Named “Entertainer of the Year” multiple times in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, Clint Holmes presents his final shows at Harrah’s this week. Showtimes are Tues., Wed. and Thurs. Feb. 19-21 at 8pm; and Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22–23 at 9pm. Tickets are $25.
A Clint Holmes concert is a voyage into his eclectic musical influences. He opens his show with a fabulous scatting take on “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and for the next 75 minutes he presents his amazing repertoire, hitting on many favorites from his years as an Atlantic City mainstay. These include “I Go To Rio,” “Mr. Bojangles,” “I’ve Gotta Be Me,” and a medley of songs from West Side Story including “When You’re A Jet,” “Something’s Coming,” “America” and “Somewhere.” As an added bonus Holmes brought his sister, Gayle Steel, with him. She sang a rousing “Summertime,” and later joined him for the “America” portion of his West Side Story medley. Holmes also presented songs from his autobiographical musical, I Sing, co-written with his longtime musical director Bill Fayne. Those songs were the tender “1944” and “If Not Now, When.”
After years of polishing and refining, Holmes is hoping to bring the show to Broadway, co-starring his sister. The next time Clint Holmes is performing on the East Coast it might be for the price of an expensive Broadway ticket, so catch him now.

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AC was home to the hottest country music double bill out there these days when the Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood “Love, Pain and the Whole Carnival Ride Tour” came to Boardwalk Hall Friday night.
Calling it a country show is a misnomer — this show rocked. Even Carrie Underwood, who opened the night, seemed determined to keep up with Urban’s rock side. She opened the show dressed in black leather with 6-inch high heels and singing the high-powered rocker “Flat on the Floor.”
As she went through her one-hour set of her hits and selections from her sophomore CD Carnival Ride, she was determined to keep the tempo loud and rocking.

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I had the great pleasure of interviewing Trace Adkins for my cover story in the 1/24 issue of AC Weekly. It is always a pleasure to chat with Adkins because he has something to say. He is also a talented singer and entertainer. I was able to enjoy his musical side at his concert at the Taj Jan. 26.
Donald Trump was not in the house to see his Celebrity Apprentice co-star, and he missed a great show. The show opened with Justin Moore, a raw talent who will benefit from the tour experience. He finished up his set with a song any country fan would love, “I Could Kick Your Ass.”
Opening act number two is further along on his journey to stardom, Luke Bryan. Bryan did a solid set culled from his debut album I’ll Stay Me, including the title track, “Hey I’m A Country Man,” “We Rode In Trucks” and his current smash hit, “All My Friends Say.” Check out the video of the latter here.
When Trace arrived on the scene the only thing that dwarfed his 6’6’’ frame was the jumbo video screen behind him that shows some video cuts as he sung a bunch of his biggest hits. After his sporting analogy double shot of “I’ve Got My Game On” and “Swing,” Trace kept the party going with “Songs About Me,” “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing,” “Every Light In The House” and “I Left Something Turned On At Home.” Some of my personal favorites include “I Wanna Feel Something,” “Rough and Ready” and “Ladies Love Country Boys.”
He finished up the evening with "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and 38 Special’s “Rockin’ Into The Night."

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Travis Tritt is shorter than expected in person. However, his height has nothing to do with the energy, terrific vocals, fancy guitar licks and just plain fun he presents in concert. He unleashed his two-hour stage show at Trump Marina this past Saturday, Nov. 10.
Tritt told us early on that he would not short-change the paying customers with an hour and ten-minute show. He lived up to that promise with a 26 song set that included his hilarious “duet” with Willie Nelson on “Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Tritt held his finger to his nose to help him channel the nasal sound of Nelson’s vocal style.
Surprisingly, Tritt did only a couple songs from his terrific new country rock/R&B album The Storm. Those songs were the sexy “Rub Off on Me,” and Tritt’s current single, “You Never Take Me Dancing.”
Travis Tritt is not the current flavor of the month in Nashville like the pseudo country pop singer Kenny Chesney. However, you can take a lot of those bland current singers and shove ‘em. Tritt is the real deal as an outlaw country rocker and he proved that with such Tritt hits as “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares),” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’,” and “Put Some Drive In Your Country.” However, his versatility also shows on his way with a ballad on songs like “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” “Between An Old Memory and Me,” and "Sometimes She Forgets.” Other songs that enhanced the evening were “Great Day to Be Alive” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”

