Congress of a Crow play The Deli tonight.
Somewhat quiet on the local front, but Congress of a Crow will be plenty loud at 8 p.m. at the Deli, 309 White, in Norman, while Otis Watkins plays the blues at the Biting Sow, 1 E California in Bricktown.
Meanwhile in Tulsa, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch and Art of Dying bring the funny at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main.
Anthony Anderson joins “Law & Order.”
Tonight is “American Idol” elimination night (still sounds a little seamy, doesn’t it?) at 8 p.m. on Fox, and the contest seems to be hurdling toward a David vs. David finish. I’ll be watching tonight to see who gets lopped off. Brooke White’s performance of Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” was called “a nightmare” by Simon Cowell, who seems to relish watching Brookie cry, but because the voters on this show seem to be in some kind of talent revolt, she might be spared. Cook seemed to do well with “I’m Alive,” so we’ll see.
And of course, there’s more “Carrier” at 8 p.m. on PBS, and diehard “Law & Order” fans get to turn the page and welcome Anthony Anderson to the cast tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC. Ch-chung!
1. Flight of the Conchords
“Flight of the Conchords” (Sub Pop)
2. The Black Keys
“Attack and Release” (Nonesuch)
3. The Replacements
“Let It Be” (reissue) (Twin/Tone)
4. Tokyo Police Club
“Elephant Shell” (Saddle Creek)
5. The Raconteurs
“Consolers of the Lonely” (XL/Warner Bros.)
6. The Octopus Project
“Hello, Avalanche” (Peek-A-Boo)
7. Cut Copy
“In Ghost Colours” (Modular/Interscope)
8. Evangelicals
“The Evening Descends” (Dead Oceans)
9. M83
“Saturdays=Youth” (Mute)
10. Atmosphere
“When Life Gives You Lemons …” (Rhymesayers)
Guestroom Records, 125 E. Main, Norman
Reece Thompson and Anna Kendrick in “Rocket Science.”
Rating: 71
Writer-director Jeffrey Blitz delivered one of the most empathetic and compelling scholastic documentaries in recent memory, 2002’s “Spellbound.” With his dramatic debut, “Rocket Science,” Blitz is in familiar territory, focusing on the world of high school debate and its impact on young stutterer Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson).
Hal is devastatingly awkward, saddled with a broken home and a psychopathic older brother (Vincent Piazza), and the stuttering only compounds the issues. But then Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick) a hard-charging confidence machine whose debate partner cratered during state finals, recruits Hal as her protégé/partner, and seduces him into her world of arguments and rebuttals.
The Tony Award-nominated Kendrick is amazingly accurate in her portrayal of a hyper-intelligent debater, and the film is filled with memorable performances (particularly the ultra-weird Piazza), but “Rocket Science” is also saddled with pointless narration and a constant quirkiness that borders on contrivance. Still, “Rocket Science” understands the pain of high school better than most teen comedies, and defends its resolution with conviction.
1. Common feat. Lily Allen, “Drivin’ Me Wild.” Or, as it is known on Staticblog, “Lily Allen feat. Common.”
2. Battles, “Prismism.”
3. The School, “Let It Slip.”
4. The Soft Boys, “Mr. Kennedy.”
5. Dr. Octagon, “Trees.” Kool Keith continues his freakout — not as innovative as the material from Dr. Octagonocologist, but great nevertheless. And the video is an environmentally conscious tour de force.
6. Sparks, “Pretending To Be Drunk.”
7. The Flaming Lips, “The W.A.N.D.”
8. The Budos Band, “Budos Rising.”
9. Pulp, “Underwear.”
10. British Sea Power, “Waving Flags.” One of the highlights of British Sea Power’s energetic ande eccentric performance at the Norman Music Festival, “Waving Flags” is a true anthem, a paean to immigration from the Eastern Bloc to Britain.
Kanye West, Starman.
In a bold, audacious stage presentation that managed to evoke both the Flaming Lips and peak-period Michael Jackson, Kanye West’s “Glow in the Dark” sci-fi spectacle Tuesday night at the Ford Center challenged the conventions of concerts, hip-hop or otherwise.
Opening sets by Rihanna and N.E.R.D. were played in front of a black curtain obscuring West’s elaborate stage. When a jagged remix of Daft Punk’s “Harder Bigger Faster Stronger” blasted through the sound system and the lights came up, West appeared as a space traveler crash-landed on a distant planet, conversing with an onboard computer named Jane and rapping “Good Morning,” from 2007’s “Graduation.”
