Whose Line is it Anyway? reboots this summer! March 3, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Theatre, TV.1 comment so far
Ten days after I had given up on the return of Trust Us with Your Life, I learned of wonderful news (via The Hollywood Reporter, h/t Jonathan Mangum): Whose Line is it Anyway? is returning to television this summer!
The Whose Line reboot will air on the CW, which was home to Drew Carey’s Green Screen Show prior to the WB’s merger with UPN. According to THR, Whose Line marks the CW’s return to comedy. They’ve otherwise been known for teen dramas.
As with the first American version, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady will be the lead performers. Aisha Tyler will follow in the hosting footsteps of Clive Anderson and Drew Carey. (Clive hosted the original British version.) It’ll be interesting to see which house musician(s) will be on hand for musical games like “Song Styles” (or “Duet”), “Greatest Hits,” and “Hoedown.”
It’s a 10-episode run, but could be more if renewed or less if canceled. Based on the failures of the Green Screen Show, Improv-A-Ganza,” and Trust Us With Your Life, I’d say the latter is more likely. But as usual, I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised.
Here’s part of THR’s story:
… Based on the U.K. format, which spawned the 1998-2004 ABC series led by Drew Carey, Whose Line will feature the return of Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie, who, along with a special guest each episode, will put their comedic skills to the test through a series of improv games. Prompted by ideas from the studio audience and [host Aisha] Tyler, the performers use the information and their imaginations to depict different characters, scenes and perform songs. A winner will be named at the end of each episode.
From Angst Productions and Hat Trick Productions, Whose Line is executive produced by Dan Patterson, Mark Leveson, Jimmy Mulville, Stiles and Brady. It was co-created by Patterson and Leveson. …
My experience at Day 2 of 2012 New York Comic Con October 15, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Books, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Friday marked my first time at the annual New York Comic Con, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on 11th Avenue on Manhattan’s West Side. The Javits Center stretches from West 34th to 40th Streets, but the main entrance is at West 37th.
My day at the event was scheduled around the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel, which was to be held at 6:45 PM. Bored at home, I left the house just after 1:00, 90 minutes earlier than I planned. I walked to the Wantagh LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station (a 20-minute walk), bought a round trip off peak ticket in a ground-level vending machine, and waited on the platform for the train to arrive. I saw one person in costume, which meant I wouldn’t be the only one bound for NYCC on the train. With the air temperature in the low 50s and a stiff breeze, I was dressed for winter: a winter coat and a long sleeve shirt, but no costume. As the joke goes, I went as myself.
After an hour-long train ride to Penn Station, I walked up to the street and had two slices of pizza at Famous Famiglia on 8th Avenue, one of many locations in New York alone. It was an appropriate lunch on the day of the TMNT panel.
After passing the Houndstooth Pub at the corner of 8th and West 37th Street, the site of many contemporary jazz shows I’ve attended, I crossed west and then north to walk on the north side of West 37th. There were groups of people ahead of me also heading to Javits. Part of the walk featured an overpass above Dyer Avenue, which leads into the Lincoln Tunnel. Once at the Javits Center, I walked in the green entrance.
Friday was the second day of four of the Con. A sold-out crowd packed the Javits Center, making the indoor temperature feel like close to 80. If only I had chosen a spring jacket and short sleeve shirt.
According to my camera, I took the first picture in this post at 3:18 PM, within 40 minutes of arriving at Penn Station. Let’s see those pics, shall we?
I expected to see press conducting interviews, like Bill Schulz and Jesse Watters did last year, but I only saw crews passing by with their equipment off (seen here after I left the Show Floor):
Taking the escalator to the Show Floor:
Leaving the Show Floor:
The next few pics are LEGO displays built by LUGs (LEGO Users Groups) in New York and Connecticut:
Quidditch:
I put the camera down for the next hour and a half to take in the sights and sounds, and grab an early dinner at the food court.
