An Evening With Tina Turner

Put your hands on your hips and let your backbone slip...

Wow! What an unbelievable evening this concert turned out to be.  I almost missed it since the original date was October 13 and SOLD OUT.  Then, they decided to add a second date, Thursday, October 16.  I guess, due to the late announcement, some tickets were available and I finally got to see the show with my friend, Amy.

First off, TINA looked GREAT! She's 68 and she can still do her moves.  She has not toured in 7 years.  She was supposed to have retired after her concert tour of 2000.  I am told a lot of the exciting elements of this show were first seen in that show.

And what a production!  Tina starts the show shakily suspended on an elevated platform in the middle of the stage and descends to start the show.  Suspending a 68-year old on a 3'x3' platform 40 feet above ground zero seems like a risky venture since she could fall and never get up!  

The stage is amazing, constantly morphing into staircases, jungle gyms and reveals.  She had ninjas, 4 backup dancers, two background singers and a first-rate band.  There were several pyrotechnics during the first half.

As for her performance, Tina can still bring it.  She did have difficulty with the ballads particularly Private Dancer, but she more than made up for it with the rest of the show (choreographed by Toni Basil).

Then there was a 30 minute intermission.  I assumed she was getting a blood transfusion after all that bouncing around. When she returned to the stage, she revealed that she had a very special guest backstage in the person of Denzel Washington.  Since we had nosebleed seats and conveniently forgot our binoculars, we weren't able to spot him.

The crowning glory of the evening was the performance of "Proud Mary".  By the end of the song, the crowd was on their feet dancing.  Amy and I tried to re-create the moves in our very narrow (and steep!) bleacher seats.  

A lot of people left after this number assuming it was the finale.  Mostly to get to their cars and avoid gridlock (this is L.A. after all).

But then she returned to perform two more songs!

And then the most amazing thing happened.

The stage transformed into a 60 foot lateral cherry picker which allowed her to hover above the audience as she sang Nutbush City Limits with the audience (see photo above). 

If she happens to be in your neck of the woods, it's worth the effort and money to go and see this wonderful, wonderful performer.  Check her tour dates here.

WOW.

Summer With Summer

Donna Summer performs at the Hollywood Bowl.
(with apologies for the blurry jumbotron screen caps).

One of the most anticipated concerts of the 2008 summer season is Donna Summer's concert at the Hollywood Bowl.


The event is sold out, which means the bowl is filled to its 17,000++ capacity.


There was no L.A. Philharmonic prelude to the concert. Her flautist played the national anthem (quite beautifully) and the show started.


Donna had an excellent stage with multiple screens, 3 backup singers and 3 backup dancers.


The center screen panel rotated to reveal the diva herself singing"The Queen is Back" from her new album - Crayons. She is wearing a very regal purple dress.


I must say those multiple screen panels in the background were very effective and flashed visuals relevant to the songs she was singing. Like a radio dial for "On The Radio" or rain for "Enough is Enough" or even a park for "Macarthur Park".

Let's stop here for a minute to say that I adore Donna Summer and her music and I do understand that at nearly 60 years of age, one may acquire some protective padding here and there but if and when that DOES happen - at least get a competent costume designer!


First costume change was this printed dress - meh!
The song she sang, "Sand on My Feet" was much better!

And then it was - oh no she dee-ent!

Da Who advised Miss Summer to wear a big red ill-fitting pantsuit? (and I mean BIG - the jumbotron turned all RED for a second).   I've seen her in a pantsuit before when she did a surprise guest stint at Barry Manilow's concert in Vegas and it didn't work out then (let's just say that there was a collective gasp when the cameraman inadvertently focused on Miss Summer's derriere).


This part was completely confusing to me. Her Hattie Mae segment where she wears a big white hat. Did I miss something?


Her voice was in fine form specially for the disco hits "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff", one of the most applauded segments of the evening.


I'm sure a lot of people were there for the disco hits of the 70's. And I do appreciate Miss Summer's efffort to expand her range with her new album but somehow the show seemed all over the place. There are some pretty good danceable tunes from her new album but I'm still wondering what that Hattie Mae stuff was about.

Overall, it was an enjoyable evening and I'm happy to see such a wonderful and talented performer. I can't wait for her next album.  And this time - I hope it won't take 17 years!

Hey Donna, call me!

An Evening With Diana Ross

Miss Diana Ross Brings It To The Hollywood Bowl.
(With apologies for the blurred photos)



This is truly a once in a lifetime event. Miss Diana Ross has made herself scarce after the failure of her Return to Love "Supremes Reunion" tour and subsequent brushes with the law and alcohol. She did release an album last year featuring a cover of the song "More Today Than Yesterday".

The last time she performed at the Hollywood Bowl was in 1967. Needless to say, the anticipation and expectations were high.

And Miss Ross did not disappoint!

Miss Ross made her appearance after the LA Philharmonic did the requisite opening act with two pieces that she helped choose. The pieces were "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" (Rodgers) and "Harlem" (Ellington). An intermission was necessary to set-up the stage for Miss Ross' appearance. There was room for a ten piece band, back up singers, stairs and a landing.

