![]() by Julian Spivey For the first time in the history of the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif., a country music festival held the weekend after the two-weekend Coachella Festival at the same site, the event was live-streamed for fans across the country. While I have little-to-no-interest in the headliners of Stagecoach: Thomas Rhett on Friday, April 29, Carrie Underwood on Saturday, April 30 and Luke Combs on Sunday, May 1 I was interested in a lot of the other acts on the festival schedule and made sure to catch the sets of Charley Crockett, Midland and Tanya Tucker on the first night of the festival on Friday. Charley Crockett, a throwback to a different era singer-songwriter, was one of the first artists on the Stagecoach stage around 4 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) and it was a fantastic way to get a country music festival started, but also sort of shows the imbalance within the country music genre today as the day started off with a hardcore country troubadour and ended with a tight jeans pop singer in Rhett prancing around the stage to a much greater crowd. Crockett began his set with “Jukebox Charley,” a re-spelled cover of Johnny Paycheck’s lost classic “Jukebox Charlie” which appears on his latest album Lil’ G.L. Presents: Jukebox Charley, which pays tribute to many unheralded old country songs from stars of the past. He then performed the tongue-in-cheek “Music City USA” off his 2021 album of the same name before launching into terrific performances of “Don’t Cry” and “Run Horse Run,” off 2020’s Welcome to Hard Times (wish he had fit the title track into his set). My favorite performance of Crockett’s set, which we may not have gotten the full performance of on the stream, was the soulful “I Need Your Love,” off Music City USA, which I feel draws potentially more on old soul records than country music. ![]() Later in the evening I tuned in for Midland’s set, which began at dusk in California and finished under the stars. I honestly don’t know what Midland was performing half the time because honestly they’re not as good of a live band as they are on record, which I’ve known for a while now having seen them a few times perform on late night TV talk shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The biggest problem with this is vocalist Mark Wystrach is a mumbler when performing live (makes me wonder how make takes it takes to cut a record for this group). Much of the time the group was on stage the lyrics were unintelligible for me listening from home. However, there were still some highlights from Midland’s set like early on when they broke into “Mr. Lonely,” from their 2019 album Let It Roll, which is one of my favorite tracks in their repertoire. Another highlight was the dancing tune “Two to Two Step,” off the group’s latest EP The Last Resort, which they performed the title track of late in their set. Also, late in the set the group was joined on stage by country hitmaker Jon Pardi for a performance of the group’s latest single “Longneck Way to Go,” for which I don’t really have much use. Midland’s live vibe is all fun, which worked well for the Stagecoach audience at the “mane” stage. The penultimate performance of Midland’s set was my favorite of the evening taking things all the way back to where they began in 2017 with “Drinkin’ Problem,” which almost instantly became a modern country music classic. The band finished their set with a rocking cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” in which they were joined on stage by Marcus King who played terrific guitar on song. All three members of Midland – Wystrach, Cameron Duddy and Jess Carson – took turns on the verses of the song with Duddy starting off and, like he’d done earlier on a cover of Eddie Rabbitt’s “Drivin’ My Life Away” sounded like something dying on the mic. ![]() The last set of the evening I watched was the legendary Tanya Tucker’s, which was pretty much a “greatest hits” set and the audience at the Palomino Stage really enjoyed it. Tucker opened her set with a rip-roaring performance of 1992’s top-five hit “Some Kind of Trouble.” The hits would keep coming for the next hour during Tucker’s performance, including “Walking Shoes,” “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” and “Love Me Like You Used To,” all top-five hits from the late ‘80s into the early ‘90s. She also performed some older stuff like 1975’s No. 1 “San Antonio Stroll” and 1978’s top-five “Texas (When I Die).” At one point during her set Tucker asked for her phone and FaceTimed with Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, who was supposed to perform that same night at Stagecoach but tested positive to Covid-19 and had to back out, just to tell her she and the crowd loved her, missed her and wished her well. This was a