Five “standing O’s” is a lot, but that’s what John Williams and Yo Yo Ma, backed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, earned for their efforts at Symphony Hall in Chicago on Thursday, August 21^st. Orchestra Hall was packed for the prolific composer of themes from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Wars,” “E.T.”, and the “Indiana Jones” series. And Williams delivered all of them, including the Superman theme, in performing encore after encore for the packed and delighted house.

Unlike many other Symphony Hall concerts I have attended, the patrons did not start streaming for the exits as soon as the final number (”Flying Theme from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”) concluded. The crowd is generally more mature (read old), but not this night, and there are often empty seats, but, again, not this night.

The opening sequence featured the theme that John Williams wrote for the Olympics, which most of us have heard multiple times since 8/08/08. A sequence of Olympic scenes, including Michael Phelps in action, were synchronized to go with the “Bugler’s Dream/Olympic Fanfare and Theme.” When Williams—who looked a bit like Colonel Sanders with his white goatee, white hair, white jacket and black tie—directed the Symphony in the Spielberg themes he has composed over the past 35 years of working with the renowned director, clips from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Indiana Jones” (new and old) and other films for which Williams has composed the music were shown on a large screen above the Orchestra.

Yo Yo Ma, the world’s greatest living cellist (and Pablo Casals succssor for that title) was a joy playing Suite for Cello and Orchestra, the music from “Memoirs of a Geisha.” He seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself and he and Williams hugged repeatedly following the performances, with the audience refusing to let the symphony, which Williams pronounced “Arguably the greatest Symphony Orchestra in the world,” leave the stage without encore after encore. The program, which began at 7:30 p.m., ran on until nearly 10:00 p.m., as applause and “bravos” from the audience kept the performers onstage long after they usually exit. Truly a memorable night with Yo Yo Ma and John Williams, who has been nominated for 45 Oscars and won seven.

Williams has composed the music for over 100 movies, including “War of the Worlds,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “The Patriot,” “Angela’s Ashes,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Amistad,” “Seven Years in Tibet,” “Sabrina,” “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park,” “Presumed Innocent,” the “Indiana Jones” trilogy, the “Star Wars” trilogy, “The Witches of Eastwick” and “Jaws.” A student at Julliard, Williams was a jazz pianist in New York City after he studied privately with Rosina Levhinne.

In Los Angeles, his career included working with Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman. During the sixties, Williams won four Emmys for his music for television. In addition to his multiple Academy Awards, he has received 7 BAFTAs (British Academy Awards), 20 Grammys, 4 Golden Globes, and numerous gold and platinum records. After 14 seasons as conductor of the Boston Pops, Williams retired to become Boston Pops Laureate Conductor and artist-in-residence at Tanglewood and has continued to score nearly all of Steven Spielberg’s films, which saw him write over 350 different versions of the 5-note musical “greeting” used in “Close Encounters” before he and Spielberg settled on the final sequence.

Truly a memorable night with two musical geniuses.

Bill Maher, the acerbic comic whose “Politically Incorrect” television show launched a thousand controversies, played the Chicago Theater for one night only on Friday, July 25^th and delighted a sold-out crowd.

Where to begin with an analysis of Maher’s ability to offend with his cynicism? He aimed many barbs at politicians, of course…even Illinois’ own Barack Obama, although, this night, he did end his stand-up routine with the comment, “Thanks for the candidate.”

Poor John McCain received the butt of the ribbing, with age-related comments that I won’t repeat, as they were pretty much what was to be expected. What was not expected was Maher’s criticism of some of Obama’s votes, and his follow-up comment, “I don’t make this stuff up, Folks. I just report it.”

In the middle of the show, Archer Midland-Daniels was mentioned, and a loud shout of support rose from a crowd member, whom Maher then crucified, expressing a great deal of dislike for the giant corporation. He also came down hard on corn. Yes, corn. He doesn’t like corn, apparently, whether it is as an alternative fuel or a foodstuff. He just does not like corn. What can I say? Take it up with Maher.

