OK, just got back from a hilarious evening at a Jeff Dunham performance at the All State Arena outside of Chicago. It was hysterical, as expected. Here are a few brief summary/comments of the show:
1. I was surprised to hear the news that Dunham is now divorced from his wife. Walter was the one who brought out the topic with Dunham, and at time, it appeared that it might be going into a rather painful direction, but then, Walter being Walter, he brought the house down with the comedic angle to this. Dunham is extremely brave in using this material in his act, which I'm sure is still a rather sore subject.
2. The first female puppet, Diane, made her appearance. While it was a funny bit, it didn't have the same drop-on-the-floor-laughing level that we come to expect from Dunham's regular characters. I don't think this puppet will make that much of an impact.
3. Dunham ended his usual show and then tried out a new bit that he had just written involving Peanut and Jose Jalepeno. He said that parts of it were written just before he stepped onto the stage this evening, and he still needed to read it off the teleprompter since it hasn't been rehearsed. All I can say is, I can't wait for him to finish off this bit. It was very funny, especially the ad-libed bits!
4. He then brought out a surprising new character, and it was a GOOD one. He brought out Achmed's son, Achmed's Jr, or what Achmed like to call "AJ". Supposedly, this evening is the first time Dunham is introducing this new puppet. The bit between them was a total success and the audience were roaring like crazy. AJ has an English accent, and in the end, we also found out that he's Jewish! That last bit of information just killed Achmed! It was a tremendous act! (Ha, ha!)
A very enjoyable evening. If the Identity Crisis Tour comes to your town, go see it.
Zz.
Showing posts with label live performance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label live performance. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Flanders Recorder Quartet
This past Saturday, I attended a performance by the Flanders Recorder Quartet as part of the Arts At Argonne series. I've never attended a recorder performance before, so it was unusual. I also had this vision of the typical recorder that kids learn to play from and I don't mind admitting that I was a bit apprehensive that it is going to be just this monotonous recorder performance that would put me to sleep.
Well, slap me silly and call me a hollow stick! It was an astounding concert! First of all, the "recorder" appears to have many different siblings, and they all sounded differently from one another, very much like a string quartet. Secondly, the performance also had such a huge range of repertoire, from pre-Baroque era to modern avant garde incorporating various traditional sounds of Africa and South America.
I'm a sucker for ancient music. So when they played per-Baroque, even as far back as the 14th Century, music, that's right up my alley. But what is interesting about the concert was that, due to the intimate nature of the concert hall, the performers had time to describe the music and the history of the evolution of the instrument - the recorder - to the audience. They brought, and used, a large range of instrument, ranging from small, piccolo-type recorder, to this huge big-boy of a recorder that's roughly 7 feet tall and makes a very deep sound. It was a feast for the eyes and ears.
It was a tremendous concert. If you have a chance to attend one of the Flanders Recorder Quartet performance, I highly recommend it. I also immediately brought a couple of their CDs and am delightfully listening to it.
I hope the Arts at Argonne concert series survive. They have to cut back severely on their program due to funding cuts. Now, they can't even put out their program for the year due to lack of funding. So I was more than happy to support and attend this concert. Still, I wish others feel the same way since the concert hall was not even hall-full for this performance. It will be sad if this series cannot be sustained. I can say without a single doubt that THE BEST classical music experience that I've ever, EVER, had, was at one of the Arts at Argonne concert. It was a performance by I Solisti di Venezia a few years ago. I still fondly remember it to this day, and just the thought of the encore performance alone that they gave caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.
Zz.
Well, slap me silly and call me a hollow stick! It was an astounding concert! First of all, the "recorder" appears to have many different siblings, and they all sounded differently from one another, very much like a string quartet. Secondly, the performance also had such a huge range of repertoire, from pre-Baroque era to modern avant garde incorporating various traditional sounds of Africa and South America.
I'm a sucker for ancient music. So when they played per-Baroque, even as far back as the 14th Century, music, that's right up my alley. But what is interesting about the concert was that, due to the intimate nature of the concert hall, the performers had time to describe the music and the history of the evolution of the instrument - the recorder - to the audience. They brought, and used, a large range of instrument, ranging from small, piccolo-type recorder, to this huge big-boy of a recorder that's roughly 7 feet tall and makes a very deep sound. It was a feast for the eyes and ears.
It was a tremendous concert. If you have a chance to attend one of the Flanders Recorder Quartet performance, I highly recommend it. I also immediately brought a couple of their CDs and am delightfully listening to it.
I hope the Arts at Argonne concert series survive. They have to cut back severely on their program due to funding cuts. Now, they can't even put out their program for the year due to lack of funding. So I was more than happy to support and attend this concert. Still, I wish others feel the same way since the concert hall was not even hall-full for this performance. It will be sad if this series cannot be sustained. I can say without a single doubt that THE BEST classical music experience that I've ever, EVER, had, was at one of the Arts at Argonne concert. It was a performance by I Solisti di Venezia a few years ago. I still fondly remember it to this day, and just the thought of the encore performance alone that they gave caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.
Zz.
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