Last night I was lucky enough to score last minute tickets to see Jersey Boys on Broadway. As your blogger waited for her train back to her own corner of Jersey, this review started to form:
Most musicals, admittedly, are about love. More specifically, they are usually at least partially (if not completely) about romance. The couple meets, there is some conflict, but ultimately the couple (or couples) get together and everyone sings. Every once in awhile we get introduced to a different kind of love story, a story where the focus is on the music more than anything. That is what you will get when you go see Jersey Boys. The play is a musical history lesson, where the members of the Four Seasons share their experiences in forming the group and how it changed their lives forever. The play is perfect for those interested in music history or music in general. It is especially fun seeing the personal connection certain members had with specific songs. A love of the Four Seasons’ music is a must, as the show features their songs almost exclusively. If you are not a fan of their music or the time period then this show is probably not for you. Otherwise, this is probably one of the most entertaining history lessons you will ever get. Below is their performance at the 2006 Tony Awards to give you a taste (although the cast has changed since then):
Hearing that the all-female music festival Lilith Fair was returning in 2010, Alyson Greenfield decided to start “Dear Lilith Fair 2010,” a blog dedicated to trying to get on the tour. Many readers and fellow musicians responded to the blog with excitement, and Alyson soon recognized the existence of a large community of female musicians and their fans who wanted to be part of a women-driven music festival reflecting the current landscape of diverse and emerging musical talent. Alyson then took the initiative to start a new music festival, located in New York City, to showcase female artists — both up-and-coming local artists as well as more established performers. She brought on J.D. and former singer/songwriter/producer Jennifer Newman and entertainment business affairs maven Alicia Matusheski. Tinderbox was born.
This is the story I wanted to share with you today. Alyson is a friend of mine with an awesome idea that I want to support. I have linked to the Kickstarter Fundraiser above, and I’m asking that everyone 1) donate whatever they can, and 2) tell all your friends about it and ask them to do the same. Even if you’re strapped for cash, we understand and simply ask you pass this on to someone who might be more able to help. Thank you in advance for your support.
News on Shuffle would like to give a great big birthday shout-out to one of our favorite geeks: Wil Wheaton. Once known as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he now has a legion of followers on both Twitter and his blog. Both are sources of entertainment for geeks everywhere. Recently, he also co-founded a live show called w00tstock, which is self-described as “3 hours of geeks + music” – although the show has run for well over that amount in the past. Other names involved in the project include Adam Savage (Mythbusters) and the comedy music duo Paul and Storm. I have mentioned w00tstock on Twitter in the past and would very much like it to come to NYC. Anyone who agrees can Demand It and possibly turn this dream into a reality.
They have said they will come to any city that gets 300 requests, so it really will make a difference whether you do this or not.
[Hey Wil, sorry for hijacking your birthday for my own personal campaign. I do it out of love…?]
*Now back to our regularly scheduled program*
Besides all the other cool things already mentioned, Wil has also made guest appearances on a number of shows, including The Big Bang Theory, Eureka, Leverage, and the web series The Guild. I have to admit, I have never watched Eureka or Leverage (although his guest appearances almost changed that). He was able to get me back on The Big Bang Theory though. I had stopped watching when it became too hard to balance tv with college, but hearing he was making a guest appearance was too exciting to miss. Good thing too, or I would have missed moments like this:
I am now catching up on all the episodes I missed in preparation for the next season. I also became interested in The Guild partially thanks to him. He mentioned the series on Twitter frequently (as did the show’s creator Felicia Day) and eventually I broke down and decided to give it a try.
Best. Decision. Ever.
The show is quirky and wonderful and you really should watch it sometime. They are currently in the middle of Season 3, but you can watch all the episodes here. There’s also two music videos, my favorite of which is
Damn, I did it again. OK, we’re going to consider promoting all these things as our birthday present to Mr. Wheaton. That and this birthday nugget – a clip from one of the w00tstock performances. I’ve watched it a dozen times and it still makes me laugh like a hyena.
Lots of stuff happened in part 1 of our 2-part series finale, with lots more left to digest in part 2. Let’s just skip through a quick SPOILER ALERT and get down to it, cause there’s lots to discuss.