By the time I got to the conference room where the TMNT panel was, there was a line. I took this pic of the schedule board while waiting on that line, which went on to extend well past me:
As the wait continued, Peter Hastings, one of TMNT’s executive producers, walked by taking pictures of the line. I recognized him from a Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen podcast back in May. As he passed near me, I asked him, “Are you Peter Hastings?” He said yes, then wondered as he shook my hand how I knew who he was. I told him it was from his body of work, and I cited Pinky and the Brain and TMNT; all I could think of offhand. I couldn’t tell if he was scared, shocked, or flattered that I knew of him. It reminded me of when I was at the will call booth at the old IMAC in Huntington before a Rippingtons concert in 2006. (You can see my pics with Jeff Kashiwa and Steve Reid here.) Musician Tom Huber was in line ahead of me and I recognized his name when he told it to the ticket taker. I told him I knew of him through his background vocals on two tracks from Steve Briody‘s (“BRY-dee”) “Keep On Talkin’” album. Tom’s response was, “Are you kidding?” In Peter’s case, he assured me the next day on Facebook that he was flattered. I thanked him for that.
NYCC staff opened the doors to the conference room just after 6:20. I managed to get an aisle a few rows in (behind a few reserved rows).
(After the above pic, I switched from my Nikon D3100 to a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 because I don’t yet have a long lens for the Nikon. I switched back after the panel.)
The panel began at 6:47 with the TMNT title sequence projected on screens and through theater-style speakers. The crowd erupted in cheers as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello approached the dais.
Donnie, Raph, Mikey, Leo:
The panel was moderated by Ray Rahman, a writer for Entertainment Weekly and “somehow, the senior Ninja Turtles correspondent, which is a title I take as seriously as you guys do”:
Here is Ray’s pre-panel write up.
The panel consisted of executive producers Ciro Nieli…
and the aforementioned Peter Hastings:
The rest of the panel was four cast members: the voices of three of the four turtles and their sensei.
Sean Astin as Raphael:
The aforementioned Rob Paulsen as Donatello:
Rob was also Raphael in the original TMNT series that premiered 25 years ago. (Talkin’ Toons podcast live: original cast reunion)
Greg Cipes as Michelangelo:
…and Hoon Lee as Splinter:
Rob acknowledged that TMNT voice director Andrea (“ahn-DRAY-uh”) Romano was in the audience. She stood up and waved to everyone:
(That was the best image I could get. Sorry about the poor quality.)
Greg, Rob, and Sean reenacted a fight scene from the show while watching the scene on screen:
What they were reenacting:
Greg and Sean looked at the screen to their left (above) while Rob looked straight ahead at the reverse side of a second screen.
It ended with Donnie screaming in shock!:
What the scream looked like animated:
Ciro, Greg, and Rob watching the sneak previews:
As quickly as the panel began, it was over.
An hour flies when you’re having fun.
As the crowd left, a music video set to “Gangnam Style” by Psy played on the screens.
Meanwhile, Greg stuck around to greet fans and sign autographs:
Some of my pictures from the panel were vidcaps (or screencaps), pictures captured from my computer screen while playing video, which I then edited in Photoshop (cropping, adjusting color). My camerawork was iffy because I used a mini tripod and tended to shake. Neil Vitale did a much better job than me. Here’s his video:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles airs Saturday mornings at 11:00 Eastern on Nickelodeon.
About ten minutes after the leaving the conference room…
…I was out of the Javits Center.
Fifteen minutes later, I made it back to Penn Station’s LIRR terminal. On the train ride back, I sat next to two people that also attended NYCC. One of them came with a group of anime fans and she was dressed as a character. But I don’t remember which one.
I arrived home at 9:45. It was quite an 8 1/2 hour adventure, one that I won’t soon forget.
We leave you with a picture of the lanyard I wore and pass that it carried:
10/16 UPDATE: Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times wrote on Friday about how New York Comic Con is catching up with the bigger Comic-Con (note the hyphen) International in San Diego.
10/19 UPDATE: Andy Levy of Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld was on the Show Floor last Friday when I wasn’t. Click here to see his report.
