The Boston Globe - 19.08.2019

B6 The Boston Globe MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2019

Names

Travolta hits Fan Expo stage

JohnTravolta ,of“Greaseand

“PulpFiction”fame,showedupat

thisyear’sBostonFanExpo.

Theactorswungintotheannual

pop-cultureconventiononSunday

afternoon,speakingfromtheshow

floor’smainstageattheBoston

Convention&ExhibitionCenterin

theSeaport.

Travolta’slatestfilm,“TheFanat-

ic,”hadscreenedattheexpothe

nightbefore(twoweeksaheadofits

Aug.30release),andhisin-person

appearance—theactor’sfirst-ever

atafanconvention—wasarranged

tosupportit.Welcomedontothe

stageby ChuckBerry ’s“YouNever

CanTell”(inreferencetohisiconic

“Pulp”dancescenewith UmaThur-

man ),Travoltagamelydancedupto

hisseat,showingoffthebaldlook

he’sadoptedrecently.Hediscussed

hislengthysuccessinHollywood,as

wellasthenewfilm,withCanadian

mediapersonality TannerZipchen.

Reclusivecomic-bookcreator

ToddMcFarlane ,bestknownforhis

long-running“Spawn”comics,made

ararepublicappearancelaterthat

afternoon,discussinghisworkina

smaller-scalefanQ&A.Itwashis

firstsuchBostonengagementin

over20years.

Famousfacesturnedouttobe

plentifulthroughouttheexpo,which

ranFriday,Saturday,andSunday.On

handforallthreedayswere“Shaz-

am!”star ZacharyLevi ,“iZombie”

actress RoseMcIver ,“Hellboy”cre-

ator MikeMignola ,andmultiple

“BoyMeetsWorld”stars,including

BenSavage , RiderStrong , William

Daniels ,and WillFriedle.

Alongwithawho’swholistof

comic-bookartistsandvoiceactors,

someotherbignamesintownat

variouspointsincluded PeterCapal-

di (“DoctorWho”), SeanYoung

(“BladeRunner”), TylerHoechlin

(“TeenWolf”), MikeColter (“Luke

Cage”), LaurieHolden (“TheWalk-

ingDead”), JenniferMorrison

(“OnceUponaTime”), Stephen

Amell (“Arrow”),and SeanAstin , Ke

HuyQuan ,and CoreyFeldman (all

reunitingtocelebrate“TheGoo-

nies”).

Over50,000peopleweresaidto

haveattendedtheexpothisyear.

ISAACFELDBERG

By Stuart Munro

GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

FOXBOROUGH — When George

Strait ambled onstage at Gillette Sta-

dium Saturday, it was a hot summer

night in 2019, but it could have been

2008, or 1997, or 1989. The man

they call King George retired from

touring in 2014, but promised occa-

sional returns to the stage, and he

came and played as he always has:

attired in cowboy hat, starched, but-

ton-down shirt, jeans and boots, he

offered brief between-song com-

ments that only occasionally extend-

ed beyond expressions of apprecia-

tion, he stood stock-still in front of

his microphone with his hand rest-

ing on his acoustic guitar as much as

playing it, and he sang.

If you’re looking for looking for

pyrotechnics and histrionics, you’re

not going to find them at a George

Strait show. What you will find is

what the 67-year-old has offered for

many, many years: a distinctive, ev-

ergreen brand of country music,

rooted in traditional country and

western swing but leavened with

more pop-leaning fare, rendered by

his snap-tight Ace in the Hole Band,

many of whose members have been

playing with him since he first set

foot on a stage. Saturday’s perfor-

mance, before a crowd drenched by

pelting rain during Blake Shelton’s

preceding set, was true to form.

Of course, the show did differ

from those the singer played a quar-

ter-century ago, due to the steady

source of renewal provided by the

mountain of hits he has accumulated

over the years (although he’s garner-

ing fewer of those these days). As ev-

er, his setlist tapped that mountain

to mix old, new, and in between.

There were early hits such as “Ocean

Front Property” and “Amarillo by

Morning” (a song Strait said might

his favorite of any he’s recorded);

there were hooky 2000s-vintage de-

lights like “Wrapped” and “Leave

You With a Smile” and, for more re-

cent fare, the languid, ruminative

country of “Cold Beer Conversation”

and the good-timing “Here for a

Good Time.”