West spent the entire show alone on stage, rapping and singing “I Wonder,” “Heard ‘Em Say,” “Through the Wire” and “Champion” as his band played in a pit at the foot of the stage. Most of the songs from “The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” were given a new electronic shine that meshed well with the synthesizer sheen of the “Graduation” tracks and the sci-fi trappings of West’s concept.
The sloping stage featured a ramp surrounded by sand dunes and an enormous screen that continually displayed comets, stars and nebulae, setting the various stages of West’s situation and establishing a loose framework for his songs. As the opening chords of “Flashing Lights” played, a cluster of purple orbs descended from the ceiling, leading into charged performances of “Gold Digger” and “The Good Life.”
Despite the carefully choreographed staging, West was able to connect with his audience, leading into “Jesus Walks” with a promise to God that he will “stop spazzing out at awards shows.” He ended “Hey Mama” with a shout-out to his Oklahoma City-born mother, the late Donda West, saying “Mama, we’re back home — Oklahoma City.”
West closed out the show with a return to Earth brought on by “Stronger,” “Homecoming” and the finale, “Touch the Sky.” The success of the show required the audience to swallow West’s concept, and there was ample evidence that the crowd was fully onboard for West’s space ride, with thousands making a “diamond” symbol with their hands during and after “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.”
Although Lupe Fiasco was a no-show (local R&B performer Tony Williams and Chicago rappers GLC filled in), Rihanna delivered a solid warm-up with hits such as “Umbrella” and “S.O.S.,” along with a cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes.” N.E.R.D., the rock-rap hybrid led by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, was much stronger, delivering “Lapdance” and “Brain” with crowd-stoking ferocity. All in all, West and his colleagues made sure that his “Glow in the Dark” delivered incandescence.
— George Lang
In honor of last night’s great show at the Ford Center, we see Kanye West in a slow-motion desert murder thriller, a stark contrast to the high-intensity “Flashing Lights” of his “Glow in the Dark” tour.
Rating: 86
Long-awaited yet still meeting outsized expectations, Santogold’s self-titled debut is a grand reunification of pop music. Santi White and her former Stiffed bandmate John Hill stitch together various strains of New Wave, electronica, world beat, hip-hop and jazz without the resulting stew sounding like a self-conscious art project. Thanks to White and Hill emphasizing good songs over sonic excess, “Santogold” is a prime piece of future pop mercifully free of future shock.
Beginning with the single “L.E.S. Artistes,” an exuberant urban alienation anthem, White is specializing in smart, inclusive sunsplashes of sound. The propulsive ska rhythms of “You’ll Find a Way” and the Trenchtown rock on “Shove It” recall late-’70s British ska rather than the mid-’90s American strain, and White sings these rave-ups with a confident, bright soprano. Imagine Gwen Stefani if she had not transformed into a plastic pop monster.
White’s latest incarnation in Santogold makes her seem like the great new hope of multi-hyphenate alternative pop, an heir to M.I.A. But while songs such as “Creator” and “Unstoppable” embrace M.I.A.’s pan-ethnic dance aesthetic (and were produced by M.I.A. helmers Switch and Diplo, respectively) she is no knockoff. The beautiful ballad “I’m a Lady,” and the jazzy slow-burner “My Superman” display a rare talent for bringing the segregated neighborhoods of pop music together, making Santogold a truly valuable commodity.
David Cook
As usual, Tuesday night is rollover night, in which most of the networks don’t bother to schedule anything up against das juggernaut. There’s always the latest installment of “Carrier” (8 p.m., PBS), or there’s “Reaper” (8 p.m., CW), in which Michael Ian Black reverts to demon form (I mean, of course, his character, Tony), but even that geek-cult show is on immediately following the televisual death machine that is “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox).
Tulsa’s David Cook is currently ranked at No. 1 on Entertainment Weekly’s “American Idol” Power List, having performed most consistently and surprised many fans with his Mariah Carey and Andrew Lloyd Webber Week performances. Now, it’s Neil Diamond Week, which I imagine could be difficult, given how idiosyncratic Diamond’s songs are — they are hard to cover, to say the least, without resorting to Neil-like growling and hysterics. See Cook defend the No. 1 spot tonight.
And Staticblog readers, please weigh in: what should he sing?
Mr. West plays the Ford Center tonight.
Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco perform at 7 p.m. tonight at the Ford Center, 100 W Reno. I will be there, and will review the concert tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, The Sword, Children, Those Peabodys and Dwell Within play at the Conservatory, 8911 N Western, and up the road a bit, Gov’t Mule and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main, in Tulsa.
