ROCKSTAR: SUPERNOVA with the PANIC CHANNEL , JUKE CARTEL and DILANA at Massey Hall, January 24. Tickets: $55.50-$95.50. Attendance: sold out. Rating: NN Rating: NN
You’d think reality tv’s dubious track record for creating celebrities would have people scratching their heads over why the hell most of these shows still exist, since it’s obvious that the shelf life of instant Idols is generally shorter than that of 2% milk.
A perfect example of this phenomenon is “mega-band” Rockstar: Supernova, the combo of ex-Gn’R guitarist Gilby Clarke, Mötley Crüe drummer/ douchebag Tommy Lee and local boy/mascaraed troll Lukas Rossi spawned by the TV competition show.
What lingers after the TV show’s finale is its bullshit prefab rockin’ rebel ‘tude, which was shared Wednesday night by openers Dilana and Australian bland-rockers Juke Cartel, the latter fronted by the really cute finalist guy from the show, Toby Rand.
Cheeseball Dave Navarro’s band, the Panic Channel, didn’t do much better, delivering typical modern rock, though they got all political by shit-talking George Bush. So totally badass.
Rockstar: Supernova’s live show would have arena-sized potential but for the fact that Rossi plays the role of uninhibited bad boy about as convincingly as Lawrence Welk. Dude looked like an animated parody of a frontman, wearing sneers that would’ve made Billy Idol laugh.
Thanks to the hype over the TV show, many in the crowd were already “convinced” they were seeing an amazing band before Rockstar: Supernova even hit the stage, and were enjoying being in the company of celebrities. I guess even the most mediocre and synthetic acts can be camouflaged with enough glitz to make them seem authentic.
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