Landmark Gala Audience Tunes to Rita Wilson’s Radio Dial

Rita Wilson (@ritawilson) headlined the Landmark on Main Street Spotlight Gala ‘13, which singled out worthy community leaders and raised more than $195,000 for the prized local arts venue.

The evening of celebration, music and food was begun by Co-Presidents Edward M. Gold and Suresh Sani. This year’s award recipients were Peter Forman (Superstorm Sandy’s local “Voice of Calm”), Kirby Veevers and Eric Rubenstein, and Tai Wang.

When the speechmaking was done, an energetic Ms. Wilson took the stage for her first ever appearance at Landmark.

Wilson’s song selection was a mixed itinerary following the contours of her 2012 album, “AM/FM.” that included “AM” tunes from her Southern California roots (“heard in the back of my parents’ car”), from her young adult years during the years when FM reigned supreme, and several original songs.

She opened the show from the “AM” group, choosing We Five’s “You Were on My Mind,” its challenging vocal harmony approximated by Rita and able backup vocalist, Tabatha Fair. 

Switch to the Wilson AM dial. Next up was the Everly Brothers’ classic “All You Have to Do is Dream,” as Wilson invited the audience to imagine a younger, iodine- and Baby Lotion-covered Wilson with her sister soaking in Southern California sunshine.

The show’s lightest moments came when Wilson reprised her early experiences in jingle-making. The audience was first treated to snippets of a vintage Jordache jeans commercial – replete with convincing hip wiggle -- and then to the jingle for Revlon’s “Charlie.” More than a few in the audience sang along.

The AM theme continued with “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues,” and then it was back to FM with a Dave Loggins’ “Please Come to Boston,” whose lyrics Wilson thought could survive a neo-feminist interpretation – or maybe she had “thought it about way too much.”  Then it was back to 60’s AM with Gerry and the Pacemaker’s “How Do You Do It.”

At this point in the show, Rita introduced the show’s first original tune, “Good Man,” co-written with guitarist Andrew Dolittle. This was followed by “Lucky Girl” and her optimistic “Say Yes,” written with Richard Max and Jillian Jacqueline. Wilson would later introduce the audience to an original Joni Mitchell tribute song and her song, “Grateful.” Of the newly introduced tunes, “Good Man” was the one that had nearby audience members reaching for their iTunes passwords.

When she returned to familiar territory, it was with Jimmy Webb’s classic “Wichita Lineman,” “Angel of the Morning” and a shimmering version of the Association’s “Never My Love.” These recognizable songs each worked well, but “Lineman” was the evening’s standout performance. In “Lineman,” the band served up a spare arrangement that featured Wilson’s best intonation and lyrical guitar effects by guitarist Ben Butler.  Karla Bonoff had appeared at Landmark not long ago, so it seemed especially appropriate when the band struck up a version of Bonoff’s FM winner, “Personally.”

Rita Wilson’s backing band was up to the task.  The band featured Ben Butler (@benbutlernyc), drummer Rich Mercurio (@rich728), Lee Nadal on bass, vocalist Tabatha Fair (@tabithafair), keyboardist Will Gramling and Andrew Dolittle (@andrewdoolittle), also on guitars.  Because Wilson’s repertoire covered multiple decades and genres, the band had to slip from simple pop to vocals-rich arrangements – some of which had the luxury of glossy studio productions. Unclear which of them deserves the credit, but a pleasant middle ground was found which worked well with Wilson’s interpretations of oft-heard classics – no small feat.

On this evening, Rita Wilson the singer eclipsed Wilson the actress / producer. She showed a celebratory-minded Landmark audience that it could dial up AM, FM or XM (Wilson’s shorthand for her original offerings) and immediately forget which selection they had chosen. It was “Like” buttons all around.