"Been talking 'bout the way things change, and my family lives in a different state. And if you don't know what to make of this, then we will not relate. So if you don't know what to make of this, then we will not relate. Rivers and roads, rivers and roads, rivers 'til I reach you." ~the head and the heart

I have a concert to write about today! I went to see The Head and the Heart at Terminal 5 on Sunday, and it was a great night. My friend Leah and I got a spot dead center in the front row (are you surprised?), so we had a perfect view. There were two opening bands, so The Head and the Heart didn't go onstage until 10:00pm. They were worth the wait, though. They've only released one album (and it's amazing, so go buy it), and they played every song from the album, along with a bunch of new songs. Leah and I both managed to avoid crying during "Rivers and Roads," which was quite a feat for us. They played with so much passion and energy, and you could tell how appreciated the audience and enjoyed being onstage and sharing their music with us. This is a good review of the show.

I recorded audio of the whole show and video for most songs. A security guy came and made me stop filming during "Coeur d'Alene," but later in the show Charity (who's in the band) announced that they wanted people to be able to film, which I thought was pretty cool. During the encore the security guy came back and made me stop filming again, but I did get a good chunk of the show (and audio of the whole thing).

Here's a playlist of my videos (I have more to add to it, which I'll do whenever I can get back to the library or Starbucks and connect to the internet). At least watch the first two videos. Really. "Lost in my Mind" is first, and it was absolutely wonderful. The members of the two opening bands came onstage, and the crowd sang along, and I can't explain what a feeling it was to be a part of that. Belting out "There are stars...UP ABOVE!" along with so many people was incredibly cathartic. "Rivers and Roads" is next in the playlist, and Charity absolutely kills it at the end of the song. Oh my goodness, she's freakin' amazing. "Sounds like Hallelujah" is another one of my favorites from the album, and it was great to hear it live.


Here are some photos I took:




And finally, here's my audio of the whole show (and here's the download version if you want that). If you haven't heard this band before, they are definitely worth a listen. Make sure to listen to "Rivers and Roads," "Lost in my Mind," "Down in the Valley" (a perfect closing song), "Sounds like Hallelujah," "Heaven Go Easy on Me"....oh, just listen to them all.
Here are the first five songs, and to hear the rest, go to the playlist here.

"Words will land on me, then abandon me, mangle, untangle me, leave me on the floor." ~u2

I haven't been able to post a lot because I don't have internet in my new apartment, but hopefully by April I'll be online at home and will be able to post more. Right now I'm at Starbucks, and I have recent shows to share about.

Porgy and Bess
The current Broadway version of this opera is quite controversial, but it seems like most people who haven't seen the opera before like this production, and that's true for me. Audra McDonald is a four-time Tony winner, I love her, and I think she's wonderful in this show. Norm Lewis is also very good. They have such beautiful voices, and I loved hearing them sing this score.

Jesus Christ Superstar
I love the music from this show, so that made it very enjoyable. I think the design elements are pretty strong in this production, particularly the sound design. A few of the actors are pretty weak, though. That may be because of the direction. I saw the first preview, and unfortunately a technical aspect of the show didn't work at that performance. They stopped the show three times to try and fix it, and Des McAnuff (the director) came onstage a few times to apologize, but they never got it to work. We got to see "Superstar" performed three times before they finally decided to just move on. That's the kind of song that gets stuck in your head easily, so it was pretty difficult to shake after hearing it live three times in a row.

Carrie
I ushered at this and got a seat in the front row, which was awesome. I love, love, love Carrie. I love the movie, and I really love the musical. In this production, Molly Ranson is fabulous as Carrie. I love what Ben Brantley says about Marin Mazzie (playing Carrie's mother) in his New York Times Review; he writes, "Mazzie at first seems like your average strict but caring mom. But when she sings, in a pure fire-edged soprano, an intensity emerges that shades into something more sinister. And the line between fierce maternal solicitude and obsessive, homicidal madness blurs in ways that take you by surprise." I also liked Christy Altomare as Sue. I thought the show was very moving.

Once
I saw this movie when it opened and fell in love. I have the DVD and watch it often. Obviously I had high expectations going into the Broadway musical that's been adapted from the film. The show didn't disappoint. It's absolutely lovely. I wasn't thrilled that they cut a few songs (particularly "Lies"), but overall I think it's a beautiful show.

Gore Vidal's The Best Man
I'm seeing this show today, so I'll post a review later. The cast includes James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack, Jefferson Mays, Michael McKean, Angela Lansbury, and Kerry Butler. Seriously. If that's not an ideal, all-star cast, I don't know what is. I'm excited.

