- MC Hammer “U Can’t Touch This”
- Sneaker Pimps “Spin Spin Sugar”
- Beastie Boys VS Queen “Brass Monkey VS Another One Bites The Dust”
- Sir Mix-A-Lot “Buttermilk Biscuits (Keep On Square Dancin’)”
- Cleveland Lounge “Drowning”
- Rob Base VS Prince “It Takes Two To Kiss”
- Bell Biv Devoe VS Cameo “Poison VS Word Up”
- Mark Morrison “Return Of The Mack”
- Egyptian Lover “Egypt, Egypt”
- Everything But The Girl “Missing”
- Beastie Boys “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)”
- Ace Of Base “The Sign”
- Del The Funkee Homosapien “Mistadobalina”
- DJ Laz “Mami El Negro”
- Haddaway “What Is Love”
- P.M. Dawn “Set Adrift On Memory Bliss”
- Princess Superstar VS Mason “Perfect (Exceeder)”
- Nice & Wild “Diamond Girl”
- Tegan & Sara “Everything Is Awesome”
- Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby”
- The KLF “3 A.M. Eternal”
- Utah Saints “Something Good ’08”
- Gucci Crew II “Booty Shake”
- Jennifer Lopez “In The Morning”
- Lisette Melendez “Goody Goody”
- Quad City DJ’s “Space Jam”
- Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”
- Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em”
- Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M.”
- A Tribe Called Quest “Scenario”
- The Avalanches “Frontier Psychiatrist”
- Kid Cudi “Day’N’Nite”
- Deadmau5 “Raise Your Weapon”
- DJ Icey “Dreams”
- Graffiti6 “Stare Into The Sun”
- Planet Patrol “Play At Your Own Risk”
- 2 Bad Mice “Bombscare”
- Deee-Lite “Groove Is In The Heart”
- LL Cool J “Hey Lover”
- Sir Mix-A-Lot “Baby Got Back”
- Digital Underground “The Humpty Dance”
- Run-D.M.C. “Walk This Way”
- 2 Live Crew “Me So Horny”
- A Tribe Called Quest “Award Tour”
- Beu Sisters “You Make Me Feel Like A Star”
- Deion Sanders “Must Be The Money”
- Freestyle “The Party Has Just Begun”
- Gucci Crew II “Under The Boardwalk”
- Jocelyn Enriquez “A Little Bit Of Ecstasy”
- Luke “Breakdown”
- Luscious Jackson “Naked Eye”
- MC Luscious “Boom, I Got Your Boyfriend”
- Mosaic III “Dance Now”
- Nyasia “Who’s Got Your Love”
- Rednex “Cotton Eye Joe”
- Salt-N-Pepa “Push It”
- The Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”
- The Chemical Brothers “Block Rockin’ Beats”
- The Dogs “Nasty Dance”
- Ultra Nate “Free”
Archives
All posts by DJ Mo
#1 – Luscious Jackson “Naked Eye”
#2 – Solillaquists Of Sound “New Sheriff In Town”
#3 – 2 Bad Mice “2 Bad Mice”
#4 – 24K “Don’t Go There”
#5 – Bronski Beat “Heatwave”
#6 – Bryan Ferry “Kiss & Tell”
#7 – Joe Smooth “Promised Land”
#8 – Neon Trees “Everybody Talks”
#9 – Planet Soul “Set U Free”
#10 – R.E.M. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
#11 – Shakespears Sister “Stay”
#12 – Stereo MC’s “Connected”
#13 – Weird Al Yankovic “Close But No Cigar”
#14 – A Tribe Called Quest “Check The Rhime”
#15 – Beck feat. Robyn & The Lonely Island “Super Cool”
#16 – Common “Take It EZ”
#17 – Die Antwoord “Ugly Boy”
#18 – Enya “Echoes In Rain”
#19 – Greenskeepers “Lotion”
#20 – Jungle Brothers “Because I Got It Like That”
#21 – Kraftwerk “Trans Europe Express”
#22 – Logic feat. Wu-Tang Clan “Wu-Tang Forever”
#23 – Luniz “I Got 5 On It”
#24 – MC Hammer “Pumps & A Bump”
#25 – Midnight Oil “King Of The Mountain”
#26 – Mr. President “Coco Jamboo”
#27 – Public Enemy “Can’t Truss It”
#28 – Sneaker Pimps “Spin Spin Sugar”
#29 – The Cars “Drive”
#30 – The Police “Russians”
#31 – The Prodigy “Need Some1”
#32 – Thomas Dolby “She Blinded Me With Science”
#33 – Tiesto “Wasted”
#34 – Utah Saints “Something Good ’08”
#35 – Wood Allen “Airport ’89”
#36 – Egyptian Lover “Egypt, Egypt”
#37 – Nice & Wild “Diamond Girl”
#38 – Tegan & Sarah feat. The Lonely Island “Everything Is Awesome”
#39 – Common “The Light”
#40 – 2 Pac “Changes”
#1 – Sneaker Pimps “Spin Spin Sugar”
#2 – Sir Mix-A-Lot “Buttermilk Biscuits”
#3 – Eminem feat. Juice Wrld “Godzilla”
#4 – Ace Of Base “The Sign”
#5 – Bell Biv Devoe VS Cameo “Poison VS Word Up”
#6 – Luscious Jackson “Naked Eye”
#7 – Egyptian Lover “Egypt, Egypt”
#8 – Kraftwerk “Trans Europe Express”
