Pulse of Central Florida

A couple weeks ago, while having a drink at 310 Park South in Winter Park, I was lucky enough to catch Matt Shenk perform. I know what you’re thinking … typical bar performance with sub-par vocals and 3-chord guitar strumming. Nope. Not even close.

I’m a sucker for the male singer-songwriter (think John Mayer, DMB, Ray LaMontagne, Jason Mraz, etc.) so when Matt’s version of Dave Matthews Band’s “Typical Situation” was almost better than the original, I sat up and paid attention.

Do yourself a favor, head over to Matt’s website and catch his cover of “Mercy Mercy Me,” I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  And, if you’re in Winter Park tomorrow night, you can catch him performing at 310.

You might recall my post last year covering The Crystal Method at House of Blues. Well, if you’re a fan your cartwheels can commence: The Crystal Method is returning to the Central Florida area, by way of a show at Firestone next month. August 12th, to be exact. You can be assured I’ll be there, dancing my you-know-what off!

For more information on the show or to purchase tickets you can visit Firestone’s event page. Dance on, friends!

You know her.

She’s a pop icon, and has managed to stay a relevant artist over nearly 30 years. Cyndi Lauper also does a ton of charity work to raise awareness of civil rights, as recently seen on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

And Cyndi Lauper is coming to the House of Blues at Downtown Disney on August 1st to promote the release of her new album “Memphis Blues.”

Tickets are $30 General Admission and doors open at 6:30pm. You can get more information about the show here.

We’ll be at the show, and are hoping Cyndi will perform one of our faves:

Have you got a favorite Cyndi classic?

As you know we conducted an interview with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks a couple of weeks ago, to promote her first headlining tour. We were also able to catch the show* this past week at House of Blues, and I’m comfortable saying Ms. Sparks is one of the most energetic live performers I’ve ever seen…and I’ve seen many, many concerts. (On a side note: I love that her lead guitarist is a tiny Asian woman, who wore tight, tight tight leather pants!)

Jordin performed all of her hits and most of the tracks from her latest record, “Battlefield.” A diverse crowd sang along to all the songs, and ate-up the energy and enthusiasm this young performer exuded. Don’t believe me? Just check-out the opening number, the amazing title track from her current CD:

Like I mentioned, all of Jordin’s hits were performed (so much better live than the album versions, which are already amazing), including one of my favorite songs:

If you’ve never paid attention to Jordin Sparks, I have to say you are truly missing out. I urge you to YouTube any of her videos or check-out some of her songs on iTunes. This is a wonderful artist; America was smart to vote for this gal!

* We were provided complimentary tickets to experience this concert.

Jordin Sparks Returns to Orlando June 23!

Jordin Sparks has embarked on her first solo tour and we’re super-excited to have had the opportunity to interview her for a very special edition of our People Pulse feature!

Q:   First, belated congratulations for winning Idol, and for the massive success of your first two albums. How has it been being out on tour as the main act and not the opener?

Jordin:  Thank you! It’s been so much fun! Being able to headline is a lot different than opening. Instead of warming up the crowd, I’m the main act. Instead of having 15-20 minutes on stage I have an hour. Instead of five songs I sing 15-17. I’m still getting used to having opening acts myself. Kate and Days Difference are super sweet and very talented. It’s a lot more to handle, I’ll tell you that!

Q:  We’ve read the awesome news about your upcoming Broadway debut. What do you think has prepared you for it more, Idol or touring?

Jordin:  Well I think all of it together, plus the time I spent in drama club and community theatre. I’m excited for a whole new experience in not only in my career, but in life as well. I ’ll be on my own for the first time when I head to NY. I’m so ready!

Q:  Do you ever feel like you’re competing against other successful Idol alums like Clay, Fantasia or Jennifer Hudson who’ve already made their Broadway debut?

Jordin:  No, it’s never been about competing against others in the industry. For me, it’s always been about topping myself. Plus, we all will have had different parts and characters to play. I’ve met them and they all are super talented people.

Q:  You’ve managed to do something so few artists your age can claim by staying out of negative headlines, what do you attribute that to?

Jordin:  I’m not sure. I guess it’s just because I would much rather stay in and read a book than have to get all dressed up and go out. Don’t get me wrong, I love to dance and have a good time but it’s usually just once in a while.

Q:  Speaking of headlines, two of Florida’s main highways were just ranked as some of the deadliest, so the fact that you’ve teamed up for the “X the TXT” campaign is particularly valuable to our community. How do you think you can keep this message out front after the tour is over?

Jordin:   I’m hoping that those who have taken the pledge will tell their friends and family and that they will do the same and tell others. It’s definitely a habit, so people have to be conscious that they are not paying attention to the road. But I’m going to do my best to keep talking about it. I was in a car [with a driver] who was taking me to the airport before the tour and he was texting! I told him, ‘can you please not do that?’ I don’t know if he’ll keep doing it, but all it takes is someone to speak up and make the driver realize they are risking not only their life, but the lives of those in the car with them.

Q:   We’re HUGE music lovers here at PulseofCentralFlorida.com, what’s on your iPod?

