Volta

is a new (to me) Cirque show that by happy coincidence is running in Toronto right now and that I got to see today.  I'm happy to report that Cirque continues to be in fine form:  the show was magical, mesmerizing, and a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy gray afternoon.

The story began a bit heavy-handed, but it quickly picked up speed and turned into a touching tale of accepting your differences and finding your own path with them.  The acts ranged from acrobatics to stunt bike-riding, and getting to see them up close was very cool.

As always, I can't recommend Cirque shows enough.  I feel privileged to have seen the one's I've had the chance to enjoy.

Cirque due Soleil's Kurios is a wonder

Though I knew that doing this would cost me a ton of sleep--and it has--I took off for a few hours tonight to go see Kurios, a traveling Cirque du Soleil show that is playing here in Portland.  I'm glad I did.  The show was wonderful, consistently entertaining and gasp-provoking.  It builds off a steampunk theme and offers the usual nifty Cirque mix of acrobatics, clowns, music, and odd storylines.

My review here is simple:  if Kurios comes anywhere near you, don't worry about reading up on it or understanding it, just go.  You will have a good time.

I had a great time.

Cirque's Michael Jackson ONE brings the magic

For a long time, I wouldn't even consider going to this show.  As much as I've loved all the Cirque performances I've attended, and despite the fact that I liked a great deal of Jackson's music, I was so disturbed by the child molestation charges against Jackson that I avoided everything to do with him.  Finally, I decided on this trip to give it a try.

I am very glad I did.  The show is a magical piece, a loud, booming, tech-heavy tribute to Jackson's music that manages to end on an uplifting message.

In the usual Cirque style, it mixes music and various acrobatic performances.  It's by far the most tech-intensive of the shows, and at times it risks losing its hold on you when you realize that you're just watching a very big music video--but then the live action resumes, and all is well.

The show's title refers to the ending message, something we need more than ever in Trump's America:  that regardless of color or any other differences, we are all one.

To my surprise, I strongly recommend the show and look forward to seeing it again.

By the way, for those wanting more about our Vegas trip, between walking a great deal each day and keeping up with work, I'm having to write short entries so I can get enough sleep.  I'll try to provide more trip information in later entries.

HB2 screws North Carolina--and me--again

I've written a few times about our noxious House Bill 2 (HB2), which among many awful things basically legalizes discrimination against transgender people.  I hate this bill.  Most of the North Carolinians I know hate this bill.  The Attorney General of the U.S. is suing North Carolina over this bill.

Yet our jerk of a governor and our equally awful Republican legislators continue to stand behind it.

A while back, I had tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show that Cirque cancelled in response to this bill.  I'm sorry I missed the show, but I had to support their decision to boycott the state.

Earlier tonight, I was to be sitting with Scott and others enjoying a performance of the legendary violinist, Itzhak Perlman, with the North Carolina Symphony.  We had seen Perlman perform once before and had greatly enjoyed the show, so we were looking forward to tonight's concert.

Perlman cancelled yesterday.  In a statement, he said,

As my fans know, I have spent a lifetime advocating against discrimination towards those with physical disabilities and have been a vocal advocate for treating all people equally.  As such, it is only after much deliberation that I have decided to cancel tomorrow’s concert in North Carolina as a stand against House Bill 2.

As much as I wanted to go, I once again have to support this decision.

According to Perlman's agent (read more here), Perlman was going to play the show, make a statement, and donate his proceeds to Equality North Carolina.

The NC Symphony, however, is a state-supported non-partisan organization and so could not allow the statement.  I respect their decision, in that to sustain their funding and to avoid getting in serious trouble with our state government, they had to make this decision.  Fair enough.

That stance, though, cost them a sold-out concert, a great deal of money, and probably a lot of disillusioned supporters.

If our government won't repeal this bill, we in North Carolina need to make damn sure that we replace it in November with a government that will remove the blight that is HB2 and provide equal rights to all.

Easy day, fun day

In this week in London, I'm aiming to mix a lot of rest with a lot of fun.  I'm not trying to cram the most into each day.  I want to have a good time and see a lot of the city, but I also need to sleep.