Trust Us with Your Life; UPDATE: Canceled!; UPDATE 2: Not officially canceled.; UPDATE 3: I give up. July 12, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Media, Music, Personal, Sports, TV.2 comments
8/1 UPDATE: Trust Us with Your Life has been canceled.
8/2 UPDATE: Or has it? More on these updates at the bottom of the post.
2/19/13 UPDATE: I give up. I’ll assume it’s canceled.
4/1/13 UPDATE: Whose Line is it Anyway? reboots this summer!
If you like improvisational comedy, you’ll love the new ABC series Trust Us with Your Life. It was developed by Dan Patterson, one of the people behind Whose Line is it Anyway? It’s hosted by Fred Willard and stars improv veterans Wayne Brady, Jonathan Mangum, and Colin Mochrie. The first two episodes have also starred Greg Proops and Craig Cackowski.
The stars of the show create scenes based on stories recounted by each episode’s guest, which have included (and will include) Serena Williams, Jack and Kelly Osbourne, Mark Cuban, Ricky Gervais, and Florence Henderson (a guest in a latter season of Whose Line). There are improv games to go along with the scenes. If you’ve seen previous Drew Carey’s* previous improv series or tours, this sample of games played may sound familiar:
- Glee Club It! (like Showstopping Number)
- Putting Words in My Mouth (like Dubbing)
- Rap It! (like Kick It!)
- Dramatic Episode (like First Date and New Choice)
- Styles
As a hardcore fan of improv comedy, I laughed hard at most of the scenes.
Unfortunately, post-Whose Line improv series have not lasted long:
- Drew Carey’s Green Screen Show was canceled on the WB after only a handful of episodes. The rest of the recorded episodes were run a year later on Comedy Central.
- Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza ran five nights a week for eight weeks, but did poorly on GSN. It was not renewed. But thanks to the five-night-a-week run, it is the longest-running post-Whose Line series.
I’m hoping Trust Us with Your Life breaks that trend and becomes a huge hit. Why watch serial sitcoms, dramas, and reality shows when you can laugh uncontrollably for 30 to 60 minutes a week with no conflict? Thank you, Dan Patterson, for giving us TUSWYL. I love it!
*-Due to Drew’s contract with CBS, he is not allowed to appear on TUSWYL since it’s on a competing network.
8/1 UPDATE: Nope, the trend was not bucked. Trust Us with Your Life has been canceled. Another post-Whose Line improv series has failed.
Blame this on Fred Willard’s incident all you want, but this is really about a majority of American viewers not looking kindly on improv comedy. The fact that Whose Line is it Anyway? lasted so long amazes me when you consider that its offspring cannot achieve the same staying power.
There are only two cable networks I can imagine the TUWYL re-emerging and perhaps achieving success: Comedy Central or BBC America. But that won’t happen, either.
All involved with the show – in addition to Green Screen and Improv-a-Ganza- should be applauded for trying. Among improv fans like myself, these are hits, but there aren’t enough fans like us to make a difference. It’s a reality we must accept.
8/2 UPDATE: I didn’t catch this until around 11:50 last night, but the TUYWL Facebook page said this about the show’s fate at 10:15 Tuesday night:
I would like to clarify something. “Trust Us With Your Life” has NOT been officially cancelled as of right now. The last two episodes were pulled from the schedule due to competing with ratings for the Olympics. The last two episodes may (or may not) be scheduled at a later time. If you would love to at least see the final two episodes of the season, feel free to write to ABC directly (in other words, not on here) and vocalize this. Thanks, all.
Notice the post says “the final two episodes of the season,” and not the series. I’d like to think they’re right; that Trust Us with Your Life is still alive and merely on hiatus. If so, it would fly in the face of those reveling in its demise because of who the host is.
2/19/13 UPDATE: I give up. I think I can safely say that Trust Us with Your Life was indeed canceled and is never coming back. And while Fred Willard continues to have guest shots on TV series, the performers he moderated, so to speak, haven’t been seen on TV since; at least not to my knowledge.
