UPDATED: Flaming Lips, Kings of Leon, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Miranda Lambert to play Bonnaroo
The Flaming Lips play their New Year’s Eve Freakout #3 Dec. 31 at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center. (Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman Archives)
Kings of Leon appear at the 2010 Grammy Awards. (Associated Press file photo)
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Miranda Lambert performs Jan. 8 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman)
UPDATE: Since this story was written Tuesday afternoon, country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert, who lives in Tishomingo, has been added to the Bonnaroo lineup.
The Flaming Lips, Kings of Leon, Cross Canadian Ragweed and Miranda Lambert are among the artists with Oklahoma ties that have been confirmed for the ginormous Bonnaroo 2010 music festival.
Rolling Stone reports that the lineup for Bonnaroo has been slowly announced throughout the day and also includes Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band, Weezer, Jeff Beck, Jeff Fogerty, OK Go, She & Him, They Might Be Giants, Zac Brown Band and more.
Bonnaroo 2010 will be June 10-13 in Manchester, Tenn.
In a show configuration that should sound familiar to Oklahoma fans, frontman Wayne Coyne tells Rolling Stone that the Lips will play a midnight set the first day of Bonnaroo, starting with a performance of their own material followed by their live cover of Pink Floyd’s seminal album “The Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety.
The Oklahoma City-based Lips performed “Dark Side” live for the first time in full in a similar setup at their third annual New Year’s Eve Freakout this year in Oklahoma City.
-BAM
Christian Kane celebrating redesigned Web site with free music
In honor of his redesigned Web site, Norman-bred actor/musician Christian Kane is giving away a free mp3 of his rollicking song “The House Rules” at www.christiankane.com.
It’s a fun honky-tonk rock song and definitely worth checking out.
Kane’s caper show “Leverage” resumed its second season Wednesday on TNT.
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Wednesday Video Spotlight: “Leverage” promo
The excellent caper series “Leverage,” starring Norman-bred actor Christian Kane, resumes with six new episodes starting at 9 tonight.
Trekkies will be pleased to not that Jeri Ryan of “Star Trek: Voyager” fame is continuing her stint on the show, temporarily replacing Gina Bellman, who is on maternity leave.
Personally, I love “Leverage,” and I’m excited to see what adventures are in store for the team of cons working for a good cause.
-BAM
“Leverage” returns to TNT tonight
Christian Kane as Eliot Spencer in “Leverage”
The entertaining TNT caper series “Leverage” returns with six new episodes starting at 9 tonight.
That means Norman-bred actor Christian Kane is back as formidable “retrieval specialist” (AKA tough guy) Eliot Spencer.
In an interview with The Oklahoman’s TV Editor Penny Soldan, Kane said Eliot is his all-favorite role to play.
“There are so many different things that I love about playing this character,” said Kane, who played a lawyer on “Angel,” an American Indian on “Into the West” and a supportive husband on “Close to Home.” “One thing is not getting beat up by all the girls who set foot on the set of ‘Angel.’”
On “Leverage,” Kane plays part of a team of con artists who set up those who use wealth and power to victimize others. The other team members include mastermind Nate Ford (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton), hacker Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) and thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf). Jeri Ryan of “Star Trek: Voyager” fame joined the show last fall to fill in in the grifter role for Gina Bellman, who is on maternity leave. Ryan’s stint continues for the six new episodes, which will close out the second season.
In the coming episodes, Eliot and Co. will work to take down a sweatshop owner by infiltrating a fashion show, run a high-tech version of a classic con on a loan shark and go after a corrupt mayor by exploiting his love of baseball.
Penny reports that “Leverage” has already been picked up for a third season.
To read more of her interesting interview with Kane, click here.
-BAM
Christian Kane hopes to give “Leverage” an Oklahoma flair
Christian Kane (Photo by David McDaniel/The Oklahoman)
Norman-bred actor Christian Kane is hoping to have at least one episode of his TNT caper series “Leverage” set in Oklahoma, he told The Oklahoman’s TV Editor Penny Soldan.
The second season of the series starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The first season is available on DVD today.
The series is filmed in Oregon, but that backdrop fills in for a variety of locales on the show.
“Oregon is very hilly and not as flat as Oklahoma, but the trees remind me of home,” he said. “We haven’t done an episode in Oklahoma, but I’m trying to get them to do that right now. I’m trying to bring some Oklahoma flavor into it — maybe some Native American stuff that I grew up with,” Kane told Penny.
“Leverage” stars Kane, Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge and Beth Riesgraf as a team of con artists who rob the rich who are exploiting the weak and powerless in society.
Kane’s character, Eliot Spencer, is a retrieval specialist with superior fight skills. The actor does his own stunts on the show, and he recently was injured in the line of duty.
His Oklahoma ties are still strong: He recently bought land near Norman and his parents live in Tulsa.
“I have a house in Los Angeles and a house in Nashville (Tenn.), but that’s not my home,” he said. “Oklahoma will always be my home.
Read more of Penny’s enlightening interview with Kane by clicking here.
-BAM
New Releases
This week in DVDs there is a cornucopia of TV shows, including the first season of Oklahoma boy Christian Kane’s TNT series “Leverage.” Meanwhile in books, apparently the founding of Facebook was more exciting than I realized since there is an entire new tome on the subject.