segue into “Hard Luck,” which is off Tucker’s most recent studio album While I’m Livin’, which was co-written and co-produced by Carlile. A unique highlight of Tucker’s performance was her combination cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” with Johnny Cash’s classic “Ring of Fire,” but while this was happening the camera focused on the crowd swigging from a shared bottle of her new tequila Cosa Salvaje, which she’d pimped very early on during her show, liked Covid wasn’t still a goddamn thing, and she hadn’t just spoken with the Covid-stricken Carlile less than 15 minutes prior. Some of those Stagecoach concertgoers are going to regret that within the week. Tucker, of course, finished her set with what’s most likely her greatest and most recognized hit “Delta Dawn,” which put her on the map 50 years ago (almost to the date) when she released it as a 13-year old as her debut single. Orville Peck, fresh off performing at Coachella both weekends (I believe the only country act at that festival), joined Tucker on stage for the final verse of “Delta Dawn.” Be sure to check out the schedule for the remainder of Stagecoach livestreams over the next two days. I know I’m hoping to catch the sets for Zach Bryan, Brothers Osborne and Peck on Saturday and Hailey Whitters, The Mavericks and Cody Johnson on Sunday.
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![]() by Julian Spivey Billie Eilish became the youngest Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival headliner at 20 years old when she took the stage at 11:30 p.m. (PST) at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif. late Saturday, April 16 for a 90-minute set of her biggest hits and some memorable cameos. There are few pop stars I’d find myself staying up to 3 a.m. (CST) to see or listen to, but Eilish has intrigued me for some time now with her deeply personal songs and her rock performance style, complete with constant movement and jumping around on stage. I think it’s pretty special that YouTube is bringing these Coachella sets right into our living rooms and bedrooms across the country via streaming the sets of these superstars for those of us not endowed enough to be in what seems like probably an obnoxious crowd in California. What’s most surprising to me about the YouTube stream is the production value, especially during Eilish’s set, that was mesmerizing and looked like it would be at home in a superhero movie. It’s not your typical focus camera on performer and simply follow them production technique. Eilish began her set with “bury a friend,” “I Didn’t Change My Number” and “NDA” and honestly at first the sound quality wasn’t the greatest and led me to think it was going to be a long evening. I didn’t know if her vocals, which are often whispered to great affect on record, would translate as well to the festival setting. It seemed to become less of an issue as her set went on. It was Eilish’s fourth song of her set, “Therefore I Am,” before I really started getting into her set – but I should say I’m a casual fan of her music, so I’m sure most tuning into her set were with her from start-to-finish with little to no complaints. Surprise guests have become something of an expectation at Coachella and the next before pop sensation Harry Styles had stunned the crowd with an appearance by Shania Twain. Eilish’s first guest of the evening wasn’t such a surprise because she has a song with the artist, but the crowd was still thrilled to see Khalid join her for a performance of “lovely.” This was followed by one of my favorite Eilish performances of the evening and one of my favorite songs of hers period – “you should see me in a crown,” off her Grammy Album of the Year winning WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. One of the nicest parts of Eilish’s set was when her brother and collaborator FINNEAS joined her seated on stage for an acoustic performance of “Your Power,” which really showcased their talented vocals together. Eilish then took a ride in the air above the crowd in an extended lift to perform “OverHeated,” “bellyache” and a snippet of “ocean eyes,” which was really the biggest disappointment for me because I love that song and would’ve loved to hear it in its entirety. She returned back to the stage for “Getting Older,” off her most recent Grammy-nominated album Happier Than Ever, in which she was joined by Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz. Judging by the social media response to Albarn’s appearance many didn’t seem to know who he was and one truly memorable Tweet that I can’t get out of my head remarked about how Elton John had joined Eilish on stage and the poster even tagged Elton John in the post. The Coachella crowd – both in person and streaming – may not have truly gotten the Albarn appearance, but it was obvious