christmas
Danny Gokey’s New Eyewear Collection
Danny Gokey – Click for more images
Match Eyewear teams up with Danny Gokey, American Idol Season 8 finalist and philanthropist for distribution of prescription eyewear with an “edge.” The collection highlights Danny’s personal flair with 12 styles, targeting men ages 18 to 35.
The collaboration between Match Eyewear and Danny began in 2010 sparked by his love of fashion eyewear. “It has been a dream of mine to create my own brand of fashion frames,” says Danny. “I have been impressed with Match Eyewear’s designs and quality and see them as the perfect partner.”
The Danny Gokey Eyewear collection diversifies Match Eyewear’s brand assortment by delivering trend-setting designs influenced by Danny’s sense of style and personal brand of music. “We are excited to establish a partnership with Danny,” states Ethan Goodman, President of Match Eyewear. “It has been fun developing this collection with Danny and it’s refreshing to work with an artist with so much passion for eyewear.”
The Danny Gokey Eyewear collection joins other brand names at Match Eyewear, including Adrienne Vittadini, Helium Paris, Float Milan, Float Kids, Aero by Float and Match Eyewear.
Jingle Bells Rock Thunder Valley
- Eddie Money and Mickey Thomas
Sixty-two-year-old veteran rocker Eddie Money brought his Jingle Bell Rock tour to Thunder Valley Casino Resort on Thursday. Scheduled to appear was former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm and former Jefferson Starship lead singer Mickey Thomas.
The day before their performance at Thunder Valley, it was announced that Gramm would not be performing for the remaining tour due to acute laryngitis, so Gramm was not in attendance.
As the concert kicked off with Money and Thomas taking the stage, the audience immediately started chanting, “Lou! Lou! Lou!” Money responded by explaining the situation and said they had added a couple of songs to their setlist to make up for the missing Gramm. This was followed by more than a few polite boos ““ is there really such a thing as a polite boo?
Money exited stage left while Thomas started singing “Jane.” Thomas wore a striped shirt with a loosely worn red Christmas tie, while he banged out “Sara,” “We Built This City,” “Nothings Going to Stop Us Now.” Thomas ended his set with “It’s Christmas Time Pretty Baby,” singing in the style of Elvis Presley.
The 62-year-old Thomas’ vocals really stood out throughout his set, sounding just as good as he did all those years ago, in particular when he sang Annie Lennox’s “Winter Wonderland.”
Mickey Thomas - Click for more images
Backing Thomas was Money’s regular crew consisting of longtime band members Tommy Girvin (lead guitar) and Glenn Symmonds (drummer), with more recent additions Lee Beverly (bass) and Chris Groves (keyboards).
Following Thomas, Money came out singing “Baby Hold On” and “I Wanna Go Back.” As Money sang, he shuffled back and forth across the stage and even pulled out the saxophone to show everyone he can still play.
Rounding out the show, Money and Thomas took the stage together singing “Jingle Bell Rock” and a rocking version of “Jingle Bells.” For their encore they performed John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”
While Money’s vocals were not as pristine as Thomas’, he made up for it with his overall stage presence, sense of humor and kindness toward the audience, reaching out to shake hands with a few people in the front row.
Offstage, Money is extremely generous and cordial to all those around him, introducing himself to anyone standing near. His generosity doesn’t stop there.
Eddie Money - Click for more images
Money is a strong supporter of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps support families of military personnel lost in service to our nation and for severely wounded service members and veterans.
Money is hoping fans will help bring some holiday cheer to heroic members of the armed forces by going to eddiemoney.com and purchasing his single “One More Soldier Coming Home.” All the proceeds will go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
The Jingle Bell Rock tour was originally started by Money. This past summer, Money performed at a benefit in a Los Angeles club where Gramm and Thomas also appeared. After some discussion they decided to work with Money and tour with him in the Jingle Bell Rock tour.
While this was Money’s show and he was the headliner, Gramm’s absence was a big disappointment for many of the fans in the audience. Especially after Foreigner just came through the area a couple of months ago with their new frontman Kelly Hansen leading the charge. Hansen did an awesome job and put on a high energy show ““ check out my review. I for one, was hoping to see the real deal – maybe next year.
Yes, the audience booed after they realized Lou wasn’t going to be there, but these diehard fans enjoyed the show nonetheless. It’s these types of fans that keep the old-school bands going. And it’s these types of bands that keep the old people going ““ and a little help from Geritol.
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KNCI’s Country Christmas
JaneDear - Click for more images
Not to be out done by 107.9 The End’s Jingle Ball, Sacramento’s country music radio station 105.1 KNCI held their own Christmas celebration at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday.
