jabbowoceez and adele
each big acts
in their own way
a split ticket for us
something for everyone
both amazing talents.
“i love playing in vegas because you’ve got people from all over the world, and you’re already accepted.
it’s kind of a great mixture of people that come out to the shows, and that makes it fun.”
-tom green
at the haunted house
while waiting to enter
the performances began
fire dancers
monsters
pumpkin head
evil clowns
lasers, smoke
even a bad dj – (‘diablo -international dj’)
like being caught up
in a campy carnie rave party
and then
we went in
for a long stretch of terror
adrenaline pumping
my startle response at full tilt
a creepy clown jumped out of the dark near me
my reflex reaction was a quick punch to its face
(the clown bent over in pain, and i felt so bad i hugged it!)
the man behind me said
‘i thank you for that, now i feel safe’
we continued on
through a creepy water illusion room with an uneven floor
a tight fabric tunnel we had to push our way through
spider webs sticking to our faces
monsters crawling on the floor
mirrors, doors, ramps, screaming, darkness, banging, running
quite a wild ride
but we made it out intact
and my heart is beginning to calm a bit.
“where there is no imagination, there is no horror.”
-sir arthur conan doyle
remembering 50 years of magical music memories at pine knob
one of the greatest outdoor amphitheaters ever, and still rocking. 
i’m sure you can pick me out here,
on a typical night in the middle of the hill on the lawn
early 70s, where i saw my first live concert, Focus, performing their one hit, “Hocus-Pocus.”
—
Pine Knob. A holy musical pilgrimage for metro Detroiters for 50 years.
The award-winning theater was christened with a matinee concert by teenage heartthrob David Cassidy on June 25, 1972 (a few days later, old-school crooner Andy Williams and Quincy Jones hosted a five-night run at Pine Knob to mark the occasion). It was the largest venue of its type in the country at the time, currently able to accommodate 15,000 patrons.
A couple of weeks later, the first rock concert at Pine Knob forced the police to shut the place down — a sign that Clarkston’s new venue had a little something for everyone.
When the James Gang rolled into Pine Knob that inaugural summer, an estimated 25,000 “young people” tried to storm the venue. That’s according to a report in the Detroit Free Press, which noted that the rest of the “hard rock” concerts scheduled for that summer would be canceled after the ruckus. That included an upcoming show by Detroit’s own Bob Seger, who would go on to play more than 25 sold-out shows at the venue over the years.
Maybe you were at that show, or the more than 3,000 other concerts that have taken place there. Thousands have made memories at Pine Knob over the years, whether blurry-eyed ones from the top of the hill or once-in-a-lifetime front row experiences from within the comfort of the pavilion (which, admittedly, could’ve been blurry-eyed, too).
When Pine Knob changed its name to DTE Energy Music Theatre in 2001, it was those memories that kept the original name alive. Even the bands that played there and recorded live albums there called it Pine Knob. “It’s always been Pine Knob to me. I always call it that from the stage,” Peter Frampton told Billboard earlier this year. “I am really happy Pine Knob’s true identity has finally been returned.” (Frampton recorded his 1999 album Live in Detroit at Pine Knob.) For its 50th anniversary, new sponsors made the wise move to tap into that well of nostalgia by bringing back the original name and some of the retro aesthetic to the signage and logo.
—
“you create a community with music, not just at concerts but by talking about it with your friends.”
-david byrne
one of my favorite things
is to go to school shows
i love every kind of kid up there
bored
nervous
awkward
moving
bouncing
spinning
hiding in back
overly enthusiastic
staring straight ahead
giggling
belting it out
faking the lyrics
wearing mismatched shoes
in a fancy outfit
whispering to a stage neighbor
giving it their all
waving to family
looking proud
non-stop smiling
have their own rhythm different from the rest
whether
dancing
singing
acting
playing anything that makes a musical sound
performance art
athletic feats
comedy
any kind of talent show
poetry reading
costumed or not.
i am all in.
—
“sometimes I was in school plays,
but only when the kid they’d originally picked got sick and they asked me to substitute.”
-peter falk
—
“i remember acting in a school play about the melting pot when I was very little.
there was a great big pot onstage.
on the other side of the pot was a little girl who had dark hair,
and she and i were representing the italians.
and i thought: is that what an italian looked like?”
-al pacino
—
“i did a school play when I was 10 where I played a cold germ infecting a whole classroom of kids.
the play was called ‘Piffle It’s Only a Sniffle.’
i’d never had so much fun. It was a thrill.”
-kim cattrall
sitting
in total darkness
absolute silence
very slowly
one by one
notes
chords
pinpoints of light
pierced the air
sitting in my seat
48 years ago
in detroit
pink floyd
unfolded their new album
dark side of the moon
right before my eyes and ears
in real time
playing full out
the crowd
mesmerized
just taking it all in
vibrating
then roaring in appreciation
one of my most memorable live concert experiences ever.
—
“it was like being in the eye of a hurricane. you’d wake up in a concert and think – wow how did i get here?”
-john lennon
—
48 years ago Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon.
It remained in the US charts from 1973 to 1988, longer than any other album in history.
—
album cover photo: harvest records
One hundred years ago this month, the magician P.T. Selbit ushered his assistant into an upright wooden box, sealed it, laid it flat, and got down to business, sawing the box right down the middle. The show, according to magic experts, was the first time a performer ever sawed someone in half. Why has this trick survived, when so many others haven’t? If you ask magicians, NYT writer Alex Marshall spoke with six — they eventually land on one answer. “It’s just the simplicity of it,” said Mike Caveney, a magician who’s writing a history of this trick. “Magicians say a good trick is one that can be described in a few words, and ‘sawing a lady in half’ is very few words,” he added. As for being the assistant, “When you’re doing it you’re not a passive person,” one magician said. “It’s claustrophobic, and quite noisy, but such fun!”
