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.

Director Marina Zenovich has made a documentary film that takes a look back at the sensational Roman Polanski trial for having sex with a then 13-year-old girl. The film, produced by Steven Soderbergh, among others, is amazing in that it gets most of the principals to comment, although, in some cases, the commentary is not to Zenovich, directly, but through other interviews Polanski has given since fleeing the country and taking up residence in France. The title refers to the fact that Polanski is idolized and desired in his adopted homeland of France, while, in the United States, he is still, technically, a fugitive from justice who is “wanted.”

HBO, ThinkFilm, a film by Graceful Presents, the BBC and Antidote Films all receive a credit, and the actual alleged rape victim (who publicly forgave Polanski in 1997), Samantha, Gailey (Geimer) is interviewed onscreen at several points.

Polanski’s main defense attorney, the Lincoln-esque Douglas Dalton, is quoted (today) saying, “What actually happened to the system of justice. I remain flabbergasted after all these years.” Roger Gunson, who, at the time, was the 37-year-old Mormon prosecution attorney, also seems to feel that the chief judge in the case, one Lawrence J. Rittenband, the Senior Judge in Santa Monica, mishandled the case because he wanted to “choreograph” the outcome to enhance his own love of the limelight. Judge Rittenband would constantly send the two opposition attorneys into the courtroom and tell them to play out a little drama according to a script he provided them that would enhance his (the Judge’s) reputation, in return for certain concessions towards one side or the other.

Of course, the fact that Polanski did admit to having had sex with a then-13-year-old girl is brushed over lightly. The fact that he did not view it as a “crime” is, indirectly, laid at the doorstep of his checkered past and his upbringing in Europe, a country which has a far less Puritanical view of sex than the United States. Nevertheless, Polanski’s admssion to intercourse with the then-13-year-old school girl, Samantha Gailey, whom he had been hired to photograph as part of a series on beautiful young girls from around the world, by Vanity Fair seems to be regarded as a “crime” only by a minority of district attorneys and a couple of police officers, who speak of it as likely to draw years in prison for the ordinary citizen

Mia Farrow, speaking of Polanski’s childhood in Poland, when Nazis killed his mother in the gas chamber and when he also lost his father, a childhood he drew upon in making the Academy Award-winning film “The Piano,” says, onscreen, “He didn’t have the blueprint for life that others had.” She remembers Polanski as “Completely infectious” and points out that, after a rough childhood, he thought he had finally found stability in his marriage to actress Sharon Tate, only to have the Manson Clan murder the pregnant actress, her companions and their unborn son, who would have been thirty, today.

(*It is interesting to learn that Polanski, now 74, has been married for 18 years and has 2 children, and that the then-13-year-old victim has also been married for 18 years and has 3 children.)

Both attorneys, the defense and the prosecution, agree that Polanski’s flight from the country was not surprising, given the Judge’s flamboyant behavior. At one point, the comment is made that it was “very unfortunate to have a judge who misused justice” and Polanski, himself, in an interview, says that the Judge toyed with him, like a cat with a mouse, for over a year. There is even a short film illustrating this capricious behavior, with Polanski made to dance while a look-alike for the Judge bangs a drum and shouts orders for him to do this or do that.

The prosecuting attorney, whom the filmmakers compared to a young Robert Redford look-alike, says that he noticed, when researching Polanski through his films at the New Art Theater Polanski Film Festival, which happened to be showing in the area at the time, that all his films involved “corruption-meets-innocence-over-water” and that the nude shots of the young Samantha in the Jacuzzi at Jack Nicholson’s home (Nicholson was out of town, at the time; the use of his home next to Marlon Brando’s house for the tryst supposedly contributed to the break-up of Nicholson’s relationship with his then live-in, Angelica Huston, who was not amused) fit this profile. Prosecuting attorney Roger Gunson thought he could make a case out of that, alone, and, when the young girl’s semen-stained panties surfaced, and were divided between prosecution and defense teams (actual description here of 7 men cutting the panties in half), plea bargains were discussed by the defense team that had previously been disinterested in same.

Polanski’s attitude throughout seemed to be, “Yes, I had sex with a 13-year-old. So what?” It seems to have been established that Samantha was not a virgin and that both individuals had consumed champagne and shared a Quaalude before what Polanski called consensual sex, but which the prosecution termed rape and sodomy. Other charges involving giving a minor illegal substances were dropped, in exchange for Polanski’s plea to the main charge of having sex with a female, not his wife, whom he knew to be 13 years old at the time.

