AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S SECRET COMEDY BALL
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THE GLORIOUS CORNER
Story By: G. H. HARDING
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| Russell Brand |
Secret Ball --- Eagle Rock Entertainment has released the Blu-ray and DVD release of the Amnesty International comedy extravaganza The Secret Policeman's Ball.
The 137-minute show features the cream of contemporary US and UK comedy stars - performing brand-new, specially-created material tailored to the theme of freedom of expression - shot in high-definition at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
Among the fifty comedic talents seen in the show are major stars such as Jon Stewart, Ben Stiller, Eddie Izzard, Russell Brand, Sarah Silverman John Oliver and no less than ten comics who have made their names as performers and writers on Saturday Night Live including Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Bobby Moynihan, Kristen Wiig and Seth Meyers.
In the grand tradition of the long-running Amnesty benefit series; there are also musical performances by Coldplay and Mumford & Sons - and an impressive array of cameo appearances including members of Monty Python and several major stars from the big-screen.
Until this latest show, every edition of the Ball since its 1976 birth had taken place in London. This show at Radio City was the first show to be held outside Britain and it became a summit meeting-cum-gala of the comedy giants of the two nations.
The shows have yielded movies, TV specials, home-videos, albums and books that have been distributed worldwide. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows and their spin-offs are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanized them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years. Musicians such as Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting and Peter Gabriel have credited the shows with inspiring benefit events that they subsequently helped organize such as Live Aid and Live 8.
LENO OUT --- Jay Leno’s reign as Tonight Show host ends tomorrow; after an amazing twenty-two year run. It’s funny how my trajectory with Jay has changed as well: when he first came on, I steadfastly refused to watch him. Not out of any personal animus, just that I was a Letterman fan …. always have been and always will be. I also think Leno's portrayal in Bill Carter’s book, Late Night – about the transition after Johnny Carson was pretty crass. I mean, hiding in a closet ... twice! Absurd. And, the funny thing was that Leno finally admitted it did really happen in several exit interviews. Note to Jay: admitting it doesn't make it any better!
When I did catch his monologues by chance, I felt his jokes were too perfunctory and too corny. Also, his constant appearances at Hollywood-benefits as an MC seemed a bit cheesy too. When he left the show for the first time, for his ill-fated Jay Leno Show at 10:00 PM, I did catch several shows that just continued to confirm my feelings. The whole debacle with Conan, if anything, made me dislike his whole persona even more.
That said, Leno came back to the Tonight Show (after Conan) somewhat chastened; I did begin to watch some of his shows and found some his jokes and interviews not bad after all. At 64, close behind Dave at 67, and maybe feeling his years a bit, a little introspection can never be a bad thing. Speculation is at an all-time high as to what he'll do next. Me? I predict he'll be back on TV soon … maybe at Jeff Zuker’s new CNN, which is experiencing its own growing pains. Leno’s final show features guests Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks … Leno-lite for sure.
Jimmy Fallon’s run stats on February 17. Stay tuned …
PEPPER POWER --- The Red Hot Chili Peppers performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show has generated a lot of talk in the past 48 hours, and not because they killed it on stage with Bruno Mars. The band has been dogged by accusations that they mimed their performance of “Give It Away” in front of a national TV audience of more than 100 million viewers.
And now, bassist Flea explained the situation behind his unplugged bass and Josh Klinghoffer’s unplugged guitar. He admits that the bass, drums, and guitar were in fact, pre-recorded.
Flea’s full statement reads:
Dear everybody,
When we were asked by the NFL and Bruno to play our song “Give It Away” at the Super Bowl, it was made clear to us that the vocals would be live, but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded. I understand the NFL’s stance on this, given they only have a few minutes to set up the stage, there a zillion things that could go wrong and ruin the sound for the folks watching in the stadium and the TV viewers. There was not any room for argument on this, the NFL does not want to risk their show being botched by bad sound, period.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers stance on any sort of miming has been that we will absolutely not do it. The last time we did it (or tried to) was in the late 80′s, we were thrown off of ‘The Top Of the Pops’ television program in the U. K. during rehearsals because we refused to mime properly, I played bass with my shoe, John played guitar atop Anthony’s shoulders, and we basically had a wrestling match onstage, making a mockery of the idea that it was a real live performance.
We mimed on one or two weird MTV shows before that and it always was a drag. We take our music playing seriously, it is a sacred thing for us, and anyone who has ever seen us in concert (like the night before the Super Bowl at the Barclay's Center), knows that we play from our heart, we improvise spontaneously, take musical risks, and sweat blood at every show. We have been on the road for 31 years doing it.
So, when this Super Bowl gig concept came up, there was a lot of confusion amongst us as whether or not we should do it, but we eventually decided, it was a surreal-like, once in a life time crazy thing to do and we would just have fun and do it. We had given this a lot of thought before agreeing to do it, and besides many a long conversation amongst ourselves, I spoke with many musician friends for whom I have the utmost respect, and they all said they would do it if asked, that it was a wild trippy thing to do, what the hell. Plus, we the RHCP all love football too and that played a big part in our decision. We decided that, with Anthony singing live, that we could still bring the spirit and freedom of what we do into the performance, and of course we played every note in the recording specially for the gig. I met and spoke with Bruno, who was a beautiful dude, a real talented musician, and we worked out something that seemed like it would be fun.
For the actual performance, Josh, Chad, and I were playing along with the pre-recorded track so there was no need to plug in our guitars, so we did not. Could we have plugged them in and avoided bumming people out who have expressed disappointment that the instrumental track was prerecorded? Of course easily we could have and this would be a non-issue. We thought it better to not pretend. It seemed like the realest thing to do in the circumstance. It was like making a music video in front of a gazillion people, except with live vocals, and only one chance to rock it. Our only thought was to bring the spirit of who we are to the people.
I am grateful to the NFL for having us. And I am grateful to Bruno, who is a super talented young man for inviting us to be a part of his gig. I would do it all the same way again.
We, as a band, aspire to grow as musicians and songwriters, and to continue to play our guts out live onstage for anyone who wants to get their brains blown out.
Sincerely,
Flea
CLOSING NOTES --- NBC's Al Roker became the first media-person to take on new NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio this morning, as The Mayor refused to close schools (in light of today’s ice-storm in the city) in NYC when mostly every other Mayor did. Roker called the Mayor’s actions indefensible! When did Al grow a pair? Actually, I think the new Mayor’s done a good job with our snow storms in NYC this year. If anything, for his first-month in office, he proved his mettle. Maybe Al’s still sore over Sam Champion? ...
New York crooner Marcus Goldhaber sang for the troops over the weekend at the official Super Bowl event, 13th Annual Celebrity Flag Football Challenge at the Teaneck (NJ) Armory, where over 20 athletes and celebrities went head-to-head in a flag football match to benefit the military families at the Teaneck military base. This was the world premiere live performance of “Come Home America,” Goldhaber’s new anthem which honors our troops and supports our veterans abroad.
Nice interview with rock-bio writer M. A. Cassata in Keith Girard's Improper.
Fashion week starts Friday in NYC. Designer Cynthia Rowley's show is next Wednesday. We'll be there ...
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