Category: Music Page 1 of 20

Connie plays 4 musical instruments and her daughter is a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville with a degree in Music Business and once worked for Taylor Swift. She may comment on concerts or reminisce on concerts of old.

Michael Keaton & Kyra Sedgewick in “Sweetwater” at HollyShorts 2026

By Connie Wilson

On August 14, 2026

In Best Paranormal Stories Online to Read | Paranormal Podcast, Movies, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

Michael Keaton in “Sweetwater,” a HollyShorts offering.

Michael Keaton directed and starred in a 20’ 52” Holly Shorts short entitled “Sweetwater” that also featured veteran actress Kyra Sedgewick. It was a stroll down memory lane into the past for main character Robert (Bobby), who is returning to the home once occupied by his now-deceased mother, a former Hollywood singer/actress.

The mysterious gift-giver of what appears to be a black 8-ball that Michael Keaton’s character (Robert/Bobby) rolls across the floor of his mother’s house after entering summons an apparition of Mom during life. The disembodied voice says it is “a token of appreciation” and “something that your incredible mother deserved.” The gift allows Robert (Keaton) to interact with Mom one more time, from beyond the grave—but not in a spooky or scary fashion.

DENOUEMENT

Michael Keaton’s character of Robert/Bobby is the son of the dead woman who is now able to show up and give him, one last time, a tour of the house where she lived during life with her Teddy Bear of a husband for 42 years.

The interesting thing, for me, was seeing Michael Keaton again, credited as Michael Keaton Douglas. The 75-year-old has not been as present on our movie screens since his Oscar-nod in “Birdman” in 2014, 12 years ago. Keaton’s real name is and was Michael Douglas; he merely adopted Keaton to cut down on the confusion with the other Michael Douglas and has never legally changed his name.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

The script was written by Sean Douglas, who also composed the music. Cinematography was by Christopher Ripley. The special effects were as good as those used on the TV show “Ghosts,” a UK import. In that series, a couple inherits a house that they hope to turn into a bed-and-breakfast,only to learn that it is inhabited by ghosts. One of the new owners develops the ability to see the ghosts, which leads to humorous situations.

Here, humor is missing, conflict is missing, and it’s as if Jackie Kennedy rose from the dead to take us on another of her tours of the White House. It was kind of an odd dispirited tour when Jackie was alive (yes, I’m old enough to remember it) with Jackie speaking in that Marilyn Monroe-like Little Girl voice. If Jackie O. had led us on that tour as a spectre or a wraith it would have been even stranger , but not necessarily any more engrossing or entertaining. Just….odder.

This short led me to think that, like “Chop Cheese” that featured Christopher Meloni helping launch his daughter Sophia’s directorial career, Michael Keaton (Douglas) is trying to help a family member (son Sean) get a start on a larger career in Hollywood. Or maybe it marks a new chapter for the 75-year-old Oscar-nominated Keaton himself, who is already a producer. He’s been somewhat quiescent since his 2014 Oscar-nomination for “Birdman,” (although he did suit up for “The Flash” in 2023 and was in “Morbius” in 2022), so maybe he’s going in a new direction?

SEAN DOUGLAS

Sean Douglas Michael’s son, is the 43-year-old father of two (married in 2014), who attended Washington University in St. Louis. He has already established a strong career as a songwriter. A Grammy Award-nominee,^[5] he co-wrote Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man“, which won the ACM Award for Single of the Year,^[6] the Billboard Music Award for Top Country Song,^[7] the CMA Award for Single of the Year^[8] and the BMI Award for Song of the Year.^[9] The song, released in 2016, was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Song.^[10] Douglas also worked on Lizzo’s “Like A Girl” and “Soulmate” from her Grammy-winning album Cuz I Love You.

The music is solid and Kyra Sedgewick gets to sing, which she does well.

Kyra Sedgewick in the HollyShorts film “Sweetwater,” directed by Michael Keaton Douglas.

CONFLICT

For me—a genre fiction writer and University of Iowa grad—there should be some conflict in a story—even a short one— to hold the reader’s interest. Here there is none. The deceased Mom seems to have had a lovely life and a great career and takes us on a pleasant tour of her former home. Michael Keaton just stands around or walks around the now-empty house. (Jackie Kennedy Onassis does not chime in with commentary, which would have been an interesting, if inexplicable, turn the plot might have taken just to keep us interested.) The film was the equivalent of sitting down with your grandmother to leaf through her photo albums, which, as we all know, is the favorite thing for Generation Z movie-goers—who are rushing off to see “Obsession” at the theater—to do.

