Well, dear readers, here’s the deal: I don’t think it’s much of a secret that I am an extremely tough audience in terms of cabaret. I have very strong ideas about why things work in cabaret and especially why they don’t, which is most of the time. Aside from guest starring in the Kritzerland Cole Porter show and wowing the audience with a fairly unique rendition of Love for Sale, I didn’t really know from Maude Maggart at all. In our show, I discovered a singer with an interesting voice who really understood lyrics. So, last night, I decided to catch her full act at the Gardenia. It’s been many months since I’ve been back to the Gardenia – as you know, I’ve been going there since they opened and our Kritzerland shows began there and played a year and four months before we moved on to bigger venues that I felt were a little more conducive to the way I like to present a show. As soon as Doug Haverty and I arrived, right at seven, we ran into Kerry O’Malley, who’s done a couple of our shows and is doing our upcoming anniversary show. She was meeting two pals of hers, and we all sat next to each other, so that was fun. I had the linguini putanesca – it was very good but a very tiny portion – couldn’t have been over three ounces of pasta.
Then the show began and I knew I was in for something interesting and special right from the first notes of the first song. I feel strongly that while there are maybe some basic rules in doing a cabaret show, they are bendable and need to be made specific to each performer, and yet that rarely happens. It really doesn’t matter how you choose to open a show as long as it works perfectly for the performer and gives the audience a sense of what they’re in for. I’ve seen a lot of cabaret performers fall flat on their face opening with a ballad, but it’s because the ballad doesn’t resonate in any way. Maude Maggart opened with a ballad but it worked perfectly. Her song choices throughout the evening were not only interesting, but most of them were not known by anyone. But everything meant something to her, was specific to her and her little theme, and every single thing she did came from her personality and uniqueness. And she is totally unique. She got laughs, she told fun stories and it all seemed effortless. Her way with a lyric is wonderful – she always understands exactly what she’s singing about – even one of her atypical warhorses, Over the Rainbow, sounded fresh and new in her voice. The act never overstayed its welcome (about an hour) and was always surprising. She also has the great fortune of having John Boswell as her musical partner in crime – he is a sensitive and superb musician and one of the best there is. In fact, in all the years I’ve known and have worked with him, I have never seen him be less than brilliant. So, while this may not “feel” like a typical cabaret act, it is, in fact, exemplary on every level and it should be studied for why it works so well and why the audience ate her up. I usually dread going to cabaret shows, but this one was something special and I could not have had a better time.
After the show I was still hungry so Doug and I went to Jerry’s Deli where I had a cup of chili and a sandwich.
Prior to that, I’d gotten about eight and a half hours of needed sleep. I got up, did my morning stuff and then I finished writing the Kritzerland commentary, so it’s grand to have that out of the way. I’m sure I’ll be finessing it, and actually I already have. I didn’t actually leave the house to go anywhere. After I finished writing I simply sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched Nymphomaniac Part 2, which is, of course the second half of Nymphomaniac Part 1, a film of Lars Von Triers. The first half had some interesting things and it held my attention, even though it’s not really my kind of film. And I was very taken with the quiet performance of Stellan Skarsgaard. Part 2 goes into much darker territory, with S&M and yet more hardcore stuff (all through fakery, but does that really matter when you’re watching it as if it was real). When it finally got to the end, I was happy to see that it was seemingly going to end on a somewhat positive note. That felt very right. But unfortunately, the film went on for another ninety seconds, and that ninety seconds killed everything for me. I felt it was so unnecessary, and a director saying, “Oh, you thought it was going to end positively – just wait” and being contrary. Instead it turned everything into complete nihilism. For me, it felt totally contrived and fake. Others have justified it, saying it was inevitable, but I just don’t buy it. But just as many people were really bothered by it and it ruined the film for them, too. It’s quite amazing what ninety seconds can do. This is not something I would ever recommend to anyone – those who don’t have strong stomachs should really stay away, and those who don’t like extreme, close-up and constant nudity and intimate scenes of the MOST intimate kind should also stay away. It doesn’t matter if it’s CGI doubles or prosthetics, trust me on that.
After that, I did a mile and a half jog, then finally got ready to mosey on over to the Gardenia.
Today, I intend to relax and the only work I really need to do is to prep Monday’s Kritzerland announcement. I’ll jog, of course, and then I’m seeing Dan Callaway’s cabaret act at The Federal.
Tomorrow, we’ll announce the new Kritzerland release, and then this week is filled with meetings and meals, rehearsing with Juliana Hansen and writing a new set of liner notes. Then Sandy Bainum comes into town and we’ll be working all of the following week in advance of recording her new album.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, prep our new release, jog and then see a cabaret show. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have seen Maude Maggart weave her magic spell.