About the time that he was ragging on corn and farmers (whom he criticized as the biggest welfare queens) and all corn-related topics, someone heckled him from the midwestern crowd filling all the seats this night. Maher looked calmly into the crowd, found the heckler and said, “Now, that really didn’t add anything to the show, did it?” very calmly, as though this happens to him all the time. Cool.

I used to go to a chat room online called “Hollywood Café” and some of Maher’s writers were not glowing in their praise of him. However, his riff on religion and marriage, both topics he has addressed on his show (to say he is “a confirmed bachelor” is putting it mildly) were familiar and funny.

We were 3 rows from the top of this many-tiered palace of entertainment. I had just made a trip to the restrooms located in the bowels of the theater, which were another 3 to 5 flights of stairs. By the time I had climbed from the basement to 3 rows from the top, I needed oxygen. I don’t think I was alone. I could almost touch the Indian mural on the ceiling and the chandelier near it. Maher looked like a speck onstage, wearing what appeared to be a tan tee shirt with some sort of logo that I would have needed binoculars to make out.

His voice, however, rang out loud and clear, as did his lampooning of everything from gas prices to the demise of George W. Bush (let’s understate his comments and say that he is not a big Bush supporter), to why his married friends’ wives don’t like him hanging around, reminding their husbands of what they are missing.

It was vintage Maher on his one stop in the Windy City, and, Democrat or Republican, Christian, Jew or Muslim, there was enough material in his act to offend everyone at least once, and all of it was funny.

Yes, I mean Kevin Costner, the actor best known for his Oscar-winning year with “Dances with Wolves” (1990), which garnered 7 Academy Awards and, according to Kevin Costner in an interview in July 20, 2008 “Parade” magazine, put such strain on his marriage of 16 years (they were wed in 1978) that it collapsed under the strain. Costner had three children with his college girlfriend from Cal State, Fullerton (Cindy Silva):  Anne (now 23), Lily (now 21) and Joe (now 20). Costner also fathered a child out-of-wedlock with socialite Bridget Rooney, a Pittsburgh resident. That child, Liam, is not 11, but the marriage-shy Costner did not tie the knot with the child’s mother.

Then he met Christine Baumgartner, the blonde, younger trophy wife (whom he had met once before on a golf course many years prior when practicing for his role in “Tin Cup.” Baumgartner is 33 years old, to Costner’s 53, and they have been married for four years (2004). They have a son, Cayden, who is one.

So, what pearls of wisdom does the marriage-shy Costner have to share with readers who might miss his Midwest tour with his band? Yes, his band. It seems that old movie stars never really die; they just form a rock band and tour, and that is what Costner is going to be doing with his band, the country rock band Modern West, which will be playing Chicago’s House of Blues soon. (Costner says his wife joins him as often as possible on the road.)

I heard Costner sing in “The Postman” and my Costner fix will have to wait until his latest movie, “Swing Vote” hits theaters on August 1^st. To say it was a painful experience to watch (and/or listen) to Costner sing is being kind.

But back to Pearls of Costner Wisdom, and I mean this seriously. The man has given some thought to life and love and one of my favorite quotes from way back when is “Marriage is a tough gig.”

New Pearls of Wisdom are these:

• “We’re afraid of a lot of things in life. It’s part of the human condition. What do we fear? Love? Failure? Telling the truth about ourselves? I think we don’t show people all we truly are because we’re afraid that if they actually know everything about us, they won’t love us. I’m as guilty of that as anyone.”
• “Falling in love is a really tricky thing. If you pretend you’re in love when you’re really not, it ends up bloody.”
• “When I met Christine, I wasn’t prepared to be in loved again. It took me a long time before I said, ‘ I love you’ to her, a long time.”
• “After my marriage ended, I never dated anyone consistently. I stayed single. When I wanted some company in my life, I was like the classic single guy—who do I love this week, who next week? I wouldn’t even use the word ‘love’ with someone, because that makes things trickier.”
• “I have never wanted to be afraid in my life, but after my divorce, I was. The pain of that experience had been so strong that I never wanted to go through it ever again.”
• “Sometimes you learn that the thing you’re most afraid of in life is the thing that will save your life.”

