Week in Rock: Giant Edition
The Boss to Close Giants Stadium
In what seems like a most fitting selection, Bruce Springsteen announced on stage last night that he and the E-Street Band will perform the final three concerts at Giants Stadium next fall. The stadium is set to be torn down and replaced after the next football season, with a new building well on its way to being completed next door. While primarily a football stadium, the 75,000+ capacity bowl has hosted some of the area's largest music events over the last 30 years. Along with being a regular destination for the likes of U2, the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews and other mega acts, it has represented the area in International events like Live Earth in 2007. But despite all this, Bruce is the ideal choice for its curtain call. The local hero will have sold out nearly 60 concerts at the Meadowlands complex. And God help us all if Bon Jovi is in any way involved in this send-off. The whole state might just break off and float away.
American Idol is Finished
For better or worse, American Idol has done its part to change with the times over the last few seasons. The show, for the most part, has gotten away from plucking the most inoffensive generic pop stars from the masses, and settled in on some acts with actual personality. While there is still plenty of room for the Danny Gorkey cheeseballs of the world to give it a go, the final two this year boiled down to emo-glam vs. sensitive lite-rock. While these are by no means underrepresented genres in today’s pop landscape, it does take the show into a new direction. And yet, despite his rabid fanbase, Adam Lambert fell short of Kris Allen's more conventional look and approach. It still feels nearly a half decade behind the curve, and there are numerous peripheral issues with the show, but it does seem to live and evolve with the times, which is better than most shows that have come and gone before it.
Madison Square Park Music Series Announced
In case you were worried that there'd be a square foot of grass left in the city without a summer concert series, Madison Square Park released their schedule for music over the next couple months. Highlighting the lineup is the Wainwright Family concert, featuring Louden, Sloan and Suzzy Roche, to kick off the series June 17th, as well as a performance by the John Scofield Trio August 5. While not officially part of the series, Madison Square will also host, as always, the Big Apple BBQ fest in June, featuring two full day lineups of Americana/Roots music, headlined by Lucero and Junior Brown.
Also this Week:
