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of Hip Hop, R&B, Old School, Reggae, Reggaeton, Jazz, Funk, Gospel,
Plays, Comedians, Motivational Speakers & Celebrity Master/Mistress
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The education and support of our community is a
#1 priority for Walt Reeder Entertainment that is why our agency has
mentored &supplied jobs for many minorities. Walt Reeder
Entertainment Agency has trained half of the black agents in the
country, resulting in ownership of their own agencies today! Black
promoters using Black artists should without a doubt use the #1, Black
owned agency in the country. If not now, when? If not us, Who?
Public Image Ltd. Lead a Fiery Sermon in Los Angeles
The piercing sound of John Lydon's voice is still like no other.
During Public Image Ltd.'s two-hour concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles
on Sunday night, he sang with a mixture of biting antagonism and real
vulnerability, filling the theater with a fiery wail and compelling new
songs from the reunited post-punk originators.
Sunday's concert came near the end of the band's three-year touring
journey, which included the release this year of This Is PiL, the band's
first new album in two decades and a return to form, as Lydon
demonstrated in L.A. "We come from chaos/ You cannot change us, " he
shouted during the album's "One Drop" against sharply echoing guitar
lines of Lu Edmonds. "Cannot explain us/ And that's what makes us."
Dressed in a two-toned shirt, bright orange suspenders hanging behind
him, Lydon comfortably mixed his past and present, with song choices
stretching back to PiL's 1978 debut, First Issue, recorded shortly after
he left the Sex Pistols. The sides of his head were cropped short,
leaving a blond tuft of hair on top, and earrings dangled from both
sides. Between songs, he soothed his throat by lifting a liquor bottle
to his mouth, taking a swig, gargling and spitting it out.
The new album's "Reggie Song" shook from searing guitar with an Arabic
flavor as Lydon sang, his hand raised. He grunted his words through a
stretched-out "Bags" (from 1986's generically titled Album) over a deep
bass rumble with slices of guitar. When a fan slurred back a lyric
between songs, Lydon turned with a wicked grin. "With a voice like that,
that why I'm up here and you're down there."
The
concert was filmed as part of an ongoing documentary project on the
band, which Lydon unexpectedly reconvened in 2009 after a long
hibernation with the lineup of Edmonds, drummer Bruce Smith and bassist
Scott Firth (who also operates the laptop). It was a homecoming for
Lydon, who has lived in Los Angeles and Malibu since the Eighties, and
he teased locals for cheering not quite loudly enough: "Laid back as
usual? That's OK, la la. I live in la la."
Lydon has
spent many of the last 20 years working on television, and reunited
first with the Sex Pistols in 1996, but he has been unwilling or unable
to create new songs with the groundbreaking punk act. His history with
PiL is much longer, and it was the outfit in which he expanded and
experimented with his voice. The PiL reunion inspired him to write
again, and he is already making plans for another album with them.
Onstage in L.A., he came alive in a different way from the Pistols,
with a deeper repertoire to draw from. Standing in front of a huge
circular "PiL" logo and rope netting, the band ripped through the
decades, from 1989's "Disappointed" back to 1979's agonized "Death
Disco," as Edmonds played a multitude of string instruments, even sawing
a bow against a tear-shaped bouzouki.
Lydon often
spoke cryptically to the audience. He noted the impending election by
declaring, "Vote for the right one and let it not be in the name of
religion," just as Edmonds began the ominous chords from "Religion," an
early PiL track from their debut. The anti-religious screed was
stretched to epic length and took on extra bite at Club Nokia,
reflecting the aftermath of abuse allegations in the Catholic church in
recent years. Lydon made that connection overt, too, adding new lyrics
to the original: "I fear no evil except for the priests/ Look what
they've done/ Lock up your children." The song continued as he
introduced the band, calling Edmonds "Jesus Christ" and adding, "The
guitar will cleanse your soul." Turning to bassist Firth, he said,
"Beelzebub, turn up the bass, turn up the bass."