From that point on, things began to go south for Polanski and his case. For one thing, the murder of his wife Sharon Tate was constantly brought up, and the film “Rosemary’s Baby,” in which a young wife is raped by the devil after being tied down, seemed to make a case for Polanski’s willingness to force sex upon an unwilling partner.

When Polanski was allowed to travel out of the country on 90 day “passes” to complete a film he was directing, a friend somehow talked him in to attending Oktoberfest in Munich. A snapshot taken of him seated between two young girls seems to have enraged the judge and caused the judge to decide to welch on deals made, informally, that would have allowed Polanski to serve only probation and the 42 days he was sentenced to Chino for psychiatric observation, where the state’s shrink pronounced him “congenial, but reserved” and said he was not a Mentally Disturbed Sex Offender.

Polanski, himself, admits, early on, “I like young women.” He goes on to say that he thinks most men do. He also comments, at one point, in the face of criticism of his actions following Sharon Tate’s brutal murder by the Manson Family members that, “My real problems started with the murder of Sharon Tate,” and that “Different people have different ways of dealing with life and grief.  Some go to monasteries. Some start visiting whorehouses.” Even his friends admitted that Polanski was a genial host who “liked to be the center of it all.” His romance with Nastassia Kinski when she was only 15, whom he also photographed, was well documented before the charges made against him in California.

Some questioned why Susie Gailey, the young girl’s mother, would allow her under-age daughter to go off, alone, with Polanski, saying, “This was a guy that had a pretty wild reputation.”  The victim, herself, said, “I had to worry about surviving the next day (at school). You can’t stop it, once it starts.” She seems to wish that her mother had not brought the charges against Polanski and that none of the ensuing publicity had ever occurred. Polanski, himself, rails against the press in interviews, at one point saying, “In general, I despise the press because of their inaccuracy and their deliberate cruelty.” References were made to articles printed after Sharon Tate’s brutal murder that accused Polanski, himself, of having flown back to the United States, committed the murders, and then left again. This, of course, was tantamount to punishing the victim and somehow blaming the victims for the crimes committed against them. Those close to the director spoke of his dark, sad, veiled side, his strong vision of death and sadness, his brushes with life and death, but his ability to prevail, despite much grief.

Polanski, himself, in dining with an interviewer in Europe, asks him, near the end of the interview to tell him this, “You think there’s something more to my life than my relationship with young women?” Obviously, the French do, as they made him a member of the Academie Francaise, and the President of the Academie Francaise, Arnand d’Hailtervilla, “He is one of us…”

Polanski faced anywhere from 6 months to 50 years in prison in the U.S., after the Judge became piqued at the photo of Polanski frolicking in Germany, and a year in the county jail was also a possibility, along with deportation. Polanski, who was, at the time, remaking “The Hurricane” for Dino De Laurent is Productions out of the country, chose to flee rather than endure more of the “toying” with him that he maintained the judge was doing. Before his troubles began, he was much sought after in the fast track of Hollywood society, and loved California, saying, “Everything is easy here (in Los Angeles). Everything is accessible in this town.” Everything except underage girls, apparently.

A distraught Polanski, speaking to the press after Sharon Tate’s massacre, called their time together, “The only time of true happiness in my life” and appeared about to break down in tears. A friend who was with him when he received the news of the killings on the phone from his agent Bill Tennent, reports, “I saw someone just disintegrate in front of my eyes. He was devastated.”

The documentary is definitely sympathetic to Polanski’s side. The question of whether the average male in America (of any ethnicity) would simply walk away with “probation” after giving drugs to an underage 13-year-old and having sex with her, if he weren’t rich and able to pay for the very best attorneys, is not addressed. The “double standard” between the European view of sex and America’s Puritanical view of sex is addressed peripherally. The verdict on whether a penalty greater than 42 days of being “evaluated” by a psychiatrist at Chino (California) is appropriate for the charges levied is still out.

Polanski’s friends from the swinging sixties before the murder of his wife appear to still be his friends, and his work such as “The Piano” produced after he fled the United States speaks to his continuing undiminished talent as a director

When the judge assigned to the case displays scrapbooks of his high-profile celebrity cases (the Presley divorce, Cary Grant), the public is right to wonder if this was the most famous judge fiasco since Judge Ito and the O.J. trial, decades later. However, the question still remains as to whether celebrities receive a special “pass” in court, when compared to the rank-and-file of Americans charged with the same crime.

