...and a lack of real spice in your life...

July 4, 1998 – I sat in the 10^th row for the Spice Girls concert at Darien Like in Buffalo, NY. I drove nearly four hours to get there and most of that was through severe weather. As a matter of fact we were concerned that the concert might be canceled because the weather was so bad. Fortunately the weather gods eventually sided with us and the concert happened. I was there with my friend Patrick and we were surrounded by thousands of screaming 10 year olds – and their parents. And yes…Geri Halliwell (aka Ginger Spice) bailed on that tour – dropping out of the Spice Girls just before they came to America.

February 15, 2008 – Amy, my sister and I went to see the Spice Girls on the backside of their 2^nd world tour at the United Center in Chicago. With Victoria leaving Spice (and the majority have kids) this will be the last time all 5 girls perform together. My ticket was nearly double the price this time. Normally that would concern me because to live up to a $130 ticket ($75 last time) – it better be a good show.

So – how was the show? Spice-tastic! Spice-errific! Spice-gasmic. The show was absolutely incredible. I should go ahead and preface with all of you that are not fans of Spice – they are amazing entertainers. That is VERY different than musicians, at least in my book. A nice and simple introduction to the Spice Girls would be to watch “Spice World” – the movie that they released in 1997. It certainly incorporates their music, but much like Beatles movie, you get an interesting glimpse into their individual personality and humor.

Translate that to a live show. It is not a concert, it is a performance. The scenery was amazing. The set was a simple runway with a playing area on each end, loads of traps and some levels towards the back (which included the band). The set was actually quite reminiscent of the productions of Chicago we did at FC last year. I thinking about suing…anyway, the design also included these gigantic monitors that moved and danced almost as fluidly as the girls. They went up, down, split, forward, backward and they had AMAZING resolution. Very impressive. If you’ve been on the internet – you’ve probably heard about the costumes that were used for the show. Spice Girls partnered with designer Roberto Cavalli and marketed through Victoria’s Secret. Well – they were fun and exciting.

The show was scheduled to start at 8. In my head I figured they would be on about an hour and that we would be strolling out of the United Center by 9:30. Well, they actually started by 8:30 (shocked me) and played until almost 10:15. Wow! And they were high energy the entire time. There were some breaks for costume changes, etc., but we were entertained my amazing backup dancers.

They opened with Spice Up Your Life and closed with a Wannabe/SUYL medley that were both sung over the Humpty Dance bass line…sadly I don’t think a lot of the audience really knew the Humpty Dance, and that was surprising.

The two awkward moments in the show involved the Mels. At one point Scary (Mel B) strapped a male audience member to her “machine” and simulated sexual acts with him. Shortly after that, Mel C was severely groped (almost inappropriately) by one of the backup dancers. I guess they were making the point that they have grown up. The sweetest moment was when Scary, Baby and Posh’s kids all came out during Momma I Love You. It was oddly touching – and something that I presume hasn’t happened in every show. But maybe they have…I will just pretend that we were special-er.

I am waffling about talking about the rest of the audience. I don’t want to come off as rude, or insensitive. I guess I will just say that being surrounded by this group was an experience. It was very different than the show 10 years ago. In all aspects it was different. Better. So – maybe I’ve said too much. If you want to know more, you know where to find me.

People of the world…
(now you say – “Spice Up Your Life”).

iFanboy

...and my first official post on the new site...

Check it.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/Please_allow_me_to_introduce_myself___

Lots of things to talk about…little motivation to talk about them.

First things first – I recently turned 30. I am still deciding whether that is a big deal or not. If you had asked me when I was in my teens – I would have said that 30 was OLD. Maybe even really old. However, actually being 30 doesn’t seem that crazy. As a matter of fact – I just spent the last 45 minutes playing Guitar Hero 3 on the Wii. I guess that saying is true – “you are only as old as you act.” Of course, my lovely students still remind me daily that I am indeed OLD when I make some reference and they have no idea what I am talking about.

*sigh

Anyway, Amy got me tickets to Dancing with the Stars (the tour) for my birthday. We were in the 2^nd row. It was incredibly exciting to be there in person. I will say that had we been sitting in the nosebleeds it probably would not have been as enjoyable. But we weren’t and it was amazing!