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"I'm 86 years old," Chuck Berry said after playing a short, raw set at
Cleveland's State Theatre late Saturday night. "And I'm happy to be
anywhere!"
The crowd was equally ecstatic. Berry
traveled to Cleveland for a tribute concert in his honor, which included
performers Merle Haggard, Ronnie Hawkins, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Joe
Bonamassa and Lemmy Kilmister. At the end of the night, Berry accepted
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's American Masters of Music Award,
wrapping the Hall of Fame's weeklong celebration of Berry's life. The
reclusive Berry seemed to love every minute of his Cleveland stay,
spending Saturday afternoon at the Hall of Fame, where he checked out
his exhibit with his family and held a rare interview with journalists
in a Hall of Fame conference room, praising President Obama and
discussing his health.
Chuck Berry Praises Obama, Laments Fading Health
He was in for some surprises. Whether it was DMC retooling "School
Days" as a pro-education hip-hop anthem or Haggard putting a twangy spin
on "Memphis," the night highlighted just how far Berry's influence
reaches. Between performers, classic Berry performance footage was shown
on a massive screen and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President Terry
Stewart put the songs in historical context. "[Berry] was a lightning
rod," he said. "Rock & roll was still being born and he came out the
way he did. Unbelievable."
Setlist-wise, you
couldn't go wrong; Berry has one of the greatest catalogs in rock &
roll history; vivid, witty storytelling over rollicking rhythm.
Seventy-four-year-old Ray Sharpe, who has been recording since the late
Fifties, growled a soulful "No Money Down" soaked in Texas twang, backed
by the ace house band. Rockabilly revivalist J.D. McPherson howled a
loose, chugging "Beautiful Delilah" and bounced across the stage through
"Around and Around." "It's ridiculous that I'm here tonight," McPherson
said, grinning. The New York Dolls' David Johansen and Earl Slick tore
the roof off with a smoky, fuzzed-out take on 1961's "I'm Talking About
You" and invited out Ohio's Rick Derringer for a heavy "Back in the
U.S.A."
The night rolled on with John Fulbright, who
sat at a keyboard and played harmonica on "Downbound Train." Malina Moye
played Berry deep cut "Stop and Listen," full of wah-wah and
feedback-drenched guitar. The number concluded with Moye by raising her
Stratocaster above her head and twirling around in her lengthy dress. It
didn't sound anything like Berry, but it made an impression. More fancy
fretwork came from Bonamassa, who played a gorgeous, hushed "In the Wee
Wee Hours" and a raucous "Oh Carol."
Lemmy Kilmister
attacked "Bye Bye Johnny" and "Let It Rock" with his whiskey-soaked
growl. Sitting backstage sipping a Jack and Coke in his dressing room,
Kilmister said Berry was one of his first heroes. "I liked his attitude.
He had that sort of smile on his face and that pencil mustache, sort of
a lothario, you know. He's always got that innuendo in the vocals when
he's talking about chicks. He was always a horn dog, basically, and so
was I."
At 77, Ronnie Hawkins proved he's still a
powerhouse showman with "30 Days" and "Roll Over Beethoven," the Hawk
whooping and howling during instrumental breaks. San Antonio rockabilly
singer Rosie Flores was one of the most impressive acts of the evening,
performing endearing, country-flavored takes on "No Particular Place to
Go" and "You Never Can Tell." Flores was also the only performer brave
enough to playfully attempt a duck walk.
Next to
Berry, Merle Haggard was the biggest legend in the room. His set started
rocky due to some technical difficulties; there was a pedal board in
front of his microphone. "You guys put something in front of me that's
not supposed to be here," he said, pointing to the board. "Can you come
to move it?" The move made Haggard's guitar short out, and he threw up
his arms in frustration. He overcame the problems with his classic
"Workin' Man Blues," grinning genuinely at his son Benion's tasteful
Telecaster mastery. Next, the duo played a raw "Memphis," Haggard
rattling off Berry's lyrics with his axe slung across his back. "It's
great to be part of the fanbase of the great Chuck Berry," Haggard said.
"Its even better to be asked to play here."
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