          Richard Clarke, the former White House Counter-terrorism Chief under Presidents Clinton and Bush, and the man on duty the day the terrorists struck on 9/11 is back with another book, following on the heels of the eminently readable and very excellent In Defense of Liberty.

    Clarke’s new book is entitled Your Government Failed You and is subtitled Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters.

     Clarke appeared on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” on June 2^nd and the segment opened with Stewart noting, “This McClellan thing is everywhere,” commenting on another blockbuster hitting bookstores, written by Scott McClellan, former Press Secretary to “W,” who has written a tell-all book entitled What Happened.

     To open the interview, Stewart projected a large picture of McClellan against words he spoke on 3/22/04, while functioning as White House Press Secretary, in lambasting Clarke’s first book, the thriller In Defense of Liberty:

     McClellan quote:  “Well, why, all of a sudden, if he had all of these great concerns, did he not raise these sooner? This is one and one-half years after he left the administration. And now, all of a sudden, he’s raising these grave concerns he claims he had.  And I think you have to look at some of the facts. Number one, he is bringing this up in the heat of a Presidential campaign.  He has written a book, and he certainly wants to go out and promote that book.”

     McClellan, himself, who was George W. Bush’s chief spokesman for almost three years now says—as he is trying to sell his own book—”I think the president should have stood by his word, and that meant Karl should have left.” (This was in reference to the “outing” of Valerie Plame as an undercover agent, which an investigation showed they did participate in; Bush had vowed to “fire anyone” involved, but did nothing. Scooter Libby was found guilty in court; Bush commuted his sentence. Rove continued on the job until he voluntarily withdrew.)

     When Stewart mentioned to Clarke that the Swiftboating now aimed at McClellan sounded very familiar to that aimed at Clarke back in 2004, Clarke nodded assent and said, “Yes. Disgruntled former employee. Out-of-the-loop.” I think there’a little box in the White House that, if anyone escapes from the White House and tells the truth, they break this box and take out these talking points.”

     Stewart:  “My favorite thing is that they say, ‘That’s not the Scott we knew.  The Scott we knew lied like a M****F*****.  (Laughter)  What, in your mind, everything that we hear is a reinforcement of the same story, that the politics ruled the day.”

     Clarke:  “What I’m trying to do in the book is say, look, it’s not just 9/11, it’s global warming, it’s Iraq, it’s Katrina and it’s on and on.  Nothing works any more in National Security.”

     Stewart:  “But do you think that’s their point?  These guys went in saying, ‘Government’s not the answer,’ and now, clearly, they’re showing us, I guess, the answer clearly is, ‘Well, if you guys are running it, well, I guess it’s not.’”

     Clarke:  “John, if you beat up on government, if you make government a political punching bag, well, that’s fine, if you don’t want government to do anything, but there’s a little thing that government has to do, like protect us.  We should give that power over to the government, right? And then little children are licking Chinese toys that have lead paint.  Little things that you don’t regulate, like maybe the mortgage industry, will go a little crazy.”

     Stewart:  “But isn’t that an odd contradiction.  They advocate responsibility while usurping power?”

     Clarke:  “They want to be the government, so the government doesn’t do anything.”

     Stewart:  You believe, ‘cause I know they replaced all the Inspector Generals. That was one of their first moves.”

     Clarke:  “Absolutely.  They appointed people to all these regulatory agencies that were supposed to regulate things to protect us.  People who don’t want to regulate and people who aren’t regulating.”

     Stewart:  “But isn’t the Department of Homeland Security just another great regulatory bureaucracy that is not functioning, or have they created it in such a way that it can’t function?  Are they paying lip service? Not that the color-coded chart is not valuable! I’m not saying that! (Laughter)”

     Clarke:  “They’ve put more political appointees in the Homeland Security Department, which they created after 9/11 to protect us, more political appointees in that department than any other department in the government.  That’s the biggest percentage of their people.  Yeah, they created this huge bureaucracy, but they didn’t solve anything.”

     Stewart:  “The Bush Administration was about creating a political machine that could control all the levers of government and sort of push out…their idea was the bureaucrats were the guys who would march for us.”

     Clarke:  “And if you’re going to the doctor or lawyer or even an auto mechanic, you want to know that they were trained, have recently been retrained, and that they’re certified and the industry has standards and procedures of accountability.”

