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Archive for the ‘Film & TV’ Category

Blue Man Group (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, May 25, 2022)

Posted in Arrested Development, Blue Man Group, New Brunswick, NJ, State Theatre on May 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 25, 2022] Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group began in 1987. In 1997 I was working in New York City in Greenwich Village and every day I thought I would love to check out this crazy looking show.

I never did.

Over the years, Blue Man Group became a phenomenon, a punchline and much more.  I had no idea that in 2017 it was purchased by Cirque de Soliel.  It even became a plot line on Arrested Development.

And all that time I still thought that I’d like to experience the show.

So when State Theatre announced that Blue Man Group was touring, I purchased tickets for the four of us, figuring we would all enjoy it.  I gather that in the 35 years the show has changed, but some things are still the same.  They’re still all in Blue.  There are still marshmallows.  There’s still music and there’s still a kind of sensory overload.

The set was wild with lights flashing and scaffolding and walls on either side that were designed for climbing.  The set is lit up long before the Blue Men come out and you can really study everything that’s up there.  We were pretty far back so we couldn’t see it very closely.  But there were screens with Pong on it and other things that seemed futuristic and retro at the same time.

I knew that the Blue Man Group played music–they have even done a Tiny Desk.  And that they make a lot of their own instruments (mostly weird things out of PVC).  I didn’t realize there would be a (really loud, rocking) backing band [apparently Corky Gainsford on guitar Chris Reiss on the strings and drummer Chris Schultz].

Audience participation is a fun thing with the Blue Man Group.  There are parts that are clearly scripted–bits in which they come out an interact with the audience.  But there are also ways in which the audience’s reactions result in the Blue Men reacting in turn–as if they are aliens unsure about what to make of the audience in general.

And I think that’s what makes the whole thing so magical.  The three guys really do keep in character the whole time–and that character is truly alien.  Truly like beings from another world doing their thing, trying to communicate with humans in some way.  It is strangely affecting and strangely moving. (more…)

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Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini: An Evening with Mouth Congress (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Paul Bellini, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Scott Thompson, The Kids in the Hall on May 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 21, 2022] Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini: An Evening with Mouth Congress

I love PhilaMOCA and can’t believe how many of their shows I’ve had to miss since they reopened.

Of course this one I wouldn’t have missed ina million years.  Except I didn’t even HEAR about it until it was long sold out.  [Plus, we went to Music Man on Broadway so I wasn’t around].

So what the hell was this?  And are you telling me that for an extra $15 I could have met a Kid in the Hall?

PhilaMOCA is excited to host The Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson and KITH writer Paul Bellini for a documentary screening and reunion performance of their 1980s gay punk band Mouth Congress! This is not a tour, this is a one-off just for Philly proudly organized in-house by PhilaMOCA!

The event will feature a screening of the pseudo-documentary MOUTH CONGRESS followed by a live performance, sketches, and a Q&A with Thompson and Bellini.

About Mouth Congress:
Mouth Congress was formed in a basement in November of 1984 when Paul Bellini rented a beatbox from an audio store. He wanted to experiment with sounds and try his hand at songwriting with his sister’s boyfriend, guitarist Rob Rowatt, and her high school buddy, bassist Gord Disley. Their cacophony immediately drew the attention of Scott Thompson, who at the time was on the cusp of joining a local comedy troupe called The Kids in the Hall. Since they only had the beatbox for a month, they recorded dozens of sketches for songs. Then, about ten months later, they made their stage debut with Brian Hiltz’s band I Want functioning as back-up. From start to finish, Bellini either tape-recorded or video-taped everything the band ever did, from jam sessions to costume fittings to lyric-writing sessions to live shows. This dragged on for about 4 years, so you can imagine how much media he accumulated. But by 1991, both Thompson and Bellini were so preoccupied with their work on The Kids in the Hall television series that they quietly put all the Mouth Congress media into a deep, dark hallway closet. They didn’t forget about it, though. For years, Bellini pondered the idea of making a film about the band. Then, in 2011, he dug all this stuff out of the closet, showed it to Thompson, and the two men set about trying to shape it all into something.

Synopsis:
It’s a cold, snowy night in Toronto. Melancholy, an 8-year old girl, is spending the night at her Uncle Kevin’s place. Uncle Kevin is Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall. After a day of Josef von Sternberg cosplay (he dons an ape suit like Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus), Uncle Kevin sets Melancholy up in his den to watch a DVD of a movie he was in called Lilo & Stitch.

