 by Julian Spivey The 90-minute special “Celebrating America,” which aired on many television networks and streamed on multiple websites and streaming services, was a terrific and fun way to wrap up an inauguration day that many around the country were treating like a “New Day in America.” The inauguration came exactly one year to the date of the first COVID-19 patient being hospitalized in America and the day ended as the deadliest thus far with the virus in the U.S., something that isn’t going to magically disappear with the changing of administrations and something that should always remain at the forefront of our minds, but it was a good say to celebrate America, our democracy, our ability to persevere through so much turmoil and celebrate the essential workers of this country – the medical professionals, postal workers, grocers, teachers, etc. – that have kept us going. “Celebrating America” kicked off with an excellent performance of “Land of Hope and Dreams” by my all-time favorite singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, meaning the special could’ve ended right after the performance and that would’ve been good enough for me. The image of seeing Springsteen perform in front of the Lincoln Memorial was powerful for me and truly enough to make a tear come to my eye. Springsteen’s songs and just his being and what he stands for and has always stood for means an awful lot to me and it was a great way to begin a special celebrating our nation. Multiple time Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks hosted the program and did so entirely outside in temperatures that were in the low 30s and if the evening was anything like the inauguration earlier in the day was likely incredibly windy. There were moments I truly felt bad for the guy as he seemed to be so cold some words slurred coming out. In a pre-taped performance from a pier in Miami, Jon Bon Jovi covered The Beatles classic “Here Comes the Sun,” which was nice and kept with the theme of the tide of this country hopefully changing for the better. Bon Jovi’s performance was followed by a short speech from newly sworn-in President Joe Biden who spoke of the hard times the nation has been overcome with, especially in this last year, and how together as one we can overcome it. One of many highlights from the special on Wednesday night (Jan. 20) was “Better Days” by R&B singer Ant Clemons and pop superstar Justin Timberlake from the legendary Stax Records studio in Memphis, Tenn. that ended with the performance being finished in the street. The single would be no. 1 on iTunes within an hour of the show ending. The Foo Fighters paid tribute to the educators of this country who have truly had to deal with the hardest thing of their careers, whether it’s been learning to teach virtually or putting their lives at risk to do so in person (or a combination of the two). As the child of an elementary school teacher, it was a truly touching portion of the show for me, and it’s also something close to Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, as his mother was a teacher for 35 years. The band played the stripped down version of their hit “Times Like These” that they had debuted on “Saturday Night Live” in November after the election and once again it floored me. One of President Biden’s favorite poets (it’s sure nice to have a President who likes the arts) is the Irish poet Seamus Haney and he’s quoted pieces of the poet’s poetry before in speeches and debates. Tony-winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda recited Haney’s “The Cure at Troy.” Kamala Harris made American history on Wednesday becoming the first female Vice President in U.S. history and before she made a short speech on the “Celebrating America” program that evening she was fittingly introduced by Sarah Fuller, the Vanderbilt soccer player who became the first female in college football Power 5 conference history to play in a game and score on a PAT (point after touchdown) just a few months ago. My second favorite performance of the evening – behind the opener by Springsteen, of course – was John Legend’s jaw-dropping cover of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” It was the fifth time I had listened to the song that day, with the first four times being Simone’s original, in fact it was the very first song I began my day with. Another song I listened to multiple times on inauguration day was Bill Withers’ classic “Lovely Day,” which was also performed on the “Celebrating America” program, being covered nicely by Demi Lovato, with footage of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden dancing in the White House to it while Biden was holding one of his grandchildren. The most awkward performance of the special for me came from Nashville where Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard of Florida-Georgia Line performed the new single “Undivided,” which was written by Hubbard. It started off nice enough with a verse by McGraw, but really got FGL’d up when Hubbard took over the vocals. It’s just not my thing. The message is good, especially coming out of mainstream Nashville, but I can do without the song. The finale of the show was pop star Katy Perry performing her 2010 smash hit “Firework” while an incredibly firework display went off at the Washington Memorial, which to be honest is a bit on the nose, but what really made the performance was seeing the new President and First Lady watching in wide wonder at the display from the balcony of the White House. All inaugurations feel like a major change for this country – some feel more hopeful than others – but they all have a feeling of newness to them. What lies next for our country nobody can know for sure. Hopefully, things will get better when it comes the COVID-19, the divide politically that grew to the widest it’s potentially ever been and so on. One thing is for sure though, for 90 minutes on Wednesday “Celebrating America” gave us hope and reason to believe in a better future … hopefully it’s a harbinger of things to come.
0 Comments
|