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Tempting as Ever: Squeeze, the 80s Beatles, Bring Magical Pop Songs to Life in New Tour

Roger Friedman
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Tempting as Ever: Squeeze, the 80s Beatles, Bring Magical Pop Songs to Life in New Tour

First of all, it’s unfair to call Squeeze the 80s Beatles, but I got your attention. From the mid 70s for at least twenty or more years, Brits Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook turned out classic pop albums that recalled the best writing and singing of Lennon and McCartney but surely with their own twists. They were not and are not a cult group by any means. They had hits galore, too. They led the British New Wave and had plenty of presence on MTV.

(Squeeze should be in the Rock Hall with the Police, Pretenders, Elvis Costello, and Talking Heads. Don’t get me started.)

And now they are back on tour in America after the pandemic literally brought their previous schedule to a screeching halt in March 2020. I caught them last night at the rustic Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut on their own, but they are also part of a parallel package with Hall & Oates going to huge venues like Jones Beach.

All that out of the way, it was a joy to see them, especially in a small theater. Their backing group is a sensational band that could easily take on any of “today’s” pop rock bands in a battle. The musicianship is astounding, from drums and percussion, bass, keyboards, and accordion. For most songs, Squeeze is also a three or four guitar set up, all of which creates a gorgeous sound.

And then are the main guys, Difford and Tilbrook. The latter takes up the lions share of vocals, although the mix of their voices remains unique, a sweet and sharp combo. Their songs are the same, not a Beatles derivative but strongly, a next generation delivery of stories, witty observations, eccentric characters, love gone wrong and sometimes right.

You know their biggest hit, “Tempted,” and so does the audience, which sings along with joyous abandon. There’s also “Hourglass,” “Cool for Cats,” “Goodbye Girl,” “Pulling Mussels from the Shell,” “Black Coffee in Bed,” “If I Didn’t Love You, I’d Hate You,” and so on. Squeeze produced more than a dozen top notch albums in their time, including the outstanding “Argy Bargy,” and “East Side Story” produced by Elvis Costello (and Dave Edmunds on the lead track). Those are starting points for newcomers and nirvana for concrete fans.

That the songs have stood up for 40 years or so is a tribute to the writers in so many ways, as records that were produced so meticulously that they sound contemporary and ageless. That the band (Simon Hanson, Stephen Large, Steve Smith, Owen Biddle, Melvin Duffy) are so exceptionally designed doesn’t hurt. They can bring soul to country and vice versa in disarming ways.

And don’t think of Squeeze as a group from the past. They’re still writing songs and making records that are just as good as ever. Last night I loved a 2017 song called “Please Be Upstanding” that song supervisors need to start putting into TV and movies. It’s a little gem, one among many.

See Squeeze in your town, on their own and or with others. And special treat: Tilbrook’s 18 year old son, Leon, is often the opening act. The kid is the real deal, and I’ve never seen a teenager so poised and charismatic on stage. His parents are going to have trouble getting him to stay in university. I saw Shawn Mendes at this age; Leon (named for Leon Russell and other blues musicians) is the British version!

 

(Watch) Billie Eilish’s Composer-Singer-Producer Brother Finneas Drops a Catchy Pandemic Song

Roger Friedman
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(Watch) Billie Eilish’s Composer-Singer-Producer Brother Finneas Drops a Catchy Pandemic Song

Finneas is Billie Eilish’s older brother, producer-singer-composer. His new song is called “A Concert Six Months From Now,” a pandemic love story. It’s shot at the Hollywood Bowl. I like the video but I think Finneas must be worth just listening to. An album and tour are coming. This is a talented brother and sister, no doubt about it.

Here’s the tracklist for the album, “Optimist,” coming October 1st, one day after Grammy eligibility.
‘OPTIMIST’ TRACKLISTING
A Concert Six Months From Now
The Kids Are All Dying
Happy Now
Only A Lifetime
The 90s
Love Is Pain
Peaches Etude
Hurt Locker
Medieval
Someone Else’s Star
Around My Neck
What They’ll Say About Us
How It Ends

The Rolling Stones’ Famed Drummer Charlie Watts, 80, Sidelined by Illness, Leaves Tour

Roger Friedman
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The Rolling Stones’ Famed Drummer Charlie Watts, 80, Sidelined by Illness, Leaves Tour

Charlie Watts just turned 80 in June. But the famed Rolling Stones drummer has had a medical speed bump and won’t be going on tour with the band this fall. We’re wishing him a speedy recovery. He’s human, after all. All our classic rock stars are working far later into their lives than almost any professional musicians ever did, and they must take care of themselves first.

