This week's TV rundown

You'd think I could come up with some kind of consistency for this blog, like doing a TV rundown every Friday and a music review every Saturday. Maybe one day, I'll remember to do that. For now, though here are my thoughts on the multiple shows I caught up on at the end of this week.

1. "So You Think You Can Dance": First of all, this screwy schedule with baseball is really confusing. Wait, it's on a Monday? And there is no results show? Wha? Otherwise, though, I liked Monday's performance show, and I actually thought it was a good idea to introduce us to all of the contestants. Of course, by Tuesday, I had already forgotten who was who, but at least they tried. I love all the tappers, especially... oh crap I forgot her name already - the girl one. I have to say, though, I have no idea what happened with Mia or where she went, but her absence is definitely noticeable. As annoying as she is, she really made the show fun to watch, in that yelling at the TV screen sort of way, and her choreography was a standout - it's absence makes the show lack something.

I would love to talk about the individual routines, but either I was trying too hard to finish homework while I was watching it, or nothing really stood out for me. I loved the tap routine. As far as dancers are concerned, I was taken with Billy, but I guess his stint was short lived... I kind of like that annoyingly perky Mollee - she reminds me a little of Allison from the second season.

By the time I got to Tuesday's elimination show, I was already weary from trying to keep track of everybody. I'm sure I will forget all about the people who were eliminated by the end of the season. I've always said that maybe this show could benefit from not having the results show, which I usually fast forward my way through. But this week's one-two punch of "dance, dance some solos, and... you're done" was just a little too much for me to follow.

2. Comedies: "Modern Family" and "30 Rock": I'm really beginning to like "Modern Family." It's funny, and it has heart, but not too much. Also, I'm a sucker for Julie Bowen - I've loved to watch her ever since she started guest starring everywhere, and her role as Carol on "Ed" will always stick out in my mind. I find her irresistible no matter who she's playing. I'm also consistently impressed that Cameron and Mitchell get their own storyline, even if their childcare antics are ripped off from "Friends" and every other TV show ever. (I couldn't help but go "Monica bang!" when they bumped the kid's head on the ceiling the exact same way that Monica did with Ben during the second season of "Friends".) As for "30 Rock," it's always funny. I love how well the writers know their characters - in Liz's argument with Jack about what makes an American, they always said exactly what you would expect them to. (I'm still laughing about Jack calling the President "Comrade Obama" from like, 3 weeks ago.)

3. "Grey's Anatomy": I liked watching Derek's thought process, even though this episode was total filler/time killer until the ladies come back from their movies and maternity leaves. I'm also glad they gave Derek something to do, and I'm glad we got to see him being a doctor again. I feel like this show so often gets caught up in it's own navel gazing that we sometimes forget that these people are doctors, and that they probably spend all day doing what Derek did last night, and not fighting with their fathers who just dropped in to the hospital. I fell in love with Derek (not in a McDreamy way, in a "he's an interesting character" way) in the first season because he seemed like such a talented, charismatic doctor. I'm glad we got to see him doctoring again. And that bit towards the end where the others were all sitting in the "peanut gallery", Cristina narrating on the phone to Meredith and Arizona hiding her eyes was really cute.

By the way, though... who the hell is Isaac?

I'm interested to see how they're going to get themselves out of this Izzie thing. We know she's coming back, so where on earth could she be that would make it plausible for her to come back? And while we're on the subject, the Chief firing everyone is getting old. Chief, if you fire everyone, no one is going to take you seriously anymore. See? Even Derek knows you don't mean it. I liked Arizona successfully guarding the door, too - she finally has a modicum of personality. (And no, I don't count her story about where she got her name from as "personality." We get it, you have a weird name. Who cares?)

Re: the new people. I still think they need to stop adding characters to this show and just be nicer to the old ones. But, I kind of like Lainie (or whatever her name is on this show) from Everwood, despite the fact that she's kind of a better version of Lexie (who I still can't stand). And, does it bother anyone else that the new guy, the one who got the surgery over Lexie, looks kind of like Alex? Speaking of Alex, he totally is a douche. But I still love him. Last thought - I really never want Cristina being my doctor. She has become completely one-note too. We know from previous seasons that she really does care about more than winning the competitions and getting the best surgeries. I'm sick of her insensitivity, it's like whoever's writing this keeps referring to the pilot script and going, "Oh yeah, Cristina is the competitive one," as if they forgot who their characters are.

4. No Wednesday TV this week. Stupid baseball.

Grey's Anatomy Season 6: March of the guest stars

In list form again, because I'm too lazy for sentences.

