60 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Magic Tour
Giants Stadium
28 July 2008, 2030

In point of fact, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are a New Jersey institution. The E Street Band has been together with various members since 1972, and currently includes: Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Garry Tallent, Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, Soozie Tyrell, Charles Giordano, Roy Bittan (aka The Professor), and Max Weinberg. I have seen them perform once before a handful of years ago also at Giants Stadium. At that concert, Bruce actually did a handstand on the microphone stand. In all honesty, he has only improved with age in talent as well as physique. The camera man seemed to pick up on this because the jumbo screens were showing views of his ass for a majority of the show (no complaints here...I have never seen a pair of blue jeans, a black leather belt and a button down black shirt look so good). Although there weren't any acrobatics on Springsteen's part during this show, Nils Lofgren made up for it by doing a somersault on stage while playing his guitar and he didn't miss a beat. I actually saw Nils play last winter at B.B. King Blues. He was awesome and incredibly entertaining (Dear Mr. Lofgren, Please do a solo tour once you are finished with the Magic tour. Thanks. Your friend, Lauren). The music went on for just over three hours. Yeah. They played some of the hits including one of my favorites, Thunder Road, and some of the tracks from the new album, Magic.

I had two issues with the show. The first was the khaki-wearing preppy in front of me who had to be at least 20 feet tall...or at least seemed that tall (see photo).

The other was the band's closing song, Twist and Shout. A great tune, but I really would have preferred to hear an actual Springsteen song as a closer. After three hours of performance though, no one could really complain.

Aside from the phenomenal music, I was lucky enough to see this concert with three of my favorite Jersey girls, Mary Jane, Mary Jane's sister Mo, and Suzy (aka Smother). The ladies have been going to Springsteen shows together since the Born In The USA tour circa 1981. We arrived just in time to hustle ourselves into the stadium and buy a drink before the notes of the first song blasted through the sound system. In our mad dash for the stadium, we unfortunately didn't get to partake in Mo's tailgate nibbles and vino, which she always has a knack for bringing along whereas the rest of us slouches are lucky if we remember to bring our tickets. After the show, the diehards were not ready to call it a night, so at half passed midnight, the gals cracked open a magnum bottle of wine, cranked out a few butts (Marlboros for Mo, Tarrytowns for Jane and Capris for the Suze), and we preceded to post-concert tailgate until 2am. We were finally forced from the Meadowland's parking lot when the parking lot sweeper truck came threateningly close to Suzy's car and one of the security guards inquired whether we would be 'okay' or not. I assured him I was the designated driver.

Thanks to my brother, Marc, for scoring seats on the floor, twenty rows from the stage.

For more insider news about the concert, check out Backstreets, a dedicated Springsteen fan page. For a set list from the show, check out Springsteen's site.



Video clip from Waitin' on A Sunny Day.

59 - Sweet and Nasty Burlesque

Sweet and Nasty Burlesque - Tribute to Hollywood Blondes
Rififi
27 July 2008, 2200

Happy birthday Precious Little!

Nasty Canasta, our fabulous, blonde-beehived hostess for the evening, lead the gorgeous ladies of Sweet and Nasty burlesque through a tour of old Hollywood. The alabaster beauty Ruby Valentine was the first to grace the stage followed by Weirdee Girl, Peekaboo Pointe, and the birthday girl herself, Precious Little. Dancing to a cover of Shake Your Moneymaker by John-Alex Mason, Precious celebrated her birthday in style. I promise all of you that Precious Little made sure that the moneymaker was indeed shaken.

Note: when hugging a burlesque star, you will inevitably become covered with glitter.

100 in 6 budget: $742

58 - Johnny Cash Tribute

Johnny Cash Tribute
World Financial Center
26 July 2008, 2000

As part of the River to River Festival, a slathering of artists came together to sing the music of Johnny Cash. Due to the impending threat of thunderstorms, the concert was moved under the dome of the World Financial Center in Battery Park. The dome unfortunatley came with a few sound problems, which had most of the audience holding their ears during the opening performance by Brooklyn based band the Hymns. The collection of artists that came together to celebrate the Man in Black was eclectic to say the least. From instrumental versions of what I think was Give My Love to Rose to an accapella Ring of Fire by the much loved Persuasions, the musical stylings were vast. The highlight of my evening, thanks to a tip from GB, was a quick performance by the awe inspiring Marshall Crenshaw.