Here’s the official release:

A spokesman for Charlie Watts has confirmed that the Rolling Stones drummer is unlikely to be available for the resumption of The Rolling Stones USA No Filter Tour this fall.

 

The spokesman said: “Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but I gather his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation.  With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming.”

 

Charlie said: “For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while. After all the fans’ suffering caused by Covid I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this Tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation. I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me.”

 

Steve Jordan said: “It is an absolute honour and a privilege to be Charlie’s understudy and I am looking forward to rehearsing with Mick, Keith and Ronnie. No-one will be happier than me to give up my seat on the drum-riser as soon as Charlie tells me he is good to go.”

HBO’s “White Lotus” Series Finally Rises to 500,000 Viewers Thanks To Surprise Taboo Sex Act

Roger Friedman
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HBO’s “White Lotus” Series Finally Rises to 500,000 Viewers Thanks To Surprise Taboo Sex Act

Until this past Sunday, HBO’s “White Lotus” was not really what you could call a hit. It was no “Mare of Easttown” or “The Undoing,” limited run mini series that became water cooler hits.

The ratings for “White Lotus,” created by Mike White, were steadily under half a million viewers a week on HBO proper. The cable network claimed double that adding in HBO Max, which is unmonitored.

But this past Sunday, “White Lotus” finally jumped to 515,000 viewers, up 7.74% from the week before in total viewers, and 27.27% in the key age demo.

What changed? The 4th episode ended with a cliffhanger, as two naked men performed a sex act that would be considered a taboo on anything except pay per view sex stations. Even HBO, with its history of risque sex in documentaries and shows like “Sex and the City,” had not ventured into this space.

The news of the “White Lotus” scene spread quickly, obviously, to other time zones and to later showings of the episode on Sunday night. The men were walked in on by two other characters, and there will be ripple effects in the next episode, to be certain.

“White Lotus” was filmed at Hawaii’s Four Seasons on the island of Maui. It revolves around a resort where a group of eclectic tourists have arrived for a vacation stay. Connie Britton and Steve Zahn are a wealthy couple who’ve brought their teen son and daughter, and the girl’s school friend. Jake Lacey and Alexandria Daddario are mismatched honeymooners; Jennifer Coolidge brings her mother’s ashes for burial at sea; and then there is the staff headed by Murray Bartlett, who plays the pill popping, drug addicted gay general manager. What could go wrong?

The series is notable for its almost all-white, wealthy collection of characters, the notable exception being Natasha Rothwell as Belinda, second in command, who gets caught up in a class power struggle of a friendship with Coolidge’s character. Belinda is the only character we can root for. Everyone else is just awful, seemingly with no redeeming features.

On top of all this, the series began with a flash forward showing that someone has died during the vacation. A coffin is being loaded onto a plane. It’s anyone’s guess which of these dreadful people has come to an end– and how or why.

How will this week’s ratings be? Can “White Lotus” top itself? It will be pretty hard to to do that without going way over the top.

John Travolta 2021 Real Estate Sell Off Continues After a Decade of Flop Movies

Roger Friedman
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John Travolta 2021 Real Estate Sell Off Continues After a Decade of Flop Movies

John Travolta has reportedly sold off another big real estate property in Florida, this time for $4 million. He bought the place in 2017 for $3 million.

Earlier this year Travolta unloaded his Maine waterfront estate for many more millions. He and Kelly Preston lived there for years. There were 20 bedrooms!

With these sales, Travolta is down to his primary property with the planes and landing strip in Ocala, and a house in gated Calabasas, California. The Ocala property is situated within something called Jumbolair, a gated community that was itself for sale two years ago for $10.5 million. That’s where Travolta kept a Boeing 737 plane of his own. It’s unclear if he still owns that, as well.

So we’re not weeping for him. But what’s going on here?

What’s going on is that Travolta, who has a high level of living, hasn’t made a movie with decent box office since “Savages” in 2012. And that one only had a worldwide box office of $82 million.

BEfore that was a 2008 film no one remembers called “Bolt,” which somehow made $328 million worldwide.

Travolta has made at least 11 movies since 2013 that have not just lost money but not made any. Almost all have gone straight to video, the trash heap, they were so bad that even airlines wouldn’t take them. Between his lifestyle and tithing huge amounts to Scientoliogy, at this point Travolta would need some cash. So the sell off begins.

 

Review: Tony Bennett Wows Sold Out Crowd at Radio City for 95th Birthday with Lady Gaga as His Opening Act

Roger Friedman
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Review: Tony Bennett Wows Sold Out Crowd at Radio City for 95th Birthday with Lady Gaga as His Opening Act

In a two hour show that was absolutely historic, Lady Gaga earned her angel wings tonight celebrating Tony Bennett’s 95th birthday at Radio City.

