George Benson (Sony Hall NYC 8/10/22)-
A lot of adjectives came to my mind while watching George Benson’s 75 or so minute concert tonight.
Tight. Polished. Slick. Professional. Crowd-pleasing. Enjoyable. Nostalgic.
And Benson is likable and, at age 79, stylish, youthful, and gracious.
But there was one other word that kept repeating in my brain.
Safe.
It was all ever so safe.
Barely picking up the guitar, he was a solid singer doing golden oldies for a crowd that ate them all up.
You got the sense that this mostly greatest hits set had been performed without much variation forever. They’re quality songs with good hooks and lyrics made for a crowd singalong.
It’s a successful format down to promptly clearing out the sold-out early set crowd and packing in the massive line waiting outside for the 9:30. It worked for the club owners, the band, and the fans.
But the only time THIS jazz aficionado was truly moved was when he did a magnificent take on Moody’s Mood for Love. Asking how many people had heard of its lyricist Eddie Jefferson, there was a few scattered applause.
They didn’t know.
But my god had the supposed heir to Wes Montgomery taken THAT road…the path that Eddie Jefferson and James Moody and King Pleasure took, you would have seen a show with guitar strumming that would have taken you to a galaxy far, far, away.
Instead, that guitar sitting behind him most of the night was a tease.
Soon enough, we were, predictably, listening to “On Broadway” and out the door walking down Broadway having had a nice enough time at a nice enough show on a nice enough night.
What could have been.

This and That:

Festival of Cinema NYC continues today with film industry seminars at the Forest Hills Library:
SPECIAL PRESENTATION / SEMINAR
HOW TO NAVIGATE CRITICISM OF YOUR CRAFT
Join FREE THE WORK’s Pamala Buzick Kim as she moderates a guest panel of critics to dig into the reality of handling criticism.
FREE RSVP>>
Thursday, Aug 11th, 11:00 am
The Screening Room at Forest Hills Library

SPECIAL PRESENTATION / SEMINAR
THE MECHANICS OF FILM DISTRIBUTION
Dan Gurlitz, the Founder of Soundview Media Partners, will be discussing how the tactics of distribution have changed within the evolving physical media and digital environment.
Soundview is a multi-faceted film agency that works with independent filmmakers to establish and expand availability of films and has helped over a dozen Festival of Cinema NYC filmmakers find distribution.
FREE RSVP>>
Thursday, Aug 11th, 1:30 pm
The Screening Room at Forest Hills Library

Complete Schedule: https://festivalofcinemanyc.eventive.org/schedule

Gofundmes from the wrestling community worth supporting:
Fund To Prevent My Homelessness
Dorothy Inzerillo, aka Dorothy Lee ( The late Lucha Mike Frigerio’s partner)
https://gofund.me/c66ebaf8

Denis Weber (Wrestling radio podcaster)
Going Through Some Hard Times
https://gofund.me/5cd4520f