So, I didn't head out today until a bit after noon, which was just fine with me.  I grabbed a full English breakfast at a nearby place I chose at random.

The food was tasty and filling.

From there I headed to the V&A, just because I love walking its halls and seeing its many different exhibits.  I saw some new ones and a few familiar ones, including this facade

Click an image to see a larger version.

from about 1600 from Sir Paul Pindar's house.  I've always liked that just this bit survived.

After a lot of walking by shops that were all closing, I found my way to the Royal Albert Hall to see Amaluna, a Cirque du Soleil show that is playing there.  The stage was cool, and the hall grand, a simply marvelous venue.

The reviews I'd read of the show were mediocre, but it was Cirque, it was the Royal Albert Hall, and it was available on Sunday night, when not much else was playing.

I'm so glad I went!  Amaluna proved to be one of my favorite Cirque shows, with great acts, a simple story, music I loved, and a strong female empowerment undertone.  I recommend it highly.

Now, I plan to sleep a great deal.

On the road again: Las Vegas, day 1

Kyle and I, and soon others, are here in Las Vegas for our annual trip for his birthday and some UFC fights.  I tweeted a few of the key moments from my flight, so check there for what I enjoyed experienced.

We both landed in the late afternoon, so after dropping our stuff in the hotel room, we headed to dinner at Jaleo.  The food there was as delicious as always.

Next on our plan was the Cirque show, Mystere, which we've seen before but still quite enjoy.  It was, as always, wonderful.

We walked back to our hotel and along the way stopped in the Bellagio for some gelato, another Vegas tradition.

I'm exhausted, so that's it for today.

On the road again: Portland, day 3

Though I logged a reasonable number of hours in the bed, I awoke quite tired.  I then proceeded to do an enormous amount of work, even by my working-all-the-time standards.

Ah, but in the evening I had the pleasure of seeing Totem, a new (to me) Cirque du Soleil show that's playing here in Portland, and that's enough to make any day magical.  The show was tremendous fun, beautiful and invigorating and magical, as Cirque shows tend to be.  I oohed and aahed, gasped, laughed, and over and over found myself uncharacteristically and unexpectedly smiling for no apparent reason.  I obviously recommend this show highly, and I feel quite fortunate to have gotten to see it. 

I had to work late into the night to make up for having taken a few hours away from work, but the show was worth the cost. 

On the road again: Las Vegas, day 3

We slept in a bit, which was great for me, and Kyle and Sarah grabbed brunch from the Bouchon Bakery.  I was still full, so I skipped the food.  We then headed out for a day of sightseeing at casinos and stores entirely too hip and expensive for my taste.  Such places, do, though, yield many photo ops.

Such as this one, of Kyle and Sarah standing near a water tornado exhibit that sits for no good reason on the floor of one shopping area in Crystals, the fancy shopping space between Aria and Cosmopolitan.

As always, click on an image to see a larger version.

Later, at Cosmpolitan's rooftop club and skating rink, Princess Fancy (so self-named after I declared myself, "Mr. Fancy") reclined in the best outdoor snuggling seat in Vegas.

Later, she tried on a very special red shoe.

Kyle tried on the same shoe, but he declared it not to fit him very well.

In the course of the day we also enjoyed gelato (twice), caught up with some friends of Kyle's who had just landed, watched the wonderful Cirque show Zarkana, and had a great dinner at Jose Andres' Jaleo.

A very nice day again.

Magic on command

Sitting in the Cirque theater in the Mirage last week, watching Love, I was once again struck by how good the Cirque creators are, how they manage in show after show to transport us to magical places, to deliver magic on command. 

As I was walking out, I decided that at least in part that's what all of us, every artist, needs to strive to do.  Reading a book, staring at a painting, listening to a song, watching a movie--however we're experiencing art, there's at least a moment when we're open to magic, when it could flow through us and fill us and make us feel as if we're going to burst.  Most art doesn't deliver this effect, and doing so is, of course, not the only goal of art, but it is an opportunity art presents us. 

As I walked out of the casino to the taxi line, I realized how much I want to do better at taking advantage of that wonderful opportunity, how much I, too, want to deliver magic on command.