that Eilish was really influenced by his music, and it was an important life moment for her to have him join her at Coachella. The two would be joined by Posdnuos of De La Soul for a roaring performance of Gorillaz’s 2005 hit “Feel Good, Inc.,” which even the many unaware of Albarn surely recognized. The final segment of Eilish’s Coachella set was the biggest highlight of the evening starting with “when the party’s over” going into “all the good girls go to hell” and then “everything I wanted,” the Grammy-winning Record of the Year from 2021. She finished her headlining set with a killer one-two punch of “bad guy,” the track the really shot her into the stratosphere of pop stardom in 2019, and “Happier Than Ever” the at first lovely and then raucous title track of her latest album. It was the perfect combination of songs to end her show marking her as one of the biggest acts in pop music today. by Aprille Hanson-Spivey
Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing comedian Jim Gaffigan live knows his latest “The Fun Tour” is aptly named. The two-time Emmy-winning, six-time Grammy nominated comedian, writer, actor and producer brought his brand of “clean” humor to Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Ark., March 31, and it was so much fun. Purposely putting the term “clean” in quotations, purely for the amount of diarrhea jokes. And while that may sound like a juvenile concept for a renowned comedian, he’s probably the only comedian who can make me bust out laughing at several bathroom jokes, the best of which being — “Why is diarrhea so hard to spell, but so easy to get?” And why does it work? Because one of Gaffigan’s signature traits on stage is acknowledging the sometimes absurdity of his jokes or the reality that everyone might not be on board, using a high-pitched whisper to say things like “That was terrible” or “Is he going to keep doing diarrhea jokes?” and then subsequently launching into another one. It inevitably wins everyone over. It’s his keen understanding of a crowd and the nuances in people’s taste in humor that makes him unique. He’s not a comedian that’s trying to make people angry or be edgy, but has no problem acknowledging that some people might not get it and that’s OK, because he’ll make you laugh in the end no matter what. His set opened with his 16-year-old son Jack, on his spring break, introducing opener Todd Glass. It was clear that the teenager was nervous — who wouldn’t be? — and dropped the most cuss words you’ll ever hear at a Gaffigan show while trying to remember his bit. The crowd was absolutely supportive, which was great. He rebounded though, coming back on stage to introduce Gaffigan, who thanked the crowd for helping his son get some “calluses” and explained his son is one of the funniest people he knows. While some were surprised he’d put his teenager in that position — apparently my husband heard people grumbling about it after the show, ridiculous — he did what any father would do for their child trying to learn a skill, and that’s kicking him out of the nest. If Jack truly wants to be a standup, it’s good he’s getting a taste of it now because I can’t imagine the stress of making people laugh. It’s rare to get an opportunity like that. Opener Glass had some laugh-out-loud moments in his set, particularly when he took on the “back in my day crowd,” explaining how things were not always so great. He pointed out how people will say “Back in my day, a man opened a door for a lady,” while retorting, “Well, they also didn’t want women to vote.” His set wasn’t nearly as polished as Gaffigan’s, but he was a satisfying opener. Gaffigan came out of the gate acknowledging how great it was to be back on stage after isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. He joked about how he’s noticed that everyone cared while we were in the pandemic and how everyone no longer cares, but we’re still technically in a pandemic. He certainly tapped into the absurdity of human nature amid a global pandemic and dipped his toes into the vaccination debate. It was clear he’s not a fan of anti-vaxxing, but acknowledged his parents weren’t vaccinated either. Of course, they are both long dead — again, one of the few comedians who can pull that joke off in a non-offensive way. Launching into funeral jokes, Gaffigan pointed out the odd rituals surrounding funerals, some of the funniest jokes of the night, despite the dark subject. Wanting to “burst into flames” and be cremated at the funeral might seem outlandish, but damn if I didn’t laugh hard. Gaffigan’s bits surrounded his family of course, discussing an hilarious hot air balloon excursion with his daughters in Mexico, making the creaking sound of the wicker basket and how it was a miracle they even survived. A Catholic, Gaffigan is well-known for spotlighting