So, once again, a post-Whose Line improv series bites the dust. Maybe if Nick Cannon was the host, as he was on Wild ‘n Out, Trust Us with Your Life would still be on the air.
4/1/13 UPDATE: Whose Line is it Anyway?reboots this summer!
CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri on WCWP; WCWP 50th Anniversary Celebration October 22, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio, TV.6 comments
3/27/13 UPDATE: Scroll down for pictures from the WCWP 50th Anniversary Celebration.
Earlier recaps: 2008 WCWP Homecoming, 2009 Homecoming
Later recap: 2012 Homecoming, 2013 Hall of Fame announcement (one link)
Early this morning at 1:00, CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri aired on WCWP-FM. It’s part of the 50th anniversary of Homecoming Weekend which started last night at 7:00 and ends late tomorrow night.
I recorded my show a few weeks ago. And it’s a good thing I did because I’m coming off a cold and my voice isn’t quite at 100% yet. (I took my last of five antibiotics a half hour before writing this post.)
Below are the audio and video version of the aircheck recorded from the board a few weeks ago. The legal ID that played between hours of my show was recorded from the stream and added to the aircheck file. The video was recorded from my camcorder and mixed with the aircheck audio in Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0.
CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri – 10/22/11 Aircheck
And this is the complete playlist with written notes (click to view larger):
The “separate page” was a scan of the liner notes for “Anything’s Possible” and “One for Shorty.” I originally credited everyone on those tracks, but had to edit them out for time.
This evening, I’ll be at the Top of the Commons at C.W. Post for the WCWP 50th Anniversary Celebration. I hope to have pictures for a later post.
10/23 UPDATE: Rather than upload pictures to the blog, I’ve made my Facebook album of pics from last night public. Click here to see them.
3/27/13 UPDATE: With the 2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony approaching, and with WordPress now letting users insert multiple pictures at once, I can now share pictures from the 50th Anniversary Celebration. The pictures include captions that I originally wrote for the Facebook album, which is now only for friends or friends of friends, and some new captions. Here is the photo recap:
My parents drove me up to the C.W. Post campus at about 6:20 (maybe 6:25) in the evening. I arrived on campus at 6:50, just as a barricade was put up in the Hillwood Commons/WCWP parking lot and points west. Apparently, there was a show at the Tilles Center. So, I was let out one lot to the east, walked down the stairs, and walked inside Hillwood. I took the elevator to the Top of the Commons (third floor) and in I went.
Pete Bellotti:
After Pete’s welcomed fellow alumni, he invited Bill Mozer to the podium.
Then it was Dan Cox’s turn:
Next, Dr. Paul Forestell, Post’s provost:
Art Beltrone:
Nick Parker and Christina Kay:
Nick was Christina’s guest for “The Throwdown”:
The 50th anniversary cake:
The raffle table:
Jay Mirabile was Christina’s second interview of the night. He made a crack about Alan Seltzer as I took this pic:
Pete told Dan that the WCWP Alumni Association had purchased for the station a new Panasonic 50″ LCD HDTV:
Another big announcement was the forming of the WCWP Hall of Fame. Bernie Bernard listed the first class of inductees…
…the founders of WCWP: Art Beltrone, Hank Neimark, Prof. Virgil Jackson Lee, and Dr. Herb Coston.
I was fortunate enough to be in Dr. Coston’s presence at the WCWP Alumni Dinner in 2007.
Bernie then invited Art Beltrone and Hank Neimark to say a few words.
Art went first:
A toast to everyone involved with WCWP from the beginning to today:
“Cheers for WCWP”:
Hank Neimark:
Raffle time. First up, the 50/50 raffle:
Scott Perschke announced the winner:
After that, two pairs of Islanders tickets, donated by John Mullen, and the winner of the silent auction for an iPad:
Craig Stern and Allie LaRue (née Roderick):
Christina’s last two “Throwdown” interviews were with Bernie Bernard…
…and Pete Bellotti:
Then, Christina turned things over to Jay Mirabile back at the station.
It was a great night. My one regret is I didn’t have more time to mingle and catch up with my fellow alumni.
