The best dance reality competition on television, Fox network’s So You Think You Can Dance, just wrapped up its six-city audition phase for the current fourth season earlier tonight. All of the candidates who make it through the first grueling phase then move on to an even more difficult level of competition in the Las Vegas second round. A final cut is made at the end of that stage, and the far fewer people who survive move on to the final level of competition that results in a single ultimate winner.

One of the first performers featured on the show today was 21-year-old Boston resident Kim, whose style is hip-hop. He actually made it to the second round in Las Vegas during the show’s second season, but he couldn’t handle the all-important choreography and partnering work with a female dancer.

When Kim showed up this year, judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Dan Karaty immediately remembered him because he’s a very talented performer in his style of dance. Surprisingly, after Kim completed his routine, instead of sending him to an optional choreography round where he would have to further prove his ability — which is what happens to most hip-hop performers — the judges sent him directly through to Las Vegas.

We’re all pulling for Kim this time and praying he was dedicated enough to take a few ballroom and jazz dance classes after his last tryout two seasons ago; tomorrow night’s episode will reveal the truth. In the meantime, take a look at Kim’s thoroughly entertaining audition in the video after the jump.

NOTE: If you require closed captions, you can enable that feature on the video players by clicking the CC symbol in the top right-hand corner.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

As promised, check out high-quality videos of the New Kids’ performance on NBC’s Today earlier today. Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, and brothers Jonathan Knight and Jordan Knight sang and danced through a medley of their older hits, as well as the 1990 throwback “Tonight,” and they sang one new tune, a very mellow track called “Summertime.” The last is available for purchase on iTunes right now.

Up first, the old-school medley, followed by “Tonight” (preceded by a little chit chat with show hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, who I bet were screaming somewhere offstage, too — Ha ha!) and the new single “Summertime” after the jump.

The extravaganza ends with yet another video of the group dishing with Lauer and Vieira about their forthcoming tour. There may be more footage later because MSNBC added videos as I was writing this post. I’ll check the site again later today for additional clips to publish.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Yet, after word of the reverend’s murder spread, riots quickly erupted in more than 100 cities across the United States. As a result, Boston’s newly elected mayor at that critical time, Kevin White, was left with the difficult task of preventing widespread disorder in the city.

His original decision was allegedly to cancel the James Brown concert all together, until those with better knowledge of local neighborhoods advised him a cancellation would only further ignite anger, inspiring a greater likelihood of public disturbances.

White then approached James Brown directly and suggested the soul singer go on with his performance but allow concurrent televising on local airwaves. Public broadcasting station WGBH on channel 2 stepped in to air the concert footage, and as a result, only about 2,500 of 15,000 ticket holders attended the event; the remainder stayed at home and watched the concert on TV. Hence, the lack of agitated people in the downtown Boston area directly contributed to the absence of riots in the city.

Tonight at 9pm EST, basic-cable network VH1 will present The Night James Brown Saved Boston. The music documentary details the events of April 1968, highlighting Brown’s role in helping to alleviate tension in Boston. Encore broadcasts will follow on Sunday, April 6, at 2am and on Monday, April 7, at 10pm.

WGBH, the station that actually televised the famous concert in 1968, also has its own coverage of the historic occasion available around the clock. Visitors to the website for James Brown: Live at the Boston Garden, 1968 can not only listen to the entire broadcast that originally aired, but view the network’s in-house documentary of the occasion titled The Politics of Soul, as well.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The guys — Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, and brothers Jonathan Knight and Jordan Knight — were in New York to make their first public appearance together in 14 years, and aside from Mother Nature’s refusal to play along, the reunion went off without a hitch.

Each member of the band looked pretty good given the passage of time, and as co-host Hoda Kotb noted at one point, even they seemed overwhelmed by the rapturous reaction of the crowd. If anyone thinks today was something, just wait until the group returns exactly six weeks from now, on May 16, to perform live with one another again for the first time in nearly 15 years.

Like many people, I assumed that would happen this morning. But, it didn’t. Instead, at precisely 9:39am EST (a little clock keeps time throughout the show in a corner of the screen), NKOTB participated in a brief interview with enthusiastic co-host Natalie Morales and then answered a couple of fan emails. The first asked if the group will continue to dance during their performances and the second wondered if they plan to remove “Kids” from their name since they’re not exactly young’uns anymore.

Take a look at the four-and-a-half minute clip of the Today show appearance after the jump. If you listen closely, you’ll also get a quick preview of NKOTB’s new track “Summertime,” which is on the forthcoming album it sounds like they group has already completed.

NOTE: If you require closed captions, you can enable that feature on the video player by clicking the CC symbol in the top right-hand corner.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

That’s this Friday, fans, just in time for the weekend. The Boston Traveler will have footage of that appearance right after it happens. But for now, get psyched and then enjoy a couple of classic New Kids videos after the jump: “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step by Step.”

Incidentally, nkotb.com has been updated with highlight footage of the reunion news spreading from website to magazine to television. Take a peek if you haven’t seen the new content yet.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Narrated by Chris Rock, the series is based on the comedian’s experiences growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community located in Brooklyn, New York. The highly publicized segment featuring O’Ree was filmed last August, and eager hockey fans in-the-know have been waiting to see it since last fall.

