Evidently my last blog post was a collection of YouTube links for Neil Patrick Harris. Well my newest actor interest is David Tennant, aka the 10th Doctor Who, who's currently winning critical acclaim onstage with the RSC as Hamlet and Berowne (Love's Labour Lost). Aside from being an excellent Doctor in the new Doctor Who, and possessing an incredibly charming Scottish accent and personality in interviews (and DVD commentaries - he's a total Doctor Who geek/fanboy), he's been in quite a number of things on British TV over the years. YouTube is a treasure trove of links to his past performances, so I figured I'd use this blog as a place to keep track of the various things I've found, some of which I haven't even watched yet, for easy future reference.
This is obviously a post basically for me.
People Like Us - a mockumentary about acting, featuring David as a struggling young actor, being followed by a camera crew for a day. Very dry, absurd sense of humor played totally straight.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Takin' Over the Asylum - one of David's first professional roles, and apparently recently released on DVD due to its popularity on YouTube. About an aspiring (but failing) Scottish DJ who tries to restart a radio station at a mental asylum. Features David as a young manic-depressive in the institution, and lets us get to know a number of patients over the course of six episodes. This is actually a really touching series that presents mental disorders quite seriously.
Episode 1, Part 1
Episode 1, Part 2
Episode 1, Part 3
Episode 1, Part 4
Episode 1, Part 5
Episode 2, Part 1
Episode 2, Part 2
...this is taking too long since there are 30 parts. Follow the "related" links to find the rest.
Recovery - one of his best roles, IMO. About a regular man - a husband, father of two, and supervisor of a construction site - who is struck by a truck one day, sustaining serious head trauma and waking up completely different. He has trouble with his memory, has lost all his inhibitions, and is quite unable to function as an independent adult. His wife struggles to deal with this new man, and his children don't know how to react to him. He filmed this between seasons of Doctor Who, I think, and there's not a trace of the Doctor in his performance.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Sweet Night, Good Heart - short film, with David's character completely screwing up his attempt to break up with his girlfriend.
Nine and a half minutes - another short film, this one evidently a couple playing out a relationship in 9.5 minutes, though there are some puzzling things about it I haven't quite figured out.
Measure for Measure - a scene from Measure for Measure, from a Shakespeare documentary.
Only Human - evidently a BBC pilot that was never picked up. Kind of an odd concept - David as a private eye or something who suddenly gets an AI helper
Part 1
Part 2
Love in the 21st Century - I don't know anything about the series but David was in one episode. A woman just turning 30 is pressured by her mom and everyone around her into thinking she wants to have a baby, and so she starts resorting to rather unconventional measures to get one... David is the doctor who catches her eye as a potential father of her baby.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
The Chatterly Affair - just David's scene, playing a professor who testified at the trials surrounding the banning of Lady Chatterly's Affair.
Mrs. Bradley Mysteries - haven't seen this yet. David and Peter Davison (one of the previous Doctors) in a shortish clip from one episode of this series.
The Deputy - someone just uploaded this. David doesn't have a huge role, and given it's about the Deputy Prime Minister of Britain, it's not terribly fascinating to me, but I do kind of enjoy his part, particularly his interactions with the Deputy PM (he's an aide).
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
There's definitely a lot more - for instance, I haven't linked to anything from Blackpool, or Casanova (neither of which I've seen, both of which I've heard a lot of good about), and there are a number of other roles with clips on YouTube. But I'm kind of tired now and must do other things =).
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Friday, October 10, 2008
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Jersey Boys - again!
Just saw Jersey Boys for the fourth time, 'cause I'm crazy. And got lucky. Gonna cut and paste a post I wrote on the broadwayworld.com board.
I just saw Jersey Boys for the fourth time in SF tonight. I knew the run was nearing its end and couldn't resist trying for rush seats to catch this cast (I previously saw the 1st tour once and the 2nd tour twice). I left work early and got there at 5:45PM and was a bit worried because there were 13 people ahead of me in line, but ended up with lower box seats that were better than the rush seats I got last time - limited view but not as limited, and limited in the opposite direction (I was on the right side of the stage, last time I was on the left side). Though I don't think I realized how much was done on the catwalk until I couldn't see what was going on up there. And the people in the box with me totally missed the "Our Sons" going to "Four Seasons" on the sign because it was behind the spiral staircase from our perspective.
I don't seem to have gotten any understudies tonight, which is neat. I wonder if Rick Faugno was tired, though. I've never seen him before so I have nothing to compare, but by the end of the evening he looked noticeably more wrung out and with less energy than everyone else, and his control over his voice over the course of the evening didn't seem to be consistent. I have to say, Rick was far from my favorite Frankie, vocally - actually, probably my least favorite. He kept getting up into his throat rather a lot, which produced a rather unpleasant, pinched, sharp sounding voice, especially when he was belting or going high. What's odd is that I feel like his singing voice range went higher than the other Frankies I've seen in that he didn't seem to need to go falsetto as much, or he disguised his falsetto better, but I thought he sounded the best when he was singing the lower parts. "My Eyes Adored You," the beginning part of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," and the parts of "Fallen Angel" where he doesn't start going louder sounded terrific, I thought. But I couldn't get into his performances of "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," etc... On the plus side, my friend who has never heard or seen Jersey Boys before enjoyed it all, and leaned over after "Sherry" to say "Wow they really nailed that" and then again after "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" to say he really liked it. So maybe I'm just hypercritical now, or it's not fair because I keep comparing to Jarrod who's not only my favorite Frankie, but I also have a recording of from the Emmy's to keep his interpretation fresh in my mind. Also on the flip side, Rick probably sounded closer to the more gritty sound the real Frankie Valli achieves in his non-falsetto singing than Chris, Jarrod, or JLY. I think he let it get a little out of control from time to time though. But I go back to the tired hypothesis b/c at times his singing reminded me a little of me at the end of a karaoke night when I have to force my voice to go where I want it to, and at times it slips a little out of my control.
Acting-wise, I thought he was fine. At times he seemed to rush through lines, but at others I thought his emphasis and delivery were spot-on, and at times more convincing than either Chris or Jarrod. I was sitting on the side where his back was to me in some crucial scenes, like "Fallen Angel" and the pizza parlor scene with Mary Delgado, though, so it's a bit hard to judge. I still feel like Jarrod matures the most convincingly and the most subtly of the three Frankies I've seen. He becomes more mature without you really consciously noticing it, but just gradually takes on more gravity and more emotional weight. I thought Rick was ok here - I didn't really feel like he came off too young or anything. Hard to match what Jarrod did, IMO, b/c I can't even tell how Jarrod pulls it off.
As for the others, I actually quite enjoyed Bryan McElroy's Tommy DeVito. Though he has a far weaker falsetto in that jail ditty he came up with in Ohio than any other Tommy I've heard, I liked his singing voice in general, and thought his interpretation of the role worked quite well. He did the tough guy thing covering up for the screwups and delivering lines just right to get the laughs, and I liked him. Jeff Leibow as Nick Massi I also enjoyed. I feel like his line delivery and accent was actually fairly similar to Michael Ingersoll's which made me wonder if he was influenced by Michael's interpretation or if maybe Nick just sounded like that and they were both working off of that. His take seemed less fussy OCD than Michael Ingersoll's and a bit more wise guy, but I thought it worked well. Andrew Rannells as Bob Gaudio I have mixed feelings on. Vocally, loved his performance of "Oh What a Night," not as fond of "Cry for Me." He played up the humor really well, and did the young Bob in a really funny way. My friend found something a bit off about his performance but couldn't articulate it but I think I know what he means - he was a bit overenthusiastic and a bit too broadly winking outside of the role, I think. I mean, he got great laughs from the audience but then he seemed to react to it a bit more than was in character. I guess what I'm saying is he didn't seem to stay in character - the other guys all reacted to the cheering and laughter in ways more consistent with their characters. But he was a lot of fun.
I think I still like my first Bob Crewe (name slips my mind) the best - his interpretation completely colored what I think the role should be for me. Jonathan Hadley didn't quite hit the right note for me and wasn't as funny, I thought, though he was fine in general. Also looked a bit older than I expected for the role. The girls were great, I thought. Since the spiral staircase was right in front of us it was kind of interesting and touching to watch Joyce Chittick as Mary sobbing on the staircase as Rick sang the first part of "My Eyes Adored You" (also kind of interesting to watch Rick just gulp down as much water as he could during the whole trying to get "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" on the radio bit - not sure how he could sing after downing that much water, though I'm sure he needs it!).
I don't know if being on the far side throws off the vocal balance or how things are mixed, and whether that affects how I hear things. But at times I felt like the orchestrations/songs were a little flat - I felt like I could barely hear "Short Shorts," for instance. But at others, the harmonies were heavenly - I thought they sounded better at times than I'd ever heard before. The three non-Frankie guys and whoever was singing backstage to back them up just sounded awesome together.
I think it's funny whenever I read a review about how the show really gets going with "Sherry/Big Girls/Walk Like a Man" because I'm actually a huge fan of the earlier mix of songs - I love the whole intro bit, adore "Silhouettes", love "A Sunday Kind of Love" when they're harmonizing on it in the church... I think that's one of the things that keeps me going back to the show instead of just listening to the cast recording, since they don't have the full songs in the cast recording.
The audience was great, btw - very very into things, laughing hard, cheering and whooping appreciatively, and I don't think I've ever heard them gasp so loud when Tommy says he owes half a million in tax money. They jumped up for a standing ovation before any of the actors even hit the stage for their bows.
At any rate, I have to say I missed my favorite Frankie, Jarrod, but on the whole I'm very happy I decided to see Jersey Boys for the fourth time. I just love this show, and the finale always brings a huge smile to my face (except the part of me which goes "oh no, it's almost over!"). It's probably a good thing it's going away soon - I've never seen any show four times in a single year before, and there are very few shows I've even seen four times total! Not sure I should let myself be tempted to see it for a fifth time!
I just saw Jersey Boys for the fourth time in SF tonight. I knew the run was nearing its end and couldn't resist trying for rush seats to catch this cast (I previously saw the 1st tour once and the 2nd tour twice). I left work early and got there at 5:45PM and was a bit worried because there were 13 people ahead of me in line, but ended up with lower box seats that were better than the rush seats I got last time - limited view but not as limited, and limited in the opposite direction (I was on the right side of the stage, last time I was on the left side). Though I don't think I realized how much was done on the catwalk until I couldn't see what was going on up there. And the people in the box with me totally missed the "Our Sons" going to "Four Seasons" on the sign because it was behind the spiral staircase from our perspective.
I don't seem to have gotten any understudies tonight, which is neat. I wonder if Rick Faugno was tired, though. I've never seen him before so I have nothing to compare, but by the end of the evening he looked noticeably more wrung out and with less energy than everyone else, and his control over his voice over the course of the evening didn't seem to be consistent. I have to say, Rick was far from my favorite Frankie, vocally - actually, probably my least favorite. He kept getting up into his throat rather a lot, which produced a rather unpleasant, pinched, sharp sounding voice, especially when he was belting or going high. What's odd is that I feel like his singing voice range went higher than the other Frankies I've seen in that he didn't seem to need to go falsetto as much, or he disguised his falsetto better, but I thought he sounded the best when he was singing the lower parts. "My Eyes Adored You," the beginning part of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," and the parts of "Fallen Angel" where he doesn't start going louder sounded terrific, I thought. But I couldn't get into his performances of "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," etc... On the plus side, my friend who has never heard or seen Jersey Boys before enjoyed it all, and leaned over after "Sherry" to say "Wow they really nailed that" and then again after "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" to say he really liked it. So maybe I'm just hypercritical now, or it's not fair because I keep comparing to Jarrod who's not only my favorite Frankie, but I also have a recording of from the Emmy's to keep his interpretation fresh in my mind. Also on the flip side, Rick probably sounded closer to the more gritty sound the real Frankie Valli achieves in his non-falsetto singing than Chris, Jarrod, or JLY. I think he let it get a little out of control from time to time though. But I go back to the tired hypothesis b/c at times his singing reminded me a little of me at the end of a karaoke night when I have to force my voice to go where I want it to, and at times it slips a little out of my control.