1. Hey! Those people from Mercy West look awfully familiar... oh look, that's Lainie, Colin's sister from Everwood. And hey - there's Hannah from Everwood! And Liz Danes is in this episode too. It's like I'm reliving the days of The WB via Shonda Rhimes. When is Keri Russell guest starring?
2. Really, can't they think of something better for Callie and Arizona to do? I can think of a few things. I mean, can't we ever have some lesbians on network TV whose entire storyline isn't about them being lesbians? I've never liked Arizona because I've always felt like she has 3 personality traits: a) she's blonde, b) she's a lesbian, and c) she has a weird name. This episode did not help with that. Also, the coming out to Dad thing? NOBODY CARES. It's been done on every TV show ever. Callie has so many issues in relationships, there are so many other things they could do with this. Like, we could start with the fact that she's gone ahead and fallen in love with someone who has no personality.
3. I know Izzie is not a popular character, but the entire time I've been watching this show, I've really been rooting for Izzie and Alex to make it. Please don't break them up again.
4. Speaking of which, how many times have they fired Izzie already? And now she's going to miraculously come back after Heigl is done with her maternity leave, or filming her movie, or whatever it is she's doing? Yeah, cause that's not obvious.
5. I heart Sarah Drew.
6. I really can't deal with Callie's tranny makeup anymore. She's a dyke, not a drag queen, people.
7. Sorry to be back on this topic again, but as if Callie being a doormat wasn't already annoying, now she has no personality either outside of "I'm a lesbian." I mean, didn't she just lose her job, get a new one, and then get a new one again? How come we barely saw that?
8. Meredith and Cristina were true to form tonight, and I totally love the two of them together. I'm really digging Meredith now that she's not obsessing over Derek anymore.
9. We barely saw Derek this episode! What a nice change of pace.
10. I have nothing else to say on this matter, but I needed a number 10. Hmmm... is saying "I still miss Erica Hahn" just annoying at this point? What, at least she and Callie actually got to have sex.

Brandi Carlile is definitely more awesome than the Red Sox

Allright. A couple of days ago, I did my best attempt at a concert review of the Brandi Carlile show in Northampton. Now that my 2 days of experiencing Brandi's fall tour have come to a close, I'm at a loss for what else to say. I think I've already showcased her music, told you how awesome she is on stage, and attempted to describe the energy in the room during one of her shows.

The only thing left do, I think, is tell you my personal experience at the show in Boston last night. I know the Red Sox are a hard thing to compete with in this town, especially when they're playing right across the street. And at first, I had my doubts. The show wasn't sold out, and the neighborhood was filled with hot dog vendors and rabid baseball fans before the show. As opener Katie Herzig took the stage and I could still hear chatting by the bar in fierce Boston accents, I was still a little worried about just how enthusiastic this crowd was going to be.

But my worries subsided the minute Brandi, the twins, Josh and Alli took the stage, stood angelically around one mic, and launched into "Oh Dear." The room was impeccably quiet, and the house had filled up to almost sold out. Let me back up for a minute here, though, because I need to express my gratitude to those wonderful forum members who were vigilant enough about standing in line and being organized, that we ended up standing exactly front and center the entire time. Even though I'm short and I usually try to squeeze myself in between the tall people, I don't ever get that good of a spot! Sitting in the front row of a seated theater doesn't even compare to being right at Brandi's feet, which were adorably bare last night.


They then brought the house down with "Looking Out," which I think is going to be my favorite off the new album. I'd only heard it acoustic before, but the driving bass and drums really gives it a rock anthem feel. What happened next is something I've only seen at Indigo Girls shows and maybe Hillel campfires... Brandi and the band started playing "What Can I Say," and the entire audience sang along. Now, I've heard audiences sing to this song before, as it is one of her most recognizable, but not like that. Usually, it's about 100 people in the first few rows that rally a little bit and try to encourage the rest of the audience. Last night, it was immediately apparent that almost everyone there had made the effort to come out just to see Brandi, and they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. They came prepared to participate.

"Late Morning Lullaby" and "My Song," both from her album "The Story," were both filled with the same energy, and even Brandi was impressed with our singing. When she then stepped away from the mic and the twins picked up their acoustic guitars, she was able to quiet everyone down to near silent, and got away with playing "Dying Day" completely unplugged, even in a room where she said she wasn't sure she'd be able to do it. The last time I saw her attempt this in a venue around the same size - the House of Blues in Los Angeles, people at the bar were still looking the other way and chatting with each other, and it didn't work so well. In Boston, she had everyone's undivided attention for the entire 2 hours.


I'm so glad I moved to a city who loves Brandi, but I never expected this from Bostonians. I mean, this is a town who collectively loves things like baseball and Aerosmith. I never expected the same people to be Brandi Carlile fans. And before you go all, "Gabi, did you look around the audience? Did you notice anything about the majority of the people there?" I will say, yes, I know the culture of Brandi fans. Believe me, I know - I'm one of them (did I mention a certain website I frequent?) But while we had our requisite lesbians and hippie chicks, there were also plenty of straight guys in Red Sox caps who chanted right along with her when she introduced "Folsom Prison Blues" as a "song by the late, great, Johnny Cash."

What was even more great about the audience, is that we were so busy singing, there were almost no inappropriate comments from the audience, except for the one requisite "Marry me, Brandi" comment from some girl, to which Brandi gracefully replied, "Well, this is Massachusetts." Otherwise, though, everybody was mostly too busy actually paying attention to Brandi and the band instead of calling attention to themselves.

