“Spectacle: Elvis Costello with the Police”

If you are not a fan of Elvis Costello or the Police, you just better stop reading now and skip to the next post.

If you are a fan, you are in the right place.  For yesterdsay, I had the extreme pleasure of attending a taping of Elvis’s new talk show, “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…” The “with”, in this case, was the Police.  And now, I’m going to talk about it.  But first….

OMG OMG OMG

Two of my favorite artists together on one stage.  I’m trying VERY hard to not gush here, but it’s next to impossible. So, I’m just going to get started, and if another “squeee” or “OMG” pops out, so be it.

About two weeks ago, I saw a notice posted on Stewart Copeland’s web site about a taping that was taking place for “Spectacle“.  They were encouraging “fan club” members to sign up for a ticket lottery.  Having just won a ticket to the final Police show at MSG tonight, I figured I was riding high as far as luck was concerned, and I should absolutely enter.  I also called my friend Liz to do the same, as she was a Police.com member.

Last Friday, I got the email saying that I had won a ticket.  I immediately texted Liz and told her to get to her email, pronto.  Sure enough, she had won as well.  The taping was to be August 6th at the world famous Apollo Theater in NYC. We planned to meet in Penn Station and then take the subway uptown.  I was a little delayed, but that was OK, because by this time I had convinced Liz to get a ticket for the final MSG show.  Due to my delay, she had the time to do that.

We headed uptown, picked up our tickets, visited the dirtiest Blimpie I have ever seen, then waited on the very hot “fan club” line to be seated.  While on line, security guards were walking up and down the line threatening us about not bringing in outside food and drinks, and cameras.  Apparently, there were 3 choices if we had a camera:

1. Return them to our cars

2. Mail them to ourselves from the US post office down the street “for a cost of $3.95″

3. Hand them in and lose them to security FOREVER

I started to panic.  I did have a camera with me, abeit a small one that was easily hidden.  1 wasn’t an option, as my car was at home.  I didn’t have the time or energy for #2, so I was prepared to offer my memory card and batteries if the camera was found.  I put it in a zippered compartment in my purse, blocked by my blackberry.  Needless to say, it was not found, but I never used it either.

Once inside, it became clear that the fan club people were being treated well.  We had the first 20 or so rows of the theatre to ourselves.  People from Sundance and other channels, as well as the corporate sponsors were in the balcony or in the back.  We were certainly in for a treat.

Even though the doors opened late, they seemed to stick to the promise of closing them at 3:45.  Soon after, the producer/director/whoever came out and talked to us about how to behave during the taping (don’t move around, no cell phones, photos, texting, etc).  There were a couple of funny bits:

Who has never been to a TV taping? Raise your hands.

Now, for everyone who this is their first TV taping, raise your hands…

Great, that was some of the same people

Sadly, some folks didn’t get the joke.  We then were asked to scream and applaud wildly for about 5 minutes, which surely gave them more than enough to edit in later.

The set was incredible - not sure how it will look in TV, but it was modern, attractive and really different looking.

Just as soon as the preambles ended, Elvis came to the stage with his guitar.  He was dressed typically Elvis - dark suit, porkpie hat, glasses.  He said a few words, then went into a solo version of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”.  Amusingly, the lyrics for the song were running on a teleprompter while he was singing.  He must be the only person in the Western world to NOT know the lyrics to that little ditty.  He did the song twice, the second time a little slower and more deliberate, and with different words!  He was making up the words!  Gotta love Elvis - it was his world, and we were just living in it.

He then brought out his band, the Impostors . They played “Don’t Go Please Say” and he said it was one that Andy had played and they would talk about it later.  However, I don’t think they ever did.  In fact, he never said the name of the song, but it was on the teleprompter which is the only reason I can tell you what it was.

He then did a fun intro of the the band.  You could see them offstage left, grimacing and grinning with what he was saying.  The Imposters were playing Police-esque songs in the background.  When the band came out, they waved but kept walking off the stage.  Elvis: “Was it something I said?”  Must have been how they were editing for TV.

The interview segments were first. Each band member solo, followed by the 3 together.

* Andy - this was about 15 minutes. They talked about his early gigs, his influences, and their shared love of Charles Mingus. They dueted on “Weird Nightmare.” From the teleprompter, you could see that he ran through all of his questions for Andy, and had time left over.