Acting-wise, I thought he was fine. At times he seemed to rush through lines, but at others I thought his emphasis and delivery were spot-on, and at times more convincing than either Chris or Jarrod. I was sitting on the side where his back was to me in some crucial scenes, like "Fallen Angel" and the pizza parlor scene with Mary Delgado, though, so it's a bit hard to judge. I still feel like Jarrod matures the most convincingly and the most subtly of the three Frankies I've seen. He becomes more mature without you really consciously noticing it, but just gradually takes on more gravity and more emotional weight. I thought Rick was ok here - I didn't really feel like he came off too young or anything. Hard to match what Jarrod did, IMO, b/c I can't even tell how Jarrod pulls it off.
As for the others, I actually quite enjoyed Bryan McElroy's Tommy DeVito. Though he has a far weaker falsetto in that jail ditty he came up with in Ohio than any other Tommy I've heard, I liked his singing voice in general, and thought his interpretation of the role worked quite well. He did the tough guy thing covering up for the screwups and delivering lines just right to get the laughs, and I liked him. Jeff Leibow as Nick Massi I also enjoyed. I feel like his line delivery and accent was actually fairly similar to Michael Ingersoll's which made me wonder if he was influenced by Michael's interpretation or if maybe Nick just sounded like that and they were both working off of that. His take seemed less fussy OCD than Michael Ingersoll's and a bit more wise guy, but I thought it worked well. Andrew Rannells as Bob Gaudio I have mixed feelings on. Vocally, loved his performance of "Oh What a Night," not as fond of "Cry for Me." He played up the humor really well, and did the young Bob in a really funny way. My friend found something a bit off about his performance but couldn't articulate it but I think I know what he means - he was a bit overenthusiastic and a bit too broadly winking outside of the role, I think. I mean, he got great laughs from the audience but then he seemed to react to it a bit more than was in character. I guess what I'm saying is he didn't seem to stay in character - the other guys all reacted to the cheering and laughter in ways more consistent with their characters. But he was a lot of fun.
I think I still like my first Bob Crewe (name slips my mind) the best - his interpretation completely colored what I think the role should be for me. Jonathan Hadley didn't quite hit the right note for me and wasn't as funny, I thought, though he was fine in general. Also looked a bit older than I expected for the role. The girls were great, I thought. Since the spiral staircase was right in front of us it was kind of interesting and touching to watch Joyce Chittick as Mary sobbing on the staircase as Rick sang the first part of "My Eyes Adored You" (also kind of interesting to watch Rick just gulp down as much water as he could during the whole trying to get "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" on the radio bit - not sure how he could sing after downing that much water, though I'm sure he needs it!).
I don't know if being on the far side throws off the vocal balance or how things are mixed, and whether that affects how I hear things. But at times I felt like the orchestrations/songs were a little flat - I felt like I could barely hear "Short Shorts," for instance. But at others, the harmonies were heavenly - I thought they sounded better at times than I'd ever heard before. The three non-Frankie guys and whoever was singing backstage to back them up just sounded awesome together.
I think it's funny whenever I read a review about how the show really gets going with "Sherry/Big Girls/Walk Like a Man" because I'm actually a huge fan of the earlier mix of songs - I love the whole intro bit, adore "Silhouettes", love "A Sunday Kind of Love" when they're harmonizing on it in the church... I think that's one of the things that keeps me going back to the show instead of just listening to the cast recording, since they don't have the full songs in the cast recording.
The audience was great, btw - very very into things, laughing hard, cheering and whooping appreciatively, and I don't think I've ever heard them gasp so loud when Tommy says he owes half a million in tax money. They jumped up for a standing ovation before any of the actors even hit the stage for their bows.
At any rate, I have to say I missed my favorite Frankie, Jarrod, but on the whole I'm very happy I decided to see Jersey Boys for the fourth time. I just love this show, and the finale always brings a huge smile to my face (except the part of me which goes "oh no, it's almost over!"). It's probably a good thing it's going away soon - I've never seen any show four times in a single year before, and there are very few shows I've even seen four times total! Not sure I should let myself be tempted to see it for a fifth time!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Food
Having not updated in a month, I clearly don't remember everything I've eaten. Here's what I do remember.
Tara (123 2nd St, between Minna and Mission). This is a new Thai/Asian-fusion place that opened up near work (just down the street from Osha Thai) that I'd been meaning to try for a while and finally got in for dinner Wed night when I was in a rush to get to AT&T Park for the Boitano show. They said they could get me in and out in 30 minutes, so yay! The service was great - the guy was unobtrusively refilling my water glass every 2 seconds, the food was quick, it was easy to grab someone's attention to get my doggie bag and check... The food... well I got the Pad See Ew with beef, which is a favorite of mine. The dish tasted fine - not the best I've ever had but certainly not the worst - but the beef was tough and chewy. Not so good when you're in a rush, or in general. It's cheaper than Osha, the *flavors* were fine, but the textures and the meat need work. Only having had one dish, I hesitate to judge the place overall, but it did give me pause...
Amici's East Coast Pizzeria (216 King St) - so it's a chain I've been to several times before, so maybe it's not entirely fair to review it. But I don't really like it. Never had a pizza here I particularly liked (and their pizza is gross once it starts to cool - my group ordered some for dinner one night and I got there late and the crust was so tough I had to tear pieces off instead of just biting pieces). So I went here b/c it was across the street from AT&T Park and I needed to grab quick food before dress rehearsal for the Boitano show. Got a spaghetti b/c really, how far wrong can you go with spaghetti? Also because their pasta choices are crap. And the spaghetti was both expensive ($10+ for a small portion with meat sauce) and pretty crappy. I had better tasting spaghetti in the IAD airport while waiting for a flight one night, and I watched them scoop the spaghetti out of a bin where it'd been sitting for who knows how long. So yeah, this is me dumping on Amici's. NOT recommended.
Brenda's French Soul Food (652 Polk St between Eddy and Turk). Closed on Sundays. So sad.
Dottie's True Blue Cafe (522 Jones between Geary and O'Farrell). Where we went when we discovered Brenda's was closed. Very popular spot - the line went halfway down the block and stayed that way the entire time we were there. Specials menu had some fairly unique items on it. My friend and bf both got the Banana Chocolate Chip French Toast with Balsamic Strawberries, which was pretty good. Not nearly as sweet as you would expect. Also not as spectacular as you would expect, but yummy. I was hungry and saw a combination that appealed - 2 eggs, piece of ham, hash browns, 2 pieces of French toast...yes, I'm a pig. The eggs were fine - standard scrambled, not entirely flavorful but bury it with enough ketchup and anything is yummy. The hash browns were the same - very standard. The ham was good - a nice big slice of real ham, and not some dinky little bits. The French toast was fine as well - their French toast is on big thick slices of bread which don't absorb the syrup quite as much as I'd like. Oddly, my combo cost like $1-$2 more than the special French toast and I only had one half slice less of toast than they got with their special. Maybe we should have tried some of their more exotic specials, but my conclusion is that the place was good but probably not worth waiting 1/2 an hour or more in line for...
Went to Abacus again for dinner the other night with bf's coworkers. Got more interesting food than the last time we went with coworkers - mongolian beef, tangerine chicken, creamed corn and crab meat soup, and house special chow mein (or lo mein?). I still think the dessert here is the best part - we got the ice cream sampler again, this time with lychee, coconut, mango, and double chocolate ice cream. The mango was kind of icy but otherwise so yummy. The food is ok. Soup was nice on a warm night.
Ziryab (528 Divisadero between Fell and Hayes). Looking for a quick place to eat Friday night before a comedy show at the Independent, and finding long waits everywhere, a local clued us into this place. We were seated immediately, no problem. It's a Mediterranean place so most of the people I was with ended up getting kebabs of some kind which they polished off so I assume they were quite good. My bf got a smoked trout? appetizer special (there was some confusion about whether it was an appetizer or an entree but luckily he also ordered some mediterranean herb bread so he had enough to eat) which he said was really good. I got the chicken schwerma plate - bunch o' little pita bread pockets into which I could stuff the schwerma and sauce. Quite tasty. Overall, not cheap, but a good meal in a not-overly crowded place with decent service.
It's never fair to judge a place by just getting takeout from them, especially when you have like a 15-20 minute walk to get the food home, and you placed the order before leaving work, a 30+ minute bus ride away. But that's what I did with Siam Lotus Thai Cuisine (1705 Haight St at Cole). The Golden Triangle appetizer I ordered actually still tasted quite yummy when I got home, despite it being in a crispy wrapper which you would think would get mushy (and got a bit softer than I'm sure it started as) and gross. These were little triangle shaped "crepes" stuffed with mashed potatoes, yams, and peas and weren't nearly as heavy as samosas and such tend to be. They had a nice, lightly sweet, almost fluffy texture and taste, and were quite yummy. The Pineapple Cashew Nuts Chicken wasn't as good, though I really do wonder if it's b/c of the delay in eating from prep time. The flavors of the sauce and such were quite good but the chicken itself was strips of quite bland dry white meat. Maybe they would have been better warmer? I definitely want to try this place again sometime from within the restaurant.
Got takeout a fair amount that week, actually. Well, delivery in this case. The North Beach Pizza on Stanyan St only delivers or has takeout - there's no sit in. We felt lazy one day so we ordered our typical pizza with pepperoni & tomatoes. Yummy. My only complaint is that North Beach isn't particularly fast - I think the order arrived like 50 minutes after I made it? Need to plan ahead better - they have an online ordering system and you can specify a time if you order ahead of time. I should try that and see how well it works. But I love North Beach Pizza. Yum yum yum.
Decided to try Tsuna mi Sushi Bar (1300 Fulton at Divisadero). My bf liked it a lot more than me. It's a fairly trendy type place - famous for its diverse sake selection, with kind of loungey-seating around the walls and tables in the middle. They have a relatively small, IMO, sushi menu with some unusual stuff. We ended up getting a Tsunami - maguro, bincho and asparagus flash-fried, topped with spicy aioli, tobiko, and scallions (Bincho is apparently albacore - what goes by white tuna or shiro maguro elsewhere?). That was fairly yummy. We also got sake sashimi and I forget what other fish...either hamachi or maguro, but pretty sure it wasn't bincho. I also think we may have gotten the Five Sisters roll, which I think is known as a rainbow roll elsewhere - california topped with five types of fish. It was all quite good. I guess my lack of enthusiasm mainly stemmed from the prices - we had only gone to Sushi Bistro like the week before, and Tsunami is decidedly more expensive. And I guess also the selection since there were less choices than Sushi Bistro. Given that they're in entirely different areas of the city, though, it's not like you'd necessarily skip one to go to the other. I guess my conclusion is it's a decent sushi place, but on the expensive side, and unnecessarily trendy (which means long waits on weekend nights).
That's all I can remember for now...
On a personal note, I had fun over Thanksgiving weekend going to see Kurt Browning in "Peter Pan", which was a fun stage musical. Also had fun going to the Boitano show at AT&T Park, which was quite an interesting experience - it was kind of funky being out on the field looking up into the stands. Big park! Went to a Comedians of Comedy show at the Independent - Patton Oswalt and the other two headliners (a guy from the Sarah Silverman show, a woman from I'm not sure where) were quite funny, but there were two comedians in a row who were the first to go after Patton warmed up the crowd who really sucked. None of us liked them, and they set the wrong tone for the evening for us, I think. I was in a bad mood for a while and wasn't ready to concede the following acts were actually funny at times, and some of the other people left early. It's a shame. Also odd was that it was a music venue so there were no seats, just standing room. And it was PACKED. Quite unpleasant. I'm so cranky =).
Tara (123 2nd St, between Minna and Mission). This is a new Thai/Asian-fusion place that opened up near work (just down the street from Osha Thai) that I'd been meaning to try for a while and finally got in for dinner Wed night when I was in a rush to get to AT&T Park for the Boitano show. They said they could get me in and out in 30 minutes, so yay! The service was great - the guy was unobtrusively refilling my water glass every 2 seconds, the food was quick, it was easy to grab someone's attention to get my doggie bag and check... The food... well I got the Pad See Ew with beef, which is a favorite of mine. The dish tasted fine - not the best I've ever had but certainly not the worst - but the beef was tough and chewy. Not so good when you're in a rush, or in general. It's cheaper than Osha, the *flavors* were fine, but the textures and the meat need work. Only having had one dish, I hesitate to judge the place overall, but it did give me pause...
