Entries Tagged as 'Theater'

National Museum of the American Indian

November 30th, 2005 · 8 Comments

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National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC

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National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC

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Capitol Building, Washington DC

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Escalator at the DuPont Metro Station, Washington DC

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Rachelle & Kelly, Church Street Theater, Washington DC

After visiting the World War II Monument, Kelly and Jeff and I walked over to the National Museum of the American Indian, a museum that just opened a little over a year ago. Everything is so new there and I really liked the exhibits and how they incorporated video. Also, the restaurant there was pretty cool because it featured Native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere.

After the museum we grabbed some dinner at a Thai restaurant near DuPont Circle. We finished off the night by seeing a Keegan Theatre production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Church Street Theater.

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Bottle Can Draft

October 18th, 2005 · 1 Comment

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Bottle Can Draft :: Matilda’s, Lakeview, Chicago

Last night I met up with Justin at Matilda’s to see Bottle Can Draft. It’s a play that takes place in a bar… so the location is actually in a bar, instead of a theater. It’s interesting because we were sitting at the bar and a lot of the action was taking place at the tables about a foot away from us. And it was a surprise, but the bartender was one of the actors so the action was happening all over.

Jocelyn has a thorough review of the show at Chicagoist and she’ll be posting an interview of the show’s director later in the week.

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Beck @ The Riv

September 22nd, 2005 · 5 Comments

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The Riviera Theater, Uptown, Chicago

Last night I was walking out of the office when Andrew called to ask what I was doing. He had an extra ticket to the sold out Beck show at the Riv and needed someone to go. I was all over it!

A few years ago in New York some friends and I made plans to go to this huge music fest, Field Day. We were going out to Long Island and camping and seeing a million acts like Radiohead and Beck and I can’t even remember now but there were a lot. Then it all went to hell. The concert promoters didn’t secure the land properly and there was some protest about endangered birds’ habitat being infringed on. Long story short, a lot of the bands were cut and the venue was changed to Giant’s stadium. And I got a refund. And I wasn’t going to get to see Beck. wah. Most of my friends were psyched to see Radiohead, but I wanted Beck and I wasn’t getting him. In the end he like cracked a rib right before show time and didn’t play so it was a good thing I got the refund.

Aaaanyway, so I was super psyched to finally see him. He played tons of song from all the albums, old and new. There were only about 3 all night that I didn’t know. The funny thing.. since I’ve been “buying” digital music for the past 5 years and I sit at work with a drive full of 5,000 songs on random and listen to them, I no longer know song names or what albums their from.. but I recognize the songs immediately. Luckily Andrew is a slow-comer to the digital revolution and was there to tell me the title of each song and which album it was from.

Beck, being Beck, can do just about anything and you’ll just look at the guy you’re standing next to and say “well, he IS Beck!” Example: The awesome lame dancer who was on stage wearing a sweatsuit and sweatbands and dancing like that dorky kid at the school dance. Example: During The Golden Age the whole band, except Beck, sat down at a dinner table on stage and ate dinner.. except this wasn’t any dinner. Soon the only instruments being played were dishes with silverware. .. plates, bowls, glasses of water. It turned from the slow mellow song into an upbeat jam and it was AWESOME.

My favorite song of the night was Mixed Bizness. I was also really impressed with a cover Beck did of the Flaming Lips song Do You Realize. Awesome. Andrew totally called the encore – E-Pro, although it was kind of disappointing that that was the only song in the encore.

One last thing. I was SO happy to see Beck wearing white/tan pants and a dark belt and not black pants with a white belt. I’m SO over that.

See also:
» Beck – Guero
» Satan Gave Me a Taco
» Field Day

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Now That I’m An Old Lady I Can Take You On a Tour and Tell You What Things Used to be Like Back in the Day

September 8th, 2005 · 5 Comments

After lunch I felt like I should go shopping more, but I was exhausted. I’d forgotten how quickly the City can wear you down. I ended up walking over to Washington Square Park to make a few calls. Then I headed to Broadway to wander in a few stores, but I was so tired I just ended up finding a cafe and chilling out.

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Used to be Joe’s :: West Village, Manhattan

You know the opening scene of Spiderman II where Toby Maguire is in the tiny pizza place and is going to deliver a pizza? That place was Joe’s and it was just around the corner from my apartment on Bleecker and Carmine. When I was broke in NY I would buy a $2 slice for dinner, almost always at Joe’s. It’s sad to see it replaced.

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IFC :: West Village, Manhattan

This theater was empty & deserted the entire time I lived in NY, which is a shame bc it would have been nice to have another one so close.. actually if it was more “mainstream” it would have been nice to have it close. Already I had the Film Forum, The Angelica, and Sunshine Cinema within walking distance to see indie/foreign/artsy films.

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West 4th Street Basketball Courts :: West Village, Manhattan

The first time I went to New York was in June or July of 2001. I stayed with Mark on 6th/King. One of my earliest memories of New York is standing on 6th Ave and West 4th Street while Mark took a call on his cell and wonder wtf was going on with all the people and the basketball. Since then I’ve come to appreciate the courts at West 4th and used to stop to watch people play basketball when walking by or before going down into the subway station there.

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Flute Jam :: Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

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Pink Shirt :: Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

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Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

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Are You Going to Heaven? :: Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

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Washington Square Park, West Village, Manhattan

I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent in Washington Square Park people watching.. or how many pages I’ve read there.. or how many problems I’ve worked out while sitting on a bench or laying in the grass. A lot. I used to go there all the time just to chill for a minute or to relax for hours. Or I would walk places and purposefully walk through the park on the way, even if it was a little out of the way. It’s not as relaxing as Central Park and you can’t lose yourself as easily, but it’s still a nice contrast to the city around it. The only challenge is to pick a spot or try to put on a look that screams you don’t want to be bothered. Someone is always up to something there and I’ve been offerred drugs, hit on, and badgered by religious zealots a ton of times.

Also, I guarantee you’ve never seen anyone jam on the flute like this (.mov, 43 sec, 1.4mb).

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Broadway, West Village, Manhattan

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Tax Free Week :: West Village, Manhattan

Tax-free week is a dangerous thing!

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Puppet Theatre on Wheels

December 22nd, 2004 · 11 Comments

Puppet Theatre on Wheels
Puppet Theatre on Wheels, Magnificent Mile, Chicago

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Cat Puppets, Magnificent Mile, Chicago

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How Can She Hear Anything?, Magnificent Mile, Chicago

Yesterday I was walking by the Borders on Michigan Avenue and saw this strange puppet show. There’s someone in the booth, obvs, and all they do is play music and move around two cat puppets. Sounds like an easy way to make some money off tourists. Except that it was like 2 degrees out yesterday. Check out this low-quality movie clip (536k, .mov).

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