#9 – Lisette Melendez “A Day In My Life (Without You)”
#10 – Nyasia “Now & Forever”
#11 – Tegan & Sara feat. The Lonely Island “Everything Is Awesome”
#12 – Cleveland Lounge “Drowning”
#13 – Del Tha Funkee Homosapien “Mistadobalina”
#14 – DJ Laz “Mami El Negro”
#15 – Gucci Crew II “Booty Shake”
#16 – Lisette Melendez “Goody Goody”
#17 – NF “Why”
#18 – Nyasia “Who’s Got Your Love”
#19 – Utah Saints “Something Good ’08”
#20 – 2 Live Crew “Hoochie Mama”
#21 – 2 Unlimited “Tribal Dance”
#22 – Beu Sisters “Crushed”
#23 – Crazy L’eggs “Bump Ya Rump”
#24 – Digital Underground “The Humpty Dance”
#25 – DJ Laz “Esa Morena”
#26 – DJ Shadow feat. De La Soul “Rocket Fuel”
#27 – DJ Uncle Al & Felix Sama “Mega Mix”
#28 – Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”
#29 – Green Day “Oh Yeah”
#30 – Lewis Capaldi “Someone You Loved”
#31 – NF “When I Grow Up”
#32 – Nice & Wild “Diamond Girl”
#33 – Planet Patrol “Play At Your Own Risk”
#34 – Regard “Ride It”
#35 – Solillaquists Of Sound “New Sheriff In Town”
#36 – Soul II Soul “Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)”
#37 – Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby”
#38 – Anything But Monday “Bump”
#39 – Beu Sisters “Once Upon A Broken Heart”
#40 – Giggles “What Goes Around Comes Around”
#1 – NF “Why”
#2 – NF “Leave Me Alone”
#3 – NF “The Search”
#4 – NF “When I Grow Up”
#5 – NF “Time”
#6 – The Prodigy “Out Of Space”
#7 – Cleveland Lounge “Drowning”
#8 – The KLF “3 A.M. Eternal”
#9 – DJ Magic Mike “Drop The Bass”
#10 – Eminem “Fall”
#11 – Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”
#12 – Nice & Wild “Diamond Girl”
#13 – Sneaker Pimps “Spin Spin Sugar”
#14 – A Tribe Called Quest “Scenario”
#15 – Ace Of Base “The Sign”
#16 – DJ Laz “Mami El Negro”
#17 – Eminem “Good Guy”
#18 – Princess Superstar “Perfect”
#19 – NF “Green Lights”
#20 – NF “Remember This”
#21 – P.M. Dawn “I’d Die Without You”
#22 – Run-D.M.C. “Peter Piper”
#23 – The Avalanches “Frontier Psychiatrist”
#24 – Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby”
#25 – Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M.”
2018’s most played songs across all genres on DJ Mo Radio, ranked by radio airplay & listener requests, compiled & tallied by DJ Mo.
| 1 | NF – Let You Down |
| 2 | NF – Green Lights |
| 3 | NF – Outro |
| 4 | NF – 10 Feet Down (feat. Ruelle) |
| 5 | NF – Outcast |
| 6 | NF – No Name |
| 7 | Eminem feat. Beyonce – Walk On Water |
| 8 | Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran – River |
| 9 | NF – Real |
| 10 | NF – Lie |
| 11 | NF – 3 A.M. |
| 12 | NF – Grindin’ (feat. Marty) |
| 13 | NF – Therapy Session |
| 14 | NF – Remember This |
| 15 | NF – My Life |
| 16 | NF – If You Want Love |
| 17 | NF – Destiny |
| 18 | NF – Dreams |
| 19 | NF – Know |
| 20 | NF – All I Do |
| 21 | Eminem – Framed |
| 22 | Eminem – Untouchable |
| 23 | Run-D.M.C. – Peter Piper |
| 24 | DJ Magic Mike – Drop The Bass |
| 25 | Geto Boys – Mind Playing Tricks On Me |
| 26 | MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This |
| 27 | Beu Sisters – Once Upon A Broken Heart |
| 28 | Cleveland Lounge – Drowning |
| 29 | A Tribe Called Quest – Scenario |
| 30 | Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby |
| 31 | Keala Settle – This Is Me |
| 32 | Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours |
| 33 | En Vogue – My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It) |
| 34 | NF – WHY |
| 35 | Eminem – Fall |
| 36 | Royce da 5’9″ feat. Eminem & King Green – Caterpillar |
| 37 | The Script – Rain |
| 38 | Anything But Monday – Crush |
| 39 | Ace of Base – The Sign |
| 40 | Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance |
| 41 | Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam – Let The Beat Hit ‘Em |
| 42 | PM Dawn – I’d Die Without You |
Crazy Rich Asians – A DJ Mo Movie Review
Tuesday, August 14th, 2018
The following is my own personal opinion about “Crazy Rich Asians“, & does not represent the views & expressions of any other person.