His most recent record, “Honky

Tonk Time Machine,” was represent-

ed by a quartet of songs, including

the modern honky-tonk of “Every

Little Honky Tonk Bar” (“maybe

you’ve heard this one, maybe not,”

the singer remarked of that single)

and the co-branding effort “C?digo”

(a song about the tequila in which

Strait has an ownership stake). His

usual shout-out to Merle Haggard

came in the form of covers of “Pan-

cho and Lefty” and the Hag’s red-

neck anthem “Fighting Side of Me.”

His encore, as always, started with

his western swing classic, “All My

Ex’s Live in Texas,” and ended with

“The Cowboy Rides Away.”

In between those closers, though,

was something off the Strait-track: a

smile-inducing cover of Tom Petty’s

“You Wreck Me” that demonstrated a

capacity on the part of the man and

his band to rock when they’re in-

clined to. As predictably consistent

as a George Strait concert is, the

King of Country always has a subtle

change-up or two in store.

Stuart Munro can be reached at

[email protected]

By Maura Johnston

GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

Making the transition from teen

idoldom to adult pop stardom is rare-

ly easy, but Joe, Kevin, and Nick Jo-

nas — collectively known as Jonas

Brothers — have pulled it off better

than most. From their first single, the

sweet and speedy pop-punk “Mandy,”

through their recent album, the

chart-topping “Happiness Begins,”

the trio has consistently released

catchy, trend-anticipating tunes, a tal-

ent that’s helped them ride the fickle

world of pop tastes.

Saturday night’s show at TD Gar-

den, their first in Boston since 2013,

was a muscular run-through of the

trio’s past 15 years — a chronological

feat that’s even more impressive giv-

en that youngest brother Nick Jonas

was only 13 when “Mandy” came out

at the end of 2005. “Happiness Be-

gins” is the band’s first proper album

since 2009’s wide-ranging “Lines,

Vines, and Trying Times”; the band

had a bumpy ride through the 2010s

as a unit, going on hiatus in 2011 and

splitting after a brief reunion in 2013,

although Nick found success with his

R&B-tinged solo material, Kevin

starred in a reality show and went the

entrepreneur route, and Joe’s project

DNCE hit big with the nonsensical

yet deliriously fun pop-funk gem

“Cake by the Ocean.”

Despite the high tensions on dis-

play in the band’s recent documenta-

ry, “Chasing Happiness,” their come-

back was an inevitability in a sense;

blood is thicker than water, and it can

often wash away “creative differenc-

es,” too. But they’ve made the most of

it. “Happiness Begins” doesn’t rehash

past glories, instead charting a course

through the often-unpredictable

world of streaming-era popular mu-

sic. But that was even one of the

band’s strengths when it was a Disney

Channel darling; a medley of older

hits, like the sinuous 2009 track “Par-

anoid” and the spiky “World War III,”

worked not only because it stoked the

audience’s collective nostalgia, but

because of the songwriting savvy they

displayed even as teenagers.

And as Saturday’s show proved,

their catalog (which, Joe noted dur-

ing a break, consists of 230 songs) is

as varied as it is hooky. No matter

their mode — storming anthems (the

show opener “Rollercoaster”), bubbly

reggae-pop (the muscular “Only Hu-

man”), strummed balladry (”Hesi-

tate”), or taut rock (”Burnin’ Up”) —

the Jonas Brothers stuff their songs

with instantly memorable choruses

and soaring toplines. The interplay

between Nick’s lithe vocal and Joe’s

angular yelp adds a hint of tension to

the more upbeat songs and ardor to

the slower ones, a contrast that was

audible even with the screaming

along of the fans in the Garden’s

packed rafters.

Maura Johnston can be reached at

[email protected].

Quiet confidence from

the King of Country

MUSIC REVIEW

GEORGE STRAIT

AtGilletteStadium,Foxborough,

Saturday

MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF

From left: Nick, Kevin, and Joe Jonas performed Saturday at TD Garden.

Jonas Brothers play to their strengths

MUSIC REVIEW

JONAS BROTHERS

WithBebeRexha,JordanMcGraw

AtTDGarden,Saturday;theyreturn

toTDGardenNov.

KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES/FILE

George Strait (shown earlier this

year in Las Vegas) brought his

solid country sound to Gillette.

