Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts

Sunday, November 19, 2017

You know there was somebody with a history of being a little sexually inappropriate onstage, and that's Leann Tweeden.

This is during the same show where Tweeden accused Al Franken of sexually assaulting her.

Really?

Here she is onstage with the great Robin Williams.
Look putting on a performance with fellow actors, musicians, and comedians can be a very touchy feely situation, and typically folks are more or less okay with it.

But to accuse a fellow performer of assaulting you, when THIS is your typical behavior seems very hypocritical to me.
Also keep in mind that Roger Stone predicted that Franken was about to face his own sexual harassment charges as did this "reporter" from Info Wars.

That was at least two days before Tweeden made her allegations.

Somebody found actual footge of the USO show so that you can judge how sexually harassed Tweeden appeared on stage. Women should be believed, they should.

But should ALL women be believed, EVERY time?

I am not so sure that is a good policy.

Monday, February 06, 2017

The unaired Superbowl commercial that everybody is talking about.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

The ad featured a Spanish-speaking mother and daughter apparently traveling from Mexico to the United States. The end, which shows the pair discovering a door in a giant wall, was reportedly banned from TV since it commented on President Donald Trump’s promised border wall.

A part of the ad was shown which then directed you to Journey84.com which then promptly crashed. (Back up now.)

However attempts to stifle the message of inclusion ultimately failed miserably: 

One after another, on the NRG Stadium field, on the streets of Houston and perhaps most important of all, in ad after ad from the giants of corporate America such as Coke and Anheuser-Busch, a message of inclusion and equality in defiance of Trump emanated from an event that always is much more than a football game. 

The tone was set inside the massive football stadium even before kickoff when three stars of the hit musical Hamilton made a simple but significant addition to the words of America the Beautiful. 

When the original Hamilton cast’s Schuyler Sisters trio of Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones reached the line, “And crown thy good with brotherhood,” they smiled and added, “and sisterhood,” to a roar from the crowd.

At halftime the irrepressible Lady Gaga also let her feelings be known with an amazing performance that not only entertained but also could be its own advertisement for inclusion and acceptance: 

Before plunging toward the field, tethered by wires, she added, “One nation. Under God. Indivisible. With liberty. And justice. For all.” 

A few minutes later, singing Born This Way she added the word “transgender” to the Super Bowl conversation likely for the first time ever: “No matter gay, straight, or bi, Lesbian, transgender life…”

Ultimately Donald Trump's favorite quarter back may have won the game, but the message of the day was anything but Trump approved. 

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

It looks like Donald Trump may have found somebody else to perform at his inauguration, with conditions.

Courtesy of the BBC: 

Rebecca Ferguson says she's been asked to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony. 

The singer tweeted she would "graciously accept" the invitation from the American president-elect if she can perform Strange Fruit.

Here is what Ferguson tweeted in response:  

I've been asked and this is my answer. If you allow me to sing "strange fruit" a song that has huge historical importance, a song that was blacklisted in the United States for being too controversial. A song that speaks to all the disregarded and down trodden black people in the United States. A song that is a reminder of how love is the only thing that will conquer all the hatred in this world, then I will graciously accept your invitation and see you in Washington. Best Rebecca X

Here is the song she is referencing, as sung by India Ari:

So in a nutshell this black female singer will perform at the inauguration of the man who was endorsed by the KKK and supported by supremacists, IF she is allowed to sing a song about black people in America being lynched by those very same people.

Sounds like a deal to me.

And I want the camera focused squarely on Donald Trump's or Stephen Bannon's face while she sings it.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

"She felt she was being forced to perform for this monster." A Rockette breaks her silence about feeling forced to perform at Trump's inauguration.

Courtesy of Marie Claire:  

The dancer next to Mary was crying. Tears streamed down her face through all 90 minutes of their world-famous Christmas Spectacular as they kicked and pirouetted and hit mark after mark on the glittering Radio City Music Hall stage. This was Thursday, three days before Christmas, the day the Rockettes discovered they'd been booked to perform at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. 

"She felt she was being forced to perform for this monster," Mary told MarieClaire.com in an exclusive interview. "I wouldn't feel comfortable standing near a man like that in our costumes," said another dancer in an email to her colleagues.

"Mary" is obviously a pseudonym to protect this dancer from losing her job for speaking out, and she has quite a lot to share.

For one, despite what we have heard, the performance was NOT at first considered optional for the full time dancers:

"So it wasn't optional at first. The email from their union said they had to do this job," Mary says of the full-timers. By Friday, after backlash from the dancers and on social media, producers agreed to make participation elective. 

However that does not mean that many of the performers feel they have a choice:  

But dancers are worried that their choice to sit out now means they'll be sitting out for good; it's not as if dancing makes for a stable career, even without hurdles like this one to jump. Mary knows of three full-time dancers who have chosen to decline to perform, and at least one of them is fearful of losing her standing as a result. "It will be interesting to see who doesn't get their job back," Mary says. "But do you really want to work for a company that supports this? I just don't know. It's become a moral issue at this point." 

 "Mary" also says that the performance has caused a split within the usually tight knit group: 

While the performance is now theoretically voluntary, that hasn't dissolved the tension within the usually supportive group of women. "There is a divide in the company now, which saddens me most," Mary says. "The majority of us said no immediately. Then there's the percentage that said yes, for whatever reason—whether it's because they're young and uninformed, or because they want the money, or because they think it's an opportunity to move up in the company when other people turn it down."

