Category Archives: Performance/Performers

Performances

Chicago The Musical 09

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Chicago The Musical 09
I paid £90 quid for 2 ticks and for that I expected something good. It was ok… no back drop changes just a band/orchestra on what looked like bleechers. So they had to make up for it with more jokes which were pretty creative, outfits which weren’t too bad and props that were pretty much standard. I was also disappointed not to see Jerry Springer coz he plays Billy Flynn usually. Unless Jerry suddenly transformed into a big black dude. The guy that sold me the ticks was nice enough to move us in front but I still feel the movie was better. If it wont for the company I’d be bitchin’ about it even more. So yeah not bad but not worth that much.

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Comedy Cafe London 09

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Comedy Cafe London 09
As you walk in it looks like a typical comedy club… bar up front. Then the room for the jokes usual seating, a little stage and microphone. But one thing is different… the colours… they alive and kicking! Reminded me of discotheques in Mombasa. We had time to Taz and I kill it with grub and catch up. The Meze thing was big and filling… lotsa meat, some pita and humus.

Ok back to comedy. The MC was Paddy Bramwell and before introducing the stand-ups he really made us laugh. Only thing is when introducing the folks to the stage he’d raise his voice to hype us up which just muffled what he was saying. But hey thats my problem.

First up we had Nigerian sista Andi Osho… very funny… comedy we could relate too. And boy did she tear up anyone that heckled. Even though we’re allowed to heckle I would not want to heckle her! Oh and she takes the same bus 25 ;o) She definitely gets props. Break.

Second was Jack Campbell and he gets no love. First he was using his stutter as a crutch to get some sympathy laughs. Then he bites the punani joke (Russell Peters – no seeds) Now I’m fine with folks biting but Taz spotted him biting 3 more jokes. I’m not fine with wholesale biting. But yeah I was saying I’m fine with biting as long as you make it your own and add your own spice to it. This guy just added fake stutters. In fact he does not stutter anymore he said he got over it. You could see him struggling at times but after the stuff he pulled… sorry dude no props, maybe a couple of claps for leaving the stage!

Third was magician Ali Cook. This guy was funny, crazy… I mean he pulled of psycho really well. He taught us a new world… felching… and trust me you don’t wanna know but I’m sure you’ll google it anyway. At one point it looked like he kept checking the time which does not go well on stage but upon closer inspection he had his jokes noted on his wrist so thats fine. Break.

Last was Gary Delaney. Extremely funny, extremely rude… he did push it and we let him. His style was mostly one liners or two and usually one liner comedians do it dead pan but he couldn’t help himself at times. Still we allowed it coz he really was good. Apart from some jokes where we’re like would it be right to laugh at this?

Great night, great staff, great food and excellent laughs. Big up Taz for hooking us up with free entry. Definitely a place to check out. Note: Stand-up is one of the best place to take a date coz they do all the work for you and at the same time you both get to gauge what level of humor and
just mentality you’re both at. I guess I just gave out where I’m gonna take my next take :os If you wanna see what the place looks like… check out their website and picture blacklights around http://www.comedycafe.co.uk/

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H3 by Bruno Beltrao at Sadler’s Wells

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H3 by Bruno Beltrao at Sadler’s Wells
Oh boy… how do I do this… Ok Bruno Beltrao is a choreographer from Brazil and he mixes contemporary with hip hop stlyes. H3 had 9 dancers from his company Grupo de Rua (Niterio, Rio de Janeiro). So far so good. As for the performance… through out I was stressing on how am I gonna be able to explain this?!?! In the start I thought to myself… this is not dance and there is no music. There was movement and there was sounds. Started out with a couple of the dancers all sorts of spasmodic moves. Gradually more and more dancers would emerge from the darkens of the backstage to the lit up stage-front. What were they doing? Is this a choreographer for dance or fight sequences? What were they expressing… so many questions till one point I’m like stop analyzing it and just watch. It was like they were having spastic fights and running around. Or as Viv mentioned… like kids messing around. Someone else mentioned schizophrenic. Oh yes very much so. One minute they’re Krumping and popping so intensely and throwing each other around. It definitely had the attitude of krumping and lots of parkour modified for a plain environment. Another they’re walking backwards with their heads stretched way back… or they’re just sitting still! The throwing each other around was great coz they’d charge at each other and then grab each other and throw or pull each other using that momentum to bust another fly move. The main bits were the walking back with the head way back, floorspins and… best for last… running backward. When they all did the running backward it was like they were being rewound… as Viv has mentioned earlier. Ok so you’ve got the vague idea of the performance. As for the stage… it was plain… nothing special apart from switchboards on the side. Normal lighting was not used. Sometimes only stage-front or left or this guy walking around wheeling the lights around and when he’d fade them, the matrix of tube lights above would blink on, blink off. As for the sounds… it didn’t even start with any sounds apart from the dancers huffs and sneaker screeches on the black mirrored stage. Later there was electronic bleeps and other weird sounds… and finally there was real music which included samples from the dancers’ shoes. And what bass it had! This is the closest I can come to describing it. Weird moves, lights and sounds slowly building up to intense expressions and throbbing music with lots of WTF moments. Even the kids in the audience were totally silent. Although the dancers are pros with lots of practice and agility… it still amazes you at what the body is capable of with just a bit of physics. Big up Viv for the ticks.