What an incredible evening. The hall was sold out, the stage was occupied by a 40 piece orchestra. Gaga performed for an hour, opening for Tony. Her set was magical, beyond compare. Then Tony took the stage and did a killer set that ended with I Left My Heart in San Francisco. The hall exploded in applause and cheers.

To say the least, it was a night full of standing ovations. But all you need to know is that Tony Bennett’s legendary career culminated tonight in a blaze of glory. And Lady Gaga deserves our never ending thank you.

She never worked so hard in her life. As I said the first hour was all Gaga, in show stopping outfits (at least one designed by her sister) that were elegant and show stopping. She looked like Grace Kelly on her way to win an Oscar in every change. Gaga herself covered mostly song classics like “Luck Be a Lady” and “What a Difference a Day Makes.” Her voice is supple and rich, and, as Tony once told her, she’s a real jazz singer. She at once recalls Liza, Judy, Barbra, and Ella, all fashioned into her own striking tones.

Her standout, I thought, was “La Vie En Rose.” She also joked with the crowd, kibbitzed about COVID, and at one point came into the audience to sing to her sister and mother. I’m not sure if she knew that Jon Bon Jovi was sitting a few seats away. Bon Jovi wasn’t the only celebrity. I saw Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, actor Steve Buscemi, and Andrew Dice Clay.There were rumored sightings of Nancy Pelosi and Gayle King.

And then there was Tony. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he seemed unsteady when the big red curtain rose to reveal him and his jazz group. On the first song, he was warming up. But by the time he hit his second number, Tony was back in swing. Forget Alzheimer’s (not to make a joke.) Tony Bennett not only knows these songs, but he still delivers them with soul, verve, and flash. He’s still got it.

For me, the highlights of his set were “One More for My Baby,” which went from daring to sublime very quickly. Then came Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” followed by”When You’re Smiling,” and a sample of “Fly Me to the Moon.” If you said to a stranger, this man is 95 years old, they wouldn’t believe you. His voice was full and nuanced, and he was totall engaged and loving the moments.

Gaga– whom we’d last seen in smart black and white– returned in gold and led Tony through a bunch of duets including “The Lady is a Tramp” and “Anything Goes.” You could feel he was wavering a bit, but enjoying it all too much to say goodbye. “We’ll see you on the 200th birthday,” Gaga declared, and it seemed like the show was winding down.

The curtain fell, the house lights started to go up and then there was that lump in the throat moment. Tony Bennett, putting a dot at the end of his amazing career, sang his long time signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” I wanted to cry, I’m sure I was not alone. It was absolutely gorgeous, the cherry on the sundae, a magnificent wave from the top of the mountain.

I can’t underplay how much this was a Lady Gaga presentation. The way she acts with him is so full of love and respect. She guided him through their duets, giving him encouragement, and you could see how much he loved it. Whatever Lady Gaga does in the rest of her long life, no one should ever forget this chapter. She certainly was raised right.

The final show is Thursday. If you can, go. There are still a few tickets around. This is a once in a lifetime moment. We sang Happy Birthday with Gaga to Tony tonight. I’m sure they’ll do it again on Thursday. If you love music, you can’t say you were in New York and missed this.

Behind the Scenes at “The Suicide Squad” Premiere: Margot Robbie, Jon Cena, James Gunn Tell All

Leah Sydney
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Behind the Scenes at “The Suicide Squad” Premiere: Margot Robbie, Jon Cena, James Gunn Tell All

Judging from the wildly enthusiastic crowds lining the  streets of Westwood at the Regency Village theater  last night for “The Suicide Squad” premiere, Warners is sure to have a massive hit on its hands.

Director James Gunn introduced the movie and was effusive in his praise for all those who worked with him. He started with one  of the film’s producers, the noted Charles Roven, saying, “Chuck gave me my first studio movie, took me aside and taught me how to direct.  I’ll love him forever for that.” Gunn went on to thank the celebrated cast which he called, “The greatest cast in the world, they’re talented and incredible, honestly and I mean this, not a bad apple in the bunch.  I’ve never been such a part of a humongous large cast and not a single dick among them! I love you guys.”

Gunn then introduced the cast, and when it was John Cena’s turn, Cena who plays Peacemaker and was ready made dressed up in his movie costume garb, got up and got his attention grabbing moment as he playfully brandished his extra-long pistol at the audience.  Sylvester Stallone was next, he plays the man eating humanoid King Shark, Gunn noted, “I have a friend, I wrote a role for him, I called him up and said I wonder if you can this role?  He said you wrote the role for me? I said yeah?  Well what is it Sly asked? I said that it was a really dumb walking shark.  Sly said, ‘I’m in!”

