(Partial) Concert Review - Teapacks -10/21/07

Not enough artists who have performed in Eurovision cross over to this side of the Atlantic, and the ones who do perform near me happen to do so when I am unavailable (other plans, hard-to-get-to, or in Lordi's case this coming week, sold out before I found out). This past Sunday, however, I got to feel closer to my European blogger brothers and sisters and see in the flesh for the first time a Eurovision performer who is not Celine Dion. And it was...Teapacks? Yeah, I know I gave "Push The Button" the lowest rating possible, but I had hoped that they would be better live in a smaller venue than they came across on TV, and also I felt that seeing a Eurovision failure over here would be a much rarer occurance than seeing a Eurovision success.

You know what? It wasn't that bad. Despite what I said about the "Push The Button" seeming to go on and on, most of the songs I heard didn't get boring. The crowd was energetic (also quite young - many groups of teens) and so was the band. Unfortunately I didn't get to hear "Push The Button" because it was towards the end of the set and I had to leave early, but I did get to hear "Salam Salami" which was my favorite (meaning least boring) song in the Israeli preselection. Also, at one point I got right up to the stage, which was nice.

It was enjoyable while I was there although next time I see a artist stateside who is a Eurovision flop it is someone I like better. Of course, a success would be nice too (I'm still a little bitter that I missed getting to see Lordi, but I'm hoping against all odds that eventually we will get Marija Serifovic over here too).

Mp3 Monday: Wink and Jolin

Back after a long hiatus, today I have two Eastern covers of Western songs, coincidentally both co-penned by Alexander Bard, one quite old, and one quite new.

First, a cover of "Where Were You Last Night" by Anki Bagger, performed by late-80s-early-90s J-Pop group Wink. Wink are well known for their cover of Kylie Minogue's "Turn It Into Love", but I like this one better. Plus, the video is fierce. Wink have done many other covers throughout their career which seem to have disappeared from the internet, but their Japanese Wikipedia article gives a good idea of what to look for.


Wink - "夜にはぐれて~Where were you last night~"

Next, a cover of "Sunshine In The Rain" by BWO, performed by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. This song is her new single, and can be found on her latest album, Agent J. So far, it's the first BWO cover I've heard (if there are any others, let me know!).

Jolin Tsai - "日不落 (Sun Will Never Set)"

Download - Wink - "Yoru ni hagurete ~Where Were You Last Night~"
Download - Jolin - "Ri Bu Luo"