Concert Review: Tony Bennett Swoons and Croons at Mohegan Sun

Sunday night, the Mohegan Sun Arena was honored by a beautiful performance given by living-legend Tony Bennett, whose voice has wowed audiences since the 1950s. Tony Bennett has also given new life too many American standards and at times been compared to the one-and-only Frank Sinatra. And at 83 years of age, he shows no signs of slowing down. Bennett glides around the stage to spotlight the solos of his wonderfully talented band, but he seemed most comfortable standing center stage in front of the grand piano.

Sunday being Valentine's Day, Tony Bennett concentrated his set list on mostly love songs including "My Funny Valentine", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Because Of You". The sold-out crowd was very appreciative of the music being performed onstage Sunday evening. Tony Bennett invited his daughter, who is also a singer, to the stage to perform the duet, "Old Friends". Tony's daughter, Antonia Bennett, opened the show with a handful of jazz standards.

Tony Bennett kept the songs moving along with the classics, "Just in Time", "Stranger in Paradise" and "The Best Is Yet To Come". The audience was hanging on Tony's every word with stories of Rosemary Clooney and Charlie Chaplin which lead him into a heartfelt performance of "Smile". Tony Bennett also slowed the tempo down of the Stevie Wonder hit "For Once In My Life" to stress the song's meaningful lyrics.

After a standing ovation, Tony Bennett continued with his most well-known songs "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" and "Steppin' Out". The audience belted out an applause whenever Bennett showed off his dance steps. He also performed the first song he ever recorded "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". His amazing 25 song set ended with the Gershwin classic "Who Cares?", "Fly Me To the Moon" ,"It's Just A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet" about his hometown of Astoria and "How Do Keep The Music Playing?"

After a 60 year career that keeps going, there are few entertainers who have as much class as the immortal Tony Bennett. Go to mohegansun.com to find out about more shows coming to the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Setlist:
Watch What Happens
They All Laughed
Maybe This Time
Speak Low
My Funny Valentine
I Got Rhythm
The Way You Look Tonight
Sing You Sinners
Old Friends
But Beautiful
Because Of You
Just In Time
Stranger In Paradise
The Best Is Yet To Come
Smile
The Good Life
For Once In My Life
The Shadow Of You Smile
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Steppin’ Out
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Who Cares?
Fly Me To The Moon
It’s Just A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet
How Do You Keep The Music Playing?

CD Review: Jason Yates Brings Friends Along On Solo Album

Jason Yates, former member of Ben Harper's Innocent Criminals, is on tour handling keyboard duties for the band Citizen Cope, who will be performing at Toad's Place on February 17th. Yates also has a new solo album out now.

The rolling piano signals the beginning of Jason Yates newest release. "My Way Out" is a "honky-tonk" rock song that brings up similarities to 70's-style Rolling Stones with Rod Stewart-type vocals. Yates' vocals have a rough sound as displayed in "Nobody So Far", but it gives a truer sound to the music. "Comin' On Back" carries a blues-ballad tempo, before Yates picks up the pace on the southern rock, country flavored "Paper Tents". Yates puts his passion for song-writing on the line in the song "I Run", about overcoming your fears. The acoustic gentleness of "Tear Drops" flows nicely into the simple "Sing For You".

Jason Yates latest album featured an array of guests including Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, fellow Innocent Criminals drummer Oliver Charles as well as session man Gary Mallaber (Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt). His album is available from Vapor Records for purchase on iTunes and Amazon. For more information on Jason Yates please visit www.myspace.com/jasonyatesofficial.

Sweet Shows For Your Sweetheart

This coming Valentine's weekend, there are shows at the casinos to show all types of affection. There's one for the "Spicy Latin" lover (Victor Mauelle), there's one for the "Party Hard" lover (Kid Rock), the "Comedic" lover (Kevin Meaney), the "Looking For A" lover (B.B. King & Buddy Guy) and the "Good Old-Fashion" lover (Tony Bennett).

