Amos Lee Brings Soulful Sound to Sold-Out Queen Show

By Guest Blogger, Jess Eisenbrey

Jess Eisenbrey is a former journalist turned public relations pro who regularly quotes Leslie Knope and has a slight obsession with Joe Biden. In her spare time, she can be found squeezing her way to the front row of general admission concerts at the Queen and sipping on the newest local craft beer or wine.

“Delaware! What’s the word, ya’ll?,” wailed Amos Lee as he opened his sold-out show at World Cafe Live at the Queen on May 16. Known for his folksy sound and soulful voice, Amos started the night with a favorite from his 2011 album Mission Bell called Windows Are Rolled Down, setting the tone for what would be a laid-back, intimate show. For more than two hours, he serenaded those in attendance with a mix of older songs and newer yet-to-be-released tracks.

A native of Philadelphia, Amos paid homage to his hometown and its proximity to Wilmington. The crowd cheered at Amos’ shout out to WXPN, the University of Pennsylvania public radio station headquartered at Philly’s World Café Live location, and went nearly silent during Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight as Amos quietly sang the line, “Sometimes we forget what we got, who we are, and who we are not.” 

Sprinkled in with some of his better known hits like Arms of a Woman and Sweet Pea, were newer songs the audience likely had never heard before (unless they happened to catch him in Atlantic City on May 14). The newer music, which Amos said is set to be released in August, is tinged with a bit more jazz and blues than his early albums featuring swoon-worthy love songs.

As the crowd started to thin out throughout the two-hour show, Amos made note of the fact that he was in fact playing “past everyone’s bedtime,” but he and his six-piece band continued. There were covers and mashups, including Juvenile’s Back That Azz Up mixed with his own Southern Girl, and lots of affection for the crowd as Amos chimed, “I’m in love with you all very much.” 

He made sure that the stars of the show were his bandmates, allowing each of them to have solo performances throughout the night. His saxophonist was incredible, and some of the best parts of the concert were the jam sessions between Amos and his band. It was evident that he had immense respect for the “ridiculous musicians” he said keep him in tune, at one point telling the crowd he was “very grateful for all of them” and jokingly renaming them all “Amos Lee and the Damn Good Band.” Amos also had a lot of love for his longtime friend and opening act Mutlu, a soul singer from Philadelphia who typically opens for Amos when he’s in Wilmington or other nearby cities. Monday just so happened to be Mutlu’s birthday, so Amos led the crowd in singing happy birthday to his friend. 

As the hour got later, it seemed Amos and the band were wrapping up their set with his hit Sweet Pea, but almost immediately after leaving the stage, he and the band came back out for an encore performance that included three additional songs. The grand finale of the concert was an audience singalong to Boyz II Men’s End of the Road, a fitting reminder that Amos Lee is a versatile performer who can pull off pretty much anything – even a classic R&B song from the 90s.

See http://queen.worldcafelive.com.

DSO Closes Season on a High Note

By Christine Facciolo
Emotions ran high last week as the Delaware Symphony Orchestra closed its 2015-2016 season — The Season of the Bells — at The Grand Opera House in Wilmington.

Maestro David Amado conducted a program that offered just two works. But when one of those works features the gut wrenching emotionality of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, anything more would have felt like overload.

The concert opened with David Ludwig’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, with Bella Hristova as soloist. The semi-programmatic piece which was commissioned by an eight-orchestra consortium — including the DSO — celebrates Ludwig’s marriage to Hristova. Its three movements recount the wedding ritual (preparation, ceremony, celebration) within the broader themes of partnership, empathy and communion.

Ludwig invested the work with captivating moments and effects: asymmetrical rhythms, loping harmonies, ascending glissandi as well as unusual timbral combinations.

The work opens with a violin exclamation and everything a symphony orchestra can throw at it to signify transformative power of love and commitment before progressing to various Eastern-European style dances. The music builds to a brilliant raucousness, blending virtuosic cadenzas with warm lyricism.

The second movement opens with a tender melody in the solo violin that blossoms and grows joyful. This section serves as a touching tribute to the father Hristova never knew, Soviet-era composer Yuri Chichkov. Ludwig tracked down a rare copy of the violin concerto Chchkov wrote decades ago and incorporated an excerpt into this movement as a tribute to family.