With old pros like these two involved, the end product is okay. But, for me, it was not riveting storytelling and I’m not sure that a longer version of this would attract today’s audiences.

“Fault” by Writer/Director Misha Calvert Screens at HollyShorts 2026

By Connie Wilson

On August 11, 2026

In Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

Steff (Sarah Rich) practicing her serve as “Fault” opens. (Robert E. Newman photo).

In slightly less than 15 minutes Writer/Director Misha Calvert of “Fault” takes us into the history of two sisters, tennis prodigies, who were both molested by the same male coach.

The successful younger sister, Steff (Sarah Rich), is still under the control of the never onscreen male voice, who is warning Steff against listening to her older sister, Gigi (Coco Jourdana).

Beginning

Sarah Rich as Steff in Misha Calvert’s “Fault” at the HollyShorts Film Festival. (Photo by Robert E. Newman, Director of Photography).

We see Steff practicing serving on her own private tennis court, adjacent to a fantastic mansion-like home. The sets and set decorations are outstanding, as is the music, with an original score by Stuart Michael Thomas and featuring the original song “I’m Gonna’ Haunt You,” sung by Fabienne Delso of Damaged Good Records.

End

Fifteen minutes isn’t much time to tell a story as complicated as Coco Jourdana’s. The screaming ending for the fifteen minutes of furious charge and counter-charge probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

Gigi (Coco Jourdana) arrived at her sister’s home primed for confrontation. At the door, sister Steff says, “I only have an hour.” Gigi responds, “I drove for four.” (Photo by Director of Photography Robert E. Newman).

After all, where else can you take a plot this complex in 14 minutes and 25 seconds? The real interesting story here is the backstory, which is supposedly based on actual events in the life of co-star Coco Jourdana (Gigi).

“Jaws” on the 4th at the Last Picture House

By Connie Wilson

On July 5, 2026

In Local, Movies, Music, News, Pop Culture, Reviews

“The Last Picture House,” July 4, 2026, “Jaws” under the stars…and the fireworks.

Cognizant of the fact that DJT has pretty much f****ed up the 250th anniversary of the United States, which, further hampered by sweltering weather nationwide, meant the Fourth of July was likely to be a wash, we decided to do something different.

That something different was a movie on the roof of the Last Picture House, after a dinner at a local restaurant (Bass Street Landing, Moline, Illinois) with great friends. While our friends are “regulars” and even have their own booth, we drove to the wrong location—one they moved from years ago. (Our bad.)

A lot of restaurants shut down on the Fourth of July. (Who knew?) We thoroughly enjoyed dining with our companions, but my ability to eat much was zilch, courtesy of Mounjaro. In honor of the occasion I drank 2 glasses of muscato (they didn’t have white zinfandel by the glass) and, post meal, shared a creme brulee. The restaurant has recently changed owners and has some options for smaller appetites, which is good if you’re me.

“Jaws” plays like a brand-new movie after 41 years (1975). Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and RichardDreyfuss were great. The John Williams score emphasized, again, how vital music is to set the mood of any film. I missed a similar signature theme in “Disclosure Day,” even though it was the Maestro who scored that one, too. The movie is set around the Fourth of July, so, a perfect choice.

One of the best things I ever did as a member of the Chicago Symphony was to invite my cousin Lois to come to Chicago back in 2008 and join me as John Williams directed the Chicago Symphony playing the themes from the famous films he scored.

My only non-positive remarks: there is no bathroom on the second floor/roof. It is 28 steps down to the lobby area rest rooms. Yes, they have an elevator. It is very slow; takes 70 seconds to get from floor #1 to floor #2 by actual second-hand on my watch. I noticed another old guy (who probably has diabetes, like me) who made 2 trips to the rest room, also. Shame on us.

If you spent 6 months unable to walk, climbing 120 stairs is not on your bucket list of “things you want to do.” Is it even on the list of “things I am ABLE to do? Well, yes. Although I spent 5 minutes in the elevator (2 trips up and down), I successfully climbed the 28 steps at the end of the movie, none the worse for wear. Initially, I was fearful of dehydration, since I passed out on the Red Carpet opening night of SXSW (2025), but by the time the movie began (8:45 p.m.) it was a balmy evening, perfect in many ways, one of which was being able to see the movie and at least four sets of fireworks simultaneously.

I highly recommend taking in a movie under the stars at the Last Picture House. Only caveat: I should have scaled down my intake of beverages. (Ahem).

“Last Picture House” Movie Trivia Night: June 22, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On June 22, 2026

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Local, Movies, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

Movie Music Trivia Night at the Last Picture House, Davenport, Iowa on June 22nd, 2026.

