The Voice Season 4 • Battle Rounds 4

In the fourth season of 'The Voice', this is the last evening of Battle Rounds this year. We know Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher, and Shakira have an easy rapport, with the banter between them being sweet and supportive, not antagonistic. After the auditions, the teams were 12 strong, and after the Battle Rounds, they will be down to eight each. Once again, the coaches have great support, as Adam goes into the rehearsals with Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, while Blake has Sheryl Crow, Shakira has Joel Madden, lead singer of Good Charlotte and coach on The Voice Australia, and Usher has Pharrell Williams. Usher is the only coach with a steal remaining, and it will be needed sometime this evening. After all, this is the last of the Battle Rounds, so let's get to the action!

Left to right: Shakira, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher, and Carson Daly.

The first battle of the night will be from Team Shakira, as Brandon Roush and Shawna P take to the ring. The two rockers will be singing the iconic "Piece of My Heart" from Janis Joplin. This seems right up Shawna's alley, as she and Joplin have a similar tone. Brandon has a bombastic voice, but can he bring the control that is needed do the song justice?

They come to the stage, and both want to win. Honestly, I am surprised they are as strong as they are on this song. Both voices held strong, and delivered a great version that was more than just a karaoke performance. This was a close battle, but I'd have to give the edge to Brandon, for I thought he held his ground in what was really Shawana's turf. Adam loved them both, and thought Brandon raised his game for the song. Usher agreed, and thought they both showed great talent. Shakira was so pleased with both of her singers, and she thought long and hard, and gave the win to Shawna. Team Adam is up next, and Duncan Kamakana and Sarah Simmons will be singing for a spot in the finals. Adam brings in Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum to help him to groom the singers. They will be singing one of her songs, "Want You More", which could be a little intimidating. Lady Antebellum is known for their tight and perfect harmonies, and that is something the duo struggles with from the start. Even once they return for another rehearsal with Adam, he sends them away with the assignment to practice much more together. From what we see in rehearsals, it will be a tall order for Duncan to compete with Sarah's amazing voice. Can he do it?

Duncan starts off the song, sounding nice, although a bit contrived. When Sarah comes in, her voice immediately starts to soar. When we go back to Duncan, his voice now seems kind of thin, a little hollow. For me, Sarah took command, and there was not doubt in my mind. Blake loves Sarah, and thinks she has a great voice. He would pick her. Usher thinks Duncan has a strength and confidence on the stage, but Sarah soared away with her voice. It is Sarah who is going on in the competition, and Duncan returning home. With the shortened program tonight, we get a few results on the fly, like a short order cook. Usher sent Michelle Chamuel and Chelsea M. into battle, singing "Titanium" by David Guetta featuring Sia.

After the song, Usher chose to keep Michelle on the team, and sent Chelsea home. Next up, Team Adam had Amy Whitcomb and Agina Alvarez in the boxing ring, singing Pat Benatar's great song, "Heartbreaker". This should be a tough one to take on, as Benatar has an outrageous voice, and the song showcased it.

Adam chose to keep Amy around, and Agina returned home. Now it is time for Blake to put up his final Battle of the season. He offers up Justin Rivers and The Morgan Twins, and interesting duo to say the least. They will be singing "Easy", a song by Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Bedingfield. At least I think so, as it was on screen for such a short time.

Blake surprises everyone by picking Justin Rivers, and sending The Morgan Twins home. Mary Miranda and Cáthia of Team Shakira will be singing a song by their mentor, and it throws Mary off, since she tries to learn the song in front of her. Cáthia, on the other hand, nails her performance in from of Shakira. For the second rehearsal, Mary is right on the money, but Cáthia falters, not as good as she was the first one. They will be performing Shakira's gorgeous ballad, "Antes De Las Seis".

Adam loved it, but he would have picked Mary for the win. Blake also loved it, but would pick Cáthia. Usher at first questioned the choice for them to sing Shakira's song, and she slapped him down a bit. But he recovers, and tells them they were wonderful. So it is up to Shakira to make the last decision of the Battle Rounds, and one has to believe that Usher will be stealing whomever she doesn't pick, so he can complete his team, too. After much struggle, Shakira picks Mary, leaving Cáthia to give her thanks to Shakira and all of the judges. She moves to exit and Usher hits his button in the last moment to save her. He has a great respect for her voice and talent, and she is thrilled. And that completes the teams, and next week we can begin with the Knock-Out. In two nights, trimming the teams of eight back to teams of four, ready to start the finals.

Woodstock • Day 2

Left to right: Carlos Santana; Grateful Dead; Janis Joplin; and Sly & the Family Stone.

Last night I spoke about the first night of Woodstock, and features some amazing performers. The audience showed up to hear great music, and wouldn't let some rain stop it from happening. A bigger impact might have been the side of the crowd, two-and-a-half times larger than expected. Arlo Guthrie mentioned that the New York State Thruway was closed, although that is was clogged and at a stand still at times, so who knows how many people abandoned the trip and went home, meaning even more people. It was an astonishing music festival, unlike any that had come before it. It allowed music lovers, hippies, peaceniks, and people from all walks of life to converge on a small New York hamlet and co-exist peacefully for a weekend of sex, drugs and rock and roll. On Saturday, August 16, 1969, the second day kicked off around noon with a performance by Quill, a rock band from the Northeast who toured the area and had a good following. Then it was time for Country Joe McDonald, a Rocker who was not afraid to tackle tough themes, like the war in Vietnam in songs like "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag," and so many others. In the 1960s, he performed in the psychedelic band, Country Joe and the Fish. By around 2PM, it was time for Carlos Santana and his band, putting in an set that was entrancing and electrifying. Woodstock really introduced the public to the stirring Latin Rock created by Santana, with hot and sultry guitar-driven songs. Here is a clip of Santana performing "Evil Ways", a song that would not be released until December.



