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KANE LIVE
The Pickwick Theatre Marquee featuring KANE
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"This next act that I'm going to introduce to you is a very good friend of mine. Christian Kane, to me, is my next of kin. Then as far as family is concerned, as far as love is concerned from my heart, somebody who knows soul, somebody who knows friendship and has honor, who knows how to sit and drink a bottle of Jack Daniels, knows how to rip a bottle of Jack Daniels, knows what to do with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels cause I've been there and I know. He's a remarkable artist so without further ado I would like to introduce 'my friend' and a great band, Ladies and Gentleman - KANE!"
It was both a great surprise and a great honor to witness David Boreanaz introduce KANE to the stage of the Pickwick Theatre, Park Ridge, Illinois on Saturday night the 15th May 2004. Throughout the entire weekend both David and Chris shared with fans the obvious close friendship they have with one another and to hear David's own words describe their bond was both humbling and a privilege. The concept of family embraced the whole weekend and never was it more evident than at the Pickwick on what was to turn out to be an absolutely incredible night. Christian's cousin Branden Hart had opened the night's festivities with an acoustic set of his own. Although many may have not known too much about Branden prior to the gig, the energy he commanded on stage and the exuberance he conveyed with the audience certainly left people queuing for his CD after the concert. His vocals were incredible and some watched in fascination as a young girl stood at the front of the stage conveying the song in sign language to a friend sat in the audience. It was a joy to watch the expressions on her face as she signed mirrored the look on Branden's face as he sang. During his set, Branden called upon the man who had sang with him so often on stage back in Oklahoma. As Christian appeared, guitar in hand, little did the crowd know they were about to witness one of the first unforgettable moments of the evening. "This is the first time that Branden and I have sung this song in seven years," Christian said as he introduced a song written by Branden called Mama. Branden wrote the song to mark the day that Christian left Oklahoma to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. It was particularly poignant as Christian's mother, Pam, was in the theatre and both men made sure she came out on stage to receive a warm welcome from the Chicago crowd.
"Run into the
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sweet Carolina,
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Carolina rain."
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During his chat in the VIP reception the night earlier, Christian mentioned that having the whole band playing on stage created a whole different kind of show from the acoustic set played in London and he certainly wasn't wrong. The dynamics coming from the full KANE contingent was nothing short of mesmerizing and incredible. Here is a band that really knows how to grab the imagination of its audience right from the offset and they feed off the energy from the crowd. This headstrong tussle of who is having the better time, the band or the audience, enhances the atmosphere and increases the tempo of the gig. Christian's vocals are unparalleled and he sings the songs penned by both himself and Steve Carlson as if he is the only one that could ever do those songs justice. From Spirit Boy to Sweet Carolina Rain, from More Than I Deserve to Rattlesnake Smile, KANE played with passion although some of Christian's dancing left a little to be desired. At one point during Spirit Boy it looked like he was doing some kind of Indian rain dance. Christian is an amazing front man and vocalist but he would be the first to give credit to the talented musicians he has around him. It appears that Steve, in some respects, controls the stage especially when his lead singer goes walkabout unexpectedly as Christian did in the middle of Crazy In Love. Steve is an exceptional musician in his own right with an astounding voice, which anyone can now check out for themselves with the release of his own solo album, Spot In The Corner.
Christian on stage with Branden Hart
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The whole evening was full of memorable moments, the gig itself was a major one but there were things that happened unique to this performance that will make this particular show last in the memory of all those lucky enough to witness it for a very, very long time to come. While KANE played on stage, David and his wife Jaime Bergman could quite clearly be seen dancing and enjoying the night like everybody else at the side of the stage. Stephanie once again filmed the gig and Branden was brought back on stage at one point to duet with Christian on a song entitled Oklahoma State of Mind. Christian proudly announced to all that his family was in attendance watching the gig, "My mom's here," he said, "Steve's dad is here and importantly for me, my brother is here and my brother is David Boreanaz." And for the hour or so that Christian was on stage, the crowd felt like his family too. The one moment that most will talk about was the final song, an unbelievable rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama. Everybody but everybody was brought on stage to sing this infectious song. David, Jaime, Stephanie, her sister Brigitte, Branden and Riley Smith all congregated to just party! David joined Steve at the mike as he sang proving he was right and he can hold a tune. He danced all over the stage including a little burst of the 'spaz' dance he made so popular in the episode She. Stephanie and Christian showed they had some moves too and then David and Jaime did a little dirty dancing. The song seemed to go on forever but nobody wanted it to end.