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Rascal Flatts made their headliner debut Aug. 23 at Boardwalk Hall and the concert lived up to all the hype. The trio of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney backed by a smokin’ supporting band, are really a rock and roll band with country accents. When you hear them harmonize, their musical roots are closer to the Eagles than Alabama.
In the cavernous Boardwalk Hall, the sound tends to float into the rafters. Opening act Jason Aldean’s lyrics were nearly impossible to understand in the back of the house.
However, Rascal Flatts literally bridges the gap between the Boardwalk Hall stage and the center of the audience. They have a bridge that descends from the rafters, allowing them to walk to a platform that rises from the middle of their elaborate set. This gave the entire audience the opportunity to see and hear the great music, and feel the charisma that the threesome generate whether they are just joking around or at the apex of their three-part harmonies.
The show opened with a couple of road songs, “Me And My Gang” and “Fast Cars And Freedom.” After “Take Me There,” Jay DeMarcus, the resident cut-up took the lead for a little James Brown, “I Feel Good.”
The trio walked the bridge to present some of their favorite songs that aren’t big hits, an acoustic trio of “Please Release Me,” “To Make Her Love Me” and “Yes, I Do.”

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I had a chance to bond with my nephew Garrett, 15, when we attended a performance by The Machine at the House of Blues, on July 20. The Machine is a tribute band that does an uncanny recreation of the music of Pink Floyd. Garrett’s love of Pink Floyd was developed and sustained by his mom, and by the look of the audience at the HOB, there are a healthy amount of baby boomers passing along that love to their children.
The teen years are tough on parents but they are also tough on aunts. While we found a lot of things to do together when he was younger, lately it has been harder to find common ground and shared interests.

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The ladies were “All Jacked Up” when Gretchen Wilson made her rowdy and rockin’ AC debut last Saturday night (July 7) at Caesars. Her stage background was — what else — a trailer façade with Christmas lights around the windows.
Wilson began the night with the mid-tempo love-gone-wrong song “Homewrecker,” then immediately moved on to “a drinking song,” the high energy “I Pour.” From there Wilson poured out a rousing 20-song mix that included a good chunk of her new album One of the Boys and the hits from her previous two albums, I’m Here For the Party and All Jacked Up.

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Carrie Underwood opened the newly retrofitted Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars last weekend, May 25 and 26. No longer a nightclub, the Circus Maximus has 1,600 forward-facing seats covered in maroon velour, and a $1 million sound system. Oddly enough, the disappearance of the nightclub tables gives this huge space a more intimate feel.
The sound in the new showroom certainly reaches the back of the house.
Carrie Underwood has a fantastic voice, but just two years removed from her American Idol win, she needs more seasoning to improve her skills as an entertainer.

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Fans of Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark and the other female stars of the sixties British Invasion will enjoy the trip down memory lane provided by SHOUT! The Mod Musical at Harrah's. Five talented female singers — Holly Burton, Toni Carrington, Lauren Fijol, Georgia Hair and Brooke Reams — dressed in the smashing fashions of the era, sing and discothèque dance their way through a decade’s worth of groovy songs as they confront the rapid social changes that marked that decade in London and the world.