So, those are today’s Costner’s Pearls of Wisdom (courtesy of Dotson Rader’s interview of the 6′ 1″ heart-throb in the Sunday, July 20^th, “Parade” magazine. He may not be much of a singer, but he has some experience at living life, and I always look forward to his latest observations on same.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is all over the Quad Cities and was in the parking lot of the Hy-Vee Food Store at 2351 West Locust from 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 9th. Three “hotdoggers,” Bill Blansett, 23, a graduate of Pennsylvania State in Advertising, Stephanie Geidel, 24, a graduate with a degree in sports management and a Master’s in Education from the State University of New York at Cortland who plans to teach, and Nick Osiecki, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, were the three “hotdoggers” driving the two vehicles in the Quad Cities. The Oscar Mayer hotdogger team is comprised of 12 individuals who are chosen from recent college graduates. They travel the country, handing out whistles and small hot dogs and other Oscar Mayer paraphernalia at stops arranged by sponsors.

The concept of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile began seventy-two years ago (1936) with a thirteen-foot metal hot dog on wheels in Chicago. The small hotdog mobile is the eleventh design and is built upon the frame of a Mini Cooper. The small fifteen foot car gets about 25 to 30 mpg. The larger Wienermobile, at 27 feet with a sky roof, gets only 10 to 15 mpg and costs about $115 to fill the 32.1 gallon tank. Normally, the team travels about 500 miles per week.

In addition to the sky roof, there is a hot-dog-shaped instrument panel, a 27-inch color video monitor, seating for six in relish-colored seats, two exterior cameras, illuminated Oscar Mayer logos, a gull wing door and condiments decorating the carpeting of the vehicle.

The three in town on Friday described it as “a good thing to do for a year if you aren’t sure what you want to do permanently.” Mr. Blansett was interviewing by phone for a job while present in Davenport. Nick Osiecki has been thinking of going into television sales (after abandoning writing as a career) and Steph Geidel, whose mother is an elementary school teacher, thinks she will teach.

Hot dog Kudos to all!

I’ve taken to calling Jason Castro “the loopster.” His loopy answers and attitude perhaps coincide well with his comment that “I’m a fun guy. I hope I can convey that to the American public.” After that video clip on the Wednesday night show, Jason is seen saying, “These are terrible answers.” He proves that his answers were, indeed, terrible, by saying (of the song from Andrew Lloyd Webber week), “I didn’t know a cat was singing it. Oh, boy!” Maybe a good idea to look into the origin of the song you are singing, from the musical “Cats!” which might have provided the Loopster with his first clue.

Earlier on May 7^th’s “American Idol,” the four contestants remaining (David Archuleta, David Cook, Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro) were flown to Las Vegas’ Mirage Hotel to see “Love,” the Beatles extravaganza on a private jet. Jason is shown reclining on a bed in the back of the private plane saying something about how it is so cool. (spelled “kewl,” in the Loopster’s case).

A large portion of the show was taken up with callers, ranging from 24-year-old Emily in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who asked David Cook out on a date when the “American Idol” tour hits her town (David said, “We’ll see.” My mom always said that when she meant no.) to 45-year-old Marla who told Simon Cowell he was “sexy and intriguing” and should be “the next James Bond.”

The performing group for the night was “Maroon Five,” and the soloist who returned to “American Idol” from a previous year’s competition was Bo Bice, who announced that he and his wife are having (or have?) a new son.

The Loopster got in a few good lines before departing. As Ryan Seacrest introduced him as having sung “most of Tambourine Man,” he said, “Somebody told me I shot the Tambourine Man,” (a reference to the two songs he selected on Rock & Roll Week, “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.”)

Jason seemed genuinely glad to be leaving and left with the comment that he thought “My inexperience has just been coming through” and “Dreams do come true, so dream big.”