Here is a list of CDs, DVDs and books hitting stores this week from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Daughtry, “Leave This Town.”
Pearl Jam, “The Lowdown.”
The Dead Weather, “Horehound.”
Clutch, “Strange Cousins from the West.”
Judas Priest, “A Touch of Evil” (Live).
Celtic Thunder, “Take Me Home.”
Joe, “Signature.”
DVDs
“Leverage: Season 1″
“Mad Men: Season 2″
“Grey Gardens”
“ER: Season 11″
“For All Mankind”
“The State: Complete Series”
“The Color of Magic”
Books
“The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal” by Ben Mezrich
“Guardian of Lies” by Steve Martini
“Undone” by Karin Slaughter
“The Best of Times” by Penny Vincenzi
“Girl in a Blue Dress” by Gaynor Arnold
“In the Valley of Ancient Rain Gods” by James Lee Burke
“Jericho’s Fall” by Stephen L. Carter
“Sacred Hearts” by Sarah Dunant
“Best Friends Forever” by Jennifer Weiner
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Christian Kane’s song featured on latest episode of “Leverage”
It didn’t take long for the masterminds behind TNT’s new heist series “Leverage” to incorporate series star Christian Kane’s country crooning.
On Tuesday night, the third episode, titled “The Two-Horse Job,” featured Kane’s soulful country ballad “More Than I Deserve.”
Kane, who was raised in Norman and attended the University of Oklahoma, plays a “retrieval specialist” (read: butt-kicking tough guy) on the fun, savvy series. The show, which has received strong reviews, centers on an honest man (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) who leads a crack team of criminals in helping the little guy stick it to the fat cats and corrupt corporations trying to exploit them.
I also noticed Tuesday night that it also didn’t take long for Kane’s character to get some female action; that’s to be expected, because if you don’t mind me saying so, the man is hot. In the episode, the team aids one of Eliot’s old flames and her father, a horse trainer, and the sparks still fly between Eliot and his feisty former sweetheart.
“Leverage” airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on TNT; I haven’t missed an episode yet.
If you want to hear a clip of “More Than I Deserve” and some of Kane’s other songs, go to www.myspace.com/christiankane.
Also, check out the Eliot Spencer video character profile from www.tnt.tv/dramavision:
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My take: “Leverage”
I got the opportunity to watch the pilot and second episode of TNT’s new caper series “Leverage” prior to my interview Monday with Oklahoma-born Christian Kane, one of the stars of the show.
The series is set to debut commercial free at 9 p.m. Sunday on TNT; it will air regularly at 9 p.m. Tuesdays starting next week. Kane said the cast and crew already have filmed all 13 episodes of the first season.
Oscar winner Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People”) plays former insurance investigator Nate Ford, whose life has been derailed by tragedy. Out of work and wallowing in grief, Ford is approached by an aeronautics executive to steal back airplane designs the businessman claims were stolen by a rival.
The executive has assembled a skilled group of thieves, grifters and hackers best known for working alone. The team includes Parker (Beth Riesgraf, “Alvin and the Chipmunks”), a wacky thief; Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge, “Friday Night Lights”), a sharp computer specialist; Eliot Spencer (Kane, TV’s “Angel”), a tough “retrieval specialist” who can easily take out a band of thugs; and Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman, “Coupling”), an actress who is terrible on stage or screen but terrific when she’s running a con.
When the team is double-crossed, they decide to reunite to get revenge. Their first job soon leads to a new vocation – under the front of a consulting firm called Leverage, the band of crooks play the role of modern-day Robin Hoods, robbing from the rich, powerful and wealthy to benefit the oppressed.
The show is smart and fun, with a feisty attitude and a mix of comedy and action. The characters are quirky and colorful. It’s great to see Kane back in action, and Hutton and Bellman have crackling chemistry as the team’s honest man and point woman, who have a history.
For those who like heist movies or shows, or are just looking for a show that “sticks it to the man,” as Kane put it, I recommend “Leverage.”
Video: The music of Christian Kane
Along with acting in the new series “Leverage,” Oklahoma-raised Christian Kane also is a singer who has been working for the past couple of years on a country album. Kane told me in a recent interview that he feels that if you grow up in Oklahoma, you have a little bit of country music in your blood.
Check out these videos, posted here courtesy of YouTube, of Kane showing off his smooth, sexy voice. I’ve even included a couple of clips of his performance Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill here in Oklahoma City.
“L.A. Song” from the TV series “Angel”:
“Right in Front of You” from the movie “Keep Your Distance”:
“Whiskey in Mind”:
“Mama”:
“Happy Man” Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Oklahoma City:
“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” Monday night at Toby Keith’s (appropriate, eh?):
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Video: Sneak peek of “Leverage”
Check out this sneak peek video of the new TV series “Leverage,” starring Oklahoma-raised actor Christian Kane, courtesy TNT’s Web site.
The series will debut at 9 p.m. Sunday on the cable network. It is set to air regularly at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
It’s all part of Christian Kane Day here at BAM’s Blog, and the clip shows Kane in high-octane action.
Also, I posted earlier this week the video of Kane playing Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Bricktown. But here it is again, in case you missed it.
-BAM