NUMBERS

The R-rated comedy, left for dead by some Hollywood studios, reached No.1 at the North American box office over the weekend thanks to ‘‘Good Boys,’’ a

coming-of-age tale about a trio of 12-year-olds on a crude misadventure. ‘‘Good Boys’’ surpassed expectations to debut with $21 million , according to studio

estimates Sunday, dethroning ‘‘Hobbs & Shaw,’’ which slid to second with $14.1 million in its third weekend. ‘‘The Lion King’’ was third with $11.9 million (AP)

Nextstop,Hollywood.
Inthepast,JulianEdelman’smade
nosecretofhisaffection forshow
business.JustlookatthePatriotswide
receiver’sYouTubechannel,wherehe
commitstosincerelysillysend-upsof
TVgenres,likesmoothiecooking
show“SmoothieTyme”andmorere-
centfilm-reviewprogram“Movie
Tyme.”
ButtheSuperBowlMVPhashis
sightssetmuch higher.Twomonths
ago,EdelmanlaunchedCoastProduc-
tionswithBostonUniversity-bredex-
ecutiveAssafSwissa,who’sworked
withathleteslikeStephCurry,David
Ortiz,andKyrieIrvingthroughhis
Boston-basedadagencySuperdigital.
InarecentinterviewwithTheHol-
lywoodReporter,thepair—whojust
collaboratedonShowtimedocumen-
tary“ 10 0%,”aboutEdelman’spath
fromACLinjurytochampionshipvic-
tory—teasedCoast’sfutureplans,
whichincludeaTVseriesbasedon
Edelman’slife.

“It’sgoingtobelooselybasedoff
theearlypartof mycareer,”Edelman
explainedoftheseries,whichCoast
willbeginshopping aroundHolly-
woodthisfall.
“EveryonethinksthatNFLfootball
playersarelikethe[HBO]show
“Ballers,”wheninfact,probably65 to
75 percent oftheguysarescratching
forarosterspot,”hecontinued.“They
arenotknown.Weallhavehelmets.
Thereareonlyahandfulofguysthat

are known.”

Theseries,Edelmansaid, could

takeamorerealisticlookatlifeforthe

NFL’sfreshmanclass.“WhenIwasa

rookie,TomBradywastalkingabout

takingahelicoptertotheHamptons

withhissupermodelwifewhileI’m

abouttogoto[anIrishpubnearthe

stadium]andnotberecognized,”he

added. “Youknow whatImean?”

EdelmanandSwissaarepersonally

bankrollingCoastProductions,partof

acommitmenttoensuringitseventual

outputfeelscompletelytheirown.An-

otherupcomingprojectisaromantic

comedysetintheworldoffootball.

Edelmanwon’tstar,butheexpectsto

produceandperhapstakeonasup-

portingrole.“Iloverom-coms,”said

Edelman.“Doesthatmakemeweird?

Idon’tknow.”

InCoast’soffices—nexttoaBos-

ton/NewEnglandEmmythatSwissa

wonin 2015 forwritingshortform

Edelmandraftreport“OnlyTwo

ThingsYouCanDo”—sitsaframed

listthetwoabideby.

“TheGoldenRulesof

SocialMedia,”itout-

lines,canbeseparated

intotwopoints:“1.

KnowThyself. 2 .Know

ThyAudience.”

Sofar,Edelman

andSwissa have prov-

ensavvybusinessmen.

TheirShowtimedoc

waswell-received,with

thenetwork’ssports

division’spresident,

StephenEspinoza,

callingtodelivergood

newsaboutitsperfor-

mance.

Therehavealsobeencallsfromce-

lebrities,wishingthepairwellintheir

newventure.OnecameinfromMark

Wahlbergwho,likeEdelman,started

outassomethingofascrappynobody

beforemaking hisownluck.

“Hesaidhewasexcitedforme,”

saidEdelman.“We’vebeenfriendsfor

anumberofyearsnow.Hesaid,‘If you

wanttodosomething,gooutanddoit

yourself.’”

ISAACFELDBERG

With new projects, Edelman

plots a Hollywood takeover

SHOWTIME

Julian Edelman (right) and Assaf Swissa at the

premiere of their documentary “100%.”

PHOTOS BY NIC ANTAYA FOR THE GLOBE

John Travolta (top left) onstage

with Tanner Zipchen at the

Boston Fan Expo. Above: comic-

book creator Todd McFarlane.