I journeyed over to the Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, to play movie trivia tonight, but I misunderstood the extent of the task. I thought a snippet of music would be played and all I had to do was name the movie the song came from.

Wrong, Snore-Snout! This was only one of 3 things that I needed to be prepared to do. Rather than matching the music with a movie, you had to name the song, give the artist, and THEN name the movie the song was featured in.

Welllllll. This would have been 3 tasks per entry on Round One (15 points). I knew I needed daughter Stacey once it became clear that I was going to have to dredge up THREE things, rather than just one. There were 5 questions (worth 15 points) on the first round and there appeared to be 8 rounds with 5 questions each that were going to be asked of about 30 teams. Some teams had 8 people or more and many were foursomes. Seats were at a premium.

ARRIVE EARLY

Movie Trivia Night, June 22, 2026, The Last Picture House, Davenport, Iowa.

I did not get there early enough to get a seat but, thanks to Cathy and Carrie, I got a backless footstool, which was both good and bad. It was good to meet Cathy and Carrie, who let me sit with them, but the lack of a back sent me packing after I scored 9 points out of the first 15 possible in Round One. (This, to be clear, was not a “good” score, but it was also not the worst of all of the teams.)

I also had not eaten and it was getting to be close to 8 p.m., my back hurt, and, in round 2, the first song was a rap song. Yeahh…I wrote down L.L. Cool Jay, (which will date me and him), had no idea what the song might be, and had even less of an idea what movie utilized that song. (I use the term song loosely, being Old School…and just plain old).

MEA CULPE

But the biggest sign of my incompetence was knowing that Bette Midler sang this song in “Beaches” and also having once sung this song on a ship cruise (during amateur hour.) And my beautiful daughter-in-law once sang “Wind Beneath My Wings” in a beauty competition, which she won. However, did I remember the name ‘Wind Beneath My Wings?”

I did not. And that was some pretty dismal forgetting, when you think of my history with the song. (AAARRGGHHH.)

The original notice of the movie trivia event said it was to last from 7 to 8 p.m.

It was already 8 p.m. and we had not (yet) heard the results of Round 2. When you have close to 30 teams…..(finish that thought).

I had now consumed half a bag of popcorn, some Junior Mints, and a Diet Coke, but I had had no real food. You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you go to the movies and eat a bunch of movie junk food without having had a meal? It’s kind of a sick-to-your-stomach sickening feeling that requires a real meal to remedy it.

I knew that, back home, my golf-playing better half was going to be picking up Subway sandwiches, my back hurt, and my score, so far, was 9 points (of 15) which was not going to set the world on fire (or win this lengthy game)

The 100 or so participants at The Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, were doing well, and I learned a valuable lesson about going early enough to get a chair with a back—although the young folk pictured were doing just fine, seated on the floor playing Solitaire.

Ah, yes. I remember those days of floor-sitting.

Solitaire game in progress at Movie Trivia Night by floor sitters at The Last Picture Housel

As a team of one—and not one who paid much attention to the names of songs—I was at a distinct disadvantage.

Now I know I need daughter Stacey to make Team #17 have even a ghost of a chance—although I do want it on my record that, as a team of one, scoring 9 of 15 was not the worst score in the joint. But it looked like it was going to be downhill for me from then on without the assistance of daughter Stacey, who would have known every song and the name of every performer.

Next time.

“Wild Bill & the Bruisers” On Tour in Chicago on June 12, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On June 13, 2026

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, travel

Took in Wild Bill & the Bruisers show tonight in Chicago at the Broken Hearts Bar on Lake & Randolph. It was a fantastic high-energy, low-impact evening—except for when I nearly ripped poor Louis’s shirt off while dancing the two-step. (Something I have only done once before in my life. The dancing; not the ripping. I may have done the ripping previously a time or two. Louis is the white-haired gentleman who can be seen dancing, if YouTube will let me upload the clip, which is always dicey. Otherwise, use your imagination. Lewis is probably very happy that I am not a full-time local resident who might seek out his instruction. Also dicey.)

Louis (Lewis?) is a dance instructor somewhere nearby and a regular customer at Broken Hearts Chicago. Lewis, when asking me to dance, knew my first name. (I think Reily, who works at Broken Hearts Chicago, told Lewis my name and that I wanted to dance. I failed to get a picture of darling Reily, sadly. I may have captured Lewis in action, but, again, will YouTube let me make the video into a post? Always a question. If so,I’ll add it tomorrow and you can enjoy Lewis before I unintentionally attacked his shirt.)