Thankfully, I was able to get pre-screening tickets & saw this movie about a week before it’s scheduled to release. I have made this review as general as possible to possibly avoid spoiling the movie for others who have not seen it yet, but I wanted to write it, because I want people to go out & see this movie.
So proceed at your own risk by scrolling down below the image.
This review may contain spoilers!
“‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is keen & culturally legit.” – DJ Mo
The beginning scene sets the audience up perfectly for the rest of the movie & takes us back to the times when being Asian was looked down upon from the white folks. The outcome of this particular scene had the audience clapping in victory when the tables have turned in an unexpected manner. It was brilliant!
Constance Wu delivers her role well being Rachel Chu, the girlfriend of an unknowingly rich & famous star in Singapore, Nick Young, played by Henry Golding, who is also one of the obvious eye candies for the ladies in this romantic comedy. There is perception that the most unattractive race as a man is Asian, but “Crazy Rich Asians” shows otherwise.
There is truth in representation that Asians need in popular American media today that they’ve never really had since “Joy Luck Club“, which was about 25 years ago. Being an Asian-American man, I have questioned why there aren’t many movies like this that doesn’t show an Asian performing any martial arts or working at an Asian restaurant. This movie breaks this perception fairly well, as it is culturally legit in how many Asian families behave toward each other, whether they are filthy rich, Asian, or neither.
It is true that we Asians have pretty strict parents who ultimately wants the best for us & to keep the Asian culture alive for generations to come. There is definitely pressure from our parents to marry and/or date “the right person”, whether you are of Asian decent or not. This particular movie only portrays Asians who have almost unlimited wealth, which is not so believable, but entertaining to see how Rachel adjusts to a lifestyle that everyone always have goals to achieve & dream about. Gold diggers beware. Most Asians aren’t really this rich.
It is a positive thing that this is an all-Asian cast. However, I do believe that there should be a portrayal of Asians in American culture about the trials & tribulations of daily life that is somewhat portrayed in “Fresh Off The Boat“, an ABC sitcom about a Chinese family adjusting to American life in Orlando, FL. “Crazy Rich Asians” takes us outside of that & portrays Asians having to deal with the same drama & romance as Americans, but the addition of Asian heritage, atmosphere, & beliefs is what makes it unique from the rest. Although it is not directly spoken, it is definitely implied. So if you see this movie & don’t understand why there is drama in certain situations, I suggest that you study a little about Asian culture before you make any judgement at all.
The character who really shines in this movie is the awkward best friend of Rachel’s, Goh, played by YouTube star Awkwafina. She delivers in-your-face & off-the-wall comedy & keeps it pretty real throughout the movie. There is a light-hearted atmosphere in this particular movie that “Joy Luck Club” did not have 25 years ago, which was one of the many things that I liked about this movie. I’m a sucker for rom-coms, so this movie definitely impressed me. Another recognizable actor in this movie is Ken Jeong (star of “Dr. Ken“) who plays the father of the wacky Goh family.
There is a lot of mixture in Chinese dialects within “Crazy Rich Asians“. I recognized that both Mandarin & Cantonese is spoken & not always provided with English translation or captions, so those who don’t understand either language might have a difficult time understanding some of the little things that happen throughout the movie, especially in the background. Once the movie comes out on digital, Bluray, or DVD, closed captioning can help the non-Chinese language viewer understand a little more of the many things that happen around the central point of some scenes.
The most critical scene would probably have to be the one where Rachel plays mahjong with the mother-in-law. Every single move they both make with their mahjong tiles matches with their dialogue. If you know how to play mahjong, this will probably be the next most brilliant scene for you in the entire movie, besides the opening scene.
The soundtrack is definitely to be admired. There are a few classic Chinese gems that I know that my parents will recognize. One song that I immediately recognized from my childhood was Sally Yeh’s “200 Du“, a Cantonese pop cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl” circa 1985. If the opening scene did not win me over, this addition to genuine Chinese pop music that Americans don’t usually hear is a delight to my eardrums. Time will tell whether the next legit Asian-American blockbuster movie will contain George Lam’s “Y.M.C.A.” or even Sam Hui’s interpretation of rock & roll oldies classics. It would be a great introduction to the old school Cantopop scene!