Gunn then introduced Margot Robbie, who is simple scene stealing as Harley Quinn by saying, “She can do anything but sing and draw. It’s embarrassing actually.”  To which Robbie playfully got her revenge and flipped him the bird.  Gunn gave a shout out to John Ostrander, who created the modern incarnation of “Suicide Squad,”  who as he pointed out, ‘the movie wouldn’t exist without him which prompted a huge cheer from the geeks in the crowd.

I asked Gunn later at the after party what makes him so good at directing ensembles?  He explained, “I guess it’s coming from a family of six kids, you get use to navigating it all with a sense of humor!” I happened to run into Margot Robbie, looking impossibly chic in a white Chanel jumpsuit,  in the bathroom where she was her usual gracious self, thanking everyone in the loo, and telling me after at the party that, “I never had so much fun working on a movie.  Pure fun!”

New Yorkers Need to Meet Kathy Hochul, She Will Be Governor by the End of the Day After Cuomo Resigns

Roger Friedman
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New Yorkers Need to Meet Kathy Hochul, She Will Be Governor by the End of the Day After Cuomo Resigns

UPDATE He won’t resign. It’s obvious that Gov. Cuomo isn’t leaving, doesn’t take this seriously. He just appeared on TV and refuted nothing. And I’m a fan! He just doesn’t get it!

If you’re watching CNN right now, you know what has to happen: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has to resign today.

Cuomo is being accused by NY Attorney General Letitia James of sexual harassment in an extensive report and investigation. Her presentation on TV is chilling. Cuomo’s political life is over.

So we must acquaint ourselves with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. No one’s heard of her, but she will be — or should be — governor of New York before the end of the day, if not the week.

Cuomo is a tragedy. What he’s done is unforgivable. What makes this so upsetting is that New Yorkers loved him and had no idea what he was doing to women, to his staff, to state troopers.

I have new sympathy for his ex wife, Kerry Kennedy, who knew all of this, no doubt, and was painted as a hapless victim and almost villain in their divorce. She was the opposite.

Cuomo here is pictured with former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who also had to resign because of sexual misbehavior.

The worst part of this is that Bill DeBlasio, who Manhattanites loathe, will now act holier than thou and run for Governor. Now I need a Xanax!

Lady Gaga- Tony Bennett Cole Porter Album Coming October 1st, Day After Grammy Eligibility

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga- Tony Bennett Cole Porter Album Coming October 1st, Day After Grammy Eligibility

So the Lady Gaga-Tony Bennett Cole Porter album is coming October 1st.

How do we know? From a press release? No, from a billboard in mid town. An old fashioned way of communication. Carrier pigeons are next!

I told you about “Love for Sale” in 2014, and I thought it would be released today, on Tony’s 95th birthday. Alas, the powers that be have chosen October 1st, which is also one after it could be eligible for the Grammy Awards next January.

WTH? Tony is 95 and dealing with Alzheimer’s. If he’s going to get one last set of Grammys wouldn’t it be better to do it sooner rather than later? Well, they must have some good reasons.

A video is coming Friday with the track “I Get a Kick Out of You,” on the mostly irrelevant MTV on Friday.

Well, at least today is Tony Bennett Day in New York. And he has a beautiful plaque on a bench in Central Park. And tonight he celebrates his birthday by performing at Radio City Music Hall with Lady Gaga.

It’s all good!

The track list for “Love for Sale”:

1 – It’s De-Lovely

2 – Night and Day

3 – Love For Sale

4 – Do I Love You

5 – I Concentrate On You

6 – I Get a Kick Out of You

7 – So In Love

8 – Let’s Do It

9 – Just One of Those Things

10 – Dream Dancing

11 – I’ve Got You Under My Skin (DELUXE VERSION)

12 – You’re The Top (DELUXE VERSION)

Sundance Welcoming Audiences Back This Winter, But Fully Vaccinated Only, Keeping Digital Screenings

Roger Friedman
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Sundance Welcoming Audiences Back This Winter, But Fully Vaccinated Only, Keeping Digital Screenings

The Sundance Film Festival is coming back this winter. But everyone who attends must be fully vaccinated.

The festival will also be a mixture of in person and virtual, with digital screenings remaining for all the films. If you want to go to Park City, you will be welcomed— again, fully vaccinated.

Here’s a letter from Festival director Tabitha Jackson that’s gone out this morning.

