Jerry Curl

There are certain dreams that we have as kids that we know will never come true. Par exemple, I will never be a pirate or a Power Ranger or Captain of the Starship Voyager. Trust me, I’ve tried. But then there are other dreams that we think are impossible to realize until they are. Last week I had the distinct and long-awaited pleasure of seeing my favorite rock band of all time live, reunited, and in person. Fleetwood Mac came to Chicago 1 week ago today and I was there. I WAS THERE. First some background: When I was 13 years old, my cousin Lily gave me a copy of Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits . I think she had an extra copy or something and thought I’d like to have it. Was a simple mindless that profoundly influenced my musical life. Without the slightest bit of exaggeration, I listened to that CD for the next 6 years. I’d never heard music like theirs before. I found Stevie Nicks’ vocals to be haunting and magical. Lindsay Buckingham sang hard and played even harde...

Today, in the unlikeliest place imaginable, a musician restored my faith in music. His name is Steve Grand and believe me when I say that he lives up to his name. I first heard about Steve a year ago when his video for “All-American Boy” spread across the Internet like a wildfire. Being an ardent supporter of talented people (because there are so few of them left!) I downloaded the song, donated a little money to his Kickstarter campaign for an album, and followed him on the Twitter. Then last week I found out that he’d be at Market Days this weekend and quickly made arrangements to be there, too. Given the venue and nature of the audience, I was not expecting much. Steve is handsome and built like a truck, so I thought he’d come out shirtless, the audience of boys would fawn over him for the duration of three songs, and that would be that. How wonderfully wrong I was. Steve came out fully clothed-- wearing a plain white V-neck tee shirt, skinny black Levis, and...

There was once a time in my life when I believed that Liza Minnelli would die before I got to see her in concert. That time was basically all of the 90's and early 00's. It was during that time that she suffered through hip replacements, brain encephalitis, and a marriage to David Gest-- all of which were pretty equally traumatic. The point is, she and I were a bit touch-and-go there for a while. She eventually sailed through her surgeries, conquered the viral encephalitis which most doctor's thought was going to be her undoing, and beat/divorced David Gest. None of which, of course, was surprising to those who love Liza because she's made a career out of being the comeback kid. She is, after all, Judy's daughter. So it is with great pride and a little boasting that I admit to having seen Liza Minnelli in concert twice now. During last night's show at the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Hollywood, Liza absolutely dazzled her audience. Having h...

[ Editor's note ] Dame Sir Elton John and I share a long, sordid history. Ages ago when I was a fledgling college student at the University of Florida, he planned a concert on campus-- mere steps from my dorm room. Not one to miss an opportunity like that, I starved for 2 weeks and bought a ticket with the money I saved on food. On the day of the show, as I merrily walked to the venue, I got a call from a gal pal informing me that he postponed the show. Days later, he outright cancelled. Angered and betrayed, I boycotted his music for a whole year. But that was then and this is now. On the night of March 9th we put our differences aside as Elton did a 29-song set of his biggest and best. Wearing red specs and clad in his trademark sequined suit, he rocked the hell out of the BankAtlantic center for nearly 3 hours. Admittedly, the music was a mixed bag of good-old, bad-new, and oddly-obscure tunes. Elton started off with a bang by playing an electrifying rendition of “Saturday Nigh...

[ Editor's note ] A few weeks ago I went to see Lenny Kravitz at the Fillmore and I’m still schvitzing . He is, without a doubt, the handsomest man I’ ve ever seen sing songs. To put it bluntly: he gave me hot flashes that made my eye-glasses fog up. Now that I’ ve gotten those shameful, embarrassing, and totally superficial feelings out of the way, let me expand on something more redeeming: namely, Lenny Kravitz ’s awe-inspiring talent for music. Lenny Kravitz is perhaps one of the most talented musicians of his generation. He has no equal in either his genre-blending style or his prowess on stage. He exudes raw, real bad- assness in a way that is incredibly lacking in music today. For about 2 hours, he slithered on that stage and turned in performances that shook the very rafters of the Fillmore. Admittedly, he stirred something else in me, but I digress. Unfortunately, he is also one of the most under appreciated talents of his generation. Countless people I know were surp...