I’m not sure if the giant bold letters showing where the setting takes place in different scenes was necessary. The same font is used in the logo. Many other movies, if any, does not have such a large font to represent where the next scene will take place. I found this to be out of the ordinary, but this is me being a little nitpicky. Besides this, the colorful representation of every city in this movie is breathtaking, especially Singapore!
Overall, the movie was very enjoyable, entertaining, laughable, relatable, & well respected due to the representation & cultural display that is not seen anywhere else to the American (and possibly worldwide) audience. It was very keen & culturally legit. My girlfriend says this movie is the “Black Panther” for Asian people. I hope you enjoyed this cringeworthy review of “Crazy Rich Asians“. I also hope you check this movie out in anticipation, because I believe that this movie will probably be one of the best movies released in 2018!
DJ Mo’s Movie Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
“Crazy Rich Asians” opens this Friday, August 17th, 2018.
This year’s most played songs across all genres on DJ Mo Radio, ranked by radio airplay & listener requests, compiled & tallied by DJ Mo.
#1: NF “Let You Down”
#2: Sneaker Pimps “Spin Spin Sugar”
#3: MC Hammer “U Can’t Touch This”
#4: NF “Outcast”
#5: Kendrick Lamar “Humble”
#6: NF “Green Lights”
#7: A Tribe Called Quest “We The People”
#8: The XX “On Hold”
#9: Psy “I Luv It”
#10: Spoon “Can I Sit Next To You”
#11: Washed Out “Hard To Say Goodbye”
#12: DJ Magic Mike “Drop The Bass”
#13: Nice & Wild “Diamond Girl”
#14: Sir Mix-A-Lot “Buttermilk Biscuits”
#15: 95 South “Rodeo”
#16: Heavy D. & The Boyz “Is It Good To You”
#17: MC Shy-D “Shake It”
#18: Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”
#19: NF “Outro”
#20: Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know”
#21: Beck “Up All Night”
#22: Blood Orange “Best To You”
#23: Justice “Fire”
#24: Martin Jensen “Solo Dance”
#25: Odesza “Line Of Sight”
#26: The XX “Say Something Loving”
#27: Father John Misty “Ballad Of The Dying Man”
#28: LCD Soundsystem “Call The Police”
#29: Real Estate “Darling”
#30: MC Hammer “2 Legit 2 Quit”
#31: MC Hammer “Pray”
#32: Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby”
#33: DJ Laz “Mami El Negro”
#34: Solillaquists Of Sound “New Sheriff In Town”
#35: Madd Blunted “Shake It”
#36: A Tribe Called Quest “Award Tour”
#37: Michael Jackson “Remember The Time”
#38: Trinere “How Can We Be Wrong”
#39: Jurassic 5 “Swing Set”
#40: TKA “Maria”
#41: Janet Jackson “All For You”
#42: Dr. Dre “Keep Their Heads Ringin'”
#43: En Vogue “My Lovin'”
DJ Mo Radio’s Hype 40 Most Requested Songs Of All-Time
#1: Sneaker Pimps “Spin Spin Sugar”
#2: Cleveland Lounge “Drowning”
#3: Beastie Boys “Brass Monkey”
#4: Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M.”
#5: Ace Of Base “The Sign”
#6: Del Tha Funkee Homosapien “Mistadobalina”
#7: PM Dawn “I’d Die Without You”
#8: Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”
#9: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em”
#10: Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock “It Takes Two”
#11: Beastie Boys “Fight For Your Right”
#12: Kid Cudi “Pursuit Of Happiness”
#13: Bassnectar “Cozza Frenzy”
#14: The Avalanches “Frontier Psychiatrist”
#15: Nice & Wild “Diamond Girl”
#16: A Tribe Called Quest “Scenario”
#17: Bell Biv Devoe “Poison”
#18: Malcolm McLaren & The World Famous Supreme Team “Hey DJ”
#19: Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel “White Lines”
#20: Planet Patrol “Play At Your Own Risk”
#21: Graffiti6 “Stare Into The Sun”
#22: Deadmau5 “Raise Your Weapon”
#23: The Prodigy “Out Of Space”
#24: DJ Icey “Tasters”
#25: Mark Morrison “Return Of The Mack”
#26: Sir Mix-A-Lot “Jump On It”
#27: Haddaway “What Is Love”
#28: DJ Laz “Mami El Negro”
#29: DJ Magic Mike “Drop The Bass”
#30: Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force “Planet Rock”
#31: Tegan & Sara feat. Lonely Island “Everything Is Awesome”
#32: Flo-Rida “Good Feeling”
#33: Solillaquists Of Sound “New Sheriff In Town”
#34: Cee-Lo Green feat. Jack Black “Kung Fu Fighting”
#35: Utah Saints “Something Good”
#36: Mason VS Princess Superstar “Exceeder”
#37: Run-DMC “Peter Piper”
#38: Young & Restless “B-Girls”
#39: 2 Bad Mice “2 Bad Mice”
#40: Mobb Deep “Shook Ones”
#41: Digital Underground “Humpty Dance”
#42: KLF “3 A.M. Eternal”
#43: Deee-Lite “Groove Is In The Heart”
#44: Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby”
#45: Tone Loc “Funky Cold Medina”
#46: Sir Mix-A-Lot “Buttermilk Biscuits”
#47: LL Cool J “Going Back To Cali”
I attended this concert after hearing about it the day of, so I wasn’t able to go through the biography of Peter Cetera or remind myself what songs he sang before going to this.