The next day Ronald came to visit – and apparently I had a surprise party that night. The plan was to go duckpin bowling – which we did. However we did it with 25 other people. Looking back there were many clues that I let slide – but when push comes to shove – I was surprised. It actually really pisses me off that I was surprised (I am slipping in my age) – but the party was loads of fun.

We rounded out the weekend by taking the Wii to my parents’ house. I’ve never seen my mom laugh so hard. Not that I need to be a commercial for the Wii – but it is pretty great. In a lot of ways it is the great equalizer. People who are not adept at button pushing still have a chance, people who play a lot can still be evenly matched, etc.

Since then my winter term class is over and second semester has started. I am fairly excited about the classes I am teaching this semester – and I am VERY excited not to have an overload.

In other news I went to a healer the other night. For those of you that don’t know (and I have no idea who reads this) I have been sick for the past 9-ish years. I like to call it my personal plague. Anyway, I have seen many doctors, many specialists, taken many medicines all to no avail. So I go to this Native American healer and have a seat in her kitchen. She puts her hand on my knee (knowing absolutely nothing about me – not even why I am there) and proceeds to rattle off every symptom and problem that I have. I will refrain from getting personal on this blog – but let me just say that she got everything dead on. It was amazing. She also gave me some ideas on how to fix my sickness – sans medications.

I am still in shock and amazement at the way that she was able to know so much about me without asking. She just simply put her hand on my knee and started talking. I was not skeptical going in. As a matter of fact – since no doctor has been able to help me – I figured I had nothing to lose by seeing a healer. (side note – healers don’t charge – it’s their calling). So I was willing to listen and hope for the best. I was not at all prepared for the experience that I had. But this really isn’t the forum to talk about it.

And that is my life right now. Not terribly exciting – but I am OK with this pace for a few days. And I think it is safe to say that things will pick up soon. Like next week.

What? I have a blog?

Where have I been? That’s a good question – and in fact I wish I could give some fantastic and exotic answer. Like – “Oh, I’m sorry I haven’t been blogging, I’ve been saving merpeople in Atlantis,” or “yeah – I’ve been working with gorillas in the African jungle.” But the fact is I don’t have a great answer like that.

I’ve been busy. I know – we are all busy. I’m not busier or more special than anybody else. We are all busy and nobody has time to do things like “blog.” So here I am forcing myself to write this update so that maybe I can get back on a schedule.

Since my last blog I have opened and closed Oliver! Actually – I think the day after I wrote my last blog I headed off to Bloomington and stayed there until the show opened right before Christmas. It was a lot of work, that show. Some might even say too much work. In the end it was a successful show. Although I need to strongly rethink whether I do any more holiday shows.

After that I was neck deep in all the family holiday hoopla – and that seems to never stop. I love my family – I really do. But I have a breaking point – and there is only SO much time I can spend with them – especially when trying to split that time between two families. But, I survived the holidays, just as I survived Oliver! so it must not have been as bad as I thought.

This year is my first time winter term. That means that I started working again on January 3, teaching freshman about Graphic Novels. It is an interesting and exciting concept for a course – we are looking at 5 books and the movies that were made based on the books. We are also examining the influence that comics are starting to have on Pop Culture – a point that we can argue if you wish.

Anyway – I just recently went to Milwaukee with some of my theatre students for the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF). Let me tell you something – Milwaukee is a great city…in the summer. Milwaukee in January is pretty much on the bottom of my list. I mean – it’s not THAT bad – but it is cold. And (according to Britnee, my waitress at Yaffa) all that people do it drink until it’s warm again. That might be the way to go for some people – but that’s not how I roll. Next year ACTF is in Saginaw – a city I fear will be worse than Milwaukee in January. w00t!

Next week is my birthday. Ron is coming into town. Should be an exciting time…assuming he’s not too swamped with work stuff!!! He’s also going to work with my class on Monday (yes I have to teach on MLK day). That’s how FC rolls.

So, that’s all you get for now. I apologize for this blog being so dry and boring. I cannot promise anything – but I will try to make it better for next time. Enjoy the rest of your week!

BEST. CHRISTMAS SONG. EVER!

It sounds easy, right? Pick your favorite Christmas song. Maybe it is a beautiful choral piece that brings a smile and a tear at the same time. Maybe it is something that your mom sang to you every year on Christmas Eve. Maybe you were in you second grade pageant and it is the first Christmas song you had to memorize and sing in front of yawning parents while wearing angel wings. Maybe the song has your name in it – and you love it for that simple reason. Or maybe it is that song that the first time you hear it while holiday shopping, you are reminded that it is the holidays and you should be merry. Or maybe you are a heathen and you avoid all things commercial Christmas like the plague. If that’s the case – stop reading.

