Beatles Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl

As Ringo turned 70 this week with a performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, Beatles fans in Los Angeles got to celebrate the Beatles 45th anniversary of their first performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

It was my first official evening for the summer at the world famous Hollywood Bowl where the Fab Four performed in August of 1964 for their first time.

Although there were no signs of Paul or Ringo on the west coast, we did get to enjoy the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Brian Wilkins and leading a variety of performers including Patti Austin who opened up with “I’m Looking Through You.” She followed up with her sweet soft version of “She’s Leaving Home” and delightful renditions of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Penny Lane.”

Musical heartthrob Brian Laufler sang “Something” and “Across the Universe.” Guests in nearby boxes were singing along and enjoying the evening. Tony award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell sang one of his favorites, “Fool on the Hill” and added in “Norwegian Wood.”

After the intermission, R & B singer Bettye LaVette took the stage. If my eyes were closed, I would have thought it was Gladys Knight on stage. I have to say my favorite part of the show was the performance by musical genius Todd Rundgren. Todd opened up with “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and played “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.” I had a feeling he’d select one of his favorites. He ended with “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and reflected about he had had performed with birthday boy, Ringo Starr. We heard “A Day in the Life” and “Let it Be.” Meanwhile, sitting in my box, I was reminded of memories of Todd Rundgren performing live in Central Park in 1970s which was memorialized in a vinyl album that I still cherish today.

We all expected everyone to join together at the end and had bets on “Hey Jude” for an encore and we weren’t disappointed. Along with Hey Jude the four performed “All You Need is Love.” You won’t get any arguments from me with that title. The crowd was waving their iPhones and BlackBerries as if they were holding a match or a flame to show their appreciation for the performers who honored the memories of The Beatles music all night long.

The Beatles Spectacular will continue on Saturday, July 10th and Sunday, July 11th.

It was a warm summer night at the Hollywood Bowl, where we were treated to a performance by the late Dizzy Gillespie’s All-star Big Band. The band was formed in 1998, five years after he passed away, to continue the jazz legacy left by the late John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie.

The band is comprised of many Gillespie Alumni including his closest collaborator James Moody, his former musical director Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Claudio Roditi, Antonio Hart, Douglas Purviance, and executive director John Lee, Gillespie’s longtime bassist.

With a combination of big band and jazz, the performers played songs from Dizzy’s Business
to perfection under a starry night.

The opening acts performed “Samba del Rio” with Eric Marienthal as well as Herbie Hancok’s “Watermellon Man” and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

It really didn’t matter who was on stage as the ambience of just being the Hollywood Bowl is truly a treat.

It was the final night of the Jazz-1 series, which included performances earlier this summer from Pancho Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri, Sergio Mendes, Boney James, Fourplay, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, and James Cotton.

Now that the Hollywood Bowl season is ending, it is time to prepare for the opening of the LA Philharmonic at the Disney Concert Hall with the introduction to our conductor, Dudamel.

Julie Spira is the author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com

Serious blues fans and jazz-subscriber enthusiasts at the Hollywood Bowl enjoyed a night of Rock n’ Blues from James Cotton, Dr. John, and Buddy Guy on August 12, 2009.

Collectively they span over 150 years of music including a nice collection of Grammy awards. 

The evening started out with James Cotton smiling in his chair enjoying the evening with his signature harmonica. Cotton played  his famous Got my Mojo Workin’ a tune he’d recorded and performed with Muddy Waters.

In the second set, we were treated to Dr. John and the Lower 911. The New Orleans voodoo singer/piano player performed his hit, Right Place, Wrong Time, from a time where he was better-known as Dr. John the Night Tripper. His signature “skull” was displayed on a table during the performance, making one wonder, just how much witchcraft has he experienced in his lifetime?

The highlight of course was Buddy Guy, the headliner of the evening. Buddy Guy, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, made an appearance in Martin Scorcese’s documentary about the Rolling Stones, Shine a Light, and has won 5 Grammys. I remembered the night I saw him open up for the Rolling Stones. I was lucky then and felt just as fortunate last evening. The crowd loved Hootchie Coochie Man and my favorite tune of the evening was his tribute to Eric Clapton and Cream where he performed his rendition of Strange Brew. Considering the fact that I missed the Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood show earlier this summer at the Hollywood Bowl, this wasn’t a bad substitute. He also played the title song from his latest CD, Skin Deep.

Even if you weren’t a blues fan, the show appealed to all ages who were happy to experience a night of legendary musicians who still performed at their peak.

Julie Spira is the author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at www.CyberDatingExpert.com.

It’s a ritual for me every summer that I just can’t give up – Jazz Night at the Hollywood Bowl. The anticipation of the tickets arriving in the mail announcing who the performers are for the summer, the preparation for the picnic in the box, and wondering about the parking and the weather. However even with battling the grueling LA traffic, it is always a magical evening at the famous Hollywood Bowl, no matter who is performing.

The opening for Jazz Night at the Bowl included performances with the breezy Brazilian sounds of Sergio Mendes, along with Latin jazz pianist – Eddie Palmieri and the Afro-Cuban jazz of L.A.’s own Poncho Sanchez.

It was truly a treat to celebrate the evening with my musician and producer friend, who was featured on 12 platinum albums and actually performed on stage at the Hollywood Bowl several times.  I love the summer in the city, especially when it feels like I am in living a momentary fantasy of being back in Brazil.

Sergio Mendes played several songs from his last two CD’s, Encanto as well as one of my all time favorites, Timeless, which was released on Valentine’s Day in 2006 and included a line-up of musicians such as Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, and Will.I.Am.

The band opened up “E Minana” which means “Hey Girl” and ended with an incredible hip-hop rendition of “Mas Que Nada.”  It was a multi-generational performance going back to “The Look of Love,” originally performed with Brazil 66, a song my parents used to listen to, to the rapper style versions of his old traditions.  I give my review of Sergio Mendes at the Hollywood Bowl and shining 5 stars for the timeless star he truly is. 

I look forward to the rest of the season at this spectacular venue.

Julie Spira is an author, entrepreneur, and radio show host. Visit her at www.CyberDatingExpert.com