By: David Schultz

When going to see Ryan Star, as it would be with any of the contestants from CBS' Rock Star: Supernova, it's pretty hard to avoid some basic prejudices. Depending on your viewpoint, Rock Star either derived its formula from the much glitzier American Idol or ripped off the Fox show's premise by substituting spikier rock 'n' roll types for Idol's pop diva wannabes. The vast majority of competition-style reality shows have attuned audiences to the concept that simply being on television doesn't always equate to being a good performer. Given the large amount of finessing that goes into any television show, especially reality programming, any performer like Star, whose fame springs from the medium, can expect to be greeted with skepticism: particularly as to his basic talent and entitlement to any headlining position. Playing before a sold-out crowd at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, Star revealed himself to be quite a different performer than the one who appeared on Rock Star. Freed of having to impress any potential future band mates, Star played a relaxed, intimate show that allowed him to focus on his decidedly non Rock Star strengths: his warm, low-key stage demeanor and his ability to engage the audience, not with antics but with songs, much like his fellow Long Islander Billy Joel.

Making a homecoming of sorts, Star played before a crowd consisting of quite a few friendly Long Islanders eager to share stories of knowing Star from his pre-Rock Star days and many more that were curious to see whether Star was for real or a media creation. In calling him the "Dark Horse," a name Star wisely adopted as the title for a quickie CD release, it seemed that Tommy Lee and his cohorts realized that Star might not be the ideal performer for a pseudo-metal, hard rock band; they were correct. As Star showed at the Bowery, he is a solo performer, not a front man. Rather than demanding an audience's attention, Star earns it through his engaging personality and a rich, warm voice that occasionally carries the same depth as Neil Diamond.

For a good portion of his hour long set, Star sat alone at a grand piano, opening the show with "We Might Fall" and finishing there with "Losing Your Memory," both nice songs with elegant melodies. While at the piano, he briefly acknowledged his Rock Star stint, slipping in a couple verses from Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." When not at the piano, Star stood center stage with an acoustic guitar, offering an acoustic version of "Back Of Your Car," a song he debuted on his final Rock Star appearance, as well as couple new songs like "11:59" which could foreshadow a promising future for Star as a singer-songwriter. He finished the night with a heavily restrained version of "Head Like A Hole." The Nine Inch Nails cover was a fun way to end the evening, but not really the best showcase for Star's gifts. Talented enough to play an entire show accompanying himself on piano or guitar, Star did go electric, fronting a rhythm section for a mid show four song arc that included "Psycho Suicidal Girls" and "Take A Ride With Me" from his 2005 album Songs From The Eye Of An Elephant.

It's interesting to gauge what Star took away from Rock Star. When they weren't praising each performance as the best they've ever seen in their life, Lee, Dave Navarro, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted kept imploring the contestants to "rock." Despite emphasizing it ad nauseum, they never explained - at least, on the air - what they meant. If they meant doing goofy things to unnecessarily attract attention to yourself: Star took a little of that with him. During the show, he began one song by leaping atop one of the side speakers with his guitar and finished another by violently sprinting from the microphone to accentuate a guitar riff. Rather than coming across as inspirations of the moment, the gestures seemed a little rehearsed. However, if Navarro and the rest meant that Star should relate to the audience, build up a rapport and bring the crowd into his world, he learned that lesson very well; although I tend to think he didn't need a reality show to acquire that skill.

By not getting selected to front Supernova, er . . . Rock Star Supernova, Star probably walked away from Rock Star in the best possible position. Instead of being shackled with the onus of fronting a band with minimal prospects for longevity, possibly branding himself to the detriment of the rest of his career, Star can take his newfound fame and name recognition and build an audience on his own terms. Even though he didn't win Rock Star and may never be a "Rock Star," at least in the traditional oversized arena-rocker sense of the term, Ryan Star should find it's just as good to be Ryan Star.

Labels: Rock Star: Supernova, Ryan Star