March 2, 2008

Travis Cloer Debuts in ‘The Power of Music’ at the Laurie Beechman on February 25!

March 2nd, 2008

Photos courtesy of Charly O’Clarit, Lucy Rochetti, Audrey Rockman, and Vanessa Shyu.

By Howard Tucker, Jersey Boys Blog Special Correspondent

Travis treated both Jersey Boys fans and cast members to “The Power of Music” Monday night, derived from the show he headlined on the major cruise lines before joining Jersey Boys.

Travis plays “Joe Pesci” in Jersey Boys on Broadway for eight shows a week, and covers for Frankie Valli.

As an added treat, Travis’s self-titled CD “Travis Cloer” was available to all. This CD is his follow-up to “Christmas from the City” and is available by contacting Travis directly on his MySpace page www.myspace.com/traviscloersings. The cost is $10 and he will happily mail you as many copies as you like, and they’re always available at the stage door after any Jersey Boys performance.

“The Power of Music”

“Let the Good Times Roll”
Tonight Travis “let the good times roll” with his own version of the Shirley and Lee classic, later covered by the Righteous Brothers, Conway Twitty and the legendary Roy Orbison. His enormous energy had the Laurie Beechman crowd rocking from the get-go.

“Your Smiling Face”
As Travis looked around his friendly audience, he sang the timeless James Taylor’s “Your Smiling Face” In Travis’s capable hands, this classic “grew stronger every minute.”

“Since I Don’t Have You”
Travis‘s musical talent derives from both his parents. Mom is a singer and Dad is a Musical Minister. Travis told us that one of Mom’s favorite songs is the heartbreaking ballad, the Skyliners’ “Since I Don’t Have You.” Travis’s beautiful falsetto on this number was quite powerful.

Interestingly, baby boomers have heard this song constantly on the oldies stations for the past thirty some-odd years, yet it never reached Billboard’s Top 10. The Skyliners took it to #12 in 1959, and Don “American Pie” McLean took it to #29 as his follow up to “Crying” in 1981. Travis’s aching falsetto, though, has put him in a class by himself. Time for another remake, Trav?

“Same Auld Lang Syne”
Travis and I are both big fans of the late Dan Fogelberg, who passed on much too early in 2007, but not before he left us with memories of so many great hits.

In “Same Auld Lang Syne” Travis sings about the two ex-lovers who meet again in a grocery store on Christmas Eve to find out they are “not quite over each other”. They “drank a toast to innocence and drank a toast to now” and “tried to reach beyond the emptiness, but neither one knew how.” So they ended pretty much where they started when “the beer was empty and our tongues were tired, and running out of things to say. She gave a kiss to me as I got out, and I watched her drive away.”

What a flawless tenor Travis showed us on “Syne.” How about some consideration to Fogelberg’s “Longer,” “Leader of the Band,” and “Run for the Roses” on the next gig, Trav?

“Runaround Sue”
Haven’t we all met at some point in our lives a girl/boy who loves to be worshipped, but is gone the minute we ask for a commitment? So, says Dion DiMucci, defines “Runaround Sue,”whom he took to #1 in 1962. Generation X will remember the 1978 Leif Garrett version, peaked at #13.

By now, via osmosis, the audience absorbed Travis’s remarkable energy. He had one section of the room singing the “latalatalata whoa-ohs” and the other section chanting the “hape, hape, hum de hatey hatey hapes” The audience ate it up, but the largest enthusiasts were the “singers” in Travis’s 8-piece “little Big Band.” Are we going to see the Dow brothers on “American Idol” soon?

“Call Me Irresponsible”
First released by jazz/pop singer Jack Jones in 1963, “Call Me Irresponsible” developed a whole new life when Michael Buble sang it on American Idol’s Season 6 as a substitute for Tony Bennett, who also covered it. Buble covered the song on his 2007 album of the same name, but it has not been released as a single. Maybe the next chart appearance will be by our Travis Cloer?

As an aside, Travis’s microphone became moody during “Irresponsible.” Without missing a lyric, Trav went to the other side of the stage, picked up a new mike, and continued as if nothing had happened to appreciative applause by the Laurie Beechman audience. Normally, we wouldn’t talk about a temperamental mike, but Travis’s unwavering poise made it notable.

“The Prayer”
The multi-talented Jennifer Naimo (Mary Delgado in Jersey Boys) joined Travis for the absolutely beautiful “The Prayer.” Covered by Charlotte Church, Josh Grobin, Celine Dion, and several others, this gorgeous song was so capable handled by the strong voices of the two Jersey Boys co-stars.

Travis, your fans have now experienced you and Jen on “Movin’ On Up” (from the show “Journey to Jersey Boys”) and “The Prayer.” Have we caught the first glimpse of the new Sonny and Cher, Peaches and Herb, or Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell?

“Moondance”
Travis then decided to give us a little R&B and jazz with Van Morrison’s “Moondance” from 1970. This song is nearly 40 years old now, but even the younger generation is capturing its significance in 2008.

“Everyone’s a comedian” goes the cliché. Well, our Travis was a great one, discussing the genesis of his trademark hairstyle. Ask him about it at the stage door!

