Well, dear readers, we had us a pretty damn fun first rehearsal for next Sunday’s Kritzerand show. First to arrive in tandem were pianist John Boswell and Jason Graae. We’ve all worked together many, many times. So, lots o’ laughs and then we got down to brass tacks because aluminum tacks don’t really cut the mustard or the ketchup, and we ran Jason’s three numbers, one of which involves his beloved oboe. Fun stuff. Then Robert Yacko came, and we ran his three numbers. The first one was easy, the second we had to do some arranging on and the same with the third. John is so brilliant that all you have to say is one or two words and he just comes up with the perfect way to do it. After Robert came Adrienne Stiefel and daughter Kerby Lee. First we ran Adrienne’s two solos, found the right keys for her and she does the two songs so beautifully. Then she and daughter did their duet and that’s just wonderful. After they left, it was Anastasia Barzee. We ran her three songs and what a voice this woman has, along with a very irreverent personality. The three songs fit her to a T and also a W. And finally, we had young Sadie Reynolds – she opens the show with our usual holiday show opening number, Be a Santa, but it’s the first time we’ve ever done it as a solo and it works great that way. I gave her a couple of tiny notes and the next time she ran it it was perfect. Then we ran her second number, which is a great song for her and she’s got that one down pat. There’s a tiny bit of ography for Be a Santa, and she’ll have that down by Friday. Kerry couldn’t make this rehearsal, but she had a private session with John and ran her stuff, all of which she’s done before. We wrapped it up by 5:50. Just a very pleasurable afternoon any way you slice it and I slice it on an angle. Then I had some matzoh ball soup for a snack and then watched a motion picture entitled The Fall Guy, based on the TV show, but not really a lot. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt and they’re just fine. What’s not fine is the inane script. Yes, the action scenes are fun, yes, the idea of a stunt man becoming embroiled in real-life adventures in which there are a lot of stunts could have been fun, but the script is so winky-winky meta that it has no chance. None of it makes a lick of sense – spoofing something is fine, making fun of something is fine but the writing isn’t fine – it strains to be funny, the “action” star of the movie within a movie is named Tom Ryder (Tom CRUISE/RYDER – get it), and nothing makes any sense, but the action scenes are occasionally fun but after two hours they’re simply noisy and exhausting. The director is a former stunt coordinator and stunt man who performed those duties on the first John Wick movie – according to Wikipedia he co-directed it but received no credit. I take that with a large container of salt. Anyway, some of the more well-known critics loved it, which just shows you how low their bar is now set. I mean, Richard Brody in the New Yorker, who hates so many good films, loved it. At least there were a bunch who didn’t love it at all. For me, a big eh.
Prior to all that, I only got about four hours of sleep. I tried to go back to sleep but had too much ABS (Active Brain Syndrome) and I finally just got up. I went to the mail place around nine-thirty and picked up my Christmas cards package, then came right back home. At noon, I ordered a taco and bean and cheese burrito from Don Cuco. Over the next thirty minutes, I filled out an insurance claim for the motor car, which was very detailed, they gave me about thirty choices of their preferred shops and I chose one in the Oaks of Sherman that’s not too far away. They called and we made an appointment for me to bring the car in next Wednesday after I get my permanent cap put in. I have no idea how long it will take to fix, so if I need to go anywhere, it will have to by via Uber as car rental isn’t covered in my insurance package. I have a $1,000 deductible, but it’s unclear at this point whether I have to pay it, as there seem to be certain instances where you don’t. I sent photos of the damage and it’s all moving very quickly, which is great. I sure would love to have the motor car back by Christmas, which is three weeks. Given all this stuff, I sure could use some real modern major miracles right about now.
Food arrived and I ate the taco, which was excellent, but I didn’t care for the bean and cheese burrito and only ate half. In fact, the only burritos I’ve ever liked are the ones from Taco Bell. Go know. Then we had our rehearsal and the rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’m still researching stuff for the new book, I need to do some organizing around here, but I also need to rest my voice and get in show mode – there’s been a LOT happening with the physical and the eye doctor and the dentist and then the car thing. It’s enough to drive a feller crazy. And with me, that’s a short drive. I’ll eat something that I’ll hopefully enjoy and that’s light – maybe Gelson’s – and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow will be exactly the same, Friday we have our second rehearsal, Saturday is our stumble-through and I’ll be checking on the set-up for the show throughout the day, I’ll rest my voice in the evening, and then Sunday I’ll get to the Arboretum around ten o’clock, at eleven-thirty we do sound check for an hour, and then we do the show at two. After that, Adrienne is having a little birthday thing at a nearby place, so I’ll go there for a few minutes, and then I’m hoping that a few friends will come for a proper birthday dinner at a proper restaurant.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, research, organize, rest my voice and get in show mode, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. 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, happy to have spent the afternoon getting in the holiday spirit.