Rock Star SUPERNOVA: Performances (8/29/06)

1. Lukas Rossi
"Lithium" by Nirvana

JXStern...

I agree with Gilby, best performance he's done to date. If he's
selling me, he's selling pretty much everyone, I think.

Interesting that he rearranged the song, but it didn't quite work for
me. He also didn't bother to learn all of the words.

callenmolenda...

rearrange this song in some kind of awesome way. Nope. It was a
really good performance; not up to Creep, IMO, but really good.

They are reporting on many of the gossip blogs that SuperNova has
already chosen him to win. (Janet Charlton)

JXStern...

That would be "JD, year 2", IMHO. Not terribly wrong, but not
terribly right. Last year, it was Suzy who, at her best, was better
than the actual winner, but maybe wasn't quite consistent enough.
Here, Dilana on stage, is 1000% consistently better, and just as Goth,
though how some dinosaur rockers are going to like being fronted by a
Goth, I just can't see. Except that Dilana is such a standout.

2. Magni
"I Alone" by Live

He nailed it. The man is good. He won't win this, but he's good.

callenmolenda...

Absolutely amazing. He deserves to win... something... but I'm not so
sure I want to see him saddled with this band. Hopefully the exposure
he gets on the show will open more doors for him here in the US. And
how cute was he, comparing his looks to the other guys'?

JXStern...

Werd.

3. Ryan Star
"Clocks" by Coldplay

Good voice, good showmanship. He's really improved his game.

callenmolenda...

Man, I LOVED it when he slithered across the piano. You can tell he
really wants this. I don't know if I want him saddled with SN, either.

JXStern...

I bought the act, what did Jason mean? That he was showing up the
band as a frontman?

4. Storm Large
"Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence

JXStern...

I don't think she brought the rock show energy of the others so far.
Song wasn't ideal for her, but I love her creative arrangements and
performance.

It worked. Not the voice we're used to hearing for this song, but I
have no complaints.

callenmolenda...

I thought it was weak, and I agreed with whoever it was (Gilbey?) that
said that Toby was more impressive in his role as backup singer than
Storm was as lead. It was also out of her range. I think Storm has a
terrific voice but I don't know why on earth she wants to sing the kind
of music that SN has said they want to do; it is not her forte.

5. Toby Rand
"Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol

His best performance in a long time. He works well with chicks (namely
Storm and the dancing groupies).

callenmolenda...

He was great, and hot. Like Ryan, he's stepped up his game over the
past couple of weeks.

JXStern...

Yeah. I dunno. Chicks dig it, apparently. Not especially a song I
want to hear.

6. Dilana
"Mother Mother" by Tracy Bonham

Rarebird Nine...

Or with pieces of projectile glass.

JXStern...

Started a little slow. Who sang this before, Jill or Zayra? Improved
when she dropped the ax and went nutz. I think this was a Supernova
performance. She's also worked through her "mistakes", I think. I
suspect she won the contest tonight.

Solid! She's a pro, and a frontrunner. I hope she doesn't smash any
more glasses, though.

callenmolenda...

Absolutely knocked it out of the park; much better than the original.
We replayed it 3 times. She *should* win this, but she won't, maybe
because SN is (understandably) worried about her mental stability?

JXStern...

Her analyst can sit with Tommy's on the bus!

Neither Lukas nor Dilana has such a great voice that they're going to
sound like much on an audio recording. Ah well, they can always ghost
those, and lip sync on stage if necessary.

RD Jones...

They already did !

In both SN "performances" it was obvious to me that they
were miming. On Wednesday's show with Lucas, Gilby's
hands weren't even on the guitar when he was "playing".

Last week on their "first live performance" there were
elements in the mix that were not being played on stage
(piano, handclaps, percussion, even doubletracked guitar)

Sad.
Has the state of modern TV production gotten so poor
that a so-called supergroup can't even pull off a live
performance ?

JXStern...

Err, ... I dunno, didn't notice all that, I think we all mostly look
away or go to the kitchen or watch the singer, when these things are
on.

Nobody has yet commented about those "live" performances which are
done in some production mode different from the main show - one is
video tape, the other is film, or video tape processed to look like
film? Can that be done live? I was wondering if the whole segment

RD Jones...

Yes, and whatever small amount of delay is needed to do the
processing can be added inline just like the 7 second delay
for censorship is done.

was taped. Though I suppose they're all done hours before broadcast
and could be done honestly on film and rushed through production,
maybe. Anyone?

RD Jones...

There are too many inconsistencies to support any belief that
the show is done live. This week's show with the Supernova
song (Wed Aug 30): At the beginning of the show the stage is
set with Supernova's gear including Tommy's full doublebass
drumset. Then as Storm references the House Band they pan
to the stage set with the House Band gear. Then the Supernova
gear has returned for the song with Lucas (not bad) after which
the House Band gear returns. There's just too many set changes
to be practical for a live show without editing.

Matt Ion...

Uh, older thread here, but...

OF COURSE it's tape-delayed, no need to pick it apart to figure that out.
The show is aired in multiple different time zones, sometimes at varying local
times: at one point in the schedule, I could watch Tuesday's show at 9pm on
Seattle's CBS affiliate, and again at 10pm on my local Canadian channel; I can
also watch it at 6pm on the Eastern US CBS feed.

Anyone who honestly thought they were watching it live is living in a different
reality.

Also, someone had commented about the awful vocal/band sound balance,
the continued bane of AI, shows up now and then on Rockstar, and I've
proposed (about half-seriously) they do that on purpose when they want
to eliminate someone.

On the off-stage interviews, Lukas does seem like a regular guy, as he
says, with a lot of makeup.

I still think SN should take all six on tour, just give the "winner" a
Maserati or something (er, must be channelling Ted Nugent there).

goo...

Or Joe Walsh. Life has been good for him, no? ;-)

A tour of the House Band would probably be better. Heck, don't even
bring singers with them. They've proven that they can play with
anybody, so just round out the band with local Karaoke champions from
whatever city they're in.

Or heck, just do a bunch of instrumentals.

Sadly, I'm sure they have other projects to work on...

With the exception of Storm, who was just pretty good, this was a night
of outstanding performances. Rankings for me are:

1. Dilana
2. (3-way tie) Magni, Ryan, Toby
5. Lukas
6. Storm

going home: Storm

Callen in VA

JacquesZMonkey...

KC...

LOL. Makes you want to run right out and buy a ticket, doesn't it?

That explains why I thought the performance needed more cowbell.