by Michael LelloWeekender Editor
2009 will go down in history the year a black president took office in the United States for the first time and locally as the year a bunch of scumbag politicians got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Both are important stories that we won’t — and shouldn’t — stop discussing anytime soon.
That said, a lot of other stuff happened that’s worth mentioning, especially in the world of arts and entertainment. In this week’s cover story, we put 2009 to bed with a rundown of some of the biggest stories of the year as well as some our staffers’ individual favorite albums, concerts, movies and more of ’09.
In many ways, for me at least, I’ll remember 2009 as the year of Breaking Benjamin. It’s an odd thing to say about a band that has been around for 10 years and been wildly successful for almost as long. From my perspective, though, it makes sense. When the band got together, I was away at college, and when it started to take off, I was again living out of the area. Whenever I heard one of the band’s songs on WMMR in Philadelphia, I felt a sense of pride, which is kind of weird, because not only did I have absolutely nothing to do with Breaking Benjamin, I hadn’t even seen the band play, never mind meet any of the members.
This year, with the band about to release its fourth album, it was time for me to delve into all of the albums and the old articles to try to get squared away in time to work on interviews for our September cover story on our band — one of the most popular stories we’ve printed in a while, which wasn’t much of a surprise, considering the band’s popularity and the revealing nature of the story.
In my interview with Ben Burnley, the lead singer revealed that he was a recovering alcoholic with permanent brain damage caused by his addiction. This is something he had never spoken about to the press before, and as far as I can tell, besides later interviews with Billboard and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, something he hasn’t talked about since.
When the band released the new album, “Dear Agony,” Breaking Benjamin played an intimate show at the River Street Jazz Caf� in Plains Twp. It was a free show for fans that won tickets through 97.9 X or Gallery of Sound contests, and it was quite an experience to see how much the local fans love this band.
I was able to add to this perspective a few weeks ago when I traveled to Milwaukee to watch the band perform the last show of a tour. Here’s how big the band is, and not just in our area: The show was nearly sold out. And Sick Puppies and 30 Seconds To Mars, two big names in their own right, were the opening acts, further proving how big are local boys are. A few weeks earlier, 10,000 Breaking Benjamin fans filled the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. I also got to see how the band lives on the road, from the catering (top-shelf, at least in Milwaukee, especially the chicken and the lasagna), the backstage rooms and the tour bus. Life on the road, naturally, is not easy, but when you are at that rare level of success, it sure beats driving around in a beat-up van and lugging your own gear.
Another highlight for me this year involved another musician that has battled his share of demons: Brian Wilson. When it was announced that the former Beach Boy would be performing at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, I was delighted. I had never seen him in concert before, but after enjoying a documentary about his “Smile” album, I knew he was still quite good. An interview was a long shot, I thought, but we got it. I was nervous — who wouldn’t be — but it went pretty well. The show, despite an embarrassingly low turnout, was breathtaking. Whenever I hear one of his songs from now on, I think about the show, the surreal interview and that only a tiny sliver of NEPA’s music lovers made the right move and came out to witness a legend at work.
Speaking with Bill Cosby was another high point for me, as were conversations with the sons of two icons, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Julian Lennon.
All of that said, putting together a timeline of local events for this issue was, to be honest, slightly depressing. It brought together in one place a list of closings — Tink’s, Nightcap’s, Molly Brannigans — and a show cancellation — Coldplay — that, if it indeed happened because of low ticket sales, is a bit scary. But it also reminded me of some more positive news, like the fact that two of the three clubs and bars I just mentioned will have new tenants soon.
2009 was certainly a memorable year, and much of the news was good, or at least interesting. Let’s hope for more of the same — but also some differences — in 2010.
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