The Grammys were held last night and I must admit that this year the performances were rather blah. Even the much anticipated and overhyped return of Justin Timberlake to the stage was underwhelming. Other performers relied on the theatrics and production more to put on a show but there were a few performances that I felt stole the show and revived it for intervals the few minutes they were on.
The performance that was my favorite of the night was Jack White's who wore an awesome suit and brought some good old energetic rock and roll to the Grammy stage and performed Love Interruption and Freedom at 21 from his nominated album Blunderbuss. This is how it's done! Others take note!
The next performance that was memorable was the Grammy tribute to Levon
Helm, the drummer/singer for The Band. The tributes at the Grammys even though they mean well usually come off as trite and contrived (like the horrible tribute to Bob Marley) but this one included an all-star band of legends and soon to be legends covering The Weight: Elton John,
Mavis Staples, T. Bone Burnett, Zac Brown, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany
Howard, and Mumford & Sons.
Another performance that revived the show was The Black Keys who was joined by Dr. John and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a great rendition of their hit "Lonely Boy." It definitely felt like Mardi Gras came a week earlier to L.A. I hope The Black Keys consider recording with them as it sounded great.
One of the surprises of the night was Miguel who I had heard recorded but had no idea what he would sound like live. He performed Adorn with Whiz Khalifa (who was just there for me and was unnecessary) but Miguel's voice live was just amazingly smooth! He's definitely an act to watch out for in the next few years.