My PS is that last year’s digital festival worked out beautifully. I’m looking forward to it again this year, but a lot of people– particularly skiiers — will want to get out to Park City this time around.
I do miss the Egyptian Theater and Main Street, even when the snow is coming right at you!

A message from Festival Director Tabitha Jackson on the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, January 20–30, 2022.

Dear Friends,

This time last year, I wrote to share some early thoughts about how we were approaching my first Sundance Film Festival as director — and the first Sundance to be held in the midst of a pandemic.

Since 1985, artists and audiences have gathered at the Festival to affirm the transformative power of independent film and media. And for all of those years, the Festival took place in our home state of Utah… until 2021, when we came together not in a place but in a moment, from places all around the world.

The 2021 Festival unfolded online and through Satellite Screens across the country. Bold, distinctive, expressive works met their first audiences. There were breakout hits and beautiful discoveries — and to our relief, people showed up! Last year’s Festival welcomed more young people and more people who had never been able to participate before. There was nothing “virtual” about the connections forged in the New Frontier space or the shared experience of watching films that have stayed with us ever since; all of this was real.

In other words: It was Sundance, in a new form.

In six months’ time, we will have completed another trip around the sun. So much has already happened in the course of that journey: a year of immense loss, a year of births and possibilities, a year of fires and floods, a year in which extraordinary work has been created. As we celebrate the new possibilities sparked by last year’s Festival and navigate the ongoing realities of this pandemic, we are planning how to come back together to make meaning through art and ideas.

In January 2022, the Sundance Film Festival will be the site of a new convergence.

We are delighted that the community can once again make the annual pilgrimage back to the Festival in Utah, and we also invite audiences to join us online from wherever they are. In that spirit, I want to share some details that may help shape your plans:

Submissions are open, and we are building the program. The 2022 Festival program will be larger than last year’s, but we will maintain a tight focus (somewhere in the realm of 80 features). All official feature film selections will play both in person and online. We will hold in-person screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City, and at the Sundance Mountain Resort. As always, films will premiere in the opening half of the Festival, which this year will be from Thursday, January 20, through Tuesday, January 25, 2022, with additional screenings to follow through the end of the Festival. Online premieres will follow the in-person premieres, using our custom-built online platform that was home to last year’s festival. Awards will be announced on Friday, January 28, leading to a final weekend of award-winner screenings in person and online.

Health and safety is paramount. As we plan for the 2022 Festival, one of our most important considerations is how best to safely bring together artists, audiences, volunteers, and staff from around the world. As part of our commitment to this community, we will be requiring all participants attending the Festival, or Sundance-affiliated events, in person in Utah to be fully vaccinated. We are providing this information now to ensure that all in-person participants feel comfortable attending, and can adjust their travel plans if needed. We will share our full details and processes for health precautions closer to the Festival, including theater capacity along with information on mask-wearing. We will continue to assess other elements of health and safety protocols regularly and in accordance with best practices.

We’ll keep connecting local communities across the country. Regional cinemas and arts organizations and their audiences are a crucial part of independent filmmaking, and we are grateful for the new possibilities that have come from our partnerships with Satellite Screens. The 2022 Festival will continue the program we launched in 2021, working with up to 10 partners across the United States to connect directly with local audiences and artists. Each Satellite Screen will show selections from the Festival’s official program during closing weekend: Friday, January 28, through Sunday, January 30, 2022.

The soul of Sundance has always been in the coming together of a community: around new voices, new work, new forms, and new perspectives. During last year’s Festival, even when denied the chance to gather in a single place, the power of converging in a single moment was undeniable. We were able to expand the possibility of who could take part. And as we prepare for 2022, we remain committed to this invitation to new audiences.

It’s no coincidence that our festival bursts into life at the beginning of each new year. It is a time for new beginnings, to reflect on what has been, and to imagine what might come to be. We have taken this journey around the sun 37 times since 1985, and this ritual repetition, this annual pilgrimage, has only served to affirm the urgency, vitality, and expressive power of independent film and media. By fiercely holding space for independent perspectives and media created outside the mainstream market, we as a community can spark new narratives, protect bold critiques of power, and deepen our understanding of what is possible. It has never been more essential.

So, as we complete one orbit around the brightest star and prepare to begin another, let’s ask ourselves: What will be illuminated this coming year? What new possibilities will be revealed? How will this convergence change the nature of our trajectory in ways that we have not yet imagined?

For the bold, the curious, the independent-minded everywhere, I’m looking forward to seeing you in Utah and beyond in 2022.

Yours,

Tabitha Jackson

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