I also didn’t get a picture of 25-year-old Atticus from California, who said he had an NDA that prevented him from having his picture taken. Atticus complimented me on my “great memory.” I think he was just surprised that someone as old as me could remember her own name, let alone the names of several of the bar’s patrons.

Lewis apparently thought I knew what the basic “two step” was prior to the dance invitation A: no.At one point, my little finger got caught in the snap closings of Louis’s shirt. (He was twirling me, at the time.) Not good for Louis’s shirt, and I definitely need better instructions for future two-step outings.

KATE

Kate & husband, from Wicker Park.

Kate and her husband of 10 years live in Wicker Park. She was seated near the photo booth and they were very congenial and said they had (originally) seen Wild Bill & the Bruisers in Nashville and knew they were very good. She mentioned other times that she and her husband had come out to hear Wild Bill & the Bruisers play. Wild Bill, the talented group lead, mentioned from the stage that the sound at tonight’s show (the trio has been on tour in New York, Ohio and elsewhere) was the best sound of the venues they have played while on tour.

BRIE

Brie was getting married in the morning. She looked very happy and Brandon, 23, was in town from Missouri for the wedding. I made Brandon take a turn on the dance floor, although he claimed to not know how to dance. My advice: “fake it till you make it.” So, we did, and, later he brought over a very pretty girl whom he described as the World’s Greatest Taylor Swift fan.

Also stopping by our table was the groom, Chosen, and Jason, the Best Man. Jason also sells cars in the Chicago area. He said he was planning on dancing with me, but the group then left to hit other bars in the area, so that didn’t happen. (After Lewis’s shirt incident, wise move on Jason’s part.)

The bride, Brie, on June 12, 2026, the night before her wedding,at Broken Heart Bar in Chicago. The groom, Chosen, and Best Man, Jason, smile for the camera.

Swiftie, Brie (the bride-to-be) and Brandon, at the Broken Hearts Bar in Chicago on Friday, June 26, 2026.

Wild Bill (Will) Allison of Wild Bill & the Bruisers on tour in Chicago on June 12, 2026.

Bruno Mars Continues

By Connie Wilson

On May 24, 2026

In Music, News, Pop Culture

Bruno Mars’ Romantic Tour, his first since 2014, goes on the list of Top Three Live Concerts, for me—and I started my life of live concerts with the Beatles at the San Francisco Cow Palace in 1965. This May 15thconcert was spectacular and lived up to the excellent Chicago Tribune review. A truly Top-Notch Experience.

Other memorable live concerts include Steel Wheels in Ames (the Rolling Stones), and I’ve seen the Rolling Stones 10 to 12 times, including in Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Speedway on the Fourth of July, in Minneapolis, Chicago, Ames and at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Saw Paul McCartney at the United Center and have seen him three times, including with Wings and solo at Wrigley. And then there were U2 concerts, including the one with the colossally large central stage and the one where Bono ran around on a heart-shaped stage, in Chicago. Bravo Bruno!

Bruno Mars, May 15, 2026, Soldier Field

By Connie Wilson

On May 23, 2026

In Music

Time to post some pictures of the Bruno Mars Romantic Tour that played Soldier Field on May 15 and 16th.

Bruno Mars & the Hooligans on Saturday, May 15, 2026.

Daughter Stacey and good friend Amanda and I first began the weekend with dinner at Giordino’s, all while wearing our Main Street Pizza matching shirts.

“Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” Screens at SXSW 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 24, 2026

In Interviews, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

“Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” won the SXSW Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW 2026. Directed by Ayden Mayeri, it’s the story of a quartet of childhood friends who made a record when they were junior high school age (11 to 13) and it surfaced as a hit on the website Rate Your Music 24 years later. Said Director Mayeri, “This album being discovered is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.

The X-Cetra Story (Photo by Dessie Jackson).

”WRITER/DIRECTOR

Director Ayden Mayeri, who has 58 IMDB credits, has appeared in such films as Paul Feig’s “Jackpot!”, “Mr.Throwback,” “Cora Bora Comedy,” “Spin Me Around,” and is the Writer/Director of this award-winning documentary. After the unexpected fame of their album Et-Cetra, (made in 2000), Mayeri decided to try to get the foursome together again, twenty-four years later. Ayden admitted “I really missed hanging out with them and being carefree. She likened their reunion in Santa Rosa as “Our version of Backstreet’s Back.”

