[FRINGE] happy little oysters

My first trip to a Fringe event was to see the very delightful Lili La Scala perform some of her favourite old-timey songs in Songs To Make You Smile, accompanied by Daniel on the piano. I'd seen her before for her excellent War Notes* (a selection of the popular songs of the two world wars), as well as performing various arias from Madame Butterfly. It always amazes me to find such a powerful voice in such a small package (it shouldn't considering all the wonderful singers I know of who are really really really small, but it still does). The first half of the set was drawn mainly from the famous US composers of early last century, such as Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. Fairly standard fare, albeit sung wonderfully and very evocatively by a beautiful young lady (which is well worth it for it's own sake). However, the second half of the set was drawn more extensively from the British music hall tradition and the likes of George Formby, Flanders and Swann, and Gracie Fields, and it is here that her love for this kind of music really shines through, raising the entire performance from the simply wonderful to the absolutely sublime. For many of these pieces it was the first time they have been sung again in public since they were sung by their original singers, given the difficulty involved in rediscovering the sheet music. And that's a shame. I'm glad she is questing to keep this tradition alive. [And if, in her excitement of getting to sing these songs anew in public for the very first time, she forgot how these songs actually went, it added to the deep sincerity of the performance. Anybody can be technically perfect, but it takes a great heart to transcend mere perfection and simply sing.] She is playing in the Spiegeltent at 5pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the rest of the Fringe. Well worth a visit. I might even go again, if only to actually remember what songs she actually sang instead of just being blissed out. Looking forward to the next CD. * She apparently has released a CD of her previous songs from War Notes, but never actually thought to bring any to her show. ** Personally I think she should abandon the Broadway show tunes and concentrate on the British music hall part of her repertoire, but that may just be a personal choice (although it was echoed by my companion for the show, who is another fan of the old music hall traditions, also agrees and found the second half of her programme much more entertaining).

[FRINGE] you paid to watch bubbles

Due to a chance meeting of friends at the Garden, I decided to accompany them to see their next show (after all, one of them had joined me for the show I was actually there for. They had picked a puppet show, Swamp Juice, pretty much at random, and not knowing anything about it, I had no expectations. Until the puppeteer emerged on stage. It was Jeff Achtem. If I had known that it would have been immediately placed this show on my must see list. This talented Canadian puppeteer was responsible for the awesome shadow puppet theatre that is Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones (and which is still playing in the Bosco theatre on weekends). Swamp Juice initially follows the same formula, where Jeff makes scraps of cardboard, pieces of tinsel, and foam cutouts suddenly come alive on the screen. Ostensibly it was the story of a naturalist journeying into the swamp, where he encounters a variety of life forms ... and eventually a life form encounters him. But then something really wonderful happens. Something that makes you go "wow" even more than his ability to make the shadows come to life. Something that makes you glad you paid to see bubbles.* And no, I won't tell you what it is, but the effect was magical, and definitely worth seeing.** So go see it. I dare you not to go wow. * Although personally, the jellyfish was my favourite. ** Although I'd definitely recommend sitting both close to the front and near the centre aisle to get the full effect.

(no subject)

Looks like I procrastinated too long about going to see the Wheatsheaf Ukulele Collective. It sold out rather rapidly. Must check some of the other more obscure acts I was interested in but no one else in my immediate social group seems to be, such as the Georgie Aué Quartet playing Beatle songs at the Promethean from Saturday next. Anyone interested? And I might go to Richard III on the 21st. Unfortunately I've yet to see a good live performance of this piece, but that's probably because I have an exacting image of the character of Richard. Ian McKellen's performance in the 1995 movie comes closest, although any good that came from that movie was wiped out by the closing credits (or at least, the song underneath it). ETA: And I overdid it yesterday. Took hours for the pain to drop to a level where I could sleep and then another day to recover. Leaving a gap between Fringe shows seems to be a good idea.

over the horizon

Airship Pirates looks quite interesting. For those who don't know it's the postapocalyptic steampunk RPG based on Abney Park's songs (and band backstory). It's being done by Cakebread & Walton (the writers of Clockwork & Chivalry) and is using the Heresy Engine of Victoriana (2nd Edition). Presumably it will be released by Cubicle 7.

hmmmmmm

They weren't not in love. It's just that the subject, as such, never really came up. It kind of loomed over them like a blissfully stupid cloud. The love cloud. Guaranteed to rain on your brain, 'til you're moanin' with seratonin. Maybe what was happening was that they were in love with the idea of being in love. But that's still love, right? Instead of loving each other, they loved an idea. An aspiration. A wish. The other person was more or less of an afterthought. Somewhat expendable, or at the very least, interchangeable. I love that you make me feel like I'm in love. You, on the other hand, I can take or leave. Of course, it was just a matter of time before the truth of each other, the hard fact of their unique selfness, their one-of-a-kind snow-flakiness, became unavoidable. I may be a broken toy, but you are a Chinese crib factory that uses lead paint. Saying goodbye in these circumstances is always very awkward. "I just had your car towed." "That's okay, those Flip videos I said I erased are now on the internet." – Chuck Lore Productions Vanity Card #328 The Big Bang Theory (Ser 4 Eps 15)