Amici's East Coast Pizzeria (216 King St) - so it's a chain I've been to several times before, so maybe it's not entirely fair to review it. But I don't really like it. Never had a pizza here I particularly liked (and their pizza is gross once it starts to cool - my group ordered some for dinner one night and I got there late and the crust was so tough I had to tear pieces off instead of just biting pieces). So I went here b/c it was across the street from AT&T Park and I needed to grab quick food before dress rehearsal for the Boitano show. Got a spaghetti b/c really, how far wrong can you go with spaghetti? Also because their pasta choices are crap. And the spaghetti was both expensive ($10+ for a small portion with meat sauce) and pretty crappy. I had better tasting spaghetti in the IAD airport while waiting for a flight one night, and I watched them scoop the spaghetti out of a bin where it'd been sitting for who knows how long. So yeah, this is me dumping on Amici's. NOT recommended.
Brenda's French Soul Food (652 Polk St between Eddy and Turk). Closed on Sundays. So sad.
Dottie's True Blue Cafe (522 Jones between Geary and O'Farrell). Where we went when we discovered Brenda's was closed. Very popular spot - the line went halfway down the block and stayed that way the entire time we were there. Specials menu had some fairly unique items on it. My friend and bf both got the Banana Chocolate Chip French Toast with Balsamic Strawberries, which was pretty good. Not nearly as sweet as you would expect. Also not as spectacular as you would expect, but yummy. I was hungry and saw a combination that appealed - 2 eggs, piece of ham, hash browns, 2 pieces of French toast...yes, I'm a pig. The eggs were fine - standard scrambled, not entirely flavorful but bury it with enough ketchup and anything is yummy. The hash browns were the same - very standard. The ham was good - a nice big slice of real ham, and not some dinky little bits. The French toast was fine as well - their French toast is on big thick slices of bread which don't absorb the syrup quite as much as I'd like. Oddly, my combo cost like $1-$2 more than the special French toast and I only had one half slice less of toast than they got with their special. Maybe we should have tried some of their more exotic specials, but my conclusion is that the place was good but probably not worth waiting 1/2 an hour or more in line for...
Went to Abacus again for dinner the other night with bf's coworkers. Got more interesting food than the last time we went with coworkers - mongolian beef, tangerine chicken, creamed corn and crab meat soup, and house special chow mein (or lo mein?). I still think the dessert here is the best part - we got the ice cream sampler again, this time with lychee, coconut, mango, and double chocolate ice cream. The mango was kind of icy but otherwise so yummy. The food is ok. Soup was nice on a warm night.
Ziryab (528 Divisadero between Fell and Hayes). Looking for a quick place to eat Friday night before a comedy show at the Independent, and finding long waits everywhere, a local clued us into this place. We were seated immediately, no problem. It's a Mediterranean place so most of the people I was with ended up getting kebabs of some kind which they polished off so I assume they were quite good. My bf got a smoked trout? appetizer special (there was some confusion about whether it was an appetizer or an entree but luckily he also ordered some mediterranean herb bread so he had enough to eat) which he said was really good. I got the chicken schwerma plate - bunch o' little pita bread pockets into which I could stuff the schwerma and sauce. Quite tasty. Overall, not cheap, but a good meal in a not-overly crowded place with decent service.
It's never fair to judge a place by just getting takeout from them, especially when you have like a 15-20 minute walk to get the food home, and you placed the order before leaving work, a 30+ minute bus ride away. But that's what I did with Siam Lotus Thai Cuisine (1705 Haight St at Cole). The Golden Triangle appetizer I ordered actually still tasted quite yummy when I got home, despite it being in a crispy wrapper which you would think would get mushy (and got a bit softer than I'm sure it started as) and gross. These were little triangle shaped "crepes" stuffed with mashed potatoes, yams, and peas and weren't nearly as heavy as samosas and such tend to be. They had a nice, lightly sweet, almost fluffy texture and taste, and were quite yummy. The Pineapple Cashew Nuts Chicken wasn't as good, though I really do wonder if it's b/c of the delay in eating from prep time. The flavors of the sauce and such were quite good but the chicken itself was strips of quite bland dry white meat. Maybe they would have been better warmer? I definitely want to try this place again sometime from within the restaurant.
Got takeout a fair amount that week, actually. Well, delivery in this case. The North Beach Pizza on Stanyan St only delivers or has takeout - there's no sit in. We felt lazy one day so we ordered our typical pizza with pepperoni & tomatoes. Yummy. My only complaint is that North Beach isn't particularly fast - I think the order arrived like 50 minutes after I made it? Need to plan ahead better - they have an online ordering system and you can specify a time if you order ahead of time. I should try that and see how well it works. But I love North Beach Pizza. Yum yum yum.
Decided to try Tsuna mi Sushi Bar (1300 Fulton at Divisadero). My bf liked it a lot more than me. It's a fairly trendy type place - famous for its diverse sake selection, with kind of loungey-seating around the walls and tables in the middle. They have a relatively small, IMO, sushi menu with some unusual stuff. We ended up getting a Tsunami - maguro, bincho and asparagus flash-fried, topped with spicy aioli, tobiko, and scallions (Bincho is apparently albacore - what goes by white tuna or shiro maguro elsewhere?). That was fairly yummy. We also got sake sashimi and I forget what other fish...either hamachi or maguro, but pretty sure it wasn't bincho. I also think we may have gotten the Five Sisters roll, which I think is known as a rainbow roll elsewhere - california topped with five types of fish. It was all quite good. I guess my lack of enthusiasm mainly stemmed from the prices - we had only gone to Sushi Bistro like the week before, and Tsunami is decidedly more expensive. And I guess also the selection since there were less choices than Sushi Bistro. Given that they're in entirely different areas of the city, though, it's not like you'd necessarily skip one to go to the other. I guess my conclusion is it's a decent sushi place, but on the expensive side, and unnecessarily trendy (which means long waits on weekend nights).
That's all I can remember for now...
On a personal note, I had fun over Thanksgiving weekend going to see Kurt Browning in "Peter Pan", which was a fun stage musical. Also had fun going to the Boitano show at AT&T Park, which was quite an interesting experience - it was kind of funky being out on the field looking up into the stands. Big park! Went to a Comedians of Comedy show at the Independent - Patton Oswalt and the other two headliners (a guy from the Sarah Silverman show, a woman from I'm not sure where) were quite funny, but there were two comedians in a row who were the first to go after Patton warmed up the crowd who really sucked. None of us liked them, and they set the wrong tone for the evening for us, I think. I was in a bad mood for a while and wasn't ready to concede the following acts were actually funny at times, and some of the other people left early. It's a shame. Also odd was that it was a music venue so there were no seats, just standing room. And it was PACKED. Quite unpleasant. I'm so cranky =).
Friday, October 19, 2007
What I'm watching
What I'm watching these days...
Chuck
Heroes
Journeyman
How I Met Your Mother
Reaper
Bionic Woman
Pushing Daisies
My Name is Earl
CSI
ER
Daily Show
Colbert Report
Also DVR-ing the Dead Zone and South Park and Robot Chicken, but haven't actually had time to watch them yet. We're also 2 weeks behind on TDS/TCR.
When I saw a bunch of potentially interesting shows in the fall TV guides, I didn't really mean to start watching them *all*... The ironic thing is most of these shows are on NBC, and NBC is the channel we get with the weakest signal strength over the air. On the other hand, we supposedly get ABC at something like 97% and yet I haven't gotten a clean recording off of them yet. Or CBS, for that matter. We really need to get an outdoor antenna.
At any rate, of all these new shows, "Pushing Daisies" is definitely the favorite for both my bf and I. It looks so different than anything else on TV - very Men In Black/Tim Burton-ish - and sounds different, but it's not just overly quirky and precious, it's well-done. We really get a kick out of it. The bf likes "Chuck" and stopped watching "Reaper" after the second show. I like "Chuck" ok, even if it's fairly predictable, and I like "Reaper" ok - the trouble is, I don't dislike it enough to stop watching it, and I don't love it either. It's amusing and entertaining and apparently I don't ask for much out of my entertainment. "Journeyman" I can take or leave - in fact, I left it last week. Feels a tiny bit like "Dead Zone", which I'm getting a little sick of. "Bionic Woman" I'm kind of eh about. It could be better than it is, but I don't dislike it enough to stop watching it either.
"Heroes" this year so far has been fairly predictable but I like the show. I have the feeling I'm not going to get to "Buffy" levels of love for any new TV show for a long time....
Chuck
Heroes
Journeyman
How I Met Your Mother
Reaper
Bionic Woman
Pushing Daisies
My Name is Earl
CSI
ER
Daily Show
Colbert Report
Also DVR-ing the Dead Zone and South Park and Robot Chicken, but haven't actually had time to watch them yet. We're also 2 weeks behind on TDS/TCR.
When I saw a bunch of potentially interesting shows in the fall TV guides, I didn't really mean to start watching them *all*... The ironic thing is most of these shows are on NBC, and NBC is the channel we get with the weakest signal strength over the air. On the other hand, we supposedly get ABC at something like 97% and yet I haven't gotten a clean recording off of them yet. Or CBS, for that matter. We really need to get an outdoor antenna.
At any rate, of all these new shows, "Pushing Daisies" is definitely the favorite for both my bf and I. It looks so different than anything else on TV - very Men In Black/Tim Burton-ish - and sounds different, but it's not just overly quirky and precious, it's well-done. We really get a kick out of it. The bf likes "Chuck" and stopped watching "Reaper" after the second show. I like "Chuck" ok, even if it's fairly predictable, and I like "Reaper" ok - the trouble is, I don't dislike it enough to stop watching it, and I don't love it either. It's amusing and entertaining and apparently I don't ask for much out of my entertainment. "Journeyman" I can take or leave - in fact, I left it last week. Feels a tiny bit like "Dead Zone", which I'm getting a little sick of. "Bionic Woman" I'm kind of eh about. It could be better than it is, but I don't dislike it enough to stop watching it either.
"Heroes" this year so far has been fairly predictable but I like the show. I have the feeling I'm not going to get to "Buffy" levels of love for any new TV show for a long time....
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Much-delayed update
Wow it's been almost two weeks since I blogged last. Since this blog in some ways serves as a brain/memory replacement for me (otherwise I'd totally forget what I've seen, done, and eaten), a quick rundown of what I've been doing:
- Went to Phoenix for a day for a skating show. 95 degrees outside, with an ice rink inside produces a very disconcerting effect. Downtown Phoenix is odd - it seems like it's currently in the process of being constructed, with over half of the high-rises I saw mid-construction. However, the "Copper Square Ambassadors" are awesome. Before I went to the show, I emailed them to find out if it was safe to walk from the arena back to my hotel around midnight, and in return got an offer for someone to stay at their office (they close at 11) to walk me back. Then, when I was arriving at the show, I was trying to find the media entrance and one of the Ambassadors took me around until he could find where I should go, and told the arena people to let me in. That's just awesome service.
FYI, ate at Matt's Big Breakfast (long wait, small cute place, pretty good breakfast food, nice service) and Majerle's Sports Grill (super-nice and accommodating, let me occupy a booth and order nothing but a Coke for an hour before I finally ordered dinner, even as more and more parties showed up and I kept offering to move to a smaller table. Decent salad for dinner - was still full from Matt's). Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express downtown on N 6th St, which had free internet, free breakfast, and free parking, was within walking distance (sort of, if you don't mind walking in 95 degree weather) of downtown, and was nice and clean and comfortable.
- Went to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park sans lawn chairs (mistake, given how crappy my knees are). It was a pretty neat event, with a whole bunch of stages (like 5?) set up all around the park, featuring a whole range of bluegrass acts and a bunch of festival food. Had a very yummy Polish sausage and garlic fries, and then later had to snatch up some funnel cake (a bit disappointing) - hey it was splurge time. We caught about 3 or 4 acts, including Hot Buttered Rum (my favorite), the Songwriters' Circle, and some other groups I don't remember the name of. The Blue Angels were flying around the city that day for Fleet Week, so it was a bit disconcerting to sometimes have the music drowned out by the super-loud jets. We left a bit early after it got crowded enough that we couldn't find a place to stand within reasonable hearing distance of the stages.