The opening strains for "I'm Coming Out" started and the crowd goes wild. Then we hear Miss Ross' disembodied voice floating through the amphitheatre. Where is she? She appears in what seems to be a red, strapless Bob Mackie gown with an enormous wing-like tulle boa and an abbreviated and bouncy version of "that hair" - and we have takeoff!

Her voice, if a little smokey with age, was still pleasant to hear. She started with some hits from Supremes which she delivers one after the other, seemingly without exhaustion, and prodding the audience to sing along with her, which they did.

First costume change was this sequin bathrobe for the hits of the 70's like "The Boss" and "Endless Love":


Second costume change was this 30's camellia gown for the "Lady Sings The Blues" segment:


Then she re-appears with the Big Bird Yellow dress for the finale and greatest iconic hits like "Theme from Mahogany" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough":


She returns for the encore/finale and sings "I Will Survive" in yet another gown. This time it's a lime green dolman sleeve number with a matching enormous tulle boa (not pictured):


It wasn't very long ago when I wished I could see Diana Ross perform live and now I have! Be careful what you wish for!

Here's a short clip from this most memorable evening:

An Evening With Jay McCarroll

At the Ford Amphitheatre.



This was a completely spontaneous thing. I didn't even know where the Ford Amphitheatre was.

I heard there were free tickets for a screening of Eleven Minutes*, a film by Rob Tate and Mike Selditch about Jay McCarroll's debut collection for Spring 07 (which meant the film was shot around 2006). Well, they ran out of free tickets, but, I still got discounted tickets at Goldstar and I dragged my friend Amy to come see it with me.

Turns out that the Ford Amphitheatre is like a mini Hollywood Bowl. Parking is stacked, which means your car is parked like sardines and you could potentially get trapped, especially if the owners of the cars around you decide to lollygag their way to their cars.

I brought some sushi and snacks which we enjoyed at the courtyard:


The seats in this theatre are uncomfortable, but at least it keeps you awake during screenings:


The Big Screen. Cinema under the stars. There was a full moon that night as well:


There was the customary sponsor plugs, after which they introduced the filmmakers, Mike and Rob:



But wait!

We totally did not expect to see Jay there (although we spotted Uncle Nick Verreos earlier) but there he was in living color. Love the necklace by his friend Lola (she looked scary in the film - keep that blowtorch away from me, Lola!)


Then Jay brings out the "gang", Raymundo, Uncle Nick, and Kara Saun:


Where's Heidi and Tim? Jay jokes that they couldn't come up with the $90,000 "fee"

They leave us with their impression of Christian Siriano-fierce!:


We decide to lollygag our way back to the car (don't you just hate it when people do that? Really! Some People! Haha!).

Well who do we run into but Jay himself and the "gang" joined by Andre waiting for their ride to the after party.

Amy and I introduce ourselves and have pictures taken.
The reason why I don't have a picture with Jay is because some bitch (not even pretty!) SHOVED ME ASIDE! (I wanted to shake the color out of her hair - seeriously!)

But, fortunately, Uncle Nick was there to pick up the slack:
Uncle Nick liked my shirt. It's actually $8.98 from Steve and Barry's - but we do not speak of such things!

Here's Amy, Uncle Nick, David (Uncle Nick's partner) and Amanda (Project Runway Model - luv her!):

Here's a poignant little photo of Jay and André.


A good time was had by all.






_________________________________________
*Rob and Mike also did the short docu "Project Jay" for Bravo.

An Evening With Alec Mapa

Alec Mapa had a limited engagement to benefit the Gay & Lesbian Center L.A. at the Village's Renberg Theater. Alec is a Filipino-American actor who originally replaced B.D. Wong in M. Butterfly on Broadway and also did the national tour. He has appeared in Desperate Housewives and most recently in Ugly Betty as the intrepid fashion reporter, Suzuki St. Pierre.

I thought it was going to be a regular standup routine ala Margaret Cho but he had whole production numbers and sketches lined up. He opened with "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne accompanied by the Chixie Dicks, which inspired the sketches that accompanies this entry (no photos allowed, eh). Jodi Long (all American Girl) makes a guest appearance as Mrs. Hill singing "Bali Ha'i".

The stand-up was a no-holds barred tour-de-force based on, among other things, Alec's experiences last year as a headliner in four all-gay cruises which took him around the world, in a manner of speaking. His real name is Alejandro, in case you were interested.

His "tagalog" lessons to help the passengers deal with the all-Filipino service staff on a Hawaiian cruise was hilarious. Included were basics like "Salamat" (Thank You), "Mahal Kita" (I love you - "Now you can LIE in another language!") and the always indispensable "Ay, Puki!" (O, vagina). The latter resulted in passengers greeting him in the hallways with "Ay, Puki!" - to the horror of the room attendants! Hilarious! (Well, you had to be there).