* Stewart - first questions were on the “Disaster Gig” post on his web site. He said that he wasn’t trying to do anything more than tell a story for his site visitors, and while it caused friction in the band, it’s all water under the bridge now. He said his son is a filmmaker (named Jordan, great name!) who put together a documentary for the upcoming tour DVD. Stewart was his usual vociferous self, and I don’t think Elvis got in even half of the questions he planned to ask. No musical performance here, phooey.

* Sting - for some reason, Mr. Tantric Yoga decided to come with his porn beard and a shirt opened down to his waist. Humorously enough, at one point the teleprompter went dark and the words “ELVIS - REMOVE THE TAPE FROM STING’S SHIRT!” came up. He didn’t, and it was up to one of the producers to do so later. Sting told about the original idea for the melody in “Roxanne”, and how he was afraid to go to the band with a song titled after a girl, until he heard Elvis’s own “Allison.” Then, it was, “Bring me my Lute!” and they dueted on a some barn burner for lute and vocal. I swear, if I never hear that lute again, it will be too soon.

Elvis then interviewed the entire band together. Some fun things came out here. Stewart talked about how a fight on stage spilled over into dueling cars on the ride home from the gig, and ended only when he saw a “hairy ass” in the window of the other car.  Elvis talked about how some bands are prone to passive-aggressive behavior, to which Stewart interrupted , “This band DOESN’T DO passive-aggressive!”

When asked their favorite Police song, Stewart couldn’t stop naming songs, among them “Born in the 50s”, “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “Message in a Bottle.” Andy’s pick was “Message in a Bottle” while Sting went cheeky, selecting “Mother” (written by Andy) and “Miss Gradenko” (written by Stewart). Naturally, Stewart called BS on that.  He did say that “Mother” was one of his kids’ faves though.

When asked their favorite Police moment, Sting said he hoped it would be the last show at MSG, Andy said Shea Stadium, and Stewart said something like he has one every night.

Then, the big wrap up.  The two bands got together for 3 songs, 4 performances.

“Sunshine of Your Love”
a mashup of Elvis’s  “Watching the Detectives and The Police’s “Walking on the Moon”
“Purple Haze”
“Sunshine of Your Love” (again, because someone “on guitar” messed up - Elvis seemed to demure, but I’m pretty sure it was Andy)

These performances were AMAZING!  Two drummers, 2 amazing guitarists, and Steve Nieve on keyboards?  Seriously?  Had I died and gone to musical heaven?

And then, as soon as it had started, it was over.  I cannot say I wanted it to end - I could have listened to the PoliceImposters play for hours.  Elvis was great in his role as “chat show presenter”.  It’s clear that he’s new at this, but he’s got his footing pretty well, and seems to be comfortable doing it his way.  I’m looking forward to seeing the final show, as well as others in the “Spectacle!” series.  Do yourself a favor - look for the series and check it out.  If yesterday’s is any indication, there is magic being made!

My thanks to the folks at Sundance Channel,  Stewartcopeland.net and thepolice.com who thoughtfully offered the tickets to “fan clubbers”.  I’m extremely grateful I had the chance to participate in this amazing event.  OMG and squeeeeee!

 

Espresso Love

When I was growing up, it was a given in my house that Mother IT was never going to consider making a move in the morning until she had consumed her requisite 2 cups of coffee.  I never understood her affection for the bean.  Then and now, it’s taken black, no sugar.  Bleck.  Ask her and she will tell you the story of how she learned to drink it that way.  In college, she belonged to a sorority and lived in their house.  At dinner, male students were hired to serve, literally, as waiters for the girls.  When it came time to coffee after dinner, you could get the coffee yourself, but cream and sugar had to be brought by one of the men, which was “horribly embarrassing.”  She learned to drink her coffee forgoing the luxuries of cream and sweetener.  That story alone should tell you that I am not always that much like my mom.  I’d be pulling a “Oh boy, boy!  Come forth and provide me with dairy!”  But I digress.

Flash forward four decades, and you have someone who, like her mother, cannot exist without imbibing a caffeinated beverage in the morning.  I tried giving it up, but I was grumpy, and who needs that?  Plus, it speeds up your metabolism, ever so slightly.  And who needs a slow metabolism?

I bought a coffee maker recently, but I’m not really down with the drip.  Overall I prefer espresso based beverages over ice.   But if that’s what’s available, I’ll glad down a hot cup o’ joe, just to get my fix.