Unprepared for what is to come, nor being a huge fan who would know every single song, I was just there to enjoy a concert I wouldn’t have normally gone to.
Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts is a very upscale venue complete with ushers, attendants, valet parking, & security.
It was a change of atmosphere from most of the concerts today.
I personally prefer seated concerts rather than crowded standup concerts, so this was a treat for me.
I wasn’t able to record any video during this concert, because Peter Cetera asked everyone to put the phones away, especially the people in front, during the performance, so this review won’t be in much detail than I would like it to be.
That is the downside of not being able to record at least a part of the event so I could write a better review.
However, I do understand that concerts were meant to be experienced, & I granted his wishes, even though there were a few around me who practically recorded a lot of this concert.
So this is my review in the best detail that I can remember as I type this only a few hours after.
Some of it may be scattered, but I figured I would just leave it as natural sounding as can be.
After all, a review is basically the opinion of the writer & does not reflect any other opinions that may be expressed elsewhere.
During the introduction, I learned that Peter Cetera was in the band Chicago, which turned out to be a bonus for me attending.
The average person in my generation wouldn’t know he was in that band. At least I recognized a few songs before my time to figure out that his signature voice was all over a few of the songs I liked.
He performed “If You Leave Me Now”, with the signature “ooh ooh” in the chorus, which he let the audience sing for a part of it.
Probably the most spun record on Smooth Jazz stations that went vocal was “You’re The Inspiration”, which he also performed.
“Baby, What A Big Surprise” was another hit I recognized.
He might have performed “Just You’N’Me”.
I find some of the songs pretty similar sounding, but unique from others, which is probably what made Chicago & Peter Cetera be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Going through the greatest hits of Chicago right now that I personally recognize listening to in my lifetime as I type this review, I don’t remember him performing “Make Me Smile/Now More Than Ever”, “Saturday In The Park”, & “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is”, the songs of Chicago that I remember hearing on True Oldies radio stations.
It could be that a different singer was the lead for those songs.
It wasn’t only Peter Cetera that was highlighted during this concert.
His whole band was showcased with solos here & there.
He even gave a few minutes to his driver, who sang an Italian opera & an operatic version of an Elvis Presley song. Humorous, yet talented.
I think this was the part of the concert the crowd was most responsive.
Tanya, a backup female singer, was also showcased.
She had a great voice, & I can see her being a future hit singer in Adult Contemporary or Country if given the chance.
She did a couple of duets with Peter Cetera during the night, & they were amazing!
A guitar player was also showcased a little more than Tanya, but his voice wasn’t to my own liking.
I would prefer the female singer to be the more highlighted backup than him, although he was a good guitar player.
Peter Cetera would tell his life story about how he got signed, the awards he was nominated for, & he also added a little humor to his adlibs in between sets.
During his nomination bit, the band played an instrumental of “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin, because that song triumphed over his song “Glory Of Love” as Best Soundtrack Song.
The crowd was a quiet one. While the venue was in complete silence at one point, a man shouted “Glory Of Love!”
Mr. Cetera responded with some dry witty humor & told him that it wasn’t on his set list.
He would perform that song after his next one, & he joked with the crowd throughout the night about cell phone usage & random spurts of “I love you!” in a very hushed crowd.
Probably the most recognized hit from Peter Cetera, besides “Glory Of Love”, was “Hard To Say I’m Sorry”.
I first heard this song (and also have the CD single) from the 90’s when Az Yet released their R&B take with him as a featured artist.
He did perform my personal favorite, “25 Or 6 To 4”, as the very last song of the night during the encore in a very different manner than the original.
Both the key & tempo were different, so I didn’t recognize the song until he got through a few lines of lyrics.
I know the artists who perform their songs hundreds of times get tired of playing the same song over & over again like I get tired of mainstream radio playing their power rotations around 90 times per week.
But, I kind of wished that he kept the original of this song intact.
