Well, dear readers, once again it is show time for Kritzerland at the Gardenia. I’m told that the reservations are minimal, which is very dispiriting, especially given the fact that a party of five diners cancelled. If this is how it’s going to be, the series will be done early next year, which would be a real shame. I mean, when you can’t fill a room with fifty people then I don’t know what. I have many, many friends and acquaintances in the city of Los Angeles, and I’m here to tell you that very few of them have gotten off their ASSES to show some support for what has turned into a pretty fabulous series of musical evenings with top talent. They’ll seemingly go to the stupidest shows, but not here. Many of them are performers and I can only say that none of those people who can’t seem to show up for any event that I do will ever work for me in these shows or probably any other shows – why should I go out of my way to attend their events, which I mostly always do? Oh, well, we can only hope that people will just show up at the door, and I think the owner will be fine with the nineteen or so dinner reservations that we have. And then we’ll see how the December show goes in terms of attendance – our pre-holiday Christmas show. Our stumble-through was mostly very good – some forgotten lyrics and a couple of tempo problems, but we fixed those afterwards. I love this group of performers – that’s been one of the treats for me, working with new folks and these people are welcome to appear in any of these shows. And I must say, I must adore the songs, every single one of them.
Prior to the rehearsal, I’d had a very nice and easy day. I slept till ten, which I really needed to do, then I did a mile and a half jog (it was very hot out), then answered e-mails and caught up on some other stuff and got more things out to the garage. I can’t believe that I can actually see floor in certain parts of the house after years of having stuff piled up. What a pleasure. The Handy Man came by to check the water problems, but couldn’t find anything – however, an hour before he got here I was taking a shower and having the same problem as yesterday – I turned the hot water all the way up, and could only turn the cold water on a smidgen to get any kind of warm water and any water pressure at all. But about thirty seconds in, I heard a loud whooshing noise and suddenly the water came on full force and REALLY hot but I was quick and turned the cold water up to where I usually have it and then everything was fine. So maybe something was clogged somewhere. It’s all good now. After we finished rehearsal, I auditioned a young gal from the Happy Days cast – not sure if it will work out, but she’s cute as a button and has very good energy. After that, The Singer arrived and we ran through the rest of her music. Then we went over to the Studio Café to eat and discuss. As these things go, looking at our yes and maybe lists, we had too many ballads, a couple of which are too similar. Clearly we needed a couple of uptempos and we discussed that and came up with some fun ideas, which we’ll play through next time. I’m thinkin’ we’ll finalize our list in the next couple of weeks and then start building the show. After that, I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I didn’t really have time to watch a motion picture on Blu and Ray, but I did want to check out a couple of transfers, which I did, beginning with White Christmas. As I predicted, everyone, including a former dear reader, is gaga over The Sound of Music – once Mr. Robert Harris gave it his Seal of Approval, then I knew everyone would say it was the greatest thing since white bread. As I said, it’s a fine transfer, the best we’ve had, but, for me, it just doesn’t pop the way it should and seems a bit lifeless. I can only tell you that seeing that film in 70mm was one of the most breathtaking experiences I’ve ever had. And I feel that somehow the Blu and Ray doesn’t quite capture it for home video. A couple of people on other boards have actually agreed with me, so that’s interesting. Which brings us to White Christmas – I’m going to guess that this will not garner the kinds of reviews that The Sound of Music is garnering – partly because no one likes Paramount, and who knows what Mr. Harris will have to say. But I know what I have to say, and I know most of you trust that I at least know what I’m talking about in regards to how these films should look. And for my money, White Christmas pops in a way that I was expecting The Sound of Music to pop, in terms of sharpness and contrast and just vibrancy. In fact, it’s gorgeous – so sharp it will knock your socks off. I have no idea what was used for the transfer but whatever it was a great job was done. And I’ll just wait for the first idiot who says there is obvious DNR on this thing, because I’m sure someone will. I’ve seen the first twenty minutes and am more than pleased. Of course, the opticals aren’t as sharp, which is how they always looked, but the minute it cuts out of the optical then wow, we’re back to unbelievable sharpness, absolutely perfect color, and a breathtaking image. I then watched the first ten minutes of The Bridge On The River Kwai. While this is obviously the best this film has looked on home video, it’s not going to knock anyone’s socks off – my gut feeling is that the negative was lost in the Columbia flood. I don’t know that for certain, but this transfer has all the earmarks of not being from an original negative – it looks many, many generations away, and the only thing that would really explain it is if the negative had been lost in the flood. Because other films of that era that have come out on Blu-Ray look MUCH better than this – Rock Hunter, for example, is a fantastic transfer from basically the same time frame. The main titles to Kwai are not so attractive, and when we cut out of that optical, it gets better but not by a lot. It’s reasonably sharp but, as I said, looks generations away from the original negative. Maybe this is what the film always looked like, but knowing how meticulous David Lean was, I kind of doubt that. I’ll be finishing all three films (with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) over the next few days – but first up will be Toy Story 3.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get my beauty sleep because there is much to do on the ‘morrow.
Today, I have quite a bit to do – I must go over my patter so that I don’t fumfer all night, I must jog, I must do errands and whatnot, pay some more Kritzerland bills, do a sound check, and relax a bit before dinner and show. Send excellent vibes and xylophones for a good crowd – it’s not really fair to the singers to have a small audience.
Tomorrow, I can’t remember what’s happening, although I think it involves a meal and a meeting, same with Friday. I’m happy to say that our very own Mr. Barry Pearl and his ever-lovin’ Cindy have kindly invited me over for Thanksgiving. Otherwise it would have been a turkey sandwich at Jerry’s Deli.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, go over patter, do errands and whatnot, pay bills, do a sound check, relax, and then do our third Kritzerland at the Gardenia show. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland.