Foo Fighters at the Vivint Arena

I honestly don't know how I made it through the school day yesterday because I was so excited for the Foo Fighters concert.  I could hardly stand it because I absolutely love the Foo Fighters!  I have seen them several times in concert but I have to say that last night was probably the best one yet!  They played for over three hours!  They got the night started with "Run" from their latest album, Concrete and Gold, and that got the crowd screaming along with Dave Grohl.  They played a few other songs from the new album, such as "The Sky is a Neighborhood," "Sunday Rain," and "Dirty Water," but they mostly played the hits!  My favorite moment came early on when they played "The Pretender," my favorite Foo Fighters song, with some fabulous extended solos.  In fact, almost every song they played featured epic solos which was just fine with me.  They played "All My Life," "Rope," "My Hero," which included a lot of audience participation, "These Days," "Walk," "Times Like These," "Breakout," "Monkey Wrench," and "Best of You."  Throughout their set they played a few covers, such as "Under My Wheels," by Alice Cooper, "Another One Bites The Dust," by Queen, "Blitzkrieg Pop," by the Ramones, "Let There Be Rock," by AC/DC, and "Breakdown," by Tom Petty (another highlight!). During a cover of "Under Pressure," by Queen, Dave Grohl got behind the drum kit (sigh!).  They also played an awesome rendition of "Dear Rosemary" with Bob Mould, who opened for them.  They ended the evening, as they often do, with "Everlong."  I think Dave Grohl is just so damn cool and he kept up a steady stream of wisecracks at the audience ("I've been playing for two and half hours!  Get up off your asses!").  It was an amazing concert!  Did I mention that they played for over three hours!  The show didn't end until after midnight so I honestly don't know how I will make it through the school day today!

A Christmas Carol at HCT 2017

It just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't see Hale Centre Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. I like to joke that I've seen it so many times I could probably stand in for any part!  However, this year it is an entirely new production! It is now held in the new Jewel Box Theatre at the Mountain America Performing Arts Centre which has a traditional proscenium stage.  The script and all of the musical numbers are the same but, since it is no longer being performed in the theatre-in-the-round, the staging and the choreography are completely different. The stage reminded me of a set for a Shakespeare play because there is a upper level with balconies on either side at different levels and a staircase connecting the levels. The design is actually quite simple but I really liked it because, at its heart, the story of Ebeneezer's redemption through visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is a simple one. Sometimes the same actors reprise roles year after year but this year I was able to see many that I had never seen before, including Stephen Kerr as Scrooge, Lucas Charon as Fred, and Addison Welch as Bob Cratchit. It was fun to see some new interpretations of beloved characters and I particularly liked a scene where Bob Cratchit thanks Scrooge because it is so heartfelt and moving with an affecting performance by Welch that actually brought a tear to my eye. Tiny Tim, played by Alexander Scott, is absolutely adorable and I loved his interactions with Scrooge! There are some new costumes for the ghosts and the Ghost of Christmas Future is quite terrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed this updated classic and, even if you have seen it countless times like I have, I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here) but hurry because almost every show is sold out!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

I won tickets to see Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (thanks Classic Movie Hub!) and I had the chance to see it yesterday afternoon as part of TMC's Big Screen Classics.  Even though the film is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this month, the themes are still just as relevant today.  Joanna Drayton (Katharine Houghton) brings her fiance Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier) home to meet her parents.  This causes problems because, even though her parents (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) are liberals who have taught her to reject racial inequality, the fact that John is black forces them to confront their beliefs up close.  Joanna also invites John's parents (Roy E. Glenn and Beah Richards) to dinner which makes for a pretty tense evening.  This film is extremely thought-provoking and I was especially intrigued by the response of the family maid (Isabel Sanford), who is black, because she accuses John of trying to get above himself by marrying a white woman.  There is a lot of discussion in this film (the titular dinner begins at the very end) and there were two speeches that really struck me.  John says that his father thinks of himself as a black man while he thinks of himself as a man.  Joanna's father tells them that they will face obstacles but the only thing that really matters is how they feel about each other and I have to admit that I had a tear in my eye after that scene.  I did laugh out loud when Joanna's father hangs up the phone in the middle of his secretary's long recitation of John's  accolades after he asks her to investigate him.  Katherine Hepburn (who won an Academy Award for the role) and Spencer Tracy (who received a posthumous Academy Award nomination) are outstanding and Sidney Poitier more than holds his own with those two screen legends.  I highly recommend this film about the power of love and you are in luck because there is another opportunity to see it on the big screen on December 13 (go here for details).