TAKE ONE SPIRIT BOY, ADD A VAMPIRE & A LAWYER
After the euphoria of the night of before, most people probably needed something to bring them down to earth but instead they were given another weekend high point. Sunday's schedule of photo and auto sessions catered for those people who had missed out the day before with one major exception. Added to the list of possible photo opportunities was the mouth-watering prospect of having a photo taken with both David and Christian. Needless to say most people didn't need asking twice. The photo session was a lot of fun as both men just messed about having fun with one another and it led you to wonder how anything ever got done on the set of Angel if this was how they behaved. The main guest talk on Sunday was nothing short of hilarious and we would love to bring you the entire transcript from the talk as the banter on stage was a joy to watch but unfortunately it may lose something in translation. Christian started proceedings alongside the man who had won everyone over the night before, his cousin Branden. Armed with a bottle of Bud Light, Christian fielded questions from the floor for the first time that weekend while Branden looked on. It is clear to anyone that has met Christian that he is proudly patriotic and so he must have been deeply honored to be asked to sing the National Anthem at a recent Chicago Cubs baseball game, "First of all, I was scared to death at Rigley Field," he admits, " There's just so many people and the people in Chicago they've got a different accent than me, but it's pretty much what I grew up in the Midwest and they're good people. So many people came up and patted me on the back, it made me feel like home but I was scared to death, I was shaking."
Christian Kane
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Smile Time
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Christian has made it no secret that probably his least favorite thing about being on Angel was having to go to work and wear a false hand every day, "I went through 45-minutes of makeup every morning to get that thing on," he moaned at the memory, although Andy Hallett would probably have thought he had it good. "Fourteen hours I'd have that thing on. I couldn't write, I couldn't eat lunch and then driving home that night I had to stick my hand out of the window because it stank so bad!" It had gotten so bad for Christian that rather than having to spend another moment incapacitated, he actually preferred to have his character to be killed off and even pleaded with one of the writers to do it and put him out of his misery. "I looked over at Tim Minear," he recalls, "and asked him what he was doing. He said he was writing the next episode and that it was awesome and I said, 'Frickin kill me, man! Kill me, would you just kill me!?' because I was sick of that character with the suit and the hand." Fortunately Tim refused to kill Lindsey but instead found a way for him to get his hand back, which he used to full effect, just ask Stephanie! The hand and the suit were also a factor and a condition in Christian's agreement to return to the show in Season 5. "When Joss called me in New York about coming back to the show I said, 'Absolutely, whatever you want,' and he could have put me back in the suit and the hand and I would have come back because I love him and I love 'D' [David]. But I said, 'I'm not wearing the suit and if one more girl kicks my ass...'" Joss assured him that wasn't the case and thankfully the real Lindsey McDonald appeared back on our screens a bigger and better bad-ass. Christian is the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and isn't afraid of showing his loyalty to his family, his friends and the show that has won him so many fans.