KNCI’s Country Christmas concert was an evening packed with country greats including The JaneDear Girls, American Idol finalist Danny Gokey, Sacramento’s own Attwater, Craig Campbell, and duo Montgomery Gentry.
Leading the pack was The JaneDear Girls coming out singing “Merry Go Round” followed by “Shotgun Girl.” The duo, made up of Susie Brown (vocals, mandolin, fiddle, bass, guitar, accordion) and Danelle Leverett (vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica) are well versed in a number of instruments and they were continually switching instruments.
Brown also treated the audience to a fantastic solo piece with the fiddle. Quite impressive!
Attwater - Click for more images
Local country music sensation Attwater came out with both barrels blasting singing “Daydreaming” and “Runnin”. The duo, consisting of Erika Attwater and Jonathon Richards, had an extra band member. Sorry, but I wasn’t able to get her name. I will research and update this as soon as I find out. She was awesome playing the Ukulele.
Craig Campbell - Click for more images
Craig Campbell followed Attwater. Obviously he has a lot of fans in the Sacramento area because the crowd went wild as he came out on stage. Towards the end of his set he sang his newly recorded Christmas song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Dedicating it to Specialist Ben Nichols and his girlfriend Michelle.
Michelle, Specialist Ben Nichols, Pat and Tom
The couple met at Country in the Park a couple of years ago and Nichols couldn’t make it to this years event, so he recorded a special message for everyone at this years Country in the Park. Pat and Tom brought Michelle onstage and asked her what is the one thing she wanted most for Christmas. She responded “To have Ben home,” at which point the brought Nichols onstage.
Danny Gokey - Click for more images
American Idol alumni Danny Gokey kicked his set off with “Bad Timing” and “Be Somebody.” Gokey sang a couple of his songs as well as a couple of covers. He did a great job working the crowd and getting them on their feet.
Montgomery Gentry - click for more images
Montgomery Gentry blasted onto the stage and showed everyone in attendance why they were headlining the show. Troy Gentry and Eddie Montgomery were high energy with Montgomery stealing the show. He was all over the stage swinging the mic stand around like it was nothing. They started their set with “Hillbilly Shoes” and “Ever Stop Loving Me,” with the audience on their feet and cheering throughout their set and ended with “Gone.”
| The JaneDear Girls: Merry Go Round Shotgun Girl Goodbye Earl Lucky You Fiddle (instrumental) Footloose Wild Flower |
Danny Gokey: Like That’s A Bad Thing Be Somebody What Hurts The Most Get Away Second Hand Heart O Holy Night Crazy Not To T-R-O-U-B-L-E My Best Days Life is A Highway Livin’ On A Prayer |
| Attwater: Daydreaming Runnin New Life You Got Away All I want for Christmas |
Montgomery Gentry: Hillbilly Shoes Ever Stop Loving Me Back When I Knew it All Something to be Proud of Damn Right I Am Where I come From Hell Yeah Lucky Man Roll With Me My Town What do You Think About That One in Every Crowd Gone |
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Jingle Balls Rock
Hey it’s almost Christmas! How do I know? Well they just had their umpteenth annual Jingle Ball concert out at Power Balance Pavilion on Thursday, signaling the start of the Christmas season. In fact, I believe it’s their fourteenth annual Jingle Ball.
107.9 The End hosted the party with performances by JoJo, Breathe Carolina, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes, and headliner Selena Gomez.
Due to the number of artists the first few were held to three songs. In between performances The End’s own Christopher K, working with many of the other on-air talent, were upgrading attendees from the nose bleed section to front row seats. These were some serious front row seats too. They were onstage and to the side within in a few feet of the actual performance.
Click for more images of JoJo
Opening the show was JoJo who played to a less than enthusiastic crowd. She wore her standard midriff top and jeans ““ the better to show off her fine physique. Singing a few of her hits including “A Little too Late,” she was able to engage the crowd and get most of them on their feet. However, the audience didn’t seem overly enthusiastic.
The lack of audience feedback and enthusiasm was somewhat disappointing. In between performances host Christopher K. and crew continued to work the crowd and at times was successful in getting their juices flowing. As each artist took the stage, the crowd would bounce back up on their feet to dance and sing to their favorite songs, but the crowd still appeared to be less enthusiastic than from past shows.
Click for more images of Breathe Carolina
David Schmitt and Kyle Even who make up Breathe Carolina got off to a rocky start and never completely recovered. Schmitt, known for his use of the auto-tune and vocoder to compliment his voice, sounded flat and off-key. While their performance was entertaining to watch, with Schmitt rocking every inch of the stage, it was also disappointing to listen to. Hopefully next time they remember to bring all their gear and double check that it’s plugged in and ready to rock. Either that, or try not to schedule a gig when mercury is in retrograde (hey it’s an astrology thing).