Latin sensation Victor Manuelle will be performing a special Valentine's show at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods on February 13th. Manuelle has been a regular on Spanish radio since 1993 and has achieved Billboard #1 albums in 2004 with "Travesia" and again in 2006 with the holiday favorite "Navidad A Mi Estilo". He is currently touring behind his latest release "Yo Mismo" which was heralded as a return to the tropical music scene. For tickets, please visit www.mgmgrandatfoxwoods.com.

For those looking to escape the normal Valentine's traditions will find Kid Rock at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, February 13th. His mix of Rap-Rock-Country music will have you on your feet looking for someone to party with. Also at Mohegan Sun on Saturday will be comedian Kevin Meaney in the Cabaret Theatre. Tickets for these shows are available at www.mohegansun.com.

On Valentine's Day, you will have your choice of two classic acts. Crooner Tony Bennett will be spreading love with his romantic songs and jazzy sound. He will be performing at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Now, if you've got the blues this Valentine's, there is no other place to be than at the MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods for blues legends B.B. King and Buddy Guy. Their searing guitar solos will surely make you feel a whole lot better about this holiday for lovers.

So if you're looking for something to do with your sweetheart this weekend, here are five good options instead of the old "dinner & a movie".

CD Review: "Wake" Up With Karnivool's New Album

Australian hard rock band Karnivool will release their sophomore album in the US on February 16th. The band's new album entitled "Sound Awake" has already gone gold in their home country and is burning up the charts in the U.K. The band has also won numerous awards in Australia for their debut album, "Themata" and are looking to bring some of that success overseas.

Right from the opening guitar riff and pounding drums, the music of Karnivool hits you with it's hard rock sound. Then, lead singer, Ian Kenny swoops in with his vocals to put the listener at ease and sets the mood for this musical experience. The Led Zeppelin-style drums of the album's opener "Simple Boy" and crunching guitars of "Goliath" lead up to the epic "New Day" which brings you on a journey of sound. The album's first single "Set Fire To The Hive" is an "in your face" rocker with its distorted vocals and rolling drums, a great way to introduce the band to a new audience of listeners. The band lets Kenny's vocals lead the way on the gentle, balladry of "Umbra" and the mainstream sound of "All I Know". The chord and tempo change of "The Caudal Lure" show us another side to the band's musical talents. The album closes with the twelve minute epic "Deadman" and the powerful ten-plus minute "Change". Both songs display the elaborate song-writing talents of this up-and-coming band from Australia.

Karnivool is currently on tour in Australia, but will soon hit the US in March with a tour starting at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. They will also be performing at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT on April 2nd. Please visit www.karnivool.com.au for more information on their new album and for concert dates.

Ladies Night at the Grammys

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards belonged to the ladies. Taylor Swift won four awards including the coveted "Album of the Year". Beyonce won a record-breaking six Grammy awards and even Lady Gaga took home a couple of her own. But, it was the lady who took home no Grammys that was the best performer of the evening. Pink's high-flying performance of her song "Glitter In The Air" was the most innovative and attention-grabbing part of the evenings events. I also enjoyed watching performances by Beyonce and the Zac Brown Band. It good to see that Leon Russell is still alive and well. I'm not sure if the biggest competition of the evening was for a Grammy award or for the largest stage ensemble between Green Day and the Dave Matthews Band. I didn't care much for the evening's musical finale with Eminim, Lil' Wayne and new-comer Drake. The music cutting out every 30 seconds because of censoring is not my idea of entertainment, but I did enjoy the very brief flashback to 1986 with Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer".

Now you saw what awards were handed out during the telecast, but here are some winners that you might have missed. In the battle of rock legends in the Solo Rock Performance category, Bruce Springsteen brought home the Grammy for his album "Working On A Dream". It was good to see Heavy Metal gods AC/DC and Judas Priest each win Grammys in their respective categories. Former member of The Band, Levon Helm, beat out Wilco, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson for the Best Americana Album Grammy award and Brendan O'Brien (AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) won the Top Producer of the Year Award.

Hopefully next year's Grammys can include a little more of the rock element in their performances,but I do like the innovation and imagination being explored with each indiviual performance. Congratulations to all the winners for their wonderful efforts and talent and for giving the others something to strive for.