But Melancholy isn’t interested in Lilo & Stitch. Instead, she finds an old VHS tape labelled Mouth Congress and her curiosity gets the best of her. As she watches the first five minutes of this bizarre rock band on stage, she is captivated. Kevin catches her in the act and admonishes her for snooping, but she is hooked. For a bedtime story, she insists on being told the history of Mouth Congress.

NOTE: There will no longer be a 10:00 PM performance (no controversy, the performers just want to put their all into a single performance).
Admission is $40, Admission + post-show Meet & Greet is $55

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Born Ruffians / Sham Family (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 30. 3022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Attack on Titan, Born Ruffians, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Sham Family on April 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 30, 2022] Born Ruffians / Sham Family

I blew off seeing Typhoon so I could see Born Ruffians, a Canadian band that is hard to pin down exactly, except that they make hyperactive poppy punk that is catchy but not super catchy.  They’re probably not even going to sell a million records, but they should have a pretty devoted fan base.

The band is a trio–singer/guitarist Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, and drummer Steve Hamelin.  They put out a trio of albums in 2020/2021 all thematically similar. Juice was my favorite.  They have a great set available from The Live at Massey Hall series (see video below).

However, my wife and daughter were out that night and I was home with my son.  We started watching Attack on Titan and I decided that I would much rather spend the night with my son than these bands, so I blew off the show and we enjoyed some bonkers anime. (more…)

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Sparks (The Town Hall, New York, NY, March 29, 2022)

Posted in Annette, New York City, The Sparks Brothers, The Town Hall on March 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 29, 2022] Sparks

Sparks is, without question, a weird band.  I got into them back in 1997 when they released an album of re-recorded versions of their best songs and called it Plagiarism.  Since then they have released eight albums.  Before  that the had release sixteen albums dating all the way back to 1971.  And yet despite the occasional hit, they remained largely unknown in the States.  They are from the States even though many people assume they are from Europe.  Sparks are Russel Mael (vocals) and Ron Mael (everything else).

And they remained at a certain level of obscurity until 2021 when a documentary called The Sparks Brothers was released (and did very well) and when they created a musical movie called Annette which won the Cannes Soundtrack award.

The time seemed ripe to do a (limited) tour of the States.  Sparks last played toured American back in 2013, they played at Le Poisson Rouge in 2017, but that was just two shows in New York and two in California–not much of a tour.  Normally I hate going into New York and will only do it for special occasions. (more…)

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grandson (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2022)

Posted in grandson, Imagine Dragons, Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, Royal & the Serpent, Suicide Squad, Union Transfer on March 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 26, 2022] grandson

My son got me into grandson a couple of years ago.  I really like his debut album, death of an optimist.  I promised that if grandson toured, I’d grab tickets.  I bought the tickets for this show a while ago and had no idea that in the interim, grandson had become (in relative terms) really popular.

He wrote the theme song to Suicide Squad which had apparently upped his profile and, he was also opened for Imagine Dragons which is pretty massive exposure.  So good for him.

It also meant that this show was much more crowded than I thought it would be.  We arrived pretty earlier, but the merch line was crazy long.  By the time we got into the show it was pretty crowded, but I know Union Transfer, and I know where there’s a good spot to get you closer to the action. (more…)

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The Beths (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in National Treasure, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] The Beths

The Beths are from New Zealand.

I really enjoyed hearing them talk between songs–super cool accents.

They only have two albums out but they have a pretty rabid fan base–if the guys who sang along loudly to everything were anything to go by.

The Beths were originally supposed to play King Fu Necktie in April 2020.  The show was moved to World Cafe Live, but was ultimately cancelled because of COVID.  They scheduled a new date at Underground Arts for January, but that got pushed back a month as COVID cases rose again.

And then, finally, they were here! (more…)

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Lunar Vacation (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in Lunar Vacation, Philadelphia, PA, Pivoting, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] Lunar Vacation

The Beths were supposed to play shows in 2020 at World Cafe Live.  First in April, then in August.  Then that was all scrapped and then rescheduled for January 2022.  That was then pushed back until February.

Weakened Friends were slotted to open for them over these shows.  But the new show had Lunar Vacation signed up for them.

And they were delightful.

