If you want to win tickets to see Maroon 5 at Musikfest on Aug. 6, our Lehigh Valley Music blog wants to give you something to believe in.

Lehigh Valley Music, with the help of Musikfest parent ArtsQuest, is ready to give away a pair of front-row tickets to see Grammy-nominated R&B/pop band Maroon 5 when it plays Musikfest’s Steel Stage at the new Steel Stacks Center on Aug. 6.

ArtsQuest is providing the tickets because, in a good-natured wager, it challenged this blog to scoop it on an announcement of its next headliner. We deduced it was Maroon 5, but Musikfest announced a cappella sensation Straight No Chaser’s Aug. 11 concert on Feb. 10.

But when Musikfest announced days later that Maroon 5 also would be coming, it decided to give us the tickets to give away, anyway.

So on Friday, we’ll start the Something to Believe In contest.

On Friday and continuing for nine days after that, one of the blog items posted on Lehigh Valley Music each day will include a hidden phrase from a Maroon 5 song.

Again, these are FRONT-ROW tickets, so the contest won’t be easy. You’ll have to search blog items — we post several on most days — and know (or search) Maroon 5 lyrics so you’ll be able to identify them.  Only one blog item each day will include the phrase of the day.

We’ll try to make them identifiable so that it’s not some phrase that could fit any song ever written.

But, having said that, you have the find the 10 phrases that we intended to hide. Don’t try to argue “but THESE words are in a Maroon 5 song, too.” That won’t cut it – our choices are final.

After the 10^th day, Feb. 27^th the Lehigh Valley Music blog will provide instructions on how to submit your list.  The first person to submit an entire list of correct phrases wins.

The winner will be declared before tickets go on sale to ArtsQuest members March 1.

So start reading Lehigh Valley Music very closely Friday, you Maroon 5 fans. And we’ll see the lucky winners in the front row Aug. 6.

Those who attended the Bob Dylan-John Mellencamp-Willie Nelson concert in July 2009 at Allentown’s Coca-Cola Park may have a chance to see themselves on the big screen. And we don’t mean the park’s Jumbotron.

The July 14, 2009, crowd at Coca-Cola Park

The Coca-Cola Park show was filmed — as were all 21 of the minor league baseball park shows that six-week tour played — for possible use in Mellencamp’s new documentary “It’s About You.”

The hour-long movie, which chronicles Mellencamp’s recording of his latest disc, “No Better Than This” at stops on the tour, is being used as the “opening act” on the roots rocker’s current theater tour, which stops Monday at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music.

But it also is headed for commercial release. It will premiere as one of the featured selections chosen for the 2011 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival on March 12.

In a recent telephone interview to promote the Philly concert, Mike Wanchic, Mellencamp’s guitarist of 30 years, said he’s not sure whether Coca-Cola Park shows up in the film, because there’s lots of scenes of concert footage.

“I don’t know which ones they are, ‘cause it’s usually stage shots. So it’s a little difficult to say. But you guys got as good a shot as anybody else,” Wanchic said with a laugh. Wanchic said filmmaker Kurt Markus “shot every single show.”

Mellencamp at Coca-Cola Park

Chances are that, if the film wants to show crowds, the July 14, 2009, Coca-Cola Park concert is in it. With a crowd of 11,000, the show was the first sellout on the tour and the tour’s largest audience. It was the ninth date and seventh stadium on the tour.

A trailer of the film shows crowds, stadium interiors and highways, but none are easily identifiable as Coca-Cola Park or the Lehigh Valley.

Mellencamp publicist Bob Merlis said Markus used Super 8 film to document the recording of the T-Bone Burnett-produced “No Better Than This” using a single microphone and a mono tape recorder more than a half-century old.

The Trailer for 'It's About You'

One recording session was in Room 414 of San Antonio’s Gunter Hotel with Mellencamp in the same corner of the room where blues legend Robert Johnson had recorded “Come On In My Kitchen” and “Cross Road Blues” among others more than 70 years earlier.

He also recorded at The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., where runaway slaves were hidden, and Sun Studio in Memphis, where Mellencamp stood where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Howlin’ Wolf had before him.  

Markus was assisted in the project by his son Ian, now a film student at the University of Montana. The followed Mellencamp to 26 cities in 18 states to document not only Mellencamp’s musical performances, “but also the context of these shows as economic upheaval and diaspora have changed American lives and landscapes.”

In Mellencamp’s current tour, the concerts start with the film, then he and his band play for two hours, Wanchic said.

Here are the Top 5 concerts for the coming week:

1. MATT WHITE & BRENDAN JAMES

New Jersey singer-songwriter Matt White got a bump in publicity for the release of his sophomore  sophomore disc, “It’s  the Good Crazy,” when his song “Love” was used in the commercial for the revival of McDonald’s McRib sandwich.

                                                     Matt White

This week with his newest single, “Falling in Love (With My Best Friend),” released to radio, White had another song, “Valentine’s Day,” featured on www.amazon.com. White opened for Edwin McCain at Sellersville Theater in November, but his set was cut so short, he missed his biggest hit, 2007’s “Best Days,” which played over the closing credits of the movie “Shrek the Third.”

Now he’s touring with Brendan James, another New York singer-songwriter who’s also promoting a second album.     

8 p.m. Feb. 23 (Doors open at 6), Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave. Tickets: $17.50 and $29.50, members $7.50. www.st94.com, 215-257-5808.

 

2. GWAR

Theatrical speed metal band GWAR last played Allentown’ Crocodile Rock Café for its 25th anniversary tour back in June. Eight months later, well, it’s still on that tour.

That should give you an idea that GWAR doesn’t take itself, or its story of being a band of aliens sent to conquer earth, too seriously. But that doesn’t stop the heavily costumed band from putting on a heck of a show.

At least the band is refreshed. This will be just the second date of the last  leg of its anniversary tour, and it even released a new album, “Bloody Pit of Horror,” its 12th studio disc, in November. It just came out on vinyl last week, as did its last release, “Lust in Space.”

7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 (doors at 6:30), Crocodile Rock Café, 520 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. Tickets: $16 advance, $18 day of show. www.crocodilerockcafe.com, 610-434-4600.

3. DICKEY BETTS & GREAT SOUTHERN

Dickey Betts is best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band who, after Duane Allman’s death, was the band’s sole guitarist through 2000. With him, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won its only Grammy Award for his instrumental “Jessica” in 1996.

But a year after marking The Allman Brothers Band’s 30th anniversary, Betts had a falling out with the band and set out with his own group. Dickey Betts & Great Southern have been touring ever since. In 2009, Betts announced he was retiring from touring but, obviously, hasn’t yet.

8:30 p.m. Feb. 18 (doors at 6), Penn’s Peak, 325 Maury Road, Penn Forest Township (near Jim Thorpe). Tickets: $27 advance, $32 day of show, general admission seating. www.pennspeak.com, 866-605-7325.

4. BEN ARNOLD BAND

Piano-playing singer-songwriter Ben Arnold has performed in and around Philadelphia for the past 15 years — he opened for David Johansen at Sellersville Theater 1894 this month -- with his Randy Newman voice and John Hiatt lyrics and energy all his own.

But he’s also played around the region, the West Coast and Europe and appeared with Martin Sexton, Lucinda Williams and even, yes, Randy Newman.

He’ll headline Jim Thorpe’s Winter Fest festival. Bonus: Opening will be Bethlehem's up-and-coming Billy Bauer Band, with a sound approaching something like Dave Matthews.

8:30 p.m. Feb. 19 (doors at 7:30), Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. Tickets: $17. www.mauchchunkoperahouse.com, 570-325-0249.

5. LOS LOBOS and TAJ MAHAL

American Chicano band Los Lobos still may be best known for its wonderful 1984 major label debut disc, “How Will the Wolf Survive” or its turn on Richie Valens covers for the soundtrack for the 1987 film “La Bamba.”

                                                       Los Lobos

But as great as those were, Los Lobos has continued to release great music since. They even branched out into “Los Lobos Goes Disney” in 2009, and member David Hidalgo added a warm accordion to Bob Dylan’s triumphant “Together Through Life” album that same year.

Huge bonus: Grammy-winning blues musician Taj Mahal will open the show.

7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside.  Tickets: $49, $59. www.keswicktheatre.com, 215-572-7650.

Lehigh Valley Music, with the help of Musikfest, is going to give away a pair of front-row tickets to see R&B/pop band Maroon 5 when it plays the Bethlehem festival’s new Steel Stage on Aug. 6.

The festival is providing the tickets because, in a good-natured wager, it challenged this blog to scoop it on an announcement of its next headliner. We guessed Maroon 5, but Musikfest announced Straight No Chaser. But when it announced Maroon 5 days later, it decided to give us the tickets to give away, anyway.

So starting Friday, we’ll be conducting a contest to win those tickets.

Again, these are FRONT-ROW tickets, so the contest won’t be easy. And it will be geared to Maroon 5 fans. But anyone will be welcome to participate.

We’ll announce details of the contest tomorrow here at Lehigh Valley Music, so check back.

It seems like the music act people would most like to see at Musikfest’s new Steel  Stage main venue when it opens in August is none other than the “American Idol” runner-up who sold out its former main stage last year — Adam Lambert.

And the second most popular choice was another “Idol’ second-place finisher, David Archuleta.

After Musikfest this month announced three of its 10 headliners for the 2011 festival in Bethlehem — 1970s rocker Steve Miller, a cappella sensation Straight No Chaser and R&B/pop hitmakers Maroon 5 — Lehigh Valley Music asked readers who they would like to see.

