Live Entertainment Blog

I was thinking that I wanted to get out and see a fun show in the next few weeks. I was looking around and settled on Jeff Dunham tickets. I just enjoy Jeff Dunham, though I’ve never seen him play in person. He’s really funny, with his different puppets. I’ll never figure out how he can keep them all straight as well as he does. Not only do they have different voices, but completely different characters. It’s not so hard if there are just a few characters who make the same kinds of jokes just with different voices. No, he has one character that makes meta-jokes, a running commentary about the show as it goes on. There is one that makes one-liners and such like. Just see Jeff Dunham sometime and have yourself a good time with his hilarious comedy.

How about the garage rock band, The Monks? Have you ever heard of them? They were formed by several US servicemen in Germany during the Vietnam War. Their music was rather existential and sad. It’s kind of fun to listen to now, especially since the punk rock era came after them. It’s like they were at the beginning of the punk movement with a lot of anger in their lyrics. Their musical abilities were.. interesting. People didn’t really get it at the time, because it was the late 60s and people were used to music that had a lot more melodic work to it, whereas this early punk was new and strange to them. Audiences at the time didn’t like it so much, but 10 years later they became recognized as a great influence in groups like the Beastie Boys. So it wasn’t a total loss and they became relatively popular thereafter.

Amy Winehouse is safe. She had been accused by a woman named Ms. Flash of punching her. It happened after a ball several years ago. But now she has been acquitted of the charge; she responded by shrugging and her lawyer explained to her. She’s happy that she’ll be heading home and that’s that for her. She has been in and out of troubles of various kinds over the last several years, including some difficulties with substance abuse and other arrests and such. It’s been a very tough time for her, but she’s the kind of performer that invites controversy and publicity of this kind. As a result, she doesn’t seem to mind this issue at this point. Hopefully she’s going to settle down a little bit more in the next few months and then get back into the recording studio!

The hip-hop group, the Beastie Boys, have decided to cancel quite a few shows this summer and their new album is reportedly also delayed. Adam Yauch, one of the main members of the group, has a cancer in his neck. He isn’t expected to be sick with it for very long, because it will be taken out soon and it has apparently not spread to any other part of his body. It also will not affect his voice in any way. It’s good news that it isn’t as serious as these kinds of things can become, but it is always a concern when this happens to someone that you are fond of. His music is greatly influential, not to mention fun, and we hope for the best for him as this moves forwards. Hopefully he’ll be back in the studio and on the stage again soon!

The comedy duo Flight of the Conchords is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I just saw a few episodes of their television series of the same name and I have to say, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! It’s not just that they do funny things. It’s more that their patter is SO funny. They have a great chemistry together and they can say the strangest things in such a deadpan way. And it goes fast too. It’s hard to describe! But then they start singing and you think “what’s this about? Is this ‘The Music Man?’” But actually the song fits in really well with the theme and is also uproariously funny. They are a very verbal team. They perform live shows frequently too, and I hope I get to see them sometime soon! Funny shows are all over the place, but this is a personal recommendation!

It’s been years since Spamalot first came onto the theater scene and it’s been one of the most popular musicals in recent times. It’s certainly one of the most famous comedy pieces onstage today. It closed on Broadway last winter, but the show goes on in a long tour and the new production put up in Los Angeles right now. This new production has already been reviewed. It’s not the best review, if only because the writer had high expectations. But all it needs to be is funny, and it already does that. The cast takes care of the verbal punnage and hilarious song-and-dance numbers while the design people have done a great job. The writer seems to dislike a lack of energy, and I suppose I can’t speak to that. But the crowd sounds like they loved it, so they must be doing a lot right!

When you want to see the Philadelphia Eagles playing in hard-hitting NFL action, you will be certain to have a great time. The Eagles have had some difficulty getting into the deep parts of the playoffs over the last few years, but this year might be their chance. There has been a lot of change in the NFC, so they might have the inside track to a great record. This is due in large part to the talented leadership of Donovan McNabb. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, this cannot be denied, although he’s certainly not the only great player on the team. You can expect the Eagles to have a great year with these guys on their side. They present a formidable foe to each and every one of the teams that they will face, all the way from week one in Carolina to the final week in Dallas, and all home and away games in between. Get ready for an exciting year and order your Philadelphia Eagles football tickets right away.

When an author decides to write about a moment of major change, historical and tragic change, often they will overdo the drama of the moment. Sometimes they will put the violins in there or give the characters long mournful monologues that bring the audience along into the sense of the moment. Sometimes, people aren’t as interested in this kind of play, because it’s a little too heavy handed. The House of Special Purposes is another very interesting show, where they go the other way around in describing the fall of the czar and the deaths of him and his family. It’s almost too unclear that there is a major impending change and that the Romanovs don’t seem to appreciate the situation they find themselves in. This dosen’t quite hit the dramatic point that it might want to and it is also not completely accurate. At the same time, it might be designed to represent the family’s attempt to keep a sense of normalcy in their lives despite all the dangers they find coming their way.

The new version of Twelfth Night is perhaps the best one being staged right now. Aside from all the small local and regional versions, most of which hold to the traditional version, and it’s hard to find one that does something new that is also well done. They have good actors and talented direction and producing on this production. It is nice to see Shakespeare this time of year. Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the best ones for the summer, of course, but Twelfth Night also gives you that same kind of fantasy during a summer evening. A love story with some strange twists, taking place in a partly real and partly mythical world. Nothing could be better!