Ayden Mayeri

Ayden admitted that she wanted to recapture the unself-conscious feeling of her pre-teen years. It is captured via extensive videotaping by one of the girl’s mothers from back when the girls were 11 to 13, in 2000. Kudos to Editor Phil Rosanova and Audrey Leach, who drew the task of blending copious amounts of film and to cinematographer Barry Rothbart. The musician mother Robin O’Brien who had ties to the German music provider Akim and produced the girls’ maiden vocal efforts deserves much credit for the album existing at all, also.

Now 36, Mayeri described the era to The Daily Texan as “a journey of me trying to fit in.” She said, “It’s just me and my friends, living our childhood dream, putting our vision out in the world… It was crazy because we made this album in the year 2000 when we were 10 to 12 years old … we were immediately very embarrassed about it. We were like, “Let’s never talk about that again. We’re in junior high. Everything’s embarrassing. (We) don’t want anyone to know we did that.”

CAST

X-Cetra cast

Following “Rolling Stone’s” writing an article on their X-Cetra album of the early 2000s, the quartet of old friends gather in Santa Rosa and even write some new music. The film became a thumbnail character sketch of each of the four girls: Jessica Hall, Janet Kariuki, Mary Washburn and Ayden herself. The intervening years for each girl are related in a way that makes us care about them, especially since we’ve seen them when they were adolescents perched on the verge of high school.

EDGE OF INNOCENCE

The universal truth for all girls that comes throughis that dating and boys and being “cool” will change the relationships between these girls that formed earlier. The self-consciousness of youth will sometimes inhibit even those who are obviously talented at a young age. One of the reasons Ayden gave for making the documentary was this: “I think my greatest dream is that people feel free to be creative for no reason and to really go back and tell their younger selves that they’re great … I really wanted to show what girlhood feels like, and that’s why I’m reading from my diaries, and we’re talking about some kind of messed up stuff, because that’s girlhood”

X-Cetra cast

It was clear early on that Ayden was innately talented. But, as a lyric sung in the documentary asks, “Did I make you feel embarrassed when I’m something to be cherished?” This film allowed the four fast friends of 2000 to revisit and recapture the exuberance of their youth, via X-Cetra.

Jessica, for instance, shares that boys of their class harassed her with the nickname “titless” for a long time, while Mary—the youngest at eleven—was excluded from the group as high school approached because the other three were two years older. Brushes with parental divorce, drugs, relationships gone wrong—all are included and fill in the picture of who these four girls are and who they were in 2000 before life intervened.

DOCUMENTARY RESONATES

X-Cetra cast

The documentary struck a chord with the audience, which voted it the winner of the Audience Award at SXSW 2026. It resonated with me, as I taught junior high school students for eighteen years. I remember my own daughter’s early friendships and creativity when exactly the same age as these girls in 2000. The line, “Are you gonna’ live in that moment for the rest of your life?” was a good one, highlighting that the lives of the foursome have moved in separate directions.

Thanks to the parents who both filmed and recorded the girls at a young age, we can see the arc of their lives from 2000 to 2026. I’m sure their reunion to celebrate the unexpected success of X-Cetra the album was a great one.

This SXSW documentary was a joy for the original members of X-Cetra and it is a joy for the audience.

Paul McCartney at the United Center (Chicago) on Nov. 24, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On November 26, 2025

In Music, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, travel

Paul McCartney at the United Center on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.

I just returned to Austin from Chicago. I traveled to the Windy City to see Paul McCartney in concert at the United Center on Monday, November 24, 2025. Chicago was the last stop on McCartney’s “Got Back” tour.

The place was packed and nobody left early. Paul came onstage about 8:20 p.m. and sang until 11:10 p.m. At no time during his performance did he leave the stage and turn it over to a sidekick, so that he could go offstage and take a break. He was on his feet and climbing the stairs to his piano (which malfunctioned at one point) and seemed very “with it.” He did not sit down while playing (like B.B. King did in his final years) and his endurance was just as impressive as Mick Jagger’s.

During the evening, he pointed out a gentleman who has seen him 142 times and came with a sign that said so. There was another guy with a sign that said “124.” Many signs proclaimed the crowd’s love for Paul and he seemed to return that warm sentiment.

I’ve now seen Paul McCartney five times. I’d love to post video of a few songs from the show, but I’m not sure how that can be accomplished without repercussions for me, so I am posting only a few still photos.

