What a difference a year can make. Last time I saw Joan Rivers, it was at a casino, a long drive out of town. This year, she’s playing the Seattle Symphony’s main hall, technically within walking distance. I wonder if the show will be any different.
Archive for the ‘arts’ Category
Joan Rivers at Benaroya Hall
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012A Kickstarter Christmas
Friday, December 9th, 2011After months of silence from most of the projects I backed, suddenly several of them are shipping out rewards, in time for Christmas. I got my cool Pogo bunny USB stick and T-shirt just the other day, the T-shirt, CD and poster from Haley Harris and Ben Nippes, and woke this morning to a shipping notice from the pack light peeps.
We could soon break 50% on the percentage of projects actually seen through to completion =)
Sad sad world
Monday, October 17th, 2011It’s a sad sad world, when “Good news, Pogo is being prepared for deportation” really is good news.
Free Pogo
Monday, October 10th, 2011Amazing video-music artist Pogo is sitting in an American jail, thanks to an incompetent booking agent for his U.S. tour.
bummer
Frank Vignola @ Jazz Alley
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011Went and saw Frank and friends at the Jazz Alley last night. He brought rhythm guitar and violin, a sparse setup on stage of three little sound cubes, only the violinist having a pedal to fiddle with. They started out fast and just kept getting faster. He is truly amazing when he gets going. It was a very funny and energetic show, with covers of Led Zepp, ballet, and opera, alongside the expected Django renditions. Every once in a while, they’d thrown in a synchronized physical flourish, like little faux ballet moves during the ballet cover, and guitar-kicks during the rock numbers. Which is not to say it wasn’t a jazz show, with intimate audience interaction and banter with a recognized regular in that oh-so-knowing tone of who-remembers-when-best-oh-weren’t-those-the-days. He had this funky little tuning device on the end of his guitar, looked almost like a prism, and would change colors between red, green, I think yellow, and blank, as he played.
Foodwise, the spaghetti and meatballs was it’s usual tasty, but for whatever reason, our waitress never gave me a chance to order dessert, oh well. I suppose if I’d really had to have some key-limey-ness, I could have stopped by Whole Foods on the way home, but I was hurrying to get my Chocolati fix on.
2nd Kickstarter completion
Sunday, August 28th, 2011Haley Harris & Ben Nippes just sent out the link for the album I helped fund, Whirlwind. It turned out really nice, a short simple affair full of passion, reminding me of summer loves I’ve never even had, sometimes hopeful, sometimes sad, but always quite tuneful. Still waiting to find out which song they end up covering.
Different definitions
Friday, June 17th, 2011I find an album on Rhapsody titled “Best of College A Cappella” and start streaming it.
The first track is a glee-style cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’”, complete with drums, keyboards, and bass.
This word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
Don’t get me wrong, they sound like they are doing a decent job, they just aren’t singing without accompaniment.
Connie Evingson with Pearl Django at Jazz Alley
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011I don’t remember how long ago it was that I made the reservation, but when it came up on the calendar, I did what the google told me to do. I did not lead myself wrong. I’m quite fine with recent rise in gypsy-jazz style bands, what the kids are calling “hot club jazz” these days. Connie Evingson has a very jazz singer-y voice, smooth and strong, and a very good match for the material chosen.
Magic Flute @ Seattle Opera follow up
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011I have been meaning to write up a review of Saturday night’s Opening Night performance, covering my delight and realizing two of my favorite songs from the Amadeus soundtrack are part of this opera, my annoyance at the people who snuck into the box seating area during intermission with a noisy kid who nearly dropped stuff over the edge (instead he dropped it on me), the amusement of seeing Razor scooters on stage, etc etc. Then I got a phone call last night, trying to sell me more tickets. I could have sworn that at the point in the check-out process where they asked for a phone number, they assured me it was not going to be used for marketing purposes, but looking at their printed Privacy Policy, I see that they saw “We will not trade or sell your phone number or e-mail address to any other business or organization”, leaving themselves open to misuse your information for their own benefit. But then I saw that in the section on how to opt-out of that usage of your information, they imply that the above statement is actually a hollow promise, that doesn’t include “your mailing information traded to other arts or non-profit organizations.”
Now I’m conflicted. Part of me feels strongly that any business that uses cold calling sales should be punished for their arrogance and anti-customer attitude, but I like the opera and want to go again. I think the best I can do is continue to buy single-show tickets to operas I want to see, while purchasing a subscription to some other arts group, and sending the receipt of said purchase to the marketing director of the Seattle Opera, along with an explanatory note of why I will not be making a direct contribution to them, nor letting them benefit from the 100% matching my employer would make.
Rocky Horror at OCT
Monday, April 11th, 2011Went and saw the 4pm Sunday production of Rocky Horror at the Open Circle Theater in Belltown. The show was sold out, with a fair number of people paying for the upgraded ‘VIP’ experience. In the end, we didn’t get any special seating, but we did get a couple of crackers and a handful of cheese, with our bubbly. Our ‘surly’ service was amusingly provided by Magenta (Terri Weagant), who also provided the title song. I found it especially amusing to overhear one guy, before they’d opened up the house for seating, asking his date, “so, I’ve never seen the movie, what’s this all about anyways?” Then again, I didn’t get to see it in a theater with all the trimmings when it would have been age appropriate myself either.
They used a live band, complete with Theramin. At times, they overpowered the on-stage singers, but eventually the sound guy found a zone where things seemed to be working OK.
Andrew Murray was a very sexy Rif Raf, must catch him in more productions where skin will be involved =p He does a very good sneer and leer. Josh Hartivgson’s Frank N Furter was interesting. He made a suitably shocking transvestite, tall and decidedly masculine no matter what he was wearing. Full of enthusiasm for the part, he made a good centerpiece for the production. Tadd Morgan and Monica Wulzen provided good straight-men performances as Brad and Janet, and Peter Farrar was definitely a well-muscled Rocky.
There’s blood on the stage when Eddie (Billy Hollman) makes his brief appearance, and again when the bag of what’s left stops by, and lots more when the end comes to the aliens left on earth, leading to a perfectly placed puddle for the final spotlight to iris into darkness upon.
An excellent production of a classic musical tale, all involved performed admirably. I was suitably entertained for sure.