Alicia Keys’ U.S. Tour
Shout Outs is no stranger to pre-Grammy boasters. In fact, Keys’ sister in soul, India.Arie, made an appearance last fall. Both are equally emotional and expressive, but Keys, however, is charting one place her Feb. 27 challenger has yet to tread: the headlining, full-fledged U.S. tour. Keys’ sweet and sassy vocals and piano stylings will float over the shores of Lake Michigan when she takes the stage of Milwaukee’s Riverside Theatre tonight. The lakefront will welcome selections from her debut, Songs in A Minor, like the Prince-influenced and personal fave, “How Come You Don’t Call Me” and the overexposed, yet no less moving “Fallin.'” As a Grammy warmup, the concert is sure to please.
–AR
Super Bowl XXXVI Halftime Show
Upset or no upset, the true grit and emotion of this year’s Super Bowl was found in the halftime performance. Gone were the spectacles of last year’s TRL, money-squeezing, train wreck of makeup, wash-ups and sell-outs. Instead, it was refreshingly replaced by America’s adopted Irish stepbrothers in rock and roll, U2. Exploding with “Beautiful Day,” the band recreated its stage show, this time with a little more oomph. Despite the producer-created crowd, U2 respectably honored those lost in Sept. 11 by movingly scrolling names on a backdrop and playing not an emotionally heavy ballad, but a celebratory and triumphant “Where The Streets Have No Name.” Beat that, “Playmate Fear Factor.”
–AR
Middle school basketball on Ch. 19
This weekend’s TV viewing featured a slew of sporting events: Pebble’s Pro Am, Wisco men’s debacle in the A.A., NHL skills challenge/youth showcase featuring that rookie scoring six goals, Sunday’s surprise. Yes, you can call me jocko for sure with that lineup. But out of all the contests mentioned, nothing compared to Sam’s and Lars’ call of the Sherman Middle School vs. Hamilton Middle School basketball game, a game that aired at least twice, if not more times, on channel 19.
Even though the game itself offered few ankle-snapping crossovers, a la Iverson’s weekend ownership of the Bucks (Sherman was shut out in the third quarter), the doughy-faced ballers put up an amusing fight. And with Lars’ high-pitched inquiry to Sam about his colleague’s recent consumption of Spam, my weekend was easily complete.
–MR
Cometbus #48
This recent “interview” issue of the acclaimed Bay Area zine succeeds at presenting an oral history of the “back to the land” movement of ’60s San Francisco. Packaged strictly in a Q-and-A format, the interviewer, known only as Aaron, cultivates stories of both the “kids” and “adults” who migrated to Humboldt in search of clarity and greener pastures. These are personal, anonymous narratives about a subculture riddled with misconception and cliché. Several copies have been spotted at the newly expanded Rainbow Books’ zine rack.
–MR
Blog of the Week
Blog of the Week is a weekly feature that examines a random web journal we’ve recently spotted. Send your picks to [email protected].
“I went to the Rufio concert last night. Rufio was really good. There were a ton of people there and probably more than half of them didn’t get it. It was crazy. There were way too many people there who shouldn’t have been there. I saw at least 2 cheerleaders from our school. There was this 12 year old kid there and he was up front getting squished like everyone else. People kept asking him if he was okay and he kept saying “yes” and smiling. Then during the last song of Rufio I saw him come out of the group throwing up. It was really kinda upsetting. Concerts shouldn’t make people throw up.”
[http://hankerchicks.mixedtape.net/whatever.php]
Editor’s note: For those uninformed, Rufio is, according to their website, “A California band playing punk style emo with hints of melodic guitar.”