We left The Doctor being locked in the Pandorica, which turns out was basically a prison that every other species in the Universe made for him, while lots of other bad things happened simultaneously (TARDIS blowing up, etc). With the fate of the Universe hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher than right now. And it’s all up to little Amy Pond to set everything right.
Things I loved about this episode: I loved the opening and slowly seeing what the after effects of last week’s episode were for the rest of the Universe. And I loved all the signs that were left for mini Amy (and having the two Amys meet). I also loved using the complexities of time travel to help solve the problem. And I loved Rory the Robot playing his part in protecting Amy – hell, I loved just having him back in general. And I loved the analogy of “rebooting the Universe” as if it were a computer. Basically I loved everything about this episode. There were moments of fun mixed in with all the tension and pressures of the Big Problem. (example – The fez The Doctor wears for bits of the episode). It was an ending Steven Moffat should be proud of. When River says our solution will make it so The Doctor will never have been born, a part of me was sad and scared (even though I knew there had to be a way to fix it). To be nervous about something even knowing it can’t really be the end, that takes real talent. That is the kind of genius that Steven Moffat has brought to Doctor Who.
Five-star moment of the week – without a doubt it had to be watching The Doctor rewind through his timeline. The moment when we see him talk to Amy from back during The Time of Angels and realize she is the key to keeping him from blinking out of existence for good was possibly one of my top moments in Doctor Who history (and there have been a lot of good moments, you have to admit). Flash to her wedding (which I was really happy to see finally happen) and her remembering The Doctor back into existence and you get one of the best nights with The Doctor ever.
What did you think of the series finale (or the series in general)? Sound off in the comments section below.
News on Shuffle would like to send a Happy Birthday shout-out to Summer Glau. Whedonites such as myself will know her best as River Tam from Firefly/Serenity. She also had a recurring role on Dollhouse as Bennett and was a guest star on an episode of Angel. The birthday nugget for today is a clip of River. Just one of the many examples to show why we loved her so.
News on Shuffle would like to send a happy birthday shout-out to Jed Whedon, brother of one of our favorite people, Joss Whedon. Jed and Joss worked on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog together, which won him a Streamy Award for Best Writing of a Comedy Web Series. Jed also worked with Felicia Day on the music video for “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar,” which features the cast of Day’s web series – The Guild. Here it is as our Birthday Nugget for today.
Welcome to part 1 of the two part fifth series finale of Doctor Who. It seemed like we had to wait ages for the premiere, and yet we are already wrapping up another great season with The Doctor and his companion. *Here begins Spoil Time, kids*
We certainly started this one off with a bang, seeing the return of both Vincent and River. We also got a lovely painting of the TARDIS exploding and hints of the Pandorica opening (which is apparently supposed to be a myth, according to our friend The Doctor). Yep, not five minutes in and we already can tell this is going to be a good one.
Remember last week when I said all our adventures seem to happen in dark, creepy places? Yeah, cue the dark creepy cave where we find the Pandorica. So much for it being a myth! I guess even The Doctor can be wrong on occasion. The bad news here is this thing holds some big bad that is now making its great escape. Oh, and it gets better – because there is a signal being broadcast telling everyone in the area about this event. Every alien that ever wanted The Doctor dead is now coming straight for him! Daleks, Cybermen, and much, much more. You name it, they are probably on their way. How are our heroes supposed to fight with odds like that?
With no weapons and absolutely no plan, I still love The Doctor’s chances here. He will win because, like he said, he’s got nothing to lose – except the Universe itself. Oh, and the TARDIS which is looking like the source of all the cracks in time. We know the cracks were caused by a really big explosion, and The Doctor pulled out a piece of the TARDIS from one of those cracks. It would appear that the TARDIS exploding causes several rifts in time, the first one we notice being the one in Amy’s bedroom. Which is probably why River ends up back at Amy’s house – because it all goes back to her somehow.
Sidebar before I do my final wrap-up: I was completely (and pleasantly) surprised to see the return of Amy’s fiance, Rory. (Even better was seeing him as a Roman soldier. I loved how long it took The Doctor to process that one). It was great seeing him again and even better seeing Amy slowly remember who he was.