But seriously, back to the set list. I just about died when I was standing 5 feet away from Brandi, and the band launched into her cover of "Creep." As soon as I heard the first few drumbeats, I was in heaven. Remember that sexy growl thing I was talking about the other day? Nowhere is it more evident than in Brandi's throaty, all encompassing rendition of "Creep." A friend of mine said of the Northampton show that "music flows through her," and it certainly does. I've only heard her sing that live maybe once before, so it was a huge highlight of the show for me. I won't get into the inappropriate details of why I love that song so much, but... oh, what the hell, watch it for yourself. (Disclaimer: I wasn't really looking at the camera when I shot this...)



They closed the show with "The Story," and then launched into a 4 song encore, anchored by rocking renditions of "Folsom Prison Blues" and new song "Pride and Joy." It's a great note to end on - "Pride and Joy" has everything we've come to expect from a Brandi Carlile performance - a heart wrenching verse and chorus that starts off slow and crescendos into a rock anthem full of emotion, cello solos, electric guitars, driving drums, and lots of guitar sex. Rockstar!Brandi and the band finished with a flourish, and then practically skipped off stage, leaving us with their surge of adrenaline. Throughout the show, Brandi was all smiles and giddy excitement over the audience's enthusiasm, and I think she had a hard time leaving the stage.


Which brings me to my last few sentences about Brandi for a while. Before I sign off on writing about this fall tour, I need to address the issue of "Hallelujah." I know, I know. A lot of your eyes roll back into your head and glaze over upon seeing that song title written in conjunction with Brandi's name. But let me make my case. I love Brandi's rendition of "Hallelujah." I just plain love it. The first time I saw her play, back in LA, she played "That Year," and then said, "that was supposed to be my last song, but I just can't leave the stage," and started playing "Hallelujah." I was sold on it ever since. If our cynical LA audience wasn't already impressed with her voice, that song sealed the deal. Seeing her do it live really convinces you, 'this girl's voice is amazing.' So, I just don't get sick of hearing it, and I feel remiss whenever I leave a show where she didn't play it. I know this may get me in trouble, but I would trade "The Story" for "Hallelujah" any day. When the band finished "Pride and Joy," it almost looked like she wanted to stay... and that's what I wanted at the end. I wanted that, "you know what? I'm going to play one more song" moment, the one that made me fall in love with her in LA.

Brandi Carlile: Rock Star Edition

I apologize in advance that this is yet another post about Brandi Carlile. I'm sorry, I can't help it - I am once again amazed by that voice of hers, among other things. Her new album, titled "Give Up the Ghost" will be released on Tuesday, and she's currently on yet another tour to promote the album.

Last spring, I wrote about the quiet intimacy of the acoustic shows. These current shows are anything but... in a good way. A really good way. I didn't realize how much I missed the drums and electric guitars until they were taken away and then put back. When I first discovered Brandi, back in 2007, I went to a show much like these recent ones - full band, glitzy lighting, bigger venue. I fell in love with the fact that despite her songs being more on the folksy side, she plays like a rock star. A rock star with a fierce growl and raw sexiness.

Last night, she rocked Northampton, MA, reminding us all of why we fell in love with her in the first place. The set list included some old, old favorites off the first album, like "What Can I Say" and "Happy"; some sing along hits from The Story, like, uh, "The Story," "Turpentine," and hidden track "Hiding My Heart"; and tons of stuff from the new album, like rockers "Dreams" and "Pride and Joy," and acoustic turns with "That Year" and "Dying Day." There was an acoustic section, too, for those of you who missed the acoustic tour.

But the best part about it was that rock concert feel. The band has a new drummer for this tour, Allison Miller, who kicks ass on the drums and makes every song sound better and more intense. The addition of the drums and electric guitars to songs I'd only heard acoustic made them sound like whole new songs, and allowed the band to play old favorites that just can't be done right acoustically. I really can't describe the energy Brandi exudes on stage. It's amazing how much different she sounds than the recorded albums; I always find it unbelievable how an album with so much quiet introspection can sound like arena rock when played live. I like my girls with guitars, but I like them even better when they're slamming on their electric guitars. And when Brandi does that thing on the guitar which has been dubbed and can only be described as "guitar sex," every audience member, no matter their sexual preference, falls instantly in lust.

What's more is that no matter how many times I've seen this woman play a concert, I'm always taken aback at the beginning of the show by how striking her voice is. Last night, Brandi and the band took the stage quietly, and after stopping themselves from giggling over the enthusiasm of the crowd, launched into "Oh Dear" - a song from the new album in which they all stand around one mic and breathe harmonies reminiscent of an old country-roots song. I was struck once again at the sound of her voice, that clear-as-a-bell meets sexy-growl thing that hits you right in the gut, and doesn't stop for two more hours.

Tonight she plays at the House of Blues in Boston, across the street from where the Red Sox are making their way into the playoffs (or maybe they're already in the playoffs... I really don't know, I just know I was warned about the traffic). In this town, that's hard to compete with, but I'm sure she'll emerge victorious. I invited some friends who have never seen her play before... I can't wait to hear what they'll say.