Christian expressed his feelings regarding the cancellation of Angel in the way that only the true cowboy within him could, "I hate it," he said honestly, "Nobody likes the way it ended. We're the top fricking show on the WB right now. And I'm going to tell you something else, you go out and get the guys from Smallville and One Tree Hill and any other show you want, get them all together and me, James Marsters and David Boreanaz will whoop their fricking asses!" At the mention of his name, it was time to bring his best friend and 'brother' on stage. David made a move to sit down but found a miniature 'Jaden-sized' Chicago Cubs baseball top waiting for him. "It doesn't fit," David tells Chris as he holds the top against his chest, "Did you get it pressed?" "No I washed it," Chris replies as he watches David unsuccessfully try the shirt on. He finally sits noticing that Chris is removing the label from his bottle of Bud, "Please stop peeling the label. They say that people who peel the labels are sexually frustrated," Chris just hangs his head knowing for the next 30-minutes or so he will be subject of more teasing from David because that is exactly how they act: like a big brother and a little brother. "I love giving him a hard time," David admits, "When we do scenes together I give him a hard time because, you know, he's my bitch!" As they sit on stage, they reminisce about the first time they actually met, "We met at a screening of the Dirty Dancing anniversary showing," David recalls, "he came in with a black cowboy hat and he was sitting in front of us. I was like, 'Take your hat off, I can't f***ing see!' He looked at me from under the old black hat and said, 'Where's your horse pal?' So ever since that we were instant friends." After a few more jokes at Christian's expense specifically about his failure to 'perform' because of his false right hand, David and Christian faced the crowd for even more questions. The first directed to them is whether or not they stole a 'souvenir' from the set of Angel before they left. "I steal s*** all the time!" David confessed, "The only thing I took was my chair. We shot the last scene, my father was there. It was 4:30 in the morning and we were shooting in an alleyway. I said goodbye to Kelly, cried, I took my chair and my dad and I walked down the alley. It was great to have my father there. He's a very important person in my life and someone who I respect and admire highly because he's fine, he's my best friend and someone I can sit and talk to a little about it. I'm very fortunate to have that. Oh yeah, and I took Lindsey's hand, we're selling it right now on Ebay!"
"Who me?"
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"I want to bring up someone who I'll never forget," announced David, "When she first came on for the show to work, we did a scene and she was tearing into me. It was a scene where I was in a fight club. I was getting beat up because all these demons handled me. So I walked on and they crossed me with this beautiful brunette with long legs and as my character, I said, 'Who the hell are you?' She does this whole seductive scene with champagne, which is really apple cider. She came in and she was a very powerful force, played a great character and made a tremendous impact and showed this to everybody who was involved with this show." The crowd showed their appreciation for Stephanie even though she had only been on stage less than half an hour before. She greeted David and Chris with a hug and a kiss and shouted to the crowd, "How about it? All of us on one stage, check it out! This hasn't happened since we were on Angel." David, Christian and Stephanie then start bantering, bickering and joking about on-line websites, Christian's snazzy little catchphrase involving a football and a chicken before Christian gives us a cooking lesson on some of the delicacies of the South by telling the audience how to prepare Beer Can Chicken! The humor that passes between all three is relentless and David admits, "What we do here on stage is the way we work on set. I'll be honest with you in God's own truth that there were no egos on our set. Everybody showed up for work on time." "I'm glad you said that," Christian intervenes, "I think we know the reason why that was and that's because of him. He set the mark pretty high, when you get the lead of the show so well grounded and down to earth it just makes it funny on the episode. Honestly it's true about the egos. He set the bar really high so we're not going to go running around like a bunch of jackasses whenever he's doing his own. I gotta give him credit for that to be honest with you. I've worked on a lot of sets and what I am talking about is very, very rare but it was awesome!"
STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME!
Holding down your own series for five years is a challenge enough but how much time before each episode were the cast given to prepare their lines and roles and how difficult was it to adapt? "You guys got to understand this," Christian says, "We get scripts 4-days before shooting so literally there's no planned thing." As an example of this, David and Christian described an incident that occurred towards the end of filming the season, "Chris had to go uptown and we had to shoot a scene for episode 22 that we actually shot during episode 17," David explains setting the scene, "They were like 'Oh we're going to do a scene tomorrow because Christian's not going to be available.' I said OK, should be a nice little light scene." "Five pages!" Chris corrects. "And it was just words!" David continues, "It was like bom-bom-bom and I was like s*** you guys are killing me. I go to the producers and say, 'Can't shoot this man, you got to change this,' and they're like, 'Well Joss wrote that and he ain't gonna change s***!'" Chris smiles as he recalls the ill-fated script and his part in it, "It's like Angel '....duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh'" he explains making large chunks of text signs with his hands, "And it's like Lindsey '...yeah', Angel '....duh-duh-duh-duh', Lindsey '.....yeah', Angel '.....duh-duh-duh'" "I never ever was on set when David didn't know his lines," Stephanie adds, "And I never knew a line once, just made it up!" Chris finishes.
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"I was getting beat up because all these demons handled me. So I walked on and they crossed me with this beautiful brunette with long legs."