Here’s to 50 more years!
Dharma All Stars recap 7 September 15, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Jazz, Music, Personal, TV.1 comment so far
Last night, I went to see John Favicchia‘s band, the Dharma All Stars, at The Brokerage, a comedy club in Bellmore, just a short trip from my house.
The players were the same as the last time I saw them 13 months ago. Chieli Minucci was on guitar:
Bill Harris on the tenor sax…
…and alto sax:
Nick Lazarev on bass:
Misha Tsiganov on the keyboard:
And John Fav on drums:
I was there for the first set. Here’s what was played:
1. Horizons
2. Coincidence
3. Sing a Song of Songs (Kenny Garrett cover)
4. Bodybeat (Special EFX cover)
5. Kukuc
Bill switched to alto sax for “Bodybeat”:
Bill switched back to tenor on “Kukuc”:
The Dharma All Stars will return to the Brokerage on Wednesday, October 12, at 8PM.
Irene, Five Days in Freeport September 8, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, DVD, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.6 comments
After 26 years of barely missing hurricanes, or at least direct hits, Long Island’s luck ran out last weekend.
On a Friday afternoon, September 27, 1985, Hurricane Gloria, a fast-moving Category 2, made landfall near Long Beach. 25 years and 11 months later, it was Irene’s turn. Though Hurricane Irene was barely a Category 1 when it made landfall on Coney Island last Sunday morning (immediately weakening to a tropical storm), it wasn’t moving as fast as Gloria and it came during high tide rather than low tide. The south shore of Long Island got pounded. Over 500,000 Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) customers, including myself, were without power at the height of the storm. Either giant limbs or uprooted trees fell on power lines or transformers caught fire. I lost power at 1:30 AM Sunday because of the latter. (Also, the sub-station in Plainedge that we were linked to was badly damaged.)
I prepared my bedroom for the worst by covering up some belongings, including CDs, and putting them on the floor:
I spent Saturday night and much of Sunday in the basement and on the main floor, only going to the top floor in the afternoon to take a [cold!] shower. While preparing my room on Saturday, I found a lucky rabbit’s foot. I kept it close by or in my shorts pocket.
I don’t know if the rabbit’s foot was the cause, but our house was spared. The only damage for us was smaller branches and twigs, and leaves falling around the house. I took these pictures Monday morning in the front and back yards under a partly-to-mostly sunny sky:
I put everything I had put on the floor back where they were before on Sunday night. This picture was also taken Monday morning:
More pics from Monday near my house:
I stayed home without power until Monday afternoon when a family friend in Freeport was nice enough to let me stay with them until power was restored at my house. Villages like Freeport that have their own utilities didn’t lose power for long. If only that were the case for LIPA customers. Some didn’t get it back until early this week. I got it back 3:30 PM Friday. The family friend was without FiOS (for reasons I won’t get into), so I was stuck with radio, wireless internet (on my laptop), and mobile web (on my cell phone). I also passed the time by going for walks, listening to music on my iPod, and playing video games. I hadn’t played Game Boy or Game Boy Advance games in ages until last week. I brought my camera on one of those walks and stopped by my late grandparents’ old house and Cow Meadow Park (swatting mosquitoes along the way):
Before getting to the old house and Cow Meadow, I saw a sad sight walking up the block where the friend lives. Curbs on both sides of the street had flood-damaged carpeting, couches, and appliances waiting to be picked up. I used to live in southwest Freeport. So, I know what it’s like to get flooding from the bay in the bottom floor of the house. I got that during the aforementioned Gloria, and Nor’easters in December 1992 and March 1993. Within months of those last two storms, I had moved to a part of Wantagh that’s a few miles inland.
Back at the friend’s house, she had the complete run of I Love Lucy on DVD. I got into that show years ago when it was on Nick at Nite. My love for it was rekindled. I watched the latter seasons while the friend had them on.