57 - Jersey Summer Beatles Bash #2

Glen Burtnik and Friends
Jersey Summer Beatles Bash #2
State Theatre
25 July 2008, 2000

The second annual Jersey Summer Beatles Bash celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' White Album. Released in 1968, The White Album was mostly recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London and was produced by Sir George Martin. It was the ninth official album released by the Beatles and was ranked the 10th greatest album of all time by a Rolling Stone magazine poll (sharing the top ten with their eighth album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; their seventh album, Revolver; and their sixth album, Rubber Soul). The songs for the album were largely conceived of during a trip to Rishikesh, India, while the fab four were visiting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Our fearless leader, Glen Burtnik, organized and directed what has probably been my favorite show in the 100 in 6 so far. Like a mad scientist, Burtnik painstakingly dissected each song so that they could be presented exactly as they were recorded, note-for-note. When I write note-for-note, I am serious. If Paul McCartney sang 'come on, come on' 15 times in succession at the end of Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey (side 1, track 4 on the second album), then you can bet your sweet ass that Burtnik and Friends sang 'come on, come on' 15 times in succession at the end of Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey. If John Lennon belted out a spontaneous yell during one of the recordings that yell was reproduced at the same time marker during this show. You get the idea. The show was headlined by the extremely talented John Merjave and Drew Hill of Liverpool, the marvelous singer/songwriter Bob Burger, the multi-talented Marc Muller, and the infallible Marshall Crenshaw. There were another dozen special guests or so that helped put this show together including one of the architects behind the presentation of Revolution #9 whose life's ambition was admittedly to perform Revolution #9 live (track 12, side 2 on the second album), Dusty Micale, an orchestra imported for the songs with the classical tracks, and Burtnik's very talented, young protege Sally. All in all, an outstanding, wonderfully talented line up of musicians. I was completely floored by their performances, and the audience seemed to agree with me as the group got several standing ovations during the show.

Thanks to Robert, Smother and I were able to sit front row center for the event.




100 in 6 budget: $737

56 - Nessie Does New York

Nessie Does New York
apexart
23 July 2008, 1930

apexart is a not-for-profit, contemporary, visual arts organization that can be found on Church Street in SoHo. Their goals as written on their website list intellectual diversity and promoting dialog about contemporary art. Their latest installation is titled, "Nessie Does New York: Monetizing Myth, Legend & Culture." "Doctor" Alexis Macnab hosts the event as a tour guide with a PhD in Cryptozoology and a penchant for cryptid humor. The tour leads us through a hall of dioramas exhibiting what Bigfoot, Nessie and Chupacabra might look like in their native habitats. Dr. Macnab goes through the history of sightings of these three cryptids, animals or creatures whose existence have been reported but not proven scientifically, and the various ways that popular culture have used their likenesses to promote products, scare children and create myths and mystery. The installation goes until August 2nd and is kid-friendly.


Flip album from the exhibit can be found at the apexart website.

55 - Quixtar Recruitment Presentation

Quixtar Recruitment Presentation
Holiday Inn, Westbury NY
21 July 2008, 2000

I would call this event a live infomercial, but that would be a vast understatement. I was invited to the presentation by my mom's aunt's son's wife's sister's daughter's husband, so loosely...my cousin, Jeff. I was expressing my interest in exploring other career paths recently, and Jeff happened to have an ace in his sleeve. After several relaxed yet interview-styled questions, he invited me along to the presentation out in Westbury. The evening started with me elbowing the best of the Long Island commuters for a place to stand on the crowded train towards Hicksville, NY. I must remark that you have never seen ruthlessness until you have tried to board a Long Island Rail Road train during peak hours. Holy Sh*t. The presentation was really two hours of motivational speaking. Our host related with his audience, he called people by name, he scribbled on a white-board to make his points, and he made every one of his points applicable to his target audience. His job was to pitch an opportunity to a room filled with would-be entrepreneurs, and he did it well. Although he didn't get into the minutiae of how we would get started as potential IBOs (that's business-speak for Independent Business Owners), he laid out the general way that the job functions.

