As I write this at 11:58pm, I’ve just spent the last 3 ½ hours watching the 54th Annual Grammy’s and I must say, what a spectacular show it was. As with many Grammy blogs, I’m not gonna talk about what this person and that person was wearing, because to quote Rhett Butler, “Frankly, I don’t give a damn.” Instead I’m gonna discuss what matters the most: the music. As expected, there were some highs, and some lows, but all in all, it was certainly an eventful night. So let’s get right into it, shall we?
The evening started off with “The Boss” himself, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Now that’s how you open a show. So what if my Jersey Pride is showing….it was well deserved. That was a true representation of the Jersey Shore; not those fake, no-talent “oompa-loomas” that dominate MTV. But that’s an argument for another day. The Boss is a living testament that the old-school can still rock harder than some of these cats out here any day of the week, twice on Sunday. What I like about him is that in his almost 40-year career, he has never compromised his sound or his message. He is one of the most non-mainstream artists to be mainstream that I have ever seen.
Next, we have LL Cool J, our "MC" (pun intended) for the evening, who knows how to get a crowd hyped and pumped up even in a time of tragedy. Anyone hosting this event would have had a tall task on their hands, with the Grammy’s falling on the day after Whitney Houston’s death; and of course, many expected it to completely change the mood of the program. And to some degree it did, but in the sense that even though we are all devastated by this enormous loss, we need to celebrate her life, and the music that she made. He started off the program by leading the audience in prayer, which was the right way to go about the situation. He said that in order to get through the night, he needed “a little help from his friends” like “his homie, Sir O.G. Paul McCartney”. Let me know Paul has “street-cred” now. Not bad for a 70-year old British dude who has been knighted by The Queen. Bruno Mars, the 2nd performer of the night, stole the show early on with his performance of “Runaway Baby”, reminiscent of James Brown or Jackie Wilson. Clad in a black outfit with a gold tuxedo jacket and gold bow-tie, it was one of the smoothest, well-executed displays I saw all night. Besides that, the song is just flat out infectious, as most of his songs usually are. This is one that I am definitely endorsing as “download worthy.”
Next up, we have an Etta James tribute, done by none other than Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt. If anyone could do the soul of Etta James justice, it would be Alicia. In fact, I vote that we should forget about Beyoncé’s portrayal of her in Cadillac Records, and instead do a “bio-pic” with Alicia Keys. Their performance was strictly acoustic, with Alicia on “keys”, and Bonnie on guitar- making it very poignant, and very classy. Directly afterward, the award was announced for Best/Pop Solo Award. When they showed a close up of Bruno Mars, who was nominated in the category, he did a better head-spin than Jack Lord in the opening of Hawaii-Five-O. Too smooth…… However, Adele took this category in her 1st of 3 televised wins of the evening. Chris Brown, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he isstill the ever-consummate showman, performed next; solidifying in our minds that there is stillcurrently no one who can move like him. Other awards given out during the course of the program were as follows:
- Best Rap Performance- Jay-Z and Kanye West- “Otis”
- Best Rock Performance- Foo Fighters- “Walk”
- Best R&B Performance- Chris Brown- “F.A.M.E”
- Best Country Album- Lady Antebellum- “Own The Night”
The Foo Fighters gave a great performance outside the Staples Center that proved that they can still rock the crowd harder and faster than most bands. What I like about their music is that their songs are pretty deep and usually about a journey of self-discovery of some kind. Kudos to the former members of Nirvana for forging on as a “kick-ass” band, even after the tragic loss of their front man Kurt Cobain almost 20 years ago. They admitted to this being a personal song/album for them because it was recorded in their garage on a tape recorder, as opposed to a fancy studio. Proof that good music will always prevail….period. On the other hand, Rihanna, who has mastered the art of re-inventing herself for each and every album, sounded great singing with Coldplay’s Chris Martin. I just wish that she would put out more quality music that speaks for itself once in a while, instead of trying to out-do each of her last efforts. But that, in itself, is the nature of the music industry. It’s always a pleasure to see Chris Martin perform because he is always so into the music. He and Coldplay performed their song, “Paradise,” which is just another notch in what has been a solid body of work for them; another entry for the “download-worthy” list.
The first celebrity tribute of the night was that of The Beach Boys. Now I must admit, I’m not really that big of a fan of The Beach Boys (who were in the running for oldest in attendance); perhaps because I’ve never really been into the “California-Surfer” sound, but you’ve got to respect a band that is celebrating 50 years together. That’s nothing to look your nose down at- I don’t care who you are. In addition, they still sound the exact same as they did 50 years ago, which ab-so-friggin-lutely remarkable. Their harmonies were still tight, and all the high notes and bass notes were intact. In this writer’s opinion, that’s the sign of true staying power. Speaking of staying power, Innovator and 22-time Grammy-winner, Stevie Wonder (complete with harmonica on hand), introduced Paul McCartney, also in line for oldest in attendance. Nonetheless, Sir Paul, in all his boyish charm, performed his newest single and sure to become instant standard, “My Valentine.” What an absolutely gorgeous song. But can we really expect anything less from Sir Paul? After all, the dude was a Beatle. That’s a title that only two men left on this earth can proudly claim.
However, The Civil Wars is the band to be on the lookout for. In what I heard from them in only a 60-second performance, I felt extremely short-changed. Their harmonies were tight, and what little bit I heard from them sounded pretty good. We may see these folks on next year’s show. They introduced Taylor Swift, who had a very down-home aspect to her performance, which was actually pretty cool. “T-Swizzle” (as I have heard her called before) and company rocked pretty well for a group who looked liked they were part of the movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” Next, the always innovative Katy Perry played a pretty clever trick on the audience and viewers in a move that had us questioning, “Where in the World is Katy Perry.” The real Katy then popped up on another part of the stage completely and continued with the rest of her performance.
Well, I suppose that’s all I have for right now. Join us in my next blog, “Grammy Night Revue- Part II,” as we cover the highlights from the rest of the night…..