Once released, "Evil Ways" went to #9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Once Santana was finished, it was time for folk singer John Sebastian, who had only recently left his band, The Loving Spoonful. He had written the hits "Do You Believe In Magic" and one of my favorites, "Daydream". And we were seven years shy of his big solo hit, "Welcome Back", also the theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter. He was followed by the Keef Hartley Band, with English drummer and frontman Keith "Keef" Hartley. He was followed by another UK act, the Scottish Psychedelic Folk pioneers, the Incredible String Band. They were followed by the Blues Rock band Canned Heat. The Los Angeles band named the band after sterno, the cans of fuel that burned to warm chaffing dishes, and sometimes imbibed by alcoholics of the time. Mountain was up next, a Long Island-based Blues Rock band that loved to rock out. By 10:30PM, it was time for one of the most iconic bands on the schedule. Yes, it was time for the Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Bill Kreutzmann, Tom Constanten, Mickey Hart, took to the stage and laid down a great set, starting to lay the groundwork for the band that went on to earn a solid group of fans known as Dead-heads. What as they perform Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried".



If the Grateful Dead weren't enough to excite the crowd, how would you like to be the guy who scheduled Janis Joplin and The Kozmic Blues Band? I sure as hell would, because as much as the Grateful Dead could cool things down, Janis could heat it all up with her amazing performances, singing not only from the heart, but from her gut. Her own brand of Blues Rock, heavy on the Blues and Soul, but never short on the Rock. Just take some time to bathe in the glory that is Janis Joplin and The Kozmic Blues Band performing "Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)".



Now, I would think that would be impossible to follow, but then you have the intriguing mixture of Rock, Soul, Funk and Psychedelia that is the wonderful Sly & the Family Stone. The band was fronted by Sly Stone, and the band was made up of family and friends, mising up the genders and races with ease. The band was already topping the charts, with the brilliant "Everyday People". It was 2:30AM by the time they took the stage, but that didn't tire them at all. Watch them play "I Want To Take You Higher".



Following them at 5AM was the British rock band The Who, a band that was on top of the charts for much of the 1960s. The band was made up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon. They played some of their hits, as well music from an album that was released about two months before. It was their Rock Opera, Tommy. The evening, well, the morning really was finished off by Jefferson Airplane, the voice of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. With Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden taking the stage, there was no doubt they would make it easy for everyone to stay up. With already national hits with "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit", they delivered a big performance. They finished up around 9:30AM on Sunday morning, with a bold performance of "Uncle Sam's Blues". Tomorrow, I will discuss the final night of the festival.

Summer Music - Summertime

For my Friday night entry for the holiday weekend, I thought I would go all kinds of classic on your music-lovin'-asses. Here is Janis Joplin & Summertime

Summertime...and the Living Is Easy

I thought of this song as we are getting what might be the last heatwave of summer as the season draws to a close. So I reached back in the vault [otherwise known as YouTube], and found this version by Janis Joplin, who, in many ways, might be the poster child for livin' that ain't easy. And she certainly managed to put her own stamp on the song in this 1969 performance in Stockholm. Enjoy.

Friday Night Party at Woodstock

From August 15 to August 18, 1969, a group of people dropped in to a small town in New York State, tune in to some amazing music, and drop out of the outside world, focusing only on what was to shortly become one of the seminal moments in music history, Woodstock. As I was only 9 years old, I didn't make it to Woodstock, but oh, how I wish I did. Some of the greatest musicians of the 60s and 70s made their way to the stage in the tiny hamlet of Bethel, New York. My generation had Live Aid, which was a different animal altogether. Live Aid was about musician coming together to raise money for a famine in Africa, and perform on televisions across the world, offering a two-way street. Woodstock, on the other hand, was a music festival, with act after act making their way to the stage, not a television camera in sight. Luckily, it was filmed, thanks to Michael Wadleigh's documentary. So, for your enjoyment on this Friday night, I offer up a few acts I just thought we should hear.



David, Stephen and Graham had only recently gotten together to form the group, and Woodstock was the first public performance of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Remarkable, really, as the guys all had some success in the music industry, but came together to form an entity that was quickly known by the initials CSN. Their sound combined the elements of folk and rock and their tight harmonies gave it all a bright veneer. Just give Suite: Judy Blue Eyes a listen and you'll see what I mean.



When you think of rockers with plenty of soul, you can't help but name Joe Cocker. While he had success, there are many in the music business who consider him one of the best rock vocalists of all time. Listening to his cover of With A Little Help From My Friends does little to dispel this theory. He does a magnificent job.



The Who were a name in the music business long before Woodstock, having a string of hits once I Can't Explain hits the airwaves in 1965. That list includes My Generation, also released that same year, and one of the 25 songs they played at Woodstock.



Janis Joplin played Woodstock with the Kozmic Blues Band, and practically shook the surrounding towns with the power of her performances. She was a standout with Work Me, Lord, and one would be hard-pressed to figure out if she was singing the hell out of the song, or if she was channeling the words through divine intervention.



Hope you enjoyed this trip to the past. Look for more Woodstock performances tomorrow night!