[ Editor's note ] I just realized that I never typed up anything about seeing Dolly Parton. I can think of no better occasion than her 66th birthday (and her new film!) to right this wrong. There are very few performers who have shined as brightly as Dolly Parton. As the charming and adorable country Diva, she wriggled into the cockles of my heart long ago. My memories of Dolly Parton stretch back as far as my childhood. I used to pretend that my mom (who in the 90s looked a lot like her) was Truvy cutting my hair. Well I was given the rare opportunity of seeing this film and music legend in October for my birthday. Clad in a hot-pink dress and then a canary-yellow jumper with shorts, Dolly Parton sparkled both from the inside and the outside. From the very beginning, Dolly was chatty with us. Before each song, she would relate some words of wisdom or a personal story. Of her iconic hit "Jolene", she said that the song was based on truth. When she and her husband were fi...

[ Editor's note ] My love for Rufus Wainwright's music dates back to the early days of college life. At the time, I was 19 years old, living in Gainesville , and going through a musical awakening of sorts. Thanks to new friends and an amazing Amazon recommendations page, I discovered brilliant bands like Pink Martini, the Scissor Sisters, Dangerous Muse, and Paris Combo. Rufus Wainwright, with his haunting melodies and deep tenor voice, stood out from that crowd and filled the airwaves of my dormitory. Well, this past Saturday afternoon my pal Barbara and I had the privilege to see Wainwright live. Backed by the awe-inspiring Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Wainwright performed at Ravinia in Chicago and he delivered a program unlike any other I've seen. The first half of the concert featured Wainwright and the CSO doing works by Berlioz and Mendelssohn. Then they put the Bard to music and did five Shakespearean sonnets. Following an intermission, Rufus performed so...

[ Editor's note ] Let me begin with a conclusion: Kylie Minogue's show at the BankAtlantic Center in Ft. Lauderdale was the best I’ve ever seen—ever. Sorry, Miss Turner . Get out of here, Bette . Maybe next year, Cher . Kylie’s Aphrodite: Les Folies tour is a fun, fabulous and free-wheeling celebration of pop music’s most underappreciated diva. Impressively exciting from beginning to end, this show boasted a spectacular set of Corinthian columns, a Pegasus horse, a marble bust of Kylie, and a men-drawn chariot-- all backed by a huge LCD screen that was as pretty as it was hypnotic. The show also included a litany of Greek warriors, shirtless Adonises, and beautiful black men in little black shorts. If Kylie knows anything, she knows that scantily clad boys are the way to the hearts of her audience. And feathers, there were lots and lots of feathers. The music was a rapturous collection of new tunes and classic Kylie. The set list was littered with songs from every Minogue era:...

[ Editor's note ] Last night, my Venezuelan friend Franc and I went to see the Monster Ball at the American Airlines Arena. In what can only be described as compendium of crazy, Lady Gaga's show was a trippy trip through the mind of a musical maniac. Equal parts art installation and pyrotechnic science project, the show was both stunning and thought-provoking. From the funnel of fire swirling atop her piano to the tentacled monster writhing around on stage, the Monster Ball was relentless in its pursuit to dazzle and amaze. Perhaps my favorite piece of staging was a beautiful angel fountain that was brought out during “Show Me Your Teeth.” In a very cool juxtaposition of images, the angel becomes a Christ-like figure who then shoots flames of from its wings. Simply put, the Monster Ball is one of the most ambitious shows I've ever seen. Staging gimmicks aside, the show confirmed that Gaga is-- above all else-- the mistress of her own talents. The girl can dance, play a wide...

[ Editor's note ] Three monumental things have happened to me at the BankUnited Center. In 2004, my high school held its graduation ceremony there. In 2008, I heard presidential nominee Barack Obama speak about the future. And this past Saturday night, I saw the incomparable Barry Manilow perform in concert. To say that Barry remains every bit the superstar I was hoping for is putting it mildly. At 67 years young, he brought all the magic, the smiles, and the bandstand boogie he's famous for and then some. Funny, talented and charmingly self-deprecating, Barry Manilow remains without equal. Admittedly, the night started off rather poorly. Barry’s opening act was a man named Gerry McCambridge who has allegedly been wowing audiences at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas since 2005. As the creative force and inspiration behind the TV show The Mentalist , McCambridge's schtick is to do clever things with numbers. Honestly, I've never thought that doing anything with numbers w...

