She Started It

My June Book of the Month selection was She Started It by Sian Gilbert (the other options were The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer, Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs, Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See, and Banyan Moon by Thao Thai). I defaulted to the thriller yet again and this twisty page-turner kept me up all night! Former school friends Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are surprised when they receive invitations to an all-expenses-paid bachelorette weekend from Poppy Greer. The four of them often bullied Poppy at school but it was so long ago and she must have forgiven them for their little pranks by now. Besides, who could resist the opportunity to stay at a luxury resort on a private island in the Bahamas? They are discomfited to discover that they are Poppy's only guests but soon settle in for three days of sun, sand, and cocktails. However, it soon becomes clear that Poppy has arranged this weekend to exact revenge but, when one of the four is murdered, Poppy is not the only one with a motive. The narrative alternates between the POVs of Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe in the present and Poppy's diary entries about past events when they were at school. The four main characters are unlikable and unreliable narrators with lots of secrets that are revealed little by little and the diary entries cleverly inform what is happening on the island and why (although the diary entries read as if they are a creative writing project rather than the words of a young girl). The suspense builds and builds as the island is transformed from a tropical paradise into a literal prison with no way to communicate with the outside world and no way to leave. The plot is quite ingenious (I especially enjoyed how Poppy uses technology to get even with her tormentors) and there are so many twists and turns (it is really fun when the women begin turning on one another) that I actually suspected everyone at one point! I did figure out one of the biggest twists before the big reveal but it didn't detract from my enjoyment because the story is so engaging that I raced through to find out if I was right and I giggled out loud when something happened to confirm my suspicions. This is a quick and easy read that combines Mean Girls with The Lord of the Flies and I recommend it for fans of thrillers.

The Cure at the Vivint Arena

Last night I was at the Vivint Arena once again to celebrate my birthday with The Cure. I have seen them twice before but it has been a while so I was really excited for the show.  It had a completely different vibe than the Duran Duran concert did the night before but it was equally amazing.  The Cure played for almost three hours, with a main set, an encore, and a second longer encore, featuring a career-spanning mix of their biggest hits, deeper tracks, and even a few new songs (including "Alone," which opened the show, "I Can Never Say Goodbye," about the death of Smith's brother, and "And Nothing Is Forever").  My favorites were "Pictures of You," "Lovesong," "Plainsong," "Disintegration," "Lullaby," "Let's Go to Bed," "Friday I'm in Love," "Close to Me," "In Between Days," "Just Like Heaven," and "Boys Don't Cry."  All of these crowd favorites, except for "Pictures of You" and "Lovesong," were performed during the encores so the audience got more and more frenzied just as the concert concluded!  Another noteworthy moment came during "Burn" in the main set because drummer Jason Cooper gave an unbelievable performance that was featured on the screen behind him.  Robert Smith was in his usual black (although he did have a bit of red on his shirt) with wild hair, red lipstick, and eyeliner but, compared to other times that I've seen The Cure, he was positively ebullient!  He interacted with the crowd quite a bit, often walking over to the corners of the stage to make eye contact with people in the upper bowl, and he was even dancing at one point (the last time I saw The Cure at USANA he didn't move away from the microphone and didn't talk to the crowd at all).  He also sounded great with the same expressive voice that he is known for. The stage was very stripped down with just a riser for the drum kit and rows of amplifiers and guitar racks.  However, it was bathed in a wall of lights that looked really cool changing from one color to another and there was a large screen which alternated between a live feed of the band and curated images (my favorite was a large spider web during "Lullaby").  Like most of the capacity crowd, I was wearing the requisite eyeliner and Doc Martens and I had an absolute blast.  It was a great way to spend my birthday!

Duran Duran at the Vivint Arena

I have loved Duran Duran since I was a sophomore in high school but I had never seen them live before last night's concert at the Vivint Arena!  I was so excited I could hardly contain myself!  Even though they didn't play "Union of the Snake" (boo!) I loved every minute and I know I will be on a high for a long time because the show was amazing!  They began with "Night Boat" and played quite a few other songs from their debut album Duran Duran, including "Careless Memories," "Friends of Mine," "Is There Something I Should Know," "Planet Earth," and then "Girls on Film" to end their main set.  They also played "Give It All Up" and "Anniversary" from their latest album Future Past and, even though I wasn't very familiar with these songs, I really liked them.  The rest of the concert consisted of an eclectic mix of their hits, such as "Come Undone," "Lonely in Your Nightmare," "A View to a Kill," "The Wild Boys," "Notorious," "The Reflex" (which was the only song they played from my favorite album Seven and the Ragged Tiger), and "White Lines (Don't Do It)."  My favorite songs in the main set were "Hungry Like the Wolf," because it made me feel so nostalgic, and "Ordinary World," because Simon Le Bon gave such a lovely and heartfelt vocal performance after dedicating it to the people of Ukraine. As I mentioned, I was a little bit disappointed when they didn't play "Union of the Snake" because it is my favorite song by the band but I forgave them because they played "Save a Prayer" during the encore. I also really love this song and it was so cool to hear the crowd singing along and see all of the lights from phones!  They ended the show with a rousing rendition of "Rio" and this was another fun and nostalgic moment!  Simon Le Bon looked really good (sigh!) but, more importantly, he (and the band) sounded great!  I couldn't believe that I was actually so close to him (I splurged on a lower bowl ticket) and every time he interacted with the crowd I would scream like the fifteen year old girl who once had the biggest crush on him!  Compared to other shows I've seen lately they had a very traditional stage but there were giant screens behind them with lots of dynamic visuals.  My favorite was a montage of all of the magazine covers they appeared on during their heyday (I think I had all of them on my bedroom walls back in the day).  I am so glad that I finally had the chance to see one of my favorite bands after all of this time!  It was definitely worth the wait!

