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entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
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by rick grant
rickgrant01@comcast.net
First and foremost, Jim Belushi considers himself a musical performer who occasionally takes acting jobs. His popular sitcom, According to Jim, which was just cancelled, ran for five seasons, keeping Jim busy. However, during the show's yearly hiatus, he was back on the road with his own band, Sacred Hearts or with Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers Band.
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No sooner was According to Jim history, Jim was back on the road with a new album to promote, booking a gig at Jacksonville's Metro Park for the Spring Music Festival. Yes, one could say Jim really loves to perform for live audiences. Indeed, he proved that with a highly physical performance at Metro Park. The Blues Brother was out in the audience, in the VIP area dancing with young women, and joking with the crowd. He did the monkey, the twist, and generally endeared himself to the audience, who expressed their adoration with enthusiastic screaming and applause. During the show, he singled out a couple of pretty young women with whom to sing and dance. I suspected they were plants. Yes, Jim Belushi was a tower of power at his Metro Park gig.
Backing Jim was his all-star band of top notch musicians and back-up singers. The band was remarkably tight and evenly mixed. Of course, Jim played harmonica and sang with gusto-- as the original Jumping Jack Flash. In the five years Jim was starring in his own sitcom, he would sit-in with the Sacred Hearts at the House of Blues in Chicago to keep his musical chops finely tuned. Jim has fronted the Sacred Hearts Band in gigs for Al Gore, Governor, Gray Davis, President Clinton and hundreds of benefits and corporate events for Fortune 500 companies.
Halfway through his show, Jim graciously turned over the stage to Julie Delgado, whose voice and charisma go off the charts. She was a big hit with the Metro Park crowd. Further along in the show, again, Jim gave up his front person position to Johnny Rubano who was a reoccurring character on Jim's sitcom. Johnny has a great voice and also plays trumpet. Like Jim, Johnny divides his time between acting and performing with Sacred Hearts.
Jim and Sacred Hearts material is a soulful mix of funky originals and classic soul with that Blues Brothers feel, but with the brassy sound of the Sacred Hearts. Have Love will Travel is a funky soul song that showcases Sacred Hearts big band arrangements. Clearly, Jim has talent as a vocalist but his voice needs some augmentation to overcome its limitations. However, Jim's harmonica playing is excellent and his wildly popular performing style which involves the audience more than makes up for any weaknesses in his voice.
Jim worked devilishly hard to win over the Metro Park crowd which warmed up to him right away. After that, Jim just piled on the charm and got the crowd in a frenzy. He also stayed over to sell his CDs and sign autographs. After the show, technicians set up a giant screen to run Jim's animated movie Hoodwinked which was released in 2006.
This bold new Spring Music Festival format was conjured up by the City's Special Events office as a change of pace for Metro Park shows. It worked out very well indeed, with a nice breezy night with mild temperatures. These free events offer a great alternative for Jaxites to enjoy the park showcasing top tier entertainment. Everyone who attended the Jim Belushi show at Metro Park became an official Blues Brother and Jim Belushi gained many new fans. Wahoo!
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