The ride home late Friday afternoon was great. I knew I’d be returning home to electricity and cable, albeit with an empty refrigerator. Before leaving, I thanked the family friend for putting up with me for five days. I returned the favor this Tuesday when I stayed at her house while she was at work to be present for a Cablevision technician to install their services–iO, Optimum Online, Optimum Voice–in place of Verizon’s–phone, FiOS internet, FiOS TV.
Three footnotes:
1. As I type this post, Hurricane Katia is about to turn northeast and move away from the U.S. East Coast. Good.
2. There were plenty of columns and blog posts in Irene’s aftermath that downplayed the storm and/or reprimanding the media for overhyping it. Many media did overhype it, but damage is damage. Downed trees are nothing compared to massive flo0ding, whether from storm surge or rivers overflowing from nonstop rain. Residents of New Jersey, Eastern New York State, and Vermont are among those that got the latter. And the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee in the last few days have only added to the flooding.
3. I stumbled upon a blog post that offers the Washington, D.C. area perspective. It’s written by freelance writer Kristine Meldrum Denholm: How I’ve dodged the demise of the east coast, part II: Goodnight, Irene. There was minimal damage in her neighborhood and she never lost power. Kristine is not alone. My neighbors two houses to the west of me never lost power, neither did my piano teacher in Freeport.
4. Yet another link: Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean summed up Irene at her blog last Monday.
9/27 UPDATE: It’s hard to believe that tomorrow will mark one month since Irene made landfall here. And as I noted at the top, Hurricane Gloria whizzed (compared to the slower Irene) through Long Island 26 years ago today. Since I wrote this post a few weeks ago, a few more Atlantic tropical cyclones have formed and none have directly impacted the U.S. (Knock on wood.) In checking the August archives at the website Johnny Dollar’s Place, I found an interview John Gibson did with Janice Dean on his Fox News Radio show. It took place on August 29, the day after landfall:
12/30 UPDATE: Irene was the #1 tri-state area news story in WCBS 880′s countdown of the top 11 stories of 2011:
… But Sunday morning, August 28, we knew the caution was called for.
Irene swept ashore in Brigantine, battered New Jersey, then crossed Coney Island at 9 a.m. on a path for New England.
Throughout its path, Irene caused widespread destruction, left millions without power and killed 56 people.
“We are now into day three of no electricity for hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders,” reported WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. …
Even with all that Irene turned out not to have been a hurricane when it hit our area.
Okay, fine, it wasn’t a hurricane. It was Tropical Storm Irene. It might as well have been a category 1 hurricane because it moved slow enough to cause the same amount of damage.
You can read and listen to the rest here.
Bolder & Fresher Tour at Westbury August 10, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Commentary, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, TV.add a comment
Next Saturday, Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller will kick off the Bolder & Fresher Tour at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury. It’s the sequel to the Bold & Fresh Tour with Bill and Glenn Beck.
The Tour is billed this way on its website:
Bolder and fresher than ever before… Bill O’Reilly, godfather of “no spin” and in-your-face television, and Dennis Miller, the king of references and rants, are teaming up to take the country by storm! Your town may never be the same.
So far, three other shows have been booked after Westbury:
- 10/29: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
- 11/25: Landmark Theatre, Richmond, VA
- 11/26: Borgata Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
I will be in the audience next Saturday. I can’t wait.
8/21 UPDATE: Here’s my recap of the show.
Mindi Abair on Happily Divorced!; auto-tuning on Hot in Cleveland July 9, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Jazz, Media, Music, TV.1 comment so far
Last week, I began watching the new TV Land sitcom Happily Divorced. Wednesday night, the show’s fifth episode aired, “A Date with Destiny.” Mindi Abair appears in one scene as the saxophonist in Judi’s (Tichina Arnold) band and another scene as an extra. Check TV Land listings for a rerun of this episode. It happens about 19 minutes in.
HONORABLE MENTION
Happily Divorced was preceded by Hot in Cleveland. Wednesday’s episode, “Battle of the Bands,” featured the four main cast members–Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, Betty White–singing into an auto-tune wireless microphone. I find most voice alteration (pitch/speed modulation) funny, especially auto-tune. So, I got a kick of the auto-tuning in that episode.