There are so many factors that go into the process. Just like we all have emotions and thoughts tied to “regular” songs, except this is one that you only justify for one season a year.

My dear friend Tom posted a blog earlier talking about the songs that give him holiday cheer. It really made me think a little bit. What are my favorite songs? The simple answer is – it depends on who is asking. You see, I have a library of just about 800 different holiday songs. And yes – I do start playing them at Halloween. But with such a vast library I don’t get bored with the music and I can have conversations with many people about it.

Example – my mother likes Christmas music – but she does not like music versions of songs that normally have lyrics. So if somebody is playing Jingle Bells – and not singing – she is going to make a comment. My father loves choral music. So rather than talking to him about Brian Setzer doing Christmas songs – I am better of talking about some version that the Westminster boys choir did. Amy loves most Christmas music – but she has certain songs she grew up with – so it is important that I know those and can recognize them when heard – and I need to be prepared to hear some story about she and her sister fighting while listening to the song.

Am I avoiding the question here – or am I making a point. Both. The point is that my favorite song is known and appreciated by so few people. Rather than having to explain myself to everybody I prefer to keep the song to myself whilst in casual conversation. Is that lazy – or respectful? I think that latter – wrapped up in the first. Seriously though, I like to believe that I can I can express genuine interest in things outside of my own world and be able to talk about them intelligently…even if the subject is Christmas music.

Putting this ridiculously heady argument/conversation aside – I do have a favorite Christmas song. The top of the list is easily “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” as performed by David Bowie and Bing Crosby. It is really something special – and not appreciated (or heard) by enough people. It is worth listening to – and if you can find the video, do that.

Tannenbaum II

Our tree is up and decorated. As a matter of fact, most of the house is decorated for the Christmas Holiday – though we still have a few things to do. Last year we made the switch to an artificial tree. There were a few reasons for doing this. First – the artificial trees are really starting to look good, at least the one we bought. Second – the price we were paying per year to cut our own Frasier Fir was getting ridiculous. Theoretically if we keep this thing at least one more year we’ve made our money back. Third – although made of plastic, we felt as though we might be lowering our carbon footprint by not cutting down a tree each year. Fourth – it is a hell of a lot easier to set up an artificial tree than it is to set up a real tree. Oh the fights we have had trying to “level” the tree. It’s a miracle we are still together. Did I mention that you can leave the lights on year to year? Even though I replaced a few this year, it was so much better than lighting an entire tree. Finally – not having to worry about water/drying out – there is nothing worse than thinking that your tree might catch on fire.

Now that it is set up and decorated how do I really feel about it being artificial? Well, it is lovely. It truly is. Our ornaments are all very personal and carry their own little stories. It is fun to get them out every year and relive the memories; it is those memories that really gives character to the tree. However, the tree gives me a sense of déjà vu. Part of the charm of the Frasier Fir (fresh cut) is that it never looks the same. It doesn’t have the typical “cone” shape that a lot of pines do. So every year finding the tree and getting up proved to be a unique experience and outcome. This year I walked to the shed and opened a box. The shape is identical to last year and even though the ornament placement (I assume) is different, the tree has a similar feel. I guess I didn’t think about how much the shape would dictate.

That being said I truly do believe that the tree is beautiful. There is no sap on my hands, no water spilled on the floor and no pine needles constantly falling onto the floor. I might have to buy some fake pine smell to help calm my nerves.

Can YOU Dig it?

This Wednesday Franklin College opens the WORLD PREMIERE of Dig, a new play by award winning playwright Paul Shoulberg. Read the press release below…

This world premiere by award-winning playwright Paul Shoulberg is the story of a middle-aged professional man living with cancer and the physical and emotional pain that comes with the disease. He forms an unlikely friendship with a young streetballer. Dig combines hurt with humor, revealing its tale through crisp, contemporary and startlingly poetic language.

So – come and see it. Tom Robson is the guest director, production design by Brady King and me. It is going to be good. Performances are November 14^th – 17^th at 8 pm and November 18^th at 2 pm. Tickets are $10 for people and $6 for students or free with FC ID. Message me if want me to reserve you some tickets - or if you need more information.

See you at the theatre.