Monthly Archives: May 2007
Big, bold "Hairspray"
You know you’re in for a good time when the cast seems to be having as much fun as the audience. Halfway through last night’s performance of “Hairspray,” a dirty joke sent the actors playing Edna and Wilbur Turnblad into uncontrollable giggles. When one of the audience members busted out a hearty “Haw haw haw,” […]
"Pirates'" long, strange trip
Ten or 15 minutes into “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” I found myself musing, “What the hell has Gore Verbinski been smoking?” It may have been the sight of our intrepid pirates confronting Chow Yun Fat on the docks of Singapore, as the big, bad warlord calls for “More steam! More steam!” Or […]
Idol contestants: Hold the melisma, please
Finally, there’s a word for it. I’m talking about that annoying thing that Mariah Carey does. That spasmodic vocal filler that seems mandatory for “American Idol” contestants. That thing hack singers do to stand out because they can’t actually write songs. It’s called melisma. I know, I know. It sounds scary. As in: “Oh, man […]
They're on MTV!
Tune into any of MTV’s myriad channels today and you’re bound to catch a glimpse of San Luis Obispo’s own Sherwood. The indie pop band is the subject of a news segment scheduled to be aired dozens of times on MTV, MTV2 and MTVu, the cable network’s channel geared toward college students. Led by Cal […]
Champagne, glamour, sex and respect
Eurotrash act Günther puts on an enjoyably silly show As I sat crushed between two full-grown males in a Subaru headed to Santa Barbara, the thought flitted through my head a few times: “Why I am doing this?” In a word: Günther. Günther, for the uninitiated, is Eurotrash personified — a strutting Swede whose silly, […]
Reels on wheels
How does SLO County celebrate National Bike Month? With a screening of the world’s best-ever bike movie, of course. “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” will be shown tonight in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero in two free outdoor events. Bike enthusiasts will meet at Atascadero’s Sunken Garden at 6:30 p.m. for a children’s parade and mixer before […]
Summer films to see (or not)
There are more movies this summer than there is space in the paper to write about them. We didn’t have room to cover all the films we wanted to in this week’s Ticket, so here are the rest of the movies we want to see this summer — and a few we think will probably […]
Bikes and Buddhism
HopeDance Magazine returns in May with progressive-minded documentaries about bikes, Buddhism and biodiversity. The film series kicks off today with “Manufactured Landscapes,” Canadian filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal’s stunning look at humankind’s impact on the world around it. The film, which starts at 7 p.m., follows photographer Edward Burtynsky as he documents the effects of industry and […]
My date with Spidey
Ever wonder what it’s like to attend a midnight premiere of one of the summer’s most anticipated movies? Here’s a blow-by-blow account of my journey to see “Spider-Man 3” at San Luis Obispo’s Fremont Theatre. 6 p.m. Thursday: Six hours until midnight moving showing. Ticket (purchased Tuesday afternoon): check. Knitting and David Sedaris book: double-check. […]
See this movie!
It’s true that when you have a child, you don’t get out as much. And that’s OK — though it means I see far fewer movies than I once did and wind up learning a lot more about “Blue’s Clues” and “Dora the Explorer” than I ever expected. (Kids, sing along: “I’m the map, I’m […]
She Likes to Watch 