I’ve heard over the past year a lot of people talking about coffee.  Strangely enough, for people who have such strong opinions, none of these people actually drinks coffee.  But they feel like they can talk about it.  No more I say, no more.  I am here to dispel the rumors that you folks perpetuate…

First, it’s time to stop saying that all coffee tastes the same.  Yeah, right.  Just like all wine/soda/beer/bottled water tastes the same.  You may find people argue about which tastes better, with “better” being subjective, but you cannot really argue that it all tastes the same.  There are differences in the kind of bean as well as how it’s brewed and served that equal differences in taste.

Second, again, “best” is subjective.  So while people say that McDonald’s coffee is just as good as Starbucks, they mean that they LIKE it as much as Starbucks, although I certainly don’t see how that could be. 

But that’s the joy of opinions.  Everyone has one.  And here are mine.  My favorite coffees, in descending order.  Remember, I’m ordering iced lattes for the most part, so that’s what the judging was based on.

5. McDonald’s - I’ve heard people rave about their iced coffees - so good!  So cheap!  I’m at a loss for that.  They’re bitter, for the most part, and don’t have a very pronounced coffee flavor.  I get these when it’s convenient.  Say, Little IT’s going to the ear doctor and is starving for a meal, and McD’s is nearby - great, I can kill two birds with one stone.  But I certainly don’t seek them out. 

4. Starbucks - sure, I like them.  The one in my town is very good.  But I find their iced latte to be a bit too strong, as as rule.  And they’re the priciest option, never a good thing. 

3. Dunkin’ Donuts - a good choice when I am getting Little IT breakfast on the go before school, so it goes with the two birds vote.  They tend to be a bit weak, so sometimes I ask for an extra shot. 

2. Seattle’s Best - this is a sad one, because we don’t have very many of these around NY or NJ.  But when I see a store or counter, I’m there.  Newark terminal A?  There.  Newark Airport next to Borders?  There.  My closest Borders in White Plains closed, and with that, my dreams of SBC. 

1. Chock Full O’Nuts - yes, hard to believe, but good old Choc makes a great iced latte.  They’re large, and very tasty.  They’re also located in my workplace.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  I’d probably go the most to whatever was closest to me, but I really do like them.  The Hoboken one has horrifically long lines in the morning, but I wait.  It’s worth it.  They’re perfect, at least to me.  Good milk to espresso ratio.  Damn tasty coffee. 

Feel free to agree/disagree/flame violently in the comments.  Remember, these are my opinions and your mileage may vary. 

 

Need it, want it, gotta have it

Two blog posts have me in purchase mode this morning.

The first is from the good folks at OfficeSpacey.  I have never been diagnosed with SAD, but I get very cranky when subjected to long periods without natural light.  Here in Florida this week, I’m planning on soaking up as much sun as my SPF 50 will permit.  I remember seeing on “Northern Exposure” years ago a character walking around with a light visor to combat SAD.  This Happy Light OfficeSpacy speaks of looks like it would be a more socially acceptable solution.  No need to wear anything else that will call attention to my nerdiness.

Second, Kwana, the neighbor whose blog I read all the time but have never met, writes an ode to finding the perfect bag.  Those who know me know that I am all about the bag.  I find a bag, love a bag, and then run it into the ground, or find another one and fall in love all over again, discarding the old one like yesterday’s news.  I’ve been using my brown corduroy Kate Spade for a while now.  It’s good, but I need one with longer handles that is more hospitable to my gadgets (Kate puts one pocket in for a cell phone, forgetting my PowerShot camera, Blackberry, and GPS.  Silly Kate.)  I’m not ready to buy yet, but spring is coming, and I think I’m going to like what I see this season. 

 

Romance isn’t dead

In response to my last post, Mr. IT came home on Friday night with a big chunk of Ghiradelli bulk chocolate.  Way better than a dozen roses, and it didn’t make me sneeze.

Sorry to out you, hon, but it put a big, huge smile on my face and I wanted to share. 

 

In praise of “Juno”

As I have mentioned, I don’t get out much.  The last adult movie I saw was “Love in the Time of Cholera”, which made me want to reread the book to remember why I liked that story it in the first place.  Last week, however, I was treated to a night out with two good friends.  We went for Indian food (yum) and a movie.  None of the trio had seen that much outside of “Enchanted” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks”, so it wasn’t hard to find a movie we all really wanted to see.  We ended up seeing Juno, and were so glad we did.  What starts out as a really sharp, wise-cracking comedy becomes richer and more vibrant as the story unfolds.  I won’t give away much here, except to say it’s the story of a 16 year old who gets pregnant unexpectedly, and decides to give birth to the baby and give it up to adoptive parents.  There are a few twists and turns in that plan, but it turns out wonderfully. 