Overall, even though I did not recognize almost half of the songs performed throughout the night, I would say that I enjoyed this quality concert very well.
It just goes to show you that if you go to something without any expectations, the enjoyment level would be the best.
DJ Mo’s Peter Cetera Concert Score: 8/10
Todrick Hall: Straight Outta Oz – Thursday, July 29th, 2016 at The Beacham – Orlando, FL
*** (Contains spoilers!) ***
Todrick Hall was one of the most interesting concerts that I have attended. He attracted a very diverse crowd of grandmothers & parents who brought their little grade school kids & the regular concert goer of all ages.
I myself haven’t seen the “Straight Outta Oz” video before coming to this. It surely caught me by surprise. I was expecting more of a clean Disney fun performance. I would suggest watching the whole hour video on YouTube before you attend. There are additional scenes, so not all is lost after you see it.
As I entered the venue into the main room, the atmosphere was already in effect. The set was onstage & Todrick Hall’s famous YouTube videos were playing on the big screens. It was as satisfying as being on hold for a Disney phone operator.
He opened with “No Place Like Home” to introduce his Wizard Of Oz themed show. It was more of a theatrical musical than a concert. Everything was pieced together very well, as it took us chronologically through his life biography.
There was even a Wayne Brady cameo on video for the beginning of “Over The Rainbow”. Wayne plays as Todrick’s grandpa as he gives him a Holy Bible & tells him to get a woman & a grandson.
The most daring display of the night was during “Color”, when he sings & reenacts his love with a white man. It’s not everyday you see two men kiss & caress each other on stage, let alone in public. In the end of this number, his mom shows up & finds out about his sexuality. With kids & parents in the audience, I begin to think what they are thinking about at this moment, as this is a pretty hot topic today.
Another interesting number was “Expensive”, when Todrick was given a black credit card. “That sh-t’s expensive” was repeatedly chanted during this rap song. I was sure that the grandmas & parents in the audience were surprised by this, when they probably only have seen his clean & fun Disney-affiliated YouTube videos like I had.
Keeping with the Wizard Of Oz theme, Todrick performs another rap song as the scarecrow & calls everything he doesn’t believe in “Dumb”.
The next number, he performs as the tin man, singing about heartbreak in “If I Had A Heart”, after he shakes the hand of a businessman who suckers him into an agreement to provide his talents to Monkey Airlines. I’m pretty sure that’s a code for a company that has done him wrong in his career.
He also wears a lion coat in the next number, “Lyin’ To Myself”. He questions why he sees other men not the same as him in the ways they act & dress.
“Papi” is about a woman throwing herself at him in exchange for a big contract for his career in Oz Angeles. If only she knew of his true sexuality.
“Wrong B!tch” is chanted in another rap number that is not suitable for the kids attending this concert. Most of the supporting performers also sported a top that says “Wrong B!tch”. Todrick is dressed in a big skirt & blonde wig as a drag queen.
The best song of the night was “Water Guns”, preceded by a montage of news clips of mass shootings.
His entertainment career stops cold after he wasn’t successful in attracting the amount of followers that “Munchkin Beeber” did.
The finale of “Straight Outta Oz” was a very heartfelt one. In the end of the performance, he goes back “Home” to reunite & hug his mother after his adventures in his career.
There were a few encore performances right after. It was basically a medley of a few of his most popular YouTube videos. My favorite was “90’s Disney”, the real reason I really wanted to attend.
Overall, it was a very well choreographed performance along with a great theatrical set, lights, & last, but not least, costumes. I enjoyed this performance very much, & I would highly recommend this to anyone who has watched “The Wizard Of Oz” or enjoys Disney. However, this is not an all-kids concert, so be warned if you are planning to bring your grade school kids!
DJ Mo’s Todrick Hall Concert Score: 9/10
Freestyle legends Stevie B. and Lisa Lisa headlined at the Super Freestyle Explosion on Saturday, February 27 at CFE Arena. Orlando’s freestyle and old school fans also saw Expose, Jody Watley, The Jets, Timmy T, Zapp, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, JoJo of The Mary Jane Girls, Freestyle, and JJ Fad in what is promoted as “Orlando’s biggest Freestyle concert of the year”.
Orlando’s freestyle and old school fans came together to see their favorite artists perform the biggest rhythmic radio dance hits that emanated in the late 80’s and 90’s, and spread like wild fire on radio throughout the country. The Super Freestyle Explosion is presented by Pacific Concert Group.
I’m not sure if I was spoiled by the previous Legends Of The Old School concert back in November, but I was expecting the same or better for this Super Freestyle Explosion concert. I purposely sat in the same section, but on the lower level, so that I would get about the same experience as I did at the Legends Of The Old School & Sarah Brightman concerts inside the same arena.