humor in Christianity, but doing it in a way that every Christian can feel comfortable laughing at. He likened God’s 10 plagues in Egypt to dropping his 10 greatest hits albums, speaking from God’s perspective and how he was “in a weird place” with the plague of frogs. The only portion of the night that the arena didn’t fill with laughter was when he went a little too Catholic for the likely Bible Belt crowd. He talked about popular Marian sightings (documented apparitions of the Virgin Mary, a common belief in Catholicism) and how odd it was that Mary would appear to the people with the least abilities to accomplish her mission – like St. Juan Diego, who was a child when Mary appeared to him and asked him to build a Church. As a Catholic, I thought it was hysterical, but I’d imagine those jokes would play better in predominantly Catholic states. The roughly hour-long Gaffigan set flew by, a testament to his sharp storytelling and ability to keep everyone laughing and entertained. After seeing him live, it’s easy to see how he continues to be one of the funniest comedians today. by Julian Spivey
The wellRed Comedy Tour featuring Trae Crowder (aka “The Liberal Redneck”), Corey Forrester and Drew Morgan brought its brand of liberally-minded, redneck comedy to the Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock, Ark. for a two-night stop on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2. I attended the April 2 show, and these boys had the sold-out crowd in stitches from start-to-finish with jokes that were at times incredibly poignant and other times the most vulgar thing I’d ever heard in my life (I’m looking at you Corey!). I had just seen Jim Gaffigan, one of my favorite stand-up comedians and a legend in his field, do a set in the much bigger Simmons Bank Arena two nights prior in Little Rock and, honestly, I laughed harder at Crowder, Forrester and Morgan more than during Gaffigan’s set. The three guys might not be big stars in the stand-up world, and Crowder and Forrester might be known more for their social media posts that sometimes focus more on politics than actual jokes (which I how I was introduced to them), but if you get the opportunity to see their tour you shouldn’t pass it up. It’s non-stop laughs. Forrester opened his set with jokes about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars the weekend before as a segue into a story about how he once choked out an off-duty police officer at a pool party in his late teens (maybe early twenties) when he was high on Percocet. It had the audience in hysterics right from the start. He then followed with a bit about how he once almost physically stimulated himself to a photo of his own backside before finding out it was a photo of him from the night before trying on his female friends underwear, something he had no memory of doing. Forrester ended his set with an outrageous bit about a surefire way to handle people who come up to him bitching about what gives him the right to espouse his liberal views. The way to get rid of these folks is to talk about how he’d essentially like to have a very explicit orgy with Jesus Christ. Drew Morgan followed Forrester with a bit about how it’s incredibly hard to follow a comedian who had just ended his set with a disturbingly graphic telling of an orgy with Jesus Christ before launching into a new bit about how he doesn’t trust the Amish. Morgan, sporting what appeared from the audience as a black eye, told the crowd about how he’d just recently had skin cancer removed from his face. Morgan joked a lot about how his wife and him were attempting to start a family, but also about how her bisexuality made him feel emasculated because women are better at pleasing women then men are and how “Lorrie was a better man than he.” Crowder was the last of the three comedians to take the stage, and the most famous of the trio as his social media posts as “The Liberal Redneck” began taking the internet by storm in the early 2010s. Definitely the most polished of the three comedians as a stand-up, Crowder was in complete command of the stage telling jokes about being picked up from school as a kid by his mom wearing blackface because she celebrated “Pancake Day” at the diner she worked at by dressing up as Aunt Jemima and how people in Los Angeles, where he currently lives, view him as lesser because of his accent and about how Americans are treated around the world the way Southerners are treated in non-Southern parts of America. Crowder has had a couple of television deals in the past with Fox and ABC, but none of his prospective series have made it through pilot season and onto television, which is a shame because he has leading man material in a show that resembles his “liberal redneck” stand-up material. |
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