Days of Winehouse and Roses
When a talent-deprived individual like Paris Hilton or Britney Spears melts down in public, I find it amusing: for them, stumbling about drunk is part of their only real gift — getting media attention. But when someone of Amy Winehouse‘s caliber starts heading down the Morrison-Joplin highway, I get worried. Winehouse’s pop-soul voice is a wonder, and she’s ruining it with her inability to get serious about deadling with her addictions. Thus the following report from today’s rollingstone.com is almost too depressing to read: “Winehouse (pictured) made her triumphant return to the stage last night at the NIA in Birmingham, U.K. By triumphant, we mean piss-drunk, pissed-off, volatile, and in need of a teleprompter. In short, it was everything you’ve come to grow and love about an Amy Winehouse performance. The show started off well, with Amy showing up onstage only an hour late. From that point on, it was all uphill, as Winehouse spat, slurred, and stammered her way into her fans’ heart. As one happy concertgoer commented, “Amy has a fantastic voice. It was a huge disappointment to see her perform so unprofessionally. It was the worst gig I have ever attended.†Another supporter posted “I was cringing with embarassment for her.†Always leave them wanting more.
By getting onstage last night, Winehouse managed to overcome the incarceration of her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who sits in a jail cell somewhere thanks to criminal charges that translate into obstruction of justice here. Amy dedicated “Wake Up Alone†to her boy in the pen. “This is for my husband,†Winehouse announced, before singing the lyric, “This face in my dreams seizes my guts. He floods me with dread.†That’s sweet. Needless to say, there was lots of crying onstage, as Winehouse dedicated many a songs to her husband, going as far as renaming her song “Me and Mr. Jones†to “Me and Mr. Blakey.†To close out the show, Winehouse wowed fans by performing the Zutons’ “Valerie†before abruptly leaving the stage mid-verse. Barring a complete train wreck or cancellation, Winehouse is expected to play Friday night in Glasgow.
