GrooveOut Live Lang and Divine Dames k.d. lang: Live By Request (Warner Brothers) by Chris Sill

K.d. lang is coming home again, home to you and me via home video. The Grammy Award-winning vocalist takes center stage on k.d. lang–Live By Request, available on CD, VHS, and DVD. It’s the third video release for lang, and the second live concert video. The concert was recorded last December for Live By Request, the interactive music show broadcast by A&E on television, radio, and the Internet.

For lang it marks her first-ever live album. Long overdue, Live By Request captures the essence of lang’s emotionally charged live performances. Without a doubt, she is one in a handful of today’s vocalists who must be experienced live. The 67-minute concert spans the singer’s career from "Trail of Broken Hearts" and "Miss Chatelaine" to the more recent "Summerfling" and "Simple." Along the way, lang detours into fans’ requests like "Fever" and the Donna Summer standard "MacArthur Park."

If you’ve never seen lang live, don’t miss her Houston appearance with Tony Bennet on August 7 at the Cynthia Woods Mithcell Pavilion; k.d. lang: Live By Request hits stores on August 14.

Broadway Divas (RCA Victor)

In the spirit of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s philosophy, "There ain’t nothing like a dame," RCA Victor celebrates their 100th year in music with a star-studded collection of some of our community’s most beloved dames and leading ladies in Broadway Divas.

Opening the show is the legendary Ethel Merman with "I Got the Sun in the Morning" from Annie Get Your Gun. Other legends on the bill include Liza Minnelli, Mary Martin, Angela Lansbury, and Patti Lupone (singing "Being Alive" from Company).

Rounding out the talent roster with more recent performances are Sex and the City siren Sarah Jessica Parker with "Shy" from Once Upon a Mattress, and Cheers alumna Bebe Neuwirth with "All That Jazz" from Chicago.

Blending unforgettable old and new performances, Broadway Divas satisfies the most savvy of show tunes aficionados among us. Encore!

Wotapa-woops!

Wotapalava, the summer music tour featuring Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell, has been postponed until next year. Organizers site the lack of a "complete line-up" as the reason. They have been unable to find a suitable replacement for Sinead O’Connor, who withdrew from the tour earlier this summer.

Officer on My Mind
by Dan Fortune

Phillip Officer has been hailed by The New York Times as "a textbook example in pop understatement." No stranger to great concert halls or smoky saloons, he’s sung in myriad venues ranging from the Broadway stage, to the world-famous Carnegie Hall, to the legendary Oak Room in New York’s Algonquin Hotel. As one of the most respected cabaret singers in the business, gay or straight (and really, how many can you fit into the latter category?), Officer’s recently released Hoagy on My Mind (Jerome Records) features the work of the legendary songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. His songs, such as "Star Dust," "Heart and Soul," and "The Nearness of You," celebrate America’s landscape with subtle poetry and rhythmic pulse. For more information, visit www.JeromeRecords.com.