~ David on Stephanie
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"It's a very tough schedule," David admits, "You shoot eight days for one episode and when you start the ninth you start the next episode and you're constantly going, 'Just a second, not another revision,' I said, 'It's killing me.' I'm throwing scripts at Kelly and he'll go, 'Go ahead, get all that anger out.' You know what my bitch was? 'Geez, how am I gonna get all this dialogue down. I spent more time bitching and moaning than just doing the work. And I learned that in 5 seasons. I remember the first season I was, 'Oh God, how am I going to do this? (at this point David is mimicking flicking through scripts). Damn, I didn't do this on Buffy. Man, now there's talking now!' I mean on Buffy it was a few sentences, kiss her, and then get the heck out!" "And then there's me and Steph," Chris chips in, "We show up two or three days a week and do our work, but David's there everyday. And literally, we're in a union as an actor, so they have us for twelve hours no matter what. Most of the time David's there, he's there for twelve hours. If he goes to work at nine he's there until nine, if he goes at 5:30am he's there until 5:30pm. And that's on a good day. Bad days go two, three hours longer. It's his show, but he works his ass off and I'm proud of him." Although David thoroughly deserves the plaudits aimed in his direction, he recognises that it is not a one-man show, "I wouldn't be here without character actors like this. Even the people that aren't here, Alexis, Amy, Andy, J, the people that were in every scene with us. That's the show. I know it's called 'Angel' but Angel is about redemption, the characters around him, and represents everybody who's on there. Not one person, it's a whole. I keep stressing that because that's who I am and that's how I want them to run the show."
"I had to stick my hand out of the window because it stank so bad!"
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One notable absentee of course is that of the much-missed Glenn Quinn who played Angel's first ever link to the PTB in the shape of the irrepressible Doyle. Having been so close to Glenn and having lost Glenn through such tragic circumstances, how difficult was it to play opposite Christian when he was passing himself off as Doyle? "It was very difficult," David answers truthfully, "I really tried to keep Glenn at a distance and that was something that to me was very painful to go through because he was a very strong person in my life when the show started and for me he represented somebody who taught me a lot about this person. He was a great guy. And when he passed over through Doyle it was very hard but when you have a situation like that, you use it for a scene, Kelly told me that. You use it! And then one night I didn't want to do it, Kelly said, 'Well just use what you can with the work'. Glenn, God bless his soul, he's in a great place. I love him and I know he's looking down with that drink of his - smiling - Great Irish person and it's hard sometimes for me to talk about him. I get very emotional, but no, it's OK - it's all good."
To bring this review to a close, we'll conclude with David's thoughts on his son. "I want him to get grass stains on his jeans and I want him to be a kid. I'd really love that. I'm not going to push him in that direction (acting). Whatever Jaden decides that he wants to do when he gets to that age and becomes responsible to make choices, I'm there to love that boy whatever he wants to do." In the words of Stephanie Romanov, "What a great dad!" Flashback Weekend without doubt will probably go down as one of the most memorable events ever because, thanks to the superb organization and the openness of the guests, it was a blast! I truly believe that everyone witnessed David at his best. He was relaxed, as if the weight of carrying his own series for five years had been lifted from his shoulders and he was honest and enthusiastic for what the future may hold. That is not meant to sound as an injustice towards Angel as it is obvious that David is incredibly proud of what he has achieved in that role and thankful for the opportunities presented to him and for the support he has received over the years yet in his own words, 'There's a big part of me that nobody really knows.' What the fans witnessed this weekend was the man inside the actor not the actor inside the man. He was funny and spoke from the heart and showed us all a window into his life away from the camera. We look forward to what the future may bring and on behalf of Angel fans everywhere, may we be as bold as to thank him for five incredible seasons of untouchable television. David is a true champion."
Written by CoA UK Staff Writers, Sue Grimshaw
CityofAngel.com would like to extend our gracious thanks to Mike, his wife Melissa and staff member Kelly from Flashback Weekend events for the courtesy extended to CoA staff plus congratulate them on an extremely successful event.
Special thanks also go out to Ben Munn for use of his excellent photographs and Melissa Golden for help on the KANE transcript.
For further info on future Flashback Events go to FlashbackWeekend.com
To hear more about the latest news from KANE go to KANEmusic.net
To purchase Steve Carlson's new album then go to SteveCarlson.com
If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this Happenings feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com
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