David Archuleta Emerges As Clear Front-Runner After May 6^th “Idol”

Not that this will surprise anyone, but David Archuleta has to be considered the front-runner after all three judges praised his vocal prowess and he blew away the competition with his renditions of “Love Me Tender” and “Stand By Me” during Rock & Roll Hall of Fame week. The big loser: the dreadlocked Jason Castro, who forgot the words to Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” looked as awful as usual, and earned, from Simon this succinct review: “Jason, I’d pack your suitcase.” (Ouch!)

Most of us have been saying, “Jason, pack your suitcase for weeks now, so the Castro kid is beginning to remind a bit of that lesser talent, Sanjia Malakar, who consistently made it through after inferior performances. His gimmick: his hair. I’d think about a haircut, were I Jason, but, failing that, at least get Bob Marley’s music right. Simon summed up his performance of Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” as “utterly atrocious” and something that was more like the open auditions days, not the final four. The ending of the “Mr. Tambourine Man” song sounded horrible, the guitar Jason clutched seem to really be just a prop, and from his breathy opening to his weak close, Jason was outclasses. The lyric he sang that applies? “If I am guilty, I will pay.” He was definitely guilty of all the above, and I have a feeling he will pay.

Most improved of the four remaining performers, as was the case last week, was Syesha Mercado, who came out and did “Proud Mary” proud, followed by Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna’ Come.” Randy reduced Syesha to tears by brusquely criticizing her red-hot vocals, and Ryan Seacrest got a laugh by saying, “Well, Randy. Thanks for the buzz kill.” When Randy attempted to explain his overly harsh criticism of one of the night’s outstanding performers and two of the night’s most consistently good performances (2^nd only to David Archuleta’s), Seacrest cut him off, saying, “We’re running out of time. ‘Hell’s Kitchen’’s gonna start.”

David Cook performed his first song, Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” to criticism from Randy (”Just an OK choice”) that was echoed by the others, and, later, said he agreed with the judges and would wipe the memory of his first song away by performing more strongly on his second song, which, unfortunately, was a Who song that, aside from it use on “C.S.I.” episodes, is not that big a crowd-pleaser and ended with the words “Teenage waste” or “Teen waste,” hardly an uplifting image.

For me, there was no stronger performer for the evening than the other David (Archuleta), followed by Syesha, David Cook and…last and certainly least, Jason Castro, who has overstayed his welcome and should have been gone long before Carly Smithson, Michael Johns and/or Brooke White.

Actor Jeff Daniels, the actor we know from films like “Dumb and Dumber” and “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” traveled from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Rock Island, Illinois’ Circa Dinner Theater to play acoustic guitar and sing his own songs for a small but enthusiastic audience on Thursday, May 1^st. The performance was a fund-raiser for the small theater back home, dubbed the Purple Rose in honor of the Woody Allen film “The Purple Rose of Cairo” in which he starred.

Daniels is well-known from his roles in such films as “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo” and “The Squid and the Whale.” He’s made 45 films and will soon be heard as the voice of an animated character in “Space Chimps” (for which, he humorously remarked to the crowd, he had recently been offered…and turned down… a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.)

To be honest, I didn’t expect much in the way of musical excellence when I decided to take a chance and attend the concert on a Thursday night. I just knew that Daniels is a very fine actor and seems to be a very “centered” regular guy, in appearances such as one he recently made on “David Letterman.” As the former “Times” movie critic and a bona fide movie fan, I went to see Jeff Bridges, the actor, and the fact that he was just as talented, musically, as he is gifted, dramatically, was the frosting on the cake.

I was unable to convince either my husband (who refused, outright, to go) or my friend (who voted for the Rolling Stones documentary “Shine A Light,” instead) to accompany me, so I went alone, entering after the performance had begun.

Daniels, clad in jeans, a rumpled flannel shirt and a battered brown hat, asked the crowd at the outset, “How many of you have no idea what I’m about to do?” I had a vague idea: he was going to sing songs he had written in an attempt to raise money for his Michigan Purple Rose Theatre through the $25.50 ticket price. You could also purchase either of his two CD’s, one of which, “Jeff Daniels Live and Unplugged To Benefit the Purple Rose Theatre” I bought. It is very good and the material is extremely clever.