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

I was absolutely blown away by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so I was already looking forward to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse but all of the early buzz made me even more excited!  My nephew and I saw it last night and the hype is real because it is amazing!  Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is adjusting to life as Spider-Man but is struggling to balance these responsibilities with the expectations of his mother Rio (Luna Lauren Velez) and father Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry).  Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) is facing similar struggles as Spider-Woman in her universe because her father George (Shea Whigham) is hunting Spider-Woman for the murder of Peter Parker.  When her identity is revealed to her father, she is reluctantly admitted to the Spider Society, an organization charged with protecting the Spider-Verse, by Miguel O'Hara/ Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew/ Spider-Woman (Issa Rae).  When Miles encounters the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a scientist altered by the explosion of the collider at Alchemax, Gwen joins him in pursuit of this villain to another universe where they are aided by Pavitr Prabhakar/ Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) and Hobie Brown/ Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya).  However, events in this universe show Miles that he must defy all of the other Spider-People to protect those he loves from the Spot. This is one of the best sequels I've seen because it expands the ideas explored in the first movie about who can be Spider-Man to include what it means to be Spider-Man and the stakes for each of the characters are much higher.  I found the narrative to be incredibly compelling because, just when I thought I knew where things were going, my expectations were subverted in the best possible way.  There is also a greater emotional weight to the tone and all of the voice actors really deliver, particularly Isaac.  The images on the screen are absolutely dazzling and, as with the first movie, I loved all of the different styles of animation used for each of the characters, particularly the watercolor palette used for Gwen and the cut-and-paste style of punk rock posters for Spider-Punk (my favorite character).  Finally, all of the Easter eggs are so much fun!  I laughed out loud every time I spotted something (I loved the Lego Spider-Man) but for every one I found my nephew, who loves the comics, found ten more!  We both loved this movie so much (go see it!) and we can't wait for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse next year!

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Eccles

Last night I saw Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Eccles Theatre and I found it to be especially poignant after the recent passing of Tina Turner.  This is a jukebox musical about the life of Tina Turner (Zurin Villenueva) from her humble beginnings as Anna Mae Bullock (Ayvah Johnson) in Nutbush, Tennessee to her rise to success with Ike Turner (Roderick Lawrence) and then her reinvention as a global superstar after overcoming prejudices against her race, gender, and age.  I knew that Tina was physically abused by Ike but I didn't know everything else that she endured in her life so I found the narrative to be incredibly compelling.  However, the best part of this show is the music and I think its use in a thematic order, rather than a chronological one, is very effective in giving context to her struggles and ultimate triumph.  I especially enjoyed how "Let's Stay Together," "Better Be Good to Me," and "I Don't Wanna Fight No More," show her dysfunctional relationship with Ike, how "Private Dancer" shows her years of performing in Las Vegas to pay her debts after leaving Ike, and how "We Don't Need Another Hero" shows the turning point in her life and career.  Villenueva gives a powerful vocal performance and her renditions of "River Deep - Mountain High" and "(Simply) The Best" just about blew the roof off the Eccles (and gave me goosebumps).  The choreography is energetic, to say the least, and Villenueva and Aliyah Caldwell, Reyna Guerra, Takia Hopson, and Parris Lewis (as the Ikettes) are so much fun to watch in "I Want to Take You Higher" and "Proud Mary" (the highlight of the show for me).  Because of Turner's recent passing, I've seen a lot of footage of her performances, especially during her time with Ike Turner, and I was really impressed with how well the real-life choreography and costumes are replicated.  This production makes use of projections and minimal set pieces but the final set depicting the stage of a concert in Brazil is spectacular with amazing lighting effects (it was almost like an actual rock concert with lots of enthusiastic audience participation).  This show is an incredibly moving tribute to a remarkable woman and I highly recommend it (although it features very disturbing scenes of domestic violence, lots of profanity, and the use of racial epithets which some might find upsetting).  Go here for tickets to one of the four remaining performances.

Note:  Stay through the bows for a continuation of the concert featuring "Nutbush City Limits" and "Proud Mary."