Basically, it is a pyramid scheme. You have your web-based business and people shop through your site, which links them to thousands of other sites (Quixtar is a giant...more on that to follow). You make a profit on what people buy at these other sites. In time, you get people to start their own web-based businesses so that they can also get people to shop through their sites, which link to the same thousands of sites that yours does. Having them under you allows for more exposure and a larger profit because you make money on what people buy through the sites of the people under you. Make sense? In time, they do exactly what you did and have people under them. You end up making a profit on the whole shebang. Awesome, right?

As I mentioned, this is all set up through Quixtar, the North American branch of Amway International, which is a monster (you may have seen their advertisements recently because they are affiliated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics). Quixtar is an extremely broad-based, very well trusted and respected company. They have business relations with other giant corporations such as Barnes and Noble, Circuit City, Dell, FTD, etc. You get the idea. If anyone would be interested in such an opportunity, let me know...I know a guy who knows a guy.

The evening ended with me sprinting in heels to a train station through the twisted, winding back-roads of Carle Place, NY, while talking to Smother as she laughed at me for panicking and not being able to find the station. I hung up on her, but called her once I was on the train, which I found with five minutes to spare.

100 in 6 incidentals budget: $468

54 - Attack of the Soccer Moms

Attack of the Soccer Moms
Looking Glass Theatre
14 July 2008, 2030

Attack of the Soccer Moms is a very limited engagement here in the states. Two dress rehearsals in NY before shipping off to London for two nights and then to its final destination at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival from July 30th until August 25th. Attack of the Soccer Moms is a s.u.n.Arts, Green Room and Small Pond Entertainment production and stars Michael Whitney as the Devil "Lucky", Yvonne Roen as Dawn and Uma Incrocci as Dotti, two quintessential, small town, American soccer moms. Dawn and Dotti end up selling their souls to the persuasive Mr. Whitney in order to advance the budding careers of their two soccer-playing daughters. Dawn and Dotti's blue-collar vs. white-collar lifestyles and competition between their kids keeps them at each others throats during the show and provides for some entertaining comedy. My favorite scene was when the two ladies and Lucky are together talking in the dark. They all have flashlights which they use to shine on each other's face while all of the house lights in the theatre and on the stage are shuttered. It is a lovely and very funny scene because since the only thing visible are the actors' faces, they must use very big, funny expressions to emphasize the dialog. Very entertaining. Thanks for the show everyone! Good luck in Edinburgh!

100 in 6 budget: $647

53 - Barefoot Boogie

Barefoot Boogie
Insight Meditation Center
12 July 2008, 2030

What more can you ask for from a Saturday night then an hour of Thai massage lessons with Michael Hayes followed by two hours of freestyle dance?!?! It was a fantastic way to shake off some stress and get our bodies moving. Sharon and I danced the night away at our second Barefoot Boogie of the summer and I am quite certain we will be in attendance for another in the near future.

52 - Fetal Syndrome

Fetal Syndrome
Lucky 13 Saloon
11 July 2008

A quick beer with Louis turned into a head-banging event. C.M. Carrigy on vocals, Angel Cotte on drums, and Luis Santana and Mario Siringo on guitar screeched their way into our heads and left us each with a good case of tinnitus. You see, Lucky 13 Saloon is about the size of a large Brooklyn studio apartment...a fantastic, kick-ass, bad-ass Brooklyn studio apartment with hot bartenders that is. Regardless of the decor though, there isn't a lot of space for sound to emanate, and, although not a connoisseur, I am fairly certain that death metal music isn't usually played at volumes that are considered beneficial to the auditory canal. I have only listened to a handful of death metal bands, so I am not really sure what makes one a "good" band. I know that it is extremely difficult to go from singing to harsh, throat-wrenching screaming though, and it seemed as if Carrigy certainly hit that mark well enough. So, if you are looking for a metal band around Brooklyn, give a listen to Fetal Syndrome.

