This has been a busy busy week, what with meetings and loads of stuff to do in the evenings. One of those evening activities was an evening at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) where we were seeing Brian Setzer and his Orchestra. Originally, this was going to be a simple evening: I’d work from home during the day, we’d take the bus to the bowl, have a nice picnic, and rock away. The universe, however, had other plans. I was specifically requested to attend some off-campus meetings, meaning I was driving into work (and driving back to the valley) instead of working from home. I spilled something all over myself after lunch, meaning not only was I off-site, but I had to deal with wet pants and a meeting to attend. My cousin, who was now living with us, stepped wrong and sprained her ankle, meaning (a) my wife lost part of the day at the ER, and (b) we had to switch to handicapped seating at the last minute instead of walking up the hill. Just one of those cascade failure days.
The cascade continued when I got home. We caught the 6:00pm bus instead of the 5:45pm, and it didn’t leave Chatsworth until 6:30p, meaning we got to the bowl around 7pm, and then it took another 45 minutes to get reseated (because someone decided to work out all of their season tickets in front of us in the handicapped line). Then increased security at the Bowl (they’ve added metal detection scanners, meaning emptying all your pockets) let to my setting off security, and my time frustration getting in as things kept getting closer and closer to the show with dinner shifting further and further away. We didn’t have a chance to pick up merch or a program, as the handicapped route to the seats bypasses all of that.
We finally got to our seats (which were much better than our original seats) about 5 minutes before the opening act started, and things began to get better from there. The opening act was a fellow by the name of J.D. McPherson (FB), with a band that played rock and rockabilly. I was too out of it to make my own setlist, but I did find it online:
- Bossy
- I Can’t Complain
- North Side Gal
- Wolf Teeth
- It Shook Me Up
- Desperate Love
- Lucky Penny
- Precious
- Mother of Lies
- Let The Good Times Roll
The band was OK, but it didn’t make me want to go out and get their music. I was more into the big-band side of Setzer, not the pure rock. I will observe this was the first bowl concert I’ve been to that didn’t start with The Star Spangled Banner.
After a 30 minute intermission, the main act came on. This was Setzer’s 25th Anniversary Show. Setzer was great, mostly playing the music and doing less audience dialog than I’ve seen some do. Again, here’s the setlist I found online:
- Pennsylvania 6-5000
- Stray Cat Strut
- This Cat’s on a Hot Tin Roof
- Gene & Eddie
- The Dirty Boogie
- Runaway Boys
- Sleep Walk
- Drive Like Lightning (Crash Like Thunder)
- Let’s Shake
- Jump, Jive an’ Wail
- Let There Be Rock
- I Won’t Stand in Your Way
- Put Your Cat Clothes On
- Slow Down/Folsom Prison Blues
- Fishnet Stockings
- Rumble in Brighton
- Encore: Rock This Town
The show started with the big band numbers and rock run through the big band, and ended with rockabilly. Overall, the music was great and the crowd was dancing in the aisles. For the most part, the Setzer part of the show made up for any shortfalls during the day. I’ll note that Setzer only introduced some of his backup band; in particular, he didn’t introduce all of the big band members, nor did he introduce the backup singers. Not having a program, I couldn’t grab their information from there either (in fact, there might not have been programs at all).
Of course, coming back meant the handicapped route again — meaning we had to wait for the last bus back to the Park and Ride, which got us back around 11:30pm, and home around midnight, and to bed at 1am… and getting up at 430am for work. It also meant dealing with an iGen teen who seemingly had a face in the phone all the time. More on that in another post.
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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (well, make that 5 Stars Theatricals (FB)), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Chromolume Theatre (FB) in the West Adams district, and a mini-subscription at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.
Upcoming Shows:
August theatre starts with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on the weekend. We are also squeezing in On The Twentieth Century at the Pan-Andreas Theatre in Hollywood from Proof Doubt Closer (FB), as a friend is in the cast. The second weekend of August? What made sitting through The Bodyguard worth it: Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages (FB).
I’m still scheduling September, but so far we have The 39 Steps° at Actors Co-op (FB) and Pacific Overtures at Chromolume Theatre (FB) [although a little birdie … OK, Nance from Chromolume whom I saw at The Last Five Years, indicated the dates on that are shifting out to November]. There’s also the Men of TAS Golf Tournament, if any theatre company reading this wants to donate tickets to our silent auction (hint, hint). October is also filling up quickly, with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) at the Valley Performing Arts Center (FB), a tribute to Ray Charles — To Ray With Love — also at the Valley Performing Arts Center (FB), and Bright Star at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Lastly, looking into November, we have The Man Who Came to Dinner at Actors Co-op (FB), the Nottingham (FB) and Tumbleweed (FB) Festivals, a Day Out with Thomas at Orange Empire Railway Museum (FB), Spamilton at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (FB) and Something Rotten at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). More as the schedule fleshes out, of course, but we’re booking all the way out in mid to late 2018 already!
As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Note: Lastly, want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget.