It turned out that Jeff can both play and sing with proficiency and that his material is entertaining in the best sense of that word. When asked by David Burke of the Quad City Times about the difference between his movie career and his sidelight, singing, Daniels responded, “The thing about the singing that I enjoy a lot is that, especially when you’re writing, you’re in complete control of everything. It’s the exact opposite of the movie actor…It’s just that it’s (a movie) out of your control creatively. (Here) I’m the writer, I’m the director, I’m the editor, I’m the entertainer, I’m the performer, and all those people who I’ve been and am are out there with me…Plus, the fact that, with me, they (audiences) expect the worst. ‘Oh, yeah, another actor/singer/songwriter who sucks.’” (with sarcasm).

As it turns out, Daniels does not suck. His songs are clever slices of life, such as his song about actors who think they can sing, simply because they are actors, entitled “If William Shatner Can, I Can Too,” which mentions actor/singers ranging from Shatner to Russell Crowe to Adam Sandler. (Bruce Willis and Johnny Depp are not mentioned, but the Olson Twins are.)

Daniels is loose onstage, singing songs about the time he “accidentally” lost his wife, Kathy, at a truck stop in Erie, Pennsylvania, entitled “Recreational Vehicle,” and musing on the many common rites of passage in life, such as teaching his daughter to drive, his love affair with the Detroit Tigers baseball team and his first car (a blue Valiant) and/or growing old.

While in the Quad Cities, Daniels stopped at a local analog recording studio to record his song(s) “Are You As Excited About Me As I Am?” that reminded of the theme of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and “The Dirty Harry Blues,” about playing the villain opposite Clint Eastwood’s good guy, in the film “Bloodwork.” Daniels said he was inspired to write the first song mentioned after walking the red carpet at an Awards night. Sample lyric(s): “I was everything to everyone, Just for a moment, I’m who I used to be. Shine like a diamond, bright as the sun, I used to be everything to everyone.”

His “Dirty Harry Blues” contained a killer impression of Eastwood calling him up on the phone and asking him to play the villain in “Bloodwork.” The denouement was his shooting death (in the film) at Eastwood’s hands, after his make-up girl told him, “It’s a good day to die.”

Daniels called to his “roadie” (his son) to help him involve audience members in performing what he dubbed “Doing the Big Bay Shuffle” and in playing a wooden train whistle on the song “I’m on a Detroit Train.” The audience gave Daniels several standing ovations and seemed to really enjoy his show, from start to finish.

Daniels mused about aging, saying, “You do have regrets when you’re 50. I’m 50 years old…I’m old. Not falling apart, just going downhill and every other week you’re updating your will.” He reminisced about hearing Mary Hart telling the world on Entertainment Weekly that he was fifty years old that day. Research into Ms. Hart’s birth date revealed that she was born November 8, 1950, making her a full 7 years older than Daniels…a fact he seemed to revel in discovering.

Daniels name-dropped a bit, but in a humble way. In addition to the Eastwood story, which never implied that he and Clint were good friends, Daniels told the story of working with stars like Eastwood and Jim Carrey with humility and mentioned the making of two Civil War films, “Gettysburg” and “Gods and Generals.” In describing Ted Turner, Daniels said, with affection, “If it’s on his mind, it’s out of his mouth,” and told the story of Turner coming up to him, onset, in full costume, saluting him (also in unform) and saying, “Colonel: hold at all costs.”

When the actor mentioned the offer of a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (which Turner has been given), Daniels reminisced about seeing old-time movie stars Esther Williams and Margaret O’Brien that day, actresses who really represented their era of movie stars with class and glamour. They were there to meet and greet Turner (who was receiving his star) and told Daniels how grateful they were to Turner for his television movie channel. They said, “We get to see who we used to be.” Sad commentary on the fleeting nature of fame and “all that crap,” as Jeff Daniels referred to it. He seems very “grounded” about his Hollywood persona, unlike many others.