     Stewart:  “See, me, I want to know what their view is on gay marriage.  For me, if you’re a mechanic, I’m not letting you touch my carburetor unless you’re making sure that two men can’t love one another. Please…” (Laughter)

     Clarke:  “And that’s pretty much what they did with the people they sent to Iraq.  The people they sent to our Embassy in Iraq, after the invasion, he (Bush) asked them, ‘What are your views on abortion?’ Half the people they sent had never been out of the country before and had to apply for passports.  You want them to be able to speak Arabic—right?  These guys hadn’t even been out of the country before.”

     Stewart:  “Is there an opportunity for the country to reclaim the mantle of competence in government?”

     Clarke:  “That’s what this book is about. It’s, how do you get the government to work again?  And one way is to take the politics out of national security to the extent that you can.”

     Stewart:  “Isn’t, though, that cat out of that bag?  How do you….?”

     Clarke:  ”You grab the cat and put it back in the bag.”

     Stewart:  “Have you ever had a cat?”

     Clarke:  “No.” (Laughter).

     Stewart:  “It’s a really nice, straightforward, common-sense approach to the whole thing, so I think that assures that it will not be followed.”

    Clarke:  “Probably not.”

    The vote is in for “American Idol” and the outcome is as surprising as the 2000 Presidential election (and, if you believe Archuleta’s voice coach, who is on the Internet saying “the fix is in,” possibly was just as legitimate.)

     My good friend Pamela, an astute observer of the “American Idol” season, has very cogently argued that David Cook would win for some very good reasons. David Cook has the maturity that goes with his age advantage and, therefore, often seems more poised during interview opportunities. There is also the matter of David Archuleta’s meddling father, which finally culminated in the senior Archuleta being banned from the backstage area(s) of the show completely. (He cost the show money when he insisted that his son insert lyrics from a second song into the song David was to sing, even though he had been specifically warned not to do so.)

     David Archuleta seemed to have the Big Mo, i.e., Momentum, working in his favor. However, having said that, David Cook took a big chance on the final night of competition with his Collective Soul choice, and, although Simon proclaimed the night a “Knockout” for David Archuleta, Cowell reneged on that comment on Results Night on Wednesday, apologizing to David Cook and admitting that, in rewatching the show, he might have been disrespectful to David Cook and have misspoken. (Earlier in the day, Cowell had predicted a win for Cook over Archuleta.)

    Cowell (unlike my firm conviction that David Archuleta’s young fans would bring him home the win) had vacillated. I never vacillated in my belief that the younger of the two contestants had the best pipes, and I still feel that way. Having said that, I can understand why the show might prefer the older, more seasoned contestant with the gritty distinctive sound of a Daughtry. He’s not in high school and they don’t have to worry about meddling parents or tutors for the lad.

     Having given my reasons for understanding the choice the show claims was made nationally, I’d like to recap the action of the night.

    Opening: The final 12, all clad in white outfits, came out and sang “Get Ready ‘Cause Here I Come” with contestants from the show “So You Think You Can Dance” providing some dance moves. Up tempo. Interesting. Great to see the Final Twelve again.

    Then, the Davids dueted on “Hero” by Chad Krueger. Truly enjoyable. David Archuleta sang harmony; David Cook sang melody.

    Next up was a humorous bit advertising Mike Myers’ new film “The Love Guru.” The film also has a cameo by Stephen Colbert and Jessica Biel co-stars, but Myers was tonight’s big draw, constantly using MariskaHargitay as a greeting and mocking the Maharishi of the Beatles years. As Guru Piti, he suggested a shave for David Cook and gave out loopy advice to David Archuleta like “Make a boom boom in your pull-ups,” which seemed to have the younger David on the verge of outright laughter throughout the bit.

     Syesha and Seal sang “I Have Been Waiting for You” while Ryan Seacrest said, “Your results are coming up in a …..well, nevermind,” as the show dragged on for a full two hours before winding down.

     Jason Castro sang “Alleluia.” Two Escape Hybrid cars were gifted to the two finalists (keys handed to the happy contestants onstage.) All six of the final female contestants sang Donna Summer songs and Donna Summer herself descended the steps and sang with Syesha Mercado, the last girl standing. (”She Works Hard for Her Money,” “Hot Stuff”).

