The show kicked off with the band
U2 playing their popular song 'Walk On" from their 2000 release All That You Can't Leave Behind.
Having seen U2 perform live many times for well over a decade, It is good to
see longstanding bands instead of one hit wonders. In fact U2 has been
nominated to win eight Awards this evening! Also of note is that at the Grammy
Awards there is no lip sync'ing (fake vocal performance) allowed. Bono was
dressed in his signature black jacket and stylish colored glasses. In fact a
total of seventeen live performances from top-rated performers filled the
night with music! From Tony Bennett to Billy Joel, and Dave Matthews to 'N
Sync... Music fills life with joy.
After the U2 performance was an initial joking of the high
security in America as Jon Stewart walked through a faux metal detector. After
asking for his shoes and whatnot, they striped Jon down to his briefs! Not a
pretty sight i assure you :-) . It was really no surprise as U2 won the
first televised Grammy Award of the evening with their song "Stuck In A
Moment You Can't Get Out Of". The reason why i say "the first
televised Grammy Award" is that earlier in the day there were many
other Grammy Awards given out for engineering and other musical
accomplishments.
Best Pop Music Collaboration was next up and Crewe/Nolan's
song "Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi)" from the movie
soundtrack Moulin Rouge as performed by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya,
Pink (and live with Patti Labelle). Again no real surprise as they all
performed the song live just moments before the award was handed out. Best Rock
Song Grammy Award went to Train for their song "Drops Of Jupiter",
again it was just performed live moments before the Award was presented. Some
of us old-timer true rockers may feel it is more a pop song than a rock
song... but oh how things change over time. What was once underground music is
now dance while hard core industrial becomes yet another type of pop music.
Some of us miss groups like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and of course
greats like Jimi Hendrix.
This year's program feels much like that of last year with U2
and Destiny's Child performing, Jon Stewart hosting and the same venue and
stage employed for the show. As last year's show
was incredible, my hopes of at least equaling 2001 (or beating it) are high.
Those who presented awards were usually critically acclaimed
musicians/singers, though the choice of Pamela Andersen to give out an award
seems puzzling at best (and a tasteless choice at worst). Regardless, all in
all the presentation were (at times) witty and fun. Don Henley who has been,
rightly, fighting the big bad RIAA (who represent the large music labels) for
musician's rights was a sight for sore eyes. Don commented how he may not be
the most popular person at the show. Judging by all the great work Don's lobbyist
group has been doing, and the corrective measures they do to the big record
labels who pseudo-enslave musicians, he is surely correct. After all, the
Grammy Awards are attended quite well by big label executive and lawyers.
The performance of Billy Joel and Tony Bennett singing
"New York State Of Mind" with a wonderful quartet consisting of
piano, guitar, bass and drums was wonderful! Classy, timeless and immensely
enjoyable. More like this please. Maybe not my favorite vocal quintet, though
following the Joel/Bennett duet was 'N Sync's performance with Nelly
"Girlfriend" began as an acoustic piece, then quickly went to a more
pop feel. Big stage props are the norm for the Grammy Awards as five car-like
pieces allowed each member of 'N Sync to stand atop of them while dancing and
singing. Last year's Awards opened with
singer Madonna who also featured a car in her performance of
"Music".
High-Performance Audio Reviews