On the road again: Las Vegas, day 1

Each year around this time, a group of us journeys here to Las Vegas to celebrate Kyle's birthday with him.  Today's trip began after 2.75 hours of sleep, which is just too damn little.  I ended up dozing through most of the first flight, which made it a fine time.

I expected to have to sprint between gates in DFW, but instead we got off the plane, waited half an hour, and got back on it.  Would that every connection were so simple.

The second leg of the trip went as smoothly as the first, with the added bonus that I was able to get and stay current with work thanks to the plane's bandwidth.  After getting luggage and checking into the hotel, I passed most of the daylight hours in work.

The evening, though, brought one of my all-time favorite Cirque du Soleil shows, Love.  Marrying Cirque's trademark magic with the songs of the greatest band of all time, The Beatles, Love is an amazing, uplifting, wonderful ninety minutes.  I spent much of it smiling without even meaning to.

Afterward, we headed to the MGM Grand's Emeril's restaurant.  I had a salad and some delicious macaroni and cheese with ham, but the real treat was the banana cream pie, which remains the best I've ever tasted.

Though work filled the day and the hours after this evening interlude, the evening was wonderful indeed.

I wish I could take every person I know to see Love.

Dralion

One of Cirque du Soleil's traveling shows, Dralion, came to Raleigh two nights ago, so of course a group of us went to see it.  As you can probably tell from the name, it focused on an East/West fusion Chinese acrobatic arts and Cirque's trademark style.



As the above trailer suggests, the show was wonderful. What the video can't capture, though, is the magic of seeing these feats live.  I admit to being a huge Cirque fan, so perhaps I'm biased, but I enjoyed this one very much.  I was particularly fond of the men diving through sets of vertical rings, something that reads as somewhere between dumb and dull but that in person is quite amazing to see.

I was saddened to see many, many, many empty seats in the arena; the people here in the Triangle have no idea what they're missing.  If this show comes to your city, do better than we did, and pack whatever venue is hosting it.  You'll be glad you did.

On the road again: Portland, day 3

The day and the late night belonged to work, as usual.

The evening, though, was fun.

Dinner was at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Le Pigeon. Two of the guys working were relatively new to me, but the food displayed the characteristic Rucker inventiveness and great taste. My starter was a beef carpaccio but with a quail egg and caviar on it; wow, was it good. My main course, venison with foie and various herbs, was downright amazing, possibly the best venison I've ever had. I cannot recommend this small restaurant too highly.

The day we arrived in town, we noticed just up the road from the hotel a billboard for a Cirque du Soleil show, Ovo, that had started in town in early April. On the small chance that it was still here we called--and discovered to our joy that it was. A little keyboard time later, and we had front-row seats to this traveling show under the yellow-and-blue Cirque big top. Ovo focuses on insects, a theme that struck me as perfectly suited to Cirque's costumes and athletics.

It absolutely was. Ovo was a joy to watch from start to finish, with no dull moments and quite a few amazing segments. The finale, which involved trampolines and a climbing wall, was pure joy. If you get a chance to see this show, take it.

On the road again: Las Vegas, day 1

I'm a guy who doesn't need a ton of sleep, but 70 minutes--all I got last night--is not enough even for me. So, while I was able to work on the first flight thanks to the on-plane bandwidth, I dozed off and on for much of the bandwidth-free second leg. Still, I can't complain about on-time flights in which I was sitting in first class.

I hit the hotel room and dove into work. After catching up, our group hit the Bellagio for sightseeing and some gelato, then walked around a bit and wound our way to the new Aria. We ate dinner at the buffet there, which was over-priced and okay but not up to the top buffets in town (which for my money are those at the Bellagio, the reigning champ, and the Wynn).

The evening's entertainment was Cirque du Soleil's new show, Viva Elvis. We all had a good time at it, but I'm the only one of our group who would see it a second time. It was definitely too long on dance and too short on the sort of athletic entertainments that typically characterize a Cirque show. It also rather predictably presented a wholly whitewashed view of Elvis' life. Despite all that, it worked for me, though I would rank it the second weakest (with Zumanity far and away the weakest) of the Cirque shows in town.