Jeff Daniels’ frequent references to his “twenty-eight foot Jayko” RV, his family, his home state of Michigan, his humble gratitude that his parents supported his acting aspirations, his interest in the great American pastime (i.e., baseball, specifically the Detroit Tigers) made him seem like the regular, ordinary guy next door.

Reviews in the next day’s paper locally were glowing, with Sean Leary of the (Moline, Illinois) Daily Dispatch suggesting that Daniels could be “the next Jimmy Buffett. Leary hailed Daniels’ performance as “loose and funny” and lauded the performer as “natural and humble.”

David Burke of the (Davenport, Iowa) Quad City Times told me that Jeff and his son (and his son’s two college-age friends) had driven all the way to Rock Island from Michigan in the aforementioned RV, and shared several heart-warming incidents from their interview, displaying as much awe at meeting Daniels as Daniels showed when he talked about the time he met George Harrison, (who signed his guitar.)

The suggestion was made that, if Daniels decides to make the trip this way again, the hall won’t be half empty as it was this night. Word travels fast in smaller towns, and the word on Jeff Daniels and his singing talent was all good.

One of my favorite parts of Martin Scorsese’s documentary film focusing on the Rolling Stones occurs before the music even starts. Mick Jagger calls up Scorsese to express his concern over the large tracking cameras that will be used (nearly 24 cameras were employed in the filming) and whether they will intrude on the audience’s appreciation of their benefit concert for Bill Clinton’s foundation at the Beacon Theater in New York.

Filmed in 2006, the small ornate venue offered a great deal more intimacy than the Stones’ stadium shows, which generally seat thousands. (The only small show I attended, the “No Security” tour, took place at the United Center in Chicago; my friend was hit in the head by a drumstick that Charlie Watts pitched into the crowd and still managed not to catch it! Charlie’s drumsticks, I can report, have his name burned into the side, so they would have made a great souvenir, but it was not to be, despite my friend’s goose-egg on her forehead. I remember saying, “Didn’t you ever play softball?”)

As a long-time Stones fan, I have seen them “live” on every tour since 1982. “Steel Wheels” was the best, when I saw them in Ames, Iowa. An absolutely awesome experience. That tour was followed by the “Voodoo Lounge” tour (Chicago), the “Bridges to Babylon” tour (2x, Ames and Minneapolis), a smaller more intimate show in Chicago at the United Center dubbed the “No Security” tour, and their most recent outing two times in Chicago, “A Bigger Bang.” [I will say that I have never been colder in my life than at the fall Soldier Field concert this last time. Elvis Costello opened for the Stones this last time ( opening acts I have seen include Lenny Kravitz, Blues Traveler, and the Goo Goo Dolls, among others.]

Scorsese is noticeably frazzled on film by the Stones’ failure to know exactly what the order of their set is going to be until the last minute. We see shots of Mick on an airplane, going over the set list and then shots of Scorsese being given a “late-breaking” bulletin of the order of the songs. He wants to know so he can have the right camera in the right place at the right time, but, like the rest of us, he is clueless until the concert actually begins.

Scorsese really gets in close on the band, wrinkles and all, with Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (”The Aviator,” “J.F.K.”) overseeing a nineteen-person team boasting three multiple Oscar winners in addition to Albert Maysles. Albert Maysles and his brother, David, made the Stones’ tour documentary “Gimme Shelter” in 1969, which became famous for the Hell’s Angels incident (the Hell’s Angels were hired to provide “security”) that caused the death of an audience member.

The Stones perform 19 songs, delivering some seldom-performed gems like “She Was Hot,” “All Down the Line,” and a country-flavored “Loving Cup,” which was a duet with Jack White of the White Stripes. Jagger also brought out Christina Aguilera to duet with him on “Live With Me,” which involved a bumping and grinding dance, with Christina clad in what appeared to be black tights and a man’s shirt, wearing a black formal tux tie loosely draped around her neck, untied. Another guest performing onstage was Buddy Guy, blues icon from Chicago, who sang “Champagne & Reefer” with Mick.