PAUL McCARTNEY & THE BEATLES, Aug. 31, 1965

First time was in 1965 at the San Francisco Cow Palace (afternoon concert). Security was one guy and waist-high chicken wire. (Ineffectual). It was my very first concert. Girl from Iowa climbs on back of a Czechoslovokian motorcycle driven by Philadelphia boyfriend Colgate (William Hopkins), cuts class at Berkeley in the summer of 1965 (Aug. 31), and says, “Let’s go up and see if we can get tickets.” And we could. They cost $7. It is my belief that they had been saved for the Beatles, themselves, to use for friends and family, but now it was showtime. We were in the 7th row on the aisle with folding chairs. There was one guy guarding the stage, which had waist-high chicken-wire. Someone ran onstage and took Ringo’s drumsticks and John’s hat, when they finally showed up, late. I thought we were all gonna’ die during the exiting part, when I was moving but my feet were not touching the floor. People stood on the folding chairs, causing them to go down like dominoes. It was pandemonium, with teenagers passing out left and right.

At the time, the film “Hard Day’s Night” had just been released. Shirley Bassey sang the theme from “Goldfinger” and Cannibal and the Headhunters did their thing (making a train dance on the floor.) The National Anthem was played by King Curtiss. The Astronauts from California were supposed to be part of the lead-in, but they did not show up. The tickets cost $7 apiece, I repeat, because to go from $7 to $800 is quite a big increase, as you will agree.

PAUL McCARTNEY, 2025

The tickets for us in section 302 way up high in the United Center on Nov, 24, 2025 (12 rows from the top) cost $800 apiece ($1600 total) on Monday night. People on the floor had paid $3,000. (Talk about inflation!)

The show began with Paul singing “Help” this night and the lyrics were so perfect for anyone aged 83. At no time did his demeanor, voice, or ability to move about show his age, which was wonderful for me, someone only slightly younger than he is. I did notice that many members of the audience were brandishing canes, but, thankfully, Paul was not, nor was I. I was also grateful that almost everybody stayed seated until the finale, so we could all see. A teenager on the end of the aisle in front of me kept standing up to dance, which pretty much totally obscured the video screens that allowed the far-away fans to see the faces of the band clearly.

Paul McCartney, Nov. 24, 2025.

I took so many videos of his many hits that my phone died, which turned out to be a real problem when both my daughter (who had flown in from Nashville for the show) and I used up all of our phone charge and had to try to call an Uber or Lyft to get home. We had taken a Lyft to get there, which cost $14. There is now a building–run by Uber apparently—that you go to and make these calls for Uber or Lyft drivers. Cabs are like land lines and impossible to find. That building was not there in 2015.

We finally had to go outside and we found a “pirate” Uber driver who quoted us a price of $50 to drive us back to Indiana Avenue’s South Loop. The daughter had already called and been given a $47 price and a 20 minute wait from the normal Uber network. We had no idea what the building name was and there was talk of going to your driver’s “lane.” I last went to a show at the United Center in 2015 (Queen with Adam Lambert). I have been to the United Center to try to see Caitlin Clark play, for my July 23rd birthday, but I have not ventured out for a musical performance there, although I did see the Eagles with Steely Dan in Austin and John Mulaney here on Nov. 14, 2025. There was also a night back in the Quad Cities with the Tennessee comic Nick Bugazzi (sp?) at the Mark of the Quad Cities. But, with Elton John, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, et. al. fading into retirement, there are few musical groups I would spend the time or money to see (although I’d make an exception for Benson Boone or Adele or Bruno Mars.) And I did go see the Dave Matthews Band on June 27th of this year at Northerly Isle Pavilion, so now I see concerts in both states. (Not as many United Center runs.)

PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS

The second time I saw Paul, my name was driven first in the state of Iowa for tickets at the Ames Hilton Colisseum football stadium in Ames, Iowa. Channel 6 anchor Paula Sands asked me if I could get her tickets for the July 31st show at the Ames Hilton Colisseum football field. I did, as I was allowed to purchase up to 8 tickets. That concert was Paul with wife Linda and Wings. Our tickets were in the 7th row from the front. I took my son and my college roommate and her daughter. July 18, 1990, is when Wikipedia says he played Ames, setting an Iowa record for concert attendance at the time. I’m not sure that is right, because that means that daughter Stacey was born, but only 3 years old. She attended with me on Monday night and she is now 38.

When I saw him at Wrigley Field on July 31, 2011, he was far away. It was his “On the Run” tour. The fourth time was at the Civic Center in Moline (the Mark of the Quad Cities,) on June 11, 2019. I know it was then called the Taxslayer Center, but it will always be known as the Mark of the Quad Cities to me. That entire concert was ruined by a drunk girl who insisted on trying to claim a seat in our row when her ticket was far, far away. I missed the entire fire-filled finale of “Live and Let Die,” so I was glad that it was incorporated into this show again (but not as the finale.) At the Monday show there were 6 encores, which were much appreciated by the assembled fans.