Click for more images Cobra Starship
Next up was synthpop sensation Cobra Starship with Gabe Saporta (lead singer), Ryland Blackinton (guitar), Victoria Asher (keyboards), Nate Novarro (drums), and Alex Suarez (bass). They sang a number of their hit songs including “You Make Me Feel.” Saporta had great stage presence and paid quite a bit of attention to keyboardist Asher. They played off of each other quite well and it made for a great set. Oh ““ and they sounded great too.
Click for more images of Gym Class Heroes with Neon Hitch
Following Cobra Starship was New York’s hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes with Travie McCoy leading the charge. Singing a number of their hits including “Stereo Hearts,” featuring Adam Lavine in the background, lead singer Travie McCoy was constantly playing to the crowd.
Just prior to their third song McCoy invited the amazing Neon Hitch onstage to sing their song “Ass Back Home.” Hitch was amazing and dazzled the audience with her over the top costume complete with an Indian style headdress.
Click for more images of Selena Gomez
Nineteen year old Selena Gomez made her way up on stage in a red sequined top and short white skirt singing “Year Without Rain.” Her singing was flawless with a solid stage presence. She interacted with members of the band throughout her performance adding to her charm.
Gomez sang a long list of hits ending her set with “Naturally” and “Who Says.”
While I believe the enthusiasm of some was lacking, there were a few fans that brought more than enough enthusiasm for everyone. One such girl won the chance to take a seat on stage and she wouldn’t stop screaming, obviously excited to be there. Another young lady, Megan Ray, won tickets and decided to write an article for her school paper at Vacaville High, and was given access to the pit area to take pictures, along with all the other photographers. Armed with her point and shoot and a whole lotta love for the bands, she was rocking all night long. She screamed on several occasions when one of the performers got close, or glanced her way.
It was quite a show packed with a lot of talent. Now that it’s over I can start planning my Christmas ““ bah humbug!
Selena’s Setlist:
A Year Without Rain
Hit the Lights
Round and Round
Bang Bang Bang
Whiplash
Love You Like a Love Song
The One That Got Away
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Naturally
Who Says
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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The Trans-Siberian Orchestra mesmerized the audience Saturday afternoon at Power Balance Pavilion in the first of two Christmas shows.
For those of you who may not be familiar with TSO, they are a progressive rock band that incorporates classical, orchestral, symphonic and progressive elements into hard rock and heavy metal. They are famous for their series of rock operas and storytelling.
This was a high-energy show with a combination of lasers, lights, pyrotechnics and video screens all synchronized to TSO’s music.
Dressed in black, the orchestra made their way on stage while chimes were playing. As they were assembling onstage, there were clips of Martin Luther King Jr. from the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, as well as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and others, with each round of new faces drawing applause and cheers. Once onstage they started playing “Who I Am,” with video screens and lights blazing in perfect unison.
The talented storyteller Phillip Brandon started weaving a tale of an angel coming down to Earth on Christmas Eve. Brandon’s phenomenal voice, reminiscent of the famous James Earl Jones, drew the crowd into the tale as a hush came over the audience. After the introduction, the orchestra started playing “An Angel Came Down,” complete with lights and lasers.
As the orchestra began “First Snow,” it actually started to snow in the arena. OK, not really snow, but the pretend kind of snow. You know the
Click for more images
one with tiny bubbles raining down? Couple that with all the video screens filled with snow added to the sensation of real snow. It was quite breathtaking, leaving the audience in complete awe as they listened to an extremely talented line-up of musicians.
One of their screens and lighting units that made a Y shape stretching out above the audience was actually a catwalk. As the show progressed the unit started to descend on top of the audience, leaving people wondering if they should get out of the way. As it slowly made its way down, members of the band ran up it. The catwalk started to rise with band members running towards the back portion of the catwalk providing everyone in the “cheap” seats a prime view of the performance. It was quite impressive.
A new comer to TSO, violinist Asha Mevlana was off the charts rocking it with her purple high tech violin. As she ended a solo routine you could hear the crowd gasp in unison as she grabbed her bow and snapped it in half over her knee, ending the song. This was so much more dramatic than smashing a guitar to smithereens, since it was completely unexpected.
As they wrapped up the story, the orchestra treated the audience to a number of different songs including a mix from one of their albums “Christmas Canon Rock,” at which point they brought out founder, composer, and producer Paul O’Neill.
This was my first exposure to TSO and I have to say they left me wanting more, even after a 2 ½ hour performance.
Armed with an arsenal of talented musicians, singers, and special effects, TSO delivers a high energy, phantasmic kaleidoscope of fun. Oh ““ and some really good music too.