- Flew into Buffalo to go to a skating show in Mississauga, ON. Nothing special to report about the cuisine since I ate at the hotel restaurant (Delta Meadowvale - everything was overpriced), Swiss Chalet (actually pretty good rotisserie chicken), and Tim Horton's. Then visited a friend in Rochester (best friend from high school) and her new absolutely adorable 8-month old baby. That was a really nice visit and I really like the little guy (and he seemed to like me, so yay). That was my day of overindulgence and trying to splurge on all the stuff I usually miss - my favorite apple cider, followed by ice cream at Abbott's Frozen Custard for lunch (love their Mexican sundaes), and Pizzeria Uno's for dinner. Again, it's all about chains, but hey, chains that I like!
- Went to the Jimmy Eat World concert at the Fillmore. My conclusion is I'm a REALLY crappy concertgoer b/c I could just think about how my knees hurt and I wish I could sit down. Plus, I HATE the sound balancing - all I could hear was the bass and drums, along with a really annoying bad distortion throughout. I like Jimmy Eat World's harmonies and melodies and I couldn't hear either almost at all. Didn't help that I actually only know one of their albums so for a while, I didn't know any of the songs! I still like the band, but the concert wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. Oh well.
New restaurants in SF I've tried:
Kushi Tsuru (1737 Post St - next door to Mifune in Japantown) Bf wanted to try something different b/c he's not the biggest fan of Mifune (can't find stuff he wants to eat there) and we were looking for a place to eat before the concert at the Fillmore. IMO, it was ok. I got the Nabeyaki Udon and it was...eh. Bland but fine. Not the best I'd had, nothing wrong with it. Bf got the Sukiyaki beef which was flavorful, just smaller than the ones I've gotten elsewhere. We also got an order of Shiro Maguro sashimi (of course) which was great texture (as usual for Shiro Maguro) but tasted the most like the tuna out of a can of any tuna sushi I've ever tried. It is albacore so that sort of makes sense, and it didn't taste strongly of it, but it was definitely somewhat tuna-in-a-can reminiscent. He liked it - says it has the type of dishes he'd like to order. I would rather go back to Mifune.
Suppenkuche (525 Laguna between Hayes and Fell). First German restaurant I've tried, gets great reviews on Yelp. I can't vouch for the beer since I don't drink beer (or at all) but the people there seemed happy. Shared seating (we shared the table with a party of 3, and then a party of 4) which I hear is fairly typical of Germany, small bar around which many people were gathered, a kind of rustic environment (or bare-bones, however you want to look at it). Food was very yummy, or at least the Jagerschnitzel I ordered. That was pork loin with mushroom sauce, spatzel, and a green salad. The meat texture was ok but the sauce was very yummy. Me like spatzel. My green salad was butter lettuce with dressing on it. My bf got the beef in red wine sauce, except he didn't realize it was in red wine sauce (which he doesn't like), so he didn't like his food nearly as much as me. I would recommend the place if you're not looking for good date atmosphere b/c as far as I can tell, the food is quite good. Not cheap, though.
Can not remember for the life of me if we ate anywhere else in the last two weeks. We *have* been eating at home a lot - Costco tenderloin is great meat, and my bf has a great technique for his filet and his roast (out of Best Recipe, I believe). So yummy. And I guess I was away for most of one week....
- Went to Phoenix for a day for a skating show. 95 degrees outside, with an ice rink inside produces a very disconcerting effect. Downtown Phoenix is odd - it seems like it's currently in the process of being constructed, with over half of the high-rises I saw mid-construction. However, the "Copper Square Ambassadors" are awesome. Before I went to the show, I emailed them to find out if it was safe to walk from the arena back to my hotel around midnight, and in return got an offer for someone to stay at their office (they close at 11) to walk me back. Then, when I was arriving at the show, I was trying to find the media entrance and one of the Ambassadors took me around until he could find where I should go, and told the arena people to let me in. That's just awesome service.
FYI, ate at Matt's Big Breakfast (long wait, small cute place, pretty good breakfast food, nice service) and Majerle's Sports Grill (super-nice and accommodating, let me occupy a booth and order nothing but a Coke for an hour before I finally ordered dinner, even as more and more parties showed up and I kept offering to move to a smaller table. Decent salad for dinner - was still full from Matt's). Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express downtown on N 6th St, which had free internet, free breakfast, and free parking, was within walking distance (sort of, if you don't mind walking in 95 degree weather) of downtown, and was nice and clean and comfortable.
- Went to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park sans lawn chairs (mistake, given how crappy my knees are). It was a pretty neat event, with a whole bunch of stages (like 5?) set up all around the park, featuring a whole range of bluegrass acts and a bunch of festival food. Had a very yummy Polish sausage and garlic fries, and then later had to snatch up some funnel cake (a bit disappointing) - hey it was splurge time. We caught about 3 or 4 acts, including Hot Buttered Rum (my favorite), the Songwriters' Circle, and some other groups I don't remember the name of. The Blue Angels were flying around the city that day for Fleet Week, so it was a bit disconcerting to sometimes have the music drowned out by the super-loud jets. We left a bit early after it got crowded enough that we couldn't find a place to stand within reasonable hearing distance of the stages.
- Flew into Buffalo to go to a skating show in Mississauga, ON. Nothing special to report about the cuisine since I ate at the hotel restaurant (Delta Meadowvale - everything was overpriced), Swiss Chalet (actually pretty good rotisserie chicken), and Tim Horton's. Then visited a friend in Rochester (best friend from high school) and her new absolutely adorable 8-month old baby. That was a really nice visit and I really like the little guy (and he seemed to like me, so yay). That was my day of overindulgence and trying to splurge on all the stuff I usually miss - my favorite apple cider, followed by ice cream at Abbott's Frozen Custard for lunch (love their Mexican sundaes), and Pizzeria Uno's for dinner. Again, it's all about chains, but hey, chains that I like!
- Went to the Jimmy Eat World concert at the Fillmore. My conclusion is I'm a REALLY crappy concertgoer b/c I could just think about how my knees hurt and I wish I could sit down. Plus, I HATE the sound balancing - all I could hear was the bass and drums, along with a really annoying bad distortion throughout. I like Jimmy Eat World's harmonies and melodies and I couldn't hear either almost at all. Didn't help that I actually only know one of their albums so for a while, I didn't know any of the songs! I still like the band, but the concert wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. Oh well.
New restaurants in SF I've tried:
Kushi Tsuru (1737 Post St - next door to Mifune in Japantown) Bf wanted to try something different b/c he's not the biggest fan of Mifune (can't find stuff he wants to eat there) and we were looking for a place to eat before the concert at the Fillmore. IMO, it was ok. I got the Nabeyaki Udon and it was...eh. Bland but fine. Not the best I'd had, nothing wrong with it. Bf got the Sukiyaki beef which was flavorful, just smaller than the ones I've gotten elsewhere. We also got an order of Shiro Maguro sashimi (of course) which was great texture (as usual for Shiro Maguro) but tasted the most like the tuna out of a can of any tuna sushi I've ever tried. It is albacore so that sort of makes sense, and it didn't taste strongly of it, but it was definitely somewhat tuna-in-a-can reminiscent. He liked it - says it has the type of dishes he'd like to order. I would rather go back to Mifune.
Suppenkuche (525 Laguna between Hayes and Fell). First German restaurant I've tried, gets great reviews on Yelp. I can't vouch for the beer since I don't drink beer (or at all) but the people there seemed happy. Shared seating (we shared the table with a party of 3, and then a party of 4) which I hear is fairly typical of Germany, small bar around which many people were gathered, a kind of rustic environment (or bare-bones, however you want to look at it). Food was very yummy, or at least the Jagerschnitzel I ordered. That was pork loin with mushroom sauce, spatzel, and a green salad. The meat texture was ok but the sauce was very yummy. Me like spatzel. My green salad was butter lettuce with dressing on it. My bf got the beef in red wine sauce, except he didn't realize it was in red wine sauce (which he doesn't like), so he didn't like his food nearly as much as me. I would recommend the place if you're not looking for good date atmosphere b/c as far as I can tell, the food is quite good. Not cheap, though.
Can not remember for the life of me if we ate anywhere else in the last two weeks. We *have* been eating at home a lot - Costco tenderloin is great meat, and my bf has a great technique for his filet and his roast (out of Best Recipe, I believe). So yummy. And I guess I was away for most of one week....
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Busy days...
Sunday was a pretty stacked day. We went to Alice's Now and Zen during the day, and then drove over to North Beach (I think the first time we actually chose to drive in the city to do something since moving here) to catch Russell Peters at the Cobb's Comedy Club.
The rationale behind going to Alice's Now and Zen was primarily "there's a fairly cheap concert in the park, and we're relatively near the park. Why not go?" The bands I didn't particularly care one way or the other about - Gin Blossoms, Joss Stone, James Blunt, and opening group Peter Bjorn and John. Turns out I knew and liked the Gin Blossoms music the best, didn't know anything by Joss Stone, and James Blunt is a lot more energetic than I would have expected in concert. And for some reason unknown to me, he covered Peter Bjorn and John's "Whistle Song", only minus any whistling. We got to the park around 10:50AM (doors opened at 11) to discover a long line stretching down JFK Drive, but luckily it turned out to not be so bad when we got in - got a good-size spot a reasonable distance from the stage so it wasn't too loud but we weren't super-far, either. I was extremely happy that the day before we'd gone to get lawn/beach chairs from Sports Authority - a 5 hour concert lounging in chairs with $5 toss pillows we'd gotten from Target turned out to be a great way to see things. Admittedly, after the crowd stood up for Joss Stone, we stayed resolutely sitting so I didn't end up *seeing* much (also, I pulled out my book), but it was an enjoyable way to spend the day. The weather was typical SF - went from slightly drizzly and extremely grey when we arrived to bright blue and sunny and almost hot by the time we left. We brought our own sandwich-making materials and a lot of snacks, so I didn't have to pay for any over-priced festival food (plus, they didn't have funnel cake!). They did have a number of booths giving stuff away for free, though.
The Russell Peters show at Cobb's was hilarious. It's always interesting to see the distribution of the audiences to shows, and the audience for his show was very telling - primarily Asian/Indian. It was totally sold out, and the line was already stretching halfway up the next block by the time we arrived almost an hour before the show. We got a great seat - not close enough to the stage for him to pick on us, but close enough to get a great view. They chose an interesting array of comics to open for him - one white guy, one Mexican, one black guy, and one Japanese guy. Definite rainbow there. The Japanese guy I didn't like that much - he had funny jokes that he would then ruin by taking too far, laughing at too hard, or explaining. The other guys were pretty good. Russell Peters was definitely the highlight, though. I'm still unclear how much of the show is pre-scripted and how much is spontaneous (drawing from his pool of jokes) based on the audience responses he gets...and how much is planted (why are people suddenly shouting their nationalities at random points in the show when he doesn't even ask?). But his style is very loose and funny and very interactive. He can get quite insulting when interacting with the audience, but he turns it out all into hilarity. And his accents are great - Indian, Chinese, Filipino, etc. His comedy is largely about race and racial stereotypes (or not even so much stereotypes as inside joke for each culture) and it totally cracks me up.
The rationale behind going to Alice's Now and Zen was primarily "there's a fairly cheap concert in the park, and we're relatively near the park. Why not go?" The bands I didn't particularly care one way or the other about - Gin Blossoms, Joss Stone, James Blunt, and opening group Peter Bjorn and John. Turns out I knew and liked the Gin Blossoms music the best, didn't know anything by Joss Stone, and James Blunt is a lot more energetic than I would have expected in concert. And for some reason unknown to me, he covered Peter Bjorn and John's "Whistle Song", only minus any whistling. We got to the park around 10:50AM (doors opened at 11) to discover a long line stretching down JFK Drive, but luckily it turned out to not be so bad when we got in - got a good-size spot a reasonable distance from the stage so it wasn't too loud but we weren't super-far, either. I was extremely happy that the day before we'd gone to get lawn/beach chairs from Sports Authority - a 5 hour concert lounging in chairs with $5 toss pillows we'd gotten from Target turned out to be a great way to see things. Admittedly, after the crowd stood up for Joss Stone, we stayed resolutely sitting so I didn't end up *seeing* much (also, I pulled out my book), but it was an enjoyable way to spend the day. The weather was typical SF - went from slightly drizzly and extremely grey when we arrived to bright blue and sunny and almost hot by the time we left. We brought our own sandwich-making materials and a lot of snacks, so I didn't have to pay for any over-priced festival food (plus, they didn't have funnel cake!). They did have a number of booths giving stuff away for free, though.