Back to the story – It turns out that the Romans aren’t real and the whole thing is an elaborate trap to get The Doctor’s attention. Other bad things that all happen within the last five minutes include – The Pandorica opening, the TARDIS exploding, an alliance of basically every creature in the universe capturing The Doctor inside the Pandorica, Rory shooting Amy (with her looking quite lifeless as he holds her in his arms), and the pending doom that is the potential end of the Universe as we know it. If you’re wondering how we make all of this better, then you’re gonna have to wait till next week. This is proving, so far, to be one of the best finales Doctor Who has had. It’s definitely right up there with my personal favorite up until this point, Season 3. The Master’s complete dominance over The Doctor for a majority of the 3-part story had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t think my jaw has ever dropped as low as it did tonight though. As a voice echoed, “Silence will fall,” I noted how that could apply to the events happening on the show, as well as the silence in our own homes as we watched in astonishment at how epically bad things had gotten for our heroes.
Thus concludes this week’s recap. What did you think of tonight’s episode? And how do you think The Doctor is going to get out of the biggest trap he’s had to face yet? As always, sound off in the comments section below. And don’t forget to tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion. Here’s a preview of what to expect:
If you’re looking for a good night complete with fun times and good tunes then look no further than April Smith. The band (originally from Toms River, but now located in Brooklyn) will be playing a show at the Bell House this Thursday, July 22nd. If you’ve never heard of them, here is a sample to start you off with:
Good stuff, right? Then make sure you’re at Bell House at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
Hearing the lead singer from a rock band make the change to solo artist, some might fear this will just be a watered down version of the former band. Rest assured, this is not the case with “We’ve All Been There”. Right from the start, Band shows his fans that he still has some rocker left in him. That’s not to say that this is just like The Calling but with a different band. Alex’ voice is recognizable from his days as frontman, but the sound is all his own. The album actually achieves a perfect balance that should keep fans of The Calling happy while also adding to that fan base and making it stronger. The album grabs the listener right away with the title track, letting them know that Band is giving it all he’s got with this one. Good to know, for those who have been waiting since he first announced his solo career back in 2005. These loyal follows have stayed with him through label issues and several delays. Five years later and they now have a new album to hold (which has been signed by the artist if they jumped on that promotion). And what an album it is, too. With each song you can hear the passion Band has for his craft. You would have to love something that much to go through the rollercoaster ride it has been and even creating a label, in essence building a home for the newborn child to live and feel comfortable in.
The album is entirely worth it (IMO) but a few songs especially stand out for me. One is the single “Tonight”, partly because I have had more time to fall in love with it and partly because it is just a truly powerful song. When the video was finally made available, I shared it with everyone I thought might be interested and played it a dozen times in the first day. In case you missed it, here it is again:
Another song is “Only One” because the chorus reminds us we only have one life to live, which I take a step further to mean we shouldn’t waste the time we’ve got left. This is a lesson we all learn at some point, but sometimes we need repeated reminders.
“Holding On” refers to “holding on to a dream and staying strong” – which could be the theme song for the overall process of recording the album and making it accessible to the public, the whole time fighting the urge to lose faith and not give up. Keeping with that theme, there is also the track “Love”, which proclaims “I’m not giving up… I’m blessed with love”. This is the sort of positive, uplifting message we need in difficult times like we have seen lately. The final song “Start Over Again” is about life bringing you down and being able to pick right up and start again. Or maybe Alex just subliminally is trying to tell us to start the record over again…. Hey, you don’t have to tell me twice!
After listening to the new album a few times on repeat, it’s time to enjoy them in a live setting. Now that the album is finally out, there are a series of tour dates to look forward to. The tour began on the West Coast on July 14th and will end on the East Coast on August 8th. The New York date is August 6th at Highline Ballroom. The complete list of dates can be found on his website, as well as the latest news the artist has to share and a bunch of other extras. You can also follow Alex on Facebook and Twitter as well. The album can be purchased on iTunes and his website, as well as certain local retailers. You’ve waited long enough for this one, folks – go buy your copy today!
The Social Network (otherwise known as Facebook: The Movie) has many things that make it potentially good. Top of the list is the music (thanks to Trent Reznor) which is showcased very nicely in the trailer:
Like/Dislike? Share your thoughts in the comments section. Don’t forget to also share the trailer with your Facebook friends on your wall.