In one week, the question drew 91 posted responses who offered a dizzying 88 suggestions for Musikfest to sign — ranging from the too-big-to-be likely Dave Matthews Band to the provincial promotion of Stroudsburg-based teen band Forbidden Dream.

But the two camps for Lambert and Archuleta —well known for the enthusiastic support of their favs — made up more than half the suggestions.

Almost a third — more than 32 percent — chose Lambert. And more a quarter — more than 25 percent — chose Archuleta.

The only other act to draw more than three votes was electronic pop singer Owl City, who has never performed in the area but was scheduled to support Panic! at the Disco when that band broke up (ironically, a reconstituted band is touring again) and canceled its scheduled show in 2009. Owl City got five votes.

Irish pop-rockers The Script, 1980s rockers REM, 1970s rocker Bob Seeger and former Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler all got three votes. Eleven others — including Black Keys, Cheap Trick, Chicken Foot, The Allman Brothers, Moody Blues, Band of Horses and The Decemberists — got two.

Lambert sold out Musikfest’s former 6,500-ticket RiverPlace main stage in 2010 and gave a very theatrical show, with lasers, choreography and costumes, make-up and masks and singing that was best when slow and sung well, such as an acoustic “Whattya Want From Me” or “Aftermath.”

So it would seem he has a chance at selling out the new 7,200- ticket Steel Stage.

It would also help that he plans to release “Glam Nation Live,” a CD/DVD, on March 22nd. Shot in Indianapolis on Aug. 31, it features 12 tracks plus a bonus cut. He’s showcasing clips on VEVO.

 “Would LOVE to see Grammy Nominee Mr. Adam Lambert at Musikfest again,” wrote Debbie. “Saw him last year and he rocked the place !!! I was so proud of Mr. Lambert selling out the venue since I live in the Lehigh Valley.”

Archuleta hasn’t played Musikfest, but he had a near sold-out solo show at Allentown’s Crocodile Rock Café in March 2009, a sold-out Christmas show at Stroudsburg’s Sherman Theater in December 2009 and drew 3,700 to a co-headline show with Demi Lovato at Wilikes-Barre’s Mohegan Sun Arena in June 2009.

He also has a new album out – October’s “Other Side of Down,” which peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s albums chart.

“OMGosh...David Archuleta needs to headline...his live performances are crazy FUN! LUV him!” wrote Kelly.

Lina favored both.

“David Archuleta, now his act is one to see live,” she wrote. “He is a fantastic singer and performer. He is absolutely breathtaking to listen to, and funny too! I also like Adam Lambert. Both are great. Neither one need any technical help for their vocals, like so many other performers do today.”

The list of suggested  musical acts was broadly diverse. In included the rock of Avenge Sevenfold, pop-rock of Nickleback, ‘tween singer Miranda Cosgrove (‘tween singer Selena Gomez sold out RiverPlace last year, and Cosgrove just sold out Keswick Theater in Glenside.)

Also, Rush, who played Allentown Fair last year, rockers UFO, Cheap Trick, Furthur (who drew more than 4,000 to Stabler Arena last year), The Scorpions (who are on a farewell tour), The  Pretenders and more.

Tony Bennett, the storied singer of standards and popular music who has won 15 Grammy Awards and had albums reach platinum status 44 years apart, will headline Gala 2011, the primary fund-raiser for Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center.

The concert will be Oct. 22. Concert ticket information was not immediately released, but will be available at www.zoellnerartscenter.org.

The announcement drew gasps of delight Tuesday from a crowd at Zoellner’s Fun in the Footlights celebration.

It will be the first time Bennett, 84, has performed in the Lehigh Valley in more than a dozen years, last playing here on Musikfest’s opening night in 1999, when he drew 12,000 people to the festival’s former Kunstplatz main stage.

“He left his heart in San Francisco, but he’s bringing it back to the Lehigh Valley — Mr. Tony Bennett,” said Andy Hines, Lutron Electronics’ director of facilities.

“I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” released in 1962, is Bennett’s signature song, and won him his first Grammy. But he’s had 34 Top 40 hits in a 60-year recording career, including No. 1 records “Because of You,” “Cold, Cold Heart” and “Rags to Riches,” all of which were gold sellers.

In all, more than 11 of Bennett’s albums have gone gold or platinum.

He experienced a career revival in 1994 when he appeared on MTV’s popular “Unplugged” series with guests such as Elvis Costello and k.d. lang. The album from the show went platinum and won the 1995 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

Then in 2006, his popularity again rose with the release of the album “Duets: An American Classic,” on which he sang with Bono from U2, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, Billy Joel, Elton John, Sting and others. The disc hit No. 3 on the Billboard albums chart and went platinum.

Bennett’s latest Grammy came in 2007 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, for that album’s song “For Once in My Life” with Stevie Wonder. He won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.

His most recent release was 2008’s three-disc updated version of his “The Essential Tony Bennett.”

“Tony Bennett will be a perfect fit for us here at Zoellner, said Z. Candi Staurinos, Zoellner's director of advertising, promotion and media relations. She noted the diversity the gala has sought brought cellist Yo-Yo Ma last year and singer Natalie Cole in 2009. Together, the three have won 41 Grammys.

Bennett also has won two Emmy Awards, the latest for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 2007 for “Tony Bennett: An American Classic.” He was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2005.

Funds raised at the gala support the arts at Lehigh University by bridging the gap between ticket revenue and the cost of presenting shows.

Staurinos said the rest of Zoellner’s 2011-12 season is being finalized and will be announced later. The present season continues through May.

For information on the gala or sponsorships, contact Maureen Connolley, Zoellner’s director of development, at 610-758-6172 or gala2011@lehigh.edu.

After the overwhelmingly positive reactions to my comments about the Grammy Awards’ wacky winners list, I’ve got one thing to say.

Here’s my reactions to the Grammys’ wacky performance list.

Actually, the performances weren’t nearly as overwhelmingly bad as the winners list. There actually were some really good, if not great, performances.

But there also were some as bad as choosing Esperenza Spalding as Best New Artist. (Did that really happen?)

And one of the worst was the cringe-inducing opening tribute to Aretha Franklin by Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams and Marina McBride. I felt embarrassed for Aretha.

'Tribute' to Aretha Franklin 

Why any telecast would touch Christina after her embarrassing – and not just because she  forgot the words – national anthem at  the Super Bowl is beyond me. But there she was, screeching and wailing off-key and trying to hog the spotlight.

I also felt bad for Jennifer Hudson, who was  the only singer among them who even approached Aretha. Welch, front woman for Florence + The Machine was next best and gospel singer Adams at least also had the right vibe. But McBride (who played Musikfest last year), was mediocre at best.       

I was looking forward to Eminem’s performance of “Love the Way You Lie (Part II),” but god Rhianna is a bad singer. I’ve heard a lot of dog wails that were more on key. Skylar Gray was better on her lines. And having Dr. Dre join in, no matter how briefly, was cool.

She was better with Drake on “What’s My Name,” but curiously, her vocals seemed to continue when the mic wasn’t at her mouth. Huh? Maybe that’s why she sounded  better.

Speaking of bad singers, Katy Perry also was off key, and weak to boot, on her “Not Like the Movies” and “Teenage Dream.”

Speaking of lip-syncing, I don’t think Justin Bieber did. His take on “Baby” on acoustic guitar was in a  far lower register than the record. Now Usher looked like he was lip-syncing on “OMG.” Bieber’s “Never Say Never” was OK, but Jayden Smith didn’t add anything for me.

Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” with her climbing out of a womb or pod, was a hot mess. The song sounds like a Madonna cast-off, and Gaga’s “shock” value is wearing thin. Reminds me of how everybody tired of talk show host Morrton Downey Jr.’s (anyone remember him?) constant efforts to be shocking. Gaga’s wacky speech about wanting Whitney Houston to sing the song was more entertaining.

Miranda Lambert didn’t sound her best – but she did sound like Dolly Parton – on “The House That Built Me.”

Muse’s  “Uprising” was meh – sounded like an updated version of Blondie’s “Call Me.”

Barbara Streisand was pretty good on “Evergreen,” but clearly her voice is much diminished. And I thought it was a weird choice to sing a 35-year-old song.

Now to the good performances.

Cee Lo Green’s “(Forget) You,” with Muppet characters, was crazy. He’s the black Elton John. It put him in a new light for me – except it was dumb to have Gwyneth Paltrow on it.   

Lady Antebellum (who played Allentown Fair last year) gave a far better tribute than the opening number when they honored Teddy Pendergrass by singing “If You Don’t Know Me by Now.” They also were very nice on piano-heavy versions of their own “American Honey” and “Need You Now.”

Norah Jones, who also played Musikfest last year, was great on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” with John Mayer and Keith Urban, who played Allentown Fair last year. Jones showed exactly the feeling – and restraint – the song required. That’s something Aguilera never, ever will understand.

Mick Jagger was amazing on Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.” Just amazing. The fact that his voice and moves  come from a  67-year-old man make him otherworldly.

I loved  Bruno Mars, B.o. B and Janelle Monet on a soul/doo-wop turn on Mars’ “Nothin On You,” “Beautiful Girls” and “Grenade.”  I respect Mars more with every  live performance.  And talk about tributes: The move in which he spun and dropped to his  knees like James Brown was great.

But the best performance of the night was the Avette Brothers (who played a sold-out show at Musikfest last year), Mumford and Sons and Bob Dylan. Both of the groups were inspired – great playing, great performance, great songs.

And that carried over to Dylan’s performance of “Maggie’s Farm” was every bit a good as his entire show last November at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem. He was animated, gesturing broadly with his hands, and played a great harmonica.

His bluesman’s rasp voice added something sinister to the song – which is pretty sinister to begin with. Dylan just let it fly, and was great.

As for Arcade Fire, I really liked  their performance of “Month of May.” It had great energy, and was musically impressive. And the band’s decision to play “Ready to Start” – reportedly unplanned – at the end of the show was  a true rock and roll moment in the decidedly un-rock and roll Grammys.

I like them. I really do. But they still shouldn’t have won Album of the Year.

A popular “American Idol” contestant who finished second but who looks with each passing year like he should have won is headed for a starring role in the Broadway play  “American Idiot.”

No, it’s not Adam Lambert, who lost to Kris Allen in 2009 – even though we all know he’s going to end up there someday.

It’s Doylestown resident Justin Guarini, who finished second to Kelly Clarkson on the first “Idol” season back in 2002.

Guarini  was announced as one of the replacement actors starting in the play March 1 at the St. James Theater.

Guarini, right, sitting, in the cast of 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'

He will take over Michael Esper's role of Will, a self-destructive suburban punk who descends into a drug-fueled life. The show follows three working-class characters as they wrestle with modern life. The others join the Army and become a father.

Other replacements include AFI rocker Davey Havok, who will play St. Jimmy, the role now filled by Billie Joe Armstrong, front man for the band Green Day, on whose album the play is based. Armstrong will play his final performance on Feb. 27.

 Ensemble members Van Hughes and Libby Winters graduate to Johnny and the Extraordinary Girl.

Guarini made his Broadway debut in November in the musical adaptation of the Pedro Almodóvar Academy Award-winning 1988 comedy "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," playing the role of Carlos, the son of Ivan and Lucia portrayed in the movie by Antonio Banderas.

 And he previously appeared in a workshop version of the Beach Boys musical "Good Vibrations" and with "Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson in the film "From Justin to Kelly."

Guarini, 31, has been the host of TV Guide Network's "Idol Wrap" and "Idol Tonight" shows. He worked TV Guide's pre-Grammy Awards red carpet show on Sunday.

 After "Idol," he signed with RCA Records and released a self-titled debut disc, but later left the label.

He last released music on an acoustic EP, "Resolve," in 2008, and has performed shows with his father-in-law's smooth jazz band, Drivetime.

Best Known On These Shores ...
... for their 1988 radio hit "Under the Milky Way," veteran Australian guitar band, The Church, brings their unique brand of chiming psychedelia to The Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Now starting their fourth decade together, the four-piece comprised of bassist/vocalist Steve Kilbey, guitarists/vocalists Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes and drummer Tim Powlesare staging a tour unlike any other: They're playing two of their best-loved records (1992's fan favorite "Priest-Aura" and U.S. breakthrough "Starfish") and one new record (2009's critically lauded "Untitled No. 23") back-to-back.

Stylistically, The Church are a long way from the taut, spare songs of "Starfish." Each release since has seen the band explore dreamier more wide open territories. Their most recent record, "Untitled No. 23" (Second Motion) was lauded as one of their best efforts in a career replete with high points.

Speaking from his hotel in Washington D.C., Kilbey was expansive in talking about the genesis of the tour; his band's recent elevation to Australia's equivalent of the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame and what the future holds for the combo).

Here's a partial transcript of that conversation.

Q: Can you talk about the genesis of this tour, how you decided to play three albums back-to-back?

A: "With intermissions (laughs). It wasn't very original. We looked around to see what other bands were doing. Marty went and saw Steely Dan and they were doing two albums. We went to do three albums. When we started rehearsing, I said, 'Who’s idiot idea was this?' But the first night we did it, it really worked out well. I’m glad we decided to do it."

Q: There are stylistic links between "Priest=Aura" and "Untitled No. 23." How did "Starfish" come into the mix?

A: "That’s our most popular record. As Marty glibly points out, there's a record [in the tour] from each decade -- the '80s, '90s, and the 2000s. That’s our record from the 1980s. It’s our most popular record, It’s the one people really want to hear."

Q: You've been on record repeatedly against the 80s nostalgia trend. How does this kick against that?

A: "I don’t think it is nostalgia ... there’s a really difference. It’s not a showbiz routine here. We’re not trying to recreate the old days. We’re representing an old work. And we’re playing it in its entirety. We’re a playing brand new work and a mid-period work, which were considered by our fans as our landmark albums of those particular times. It’s not nostalgia at all. But I’m sure it can make people feel nostalgic and sentimental. I’ve heard of grown businessmen in tears at the end of it all. And wives saying they’ve never seen him like that before."

Q: "Priest=Aura" is a very densely textured record. There's a lot going on in the music. Was it difficult trying to recreate it in a live setting?

A: "This is how it worked: We had two weeks to figure it out. We spent one-and-a-half weeks on [Priest=Aura]. We spent five days on ["Starfish"]. It seems easy now. But we did not play it a lot at the time."

Q: The Church were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2010. Is that something you ever expected?

A: "It’s never expected when you’re just a bloke in a band. It’s nice. It’s something in it, I guess. It’s better than the opposite. You can’t be wild and free for 30 years. The real truth is, we’re still kind of meandering across the musical countryside. No one knows what we’re going to do next. We’re not going to be contained. We’re running over that dam wall and flowing into new pastures. We’re not just going to be contained by ours or anyone else’s expectations. Hope to make a few more really interesting and beautiful albums."

Q: You've played The Trocadero a number of times over the years. What keeps you coming back to that venue?

A: "It’s a great venue, like no other we’re playing on this tour. All the other venues we’ve played have been rather slick and civilized, rather I’ll take my wife out and have a glass of wine. The Troc is a true rock-and-roll venue. The audience is just going to stand there. I find it very hard to go and stand up for three hours. I can run around and sing for three hours. I can sort of sympathize with people. The Troc has true rock and roll cred. It’s the real deal. It's right in the middle of the city there. It'sgot that high stage. It hasn’t go that middle-class family values feeling. I like them all. They’re all sort of different battlefields to play."

If You Go:
Who: The Church What: Future Past Perfect US Tour 2011
Where: The Trocadero, 10th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia
When: Doors, 7 p.m.; Show, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $35 in advance, $37 at the door (All Ages).

The bad news for me, I suppose,  is that of the 11 categories in which I picked a winner for Sunday’s 53^rd annual Grammy Awards, I was right in only five.

The good news is that, I wasn’t really wrong. It was the Academy’s choices that were miles off base.

                                                                                     Spalding

I don’t think there was anyone in the world who wasn’t surprised when jazz bassist and vocalist Esperenza Spalding. The very quiet reaction to her choice over Justin Bieber (who played Allentown Fair in September), Drake, Florence + The Machine and Mumford & Sons spoke volumes.

Not only shouldn’t she have won, she shouldn’t even have been nominated. And not just because there are a million artists more deserving, but because she’s been recording since 2001 – yes, 10 years! “New” artist in what way?

And Arcade Fire winning Album of the Year? Oh come on. Look, I like Arcade Fire as much as the next guy. They have crazy energy live and a great sound. But their music very derivative and there’s nothing that elevates the album to top of the category.

A better choice than Eminem’s “Recovery”? Than Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster”? Than Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”? I think not. In 10 years, Arcade Fire’s disc will long be forgotten.   

It was just another example of how totally out of touch the Grammys are, always have been and always will be. My guess is that the votes were attempts by the academy members to look hip and inclusive, and like the nerd in high school who tried to be cool with his music, it just gave all us cool kids more reason to ignore them.

Or, in the case of Spalding, to look inclusive. And instead looked clueless.

Those were the awards’ worst transgressions, but hardly their only ones.

I love the fact that Lady Antebellum – who played Allentown Fair last year -- swept the night, winning five of the six categories for which they were nominated, including the big Record of the Year an Song of the Year. (Ironically, they also were one of those who were better than Arcade Fire in Album of the Year). I was correct that they would win Best Country Song for “Need You Now.”

Lady Antebellum

But some of their  wins came at a price. Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” should have cruised in Record of the Year and Song of the Year.  What I expected to be a sweep for Slim Shady ended up being Best Rap album and a lesser raps category win.

I also loved Train, who played Stroudsburg’s Sherman Theater in March, was rewarded for its hit “Hey Soul Sister.”  But for it to win Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group for a live version of the song a year after its official release was passed over for any Grammy award smelled of catch-up by the academy.

Maroon 5, who will play Bethlehem’s Musikfest festival in August, should have won for its “Misery.” But the award gave Train singer Pat Monahan the best acceptance line of the night: “Thanks, Justin Bieber, for not being a duo or group.” Even he knew Bieber should have won Best New Artist.

I was right on the two categories Lady Gaga won:  Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Bad Romance” (for which she also  won Best Short Form Video) and Best Pop Vocal Album for “The Fame Monster.”

And I was right on Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are,” and right that it would be his only win in his seven nominations.

I also was right that Keith Urban would win Best Male Country Vocal performance for “’Til Summer Comes Around.” That song was the highlight of his show at Allentown Fair in September.

One category in which I was happy to be wrong was for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, which gave Doylestown native Pink her third Grammy and first since 2004, when “Trouble” won Best Female Rock Performance.

                                                            Pink

This time she won for “Imagine” with Herbie Hancock, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare. She won in the same category in 2001 for "Lady Marmalade."

The Grammys got one right. But even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Two Allentown-born jazz musicians who were vying to become the first Lehigh Valley-born winner of a Grammy Award again watched others claim music’s biggest honors Sunday at the 53rd annual awards ceremony.

A spoken worde album with local ties also didn't win.

Denise Donatelli

But Doylestown native Pink won her third Grammy and first since 2004. 

Iconic improvisational pianist Keith Jarrett, 65, was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for his song “Body and Soul” from the album “Jasmine.” But the award went to Herbie Hancock for his song “A Change Is Gonna Come” from the disc “The Imagine Project.”

Parkland High School graduate Denise Donatelli, 60, whose disc “When Lights are Low” was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album lost to Dee Dee Bridgewater’s “Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billie With Love From Dee Dee.”

Donatelli’s album also had a nomination for the disc’s arranger and pianist Geoffrey Keezer for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist. But that award went to Christopher Tin for “Baba Yetu,” a track from Christopher Tin, Soweto Gospel Choir & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s disc “Calling All Dawns.”

                                                  Keith Jarrett

The results mean a native of Lehigh or Northampton county still has not won a Grammy, according to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Grammys.

The awards were handed out in the Grammy’s pre-telecast ceremony, which was streamed live on the Internet.

The nominations were a study in contrasts. Jarrett has had a 45-year career in which he has released scores of albums – including his 1975 triple-platinum “The Koln Concert,” best-selling album in jazz history – and two previous Grammy nominations.

For Donatelli, it was her first Grammy nomination for just the third album in her five-year-old recording career.

“What an amazing experience,” Donatelli said with a laugh in a telephone interview after the ceremony in Los Angeles. “Whenever you watch an awards show and people say that it was just an honor to be nominated, it sounds like such a cliché. But it’s truly an honor to have been nominated.

“The company that I’m in, it’s a blessing. When I look at the people who were nominated in the same category, and others who weren’t, I’m a fan of them all. I feel totally blessed. It’s no cliché.”

In Bridgewater’s exuberant acceptance speech, she thanked Donatelli and the category’s other nominees, Freddie Cole, Lorraine Feather and Gregory Porter. “I’m so grateful to be in your company,” Bridgewater said.

Hancock’s win was something of a surprise. The category’s sentimental favorite was Hank Jones, the pianist and bandleader who in May died at age 91. Also nominated were Winton Marsalis and Alan Broadbent.

Jarrett’s publicist did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Jarrett was born in Allentown, began studying piano at age 3 with city piano teachers and graduated from Emmaus High School.

Donatelli also was a child piano prodigy and even shared teachers and rides to practices with Jarrett, but didn’t begin singing professionally until about two decades ago, when she lived in Atlanta. She later moved to Los Angeles, and recorded her first album in 2005.

The awards for which Jarrett and Donatelli were nominated were handed out by pop star Sara Bareilles, who will open for Sugarland on Sept. 2 at Allentown Fair. Tickets went on sale Saturday.

The pre-telecast ceremony was hosted by Bobby McFerrin and jazz singer/bassist Esperanza Spalding.

“Healthy Food For Thought: Good Enough to Eat,” a project supporting nutrition and childhood obesity awareness that was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children also had local ties, and also was unsuccessful at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

The disc, a project of The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, featured artists such as Moby, Julian Lennon and Tom Chapin, but also features poetry by Valley resident Gloria Domina and readings by “American Idol” finalist Tyler Grady of Nazareth and Barry Hay, a Lehigh Valley Music Awards board member.

The project was started by Kevin Mackie of Quakertown, a partner at East Coast Recording Co. in Warminster.

It lost the Grammy to actress Julie Andrews’ “Julie Andrews' Collection Of Poems, Songs, And Lullabies.”

Pink won for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for “Imagine,” a track from “The Imagine Project” with Herbie Hancock, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare. She had previously won in 2001, also for Best Pop Collaboration for Vocals, for "Lady Marmalade."

She won again in 2004 for Best Female Rock Performance for "Trouble."

Pink

She also was nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for "Imagine," but that award went to Baba Yetu, as well.

She also was a featured artist on Eminem's "Recovery," which was nominated for Album of the Year, but lost to Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs"

By Steve Siegel Special to The Morning Call

One of the great things about semi-staged opera is the closeness of the singers and the orchestra to the audience, an intimacy that often gets lost in the formality of full-scale productions. The Allentown Symphony Orchestra's semi-staged production of "Carmen" at Symphony Hall Saturday night, which was to be repeated on Sunday afternoon, is a case in point.

The marvelously engaging story of the torrid love affair of a sensuous Gypsy temptress with a young Spanish soldier lost little in this abridged version. If anything, it seemed more concentrated and accessible. Partly this was due to the power of its principal singers -- Cristina Nassif as Carmen, Viktor Antipenko as Don Jose and baritone Eric Dubin as Escamillo.

But a big part of its success lies in its thoughtfully conceived, well-planned staging. The orchestra, on a raised platform at the rear of the stage, became a scenic part of the performance during entractes and preludes, then tended to fade from visual prominence as focus was concentrated on the singers. Brief, unobtrusive narration between acts by Matthew Braccili compensated for missing scenes, and projected supertitles helped the enthusiastic audience of over 1,000 follow the dialogue -- that is, unless you were in the last six rows of the orchestra, where the titles were invisible.

Costumes were simple affairs in basic black -- the men in suites, the women in flowing skirts, with only Carmen wearing a subtle dash of red, either as a scarf or a red rose in her hair. Subtle moving video images in black and white -- drifting clouds, a moon floating across a starry sky, twinkling lanterns -- projected onto a large screen filling the back wall of the stage added to the romantic atmosphere and drama.

And drama there certainly was. Nassif strutted across the stage, flaunting a combination of grace and earthy physicality, her voice remarkably full and gutsy. While she was less than fiery in the famous Act I "Habanera," she made up for it with everything else she attacked, especially so in a passionate performance of "Pres des ramparts de Seville" with duet partner Antipenko.

Antipenko portrayed the passion of a spurned lover with frightening realism, especially in the final act, when he charges at Carmen, knife in hand, like an enraged bull. Dubin's deep, throaty baritone, backed by a rousing chorus, made the popular "Toreador Song" of Act II one of the evening's highlights.

Act II was also notable for the jaunty clarinet solo in its entracte and a sexy "Dance Boheme," with members of the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley in a provocative flamenco-inspired ballet. Diane Wittry kept the orchestra under careful reign, never intruding on the soloists, yet going at dramatic passages, such as the Act IV march, with fast-paced exuberance.

Like all concerts in the orchestra's 60th season, the program opened with a fanfare by a local composer. In this case it was Larry Lipkis' "Maestranza," named after the famous bullring in Seville where the last act of the opera takes place. Dedicated to Eleanor Waverek and the Waverek family, the piece was wonderfully cinematic, with a surround-sound effect created by having a pair of woodwind quartets play from opposing positions in the mezzanine. It established the perfect theatrical mood for the drama which was to follow.

 

 

 

By Myra Yellin Outwater Special to the Morning Call

Saturday evening’s "Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin" at Easton’s State Theatre was truly an evening of musical magic. Broadway stars and theatrical legends LuPone and Patinkin wowed and thrilled the audience with this artfully staged and choreographed stylish extravaganza featuring some of Broadway’s most classic duets and introspective musical conversations.

From the opening number, LuPone and Patinkin effortlessly romped through comic patter songs, dramatic ballads and poignant and powerful musical moments with an ease reflecting their long time friendship and on stage chemistry. And Broadway legend Ann Reinking’s choreography kept the two stars moving with her many wonderful and unexpected dance routines.

The show opened with Sondheim’s “Another Hundred People’’ (“Company”), an irreverent song about loneliness in New York. The two stars dressed alike in simple black, and sang the same words. Patinkin stood alone, his arms crossed, his legs nervously looking for space, and LuPone flitted around, fidgeting with a scarf, nervously looking for a comfort zone.

Their togetherness came later as the two effortlessly segued into a series of romantic duets between Emile de Becque and Nelly Forbush from “South Pacific,” and then paired thenumber with “Getting Married Today,” another irreverent word play from “Company.”

LuPone and Patinkin are seasoned performers, at ease on stage and at ease with each other and while age has not diminished their star power, it has enhanced their skills to make their on stage musical declarations of love and devotion more poignant and touching. Patinkin knows how to clown and kick up his heels and LuPone flirts with joyous abandon and the result is joyous entertainment.

The first act ended with an improbable but delightful pairing of “April in Paris” and Kander and Ebb’s “April in Fairbanks,” in which LuPone and Patinkin did a marvelously inventive physical chair dance, rolling back and forth across the stage on wheels, and then in a breathtaking finale, scooting across the stage and zooming into the wings to tumultuous applause.

The second act opened with another Kander and Ebb tongue twisting duet “Old Folks,” and then the two do their star turns.

LuPone brought the audience to its feet with “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,’’ from her dazzling performance in the most recent revival of “Gypsy.” And then the lights went out to reveal Patinkin as a ghoulish clown singingBuddy’s song, “The God Why Don’t You Love Me Blues” (“Follies”), with bittersweet pathos.

Next up was a series of songs from “Merrily We Roll Along.” And then in one of the most anticipated moments in the show, Patinkin and LuPone reprised their songs from “Evita.” Patinkin’s voice as Che is even more powerful, deeper and richer today that it was in 1980 and LuPone brought the audience to their feet with “:Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”

The show ended with a superb and touching love duet between LuPone’s fresh and naïve Julie Jordan and Patinkin’s cocky and yet scared Billy Bigalow (“Carousel.”) in which the two bring a maturity and reluctant sadness to these extraordinary cameos of regret.

And our cup runneth over as the show ended with another spirited and lively dollop of fun -- Kander and Ebb’s novelty song, “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup.’ And of course the audience again got out of their seats, and gave the two more standing ovations.

There was Jim Adkins, lead singer of Jimmy Eat World, up on the stage at Allentown’s Crocodile Rock Café on Saturday, halfway through the band’s sold-out show, already sweating profusely from the intensity with which he was playing – and the club’s sweltering temperature.

Jimmy Eat World's Jim Adkins at Croc Rock
Photos by Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call

The song was “Action Needs an Audience” from the band’s excellent new record, “Invented.” And the crowd reacted warmly.

But just a few songs earlier, on the song “Polaris” from the 2004 disc “Futures,” the crowd was roaring its approval. And on the next song, “Pain,” from that same disc, the audience clapped and sang along from virtually the opening notes, and chanted the chorus, “Takes my pain away!”

That, in a microcosm, was the concert. In the late 1990s and early  2000s, Jimmy Eat World captured young angst and yearning so well in its songs that it created a genre – emo. And now, 10 years later and still producing strong music, the band nevertheless is defined by those earlier albums, and its new music compared with them.

It made no difference to Jimmy Eat World: The band blazed through an hour-and-40-minute show that crammed together an astonishing 22 songs, all of them played with like intensity, as if to let the audience  sort out what it liked.

But the band seemed to recognize what was required. It played five songs from the new disc, but an equal amount from each of its peak-years discs “Clarity,” “Bleed American” and “Futures,” finishing the show with seven songs from those discs in its last eight.

It also opened with one: “A Praise Chorus” from “Bleed American,” to a huge cheer, playing full bore from the start. After greeting the crowd, “Good evening, fine citizens of Allentown,” they raced through five songs in 18 minutes without a break, or barely a breath, between songs.

They played the older songs and new with equal intensity. On “Coffee and Cigarettes,” one of the best from “Invented,” Adkins’s voice was straining with emphasis, sometimes stepping into a shout, and he  followed it with a nice guitar solo. He was animated, making grand gestures with his hands, on the thumping, driving, new “My Best Theory.”

On “Let it Happen” from the 2007 disc “Chase This Light,” he sneered and snarled, shook his head and slipped into the whiny vocals that define emo. But he jumped around just as much on “Lucky Denver Mint,” and the crowd chanted along.

It was after those first five songs that Adkins first addressed the crowd, and only then to thank the  crowd for coming out and to introduce “Polaris.” Throughout the night, he spoke only a half-dozen times, mostly to thank the crowd.

Perhaps his longest spoken interlude was when, 50 minutes and 12 songs into the show, he recalled the band’s Allentown Fair show in 2002, for which the crowd of more than 6,000 still may be the group’s largest as a single headliner, fair Marketing Director Bonnie Brosious said.

In memory of that show, Jimmy Eat World played what Adkins said was a long unplayed request: “Thinking, That’s All” from its 1996 album “Static Prevails” – the oldest song it did.

In truth, there’s a reason fans hold Jimmy Eat World’s older songs in such regard. They reach the very depths of emotion. When, on “Polaris,” Adkins – backlit on a dark stage -- sang “You’re killing everything in me,” the feeling was palpable. He similarly  laid bare his heart on the spacey, sonic “23,” as the crowd sang along.

And on “For Me This is Heaven,” which he dedicated to “anyone who’s seen us in the past,” when the chime-y keyboards perfectly fit his emotive vocals singing “Can you still feel the butterflies?” the answer was, of course, now we can.

But the night’s best song was “Hear You Me,” which caused a rush through the crowd and drew a huge  cheer. Adkins, on acoustic guitar, sang gently at first, but built into an anguished yodel and yell as backup singer Courtney Andrews  sweetly echoed his words – as did the audience.

That song started the build to the finish. “Work”  from “Futures,” also chime-y, had the crowd raising its arms and singing loudly, and it tied tight to “Blister” from “Clarity.”

Then the band closed the main set with a wonderful, nine-minute “Goodbye Sky Harbor,” Adkins jumping around, enrapt, without a guitar, holding the microphone. The song slowed into an acoustic chant, then added drums and chimes before Adkins finished as a voice alone, “but one small instrument.”

The encore started with the title track from “Invented,” nice acoustic guitars building to a dramatic end. But the crowd clapped with the opening riff of the band’s biggest song, “The Middle,” and sang along loudly. Even Adkins shouted the words “bitter hearts.”

And on the closing “Sweetness,” the crowd was even louder, a hopping and pulsing mass, a Adkins also jumped around and whipped  his guitar.

In such a long set, it’s hard to fault song choice, but the absence of both “Salt Sweat Sugar” and “Kill,” maybe my favorite Jimmy Eat World song, was noticeable. The only other complaint was how packed the crowd was – the most packed I’ve ever seen Croc Rock – making it hard for anyone to comfortably enjoy the show, whether they were there for the new music or the old.

But Jimmy Eat World’s performance overcame discomfort – or at least, like its songs, made it a shared emotion. When Adkins left the stage with a simple, “Have a great night, everybody,” they already did.

Four fund-raising concerts to help victims of Wednesday’s fatal gas line explosion in Allentown are  being organized by Lehigh Valley Music Awards and an associated organization, Women In Art In PA.

The first  of the concerts, which have been called Hope For Allentown, will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at Fairview Fire Company,  927 S. Seventh St., Allentown.  It’s lineup will include Allie Santos, Gina G-Child Morganello, Beyond Eden, Bank St. Band, BURN, Sharon Elaine Band, Sinister Realm and James Supra Blues Band.

Hope for Allentown II will be from 2 to 8 p.m. March 13 at Florence Italian Grille, 238 Sycamore Drive, Breinigsville, with a lineup to be announced. Details on the final two events also are being worked out.

Admission information has not been released, but organizers said a box truck will be available at all the events to collect items needed to help the victims rebuild their lives. A list of the most needed items will be made available.

The explosion, at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, killed five people, injured a dozen others and forced evacuation of more than 350 from surrounding blocks and the Gross Towers seniors apartment complex when an apparent gas leak ignited a home near 13th and Allen streets.

The explosion “ took innocent lives, destroyed several homes and left many people displaced with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” concert organizers said in a news release. “There is a great need here and as a community we must rally together to do what we can to help our neighbors in need.”

Lehigh Valley Music Awards and Women in Art in PA are both non-profit organizations and all donations are tax deductible and 100 of the proceeds will be given to the victims, organizers said.

Sponsors and volunteers are needed to work the events, provide gift baskets and items to raffle off.

Sponsors can contact Mary Pierce at 267-574-5334 or mabpierce@hotmail.com, or Gloria Domina at 215-421-5644, gloria11355@rcn.com.

How big an attraction for Allentown Fair is country duo Sugarland?

Consider that:

Fair officials said more than 150 people stood in line – people in line said it was more like 200 – in temperatures that hovered in the low 20s Saturday morning to buy tickets to the Sept. 2 show.

In the first half-hour alone, the fair sold almost 6,000 tickets  to the 10,000-capacity fairgrounds. As of 3 p.m., the number was at 6,700. And fair Marketing Director Bonnie Brosious says that puts the show within range of being able to sell out by show time.

That’s already just 900 less than the 7,600-ticket final sales for red-hot Lady Antebellum at last year’s fair; just 2,000 below the final 8,744 tally for Keith Urban, and twice the speed of first-day ticket sales for Nickelodeon  boy band Big Time Rush’s  Sept. 4 show at the fair.  Sugarland already has surpassed ticket sales for Big Time Rush, which have been on sale for seven weeks.

The track seating and standing “Sugar Pit” closest to the stage for Sugarland already are sold out.

And the brisk sales come even though Sugarland is scheduled to play nearby dates May 14 at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, N.J., and June 18 at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton.

“We’re happy,” Brosious said. Brosious noted that some of the excitement for Sugarland may come from it offering a “big production show” for its latest album, “The Incredible Machine.” Brosious, who has said she’s tried to get Sugarland for years,  apparently landed them near the peak of their popularity.

“The Incredible Machine,” released in October, became the band’s second No. 1 album in a row, after 2008’s “Love on the Inside.” It also was its fourth album in a row to go platinum.

The first single from “The Incredible Machine,” “Stuck Like Glue,” hit No. 2 on the country chart and went platinum.  That was the ninth song in five years the duo has had hit the Top 2. A new song, “Little Miss,” is climbing the charts.       

The interest in Sugarland was not surprise for sisters  Jessica Confer of Macungie and Stacy Confer-Resch of Allentown, whose wait landed them tickets in the pit.

“I’m excited,” Confer said. “It’ll be fun in the pit. People will be dancing and singing.”

“It has that youthful energy,” said Confer-Resch.

The irony was that Confer-Resch isn’t going to the show. After reading about the show in The Morning Call and alerting her sister, she stood in line to support her and to buy a ticket for a friend  in Long Island, N.Y.

“We were on a mission,” she said.

Bill Reis of Lehigh Township was braced for a wait, with a knit cap and thermos, but had his 17^th-row tickets less than an hour after he showed up at 9:20 a.m. “My wife and I, we like country,” he said.

Jean Reed  of Whitehall Township had no wait at all. After debating buying the tickets on line, she  showed up just after 10:30 and was able to immediately buy seats at the front of the grandstand for her daughter, Julie, 17, who was at work.

“I didn’t have to wait – that was the nice part,” Reed said.

SUGARLAND, with Sara Bareilles, 7 p.m. Sept. 2, $39 and $59, www.allentownfair.org, 610-433-7541

Jimmy Eat World’s newest disc, “Invented,” released at the end of September, hasn’t quite reached the peak of 2001’s platinum-selling “Bleed American.”

  Jimmy Eat World, with Adkins in foregound

It produced the No. 2 Alternative Rock song “My Best Theory,” the band’s highest-charting single since 2004’s No. 1 “Pain.” And  it just missed the Top 10 on Billboard’s albums chart.

But for Jim Adkins, the band’s singer and songwriter, there are other ways to gauge success. And he says interest in the album is high.

Part of the interest may be that “Invented” is Jimmy Eat World’s first album with producer Mark Trombino since he worked on “Bleed American,” which had the band’s biggest hit, “The Middle,” as well as “A Praise Chorus,” “Sweetness” and “Hear You Me.” Trombino and the band split over disagreements about the follow-up to that record, 2004’s “Futures.”

Adkins acknowledges that Trombino — who also has worked with blink-182 and others — helped the band achieve the sound it was seeking.

In an recent telephone interview from downtown Albuquerque, N.M., to promote a sold-out show today at Allentown’s Crocodile Rock Café,  Adkins talked about making the disc and realizing that Jimmy Eat World is becoming the band it always wanted to be.

Here is a transcript of the call:

Lehigh Valley Music:  Of course, the big thing on my radar screen is the new album, “Invented,” which came out in September. Tell me about it, how it came together, what your intentions were, what you think of it.

Adkins: “Um, hmm. OK. I can’t say that we ever set out to make a particular kind of album. I guess I can describe everything we do as just the summation of the best tunes we can thing of in a certain amount of time. [Laughs] We look back on everything that’s happening in your life at that particular time. And there’s no particular time – I mean the time between records. That’s, for us, maybe a couple of years. I guess there’s a lot of things happening. Yeah. [Laughs]. Every time is its own closed narratives. I wouldn’t say that there’s any alter, far-reaching direction.” (Continued)

JIMMY EAT WORLD, with David Bazan & Band, 7 p.m. Feb. 12, Crocodile Rock Café, 530 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. Sold out. Info: www.crocodilerockcafe.com

When Denise Donatelli was growing up in South Whitehall Township in the 1950s and 1960s, her home was a rural enclave: surrounded by farmland divided by Route 309.

Denise Donatelli

It was there, with no other homes around and a Shetland Pony farm across the street, that Donatelli spent her days, practicing piano skills that helped her win first place awards in National Federation of Music Club's piano competitions three years in a row.

But after practicing, Donatelli would lose herself in her sister’s jazz records.

That lifelong love for jazz led Donatelli into a career of singing, not piano playing. And now, at the age of 60, she is nominated for one of music’s top honors: a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her stellar third disc, “When Lights are Low.”

If she wins, she would be the first native of Lehigh or Northampton counties to get a Grammy, according to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Grammys.

In addition, Geoffrey Keezer, the album’s pianist and musical director, is nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist or his arrangement of the song “Don’t Explain.”

Coincidently, improvisational jazz piano great Keith Jarrett — who, like Donatelli, was born in Allentown and with whom she shared a piano teacher and rides to practice and competitions — also is nominated for a Grammy.

Donatelli, in a recent call from her Los Angeles home, recently recalled her days in the Lehigh Valley and the road to becoming  a Grammy-nominated singer. Here’s a transcript of the conversation:

Lehigh Valley Music: Congratulations on the Grammy nominations.

Donatelli: “Thank you. Thanks so much. I’m still a bit in shock over it. Some interesting things have been happening.”

I assume you’re going to attend the Grammys in Los Angeles, but you also have a show in New York the day after it.

 [Laughs] “Yes. I’m a little dizzy just thinking about it. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.”

Let me jump into this. You grew up sort of in the Parkland area?

“Yes, I went to Parkland High School.”

I read that you sort attribute some of the fact that it was such a rural area at that time with your focus on music.

“Yeah, it was. Well, we moved out to the country – my father [Americo “Ricky” Donatelli] built a home for my mother [Gloria] out [there], which I understand now is the west side of Allentown and totally built up. Very close to 309. And I was being bused in to St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School, and then all my friends went on to Central Catholic. And my parents thought to do that would have been totally crazy because Parkland was so close, and they put me into public schools. (Continued)

THE 53RD ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS, 8 p.m. Feb. 13, CBS-TV. Pre-telecast ceremony (in which jazz awards will be announced) 4-7 p.m. streamed live at www.grammy.com/live.

 

Listen Live! Music, the acoustic listening room music venue in Zionsville, has announced that its monthly open mic session on Saturday will be a benefit to help victims of the residential Allentown gas explosion Wednesday that killed  five people.

The show, at 7:30 p.m. (performer sign-up is at 7) at Upper Milford Township Municipal Center (formerly Kings Highway School),  5671 Chestnut St., Zionsville  will feature Connecticut troubadour Lara Herscovitch as well as local talent.

In addition to the suggested admission of $3, attendees are asked to bring an item that can be sent to the victims. Listen Live! Music organizers suggest gift cards or cash (they will have a collection jar).

In addition to the five deaths, about a dozen other people were injured and more than 350 were forced to evacuate from surrounding blocks and the Gross Towers seniors apartment complex when an apparent gas leak ignited a home near 13^th and Allen streets at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday

Herscovitch is an award-winning singer-songwriter who blends modern acoustic/folk with pop, jazz, blues and Latin influences. She literally was designated Connecticut State Troubadour (2009-2010).

The open mic will feature local performers in a standard, three-song or 15 minute (whichever comes first) set.

Beverages and food/snacks will be available. There also will be T-shirts and some other things for sale. Listen Live! Music is a non-profit organization.

For more information, visit www.listenlivemusic.org.

In light of my rant Wednesday that Musikfest  had somehow duped me by announcing Straight No Chaser was coming to the festival this year when I had responded to its challenge by guessing

Maroon 5

Maroon 5 would be announced – then announcing Maroon 5 five days later -- Musikfest has taken the high road.

First, festival officials gave me evidence that my charges, which really were tongue-in-cheek, but also but cathartic, also were baseless.

Then Musikfest offered to provide me with the two front-row tickets it had wagered when it challenged me, so that I can give them away on this blog.

How do you like that? Musikfest not only beats me at the challenge, but makes me look like a whiny, sniveling, spoiled blog writer.

Whiner

I’m not that. But hey, I’m also not proud enough refuse to take prize tickets.

So now the readers of Lehigh Valley Music will have the chance to win two front-row tickets to Maroon 5, courtesy of the gentlemanly people at  Musikfest.

Problem is, I haven’t figured out how to give them away yet.

I have a little time to decide. Tickets at $39 and $49 will go on sale at www.musikfest.org  and 610-332-3378 starting 10 a.m. March 1 for ArtsQuest members and 10 a.m. March 4 to the public. Memberships are available at www.artsquest.org or by calling 610-332-3378.

But I’d like to get some sort of contest going next Wednesday.

So give me some suggestions for an interesting contest-type thing to determine who gets these tickets.

NOTE: You don’t win anything for helping me think up a contest. But I suppose you could suggest a competition that might give you an edge.

Let me know your ideas by Monday.

In the meantime – and afterward, if you’d like – thank Musikfest WHO DID NOT RIG ITS GUESS-THE-HEADLINER CHALLENGE for offering up the tickets.

Or thank me for being so whiny.

The tour by hot country trio Lady Antebellum that stopped at Allentown Fair was last year’s best new  touring artist – eclipsing event Justin Bieber, according to the 22^nd annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards, handed out Saturday.

Lady Antebellum at Allentown Fair in September

Both Lady Antebellum, which played Allentown Fair on Sept. 2, and Bieber, who  played  the fair Sept. 4, were nominated for the award, given by Pollstar Magazine, the music industry publication. They were up against Jason Aldean, who played at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 18 and Mumford & Sons.

Bieber gave the fair its fastest-ever sellout.  AEG, the promoter that brought Bieber to the fair, won  Promoter of the Year, and Don Sullivan, president of Jam Productions, who in 2009 brought Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp to Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, was chosen Talent Buyer of the Year.

Berks County native Taylor Swift was nominated for Major Tour of the Year, but lost to Roger Waters' The Wall, which played at  Philadelphia’s  Wells Fargo Center in November.

Justin Bieber at Allentown Fair

As far as venues go, the closest the nominations got to the Lehigh Valley was Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue, a nomination snagged by Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. But it lost to the Hollywood Bowl – not too shabby.

The nomination, The Mann’s first, came in its 75th year.

Here are  the Top 5 Concerts for the week:

1. JOSHUA RADIN

Singer-songwriter Joshua Radin’s songs seem to have a singular purpose: To evoke emotions such as love.

And they have done that amazingly well. Starting with his song “Winter” being used on the NBC-TV show “Scrubs” in 2004, Radin has had more than 75 film and television placements, including serenading a couple on CBS-TV’s “The Bachelorette” with his song “Brand New Day” in June. He even sang at Ellen Degeneres’ 2008 wedding.

So it’s appropriate he’ll play a Valentine’s Day show. In fact, people love his music. His 2008 indie disc “Simple Times” sold a quarter-million copies, and both it and his October release “The Rock and The Tide” hit Billboard’s Top 40 albums and Top 10 folk albums.

7:30 p.m. Monday (doors at 7), with Justin Nozuka and Andrew Allen, Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St., Philadelphia. Tickets: $17.50 advance, $19 door, www.thetroc.com, 215-922-6888.

2. THE ROMANTICS

The Romantics have a great name for a Valentine’s Day act, and the story goes that it came from the band being formed on Valentine’s Day 1977.

It also has a romantic song — lyrically, if not in its new wave power-pop music – in “What I Like About You,” its 1980 hit. Of course, its biggest hit was an anti-romantic song, “Talking In Your Sleep,” which went to No.3 in 1983.

Front man Wally Palmar, playing with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at Easton’s State Theatre in July, did both those songs. Playing a smoking harmonica and getting the audience to join in on the “Hey!” chants of “What I Like About You,” it was easy to fall in love — with the music.

9 p.m. Saturday, Mount Airy Casino Resort, 44 Woodland Road, Mount Pocono. Tickets: $25, $40, www.mountairycasino.com, 877-682-4791.

3. POPA CHUBBY

New York bluesman Popa Chubby sings about love. But as in most blues, it’s not conventional romance.

In his breakout early ‘90s hit “Sweet Goddess of Love and Beer,” it seems as if the singer’s real romantic interest is suds, not hugs. But what do you expect from an album called “Booty And The Beast,” and an artist whose very name is a euphemism for a man preparing for sex.

Popa Chubby, born Ted Horowitz, has poured out his love of not only the blues, but blues rock, country punk, funk and even pop and hip-hop. In his shows, he plays his new retrospective CD, “The Essential Popa Chubby,” and reads excerpts from his memoir, “Road Rot.”

8:30 p.m. Friday (Doors at 7), 2nd Story Blues, 1205 Broadway, Fountain Hill. Tickets: $25, 866-468-7619 or by calling Les or Donna at 610-882-1710.

4.  HINDER

The rock band Hinder was nearing the end of a year’s work on an album to follow 2008’s Top 5 charting, gold-selling disc “Take It to The Limit” when it wrote the full-out rocker “All-American Nightmare.” The song became not only the first single off the disc, which was released in December, but its title track.

That song may not surpass the triple-platinum Top 3 song “Lips of an Angel”  as Hinder’s signature tune. But it’s the band’s biggest hit since the first “Take It to The Limit” single, “Use Me,” and arguably the band’s third-biggest.

The band now is playing club dates to gear up for a full tour on the new album this summer.

Bonus: Tagging along on the tour mainstream rockers Saving Abel and up-and-comers My Darkest Days and Irish rock band Kopek.

With Saving Abel, My darkest Days and Kopek, 7:30 p.m. today, Sherman Theater, 524 Main St., Stroudsburg. Tickets: $26, www.shermantheater.com,  570-420-2808.

5.  PAULA COLE

Paula Cole first gained popular attention with her 1997 Top 10 hits “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” and “ Don’t Want to Wait,” both from her Top 20 album “This Fire.”

The Cole won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and took with it the popularity jinx it carries. Cole never again had a Top 40 album or song, though “I Believe in Love” from 1999’s “Amen” did hit Top 30 on the Adult contemporary chart.

But Cole, now 42, is a troubadour, staying true to her mission of making good music. She released her fifth studio album, “Ithaca,” in  September, with many calling it a return to form. She wrote and co-produced all the songs on the album.

With Dan Reed, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville. Tickets $35, www.st94.com or 215-257-5808.   

  Blues rock icon John Mayall, soft rocker Edwin McCain, funk and soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker and 1980s heavy metal band Kix will play the planned Musikfest Café at SteelStacks in its first few months, ArtsQuest just announced.

Also, the venue will hold an all-star jam session led by the Craig Thatcher Band and featuring some of the Lehigh Valley’s best-known musicians.

John Mayall

The shows are the latest announced for the venue, which is to open with an invitation-only show by 1970s rocker Steve Miller on April 30. It brings to 24 the acts announced at the Musikfest Café, which officials have said will hold shows four nights a week – more than 200 a year – when up and running.

Tickets for all the new shows, as well as all previously announced Musikfest Café concerts, will go on sale to ArtsQuest Members at 10 a.m. Feb. 15 and at 10 a.m. Feb. 18 to the public at www.artsquest.org  or by calling 610-332-3378.

Mayall, who will play at 7:30 p.m. May 27, is a blue-rock icon. His band, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, over the years included all-time greats such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Mick Taylor. At 76, Mayall has played for more than 40 years and released  57 albums. He played a sold-out show at Sellersville Theater 1894 in August. Tickets are $35 Cabaret and  $45 VIP Box.

Parker will play at 7:30 p.m. May 17. He is best known for his work in soul singer James Brown’s band in the 1960s and as soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and for being a member of George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. But he has also performed or recorded with Ray Charles, Ani Difranco, James Taylor, De La Soul, Dave Matthews Band and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has since released two successful solo albums, "Roots Revisited," which spent 10 weeks at the top of Billboard's Jazz Charts in 1990, 1991’s "Mo' Roots" and 1992’s live CD, "Life on Planet Groove." Tickets are $32 Cabaret and $45 VIP Box.

McCain will play at 7:30 p.m. July 15. He’s best known for the hits "I’ll Be," which viewers of the Dr. Phil show voted as the best wedding song of all time, and "I Could Not Ask for More." He just played Sellersville Theater in November — a great show that ranked in my Top 15 concerts of the year — and is scheduled to play March 23 at Mount Airy Casino in Mount Pocono. Tickets are $32 Cabaret and $42 VIP Box.

KIX will play at 8 p.m. July 2. It’s best known for its 1989 No. 11 hit “Don’t Close Your Eyes” from its album “Blow My Fuse.’ The follow-up album, 1991’s "Hot Wire," produced another hit, "Girl Money," which reached No. 26 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Charts. Tickets are $25 Standing Room Only and  $30 VIP Box. Kix played Penn’s Peak near Jim Thorpe on Oct. 29.

The jam with Craig Thatcher Band and special guests will be at 7:30 p.m. May 1. Some of the guests will include Pat Flaherty and Craig Kastelnik of KATO, Pete Fluck of Zen for Primates and Bev Conklin of BC Combo. A complete list will be announced later. as soon as the lineup is confirmed. Tickets will be $20 Cabaret; $30 VIP Box.

Legendary Poison frontman Bret Michaels, who seems to be everywhere after making a recovery from a brain aneurysm and an operation to fix a hole in his heart, will perform at the State Theatre on April 12 as part of his Custom Built Tour.

It’s one of five new shows announced by the State Theatre on Wednesday, including a second performance by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons on June 19 after a fast sellout of the April 5 concert.

Tickets go on sale to members at 10 a.m. Feb. 22 and to the public at 10 a.m. March 1.

State Theatre memberships, starting a $75 for one year, can be purchased at any time. For memberships and tickets, call 800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132 or go to www. statetheatre.org.

Here’s the shows.

Bret Michaels: 8 p.m. April 12. Tickets: $50/$45. The hard rocker is currently starring in the reality show “Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It” on VH1.

Doobie Brothers: 8 p.m. April 26. Tickets: $65/$60. The 1970s bluesy rock group keeps on keeping on with its string of hits such as “China Grove” and “Listen to the Music.”

United States Air Force Band of Liberty: 7 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets: Free, but reservations needed. The group of professional musicians from Hanscom Air Force Base just outside of Boston will present a tribute to America’s musical and cultural heritage, from the classics to pop, Broadway and swring.

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons: 8 p.m. June 9. Tickets: $80/$75. The group made famous in the 1960s with hits such as “Walk Like a Man” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” has had a resurgence of popularity as a result of the Tony-winning musical “Jersey Boys.”

Kenny Loggins: 7 p.m. June 19. Tickets: $55/$50. Half of the legendary coutnry-rock duo Loggins and Messina has had huge success as a solo artist with hits such as “Danny’s Song” and “House at Pooh Corner.”
 
 
 
 

I told you.

Maroon 5, the groove-pop group that had the hits "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved," will play Musikfest’s main Steel  Stage at 7 p.m. Aug. 6, the festival announced this morning.

Of course, Lehigh Valley Music told you on Friday that Maroon 5 was coming, but Musikfest – which had challenged this blog to find out who it was announcing, with a pair of front-row tickets at stake for readers of this blog – announced instead that Straight No Chaser would play there Aug. 11.

I’m not suggesting that Musikfest played the old bait-and-switch, announcing the act that I didn’t.

Well, I guess I am. I feel like I was played like a cheap violin.

But I'll be the bigger man and let it go.

Anyway, tickets for Maroon 5 –WHICH I ANNOUNCED FRIDAY – will be $39 and $49. They will go on sale at www.musikfest.org  and 610-332-3378 starting 10 a.m. March 1 for ArtsQuest members and 10 a.m. March 4 to the public. Memberships are available at www.artsquest.org or by calling 610-332-3378.

The show’s opening act will be announced at a later date.

In addition to Maroon 5 -- FOR WHICH I DIDN'T GET TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY -- and Straight No Chaser, Musikfest has announced Steve Miller play Aug. 8.

The three-time Grammy-Award-winning Maroon 5 released its third album, “Hands All Over,” in September. It peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s albums chart and produced the No. 1 Adult contemporary hit “Misery” and two other Top 40 AC hits, “Give a Little More” and its latest single, “Never Gonna Leave This Bed.”

"Misery" is nominated for Sunday’s Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. And the band performer "Never Gonna Leave This Bed," on Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV pregame festivities.

Its 2002 debut disc, “Songs About Jane," went four times platinum, with the hits “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved,” which both hit No. 1 on the AC chart, and “Harder to Breathe.”

The band won the Grammy for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "This Love (Live -- Friday the 13th version).”

Its follow-up album, 2007’s “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart, went double platinum , and gave the band its first No. 1 overall hit, “Makes Me Wonder.” It also had the Top 20 “Wake Up Call.”

"Makes Me Wonder" also won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

The group collaboration with Rihanna on a Grammy-nominated new version of "If I Never See Your Face Again" that appeared on the re-release of her album, "Good Girl Gone Bad." It also hit the AC Top 10.