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Torvill & Dean’s Dancing on Ice (The Live Tour 2009) at The O2

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Torvill & Dean’s Dancing on Ice (The Live Tour 2009) at The O2
First of big up Taz for getting tickets with the VIP Club Lounge passes. VIP status, don’t need to apparatus! Anyway so we chill in the Lounge for a bit. Get to our seats… wow! Not only comfy… but extra springy! Before the show starts this Robin Cousins dude comes up in the most glittering suit. The Count wants one too! Oh yeah through out the show this glittery outfits were the norm. Anyway this guy warms us up with yays and boos and oohs and Mexican waves. The show starts and as bourgeois as it may appear coz of the presentation and dressing… it def was not bourgie in any way. Jokes on the house, natural smiles and pretty modest contestants. Ok the contestants were celebrities that have been practicing this for several months so of course we expect modesty lol. Contestants were: Jessica Taylor, Melinda Messenger, Zoe Salmon, Ray Quinn (baby Elvis lol), Todd Carty, Roxanne Pallett (yummy), Kyran Bracken, Suzanne Shaw and Chris Fountain. They all had expert partners that they’d been training with. All of them were competing to perform the Bolero and the prize of course. Program went like this… First this group of pros come on and do great stunts and tricks etc. Curtain circle in the middle with them in the middle as you see shadows on the curtains. Yay. Trovill and Dean do the Bolero… then everyone comes on the ice and do their thing. Judges intro. They show blooper clips on the big screens of contestants falling over and hurting themselves as the practice. Still wanna know why that travel bag was on the ice. Contestants introduced… and let the gliding begin! Todd was so funny. They showed his clip of where he let go and ended up going backstage. His expressions and all were so funny and then he did the going backstage (from right entrance) thing again only this time the screen showed him still skating backstage and picking fruit and heading a football and stuff till he comes out the other side (left entrance). Chris was very good. And fly boy Ray did a great Rock and Roll interpretation with lots of skips, hops and jumps.
Interval.
We could vote so Taz and I were thinking either Chris for the skills or Todd for the entertainment. While all that was going on that Cousins guy was making us dance and stuff. Ok the pros and contestants too were doing different collabos and etc. No judges just entertainment. Votes say Chris and Kyran will compete for the prize. They both do their interpretations of the Bolero. Chris wins… was pretty obvious though.
I really enjoyed this coz what you see on TV is not the same as seeing it live. I was comparing it to the screen and you miss so much of the stamina, grace, co-ordination on TV. I mean on the screen especially with close-ups it looks more like the floor and audience is moving kinda thing. Oh and I was having fun looking at the camera’s being coordinated by the director. Usually you know which camera is live coz of the red light on it. Big up Taz again for the treats.

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Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre)

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Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre)
Soon as you walk in the building you get hit by the Wicked green lighting and atmosphere. Stalls selling all the merchandise the bar, etc. The stage was great. A big dragon at the top… mechanical words and cogs on the sides. I didn’t that bit up till the Wizard of Oz came on the scene. Just like other musicals and plays their props, lighting, wardrobe etc… all get kudos. Only, Wicked gets more kudos on the way they used to lighting especially for the rain effect. They get major props for the backdrops too and maps and hanging canvas. Oh and Oz’s mechanical face. It wasn’t too bad… some bits in the story were left unfinished like Tinman and the Lion. The sound was not too good either so you may have to strain to hear it. But all the shortcomings were made up by the twist in Wicked Witch of the West’s side of the story. From the cradle to the grave. She does have an amazing voice. It’s unanimous that the second half was much better. I guess the first was just to show her history and how her wickedness was born. SOOO MUCH GREEN! Imagine a theatre with all these side pillars and ceiling protrusions suddenly lit up by green. And no sign of lights. All I’d suggest is lower the volume or bass and treble and bump up the midrange. Otherwise an all round great production. Note: Bottle of Pepsi is 3 times the normal price… I aint that thirsty!

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Battle of the Year UK 2009 at O2 Academy

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Battle of the Year UK 2009 at O2 Academy
First of all finding the place was a mission coz usually you just follow the b-boy looking crowd right. Even in the building we took some time figuring it out. Once we did… folks were all funky-fied. Reppin’ hip-hop the true way. Once we got in folks were getting used to the place… then… battles broke out in the crowd. Hope you can see the pics http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6645600&id=223605290 Different folks flaunting what they know best and killing time till the event begins. Viv tells me there should have been 8 crews but there was just 4. I myself thought this was the final battle of the year so I was telling everyone I was seeing the cream of the crop face-off for the prize but it was just the UK crew and the winners would go to Germany for it. The MC was sooo funny… talking funny, sound effects… you could even see big blobs of spit while we talked. Lol at one point while the judges were busy to kill time he got some of the crowd to perform and at one point he was meant to perform right… instead he loosed his shoe and kicked it at a girl in the crowd LMAO! Anyway back to the event. First crew was wack! I mean you could see it in their faces they were trying to keep up with the routine and combos. No expression, nothing! Second was aiii. The last 2 were really good. Sorry I can’t keep track of the crew names. So yeah crews alone. Break (while crowds start their own battles). Then battles. Break (while crowd battles). Then the final. I was really hoping for the crew with the kid to end up in the final. I mean in their battle the last few moves the kid pulled out his sleeve… off the hook for shizzle! So Battle of the Year was ok. What made it great was the vide everyone brought with them… it’s all about hip-hop. I guess it would have been better if there were poppers, lockers, etc in the battle but this was pure breakin’/B-Boying/breakdancing (lot of controversy in the names so choose wisely). DJ Renegade mixed some great beats. One of the Crews chose some next music… you’d never have thought to use it for a showcase but it worked out well. Excuse: Sorry for the lame review but still got another play and the lake district trip to type.

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