11/27 UPDATE: Cablevision recently added the TV Land HD channel. So, I got to see “Battle of the Bands”–and many other episodes airing this weekend as part of a marathon–in HD for the first time.
FLASHBACK: Interviewed for Dave’s Gone By on New Year’s Eve 2006 June 6, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Comedy, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Politics, Radio, Theatre.add a comment
I was Googling my name just now and came across this page. It’s the website Dave’s Gone By, a weekly radio show hosted by Dave Lefkowitz. There I found an interview I did–in which I was the interviewee–for the Dave’s Gone By New Year’s Craptacular special on New Year’s Eve 2006. You can hear that interview here. It starts at the 8:11 mark.
I was returning the favor after interviewing Dave a handful of times for The Mike Chimeri Show, which was days from its last show. Here are all those interviews (with air dates in parentheses):
Dave Lefkowitz Interview, Part 1 (August 17, 2005)
Dave Lefkowitz Interview, Part 2 (August 17, 2005)
Dave Lefkowitz Interview II (November 23, 2005) (In this one, I accidentally refer to Dave by his show title at one point. I had to rush down to Rockville Centre after I recorded the interview and my mind was all over the place.)
Dave Lefkowitz Interview III (March 29, 2006) (This was the first of three interviews I recorded in one day. After Dave came Nick Colionne and Mindi Abair. For all my Mike Chimeri Show interviews, which I self-consciously haven’t listened to since I edited them, click here.)
Dave Lefkowitz Interview IV, Part 1 (December 22, 2006)
Dave Lefkowitz Interview IV, Part 2 (December 22, 2006) (This was the last interview I recorded for The Mike Chimeri Show.)
About four years later, I was the interviewee again during the Fan Phone Call segment of Alison Rosen’s UStream show, Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend. You can hear that here.
Bolder & Fresher Tour at Westbury recap August 21, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Commentary, Media, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, TV, Weather.13 comments
(2/22/13 UPDATE: For those that found this post by search engine, this is a recap of the original Bolder-Fresher show at Westbury in August 2011. There will be another show there on June 1 of this year, but I won’t be attending that one.)
(Update at the bottom with viewer e-mails from audience members at 10/29 Mohegan Sun show, 11/2 Miller Time segment, my quick review of Killing Lincoln, and highlights from the 10/29 show.)
Last night, I returned to what is now the NYCB Theatre at Westbury for the debut of the Bolder & Fresher Tour starring Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller.
I went with my dad and we were joined later by family friend Joe Falco. Joe is a former FDNY firefighter who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center’s south tower on September 11, 2001. My college senior project was a documentary featuring his recollections and a return to Ground Zero where he retraced his steps.
The show was at 8:00, but since it was nearly sold out, Dad and I left the house at 6:45 to be safe. It took about fifteen minutes to arrive. Once in the theatre, we sat down for 50 minutes. Our seats were adjacent to the aisle where Bill and Dennis walked to and from the stage. A few minutes after 8:00, the lights dimmed, and Bill, via the public address system, introduced “the fresh part of the Bolder Fresher Tour, Miller!” My dad said he and Dennis made eye contact during his walk down to the stage.
Dennis’ material was toned down a bit. In TV ratings terms, he was TV-14-DL; no s- or f-words but suggestive dialogue. His 35-minute set touched on many topics, including:
Then, it was Bill’s turn. Among his topics were:
After a 15-minute intermission, Bill and Dennis returned for 35 minutes of Q&A. At this point, the two sat in stools while the stage rotated. It took Dennis a few minutes to notice that and then he acknowledged it to the audience. They each had stories to tell. Dennis talked about:
Bill talked about his upbringing, from Levittown to The O’Reilly Factor, and everything in between: working as a lifeguard for the Town of Babylon, going to St. Brigid’s, Chaminade High School, Marist (to which Dennis made a Marist/Roger Maris joke), working his way up in TV news.