—
” i believe your reality is what you make it, what you choose to see, and what you choose to allow yourself to do.
there are possibilities all around you – magic all around you – no matter what situation you’re in.”
-keke palmer
—
Story credit: Alex Marshall, NYT- Image credit: Nolan Pellitier
Over the course of this week, some lucky residents in Montreal will be entertained with surprise circus acts that will pop up around the city at undisclosed locations.
The outdoor performances are organized as part of Montreal’s annual circus festival and are taking place from July 6 to 12 at random locations around the city in order to avoid huge crowds from gathering and maintain physical distancing.
As artistic director of Montréal Complètement Cirque, Nadine Marchand explains, a truck called the “Bonheur Mobile” will roll up to alleys, parks, streets, and squares in Saint-Michel, Anjou, St. Henri and the Quartier des Spectacles (to name a few) over the next week.
Ten Quebec circus performers will come rolling out and put on an hour-and-a-half-long show for any unsuspecting Montrealers who happen to be passing by or looking out the window.
Apart from breathing life and joy into the city, the festival has also been organized with the goal of providing work for the artists, as many have been out of work and unable to perform or tour due to the pandemic and it’s not clear when their industry will be back up and running.
Those lucky enough to happen upon one of these surprise performances are asked to stay on their front steps and balconies to avoid getting too close to others.
—
“the circus arrives without warning.”
-erin morgenstern, the night circus
—
story credits: marilla steuter- martin, cbc news, daily optimist magazine
Opera house performs first post-lockdown concert for an all-plant audience
Next week, Barcelona’s Liceu opera house will emerge from its lockdown-induced siesta by throwing a concert to a rather unusual audience. The attendees will not need masks or gloves, nor will they be required to follow physical distancing rules.
However, they might like to take along a nice comfy pot and some water to prevent their roots from drying out as a string quartet serenades them, fittingly, with Puccini’s Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums).
A total of 2,292 plants will occupy the venue’s seats and listen to the opera house’s first post-lockdown concert when it reopens next Monday. Non-vegetal music fans will also be able to enjoy the performance as it will be live-streamed.
According to the Liceu’s artistic director Víctor García de Gomar, the Concert for the Biocene, played the by Uceli quartet, is intended to help us ponder the current state of the human condition and how, in lockdown, we have become “an audience deprived of the possibility of being an audience”.
For Eugenio Ampudia, the conceptual artist behind the concert, the project will serve to reflect what has happened across Spain and around the world as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to retreat from shared public areas.
“At a time when an important part of humankind has shut itself up in enclosed spaces and been obliged to relinquish movement, nature has crept forward to occupy the spaces we have ceded,” said Ampudia.
After the concert, the plants will find themselves in a new home, with each one of them being donated to 2,292 health workers as thank you for their efforts over recent months.
—
“the first rule of opera is the first rule in life:
see to everything yourself.”
-nellie melba
—
photo and story credits: the optimist daily
The T-Rex Walking Club parades in Ferndale,MI
The T-Rex Walking Club takes a stroll to bring joy during the coronavirus pandemic. A silly and secret club formed during the pandemic is on a quest to bring smiles to the faces of kids, and a few adults, while under Michigan’s stay home order.
On Friday, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s order, there was parade of a pink unicorn, followed by a gentle giraffe, a ferocious bear, a swinging stegosaurus, Scooby-Doo and a shark too, a tall pterodactyl, a trotting triceratops, a black-and-white penguin, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a friendly T-Rex, another penguin, and a one-eyed Minion.
This motley crew, which calls itself the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club, takes its unannounced strolls through neighborhoods. There are other characters, too, and a few members have costumes on order. On their next walks, you might see an additional unicorn, more sharks, a polar bear, a gorilla, a Godzilla, an alligator, a hippo, a flamingo, a zebra, and an upside-down clown.
Most members of the club are also members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.The point of the parade, is to cheer up the community during otherwise gloomy times and get children and adults to smile, said Oscar Renautt, who heads the Elks public relations committee.
The T-Rex club has its own set of rules. You must be invited; have an enclosed, inflatable costume; wear a face mask; and you can never, ever tell anyone where — or when — the group is going to go walking.
The founder, Ms. Ignash, received her pink unicorn costume one Christmas, has had it for years, and she’d occasionally show up somewhere in it for a laugh. Then, she posted the article in Facebook for local residents and they thought it was a good idea. Folks asked her to organize an event, so she did. It was right after the stay-at-home order, and within two hours, close to 200 people were interested.
Ignash decided that it was a totally crazy idea, and irresponsible to create crowds of people during a pandemic, so she canceled the event, and started over. Instead, she created a private group and invited just a couple of friends to join her. They went on a walk in costume, and then another, and another, adding a few friends — and characters — each time.
The costumes are so big that they naturally require the walkers to space out about six-feet apart, a social distancing requirement of the governor’s order. They also don’t want to spread the virus so they wear masks.Visibility inside isn’t so good either, and it can get hot inside the costume. So they don’t walk for too long. “But, it’s fun because kids really freak out,” Ignash said. “They see us coming, or they hear other people talking about us coming, and kids freak out. Its fun, just so much fun.”
—
credits: Frank Witsil- Detroit Free Press, Ferndale Elks Club
—
“a procession is a participants’ journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”
– Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
“dance is the timeless interpretation of life.”
-shah asad rizvi
I have my glasses on.... 