50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'THE WHO' LIVE AT SHEA STADIUM
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THE GLORIOUS CORNER
Story By:: G. H. HARDING
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| Hugh Dancy |
HANNIBAL SILENCED? --- Word came down Monday night that NBC has canceled Hannibal, Bryan Fuller’s juicer-than-you-can-believe take on the whole Hannibal Lecter/Thomas Harris mystique. NBC said that the ratings weren’t rising enough, which I can understand. What I can’t understand, though, is would NBC would cancel such a brilliant show. Everything about this series was top-notch, from the brilliant acting of Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy; the inspired camera and cinematographer work; and especially the writing.
From the moment this news of cancellation was announced, there has been immediate interest from other broadcast platforms (including the increasingly ubiquitous Amazon, which has the rights to the first two series.
Believe me, I wondered what kind of storyline would actually make its way to NBC network TV based around a series like this. Since its debut, though, it has proven itself a first-rate production at every turn.
Series creator Fuller is one strange cat. His earlier series, Pushing Daisies, and even a whacked-out take on the ‘60s hit sitcom The Munsters were amazing efforts. At first, he claimed that NBC’s Hannibal had run its course. Soon afterward, however, he was soliciting interest from other possible suitors, all the while claiming that his take on a possible Season Four for the show would be his best yet. Then, last night, NBC revealed that it would take the show to this year’s Comic-Con next month . . . for one final meal, so to speak. Now something like this rarely happens. Why would a network want to promote, for one last time, a show it has just axed? I predict that NBC will reverse its decision . . . at Comic Con. Stay tuned, as this tale seems to be far from over.
NEVERMIND --- In our gushing over the new season of HBO‘s True Detective on Monday, we neglected to mention the disturbing yet brilliant title song chosen for the show this year by T Bone Burnett: Leonard Cohen’s 2014 track “Nevermind.” This is a show that places great emphasis on its opening titles; maybe as important as those early James Bond title sequences, created by Maurice Binder. The mood of that show is immediately introspective, atmospheric, and perfectly suited to the material of the show. And this is not the first time that the music of Leonard Cohen has been used to set a mood for something that you watch: for example, the late great maverick film director Robert Altman used Cohen’s music all throughout his brilliant 1971 picture McCabe & Mrs. Miller . . . and Cohen’s music again was used to startling effect by the always-stirring director Oliver Stone in the opening sequence of 1994’s mega-violent satire of media—Natural Born Killers.
I’m not sure what led Burnett to choose this as the new opening music for the new season, but this one’s a charmer - take a listen:
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| Dick Van Patten |
DICK VAN PATTEN --- We were very sad to learn yesterday that veteran actor Dick Van Patten—a professional actor since the age of seven, but known best for his role as the loving TV dad Tom Bradford on ABC’s Eight Is Enough—has passed away at age 86 from complications due to diabetes. Perhaps the best that can be said about this great and beloved actor was shared by Anthony Pomes, VP of marketing at Square One Publishers, who worked as an editor with Mr. Van Patten on a TV trivia book back in 2007 but who then stayed in touch and became friends with the man. His comments, shared with Nancy Berk at Parade, can be seen in the article link below. Being that I also came to know Mr. Van Patten starting back in the ‘80s, I can say that showbiz lost one of its sweetest stars – we do well to remember him as one of the greats.
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| Roger Daltrey |
THE WHO AT SHEA --- Next week, Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Who with the first-ever release of Live at Shea Stadium 1982. This is the first official release of the entire show, and features restored footage and newly-mixed sound.
The Who that performed that show in 1982(Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and—in place of original drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978—Kenney Jones, who was previously the drummer for the Small Faces) delivered both classic tracks and songs that were rarely performed live: “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “My Generation,” “Substitute,” “Who Are You,” “I Can’t Explain,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Baba O’Riley,” and many more. The tour promoted the 1982 album It’s Hard, and so the set list was comprised of several tracks from that album, some of which the band would only play live on that tour. (It has become almost fashionable to consign It’s Hard into the dust heap of bad rock record history, but there are in fact several strong songs with lyrics that reveal much of Townshend’s struggle with the reality of getting older but also smarter – to get a taste of what can be found on that album, click the link below to hear the album’s final track, “Cry If You Want” (one of the hardest rockers on the album, with a rageful yet tasty guitar solo from Pete in the outro of the song’s slow fade):
The Who’s 1982 North American tour was the last to feature Kenney Jones on drums, and the band did not tour again until 1989. This concert film features the show from the second of their two nights at New York’s Shea Stadium, and was filmed on October 13th 1982.
2015 is a year of even higher profile than usual for this legendary band, with their 50th Anniversary European/North American tour taking place this summer. Live at Shea Stadium 1982 shows exactly what this legendary British rock band’s reputation has been built on all this time.
My first rock ‘n roll show was The Who in 1967 at Long Island‘s Lido Beach Club. At that show, drummer Keith Moon bashed his multi-drum Premier set with Day-Glo drumsticks and a young Daltrey and Townshend, anchored by Entwistle (a.k.a, “The Ox” as a nickname) literally overpowered the crowd . . . myself included. I had never seen anything like it.
Click here to view a performance of“Love Reign O’er Me” from the 1982 Shea show:
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| Scott Shannon With Micky Dolenz And Patty Steele |
CLOSING NOTES – Micky Dolenz with scribe Roger Friedman at Del Frisco’s last night; earlier in the day, he visited with CBS- FM‘s Scott Shannon and Patty Steele . . .
Have you heard the new Rod Stewart single “Love Is?” It’s brilliant. A total throwback to Rod‘s earlier music . . . a welcome change, after all the many orchestra-laden records of Tin Pan Alley standards that he has been releasing over the last nine years or so. The new single sounds like “Maggie May.” The new album from Stewart comes out next month on Capitol Records . . . looking forward to receiving a press copy of the album so I can share my thoughts on it with you.
The James Horner story is so sad on so many levels. What a talented individual; face it, his music for Titanic was spot-on brilliant. What a terrible loss . . .
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