The Russell Peters show at Cobb's was hilarious. It's always interesting to see the distribution of the audiences to shows, and the audience for his show was very telling - primarily Asian/Indian. It was totally sold out, and the line was already stretching halfway up the next block by the time we arrived almost an hour before the show. We got a great seat - not close enough to the stage for him to pick on us, but close enough to get a great view. They chose an interesting array of comics to open for him - one white guy, one Mexican, one black guy, and one Japanese guy. Definite rainbow there. The Japanese guy I didn't like that much - he had funny jokes that he would then ruin by taking too far, laughing at too hard, or explaining. The other guys were pretty good. Russell Peters was definitely the highlight, though. I'm still unclear how much of the show is pre-scripted and how much is spontaneous (drawing from his pool of jokes) based on the audience responses he gets...and how much is planted (why are people suddenly shouting their nationalities at random points in the show when he doesn't even ask?). But his style is very loose and funny and very interactive. He can get quite insulting when interacting with the audience, but he turns it out all into hilarity. And his accents are great - Indian, Chinese, Filipino, etc. His comedy is largely about race and racial stereotypes (or not even so much stereotypes as inside joke for each culture) and it totally cracks me up.
Monday, September 17, 2007
I'm my own mother!
I recently signed up on broadwayworld.com so I could post about Jersey Boys, and as a consequence have seen more random information about Broadway than I've read in, well, ever. A recent news bit caught my eye and made me realize just how circular and small the theater world can be.
Apparently Lea Salonga (formerly Eponine) is currently playing Fantine on Broadway. And she's going to be replaced by Judy Kuhn, who was Broadway's original Cosette. Not only that, but looking at the current cast list for Les Miz, it says Gary Beach is playing Thenardier. The name is really really familiar...I could have sworn he was in Les Miz ages ago and there *is* someone named "Gary Beach" in the credits of the Complete Symphonic Recording which is definitely over a decade (even two, maybe?) old...
Ye gods! Apparently Daphne Rubin-Vega (the original Mimi in Rent) played Fantine when this production first opened on Broadway. That's so not right...
Apparently Lea Salonga (formerly Eponine) is currently playing Fantine on Broadway. And she's going to be replaced by Judy Kuhn, who was Broadway's original Cosette. Not only that, but looking at the current cast list for Les Miz, it says Gary Beach is playing Thenardier. The name is really really familiar...I could have sworn he was in Les Miz ages ago and there *is* someone named "Gary Beach" in the credits of the Complete Symphonic Recording which is definitely over a decade (even two, maybe?) old...
Ye gods! Apparently Daphne Rubin-Vega (the original Mimi in Rent) played Fantine when this production first opened on Broadway. That's so not right...
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Odd Jersey Boys tribute
The cast I saw Thursday of the Jersey Boys was on the Emmy Awards tonight, doing a tribute to The Sopranos. So I get the Jersey connection (Frankie Valli apparently even guest starred on the Sopranos) but it was just odd, seeing all these clips of people getting beaten or shot or drowning themselves or something juxtaposed with "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You." I'm not sure who thought that one up but I guess the "Jersey Boys" show is best known for that song, "The Sopranos" is a really violent show, so if you're going to show what's well known about each, you put violence over a love song?
I dunno. Anyway. I'm not sure that was the best representation of the show or the cast it could have been, since it seemed to be missing the full sound and energy in that large space, but I'm just glad to finally have a recording of Jarrod Spector as Frankie. Even though the performance seemed to be missing a little something that's there when you see it live. Wish it had been longer...
I dunno. Anyway. I'm not sure that was the best representation of the show or the cast it could have been, since it seemed to be missing the full sound and energy in that large space, but I'm just glad to finally have a recording of Jarrod Spector as Frankie. Even though the performance seemed to be missing a little something that's there when you see it live. Wish it had been longer...
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Who loves you?
I love, love, love the Jersey Boys. Absolutely adore it. The music, the harmonies, the story, the jokes, the energy, everything. Puts a huge smile on my face while I'm watching.
I just came back from seeing the Jersey Boys for the third time at the Curran Theater, first time from rush seats (I arrived at 5pm, I was probably the 8th or 9th person in line?). They aren't kidding when they say the seats are limited view. We were in the front row of the left orchestra - I had the centermost seat of the four of us, and most of my view was blocked everytime they had a bar or table or something set up, and I couldn't see anything from the actors' waists down once they got only halfway back (or barely their heads when they were in the back), and my friends were even further to the left and could see even less. On the other hand, you really get caught up in the energy of the show when you're that close up, watching the spit fly, getting a wink or a glance from a cast member, seeing the glittering moisture in Jarrod Spector's eyes during "Fallen Angel," watching every facial expression cross the actors' faces (when they weren't facing away from you, at least), and almost, almost thinking you could hear their actual voices instead of the projected voices.
I've now seen the original SF cast - Christopher Kale Jones as Frankie, Deven May as Tommy, Miles Aubrey as Bob (Erich Bergen was off that day), and Michael Ingersoll as Nick - from 3rd row center orchestra seats we were lucky enough to snag the day or two before the show. I've seen the new SF cast shortly after they started - Jarrod Spector as Frankie, Jeremy Kushnier as Tommy, Drew Gehling as Bob, and Steve Gouveia as Nick - from balcony seats. And now I've seen the current SF (soon to be Chicago, I believe) cast with Michael Ingersoll as Nick from 1st row left orchestra. Not to mention countless YouTube clips of the Broadway cast. My assessment? It's far, far, better to be close up, to feel more caught up in the energy and the emotion. Center orchestra 3rd row (which probably cost 4x as much as rush seats) are much better than left orchestra 1st row. Jarrod Spector sounds an awful lot like the actual Frankie Valli and his acting is spot on - the emotion feels genuine, his growth from callow youth to mature father very convincing, yet extremely subtle, his quiet strength and barely-restrained anger in the confrontation scene with Tommy believable, and his anguish during "Fallen Angel" palpable. He delivers one of the most beautiful versions of "Fallen Angel" (and "My Eyes Adored You") I've heard, and his voice is fantastic. My only complaint is that I sometimes felt, in both performances I saw of him, that he was a bit too restrained - his falsetto is flawless but doesn't project as strongly as his non-falsetto singing voice so he could get a bit lost in the orchestrations, and he doesn't have the extroverted energy of the rest of the cast (though how he could maintain that for the length of time he's on stage, I don't know). On the other hand, from the recordings I've seen of John Lloyd Young, that could simply be the character. He seems to me to approach the character in a very similar way to JLY. Christopher Kale Jones, on the other hand, was a bundle of joyous energy. Of the three Frankie's I've heard, he's the least authentically Valli sounding, but he has a very powerful falsetto and possibly the best musical theater singing voice (though when Jarrod actually got going on songs like "Beggin'", he was right up there in the projection and energy as well). His energy level was infectious, and it could be b/c it was the first time I saw it, but Sherry/Big Girls Don't Cry/Walk Like a Man was an absolutely incredible energy shot in that first performance in a way that didn't quite hold as true after that. On the other hand, I found his dramatic scenes - the confrontation with Tommy, the "Fallen Angel" scene (though sung beautifully) a bit less convincing. Christopher Kale Jones was a ton of fun to watch, Jarrod Spector is extremely compelling to watch. The funny thing is, the first time I heard both Chris Jones and Jarrod Spector sing as young Frankie, I could not stand their voices - both were far too nasally (and I thought Chris Jones went slightly off key from time to time). It was my bf who suggested that it was a deliberate acting choice to indicate him being young and untrained, I was too busy cringing to interpret =P. I don't know if it's b/c I expected it or b/c he's toned it down, but I didn't think Jarrod's voice was nearly as nasally as young Frankie tonight. At any rate, I would love to see Chris Jones' interpretation of Frankie again now that he's had more time to settle into the role and I'm much more familiar with it, but I'm not *quite* crazy enough to drive out to Sacramento to see the show for the fourth time. It's tempting...
As for the rest of the cast, I have a definite fondness for Deven May as Tommy DeVito - he seemed more dangerous, more edgy, but really played up the sly humor and the broad winking at the audience. Plus I like his voice. However, Jeremy Kushnier brings his own spin to the role and is equally compelling in a different way. He plays Tommy more as an ineffectual blowhard than someone actually dangerous or tough, which I initially found a bit offputting after Deven May's interpretation, but made him backing down to Frankie and the way everyone started dismissing him after a while a lot more believable. Both are awesome and I'm glad I saw them both. Of the Bob Gaudios, Miles Aubrey had a wonderful, wonderful voice, but as a character, I thought Drew Gehling was both more convincing and brought a lot more interpretation to the role. Of course, Aubrey was an understudy so he didn't have night after night to perfect the role, but IMO he also didn't have the right look to play the super-youthful Gaudio early on. I loved his "Cry for Me" and "Oh What a Night" but Drew Gehling also has a wonderful voice and made me laugh harder. His rather overexaggerated but hilarious reactions as the extremely nervous inexperienced youth at the beginning of "Oh What a Night" (and when he first talked to some girls at the bar in his first scene) were priceless. And it was pretty amazing glancing at him as he stood on the catwalk and watched Frankie sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". He was facing me directly from where he stood, and even though he's in the background of the scene, he looks completely proud, and fond, and every emotion you would imagine Bob Gaudio feeling as he watched his best friend sing this song and capture the audience you could see on his face. It had me wondering if he's just a great actor, or if that was actually his genuine emotion watching Jarrod. Pretty cool moment. Though I was a bit distracted at times b/c I think he looks a bit like Todd Eldredge, the figure skater. As for Nick Massi, there's no question about it. Michael Ingersoll's interpretation wins for me hands down. The character can be a bit of a non-entity, in the background all the time but never really exhibiting a really strong sense of who he is in the way the other three do, but Michael Ingersoll brings him to life in his line deliveries, facial expressions, and body language as a slightly offbeat, quirky, precise and fussy, and wistful person. His every line reading is deliberate in the same way he straightens his cuffs, really taking what's in the script about this slightly OCD character and embodying him with dignity and humor. And the way he turns "maybe I should start my own group" into a running joke, just by his delivery and expressions, is awesome. Steve Gouveia's interpretation was far more ordinary guy, and given how in the background Nick Massi already is, it just didn't make him stand out at all. And the "maybe I should start my own group" repetition seemed to just blow over the audience's heads, wasting a great joke. He was good, but I love Michael Ingersoll's version.
Overall, though, it's the music more than anything that keeps me obsessed with this show. I love guys harmonizing anyway but there's something about the Four Seasons music that is just so infectious and addictive. One of the people we talked to in line was waiting for her 3rd show in a row, and had seen the show a total of six times. I'm not quite at that level yet, but boy..it is kind of tempting to go back tomorrow night and try again... ;)
Oh I almost forgot - one funny bit that I don't remember ever seeing in my previous two viewings of the show (maybe they added it, maybe I didn't notice it?) was when Frankie and the guys are singing backup for "Miss Frankie Nolan", at one point Frankie sings backup alone for her, really belting out his part in falsetto, and she starts looking really pissed, waving at him to be quieter, and trying to outsing him, finally giving him a very dirty look as she leaves the stage. In the meantime, he's looking really amused (probably one of the few times you see him laugh on stage) while the other guys are basically laughing and slapping him on the back for it. That was cute. Ah, poor threatened lead singer...
Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night... *goes off singing(
I just came back from seeing the Jersey Boys for the third time at the Curran Theater, first time from rush seats (I arrived at 5pm, I was probably the 8th or 9th person in line?). They aren't kidding when they say the seats are limited view. We were in the front row of the left orchestra - I had the centermost seat of the four of us, and most of my view was blocked everytime they had a bar or table or something set up, and I couldn't see anything from the actors' waists down once they got only halfway back (or barely their heads when they were in the back), and my friends were even further to the left and could see even less. On the other hand, you really get caught up in the energy of the show when you're that close up, watching the spit fly, getting a wink or a glance from a cast member, seeing the glittering moisture in Jarrod Spector's eyes during "Fallen Angel," watching every facial expression cross the actors' faces (when they weren't facing away from you, at least), and almost, almost thinking you could hear their actual voices instead of the projected voices.