My favorite parts of the IMAX film involved the old archival footage of the Stones being interviewed as young men just starting out in the business. Charlie Watts, now the white-haired grizzled drummer, talks in his salad days about how he would have liked to have been a painter, but didn’t have the vision, so he could only aspire to be a “designer” (if he hadn’t become a member of the band). I would have enjoyed three times the quantity of “clips” of the early Stones that Scorsese included, but he’s the Oscar-winning director, and I’m just an audience member who is fascinated by strolling down memory lane.( I couldn’t help but compare the scarcity of clips with a brilliant documentary on Freddie Mercury I saw at the Chicago Film Festival this past fall that had ten times the amount of personal clips.) I also enjoyed the classics included like “Brown Sugar,” “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” (the Stones’ first Number One hit in this country back in 1965) and “Start Me Up.”

Also interesting was the appearance of the Clintons (yes, those Clintons), Bill, Hillary and Hillary’s mother, who came onstage before the show to introduce the Stones. Bill announced that, for his sixtieth birthday, he wanted to “open for the Stones” and, by introducing them, he got his wish. The Clintons had at least 30 family members and friends present in the lower balcony of the small theater. Since the “f” bomb was unleashed at least three or four times during the concert, and Mick’s dancing has always been suggestive, I couldn’t help but think that, —if the tables were turned, and Obama played as dirty as Hillary in her campaigning—-Obama would be mentioning the Clintons participation in the concert with a holier-than-thou attitude, tsk-tsking all the way to the polls. (It’s certainly what Hillary has done with the Reverend Wright and his Wrong-headed ranting.)

A friend of mine, with whom I play Trivia in Pub Quiz (a British chat room online) told a story of meeting Charlie Watts and his Mrs., along with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood (and families) at a posh restaurant in London one night. He described Charlie Watts as being as nice as could be, and described Ronnie and Keith as “borrowing” the waiters’ jackets and passing a cheese tray, to the amusement of their party.

I still remember walking through what was then the Union’s “River Room” at the University of Iowa in 1963 and hearing “Hey, You! Get Offa’ My Cloud” blasting from an old style juke box with colored lights. The Stones signed with Decca Records that year, later touring the United Kingdom with the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley. In 1964, the Stones released their first album, “England’s Newest Hit Makers.” They also toured the United States for the first time that year and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1971, Rolling Stones Records released the “Sticky Fingers” LP, with a cover design by Andy Warhol that is now iconic. The Stones received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. The “Bigger Bang” tour of 2005 grossed half a billion dollars, with paid attendance of 4.68 billion, according to George Varga’s “Mature Focus’” May issue (p.56), and I attended two of those “live” concerts.

During their long career, the Stones have undertaken some fantastic tours and released notable albums. In the sixties it was:” The Rolling Stones, Now!” followed by “Their Satanic Majesties Request,” Beggars Banquet,” “Let It Bleed.” In the seventies, with “Sticky Fingers” “Exile on Main Street” and “It’s Only Rock & Roll”, the Stones were still hot. The eighties brought us “Some Girls” (the Stones sang at least 3 of the songs from the album during the IMAX event), “Emotional Rescue,” “Tattoo You,” and “Still Life.”

The latest release from the Kings of Rock & Roll and the greatest arena band ever is the soundtrack to the film “Shine A Light,” (now showing at an IMAX Theater near you.) I admire the fact that Keith, Mick, Charlie and Ronnie ( assisted by the nine members in their touring ensemble group, such as Lisa Fisher of Brooklyn) have let it all hang out in the aging department. After seeing the horror-show that now is Kenny Rogers’ face, I appreciate the fact that the Stones still enjoy what they are doing, do it well, don’t seem to have lost a step, and are letting themselves mature naturally. When you see Mick Jagger doing his chicken-on-acid dancing, non-stop, while wearing a long blue-black coat that seems to have been made of ostrich feathers, never stopping to rest, it is difficult to believe that the man was 62 when this was filmed.