They are from Atlanta, and I had to laugh when singer Grace Repasky asked if anyone did the Wordle yet.  When we acknowledged that we had, she commented that it was a very British word (Bloke). (more…)

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: Time Bubble Tour [Making Contact] (Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ, February 6, 2022)

Posted in Conor McGiffin, Count Basie Theatre, Emily Marsh, Joel Hodgson, MST3K, MST3K Live, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Nate Begle, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Yvonne Freese on February 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 6, 2022] MST3K Live

This was my fourth MST3K live experience and it was a hoot.  This was the first time that there was only one movie (in previous years they did two back to back–separate tickets).  This was also the first year that the host was a newbie.  Well, not totally new, Emily Marsh was on set for the previous show and as Emily Connor she will be co-hosting and maybe full-hosting the upcoming season.

Which is all well and good because I thought she was outstanding.  A bundle of energy, great comic timing and what a singing voice!

But the show started with the imposing presence of Yvonne Freese as Mega Synthia and sweet, one-eyed purple GPC!  She was outstanding last time and was even better this time as she was the center of attention for most of her on-stage time.  She was very funny and threw in some good improvs as the crowd reacted or didn’t.  She also has an amazing voice.

And of course, there are the bots–Conor McGiffin as Tom Servo and Nate Begle as Crow.  It’s amazing what a small crew they have for this tour (the props take up more room than the people).  There’s a mysterious fifth person on the tour as well.  She is “swing puppeteer” Kelsey Ann Brady who I gather is meant to fill in where and when she can.  Since the cast was all there, she was added as a kind of clone the Mega Synthia, which was pretty fun. (more…)

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Dustin Bates / Peter David–The Prox Transmissions [graphic novel] (2017)

Posted in Corporate skewering, Death, Dustin Bates, End of the World, Environmentalism, Graphic Novel, Outer Space, Peter David, Sci-fi, Science, Sex, Starset, The Future, Violence on January 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: January 15, 2021] The Prox Transmissions

I had recently seen Starset live and decided to check out lead singer Dustin Bates’ books (which I had gotten for my son for his birthday and I think he hasn’t read).

All of the CDs have a theme and the story of the Prox Transmissions is meant to tie into the album called Transmission.

My understanding was that the graphic novel was an adaptation of the novel.  I couldn’t find the novel in his room, but I did see the graphic novel, so I started with that (even though I’m sure it would have ben smarter to read the novel first).

The most impressive thing about this to me was that it was published by Marvel.  Not because I’m a Marvel fan boy but because I just assumed it was self published.  That being said, I think a thing or two was lost in the abridgement.

There are double crosses and possibly triple crosses and seemingly minor characters come to have major roles without a very satisfying explanation.  Basically it feels like a story that has has a lot removed (which it is).

The actual story line is pretty cool though. (more…)

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Zapiro–It Only Comes in Orange, Mr Zuma: Cartoons from the Daily Maverick (2021)

Posted in Comic Strips, Coronavirus, Corporate skewering, Cyril Ramaphosa, Daily Maverick, donald tRUMP, Floyd Sivambu, Funny (ha ha), Jacob Zuma, Joe Biden, Julius Malema, Kamala Harris, Liars, Lies, Political Humor, Politicians, Quarantine, Racism, Sexism, Shaleen Surtie-Richards, South Africa, Violence, Zapiro on January 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: January 9, 2022] It Only Comes in Orange, Mr Zuma

This is the second collection of editorial cartoons from South Africa’s Daily Maverick newspaper.  Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro) has been making editorial cartoons and caricatures since the early 1990s and has 25 books of cartoons published.  Turns out I have access to most of them so I may need to d a deep dive–maybe I’ll understand some of the politics more.

I really don’t know very much about the South Africa, and I feel like news about the country is not covered very much here.  I don’t understand all of the jokes in here, but I do feel like I have a vague grasp on the country now. However, it’s when Zapiro turns his pen abroad–especially against trump, that I can see how good of a satirist he is.  I posted this picture when talking about the previous book, but this cartoon appears in this one:

When he publishes the cartoons in the newspaper, they speak for themselves.  But in these collections, he adds a caption since most of the details are no longer fresh.  For the above he wrote:

Hell-bent on overturning the election result, trump supporters storm the Capitol building in Washington. The riot leaves five people dead.

How is it that there is any question about this still in our country.  Why is our justice system so slow?

Well, given the justice system in South Africa, our looks like a quick resolution. (more…)

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