I do hope to have a very long sleep tonight.

On the road again: Las Vegas/CES, day 3

Today's rhythm was the same as yesterday's: work, CES, work, out, work. We hit the South Hall of LVCC today and saw a fair amount of cool stuff, though nothing that really blew us away. We hit our first netbooks, and our take is decidedly mixed. We tried multiple Asus offerings, and after typing on them for several seconds, we both concluded there was no way we'd personally want them. The HP Mini family, by contrast, was interesting, in large part due to its keyboard's larger size and more sensible layout. We also found the HP Media Server of interest.

Dinner tonight was flat-out great, courtesy of Robuchon, where we had the special tasting menu featuring black truffles. Every dish was a winner. Wow.

After the meal, we worked a bit and then headed to the Bellagio to see O. I've seen this Cirque du Soleil show five or six times now, and tonight, like every other time, it was magical.

I wish I could afford to take all my friends and loved ones to Vegas so they could eat this meal and see this show.

If in my books I can provide moments of magic anywhere near as powerful as those in O, I will have achieved a very great deal indeed.

Viva, Las Vegas, day 5 - awe

Another day, another late sleep, and then out for walking and lunch. We spent some of the afternoon playing games and then watching the pilot of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which we all enjoyed greatly.

The highlight of the evening was our final Cirque show, Ka. I've seen it once before, when it was still in pre-show, and I enjoyed it, but tonight I was awestruck. The stage, the acrobatics, the heart--it all worked wonderfully. Wow.

In honor of Sarah's birthday, our dinner was entirely dessert, courtesy of the wonderful Payard Las Vegas. Each dessert course was exquisite, but I am paying the price for eating only that for dinner: I'm still jittery from the sugar.

I'm cutting it short tonight, because I still have some work to do on the outline of Overthrowing Heaven, and then I must pack and sleep before a (relative to the other days of this trip) very early wake-up call for the long journey home.

Go see Cirque shows when you can. We can never have enough magic in the world.

Viva, Las Vegas, day 4 - I teared up

We slept late, I worked a bit, and then we headed to lunch--all as usual. We cut Scott some slack by spending a couple of hours in the Las Vegas Gameworks installation. I have to admit that I had a pretty good time, too, with triumphs at air hockey and Time Crisis 2, but a rather dismal showing at Mario Cart. We spent much of the rest of the afternoon walking a large chunk of the Strip and many of the shops at The Venetian.

Before I discuss the evening, however, we have to get one thing straight: the greatest rock band of all time was, is, and will be The Beatles. We're not arguing here; we're talking facts. The first album I bought with my own money, cash I scraped together from finding bottles in neighborhood trash and turning them in for the deposits, was Beatles 65. I still have that album. I was ten. "Eight Days a Week" still rocks. I could go on, but you get the point.

Tonight, we saw Cirque du Soleil's Love. I've seen it once before. I went to it the first time with considerable apprehension: could Cirque honor its own spirit and that of the Beatles? Would remixes ruin the music? Would seeing someone else's interpretation of songs I love somehow ruin them for me?

I need not have worried; the show blew me away. The moment the curtains rose, it won my heart, and it never let go.

I entered tonight's show with a smaller but still noticeable concern: would seeing the show a second time remove some of the magic I felt on my first viewing?

Again, I need not have worried. Again, the show blew me away. The curtain went up, and my heart was so full of joy I teared up. I teared up several times during the show, and at the end I was almost overcome with emotion. Even after walking to the Wynn casino, where we ate at the buffet for dinner, I was still having trouble digesting all the feelings. Amazing.

Save your money, buy a plane ticket, rent a room, buy a ticket to Love, and let the magic claim you.

------------------------

On a more mundane note, for reasons I do not understand, Safari (the Mac browser) won't let me respond to comments, so let me post my responses here. I'll go from newer to older comment.

Kyle, as we discussed when I called you from the Love theater earlier tonight, yeah, the GDC was the poorer choice. Getting to hear Kurzweil's keynote speech is pretty darn nifty, and I envy you that opportunity, but tonight's show convinced me that it's Vegas trip FTW.