51 - Warm July

Warm July
Ace of Clubs
11 July 2008, 2000

Thanks again to my friend and co-worker, Jeannie, I was able to have a lovely evening amongst family and friends of the band, enjoying a few cold beers, and listening to fun summertime music. I saw Warm July a few weeks ago at Kenny's Castaways and I didn't mention it when I posted about them, but they let me play a cymbal. Yes, it's true, I am a rock star. When Warm July enters and exits the stage, they bang pots and pans, cheer, sing, march, and invite the audience to play along. It makes for a fun, interactive experience. This time, I played these wooden blocks wrapped in sandpaper. Other people in the audience played cymbals, drum sticks, and tambourines. We are all rock stars. Yay!!!

100 in 6 budget: $620

50 - George Clinton

George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars
B.B. Kings
08 July 2008, 2000

A repeat performance, but always a funky time. George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars filled B.B. King's place with smoke and had a mob of people singing, dancing and grooving. Before the show, while I was waiting for Kate to arrive, a car pulled up right behind where I was standing. A few people started to rush towards the car, so I couldn't help but look to see what all the fuss was about. I turned around and there he was, Dr. Funkenstein himself, George Clinton. I tried to snap a close-up shot of him, but he was all business as he hustled into the club. I think I got a contact high from being so close to him though. Funk royalty hear I come.

100 in 6 budget: $610

43-49 - Montreal Jazz Fest

Montreal Jazz Festival
26 June - 6 July, 2008

ROADTRIP! Sharon and I jumped in the car on Friday morning before the sun came up and ended up in Montreal by lunchtime (yes, we left the country on Independence Day). So began the nonstop exploring, listening, drinking and giggling. Too many shows to comment about (each worth 1/2 a show towards the 100), so here is a list:

Friday, July 4th

43
unknown band at Foufones Electrique

43.5
John Alex Mason

44
Nate James

44.5
Sacbe

45
Las Rubias Del Norte

45.5
Sorgente

46
Nick Moss and the Flip Tops

Saturday, July 5th

46.5
Riot and His Rhythm Devils

47
Freddy Freedom and his sexy dad

47.5
Albino

48
Sonny Landreth

48.5
Marcus Shelby Quartet featuring Faye Carol

49
Beast

49.5
unknown band at the SCOTCHBAHHH!
















100 in 6 incidentals budget: $451

42 - The Fest for Beatles Fans

The Fest for Beatles Fans
Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas
29 June - 1 July, 2008

Some people don't understand convention culture. Fan conventions are a way to share your interest (whether casual or fanatical) in a group/tv show/culture/sport with other people who are just as fanatical as you are. If you attend the same convention for multiple years, you develop a convention family. I have been working at the Fest for Beatles Fans (formerly known as Beatlefest) since 1996, so I have developed quite a family away from home. I only get see my Fest family a few times a year, so when we are together it is nonstop catching up, swapping stories, celebrating how geeky we are about the Beatles, listening to fabulous music, practicing our sexual harassment techniques and drinking.

The Fest is three full days of Beatles' videos, authors giving presentations about their books, memorabilia auctions, art exhibits, special guests speaking about their time with the Beatles, and nightly concerts by the best Beatles sound-alike band, Liverpool. Liverpool has been around since the 1970s with various changes in the line-up. Currently, the group is made up of Drew Hill, Chris Camilleri, John Merjave and Glen Burtnik. The special guests at this show included Pattie Boyd, Donovan, Billy J. Kramer, Spencer Davis, Neil Innes, Ken Mansfield, Nancy Lee Andrews, Allan Tannenbaum, Jude Kessler, Mark Hudson, Ian Wright, Tony Palmer, Peter Sander, Paul Saltzman, and Bruce Spizer. The next show is in August at the Hyatt Regency O'hare in Chicago. See you there.

41 - Cirque Du Soleil - LOVE

Cirque Du Soleil - LOVE
Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas
28 June 2008, 2200

These next few posts are going to be short and sweet. Lots to catch up on...

Thanks to Mark, the staff at the Fest got to see Cirque Du Soleil's LOVE show. This show was absolutely breathtaking. Some numbers had so much going on that I didn't know where to look first. There were performers hanging from the ceiling, dancers on the stage, and acrobats climbing the walls. Other numbers were so simple that their simplicity made them spectacularly beautiful. At the end of the show, I actually started to tear up a bit because they played clips of the Beatles on screens that were as big as IMAX. If I get to Vegas again I will absolutely be going to see a repeat performance. I love the Beatles.