Mary says that to her knowledge, no women of color have signed up to perform that day. "It's almost worse to have 18 pretty white girls behind this man who supports so many hate groups," she says. The lack of diversity in the kick line is "embarrassing" on a normal day, she says, and will only be more pointed in January. "They're going to be branded in history as one of those women," Mary says. "How's it going to look?"

So to be clear the man who rode to the presidency on the waves of racism, and with the help of a foreign government, will have performing at his inauguration a group of lily white dancers who secretly despise him but feel pressured to do as they are told for fear of losing their jobs.

Well I guess it could be worse.

At least nobody is rounding them up and taking them away.

At least not yet.

Friday, December 23, 2016

More on Donald Trump's struggles to get somebody, anybody, to perform at his inauguration.

Here is a list of those who have been asked and then refused according to Fox News. That's right, Fox News: 

Gene Simmons' wife told TMZ KISS "politely declined" the invitation to perform at the inauguration. Simmons said he would be touring Europe at the time. 

Trump's longtime friend Steve Wynn reportedly promised to deliver Celine Dion to perform at the inauguration, but could not follow through. 

Producer David Foster released a statement “politely declining” the offer to participate in the inauguration after rumors swirled he was participating. 

Elton John told the New York Times he was not performing after Anthony Scaramucci, a member of the presidential transition team, told the BBC the singer would sing a song or two. 

Page Six reported that Andrea Bocelli will not perform because of the backlash he received over accepting the gig. They also reported that President-Elect Trump suggested the tenor not participate because of said backlash. 

Variety and the NY Post have reported that Garth Brooks will not perform at the inauguration after he said earlier this month he "would be honored" to perform. Brooks did not return FOX411’s request for comment. 

The manager for the band Chainsmokers had to respond to New York Magazine’s Brian Feldman after he tweeted the band was performing. They are not. 

Wait, he cannot even get a band that calls themselves "Chainsmokers" to play for him? Isn't THAT just about the bottom of the barrel?

I find the idea of a guy who LOVES to surround himself with celebrities being unable to find any of them to perform at his inauguration to be laugh out loud funny.

However I also believe that Trump will eventually find SOMEBODY relatively famous to risk the end of their career by showing up.

Ted Nugent for instance is already at the end of his career, and  after Meatloaf butchered "America the Beautiful" at a Mitt Romney rally in 2012 what really does he have to lose anymore?

Well if all else fails he did manage to snag the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

And nothing says party til you can't party no more, like a bunch of singing Mormons.

Late last night Trump defensively tweeted this:

Okay he does realize that there will be cameras there at the inauguration right?

So this lie about celebrities asking for tickets is going to blow right up in his fat orange face.

Jesus, what a buffoon!


Sunday, June 14, 2015

The greatest show in Alaska, the Whale Fat Follies, finds seemingly endless inspiration from the Palin family.

This courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

But it was Sarah Palin and her family who provided the most material for the cast, with at least 10 references to or photos of the former governor. 

The other best bit of the show was MacDonald and Morrison as Palin and daughter Bristol, played against a backdrop of news coverage and police photos of last year's infamous birthday party brawl. They sang fast and furiously funny parodies of Queen’s “We Are The Champions” (“We are the Palins, my friend/And we’ll keep on fighting to the end…”) and the Bee Gees tune “Stayin’ Alive” (“Whether you’re the father or whether you’re the other we’ll be startin’ a fight, startin’ a fight…”).

I have seen this show at least four times now, but I admit that my last time was at least five years ago.

Now that I know that these days they are mocking the entire Palin clan, instead of just Sarah Palin, I might have to buy some tickets and make a night of it.

And seriously if you are planning a trip to Alaska it is well worth your while to stop at the Tap Root in Anchorage and take in the show.

(By the way I met Mr. Whitekeys way back in 2009. And he was already doing Palin material back then. Here is one of the songs. )

Sunday, November 25, 2012

A much deserved mental health break.

You know I am always seeing these videos about amazing voices coming out of people that you would not expect to have such an ability. Usually I give them a pass, but once in awhile you see one that you just feel really needs to be shared.

This is just such a video.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Flash mobs done right.

I just like how it slowly grows until it is a full orchestra and the joy reflected in the face of the people who suddenly realize that they are witnessing a seemingly spontaneous performance.

Click here to see source on YouTube.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Tina Fey on Julianne Moore's performance in Game Change. "I hope I get invited out to hand her an Emmy."

Courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter:

Fey returned from 30 Rock to SNL to give a much-celebrated impression of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election, which had been the defining interpretation of the politico until Julianne Moore took on the part in HBO's much more serious TV movie, Game Change. 

"Oh my gosh, I just saw it. It was fantastic! She was so good. I thought she was good," Fey exclaimed. "I hope I get invited out to hand her an Emmy. I would like to volunteer to be a presenter in that category."

I like how Fey just ASSUMES that Moore will get the Emmy. Not even really a question in her mind.

And I have to agree!  I have now seen Game Change about four times altogether and Moore's performance never stops being remarkable. And seeing Tina Fey hand Julianne Moore that trophy would be amazing!

I swear I would embed the video of that presentation on this blog and have it play in a continuous loop, knowing that every time it did there would be yet another can ricocheting off of a refrigerator by dead lake in Wasilla.