I've now seen the original SF cast - Christopher Kale Jones as Frankie, Deven May as Tommy, Miles Aubrey as Bob (Erich Bergen was off that day), and Michael Ingersoll as Nick - from 3rd row center orchestra seats we were lucky enough to snag the day or two before the show. I've seen the new SF cast shortly after they started - Jarrod Spector as Frankie, Jeremy Kushnier as Tommy, Drew Gehling as Bob, and Steve Gouveia as Nick - from balcony seats. And now I've seen the current SF (soon to be Chicago, I believe) cast with Michael Ingersoll as Nick from 1st row left orchestra. Not to mention countless YouTube clips of the Broadway cast. My assessment? It's far, far, better to be close up, to feel more caught up in the energy and the emotion. Center orchestra 3rd row (which probably cost 4x as much as rush seats) are much better than left orchestra 1st row. Jarrod Spector sounds an awful lot like the actual Frankie Valli and his acting is spot on - the emotion feels genuine, his growth from callow youth to mature father very convincing, yet extremely subtle, his quiet strength and barely-restrained anger in the confrontation scene with Tommy believable, and his anguish during "Fallen Angel" palpable. He delivers one of the most beautiful versions of "Fallen Angel" (and "My Eyes Adored You") I've heard, and his voice is fantastic. My only complaint is that I sometimes felt, in both performances I saw of him, that he was a bit too restrained - his falsetto is flawless but doesn't project as strongly as his non-falsetto singing voice so he could get a bit lost in the orchestrations, and he doesn't have the extroverted energy of the rest of the cast (though how he could maintain that for the length of time he's on stage, I don't know). On the other hand, from the recordings I've seen of John Lloyd Young, that could simply be the character. He seems to me to approach the character in a very similar way to JLY. Christopher Kale Jones, on the other hand, was a bundle of joyous energy. Of the three Frankie's I've heard, he's the least authentically Valli sounding, but he has a very powerful falsetto and possibly the best musical theater singing voice (though when Jarrod actually got going on songs like "Beggin'", he was right up there in the projection and energy as well). His energy level was infectious, and it could be b/c it was the first time I saw it, but Sherry/Big Girls Don't Cry/Walk Like a Man was an absolutely incredible energy shot in that first performance in a way that didn't quite hold as true after that. On the other hand, I found his dramatic scenes - the confrontation with Tommy, the "Fallen Angel" scene (though sung beautifully) a bit less convincing. Christopher Kale Jones was a ton of fun to watch, Jarrod Spector is extremely compelling to watch. The funny thing is, the first time I heard both Chris Jones and Jarrod Spector sing as young Frankie, I could not stand their voices - both were far too nasally (and I thought Chris Jones went slightly off key from time to time). It was my bf who suggested that it was a deliberate acting choice to indicate him being young and untrained, I was too busy cringing to interpret =P. I don't know if it's b/c I expected it or b/c he's toned it down, but I didn't think Jarrod's voice was nearly as nasally as young Frankie tonight. At any rate, I would love to see Chris Jones' interpretation of Frankie again now that he's had more time to settle into the role and I'm much more familiar with it, but I'm not *quite* crazy enough to drive out to Sacramento to see the show for the fourth time. It's tempting...
As for the rest of the cast, I have a definite fondness for Deven May as Tommy DeVito - he seemed more dangerous, more edgy, but really played up the sly humor and the broad winking at the audience. Plus I like his voice. However, Jeremy Kushnier brings his own spin to the role and is equally compelling in a different way. He plays Tommy more as an ineffectual blowhard than someone actually dangerous or tough, which I initially found a bit offputting after Deven May's interpretation, but made him backing down to Frankie and the way everyone started dismissing him after a while a lot more believable. Both are awesome and I'm glad I saw them both. Of the Bob Gaudios, Miles Aubrey had a wonderful, wonderful voice, but as a character, I thought Drew Gehling was both more convincing and brought a lot more interpretation to the role. Of course, Aubrey was an understudy so he didn't have night after night to perfect the role, but IMO he also didn't have the right look to play the super-youthful Gaudio early on. I loved his "Cry for Me" and "Oh What a Night" but Drew Gehling also has a wonderful voice and made me laugh harder. His rather overexaggerated but hilarious reactions as the extremely nervous inexperienced youth at the beginning of "Oh What a Night" (and when he first talked to some girls at the bar in his first scene) were priceless. And it was pretty amazing glancing at him as he stood on the catwalk and watched Frankie sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". He was facing me directly from where he stood, and even though he's in the background of the scene, he looks completely proud, and fond, and every emotion you would imagine Bob Gaudio feeling as he watched his best friend sing this song and capture the audience you could see on his face. It had me wondering if he's just a great actor, or if that was actually his genuine emotion watching Jarrod. Pretty cool moment. Though I was a bit distracted at times b/c I think he looks a bit like Todd Eldredge, the figure skater. As for Nick Massi, there's no question about it. Michael Ingersoll's interpretation wins for me hands down. The character can be a bit of a non-entity, in the background all the time but never really exhibiting a really strong sense of who he is in the way the other three do, but Michael Ingersoll brings him to life in his line deliveries, facial expressions, and body language as a slightly offbeat, quirky, precise and fussy, and wistful person. His every line reading is deliberate in the same way he straightens his cuffs, really taking what's in the script about this slightly OCD character and embodying him with dignity and humor. And the way he turns "maybe I should start my own group" into a running joke, just by his delivery and expressions, is awesome. Steve Gouveia's interpretation was far more ordinary guy, and given how in the background Nick Massi already is, it just didn't make him stand out at all. And the "maybe I should start my own group" repetition seemed to just blow over the audience's heads, wasting a great joke. He was good, but I love Michael Ingersoll's version.
Overall, though, it's the music more than anything that keeps me obsessed with this show. I love guys harmonizing anyway but there's something about the Four Seasons music that is just so infectious and addictive. One of the people we talked to in line was waiting for her 3rd show in a row, and had seen the show a total of six times. I'm not quite at that level yet, but boy..it is kind of tempting to go back tomorrow night and try again... ;)
Oh I almost forgot - one funny bit that I don't remember ever seeing in my previous two viewings of the show (maybe they added it, maybe I didn't notice it?) was when Frankie and the guys are singing backup for "Miss Frankie Nolan", at one point Frankie sings backup alone for her, really belting out his part in falsetto, and she starts looking really pissed, waving at him to be quieter, and trying to outsing him, finally giving him a very dirty look as she leaves the stage. In the meantime, he's looking really amused (probably one of the few times you see him laugh on stage) while the other guys are basically laughing and slapping him on the back for it. That was cute. Ah, poor threatened lead singer...
Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night... *goes off singing(
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
How far is heaven?
Los Lonely Boys sure put on a good show. High energy, great harmonies, a rockin' guitar (or bass, or both) solo in every song, special guest appearance by their dad on two songs, and a very show-off but impressive encore where they played the hell out of their instruments, out of each other's instruments, simultaneously out of their own instruments and each others' instruments, and then played the guitar and bass one-handed (I guess for the electric instruments you don't actually need to pluck the strings??) and behind their heads...
Apparently for the Fillmore you either need to get there super-early to claim one of the very few tables/chairs along the balcony (and I think you may have to order food) or you may as well not try to get there early at all, since it's pretty much standing only, with just a few half-walls around you can sit on. I'm a lame concert goer - my knees hurt too easily while standing and I'd rather be sitting. Still, Los Lonely Boys got me moving around enough that it wasn't nearly as bad on my knees as I had feared.
Dinner was at Little Star Pizza (846 Divisadero, between Fulton and McAllister), reportedly the best deep dish pizza in SF. Having never tried any other pizza in SF I couldn't really judge the merits of that statement. It *was* very yummy, but quite different than the deep dish pizza I've had in the past. The crusts I'm used to are like Pizzeria Unos (which I love) - buttery and I guess chewy. Little Star's crust was some kind of cornmeal, actually kind of crunchy and a lot less greasy. Not exactly what I love in a pizza crust but it was good. It was also less cheesy and more tomato-ey than I'm used to. The sauce was good, though, and sufficiently buried the Italian sausage (which I usually can't stand, or maybe the sausage here was particularly good) that I could eat our Classic (sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions) without picking anything off and enjoy it. It's not exactly the type of deep dish I like best, but I do recommend it. Apparently there's usually a huge wait on weekends but if you get there at 6pm on a Tuesday like we did, it's fairly empty.
Apparently for the Fillmore you either need to get there super-early to claim one of the very few tables/chairs along the balcony (and I think you may have to order food) or you may as well not try to get there early at all, since it's pretty much standing only, with just a few half-walls around you can sit on. I'm a lame concert goer - my knees hurt too easily while standing and I'd rather be sitting. Still, Los Lonely Boys got me moving around enough that it wasn't nearly as bad on my knees as I had feared.
Dinner was at Little Star Pizza (846 Divisadero, between Fulton and McAllister), reportedly the best deep dish pizza in SF. Having never tried any other pizza in SF I couldn't really judge the merits of that statement. It *was* very yummy, but quite different than the deep dish pizza I've had in the past. The crusts I'm used to are like Pizzeria Unos (which I love) - buttery and I guess chewy. Little Star's crust was some kind of cornmeal, actually kind of crunchy and a lot less greasy. Not exactly what I love in a pizza crust but it was good. It was also less cheesy and more tomato-ey than I'm used to. The sauce was good, though, and sufficiently buried the Italian sausage (which I usually can't stand, or maybe the sausage here was particularly good) that I could eat our Classic (sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions) without picking anything off and enjoy it. It's not exactly the type of deep dish I like best, but I do recommend it. Apparently there's usually a huge wait on weekends but if you get there at 6pm on a Tuesday like we did, it's fairly empty.
Monday, September 10, 2007
More SF doings...
Other stuff I've done around SF this past weekend:
- Went to the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival on Saturday. Less chocolate than you would think - only Ghiradelli actually had chocolate chocolate, and that was their chocolate squares. Everyone else had chocolate-related desserts, I guess. I ended up having a Ghiradelli sundae (small but yummy), banana mango sorbet (ok, not the best I've had) from Ciao Bella Gelato, chocolate malt (mmmm) from Lori's Diner, chocolate truffle cake with raspberry and whipped cream on top (not bad) from McCormick & Kuleto's, 3 small samples of cookies from Kit's cookies (Pecan Rum Raisin w/ chocolate chips, cashew coconut with dark chocolate chips, and cranberry walnut with white chocolate chips) which were all right, and then used up the rest of the tastings on Victoria's Toffee (had it last night, very yummy), and Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares. My favorite was probably the sundae, actually, even though it was your basic vanilla with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry. The chocolate was delicious, though. I also ended up spending more money than I should have buying two pretty glass beads that I've made into a choker and a necklace/choker thing. Had a good time, though!
- On Sunday, a friend and I went to the free San Francisco Opera in the Park concert. We got quite a good spot, almost centered, right behind the paved path running 2/3 of the way back from the stage, so we had no one directly in front of us and a good, if slightly far view of the stage. Not that we were really watching the stage. We both had books and a bunch of snacks, and spent a relaxing afternoon with good music in the background, a good book, and constant eating.
I really need to eat less...
- Went to the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival on Saturday. Less chocolate than you would think - only Ghiradelli actually had chocolate chocolate, and that was their chocolate squares. Everyone else had chocolate-related desserts, I guess. I ended up having a Ghiradelli sundae (small but yummy), banana mango sorbet (ok, not the best I've had) from Ciao Bella Gelato, chocolate malt (mmmm) from Lori's Diner, chocolate truffle cake with raspberry and whipped cream on top (not bad) from McCormick & Kuleto's, 3 small samples of cookies from Kit's cookies (Pecan Rum Raisin w/ chocolate chips, cashew coconut with dark chocolate chips, and cranberry walnut with white chocolate chips) which were all right, and then used up the rest of the tastings on Victoria's Toffee (had it last night, very yummy), and Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares. My favorite was probably the sundae, actually, even though it was your basic vanilla with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry. The chocolate was delicious, though. I also ended up spending more money than I should have buying two pretty glass beads that I've made into a choker and a necklace/choker thing. Had a good time, though!