I was given the Super Freestyle Explosion flyer (shown above) on my way out of the Legends Of The Old School concert last November, which was a good no-brainer promotions move. When I saw the lineup, I was wondering why there were R&B acts performing at a Freestyle concert. I didn’t think too much of it, since the only act I saw before on the list was Expose, & I looked forward to seeing all 11 acts when I bought the ticket.
Well, the night started unfolding in the very first act, which was Jojo, the lead singer of the Mary Jane Girls. The flyer for this event listed her songs “All Night Long”, “Candy Man”, & “In My House”, which she did, & nothing more, for a total of less than 15 minutes. After her performance, I knew to expect an abridged performance for each act. Little did I know that it was going to be abridged even more for later acts! I’ll get to that in a couple of paragraphs.
The concert started at 7:30pm with D. Royale of 104.5 The Beat as the host of the night. 104.5 The Beat is a Hip Hop & R&B radio station in Orlando through iHeartMedia. I honestly thought a much better radio station to represent this concert was 105.9 Sunny FM, a Classic Hits radio station in Orlando through CBS Radio that actually plays Freestyle music & some of these artists’ music during their Saturday Night Classic Dance Showcase.
Alas, the folks at Pacific Concert Group promotions decided on a bigger cluster hoping for a bigger reach rather than a direct audience target. Well, they did get the reach, but not the right audience. Sitting on my left was a girl, probably in her 20’s, who was bored & didn’t know any of the songs or artists with her friend who dragged her along. They both ended up leaving mid-concert. To the right of me was a poor old lady who was probably well over 60 with her husband. Next to her husband was his daughter, in her 40’s, who obviously dragged both of them along, because they had their hand to their head as if they had a headache for the duration of their stay, which they also ended up leaving mid-concert. But I digress.
Sidetracking on the technical side, whoever was mixing the audio had everyone’s mic too hot & the overall mix of pre-recorded & live channels was everywhere for every single act. The mix was way better & more balanced in the Old School concert in the same venue last November. As a former audio technician, I was cringing at the loud levels throughout the night. Good thing I put on my earplugs to protect my hearing!
On toward the next act at 7:45pm, which was The Jets, a group I remembered listening to when I was a little kid in elementary school in the middle-to-late 80s. The flyer listed their songs “Crush On You”, “Make It Real”, & “You Got It All”, which they also performed verbatim for a total of less than 15 minutes. I was expecting more hits like “Curiosity” & “Rocket 2 U”.
It is already 8pm & we are already in the 3rd performer, who was Timmy T. “Time After Time” & “One More Try” was listed on the flyer, which he performed verbatim for less than 10 minutes. I am not a fan of cookie-cutter playlists, so the night started to get disappointing for me. If he would of busted out the song “What Will I Do”, which I have on 12″ vinyl single, I wouldn’t have started to be disappointed in how the night was going. Even though “One More Try” is one of my favorite Freestyle slow jams of all time, & 2 awesome talented dancers on roller skates performed next to him during “Time After Time”, I still wanted more.
The next act was Freestyle, listed on the flyer with “The Party Has Just Begun”, “Don’t Stop The Rock”, & “It’s Automatic”. Well, they did not perform “The Party Has Just Begun” & their performance was sloppy, only singing parts of every line of lyrics in both of their songs, as if they forgot the lyrics to their own song! They replaced it with “throw your hands in the air”, “the roof is on fire”, & other old school chants repeatedly during their 10 minute performance. I also have the 12″ vinyl single of “In Your Face”, so there’s 2 songs that was missed. I looked at the time & it was only 8:15pm with 4 performers already done.
Next up was J.J. Fad, listed with “Supersonic” & “Let’s Get Hyped”. They started out introducing their DJ who was the original DJ of N.W.A. He played a quick bar of Eazy-E before following it with “Supersonic”. At the end of the song, the lyrics go “That was it!” & they suddenly just walked off stage. They only performed ONE song! I don’t know what the promoter or event coordinator was thinking. You do not book a performer, make them travel from city to city, & tell them to only perform just one song (or even two). That’s straight up disrespect to the artist & their fans. I wanted J.J. Fad to perform “Way Out” instead of just “Supersonic”! Yes, they were on stage for a total of about 5 minutes! I said out loud this time, quoting the end of their hit song in its question form, “That was it?!” That was the moment I dreaded being shorted for the rest of the night with 5 performers done in less than an hour! Unfortunately, that was the only time the turntables onstage was ever used. It was striked offstage before Zapp’s performance.
Evelyn Champagne King, listed with “Love Come Down”, “Shame”, & “Betcha She Don’t Love You” did just that, plus a random cover of Shalamar’s “A Night To Remember” in another 15 minutes of fame. She also played on the bongos for a little bit, which was the only live instrument so far in this concert. The rest of the concert was performed with pre-recorded backing tracks, so I don’t know how the audio technician failed to mix properly. I could even tell there was a limiter working very hard by this point, because every time the vocalist stopped singing, the pre-recorded music went back to a higher volume level. But, again, I digress.