I’m not really one to do movie reviews on my blog, but this was the kind of movie that made you want to shout from the rooftops how good it is.  It made me appreciate the art of good writing, and in this time of the WGA strike, that’s an even more important thing.  Diablo Cody wrote the screenplay, and it’s unique, inventive, warm and downright hysterical at times.  According to IMDB.com, she’s writing a series for Showtime, but with the strike not showing any signs of ending soon, who knows what’s really happening.  So go see “Juno” now, and give thanks for writers!

 

24 - The Unaired Pilot

24 Fans - it’s sad to note that the 7th season of 24 looks to be on hold indefinitely due to that darn writers strike (as Jack would say, Dammit!).  In the meantime, here’s a link to a video at CollegeHumor.com that shows what 24 would have been like in 1994.  I’m geeky enough to find this hysterical - thanks to Tales of Hoffman for this one. 

 

Who’s the boy?

I’d like to take a time out from my obsession with naming all blog posts after songs by The Smiths to show a little love for the last undefeated team in the NFL.

 

Of course, now that I have shown off IT Boy in his charming jersey, I’ve probably doomed the Pats.  Nah, who am I kidding, they’re facing Buffalo (5-4) - we’re fine. 

 

More fun with slow sync flash

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing The Police in concert at Madison Square Garden here in NY.  Never mind the fact that this was my 3rd Police concert this year (I admit it, I’ve been a super crazy fan since I was 12).  This was their Halloween concert.  Each seat had a postcard from the band and a mask (doesn’t quite make up for sky-high ticket prices) on it, to remind you that you shouldn’t be at a concert, you should be taking your kids trick or treating (or was that just Mr. IT doing that?). 

The band themselves dressed in costume, as you can see below.  I used slow sync flash and super zoom for these two shots.  There are more, but you get the drift.  The woman next to me took about 40 shots, all blurry.  If only she had known!

This was from “Roxanne” - hard to get the video screens and the band in the same shot, and have them both look good:

This one was from the end of the show. 

I’ve taken pictures at all three shows, but these came out the best.  Yes, our seats were much better.  But I think fiddling with ISO and zoom and slow sync makes a difference.

As far as the costumes, Sting was interviewed on Today Tuesday and said he would be in a costume with tights and a codpiece.  As you can see, he brought it.  Andy was charming as Charlie Chaplin.  I have no idea what type of Egyptian zombie Stewart was trying to be, but there were amusing moments at the beginning of him pulling off his cape because he couldn’t drum with it.  Makes me wonder if he tried it on before he got there.

While I am on the subject, I have some suggestions for people attending future shows by The Police, in addition to other artists cashing in reuniting for tours:

1. People who look like they are 50+ accountants should not lip sync/air guitar/dance.  Ever.  I have some videos of this infraction from last night that are amusing enough for YouTube.  I was cracking up so much I cried my makeup off.

2. If you are a 50+ accountant, and someone asks you to sit down, because there is no one in front of you dancing, take the hint.  We have your best interests at heart. 

3. Don’t cuddle during “Every Breath You Take.”  It’s a creepy song, not a love song.  Sting wrote it about his marriage dissolving.   I remember some friends used it as a wedding song.  A bad omen, if you ask me.  Ick.

4. No one should dance to “King of Pain”.  Ever.  It’s got no beat, and you really can’t dance to it.

Used wisely, this advice should enhance any concert going experience.

 

Reading - For kids, it is fundamental

For me, next week is all about the Scholastic book fair at IT Girl’s school.  I work with the Book Fair committee to plan Family Event Night. On the night the book fair is open, we put together a fun place for kids to play when they’re done browsing through the books.  We have face painting, games, raffles, snacks and more. We’ve really raised the bar from year to year, with the vision of turning it into a night for the whole community to be a part of and proud of.  We’re succeeding in that goal, and are so grateful for the support of the school and the village.

In a similar vein, when I was reading through Publishers Weekly, I saw a great article that made me smile.  Green Apple Books in San Francisco is honoring the store’s 40th anniversary by giving every one of the 3900 third graders in the city’s public school district $10 credit to buy books at their store. 

Ryan said Green Apple decided to extend a hand to third graders because he heard somewhere that that was a pivotal age for children and their relationship to reading.