Note:  I have really enjoyed the TCM Big Screen Classics series this year and I am excited that they will be continuing it in 2018!  The films are The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,  The Philadelphia Story, Vertigo, Grease, Sunset Boulevard, The Producers, Big, The Big Lebowski, South Pacific, Rebel Without a Cause, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Die Hard, and White Christmas.  Doesn't that sound fabulous?

The Lower Lights 2017

Last night I continued a tradition that I started several years ago by seeing the Lower Lights in concert and it just made me so happy!  I really love listening to Christmas music played live and the Lower Lights concert is one of my favorites.  The Lower Lights are a super group of 22 insanely talented musicians and vocalists, many of whom are famous in their own rights, who have a distinct folk-gospel sound and have an incredible rapport with one another on stage that is palpable to the audience.  Last night they performed quite a few of their gospel songs which turned Kingsbury Hall into a raucous revival tent.  Some of my favorites were "Old Time Religion," "Down to the River to Pray," "Go Tell It On The Mountain," and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."  Of course, I especially loved all of the Christmas music, especially "Still, Still Still" and "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" because I sang those songs in choir when I was in college.  Hearing them always brings back so many memories.  I was also really impressed with a beautiful instrumental version of "What Child Is This?" featuring a guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and bass.  It gave me goosebumps!  Some of the other Christmas songs in the setlist included "I Saw Three Ships," "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful," "Away in a Manger," "White Christmas," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," "Silver Bells," "Mary's Lullaby," "The Holly and the Ivy," "A Cradle in Bethlehem," "Mary's Boy Child," and "In the Bleak Midwinter."  For the encore they performed "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and a beautiful a cappella rendition of "Silent Night" with the audience.  It was so lovely!  I really love this tradition and I walked out of Kingsbury Hall with a big smile on my fave.  The Lower Lights will perform one more concert tonight and I highly recommend getting a ticket (if there are any to be had!).

The Bodyguard at the Eccles

Last night I went to see the musical The Bodyguard, based on the 1992 movie of the same name starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.  I am not always a fan of turning popular movies into stage musicals but I went into this evening's production with an open mind.  The bottom line?  It is like an extended Whitney Houston concert featuring some of her greatest hits, such as "Greatest Love of All," "How Will I Know," "I Have Nothing," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," "One Moment in Time," "Saving All My Love," and "So Emotional," with some superfluous bits in between the songs.  But, boy, is it a good concert!  Rachel Marron (Deborah Cox) is a superstar nominated for an Academy Award who has been receiving disturbing letters from a stalker.  The head of her security team hires a former member of the Secret Service, Frank Farmer (Judson Mills), to guard her 24 hours a day.  At first his relationship with Rachel is combative because she resents the intrusion but, of course, they soon develop feelings for one another which jeopardizes his ability to guard her.  Rachel's sister Nicki (Naomi C. Whalley), who has been jealous of her for years, develops feeling for him which also complicates the situation.  The story is thin and pretty contrived and the acting is unbelievably stilted, almost ridiculously so.  There is dramatic lighting whenever the stalker is shown but it is so cheesy that I almost laughed several times.  I also did not like when the stalker pointed a gun with a laser sight at the audience.  It made me incredibly uncomfortable in light of all of the mass shootings in recent memory.  However, Deborah Cox is absolutely spectacular, giving an incredible vocal performance and executing dazzling choreography.  I loved her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" at the end of the show!  She is the show and she is the reason to see this production!  It runs at the Eccles Theater through Sunday and tickets may be purchased here.