“Fever”
Next, Travis asked each audience member to visualize someone in his or her life who turns him/her on. He then went into a very emotional version of Peggy Lee’s “Fever” which turned all our temperatures up a few degrees.

“If I Can Dream”
Oh, how I remember Elvis Presley’s “NBC Comeback Special” on June 20, 1968 which he began in solid white and ended in solid black leather. Elvis ended the show with the wonderful “If I Can Dream,” penned by Earl Brown to celebrate the legendary words of Dr. Martin Luther King (“I Have a Dream”), who passed on two months earlier.

It’s always been my favorite Elvis song (reaching #12), and has been given a new life on “American Idol,” having been sung by contestants in Seasons 3 and 5 and by Celine Dion in Season 6 in a special effects “duet” with Elvis, as well as by our own Travis Cloer, whose resounding finale is still ringing in my ears.

Thanks to Charly O’Clarit, here’s the YouTube link to the Travis’s very beautiful and haunting “If I Can Dream.” It’s as relevant now as it was 40 years ago!

Give Travis Cloer a song, any song, and he puts his own stamp on it. What a wonderful entertainer and showman he is, and he deservedly received a prolonged standing ovation at the end of “If I Can Dream”!!

The “Little Big Band”
Travis introduced us to his terrific “Little Big Band” (several of whom are from Jersey Boys):
Larry Farrell- Trombone
David Spier- Trumpet
Matt Hong- Alto Sax
Jack Bashkow- Tenor Sax
Kevin Dow- Drums
Ken Dow- Bass
Steve Gibb- Guitar
Gillian Berkowitz- Musical Director, Piano

Distinguished Guests
Travis had enormous support from Broadway and Jersey Boys luminaries, beginning with his beautiful wife Jennifer. It was the first time for many of us meeting the very engaging Sebastian “Bob Gaudio” Arcelus, accompanied by his talented Wicked wife, Stephanie Block.

Former JB’er Colin Donnell (now starring as Otto in Me, Myself, and I with Tyne Daly) was front and center with his better half, Emily Fletcher, who shone as one of Christian Hoff’s featured singers in Christian’s January cabaret show, “Exiled.”

We were also thrilled to meet future star Nathan Johnson (husband of Grease’s “Sandy,” Laura Osnes), now currently in “Frankie school” under Professor Katie Agresta.

Last but certainly not least, we all schmoozed with JBer’s Eric Schneider, Sara Schmidt, and Kelly Kinsella, who just came off her successful cabaret performance the night before Travis’s.

“Travis Cloer”: The CD
Travis’s CD was available to all, with the marvelous selections:
“Let the Good Times Roll”
“Since I Don’t Have You”
“Moondance”
“Orange Colored Sky”
“Home”
“Fever”
“Gira Con Me”
“Georgia on My Mind”

To obtain a copy of the CD, please contact Travis directly on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/traviscloersings. The cost is $10, and, in addition to being available by mail, they’re always available at the stage door at the August Wilson after any Jersey Boys performance.

Travis even personalized my copy, although Travis-the-comedian joked that my Ebay market would be limited to buyers named “Howard.” Never, Travis—it’ll always be a keepsake to remind me of this wonderful evening. We all thank you so much. “If I Can Dream,” this cabaret is the first of many that we’ll spend together.

4 Comments »

  1. As a player of a wind instrument in my younger years, I noticed early on the incorporation of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” into Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Auld Lang Syne”. No doubt it was influenced by Dan’s childhood exposure to his father’s work as the “Leader Of The Band”, which is a great tribute to his father. I was saddened by Dan’s passing last December, and concur with Travis and Howard’s admiration of Dan Fogelberg’s work. The “1812 Overture” part of “Same Auld Land Syne” apparently is lost on many of Dan’s fans, and I’ve had to explain this to many people. Apparently, the inclusion of the “1812 Overture” in the song began as a joke. But it demonstrates how music is music and how it all fits together…

    Comment by Ted Hammond — March 2, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

  2. Absolutely AWESOME…thanks for sharing!

    NewJerseyLasagna

    Comment by NewJerseyLasagna — March 2, 2008 @ 2:28 pm

  3. Thanks, Howard, for the re-cap of such a pleasant evening. Travis certainly has the style of an experienced entertainer, and knows how to please a crowd with varied song selections and a confident stage presence. Memorable songs, smooth vocals, engaging stories and a dynamic back-up band made the time fly by much too quickly. Travis & his wife were so sweet to pose for photos, sign CD’s and visit with fans. It was nice to visit with JB friends again and see so many JB cast members supporting this talented singer.

    Comment by Lulu — March 2, 2008 @ 4:55 pm

  4. I was in attendance at Travis’ concert as part of Howard’s entourage and all I can add to Howard’s review is “Can this Travis sing or what”? And in addition to Travis’ great singing we were treated to a duet with our Jennifer Naimo which was nothing short of sensational, bordering on inspirational. A great evening of song made even more enjoyable by the attendance of so many JB friends.

    Comment by David Cace — March 3, 2008 @ 6:47 pm

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