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
This was the first performance of Ryan’s that I personally liked. Without employing all the stage moves seemingly copied from Rock ‘n Roll for Dummies, he stood there and sung it straight with a lot of passion. So - wouldn’t you know it? - Supernova was less than enthused. Dave questioned Ryan’s performance skills, Gilby thought he looked uncomfortable, and Jason told him he needed to find where to direct his energy. Tommy, once again the very model of brevity, asked if Ryan had duct tape on his shoes. Ryan made the lame excuse that, being used to playing for an hour & a half, he needed some time to warm up and gauge the audience reaction. SN wasn’t buying it, however, noting that they may have to play a one song gig at an awards show, for example, and could not afford to spend that time “warming up.”

Phil – White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
Phil got a Surprise Guest Appearance, when Jason announced he would be playing bass on the song. Phil handled it with aplomb, but I think it threw him just a little and the very beginning of the song sounded rough. Then, picking up steam, Phil went to the back of the stage to interact with Jason – and ended up getting head-banged (and a split lip) in the process. To his credit, Phil responded by amping up his performance even more and really tore into the final section. He got a huge response from the crowd, and the guys loved it, praising him for his intensity and cranking it up a notch. Jason, for his part, was so hyped-up from his brief stint on stage, it took him several minutes to settle down enough to be able to sit.

Dana – It’s My Life (Bon Jovi)
This one is almost too painful to write about, so I’ll just let the judges do the talking. Dave: Felt like his parents had dragged him to Vegas to see “some rock thing.” Tommy: Thinks she’s “damn hot” and can sing; but the whole thing was like a “Celine Dion extravaganza.” Jason: Complimented her again on the power of her voice, but wondered if her “hardest” would ever be hard enough for their band. Gilby: “Why would you pick that song, Matt?” (Ouch!) “I don’t believe you could ever be in our band.” (Double Ouch!) After the harshest round of criticism to date, Dave tried to lighten things a bit by telling her, “If you were on that other singing program, Taylor Hicks would be your janitor.” Small consolation, Dave. Based on these comments, I’d say the first time Dana hits the Bottom 3, she’s history.

Toby – Runaway Train (Soul Asylum)
A perfect fit for Toby’s voice, and I personally loved it. But the Tob-ster ended up getting some fairly negative criticism from the judges. Dave said that the song felt like it was about 20 minutes long. Tommy said he wants to be scared by a singer - like Lukas does - and that Toby isn’t scaring him. Toby, for his part, explained that he wanted to show his versatility by singing an emotional song after he rocked out last week, and that he didn’t think he needed to be jumping around all the time. He also promised to deliver a Rocker next week. Gilby said that he got what Toby was trying to do, and felt that Toby had earned the right to do it. (Thank you, Gilby!) Lastly, Jason criticized Toby for playing too close-in and not projecting his performance to the back of the house. That comment seemed to get to Toby the most, as he ended up apologizing to the audience. Hey, Toby; no apology necessary.

Magni – Plush (Stone Temple Pilots)
Last week, Magni probably earned the “Most Improved” title. There was no back-sliding from him this week. He delivered yet another strong performance – probably his best to date. Dave, in fact, said as much; and Gilby acknowledged that, after a somewhat weak start, Magni has been “killing it.” Jason thought it sounded great, and that it highlighted Magni’s “prowess”. Props were also given for his choice of a more contemporary song. Tommy only had one word for it: “Magni-ficent.”

Zayra – Everybody Hurts (R.E.M.)
As tempting as it would be to use that song title against her, the fact is that she really didn’t hurt anyone – least of all herself. Though I thought she sounded a little off in the beginning, she gained strength throughout and managed an impressive finish. Dave came right out and admitted that he thought Supernova had made a big mistake by keeping her last week. Now, however, he found her “phenomenal” and “captivating” and said that “I stand corrected’ Gilby owned up that he had wanted Zayra to go last week, but admitted that he was now glad she hadn’t and that he thought her performance was “really risky” and “awesome”. Tommy said it was her best yet – “cool” & “yummy” – and Jason thought she was “classy” and loved the way her voice matched the House Band’s crescendo.