O’Ree, a Canadian of African ancestry from New Brunswick, is often called the Jackie Robinson of ice hockey for his accomplishment making history when he broke the color barrier in the National Hockey League in 1958. His NHL debut was with the Bay State’s very own Boston Bruins on January 18 of that year, at which time he played the position of winger in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

O’Ree’s forthcoming television gig is on the sitcom’s episode named “Everybody Hates Gretzky.” The teenage title character Chris (Tyler James Williams) skips school to accompany his younger brother Drew (Tequan Richmond), who’s determined to go to Long Island to track down his idol Wayne Gretzky at an Edmonton Oilers game.

On the way, the two siblings get lost and ask O’Ree’s well-dressed character for directions. He obliges, giving them not only instructions on how to complete their trip, but a few pertinent details about ice hockey history. Fellow black Canadian and New Jersey Devils goaltender Kevin Weekes also has a speaking part in the same scene.

Viewers can catch this must-see episode of an excellent family comedy series on The CW television network. In addition to watching faithfully since its premiere three seasons ago, I’ve seen the segment in question, and I guarantee fans of the players and the show in general will be pleased. Even if you’ve never experienced Everybody Hates Chris before, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the episode, too.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

If the answer to both questions is yes and you’re in the Boston area, this Saturday you’ll have the ability to try out for your chance to make television history on NBC’s latest reality series, I Can Do That!

According to details at Boston Magazine, the new series is a mixture of CBS’ hit The Amazing Race and NBC’s absolutely disgusting (sorry, fans) Fear Factor. Another post on Reality Wanted further clarifies that showrunners seek extremely enthusiastic potential candidates who represent a diverse mixture of ages, sizes, and backgrounds and who enjoy participating in physical activities.

If the scant details describe you to a T and you’d love an opportunity to be on television, head over to the nightclub Felt (533 Washington Street, Boston, 617-350-5555) this Saturday, March 8, between noon and 5pm, for the I Can Do That! Open Casting Call.

Interested and curious parties can also obtain more information by sending an email to icandothatboston@gmail.com or calling 323-802-0558. I’d probably dial up Felt to verify specifics, as well, since there’s not a whole lot of publicity pushing the event.

Good luck to all who give the tryouts a go.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

In the Globe Magazine piece titled “No Pants? No Problem,” the writer makes a persuasive argument for more depantsing in the public sphere. Why relegate the daring disrobing act to just one day per year when you can repeatedly free yourself and amuse or infuriate clueless onlookers all at the same time?

After noting that rampant public pantslessness is not likely to become a serious threat anytime soon (too true), Pierce’s open letter to Adam Sablich, the local organizer of Boston’s inaugural No Pants 2K8 event, suggests that the no-pants concept be applied to other situations:

Let’s have a Pantsless Day at the State House. On second thought, OK, let’s not. But Logan Airport could go pantsless. Given what goes on at security these days, most people are halfway there already.

Well, it seemed funny to me when I read it this weekend.

Charlie Todd, the founder of the public-prank group Improv Everywhere that started the original No Pants! Subway Rides in New York City some seven years ago, appeared on NBC’s morning show Today this very day. Honestly — Todd looks like the last dude in the world you’d expect to drop his pants in public in front of strangers. Take a look at the Talk of the Town segment after the jump to see for yourself.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Well, that appearance has come and gone, but thanks to the kindness and video skills of some YouTube-using fans, people can still enjoy their performance.

Band members actually played two tunes: the expected “State of Massachusetts,” the hit first single from their latest album The Meanest of Times, as well as a show-ending version of “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.”

For the unaware, the second song appeared on the Murphys’ 2005 album The Warrior’s Code, as well as the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning, Boston-set 2006 film The Departed.

The Best Picture winner stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and homegrown actors Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Each of those talents have either won (Nicholson and Damon) or been nominated for (DiCaprio and Wahlberg) an Academy Award.

Say what you want about Dropkick Murphys and their Celtic-punk music, the titles of their tracks make it obvious that they love themselves some Boston and Massachusetts.

Check out videos of both songs as the guys played them live on Letterman’s January 11th show after the jump.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

If you’re not familiar with the group’s hardcore celtic-punk sound and background, there are three websites that can help rectify that: the Dropkick Murphys’ official home on the Web, the corresponding MySpace site, and the band biography on the website of the group’s former independent label Hellcat Records. All feature high-quality audio files and/or videos of the type of music the band’s been playing since the members came together in the mid-1990s. Then don’t forget to mark your calendar for their January 11th TV date with Dave after checking your local listings to verify when the Late Show with David Letterman airs in your area.

Whatever they decide to play, the Murphys’ tube gig will definitely be worth recording or staying up to see. In the meantime, you can also take a look at the live, fan-made video for the Meanest of Times single “The State of Massachusetts” after the jump. The track, the first single from the September 2007 release, quickly became one of the Top 100 songs played on modern rock radio in the States, which attests to the band’s widespread and deserved popularity.

Post from: The Boston Traveler