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Thanks to a busy schedule at my hard copy newspaper job and several allergic reactions to medications, my blog space has been dormant of late. Now of course, I’m baaaaaack!
In the category of catch-up news and notes, Sara Evans' headline debut at Harrah’s on Feb. 23 was fantastic. Sara, who played Atlantic City as the opening act for Alan Jackson two years ago, has seen her career on a steady rise, leading to her first headline tour beginning this past October.
Her tour is a family affair with older brother Matt Evans playing guitar and back-up vocals and little sister Ashley Evans Simpson singing back-up. In an 85-minute, fourteen song set, she covered all her hits including the soaring “Born To Fly,” “No Place That Far,” “Perfect,” “Real Fine Place To Start” and “I Could Not Ask For More.” The crowd really loved her heartstring-tugging ballad “You’ll Always Be My Baby” and her uptempo rock-tinged “Suds in the Bucket.” I really liked her final song of the night, a dynamic rendition of Carol King’s “I Feel The Earth Move.”
I hope Sara intends to make A.C. a regular stop.

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Trace Adkins provided the hip swaying fun and sexy low notes we’ve come to expect from the tall and talented country crooner when he appeared Friday, Feb. 16 at the Trump Taj Arena in Atlantic City.
While sitting in the elevated center section of the room, a fine spot behind the sound and light techs, our section had an enjoyable distraction, a Trace Adkins fan who was like a crazy country dancing version of a mime. He danced after ladies that walked by, danced away from security guards when he was getting a little too frisky, and showboated into the hearts of the TA fans nearby. In fact when a security guard asked him to move along, a few of us booed.

Continue reading "Badonkadonk!" »

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My favorite singer was in my hometown Monday (Oct. 16) so yours truly was in the house at the House of Blues AC to enjoy the blues legend Bonnie Raitt. I haven’t kept exact track, but I think I have seen her live about 20 times. I’ve been a fan since a friend turned me on her music in 1971. Hard to believe that was 35 years ago.
When her career began, Bonnie Raitt was a sassy California kid who worshipped the blues legends she wanted to emulate. All these many years later, she is a blues legend who in turn has inspired other artists. I had the great honor of interviewing her last year when she was in town to record a live show for VH1. She enjoyed the notion that she was the wily old veteran, and suggested that like her father John Raitt, she wanted to keep performing until she was 87. You can check out sound bites from that interview at www.acweekly.com (click on the audio link).

Her show Monday was vintage BR, a great mix of songs from her current release Souls Alike, selected favorite cuts going back to her first album, the big hits from her Grammy-winning years, and plenty of love for her band, including the amazing keyboardist Jon Cleary from New Orleans by way of the UK. Naturally Bonnie never performs a song exactly like the record, and as always, she slipped in a few plugs for the causes she is passionate about – biodiesel fuel, the Dixie Chicks and John Hall, running for congress in New York.

The set list:
1) Roadrunner
2) Two Lights in the Nighttime
3) God Was in The Water
4) Unnecessarily Mercenary
5) Matters of the Heart
6) I Will Not Be Denied
7) Nick of Time
8) Mighty Tight Woman
9) Give It Up Or Let Me Go
10) Papa Come Quick (Jody and Chico)
11) Have A Heart
12) I Will Not Be Broken
13) Something To Talk About
14) Love Sneaking Up On You
Encore
15) I Can’t Make You Love Me
16) Not the Only One
17) Love Letter

Best songs of the night included “Unnecessarily Mercenary,” a duet with Cleary; “I Will Not Be Denied,” “Mighty Tight Woman” (from her debut album); “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (another fab Cleary solo); “Give It Up” (with a Dixie Chicks plug for recording it too) and “God Was In The Water.”
Bonnie gave props to Jersey girls for being hot mamas; dedicated “I Will Not Be Broken” to the late governor of Texas Ann Richards; dedicated “Nick of Time” to her late parents and dedicated “God Was In The Water” to the Katrina victims, declaring, “They are still waiting for the help they deserved a long time ago.”
She also revealed that she would be opening for the Rolling Stones in Las Vegas (Nov. 11) and at Dodger Stadium (Nov. 18). Can you imagine what the party will be like backstage?

Later.

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