- On Sunday, a friend and I went to the free San Francisco Opera in the Park concert. We got quite a good spot, almost centered, right behind the paved path running 2/3 of the way back from the stage, so we had no one directly in front of us and a good, if slightly far view of the stage. Not that we were really watching the stage. We both had books and a bunch of snacks, and spent a relaxing afternoon with good music in the background, a good book, and constant eating.
I really need to eat less...
Another night only...
I seem to always decide to do these things very last minute. I knew that there was to be a "One Night Only" cabaret featuring the cast of Mamma Mia but I hadn't really thought I'd go before - I like Mamma Mia but not like I like Avenue Q & Jersey Boys. But once again, day of, I found myself spontaneously deciding to go, this time with my sister.
Hmm blogspot outage in 15 minutes.
Briefly then, the show wasn't nearly as funny as the Jersey Boys/Avenue Q one, it didn't have any kind of attempt at a plot, and it didn't have nearly as much recognizable music to me. That being said, it was still a very entertaining show, and the cast did an amazing job putting it together. We certainly got our money's worth - the show was almost 2.5 hours, without an intermission. There were practically no in-betweens, it was just song after song after song. There were solos, many of which were written by the singers, some of which were from musicals or otherwise, and the singers were all fantastic. A couple of these were really funny, like "Misfit's Lament" about the gay man singing about how out of place he felt, trying sports, etc, until he got to San Francisco and found guys who made *him* look masculine, or a hilarious Bernadette Peters impression. But the great stuff, IMO, were the group numbers. There were soloists with backup singers who almost made group numbers, like a very sexy version of Sway, or the powerful "Midnight Radio", and the fantastic fun scatting in "The Ability to Swing" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head". There was a great performance of "Son of a Preacher Man," and a very funny "A Taste of Chocolate." There was a funny trio of guys singing to "Buff" about how all they did was work out. But the very best number of the night, IMO, was "Mamma's Boyz", with five of the guys dressed up as a boy band, with choreographed moves, breakout solo bits, hilarious poses, and an awesomely excellent medley of Mamma Mia songs, arranged into almost unrecognizable but amazingly sung boy band harmonies. Totally frickin' awesome and what made the night completely worth it.
The show definitely picked up in the second half, and it was a great, fun night of music.
Oh, almost forgot, special guests were Sharon McNight, who was very funny, and Deborah Gibson, who I was amused to see lists Skating with Celebrities among her accomplishments (along with her musical theater credits). She came out saying her outfit (a shimmering gold shirt) was from the skating show, accompanied by a sort-of waltz jump on stage. She is quite the performer, totally playing to the audience singing "Greatest Star" and then performing a lovely version of her old hit "Lost in Your Eyes" while accompanying herself on the keyboard. Sort of shows why she is still out there performing after her 80's heyday ended - actual musical talent and a tremendous voice.
Dinner was at Cafe Divine (1600 Stockton St between Filbert and Union). Despite being almost empty and us saying we were in a hurry, they weren't that fast to take our orders or to bring us our food, but they were nice. My quiche was quite good. Water was odd - came out of a wine bottle and it tasted like they didn't wash the wine bottle before putting the water in. We were in too much of a hurry to really assess this place. Just eat and run...
Hmm blogspot outage in 15 minutes.
Briefly then, the show wasn't nearly as funny as the Jersey Boys/Avenue Q one, it didn't have any kind of attempt at a plot, and it didn't have nearly as much recognizable music to me. That being said, it was still a very entertaining show, and the cast did an amazing job putting it together. We certainly got our money's worth - the show was almost 2.5 hours, without an intermission. There were practically no in-betweens, it was just song after song after song. There were solos, many of which were written by the singers, some of which were from musicals or otherwise, and the singers were all fantastic. A couple of these were really funny, like "Misfit's Lament" about the gay man singing about how out of place he felt, trying sports, etc, until he got to San Francisco and found guys who made *him* look masculine, or a hilarious Bernadette Peters impression. But the great stuff, IMO, were the group numbers. There were soloists with backup singers who almost made group numbers, like a very sexy version of Sway, or the powerful "Midnight Radio", and the fantastic fun scatting in "The Ability to Swing" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head". There was a great performance of "Son of a Preacher Man," and a very funny "A Taste of Chocolate." There was a funny trio of guys singing to "Buff" about how all they did was work out. But the very best number of the night, IMO, was "Mamma's Boyz", with five of the guys dressed up as a boy band, with choreographed moves, breakout solo bits, hilarious poses, and an awesomely excellent medley of Mamma Mia songs, arranged into almost unrecognizable but amazingly sung boy band harmonies. Totally frickin' awesome and what made the night completely worth it.
The show definitely picked up in the second half, and it was a great, fun night of music.
Oh, almost forgot, special guests were Sharon McNight, who was very funny, and Deborah Gibson, who I was amused to see lists Skating with Celebrities among her accomplishments (along with her musical theater credits). She came out saying her outfit (a shimmering gold shirt) was from the skating show, accompanied by a sort-of waltz jump on stage. She is quite the performer, totally playing to the audience singing "Greatest Star" and then performing a lovely version of her old hit "Lost in Your Eyes" while accompanying herself on the keyboard. Sort of shows why she is still out there performing after her 80's heyday ended - actual musical talent and a tremendous voice.
Dinner was at Cafe Divine (1600 Stockton St between Filbert and Union). Despite being almost empty and us saying we were in a hurry, they weren't that fast to take our orders or to bring us our food, but they were nice. My quiche was quite good. Water was odd - came out of a wine bottle and it tasted like they didn't wash the wine bottle before putting the water in. We were in too much of a hurry to really assess this place. Just eat and run...
Friday, August 24, 2007
All That Jazz
Apparently living in the city doesn't just mean we spontaneously go to events in the city, it also means we spontaneously go to events in Oakland.
Last night, two of my bf's coworkers, my bf, and I hopped BART to see James Carter, a saxophonist, and his "sax-tet" at Yoshi's in Oakland. I'm not really a jazz fan, don't really understand well enough to appreciate the music, but it was still an interesting night out. James Carter is apparently quite a famous saxophonist who seems to really like to explore every possible sound his instrument can make, from the sweetest, purest notes, to the loudest squawks and squeaks, to sustaining a note for long past when you think any human being could reasonably produce air and not need to breathe... His audience was highly appreciative, laughing at the expressive squawks and squeaks, cheering his super-fast, frenetic playing, and rocking their heads to the music. He was accompanied by a guy on the trumpet, an insane player on the piano, an awesome bassist (he played that bass like a piano, or something, every finger working away), a frenetic drummer (is there such a thing as a fat drummer? They get a full body workout!), and a musician who played a bit of everything - flute, a xylophone-looking instrument he was crazily good at, a number of percussive instruments... It's not really my style of music but it was neat to see. And it's interesting how each song is like 15 minutes long, so when they did their encore after an hour 15 minute long set, they basically extended their set by 20% (or whatever the math is). Pretty cool.
We had dinner at Everett & Jones BBQ, a couple blocks away. It was all right... Memphis Minnie's is better.
Last night, two of my bf's coworkers, my bf, and I hopped BART to see James Carter, a saxophonist, and his "sax-tet" at Yoshi's in Oakland. I'm not really a jazz fan, don't really understand well enough to appreciate the music, but it was still an interesting night out. James Carter is apparently quite a famous saxophonist who seems to really like to explore every possible sound his instrument can make, from the sweetest, purest notes, to the loudest squawks and squeaks, to sustaining a note for long past when you think any human being could reasonably produce air and not need to breathe... His audience was highly appreciative, laughing at the expressive squawks and squeaks, cheering his super-fast, frenetic playing, and rocking their heads to the music. He was accompanied by a guy on the trumpet, an insane player on the piano, an awesome bassist (he played that bass like a piano, or something, every finger working away), a frenetic drummer (is there such a thing as a fat drummer? They get a full body workout!), and a musician who played a bit of everything - flute, a xylophone-looking instrument he was crazily good at, a number of percussive instruments... It's not really my style of music but it was neat to see. And it's interesting how each song is like 15 minutes long, so when they did their encore after an hour 15 minute long set, they basically extended their set by 20% (or whatever the math is). Pretty cool.
We had dinner at Everett & Jones BBQ, a couple blocks away. It was all right... Memphis Minnie's is better.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
One Night Only
This is one of those times when living and working in the city is really awesome. Yesterday, I found out quite randomly that the casts of Avenue Q and Jersey Boys were doing a "One Night Only Cabaret" benefiting a number of AIDS groups at the Post Street Theatre by Union Square that very night. Jersey Boys is one of my favorite shows I've seen in recent memory (saw it twice in SF - once with the original "Sherry" touring cast with Christopher Kale Jones as Frankie, and once with the new touring cast with Jarrod Spector as Frankie), and I loved Avenue Q when we saw it on Broadway last year. I immediately emailed my bf asking if he wanted to go, and was soon on the phone getting tickets.
The show was so much fun. The two casts obviously worked hard on putting together a very entertaining evening of song and dance, linked by the overarching "storyline" that the Four Seasons were auditioning to cast their newest touring production (the Utica cast) of Jersey Boys. The funniest songs all had to do with sex, of course, from Jake? from the Jersey Boys cast singing a country song about how "you're not gay unless you take it, but if you take it then, *poof* you're gay" (singing to the repressed Rod puppet character from Avenue Q) to a really amusing dual guitar act where an obviously sexually sucky guy with a disinterested partner is singing about how Wednesday night is the night they make love, and narrating the whole (2 minute encounter) including how brushing their teeth was foreplay... The songs I enjoyed most, though, were the tweaks and takeoffs on actual Jersey Boys and Avenue Q songs or characters. The show opened with the Avenue Q cast (in character) singing "I Hope I Get It" from The Chorus Line, with lyrics substituted for puppets and Jersey Boys-related stuff. A couple swings from Jersey Boys (including the one playing Nick Massi last night, b/c Michael Ingersoll was busy, something they "mocked" him for a few times), the Frankie stand-in (2 shows a week), Joe Pesci actor, and the actress who played Francine sang a hilarious version of Avenue Q's "It Sucks To Be Me" about how it sucked for them in the cast of the Jersey Boys (with the guys finally deferring to the lone Jersey Girl as having the suckiest position). The four leads from Jersey Boys sang a hilarious medley of "guy flick" songs, integrating Jersey Boy choreography and going through songs like "Eye of the Tiger," "Highway to the Danger Zone," and a whole bunch of other recognizable, hilarious songs, culminating with "Walk Like a Man." Rod from Avenue Q also sang a jumbled medley of a whole lot of varied songs that was hilarious, but which I can't recall specifics of at the moment. Rod and Nicky also sang "You're a Top" to each other, specifically to reassure Rod of his manliness. The women of both casts sang "I'm a Woman" with great power and strength, the three black women from the Avenue Q sang about how white boys were so pretty... Seth and Jennie from the cast of Avenue Q sang a hilarious argument song about how "I'm not mad that you were mad that I thought that you thought that..." etc etc... Another woman from Avenue Q opened the second half of the show with "If I Had a month/week/day to live"... "Mary Delgado" seized her 3 minutes and 28 seconds in the sun to sing a solo (forgot what it was)... Some of the more random notes of the evening was one of the Jersey Boys cast members singing a Gnarls Barkley song, a Jersey Boys band? member singing a Little Richard medley, Jarrod Spector in character as Frankie singing a love song to Kate Monster that didn't quite work for me... The topper of the evening, though, which they obviously realized since they left it for almost last, was Trekkie Monster, auditioning for the role of Frankie Valli, singing "You boobs too good to be true" (ie "Can't Take My Eyes off of You") with lyrics that just got more and more hilarious, culminating in him pissing off Mary Delgado, who kneed him in the groin, leading to the falsetto of the last line. It was awesome.