Finally, the third movement “Festival” is as about as bacchanalian as a wedding reception can get. Bulgarian dances with their fluctuating rhythms run rampant, including Ludwig’s own version of the “Crooked Dance,” which mimics how the less-than-sure-footed revelers attempt to make their way home.

Hristova is one of today’s most celebrated artists with a superb technique and a sumptuous sound. Not surprisingly, she invested this performance with a sense of the whole, while balancing fiery virtuoso and deep passion with a sensitivity and softness.

Political passion consumed the second half of the program which featured Shostakovich’s massive Symphony No. 11, which premiered in 1957. The symphony is subtitled The Year 1905, a reference to the failed Russian revolution of that year. Critics initially dismissed the work as little more than glorified film music. Many now consider it to be more reflective in attitude, one that looks back on Russian history from the standpoint of 1957. Another interpretation views the symphony as a response to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the composer’s widow has stated that he did in fact “have it in mind” during its composition.

Lasting more than an hour, the symphony consists of four movements played without pause. Each movement bears a descriptive title relating to the revolution. The brooding first movement “The Palace Square” readily conveys the tension of the gathering workers, whose massacre is the subject of the feverish second movement “The 9th of January.” The third movement “In Memoriam” is deeply meditative while the finale, “The Tocsin,” sizzles with excitement.

Amado and the DSO performed this difficult piece with heart-wrenching emotion and cinematic sweep. The strings invested just the right amount of melancholy in the slow movements while the brass, winds and percussion brought drama and tension to the fast movements, especially the finale with its floor-shaking bass drum, crashing cymbals and tam-tam and cataclysmic tolling of the Bells of Remembrance.

It was a masterful rendition that kept the audience on the edges of their seats during the performance and brought them to their feet at its conclusion.

See www.delawaresymphony.org.

Jersey Boys – Oh What a Night!

Mary Ellen Hassett has lived and worked in Delaware since 1996 as a paralegal and attorney.  She and her husband Keith enjoy Wilmington arts and culture and devote a lot of volunteer time to Delaware Humane Association. 

The Playhouse on Rodney Square is closing out their Broadway season with Jersey Boys, a Tony Award–winning musical about four blue-collar kids from Newark, NJ.  This story is told thru the eyes of each of one of the four Jersey Boys from their perspectives at different times in their 40-year relationship. The talented group of musicians that starred in this rendition of Jersey Boys were amazing. This musical has it all – Jersey accents, mafia undertones, fantastic sets, a great storyline and lots of laughter. Whether old or young, this musical contains songs that everyone can enjoy. 

Jersey Boys is the story about Frankie Valli (that’s Valley with an “I” because everyone knows Italian names must end in a vowel). Frankie (Aaron De Jesus) with his unique voice is discovered at age 16 by Tommy DeVito (Matthew Dailey). As everyone knows, show business is not an easy road, especially in Jersey. Along the way – in addition to playing gigs on street corners, various bars, night clubs and bowling alleys – the group is involved in some rather nefarious activities and Tommy ends up in the slammer.    

While Tommy is away, Frankie and Nick Massi (Keith Hines) continue to perform. When Tommy returns, the group auditions young hotshot writer Bob Gaudio (Drew Seeley) and the Four Seasons is born! Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons are a smash, starring on the Ed Sullivan show and hitting the pop charts 40 times in the 1960s.  

However, Tommy could not leave his gambling Jersey ways behind and eventually found himself owing over $162,000 to the mafia and $500,000 in back taxes for the group. Tommy is bought out by the other three in the group and moves to Vegas. Nick leaves shortly thereafter and Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio continue as a duo – Bob writing and Frankie singing. Frankie and Bob to this day have never had a contract; they had a gentleman’s agreement – a handshake. The Four Seasons reunite a couple of times and they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.  

Although you have your traditional hidden orchestra, musical director Taylor Peckham, did a phenomenal job in moving the drummer(s) off and on state to enhance the night club scenes.

The musical arrangements of Walk Like a Man, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Working My Way Back to You were just a few of the highlights. And my favorite of the night – December, 1963 (Oh What a Night) – as that basically sums up this fantastic performance!

I must say, The Playhouse saved the best for last! 

Jersey Boys will be playing at The Playhouse thru May 15. Wednesday and Thursday evening performances are at 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 8:00pm, and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00pm.  Ticket prices range from $50-$135 and discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

See  www.ThePlayhouseDE.org.