ME, @ THE MARSHALL FIELDS WALNUT ROOM PRIOR TO THE SHOW

It was truly a great show. Maybe not as historical as that day I suggested we cut class and drive up from Berkeley via motorcycle in 1965 to see the Beatles, but close. I don’t know if I can post any of the videos. If anyone has any advice there, the only way I know how to do it is to upload it to YouTube, which has become very finicky about a 30 second clip being the intellectual property of the group and, therefore, not to be posted. They actually threatened me over a 30 second snippet of Bryan Adam’s Candle in the Wind tour or whatever it was called. (“Summer of ’69”). Definitely dimmed my Bryan Adams fan-ship.

I haven’t posted since, but that particular song (“Summer of ’69”) was available elsewhere on the web and I used one of him in much younger days.

Paul was soooooooooooooooooo much better!

“Deliver Me from Nowhere:” Jeremy Allen White As Bruce Springsteen

By Connie Wilson

On November 4, 2025

In Movies, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

The Jeremys have triumphed in “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” even if the movie isn’t burning up the charts. (So much for “I’m on Fire” and the frequent script references to burning the house down.) This October was the worst October for theaters in 30 years. When “Deliver Me from Nowhere” begins streaming it should do well. Not really fair to compare the 2024 Bob Dylan bio-pic “A Complete Unknown” (or 2019’s”Rocketman” or 2018’s”Bohemian Rhapsody”) to this one. Consumers worrying about their next paycheck during a historic government shutdown are hunkered down waiting for the movie to hit their home TV sets. MAGA faithful may be avoiding it out of deluded DJT allegiance. Who really knows?

Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”) wrote and directed, based on the book by Warren Zanes. Unlike other biographical films about rock stars, this one focuses on a specific time period, Springsteen’s work on the 1982 album “Nebraska,” which he recorded in his bedroom on a Pioneer recording machine 43 years ago. It was a particularly dicey time in The Boss’ ascent to stardom. He was 33 years old and just establishing himself as a worldwide star, having earned stardom at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, his home base. He would break out with “Born in the USA” shortly after the “Nebraska” album.

White, who plays the younger Boss with convincing head-tossing sweaty fervor, is 34. The casting throughout the film is great. Kudos to casting director Francine Maisler.

CAST

Jeremy Allen White.

In addition to Jeremy Allen White as The Boss and Jeremy Strong as manager Jon Landau, there are strong supporting performances from Paul Walter Hauser (“Richard Jewell”) as Mike Batlan, and Stephen Graham (“Adolescence”) as Douglas Springsteen, Bruce’s emotionally distant father. Odessa Young portrays romantic interest Faye Romano.

It’s interesting to see Gaby Hoffmann playing Bruce’s mother Adele, since she was the 7-year-old Karin Kinsella in “Field of Dreams.” Marc Maron is Chuck Plotkin, recording engineer. Jimmy Iovine plays Jimmy Iovine (no stretch there). Meryl Streep’s daughter Grace Gummer has a small role as Barbara Landau. There is also a good performance from Matthew Anthony Pellicano, as young Bruce, photographed in black-and-white inserts that take us back to the days when 8-year-old Bruce was coping with a father who was probably paranoid schizophrenic, bi-polar and alcoholic.

Because of the focus on one specific album, we don’t get to see Bruce coping with the rise and fall of his first marriage to model/actress Julianne Phillips (married 1985; divorced in 1989). When they divorced, Bruce placed the blame on himself, suggesting they were basically incompatible because they did not really know one another that well to begin with and were not close in age. He had issues with commitment, as we see in the film, and neuroses from his relationship with his father, which is highlighted in “Deliver Me from Nowhere.”

Springsteen was also falling for bandmate Patty Scialfa, to whom he has been married since 1991. Patty Scialfa’s former art teacher at Asbury Park High, Curtis K. Smith said, “Patti’s been in love with Bruce for as long as I can remember.” So, a lesson in how it’s a good idea to really know the person you select as a life partner and probably a good idea if you have common interests. As for the close in age thing, make your own call, but there was an 11-year difference in age for the couple.

THE JEREMYs

The Jeremys in question are Jeremy Allen White, portraying Bruce Springsteen, and Jeremy Strong (“Succession”) as Jon Landau, his long-suffering manager and sometimes quasi-therapist. There is also Jeremiah Fraites, the composer for the film. I could easily see a Best Supporting nod for Strong’s calm, always-under-control portrait of a manager who realizes “I’m out of my depth on this one” and suggests therapy for the troubled rock icon.

