B.B. King

By Jeff Spevak
Democrat and Chronicle

(December 27, 2001) -- Someone told me the other day that I'm getting too cynical for this job. As I look back on 2001 and the shows I sat through, I think . . . yeah, he's right. Anyway, here's the annual Year in Reviews, from the local curmudgeon:

May 31, U2 at HSBC Arena. ''You want spontaneity? Try a night on the town with Jenna Bush, because partying by the seat of your pants isn't generally something you'll see at an arena rock show.''

June 3, Black Crowes and Oasis at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. ''They're calling this 'The Tour of Brotherly Love,' a joke on the sometimes-feuding brothers of Oasis and the Black Crowes. But an equally appropriate name might be 'The Tour By Bands Whose Own Albums Are Influenced By Records That Are Three Decades Or More Older.' ''

June 5, WPXY Summer Jam at Frontier Field. ''O-Town's TV origins make it the Monkees of the New Millennium. Without the support of live instruments, standing alone on its vocals, it was reduced to community-theater boy band.''

July 2, Dido at Darien Lake. ''Some nights, a top-five album, a hit song and association with the evil Eminem aren't enough, as a scant 2,500 turned out for Dido. This was just eight days after 14,000 surged through the same gates for Lynyrd Skynyrd, setting fires on the lawn and calling out for their favorite songs. Rock isn't dead, but maybe modern rock is. Too bad Dido doesn't know 'Freebird.' ''

July 11, Paul Simon and Brian Wilson at Darien Lake. ''Much to the surprise of middling Beach Boys fans who'd heard stories of Brian Wilson's erratic behavior, the 57-year-old songwriter's concerts are not conducted while he's lying in bed. And of no surprise to anyone, watching Paul Simon practice tai chi exercises while someone's taking a guitar solo is not nearly as interesting as, say, watching Kiss' Gene Simmons vomit fake blood.''

July 20, MusicFest at Genesee Valley Park. ''Here's some advice for the Rochester MusicFest: More garbage cans, free admission and set up a whole bunch of booths selling birdhouses and pottery.''

July 23, blink-182 at Darien Lake. "Give 'em credit for endorsing frequent medical checkups. Bassist Mark Hoppus apparently had undergone a testicular exam the day before the show, although he expressed amazement that he had to pay for it. Rock stars think they should get everything free.''

Aug. 8, Reverend Horton Heat at Water Street Music Hall. ''In this midsummer's nightmare of outdoor shows, the Reverend Horton Heat applied a blowtorch to the red-painted, mandrill derrieres of contrived concert acts such as blink-182.''

Aug. 14, matchbox twenty at Darien Lake. ''Blending '70s arena rock and the alternative growl of Pearl Jam, the post-grunge, pop-rock of matchbox twenty brings to mind Tony Musante: It's not quite Al Pacino.''

Aug. 23, Hank Williams III at Water Street. '' 'It ain't Lynyrd Skynyrd and it ain't Marshall Tucker,' Williams warned the Water Street Music Hall crowd. 'Take heed to my warning.' And the country fans did just that, fleeing before the grandson of the songwriting legend closed the evening of country music with 20 minutes of mosh-pit speed metal.''

Sept. 2, B.B. King at Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center. '' 'My band tells me I've earned the right to sit if I wanna,' B.B. King says. '' 'And I wanna!' Get him a recliner if he wants one. Let him put his feet up. Stick an end table at his elbow and let him set his drinks there without using a coaster, if he wishes. Because it's B.B. King, and when he sings 'The Thrill is Gone' in that big, meaty voice of his, it sounds like a huge, wild animal bellowing across the countryside.''

Sept. 16, Backstreet Boys at HSBC Arena. ''Carloads of teen Lolitas circled Buffalo's HSBC Arena, howling an hour before showtime: 'The Backstreet Boys are here!' and waving CDs out the windows while parents cringed. Backstreet Boys is what it is: big, goofy fun in a Nickelodeon way. They sell millions of CDs. And product shilling was shameless, with commercials for cameras and a chocolate-chip breakfast snack aired between acts."