Fred, I am working on Overthrowing Heaven. I work on writing every day. No exceptions. I am not making the type of headway on the outline I'd like, but I am chugging along in it, and the more I do, the better it gets. I think; doubt is my constant friend. As for those announcements, well, shoot, I'm out of time again. Soon.

Viva, Las Vegas, day 3 - I danced

Another late sleep gave way to a lunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon in the Venetian. A friend of Sarah's joined us, and after a half hour wait we were sitting in a lovely booth. We all enjoyed our food greatly, with Keller's justly renowned pommes frites reminding me that even common dishes can achieve greatness. My Wagyu burger was superb, as were the "Bouchons," three miniature chocolate cakes, each with a different bit of ice cream atop them.

After some time and a movie (Superbad) in our room, we headed out to a gelato snack at Bellagio and our second Cirque show, O. Tonight marked the fifth (I think; I may be off a bit) time I've seen it, and every time it has been glorious. I watched the entire show with a slight smile on my face and magic and wonder filling my heart. I know it's all scripted, and I know they do it ten times a week, week in and week out, but it's still proof of the magic and joy the human heart can feel and human endeavor can produce. We sat in the front row, and we were mesmerized.

An amazing thing also happened. One of the clowns came into the audience and beckoned me to join him onstage. I did. He put out his hands, and I took them, and we danced. In front of 1,800 people, with a man in a clown suit, I danced--and I was not self-conscious for even an instance. I was amazed afterward, but in the moment I was fully present. As a person who's almost always observing, even narrating himself, I'm astonished at how fully immersed I was. Amazing.

Viva, Las Vegas, day 2

We all slept late, then headed to the shops at Caesar's for window shopping, sightseeing, and lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Spago, a place I've always enjoyed. We didn't buy anything, but as is always the case in Vegas, the people watching and storefronts were entertaining.

We took a mid-afternoon break, then headed out for the 7:00 show of Mystere at Treasure Island. Mystere was the first Cirque show I saw, and it was the first permanent Cirque show in Las Vegas. Seeing it again was a real treat. I left it with my mind and heart full and happy, and with a resolve to create more and better art. I realize all of that may sound trite, goofy, or even pretentious, but it's the truth; Cirque shows have a profound effect on me. Getting to share them with my children is also a treat in its own right.

Dinner was at Fix at the Bellagio, another Vegas favorite of mine. Though for a while it looked like they might not honor our reservation simply because we were neither pretty enough nor cool enough, we did eventually secure a booth. We feasted on some of the place's signature dishes, notably the Kobe beef sliders, the forks (salmon, cream, cheese, and caviar on forks, with mini blintzes on the side), and the adult mac and cheese. All the dishes were wonderful.

Some of folks I told that I was going to see four Cirque shows in four nights thought I was crazy and wasting money. They're so wrong.

Now, back to my own art and work on Overthrowing Heaven.

Oh, yeah: those announcements. Well, they aren't any big things, so they can wait another day (he says, teasing yet more).

Viva, Las Vegas, day 1

Today was a travel day that culminated in a dinner that ended with the best banana cream pie I've ever tasted. (Can you spot my priorities?) Believe it or not, that wonderful treat comes from the Emeril's Fish House in the MGM Grand. Jennie's BCP is a very close second, but in this one area, Emeril's rules the roost.

I worked a good chunk of the day, then played rat in the maze, airport style. The kids took the travel well, and they didn't even gripe when I lost ten minutes dealing with the TSA agent at RDU who didn't want to believe one person might be carrying two notebooks, a spare battery, and an external DVD drive.

The goal of this winter-break trip is to show Sarah and Scott all four normal (i.e., not R-rated) Cirque du Soleil shows--and in four nights! I've seen them all before, but I'm as excited as always to get to see them again. Cirque comes as close as any organization I've ever known to creating magic night in and night out on stages all over the world. I'd love to collaborate with them on something, though on what I have no clue.

Oh, yeah: remind me sometime soon, and I'll announce two new projects.

Hey, a guy can tease from time to time!