GENESIS

The film is based on the book by Warren Zanes and has, so far, recouped about half of its $55 million budget in worldwide sales. “Deliver Me from Nowhere” started playing (in theaters only) on October 24th. The buzz regarding an Oscar nomination for Jeremy Allen White, star of “The Bear” and former cast member on “Shameless” began, based on his numerous awards including 3 consecutive Golden Globe Awards, 3 SAG awards, 2 Critics’ Choice awards and 2 Primetime Emmys. His 134 episodes as Lip Gallagher on television’s “Shameless” catapulted him to the brink of stardom. This lead performance has enough oomph to potentially earn him an Oscar nomination. The 2-hour film can drag a bit unless you’re a die-hard Springsteen fan. (*Of course, I panned “The Bear” back in the day, so judge his performance for yourself.)

3 KEY SCENES

There are 3 memorable scenes that White nails in “Deliver Me from Nowhere.” They are the kind of showcase moments that you can imagine being thrown up on the big screen at the Oscars. The three make-it-or-break-it scenes are White’s re-enactment of the recording of “Born to Run” in the studio, his breakdown scene in his therapist’s office, and the finale with his father (when his dad suggests that the 32-year-old now-famous singer sit on his lap).

Other than those scenes, we have the star posing, captured for the camera by cinematographer Masanobu Takanagi. Bruce on a deck, Bruce by the water, Bruce in close-up, Bruce on a carousel, Bruce setting up his primitive Pioneer 4-track recorder with Paul Walter Hauser’s help, Bruce with his on-again/off-again girlfriend of the moment. Jeremy White is a major star in the making. No wonder Calvin Klein is using him in underwear ads. [The Calvin Klein Men’s Underwear Spring 2024 advertisement generated $12.7 million in media impact value in less than 48 hours.]

Those three scenes ought to do it. Not sure if the rest of the film (sound?) will garner more Oscar accolades.

CAREER

It appears that the young Jeremy Allen White, like Springsteen himself, has everything it takes to mesmerize audiences. He’s been proving it since 2006, when he had his first role at the age of 15. Now 34, it’s hard to believe that this is his first feature film lead. (He had a smaller role in “The Iron Claw” as Kerry Von Erich in 2023). White even admitted to a period after “Shameless” ended after 11 years when he had a similar crisis of confidence.

NOTABLE SCRIPTED LINES

Cooper, who is closely associated with veteran actor/producer Robert Duvall and got married on Duvall’s ranch, has scripted some good lines for the then-troubled star-to-be. Here are a few:

(From a car salesman): “I do know who you are,”

JAW: “Well, that makes one of us.”

JAS: “It’s a hard thing, realizing people aren’t what you want them to be.”

JAW: “I’m trying to find some real in all the noise.”

JAW: “When I’m deep in my work, I’m just not much use for anything else.”

JAS: “He’s channeling something deeply personal and dark.”

Odessa Young as Faye Romano: “Sometimes you miss the things that are right in front of you.”

JAS: “Success is complicated for Bruce. He feels guilty leaving behind the world he knows.”

Odessa Young: “You’re running away from everything you’re afraid of. What about actually dealing with your shit…Face yourself.”

JAS: “Where you came from is gone In yourself, right now, is the only place you got.”

JAW: “I just want my life to make sense again…I’m slipping away.’ (therapist scene)

Finale scene: “I’m finding my way.” To his father, “You had your own battles to fight.”

CONCLUSION

The performances are uniformly strong. The fact that Jeremy Allen White taught himself to play guitar and harmonica and sings his own songs is remarkable. He certainly has the toss-of-the-head down. The film deals sensitively with his romance with the young mother of a small daughter.

I couldn’t help but remember his first short-lived marriage and think about how a true tell-all could have utilized that long-ago romance (Phillips is now 65 and Springsteen is 76.) Not fair to say that Springsteen just wasn’t that interesting. Not his fault we are in free-fall as a country and perhaps focused more on losing our jobs, or not having enough TSA agents to fly safely (Nashville had only 4 of 16 yesterday. 80% are out in NYC.), or not having enough food.

I’ve read that The Rock’s film was also pulverized and nothing out right now in the theaters this past weekend really did well. I was in the theater from 3:30 until 7:00 p.m.. The place was deserted. That, my friends, is because some of you didn’t pay enough attention last presidential election. Now, we are all paying the price, even at our local Cineplex.

While I can play “Born in the USA” and remember the good old days, getting back to a reasonable facsimile of the good old days is proving to be much more difficult.