Jenny – Drive (Incubus)
After 3 weeks, I’ve realized that Jenny is not for me. I really haven’t cared for anything she’s done so far, and this was no different. She played the acoustic guitar (well), and sang (ok), but it just amounted to so much meh. The judges seem to be having their own qualms about her. Dave felt that she’s making safer & safer song choices, and Jason wondered if her soft voice will work with their hard music. I didn’t catch all of Tommy’s comment (something about jumping in a new pair of boots?), but Gilby again had the most pointed comment to make -- saying that it was a step in the wrong direction, and that Jenny’s performance was “Lilith Fair” and not “Ozzfest”.

Dilana – Zombie (The Cranberries)
On a night featuring some truly fine performances, leave it to Dilana to come out and show them all how it’s really done. It may have been her most well-rounded performance yet, incorporating qualities and elements we’ve seen from her in the past 2 weeks and serving them up anew. The audience went crazy, Dave got chills, Gilby told her to enjoy her moment, and Jason said that she set the bar for everybody - male or female. (Tommy merely said: “Dilana, I wanna”.) After that performance - and the praise deservedly heaped on her - it’s hard to see SN giving the encore to anybody else.

So, there you have it! Overall, this was the strongest night of performances we’ve seen so far. The judges’ comments seemed a bit inconsistent from one Rocker to another, however. Even when I agreed with them, I couldn’t always see why one Rocker got called on something, while another slid by. For example: The “Celine Dion” comment given to Dana could also have been justifiably applied to Zayra, who - with her hair down and wearing a sparkly silver gown - looked more like a Vegas chanteuse than a rock star. It may not matter in the long run to the viewing audience, however, as 90% of the comments end up on the cutting room floor.

[Lois Lane]

LAGuy, thanks for that! I really like how you capture the spirit of being there WITHOUT being overly mean to anyone (that's better than I could do!). I know who some of your favorites are (and aren't) by some of your posts, but you're always very judicial and even handed to all the contestants. That makes you better than most of the rock music critics out there.

Have to ask--is your memory just super awesome or do you take notes at these things?

Thanks again!

I really like "Runaway Train" so I'm looking forward to hearing Toby do that one. I don't like either of the REM songs being performed so I'll most likely have a "meh" moment on those tunes... And aside from a few names (Toby, Dilana, Lukas, Zayra), I couldn't remember who any of the others were. Jenny? I don't remember. Phil? He's the Bobblehead and I remember not liking him but can't remember his voice.

[Blues Songstres]

Lukas – Let’s Spend the Night Together (The Rolling Stones)
I definitely need to take a second look at this one. If most of you are like the judges, you are gonna LOVE it. It really was pretty good, and I can’t fault Lukas’ voice or the arrangement. However, even though Lukas is one of my favorites, I found some of his “Jagger-esque” movements so distracting that they prevented me from getting into his performance. But Lukas doesn’t need my approval, as he got it in spades from the judges. Dave tried to fake him out a bit at the start by saying that Lukas was “arrogant - [pause] - and absolutely awesome!” Tommy, yet again making their possible ultimate selection of Lukas seem like a foregone conclusion, said that Lukas was “raising the bar” and that he wanted a seat at it. Gilby and Jason were also highly complimentary, especially praising him for “making the song his own.” Like I said, I really need to take a second look….

I completely agree and even told the people I was with that I wanted to see Lukas again before deciding what I thought. I thought the same thing about Phil's performance. Granted, his performance was far more energetic and heavier than anything he had done prior to this, but in the excitement of seeing the improved performance I'm not sure he actually sang well.

Personally, I didn't care for Zayra's performance of "Everybody Hurts", but that's just me apparently...

I agree with you on everything else. Great recap!

[LAGuy]

I completely agree and even told the people I was with that I wanted to see Lukas again before deciding what I thought. I thought the same thing about Phil's performance. Granted, his performance was far more energetic and heavier than anything he had done prior to this, but in the excitement of seeing the improved performance I'm not sure he actually sang well.

Personally, I didn't care for Zayra's performance of "Everybody Hurts", but that's just me apparently...

I agree with you on everything else. Great recap!

Thanks, Blues Songstres! And I agree with you about Phil. He gets a lot of props for having such a surprising performance, but I'm not sure how good he actually sounded. However, like Dave says, rock 'n roll isn't about always hitting the notes.

As always, it'll be interesting to see how it all translates to TV.

Will you be going to more of the tapings? If so, I'd love to meet up sometime. Just look for me near the Rockers Pod (usually).