Joe Schmo

It is refreshing to see the people in control room squirm when Ingrid of the new version of the Joe Schmo show seems to realize exactly what is going on and sensing that the show is scripted which it is for the most part. One thing people set up like she and the male Schmo don't have to worry about is being evicted from show even though they are made to believe they could be evicted like everyone else. Ingrid may be too intelligent to be fooled into thinking she is on a real reality show. I don't know how those actors on the show can keep a straight face knowing the whole show is a scam and has nothing to do with reality. The look of panic on the producers' faces when they find out Ingrid is questioning the integrity of the show is priceless.

Beach Boys: Live at Knebworth

This was the last concert in England in 1980 that they had the three Wilsons...Brian, Carl and Dennis and Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston singing as a group.
It was a cool and rainy night in Knebworth that night but the Beach Boys warmed up the crowd starting off the concert with California Girls. When they opened School Days with an acapella chorus it was mesmerizing their harmony was so tight...then Al Jardine launched into the rest of the song with infectious enthusiasm.
Carl Wilson sings Darlin', God Only Knows and Keepin' the Summer Alive and it really emphasizes just how good he was. When he sings God Only Knows you wonder if anyone could sing it better except maybe Brian Wilson. His driving rendition of Keepin' the Summer Alive even woke up Brian Wilson who seemed like he was completely out of it whether due to feeling under the weather or being under medication but when the opening bars of Keepin' the Summer Alive started you could see the change in him. For most of the concert he seemed to just be going through the motions at the piano and keyboard.
Mike Love and Dennis Wilson have been known to engage in fisticuffs before and you could see the tenseness when Dennis drags his mike stand closer to Mike during Surfer Girl and you could tell Mike was not very comfortable having Dennis that close and Dennis seemed to enjoy taunting him by his expressions.
Dennis absolutely butchered You Are So Beautiful To Me and may have been drunk the way he was acting. It is sad to see Dennis on this video knowing he died three years later in a drowning accident.
Some of the best music is on Help Me Rhonda and Barbara Ann when the band really got involved but my favorite of the show was Keepin' The Summer Alive which really rocked.
The highlight of the show to me was the last song Fun, Fun, Fun when Mike kept urging the crowd to get more involved and by end of the song the sea of people there were all moving to the music. You could tell it having an effect on the Beach Boys to see that response to their music.
This is the best concert video I have ever seen of the Beach Boys and it can be found for under $20.
The prologue at the end of concert when Al Jardine tells about losing Dennis in 1983 and Carl in 1998 is a very moving one and reminded us the Beach Boys may have lost two of their group to death but their music will live on for a very long time.

The Last Waltz

If you are a fan of 70's rock this is the video for you. This is the last concert by The Band. The show was at the Winterland in San Francisco on Thanksgiving night. There are many luminaries of the rock world there to commemorate the occasion. Eric Clapton sings the old Bobby Blue Bland tune Further On Up The Road which features some great guitar playing by Clapton and Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko. Others appearing in the show include Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Emmy Lou Harris, Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Neil Diamond. Between songs members of The Band relate experiences of being on the road for sixteen years....like the time they went into a grocery store and shoplifted enough food for them to eat that night....Levon Helm singing The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down and Ophelia. The concert is a time capsule that captures the mood of music from the late 70's.

Cyndi Lauper concert video: Live: At Last

When Cyndi Lauper takes the stage at this concert at this concert at Town Hall in New York City she starts off singing At Last a song that is a complete departure from her 80's music. She shows she can sing a song like this and not only sing it but sing it very well.
The thing that stands out more than anything watching this video is her rapport with the audience. She goes out into the audience several times during the concert and the audience loves her for it. Cyndi is one of the most sincere performers I have ever seen. She is all over the stage...climbing up onto a high platform...singing on top of a piano...lying down on steps upside down and singing with her head hanging off of steps. This lady knows how to entertain. The highlight of the concert is when she sings Unchained Melody toward the end of the concert. Her band is very talented and has horns, drums, guitars, bongo player and fiddler and Cyndi plays an old fashioned instrument you don't see much anymore. Her exuberance is contagious and the crowd is really into the concert especially on the faster songs when Cyndi starts dancing in her unorthodox style. Of course no Cyndi Lauper concert would be complete without her singing her best known song Girls Just Want To Have Fun and she doesn't disappoint her fans as she really showcases her band especially the trumpeter on this tune.

Bonus Features Unlike most bonus features this one doesn't focus on her music or making of the concert video. It shows Cydni driving through her old neighborhood and pointing out the various landmarks she remembers from her childhood. She even rides a merry-go-round from the days of her youth. Then she teams up with a man videoing their travels through New York City and there are some very beautiful scenes of the water and pink reflections on the side of a elevated train. It gives viewers an idea of what it would be like to live in New York City.

This video has 25 reviews on Amazon averaging 5 stars which is best a video can get so this further substantiates how well liked this video is. If you want to see a true entertainer keep an audience enthralled during the whole concert this is worth seeing because Cyndi Lauper is an entertainer of the first magnitude.

Stefanie Powers...On The Same Page CD

Saw Stefanie Powers had a CD on Amazon so listened to the clips and liked them so much bought the CD. Stefanie is a much better singer than I had ever imagined and very easy to listen to. It is 85,948 in ranking by sales at Amazon so evidently a lot of people don't even know she has this CD out. She has 5 very good reviews on Amazon with no negatives so don't know why this CD is not selling better.