Music Blogs

We all have our favourite rock icons, those musicians that moved us to play air guitar in our rooms, pretending we were on stage, air strumming, working our hands up and down imaginary frets and then dropping to our knees to really bring a riff home.  If you didn’t, then I feel for you cause man, I’ve played some great shows in my day pretending to be likes of Courtney Love, Pat Benetar and of course Janis Joplin to name a few.

Great rock icons are some of pop cultures heroes, stars and journeymen.  A few (and only a few) of tonight’s Idols proved that within them, they may possess the talent to potentially follow one of these paths.    

As a testament to how much these hopefuls have developed, they all selected a song from an appropriate icon.  What I mean by that is they picked material from a rock icon that they could emulate without doing any disservice. 

The “Stars”

Theo kicked off the show and solidified for me that he has what it takes to be a star.  Theo stepped out from behind his piano and gave us a better look at who he is.  Covering Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry”, we, the Idol audience got a much better introduction to his personality, which is tender yet commanding.  We also got a closer listen to his wide vocal range and easily manipulated vocal timbre.  That, with the strong ability to perform really set the tone for the evening.  This girl shed no tears over Theo’s performance. 

 

Drew delivered his interpretation of Blind Melon’s “No Rain”.  Drew may have come out looking like a shaggy JT, but the groove was all his own.  Dare I say that this may have been Drew’s best performance to date?  Drew got on that Idol stage and had a great time, which was so infectious that you could hear audience members singing along with him.  Connecting with an audience and sharing that moment speaks volumes!  Nice one Drew! 

 

Is it just me or does it seem like the Idol judges have it in for Sebastian?  Not one of them gave the remaining Pigott brother a positive judgment.  Say what you will Jake, Zack, Sass and Farley, but Sebastian owned that spotlight! Looking like James Dean and crooning like Elvis, he performed the King’s “Love Me”.  Sebastian’s performance solidified that he has undeniable star quality and if I were a judge I would have applauded him after I told him that!  Week after week Sebastian has changed it up, shown the audience his range (in terms of vocals and performance styles) and been able to deliver that variation without it ever feeling contrived!  Maybe Sebastian just can’t be confined by Idol’s limitations?   

 

The “Journeymen”

Mitch has a unique voice.  Unique can be great, when done right.  Unique done wrong can be a turn-off.  Mitch covered “Angel Eyes”, one of the most memorable songs from the Jeff Healey catalogue (in my opinion).  This was one of my all time favourite songs growing up.  There was something about this song, the lyrics, the composition and Healey’s delivery that made it legendary.  Sadly, I can’t say that this was one of Mitch’s most legendary performances, or one that I really want to remember.  Mitch is typically bang on from the first note.  Tonight, that wasn’t the case.  An off-key start paired with such a unique voice created what I like to call the cringe factor.  As a personal friend of Healey’s, Sass said he would be pleased with the performance…I don’t want to argue with that, but I definitely raised an eyebrow at that statement.  Really Sass? 

 

Amberly delivered the sweetest rendition of a protest song…ever!  Interpreting Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”, she proved after a not so great showing last week that she is good and can be consistently.  Other than that there isn’t too much to say about her.  She’s playing it safe and holding strong. 

Earle is definitely fun to watch.  Tonight he covered “Light My Fire” by the Doors.  Part of what made the Doors such rock legends was the mysterious, laid back and borderline brooding levels of cool that Jim Morrison exuded (along with mad sex appeal).  I feel that Earle is on the opposite end of that laid back cool spectrum.  If Earle could focus his scattered energy I think that he could blow an audience away.  When Earle stares into the camera his eyes have a near hypnotic effect.  Too bad this isn’t the case during his performance time.  Earle, lesson number one of stage presence, face your audience!    

 

I feel I would be doing a disservice to my rocker roots if I slotted the remaining hopefuls into rock icon categorizes.  I can’t say in good conscience that Katherine, Mookie or Mark Day could be “heroes”, “rockstars” or “journeymen”. 

Katherine has delivered the same performance for the last three weeks.  She’s found a niche that works for her voice and new image and seems afraid to stray from it.  This wouldn’t be as problematic if it were an organic image.  As I said before, I don’t feel that this rock ‘n roll chick is really who she is, at least not yet.  Even the super passive Jake Gold said that she isn’t as angry or edgy as some of the material she chooses requires.  That right there is a warning sign that she’s not ready to be an Idol, because she isn’t in touch with who she organically is as an artist.   

Mookie threw himself into an off-the-wall interpretation of James Brown’s, “I Feel Good”.  Walking out into the crowd and exemplifying that he’s all about performance, trying to mask that there wasn’t a whole lot of singing going on.  Frankly, the whole thing felt like something out of a Vegas nightclub.  Do Vegas performers sell albums? 

However, there is a positive to Mookie’s two minutes of fame tonight; I’ve never seen anyone pull off a velour blazer like that.  So good on ya there Mookie. 

 

Mark Day was brought to tears at the end of his performance of Luther Vandross’, “Dance with My Father”.  Well, a single tear.  Seeing as Mark is so animated, I wasn’t sure if it was actually part of the performance or if it was genuine.  That was until Mark shared with the audience that the song had very strong emotional meaning for him and his mother.  So I felt a tiny bit of remorse for my reflex to dismiss it as staged, sorry Mark.  Either way, even when he does tone it down, it all feels choreographed. 

That’s my stance on the performances from the remaining nine.  If you think I’m off my rocker then vote for your chosen hopeful and prove me wrong.  Regardless someone’s going home this week; I know who my money’s on!