"We'll stay inside 'til somebody finds us, do whatever the TV tells us, stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz." ~the national

Even though I’ve been on winter break this week and didn’t have to work, to say that I’ve been busy is a massive understatement. I bought an apartment at the beginning of this year, and this week I finally moved into it. I’ve decided that I’m never moving again. If I ever get married, the guy is moving in with me. Seriously, I’m not leaving. Moving is that stressful. Some people have said things to me like, “Well, at least you’re not moving very far away.” Let me tell you something, whether you move across the globe or down the street, it’s still a difficult process. You still have to take everything you own and move it from one space to another, and although I only moved about ten blocks away, it was not easy. I have a LOT of stuff. I bought a bunch of new furniture from Ikea, assembled it all myself (with some lifting help from Nic and Roseann), moved all my stuff, and figured out where it all should go. I did a bunch of work before moving in, because it was easier that way. I painted the apartment and hung everything on the walls in advance so I had less to do when I actually moved. Now everything is basically set up, and I’m so, so happy about it. I love how it looks. I'm having an Oscar viewing party tonight, and I love that I can host it in my new apartment. I'm serving pineapple fritters in honor of The Descendants, Minny's chocolate pie from The Help, Hemingway daiquiris for Midnight in Paris, and mini hot dogs for Moneyball (those were some of my favorite nominees this year). I'm rooting for George Clooney, The Descendants, Viola Davis (I really, really hope she beats Meryl), but I guess I'd mostly just like a good show. I try not to get my hopes up too much, and even the nominations (or the lack of nominations for a few people, like Shailene Woodley, Ryan Gosling, and Albert Brooks) disappointed me a bit, so I try not to be too invested.

I don't have internet at my apartment and probably won't for awhile, so I'm posting this from Starbucks. I don't know how often I'll get to update; I can only eat so many Starbucks pastries (I don't drink coffee).
Here are some photos, and you can see more here (as well as a video tour).



And a couple of my Oscar dishes (Minny's chocolate pie, pineapple fritters for The Descendants):

"And all of your ways and all your thunder got me in a haze running for cover, where we gonna go from here? Where we gonna go from here?" ~mat kearney


It's time for recent show reviews!

Merrily We Roll Along
Stephen Sondheim is a genius. The star of this show is the score, because nobody can write a score like Sondheim. Yes, the book is problematic, but I still found the story affecting and tragic. Although I had never seen this show before, I was already familiar with some of the music, and hearing "Not a Day Goes By" sung live (a beautiful rendition by Betsy Wolfe) was a definite highlight for me. Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Lin-Manuel Miranda play the three leads. I've seen them all in shows before and I enjoy their work very much, and none of them disappointed in this show. Celia was definitely my favorite. Lin-Manuel nailed his book scenes even though his voice was weak, and Colin Donnell did his best playing a difficult, unlikeable character. The supporting cast (particularly Elizabeth Stanley and Betsy Wolfe) was stellar. This is a tricky, divisive, show, but I loved seeing this production of it.

Richard III
Two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey makes just as marvelous a Richard as you could imagine. This is his show. I don't know how he puts so much energy into his portrayal for every performance; he's in almost every scene, the running time is three hours and twenty minutes, and I saw the show on a two-show day. I can't imagine spending nearly seven hours a day throwing yourself wholeheartedly into that character like he does. Mr. Brantley discusses Mr. Spacey's "all-conquering audacity" in his New York Times review. It's interesting. Anyway, the time flew by, and I loved seeing an acting genius playing this classic character. Along with Mr. Spacey's performance, I particularly enjoyed seeing Haydn Gwynne as Queen Elizabeth (I loved her in Billy Elliot).

How I Learned to Drive
This is a chilling, brilliant play (it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998), and I loved this production of it. Oh my freakin' goodness, it really is wonderfully haunting. Elizabeth Reaser (Grey's Anatomy, the Twilight movies, and most recently Young Adult) plays Li'l Bit, the main character, and I was very impressed with her ability to play the character at different ages so realistically. She captures all the nuances of the complex character. Norbert Leo Butz co-stars, and he's always a treat to see on-stage. He's a two-time Tony winner and I've seen him in a bunch of stuff, and he always impresses me with his versatility. He's absolutely perfect as Uncle Peck. The New York Times review calls him "sensational" and I agree. It's a good review to read. I absolutely love, love, love this play.

"Holland’s papa wouldn’t stay in the ground, dead and buried and he walked into town. Lord God, what is Ma to do? Mama’s so mad cause he muddied up his suit, caught in a thorn bush, blowin' on a flute. Lord God, what is Ma to do?" ~the felice brothers

I've been listening to my recording of the last Felice Brothers concert I went to, and I fall even more in love with them every time I listen to it. I wasn't crazy about their newest album (Celebration Florida) at first, but now I'm obsessed. Hearing those songs live definitely had something to do with it. At first "Fire at the Pageant" (posted above) did NOT make me happy, but now I absolutely LOVE it. It's one of my favorite songs; I could listen to it over and over. And I do. Try it; you might love it, too.

This is one of the best things I've ever seen. I can't stop watching it. Have I mentioned that I love Kristen Bell? Lately I've been getting into her new show, House of Lies. It's funny. I'm not sure if I'd watch it if she weren't in it, but I am enjoying it. Anyway, this is amazing:


I'm still recovering from the end of Chuck. My friend Leah and I are going to see The Head and the Heart at Terminal 5 in March. She wrote to me, "I'm hoping between now and then, I'll be able to listen to 'Rivers and Roads' without sobbing" (that's the song that played during the last few minutes of Chuck's finale; it's in my last blog post). I feel the same way, but I think I should be okay in a couple of months.

What else? I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff I need to write about (movies, a few shows), but I don't have time. I bought an apartment, which is crazy, and I'm in the process of packing, which is not fun. I have a LOT of stuff.

I filmed the Felice Brothers show in September, so here's the playlist if you want to revel in their awesomeness like I've been doing (you can click on the rectangle-shaped button on the bottom to scroll through the songs).