Halfway through the show, they did a live auction with a number of donated items (a trip for 2 to Hawaii, two first class tickets anywhere from Canada to Central America that Continental Airlines flew). The most popular items were the two related to the shows, though. One package was to see Avenue Q, get a backstage tour with the chance to meet the cast, and dinner for two. Another was for two souvenir packs from Avenue Q (which originally were packaged with the show tickets) which Jeremy Kushnier (Tommy DeVito) actually ended up winning, b/c the bids weren't going high enough. The one that got the most active bidding, b/c the Jersey Boys (who were the auctioneers) obviously had pre-planned sweetening the pot, kept adding more and more to it. It was originally lunch for 4 with Jarrod Spector (Frankie) and Michael Ingersoll (Nick Massi), along with signed Jersey Boys gear, two tickets to the next "One Night Only Caberet" (with the cast of Mamma Mia), and two tickets to "Blues in the Night" (the usual show that plays at the Post Street Theatre). As the bidding went up, first Drew Gehling (Bob Gaudio) and then Jeremy Kushnier (Tommy DeVito) offered to come along to the lunch... then Jarrod threw in a special "Walk like a Man" T-shirt signed by the whole cast that was from the AIDS walk they did earlier this year, then more signed gear, and then offered to sing "Sherry" at lunch..and finally, when they had a bid for $1400, managed to get someone else to match the bid, getting a total of $2800 for 8 people now to come to lunch with all four Jersey Boys, plus get all the gear.
The show closed with the entire cast singing "Dreams", a song written by someone who'd passed away for his daughter's graduation. It was quite sweet and pretty.
Overally it was a really great show and I am *so* glad I discovered it was happening the day of instead of the day afterwards. In the above I know I've left out songs and gotten the order of stuff completely wrong, but what's important was, the two casts put together an excellent show, and we had a lot of fun watching it.
Oh, and on the note of restaurants, we went to Siam Thai at 167 Mason Street (between Ellis and Eddy). It was good - I had a BBQ pork wonton/egg noodle soup dish (not what I would usually get at Thai) and my bf had the BBQ pork fried rice and we both enjoyed our dishes. Also cheap. However, must take note - we went to the one in the Parc 55 Hotel. There's a Siam Thai Noodle directly across the street which is much more hole in the wall (though appears to have the same pricing/menu)... I think the Yelp reviews are for both. I went to the Siam Thai Noodle, not seeing the one in Parc 55...my bf went straight to the one on the hotel, having read that it was there..neither of us saw the other restaurant until the other one pointed it out. Something to keep in mind if you decide to check out this place right on the border of the Tenderloin....
The show was so much fun. The two casts obviously worked hard on putting together a very entertaining evening of song and dance, linked by the overarching "storyline" that the Four Seasons were auditioning to cast their newest touring production (the Utica cast) of Jersey Boys. The funniest songs all had to do with sex, of course, from Jake? from the Jersey Boys cast singing a country song about how "you're not gay unless you take it, but if you take it then, *poof* you're gay" (singing to the repressed Rod puppet character from Avenue Q) to a really amusing dual guitar act where an obviously sexually sucky guy with a disinterested partner is singing about how Wednesday night is the night they make love, and narrating the whole (2 minute encounter) including how brushing their teeth was foreplay... The songs I enjoyed most, though, were the tweaks and takeoffs on actual Jersey Boys and Avenue Q songs or characters. The show opened with the Avenue Q cast (in character) singing "I Hope I Get It" from The Chorus Line, with lyrics substituted for puppets and Jersey Boys-related stuff. A couple swings from Jersey Boys (including the one playing Nick Massi last night, b/c Michael Ingersoll was busy, something they "mocked" him for a few times), the Frankie stand-in (2 shows a week), Joe Pesci actor, and the actress who played Francine sang a hilarious version of Avenue Q's "It Sucks To Be Me" about how it sucked for them in the cast of the Jersey Boys (with the guys finally deferring to the lone Jersey Girl as having the suckiest position). The four leads from Jersey Boys sang a hilarious medley of "guy flick" songs, integrating Jersey Boy choreography and going through songs like "Eye of the Tiger," "Highway to the Danger Zone," and a whole bunch of other recognizable, hilarious songs, culminating with "Walk Like a Man." Rod from Avenue Q also sang a jumbled medley of a whole lot of varied songs that was hilarious, but which I can't recall specifics of at the moment. Rod and Nicky also sang "You're a Top" to each other, specifically to reassure Rod of his manliness. The women of both casts sang "I'm a Woman" with great power and strength, the three black women from the Avenue Q sang about how white boys were so pretty... Seth and Jennie from the cast of Avenue Q sang a hilarious argument song about how "I'm not mad that you were mad that I thought that you thought that..." etc etc... Another woman from Avenue Q opened the second half of the show with "If I Had a month/week/day to live"... "Mary Delgado" seized her 3 minutes and 28 seconds in the sun to sing a solo (forgot what it was)... Some of the more random notes of the evening was one of the Jersey Boys cast members singing a Gnarls Barkley song, a Jersey Boys band? member singing a Little Richard medley, Jarrod Spector in character as Frankie singing a love song to Kate Monster that didn't quite work for me... The topper of the evening, though, which they obviously realized since they left it for almost last, was Trekkie Monster, auditioning for the role of Frankie Valli, singing "You boobs too good to be true" (ie "Can't Take My Eyes off of You") with lyrics that just got more and more hilarious, culminating in him pissing off Mary Delgado, who kneed him in the groin, leading to the falsetto of the last line. It was awesome.
Halfway through the show, they did a live auction with a number of donated items (a trip for 2 to Hawaii, two first class tickets anywhere from Canada to Central America that Continental Airlines flew). The most popular items were the two related to the shows, though. One package was to see Avenue Q, get a backstage tour with the chance to meet the cast, and dinner for two. Another was for two souvenir packs from Avenue Q (which originally were packaged with the show tickets) which Jeremy Kushnier (Tommy DeVito) actually ended up winning, b/c the bids weren't going high enough. The one that got the most active bidding, b/c the Jersey Boys (who were the auctioneers) obviously had pre-planned sweetening the pot, kept adding more and more to it. It was originally lunch for 4 with Jarrod Spector (Frankie) and Michael Ingersoll (Nick Massi), along with signed Jersey Boys gear, two tickets to the next "One Night Only Caberet" (with the cast of Mamma Mia), and two tickets to "Blues in the Night" (the usual show that plays at the Post Street Theatre). As the bidding went up, first Drew Gehling (Bob Gaudio) and then Jeremy Kushnier (Tommy DeVito) offered to come along to the lunch... then Jarrod threw in a special "Walk like a Man" T-shirt signed by the whole cast that was from the AIDS walk they did earlier this year, then more signed gear, and then offered to sing "Sherry" at lunch..and finally, when they had a bid for $1400, managed to get someone else to match the bid, getting a total of $2800 for 8 people now to come to lunch with all four Jersey Boys, plus get all the gear.
The show closed with the entire cast singing "Dreams", a song written by someone who'd passed away for his daughter's graduation. It was quite sweet and pretty.
Overally it was a really great show and I am *so* glad I discovered it was happening the day of instead of the day afterwards. In the above I know I've left out songs and gotten the order of stuff completely wrong, but what's important was, the two casts put together an excellent show, and we had a lot of fun watching it.
Oh, and on the note of restaurants, we went to Siam Thai at 167 Mason Street (between Ellis and Eddy). It was good - I had a BBQ pork wonton/egg noodle soup dish (not what I would usually get at Thai) and my bf had the BBQ pork fried rice and we both enjoyed our dishes. Also cheap. However, must take note - we went to the one in the Parc 55 Hotel. There's a Siam Thai Noodle directly across the street which is much more hole in the wall (though appears to have the same pricing/menu)... I think the Yelp reviews are for both. I went to the Siam Thai Noodle, not seeing the one in Parc 55...my bf went straight to the one on the hotel, having read that it was there..neither of us saw the other restaurant until the other one pointed it out. Something to keep in mind if you decide to check out this place right on the border of the Tenderloin....
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Stephen King
Stephen King is a horror novelist. That's what most people know about him, that's what he's famous for. And though I've read most of his horror novels (I once won an ebay lot of some 40 books of his for like $50 so I've got a lot of Stephen King), my favorite books of his, what keeps me reading him, are his non-horror stories.
What? You ask. Stephen King writes things other than horror?
Why, yes. Yes, he does.
Ever see The Shawshank Redemption, that great movie starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman?
Based on a Stephen King novella. Which happens to be one of my favorite pieces of writing that he's ever done. The movie actually stayed remarkably true to the novella, with Morgan Freeman's voice as the voice of the narrating character, Red (who was named that b/c he was a redhead in the novella), preserving the tone and sense of character and underlying heart of the story.
My absolute favorite Stephen King book is The Dead Zone, without a doubt. In this case, forget the movie, forget the TV show. The movie was faithful to the book, the TV show is decidedly not, but neither, IMO, captured the character of Johnny Smith. The regular, likable guy blessed..or cursed..by precognitive powers, who tries to just live his life and leave others alone but finds himself drawn by circumstance, or destiny, or something into unavoidable tragedy. I really like the character of Johnny Smith, and I find myself really feeling for him, and really hit poignantly by the last chapter of the book. The reason I dismiss the movie is Christopher Walken, no matter how hard he tries, is as far from my image of a normal, regular guy as can be, so I just can't believe him in the role. Anthony Michael Hall does the regular guy with the sense of humor better, but the show is completely divergent from the book and I watch it as a completely different story an set of characters.
In both stories, it's the simple language, the richly drawn characters, the *heart* that really draws me in. I care about these people. And it's Stephen King's writing that makes me care.
The thing is, the use of language, the characterization, the descriptions, the writing..it's all there in his other novels. I think it's why he's so popular over all those other horror writers out there. But I like it best when it's unadorned by the horror trappings, when he's just writing about ordinary life and people living their lives.
Though, Stephen King has also written a number of novels I'd label as more fantasy than horror, which I've also enjoyed (though he's more graphic and gross than any fantasy writer at times). Eyes of the Dragon, the whole Dark Tower series...The Talisman and its sequel Black House...
What? You ask. Stephen King writes things other than horror?
Why, yes. Yes, he does.
Ever see The Shawshank Redemption, that great movie starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman?
Based on a Stephen King novella. Which happens to be one of my favorite pieces of writing that he's ever done. The movie actually stayed remarkably true to the novella, with Morgan Freeman's voice as the voice of the narrating character, Red (who was named that b/c he was a redhead in the novella), preserving the tone and sense of character and underlying heart of the story.
My absolute favorite Stephen King book is The Dead Zone, without a doubt. In this case, forget the movie, forget the TV show. The movie was faithful to the book, the TV show is decidedly not, but neither, IMO, captured the character of Johnny Smith. The regular, likable guy blessed..or cursed..by precognitive powers, who tries to just live his life and leave others alone but finds himself drawn by circumstance, or destiny, or something into unavoidable tragedy. I really like the character of Johnny Smith, and I find myself really feeling for him, and really hit poignantly by the last chapter of the book. The reason I dismiss the movie is Christopher Walken, no matter how hard he tries, is as far from my image of a normal, regular guy as can be, so I just can't believe him in the role. Anthony Michael Hall does the regular guy with the sense of humor better, but the show is completely divergent from the book and I watch it as a completely different story an set of characters.
In both stories, it's the simple language, the richly drawn characters, the *heart* that really draws me in. I care about these people. And it's Stephen King's writing that makes me care.
The thing is, the use of language, the characterization, the descriptions, the writing..it's all there in his other novels. I think it's why he's so popular over all those other horror writers out there. But I like it best when it's unadorned by the horror trappings, when he's just writing about ordinary life and people living their lives.
Though, Stephen King has also written a number of novels I'd label as more fantasy than horror, which I've also enjoyed (though he's more graphic and gross than any fantasy writer at times). Eyes of the Dragon, the whole Dark Tower series...The Talisman and its sequel Black House...
Monday, August 13, 2007
Bourne Ultimatum
Just got back from the Bourne Ultimatum...kickass awesome movie. Loved it. Love the Bourne series. Just nonstop action start to finish, but good, tense, fairly smart action. Good stuff.
Blogger is being a pain in the ass. So no more posting about how Ploy II is a yummy Thai place in the Haight until later...
Blogger is being a pain in the ass. So no more posting about how Ploy II is a yummy Thai place in the Haight until later...
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