Diva count : Tina? Check . Bette? Check . Cher? Check . Donna ? Check . Diana Ross? CHECK! [ Editor's note ] On Sunday evening, my BFF Michelle and I got to see the Supreme diva herself from 15 rows away. As one of the legendary musical acts of all time, Miss Ross delivered a litany of career-spanning hits that stretched back to her days as a Motown ingénue up to the pop powerhouse that followed. Indeed, few artists have as many incarnations as Diana Ross. From girl-group Diana to Disco Diana, from Lady Sings the Blues Diana to international pop star Diana, she has seamlessly transcended time and changing styles to become an enduring symbol of grace and talent. And on Sunday evening, she brought out all the Diana's to play. At 66 years young, Miss Ross hasn’t lost a drop of her talent or charisma. With head thrust back, arms outstretched and that signature smile, Miss Ross soaked up the well-deserved adoration with style. Vamping it up in various sequined costumes, it’s obviou...

[ Editor's note ] I've been trying to write this post for over a month. For reasons big and small I haven't been able to accurately quantify my experience with Cher. It boils down to a daunting feeling of trying to capture the full experience of something grand and glorious and knowing I'll come up short. But it’s finally clear to me now that any attempt at doing so would be a foolish endeavor. So in lieu of an overblown review, I offer some of the more magnificent portions of my pilgrimage. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start: Seeing Cher live was essentially the culmination of 19 years of uninterrupted adoration. As one the few American musical acts that my mother knew and enjoyed, Cher's music was well known and continuously played at my house. I think my mother loved Cher for all the reasons gay men love her: her outrageous outfits, her larger-than-life persona, and that lustrous hair. In any case, loving Cher was instilled in me very e...

[ Editor's note ] It's no secret that I like to indulge in the greatness of the greats whenever affordable. (See: Tina , Bette , & Donna ). But that kinda greatness casts a big shadow. So big that often times I find contemporary music and the "artists" who produce it to be less than satisfactory. Music, like everything else, seems to be mass produced and sold at the lowest common denominator nowadays. If Kesha--dollar sign omitted on principle-- is the future of pop music, then the world is in heap big trouble. But thankfully, America found Adam Lambert. Last night, my pal Franc and I went to see Mr. Lambert on his Glam Nation tour at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. An entertainer through and through, the sold-out show was an amazing spectacle of talent and bravado. With a voice that could make even the oldest of lady fans shake it (more on this later), Mr. Lambert was every bit the rock star one expected him to be. Opening the show with "Voodoo," in a ...

[ Editor's note ] You can add another name to the list of Divas I've experienced live. Last night, my gal pal Michelle and I had the gaygasmic pleasure of seeing the incomparable Donna Summer! Performing at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, the great disco diva showed no signs of slowing down as she took us back to the magic of the 70s. Donna and her supple voice were in top form and delivered a disco party like none other. Admittedly, Donna ranks in the second tier of Divadom in my book-- joined by Liza Minnelli and Stevie Nicks. (The first tier is reserved for Tina Turner , Bette Midler , and Cher ). But Donna was no second banana last night! Her mix of classic tunes and new songs left nothing to be desired. The concert itself was a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs. It started off rather slow with a song from her last album aptly entitled "The Queen is Back" and followed up with "Dim All the Lights." Both of which she performed in an exquisite fl...

[ Editor's note ] I've had few religious experiences in my life. Visiting Vatican City was one. Traveling to Cuba with my mother for the first time was another. Seeing Tina Turner in concert was the most recent. But I have to admit, all pale by comparison to seeing Bette Midler in "The Showgirl Must Go On." Loving her as I have from the tender age of 7 or 8, I could think of no better to celebrate my birthday than by embarking on a holy pilgrimage to see the Divine Miss M! In what can only be described as a powerhouse performance of camp and comedy, this show was everything I had hoped for and more. Performing in the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace, Bette's show was an all-encompassing roller coaster of emotion. In true Bette style, she made me laugh, she made cry, she almost made me faint a few times. How could you not while sitting a mere six rows away from "the People's Diva" (as she's going by these days)? In any case, the show started with ...

[ Editor's note ] Last night, TINA TURNER was....she was...... well she was more than what one word can convey! Before I get into what details I can paste together from my TINA hangover, a little background on TINA and I. My fandom for TINA TURNER stretches back to tape. She was the first musical artist I loved. She was this 6-year old gay boys first Diva. I played that tape 'til I had memorized all the words, Side A and B. As I grew older, so did my love. Then one not so special TINA worshiping day, my mom tells me that TINA and I share something in common: her photographer. Apparently, the same guy who would photograph TINA took my baby pictures! Now, I know that doesn't say much about the guys career (from TINA to baby photographer), but it meant the world to me. The truth of this conversation was later evidenced by a trove of TINA pictures my mom had socked away some where. I lost my cookies. Fast forward to October 30th, 2008. Picture it if you can: the same gay boy is...