I love this idea, and think stores big and small should look at doing something like this to help children experience the magic of books. I can imagine how those kids going into the store are going to feel because I was very like those kids when I was growing up. My elementary school served a neighborhood inhabited by people of very modest means. It would not have been able to support a book fair where people came to buy books, but in a way, we had something even better. RIF (Reading is Fundamental) came to our school every year, which allowed kids to pick out 2 FREE books. I remember the uncontainable excitement I felt as I spent the full hour browsing through all the books to make sure I picked the best 2 books I could possibly pick. Upon returning to my classroom, my “treasures” were put in my bookbag, to be unpacked right before bedtime when I could savor them to my heart’s content. That had to be one of my happiest days of the entire school year.

I wish that every kid could learn that books bring that much wonder and joy to your life. I see the same look in Little IT’s eyes when she goes to her school’s book fair. No, she isn’t walking out of there with 2 free books. Doing what I do for a living, it’s very hard to say no to a book, and last year she went to the fair three times (Donuts with Dad, Family night, and with her class) so she brought home quite a few new books. I do reserve the “No!” for things like the umpteenth High School Musical sticker book or a horrifically written book (Junie B, anyone?). I’m fine with adaptations of Disney TV shows like The Suite Life or, yes, even Hannah Montana - just as long as she keeps on reading.

 

Getting flamed over the Blaze

 

This weekend, the family and I checked out the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze.  This is a holiday tradition that takes place during weekends in the month of Halloween at a historic estate north of NYC.  It’s billed as the largest Halloween celebration in Westchester and involves the installation of over 4,000 carved craft and genuine lighted pumpkins at Van Cortlandt Manor.  It’s pretty amazing (ablazing?) thing to witness.  I was so inspired, that I changed the header to one of the photos I took at the blaze. 

We went for the first time last year.  I could not say for sure how many years the Blaze has been going on, but it definitely has been growing by leaps and bounds in popularity.  Last year, we joined Historic Hudson Valley because as members you could visit the Blaze as many times as you wanted, utilizing your free admission benefit.  This year, they made the change to ticketed admissions, and members of our level only got to enjoy the Blaze once.  Since this is an event that sells out almost completely, picking one night to go can be a bit of a gamble, and a big downer in the case of rain, but more on that later.

Historic Hudson Valley is the not-for-profit that operates Van Cortlandt Manor and about 6 other sites.  They’re typical of most other organizations not run by “professional” business people - you have to have a bit of patience in navigating their quirks and trying to get stuff done. I worked for several years at a not-for-profit, as well as spending time in college with museum directors as a history major. They’re brilliant people, but don’t always emote business savvy. However, with the Blaze, HHV has rocketed into Web 2.0 by starting the Blaze Blog and runninga Blaze YouTube contest.  I’ve been most impressed with their blog.  They started it months ago, detailing the preparations that go into planning and executing an installation of this magnitude.  They’ve now evolved into reporting on what’s going on when.

In my view, the most impressive thing that has happened with the Blaze is the dialog between HHV and the Blaze patrons.  For instance, as I alluded to above, your Blaze ticket says “Rain or Shine” right on it.  The Blaze is totally outdoors, so in the case of rain, who the heck would want to tramp through the Manor in the mud?  But that is how you buy your ticket, and they are quite clear about that.  However, on Friday night, the weather was predicted to be so awful that they cancelled the Blaze for that night.  Ticketholders who paid by credit card had their purchases refunded.  Members were able to use their tickets on another night.  As a result of these actions you had several flavors of unhappy patrons.  You had the people who rightfully assumed rain or shine, and showed up only to be turned away at the gates.  There were others who complained on other rainy nights when they did not cancel the Blaze.  Paid ticketholders were upset that their ticket purchases were automatically credited and they were not given the option to rebook - since the Blaze always sells out, it would be hard for them to get back in on another night now. 

Now, what do these people do with their complaints?  They post them on the blog.  They detail long stories about how they traveled 2 hours to see the Blaze, after calling at 3pm to be assured it was still on, who learned of the cancellation at 6pm when they showed up.  And what is HHV doing with these complaints?  They’re answering them, right there in the open on the blog.  They are engaging in a dialog with their patrons, explaining what they did, and why.  Turns out they debated whether the weather was going to be that bad, and took a lot of care in making the decision to pull the plug on the pumpkins.  Is everyone going to be satisfied with their efforts at explanation?  Probably not, but I bet a lot of people appreciate the fact that they took the time to communicate with them and answer their concerns,  instead of hiding behind a computer screen.  For that, HHV deserves a lot of credit, and serves as a model for how an institution that celebrates the past is moving into the future.