     Carly Smithson and Michael Johns sang “The Letter”, while Jimmy Kimmel asked, “How much should I tip Sanjaya,” implying that Sanjaya was parking cars outside the Nokia Theater. (Shot of Sanjaya in the audience, laughing at the joke at his expense.)

     Michael Johns and the other male contestants sang a medley of Bryan Adams songs, followed by Bryan Adams, himself, singing songs such as “Summer of ‘69.”
    David Cook sang “Sharp Dressed Man” with Z. Z. Topp,  a great combination.

     Brooke White sang “Teach the Children Well” with Graham Nash.

     Ads using the Tom Cruise version of “Old Time Rock and Roll” from “Risky Business” utilized both of the Davids, recapping the famous scene where Cruise sang in his boxers in his living room. (Here, David Cook seemed to do a better job of recapping Cruise’s dance moves.)

     The Jonas Brothers came out and sang a song. One Republic performed “Apologize” and David Archuleta joined the pianist/lead vocalist to good effect.

     Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr., did a humorous skit with Gladys Knight that purported to show her early days of selecting the Pips. At one point, Jack Black ended up being depantsed. (Some may not know it, but Robert Downey, Jr., has an album of his own and was once asked to open for “Duran, Duran” on tour.)

    Carrie Underwood sang “Last Name” and looked lovely in white.

    George Michael emerged after a medley of his songs was sung (Michael Johns was particularly good here) and sang.

    The judges commented, Paula burbling, “You two are truly amazing. It’s the start of the destinies of your careers.”

     The vote was announced as having been 12 million votes more for David Cook than for David Archuleta, with something like 56 million for the winner and 44 million for the second place finisher. 

    I hesitate to use the term “loser.” If this season is anything like the other seasons, the “winner” will do less well than the “loser” overall (Taylor Hicks, anyone?). Daughtry only finished fourth, but is a bigger star than that year’s winner. Clay Aiken has a career on Broadway, while this is the first time most of us have seen Reuben Stoddard since his win over Aiken.

    For my money, Archuleta “won” the final night’s competition, but the competition was not just decided on the basis of one night’s performing. Archuleta has an amazing voice and  a great future, if Dad doesn’t get in the way. David Cook will now be promoted by the label that signs and promotes all “American Idol” winners and he is an interesting, innovative, poised performer. Neither is a dud, and both should do well.

    Either way, it is going to be fun to watch both their careers unfold (And, for the record, I still don’t believe that George W. Bush won over Al Gore in Florida either, if anyone out there cares.)

    David Archuleta nailed it tonight on “American Idol.” I’ve had an article up on my blog (www.weeklywilson.com) for days, now, saying that David Archuleta would become the next American Idol, but his superior, stellar performance tonight practically guarantees that outcome.

     “Idol” used the boxing analogy to intrigue viewers, almost to the point of cheesiness, but that gimmick couldn’t detract from the wonderful performances of the two Davids, especially Archuleta.

    The two finalists sang three rounds. Clive Davis picked the first round of songs. Davis selected “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” for David Cook to sing at the beginning of the competition, and it was arguably Cook’s best performance of the night. The U2 song fit his style and distinctively gritty vocal quality, and he made the most of it, although the sliding up to the final note that Judge Randy Jackson praised seemed unnecessary, to me, and detracted from the overall quality of Cook’s presentation.

     David Archuleta’s first song was “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” an Elton John song, selected by Andrew Lloyd Webber. He sang it so well that, even though the judges had pronounced David Cook’s performance just prior as “phenomenal,” they said that David Archuleta’s singing was “beautiful, beautiful, stunning performance” (Paula Abdul) and “One of the best performances of this season.molten hot.” (Randy Jackson). Simon said that Round One had gone to Archuleta, and that pattern continued throughout Rounds Two and Three.

     Round Two was a round given over to new songs composed especially for the night. David Archuleta’s song was just better than David Cook’s, as all the judges agreed. Archuleta’s lyrics, speaking of “staring through windows at my own reflection” was just a better song than “Reach Out for Something More”, which Cook tried.

     The final round allowed the singers to either pick a brand-new song or one they had sung earlier in the season. Cook tried a new song from Collective Soul, but it paled by comparison to David Archuleta’s revisiting of “Imagine,” which he was, quite simply, brilliant on.

     So, as I said on this blog and others days ago, this year’s American Idol will be David Archuleta.

Nobody was surprised when Syesha Mercado went home, and nobody should be surprised when David Archuleta bests David Cook on Wednesday on “American Idol.”

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.

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.