ArtsQuest announced this morning that Maroon 5 will play the Sands Steel Stage of Musikfest Aug. 6 at 7 p.m.

The group, fronted by Adam Levine, is known for the songs "She Will Be Loved, "Harder to Breathe" and "This Love."

Tickets are $39 and $49 and will go on sale March 1 to ArtsQuest members and March 4 to the public.

This is the third show announced for the new stage on the South Side; Straight No Chaser and the Steve Miller Band have already been announced.

An Internet blog that for the past two years has been 100 percent correct when it comes to revealing “American Idol” finalists before they’re announced on the show says that the only contestant from a Lehigh Valley area county shown to have made it to the Hollywood round doesn’t make the Top 40.

Devyn Rush of New Hope, who is known on the show as the singing waitress, on Jan. 19 was put through to the Hollywood round after auditioning in New Jersey’s Izod center, then in New York City. But Rush isn’t on the Top 40 list compiled by Joe’s Place blog at www.joesplaceblog.com.

Devyn Rush, the singing waitress

Joe’s place for the past two years has perfectly listed the Top 24 on “American Idol” – last year it revealed Nazareth’s Tyler Grady was in the Top 24 – based on its sources. And it says the Top 40 it now has listed is “100-percent confirmed.”

Rush, who was born in Philadelphia and is a 2008 graduate of New Hope/Solebury High School, got the green light to go to Hollywood after singing a soulful version of "God Bless the Child." When she auditioned, she was singing waitress stint was at Ellen's Stardust Diner in New York City.

After the final audition shows tonight and Thursday, the show will have its Hollywood rounds next week, then a new round in which contestants will perform in Las Vegas on Feb. 24.

According to Joe’s Place, the Top 40 is what remains after the Las Vegas round before the show heads back to Hollywood to choose the Top 20 semifinalists – 10 male and 10 female.

So if there’s any more of Rush to be seen, it’s next week.

Joe’s Place lists among the Top 40 four contestants from the New Jersey auditions, but two are from New York, one from Maine and the other from eastern New Jersey.

Of course, there are a couple in the Top 40 whose residences are not listed, so there remains the possibility that someone from the area made it through in another city, but it’s unlikely.

On the heels of blockbuster ratings for its the post-Super Bowl episode Sunday night, Fox-TV’s “Glee” today announced 13 members of its cast will tour this summer as “Glee Live! In Concert!” – including a June 8 date at Philadelphia’s  Wells Fargo Center June 16 at Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

McKinley High classmates Quinn (Dianna Agron, left), Santana (Naya Rivera, right) and Kurt (Chris Colfer), who all will be on the 'Glee' tour coming to Philadelphia

Tickets will go on sale to the public for most cities at 10 a.m. Feb. 19. At www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, any Ticketmaster Outlet and the arena box offices .

But there are several pre-sale offerings and fan ticket packages, with details at www.gleetour.com.

The tour, which starts May 21 in Las Vegas, will include “Glee” stars Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), Chord Overstreet (Sam) and Darren Criss (Blaine).

It will continue through June 18.

The cast will perform in “an all-new singing and dancing celebration of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning show,” according to a release.

The concert include live performances of some of the show’s most memorable musical numbers from Seasons One and Two, including “Empire State of Mind,” “Toxic,” “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “It’s My Life,” and of course, the show’s anthem,  “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

“The cast and I were so moved by the love and enthusiasm of our fans at last year’s concerts that we knew we had to do it again,” said “Glee” co-creator Ryan Murphy. “There is something magical about thousands of ‘Gleeks’ coming together to share a special night with our cast, and this tour is one way we can thank them for their unbelievable support from the beginning.”

 “Joining the cast of ‘Glee’ has been an amazing, rewarding and humbling experience all at once,” Criss said in a release. “On top of all of that, I’m fortunate to play such a strong and interesting character like Blaine that speaks volumes to fans. Now I have the chance to perform for thousands of them this summer, and I couldn’t be more excited!”

“Glee” is this season’s No. 1 entertainment series among teens and a Top 3 series among Adults 18-49 and 18-34. It has produced two platinum and two gold albums, two Grammy Award nominations, more than 16 million song downloads, the record for the most titles on the Billboard Hot 100 by a non-solo act (beating out The Beatles).

It also had The No. 1 soundtrack of 2010 (“The Christmas Album”), 19 Emmy and 11 Golden Globe nominations – the distinction of being the most-nominated series of the year – and four Emmy Awards.

After hearing more than a day of whining about Black Eyed Peas performance during the halftime show at Sunday’s Super Bowl, I have to weigh in.

Commentary has called the performance “painful” and said it was among the worst halftime shows in Super Bowl history. But honestly, I didn’t think it was that bad.

Check it out:

I’m not saying it was good, but it was precisely what you should have expected from Black Eyed Peas. In fact, it was a pretty good representation of the Peas show I saw back in March – long on electronics, short on actual enjoyable music. I told readers of Lehigh Valley Music back in November, when the chose the Peas to perform, that this was the show they were going to get.

One thing did make it worse: The Peas decided to play only its new music , which has gotten progressively worse. "My Humps" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart" were decent songs, but they chose weak new stuff like "The Time (Dirty Bit)," "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling." “The Time (Dirty Bit)” wasn’t performed poorly – it’s just a bad song.

For me, The Peas jumped the shark when they hooked up with Oprah to get thousands of people to dance to “I Gotta Feeling” on her show. Now that’s cutting edge – uh, not!

Again, the dancers surrounding the stage doing that stupid dance to “I Gotta Feeling” was  horrible. But the “Tron” effect with the dancers lighting up on “Boom Boom Pow” was pretty cool, as was them lighting up as an arrow pointing to Slash when he emerged from the stage to play “Sweet Child O Mine” with Fergie. Or when they formed a heart on “Where is the Love.”

Yes, much of the show was auto-tuned, but that’s part of the deal with Black Eyed Peas. And sure, Usher’s part on “OMG” was lip-synced. But so are all his television appearances. At least his dancing was good.

But Christina Aguilera’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” was something different altogether:

.

You expect the singer of America’s most important song to at least get the words right. But worse than that, Aguilera’s singing was just horrible. Off key, screaming, over-emoted, false voice. But again, that’s how she sings everything.

And it’s why she canceled her last tour because of poor ticket sales. And why her last album tanked. And why her movie flopped.

I think the real problem is that the people who put together the Super Bowl aren’t looking for great music, they’re looking to entertain the masses. And the masses, in general, don’t know good music.

So don’t watch the Super Bowl for the music and I won’t go to concerts hoping to see good football.

For those of you with Bieber Fever, there is a treatment, and we’re offering it here at Lehigh Valley Music.

The  ‘tween sensation’s new 3-D movie “Justin Bieber:  Never Say Never” opens worldwide in three days – that’s Friday.

But we’ll have a live look at the premiere here at Lehigh Valley Music starting at 7 p.m.:

“The excitement kicks off with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Justin, featuring celebrity appearances and never-before-seen clips, followed by the live 2 ½-hour purple carpet event in Los Angeles,” a release from his publicists says.

“I’m so grateful for everything that I get to experience, and I know I couldn’t do any of this without my fans,” Bieber said in a statement. “What a cool way for them to experience my movie’s premiere with me!”

ABOUT THIS BLOG

From Musikfest to Riverfusion ... Croc Rock to Godfrey Daniels ... Mayfair to the Allentown Fair — welcome to the Lehigh Valley Music Blog! Check in regularly for tips on worthwhile nocturnal activities and one-of-a-kind concert and record reviews from our resident pop music aficionados.

ABOUT THE WRITERS

GARY BLOCKUS He bought his first album at age 14: Bread's "Baby I'm A Want You." The next day, he bought Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and Deep Purple's "Machine Head." He's covered everything in the metal/hard rock genre, from Motley Crue to Papa Roach to Ted Nugent and Aerosmith to the softer side like Bon Jovi.

JODI DUCKETT As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KEITH GROLLER Our local sports editor strays from his post on Groller's Corner for another of his passions. He's attracted to the sights (Shania, Faith, Carrie, Martina) and sounds (Paisley, Strait, Adkins, Keith) of today's country music scene and likes to add a little twang to the conversation.

ARLENE MARTINEZ Her music was influenced by her mom, who hasn't turned the radio off since Arlene came home from the hospital. She's a top-40 kinda girl with a special place in her heart for hip-hop, R&B;, rancheros and musical soundtracks. Favorites include the Bee Gees, Jill Scott, Neil Diamond, Q-Tip, Juan Gabriel, T.I., Britney Spears and all of "Les Miserables." She is used to people making fun of her taste.

JOHN L. MICEK caught the rock bug young. The TMC Harrisburg Correspondent bought his first record, U2's "Under a Blood Red Sky," at age 13 and hasn't looked back. Besides listening to artists ranging from The Ramones to Dean Martin, Micek also writes about music, his work appearing in publications including The Big Takeover, Pop Culture Press and Playlist magazine. He is also a former contributor to PopMatters.com. And when he's not writing about music, Micek is playing it. From 2002-07, he fronted Milkshake Jones, a power-pop act that released two critically acclaimed (if woefully overlooked) records on The Paisley Pop Label of Portland, Ore. These days he handles bass guitar duties for Fink's Constant, a ska and reggae band that gigs regularly around central Pennsylvania.

JOHN J. MOSER He caught the music writing bug in high school when his Led Zeppelin story won an award. He wrote the first story ever on Jack's Mannequin, has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone and was the only newspaper writer given access to the Jonas Brothers for a day.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.

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