Jordin:   Oh man, everything ranging from Jason Derulo to P!nk to Michael Jackson to The Beatles to Nat King Cole to Christina to Mariah to Jonas Brothers and my stuff.

Q:   The last time you performed in Orlando, you were at Universal. Have you had time to explore the city at all or visit any of the other parks?

Jordin:  Well I’ve been to Disney World multiple times, once for the excitement and to chill and the other time to open the American Idol Experience. It was so much fun!

Tickets are still available for Jordin’s show at House of Blues June 23. We hope to see some of our readers there!

The Imogen Heap show at House of Blues was last week, and of course we were there!

Let me first say Imogen had a great stage set this tour, one that came complete with a live band! It was creative, and played well with the songs in her set-list. And I thought House of Blues would be a really great venue for this tour.

Unfortunately, something odd has happened to House of Blues. The audio was possibly the crappiest I’ve ever heard, and this was a major disappointment as I’ve seen many awesome shows at the venue. Those in my party quite agreed, and even mentioned that another recent show had the same quality of audio. Perhaps it was our location, which was up in the balcony (which, if that’s the case is really crappy because the folks who pay for seats in the louge pay much more than General Admission).

Regardless, I was able to catch a few photos with my phone (unlike all other shows at House of Blues guests were allowed to bring in cameras; would’ve been nice to know beforehand)…although the quality’s not that great:

This is the second Imogen live performance klynn and I have been to, and we’re wondering what is it about the fans that come out to her shows? They just seem bored. We’re the kinda fans that like to sing along and dance, and enjoy the energy a live show brings! But it just seems to us other fans stand around and look like they’re lost. What gives?

At any rate, if you ever have the opportunity to see this awesome performer live you should definitely seize it. Let’s just hope if it’s at House of Blues they get their act together beforehand.

All I have to say is if you love being entertained, you cannot miss BJÖRN AGAIN. This ABBA tribute band is immensely fun, and surprisingly good. I saw them many years back at Hard Rock Live, and it’s one of the most fun live-music experiences I’ve ever had.

Lucky for us Central Floridians BJÖRN AGAIN will be coming to the historic The Plaza Theatre on Thursday, June 24th.

Tickets start at $35 per seat and are available to purchase here.

The Hold Steady make me smile. And for 90 minutes Saturday night, the rest of the 250 party people who packed The Social in downtown Orlando were smiling, too. And who could blame them? Frontman Craig Finn shimmied, shook and sashayed on stage, only stopping long enough in between songs to soak up applause from a riled up group of fist-pumping supporters.

The band, which released its fifth album Heaven is Whenever on May 4, played back-to-back shows Saturday and Sunday last weekend.

I was among the revelers Saturday night, my third Hold Steady show in three years, and second time seeing the Brooklyn-based band at The Social. Energy and crowd support have never been an issue with The Hold Steady. Finn and his bandmates ooze electricity and play their hard-charging songs with the urgency of a boy about to get his first kiss.

But while the band continues to pump out powerful music, their sound and style is evolving. Keyboardist Franz Nicolay, he of curly mustache fame who was always given prime real estate on stage and added spunk and swagger to the band, left The Hold Steady in January to pursue other musical ventures. Also absent Saturday night was the bottle of whiskey and case of Budweiser that accompanied the band on-stage the last time I saw them at The Social in 2007. Instead, the band opted for bottles of water and Dixie cups filled with unknown contents.

The Hold Steady focused much of its set on tracks from Heaven is Whenever and 2008 release Stay Positive, but still dove into favorites “Cattle and the Creeping Things” and “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” off 2005 album Separation Sunday and “Stuck Between Stations” and “Southtown Girls” off 2006 release Boys and Girls in America.

Finn didn’t chat much between songs, saving his energy instead for connecting with the audience. With sweat dripping from his face, Finn repeatedly reached out his arms to the nearly all-male contingent fronting the stage imploring them to continue to sing at the top of their collective lungs. If non-verbal communication could have been measured on a Richter Scale, Finn would have been well above a 6.2.

I, on the other hand, was perfectly content sipping a bottled beer from a cozy spot near the bar, soaking in another splendid performance from a band that never disappoints.

The smile never left my face.

** Thanks to Dan Mirocha, friend of Pulse of Central Florida and Managing Editor of Golfweek.com, for this guest post.**

One more reason the Orange County Library System Rocks: Free Music! Using the Freegal Music service, you can download up to 3 songs per week using your library card and PIN.

You probably won’t find every single song, but I did a search for my favorite artist and was pleased to find 7 pages of songs to download.

If you don’t already have a library card, you can sign up for one here.

With so many downtown options, it’s no wonder The Harp and Celt has been called the “best-kept secret in Downtown Orlando.” A ‘Public House’ that’s half restaurant (Harp) and half bar (Celt) is tucked away on Magnolia near Pine Street.

Serving a wide variety of draft beer (including one of my favorites, Sea Dog Wild B’Berry) and traditional Irish fare such as Scotch Eggs and Cottage Pie, the authenticity is rampant here.

The Celt also caters to the “Footies” broadcasting Rugby and Soccer games, but don’t worry, they also air Orlando Magic games on a projection screen so large you’ll think you’re at Amway.

For the latest events or specials, check out the Celt’s Twitter stream.