It was almost 9pm. The 7th performer was Jody Watley, listed with “Looking For A New Love”, “Real Love”, “Everything”, & “Don’t You Want Me”. This was one of the better performances of the night (Finally!) as she had backup dancers & choreography along with her singing. Jody Watley also performed “Friends” & even rapped Eric B. & Rakim’s part of the song (horribly). The performances started to get even more fulfilling starting from this point, but my disappointment still clouds over me from the last 6. This one actually lasted just less than a half hour.
Now for the performance that I hadn’t expected. Zapp came in with a set & props with some creative lighting & costumes. The only other performer I have seen doing a vocoder live was Solillaquists Of Sound, & I was so giddy when they started vocalizing! Probably the very first performer of the night with all live instrumentation & it made a heck of a difference! There were 2 keyboards, a drum set, & a couple of prop vocoder stands with the word Zapp in front of it. The most memorable performance of the night, as the lights go out during & their suits light up. They even surprised the crowd by travelling around the floor level offstage while performing. They were listed as “Zapp”, not Zapp & Roger, & performed “More Bounce To The Ounce”, “So Ruff So Tuff”, “I Wanna Be Your Man”, “I Can Make You Dance”, & “Computer Love”. They also performed Roger Troutman’s part of 2 Pac’s hit “California Love”. The only hit they missed that I can think of was “Dance Floor”, but I was just starting to get satisfied with the night as it improved from one song to a good few hits.
After Zapp left the stage, there was a brief intermission to get ready for the true Freestyle performers. By this time, which was about 9:45pm, I was already disappointed in 6 of the last 8 performances, with only 3 more to go. That’s already more than half of the performances in total I was disappointed with throughout the night. It can only get better, right?
Expose came out with more of a medley of songs than full performances. They were listed with the songs “Point Of No Return”, “Come Go With Me”, “Seasons Change”, & “Let Me Be The One”. They also performed “What You Don’t Know” & even performed one of Gioia Bruno’s more recent solo Dance songs. Expose totally missed “I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me”, which they performed at Epcot & performed a lot better there.
One of the better performances of the night was Lisa Lisa, listed with “Can You Feel The Beat”, “I Wonder If I Take You Home”, “All Cried Out”, & “Lost In Emotion”. She also performed “Head To Toe”, “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em”, & to my surprise, the lesser known “Let’s Git It Together”, which I also have on 12″ vinyl single. She was the best singer of the night (even being off a little at times), in my opinion. My Lisa Lisa appetite (after over 20 years) has been satisfied!
Finally, what everyone (well, the ones who stayed) were waiting for – Stevie B. He brought 2 keyboardists, a bongo drummer, guitarist, & drummer. Besides Zapp, he was only the second performer with a full band, along with a backing pre-recorded track. Listed with the songs “Spring Love”, “Party Your Body”, “Because I Love You”, & “I Wanna Be The One”, he also included “Dreamin’ Of Love”, “In My Eyes”, & a couple others even I haven’t even heard of! He was great at crowd participation, but when he was singing, it was with a swing that took his classic songs to a different direction. I preferably like the artists to sing the songs as close to the original, especially if it’s a classic song to sing along to.
Overall, the concert was meh. The best performance of the night goes to Zapp! If I had to rate it, it would be a 7 out of 10, which is a very generous rating considering I’m still disappointed in how most of the night went. Even though I got to see some performers for the 1st time, I missed out on deeper tracks & their overall presentation. The concert ended before midnight. (The Legends Of The Old School concert lasted past 1am with Vanilla Ice still hanging out on stage conversing & taking pics with fans!) I can now cross off these artists from my bucket list, but I know now to watch out for the name “Pacific Concert Group” next time I see it. (I would go to another “Johnny Quest” Old School concert, though!)
Even though D. Royale from 104.5 The Beat did a great job holding up the crowd in between sets, there should have also been a live DJ to fill in the time & keep the crowd hyped, especially with a themed show. It would be so easy (at least for me) to spin TRUE Freestyle songs instead of Hip Hop & Sade (WHY?!), which they played during intermission. You also CANNOT book non-Freestyle acts to perform for an event that is labeled “Freestyle”! That is a disservice to the genre of music well-known in regional parts of the world.
DJ Mo’s Ratings:
Stevie B: 7/10
Expose: 7/10
Zapp: 9/10
Evelyn Champagne King: 7/10
J.J. Fad: 5/10
Jody Watley: 8/10
Lisa Lisa: 9/10
Freestyle: 4/10
The Jets: 7/10
Jojo (Mary Jane Girls): 7/10
Timmy T: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
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