As for Martin Scorsese’s filming them onstage at the Beacon Theatre in 2006, who better than the man who was assistant director of the Oscar-winning documentary “Woodstock” forty years ago, and also directed “The Last Waltz,” the story of The Band’s 1976 all-star farewell performance?

Oh, woe to all the “Idol” fans

Who cheered for poor Brooke White

She’s voted off.

She’s gone for good.

It just was not her night.

It really was a sad departure;

Tears did freely flow.

But when all was said and done,

It was time for her to go.

You can forget your words on one occasion,

Maybe even twice,

But when you do it three times running

You’re gone,— although you’re “nice.”

So good luck, Brooke.

Your hair did shine,

Your smile was great as well.

But lousing up those lyrics, Girl,

It made them sound like hell.

Jason Castro and Brooke White Struggle with their Selections…

Jason Castro drew the short stick, apparently, on April 29^th’s “American Idol” show featuring songs written by Neil Diamond and had to sing first. Since Jason always seems as though the next word out of his mouth is going to be “duh,” he performed “just OK” according to Randy, and his renditions of “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “September Morn” were proclaimed to be “definitely not the best,” “safe,” and “you struggled through both songs”(Simon). To me, Jason’s performance this week seemed to be more of the same: light, insipid, wimpy, and inferior to either of the other boys remaining or, on this night, one of the two worst performers. His fan club may feel differently.

Up second was David Cook, who, as usual, sang unknown songs, specifically “I’m Alive” and “All I Really Know Is You.” He did a good job and the judges seemed pleased. One of them even went so far as to say that he/she was “looking at the American Idol,” but that seems a bit premature. As for me, I’d like to hear a song I might recognize, but David was his usual confident self, and, in that regard, he should sail on.

Third came Brooke White, who sang “I’m a Believer” (which Simon pronounced “a nightmare”) and “I Am, I Said,” which brought faint praise from Simon when he said it was “a million times better than the first song.” Paula said, “Nice job,” and Brooke also accompanied herself (piano, guitar). Paula commented, “Everyone loves who you are,” which, while true, is not necessarily supposed to be what wins the competition. Brooke, for my money, was one of the two weakest performers of the night, but the “lovability” factor may keep her in as the last female standing, when Syesha did a superior job, vocally and in every other regard…although Simon “dissed” her efforts.

Fourth up was David Archuleta, who sang “Sweet Caroline” and “America.” The latter choice of songs was the smartest since the C&W songstress sang Lee Greenwood’s patriotic ditty. David, clad in a black-and-white horizontally striped shirt that kept me thinking of the “Peanuts” comic strip, turned in another thoroughly professional performance, and the audience reaction was far and away the most enthusiastic, keeping him firmly in first place, in my mind.

Last…but not least on this night…was Syesha, who sang “Hello” and did a very nice job, with her hair down, barefoot and going up for a great last note. Syesha is doing something down and long with her hair that is a vast improvement, and her dress was lovely. She sang and looked the best of the girls, but her fan club seems smaller than the less-vocally-talented Brooke White (Brooke’s range, which is not great, really showed up on her song selections this night, while Syesha hit some high notes and was a real diva.

So, predictions? Let me just say that, in order of, “Who was best on April 29^th?” I would praise the Davids (Archuleta and Cook, in that order) as Numbers One and Two, and finish up with Syesha in third place, Jason in fourth, and Brooke in last place, vocally, but it is quite apparent that the best singer also has to be the Most Popular, and, if that is the case, I fear that Syesha has begun displaying her personality too late in the game to overcome her earlier lackluster presentations.

As far as justice…of which there has been little this season…either Jason or Brooke should leave the group on Wednesday when the numbers drop from five to four, but the popularity polls seem to favor the Davids, Jason and Brooke, not necessarily in that order, so talent may well not be rewarded as the competition loses yet another contestant on Wednesday, April 30^th.