It was a great show. Bill and Dennis both entered and exited to standing ovations. To be honest, I enjoyed this more than the Bold & Fresh Tour show last year.
If you’d like to see Bolder Fresher for yourself, check the tour’s website for upcoming dates and venues. You’ll be glad you went.
8/23 UPDATE: Three e-mails from audience members were read tonight on The O’Reilly Factor:
Keith Warhola, Mineola, NY: “Bill, you and Miller killed at Westbury. Loved the show.”
Bill’s response: “We didn’t actually kill anybody. It means that–[in] show biz–we were good.”
Gina Serra, Syosset, NY: “Bill, the Bolder-Fresher show was great! You were charming and Miller was a riot.”
Caryl Taylor, Briarcliff, NY: “Officer O’Reilly, we salute you and Dennis Miller. We were fully entertained by your observations and Miller’s stories.”
Bill’s response: “Well, thank you for all the nice mail, guys; got tons of letters. Clips from the show are now posted on BillOReilly.com for premium members. Next week, we’re gonna open ‘em up to everybody. So you can see about 15 minutes of the Bolder Fresher show on BillOReilly.com. Info on upcoming shows in Connecticut; Richmond, Virginia; and Atlantic City available on BolderFresher.com. BolderFresher.com.”
In addition to those e-mails, a few clips were shown last night in the Reality Check segment. I compiled that and tonight’s e-mails into this video:
9/9 UPDATE: The latter half of August 24′s Miller Time segment was devoted to the Westbury show:
I would have posted this sooner, but Irene set me back and then I forgot.
11/1 UPDATE: Saturday night, the Bolder Fresher Tour came to Mohegan Sun. As the winds howled and snow mixed with rain here in southeast Nassau, I wondered if the show would even happen, but this tweet confirmed it did:
O’Reilly and Miller weren’t going to let a pesky snowstorm/Nor’easter stop them. I’m sure everyone got back home, or home away from home (i.e. hotel room), safely.
One viewer e-mail from an audience member was read tonight on The O’Reilly Factor:
Lynda Hanratty, Selden, NY: “Hey, Mr. O, we drove five hours to Connecticut in that snowstorm to see you and Miller. And it was worth the white knuckle ride! You two were hysterical! Was that your limo that passed us on the ride home?”
Bill’s response: “No limo for me, Lynda. I drove up there, just like you did, from Long Island. Glad you liked the Bolder Fresher show. Watch out, Richmond, Virginia; and Atlantic City. We’re comin’ to you Thanksgiving weekend. Details on BillOReilly.com.”
11/2 UPDATE: Tonight’s Miller Time only made a passing reference to Saturday’s show at Mohegan Sun. Here’s the video, anyway. And here’s another viewer e-mail:
Mark Underhill, East Aurora, NY: “Bill, my wife and I drove seven hours to see you and Miller in that snowstorm on Saturday. To make the trip go faster, we tried to buy the Killing Lincoln audio. It was sold out everywhere. So we bought the book and my wife read it to me. Excellent.”
Bill’s response: “Your wife’s a trooper, Mark, and I’m sending you the audio for your ordeal. Killing Lincoln is selling out everywhere, but we are printing them as fast as we can get ‘em out to you. More than 900,000 copies of ‘Killing Lincoln’ in print right now. Thank you all.”
I pre-ordered the audio of Killing Lincoln before it came out and began listening to it September 28, the day after it was released. It got me through my daily walks and I finished it in two weeks. It reads (or is read by Bill) like a thriller. I vividly remember where I was walking while listening to key passages.
11/3 UPDATE: Highlights from Saturday can be seen on the BillOReilly.com video page. Look for “Bolder & Fresher Tour at Mohegan Sun” and click to play.
For the third night in a row, a viewer e-mail from an audience member was read:
Kathleen O’Gorman, Meriden, CT: “Mr. O, we lost power in the storm and it’s been rough. You and Miller were the only bright spots as we caught the Bolder Fresher show.”
Bill’s response: “[I] appreciate that, Kathleen. The power situation in the Northeast is gettin’ desperate. A clip from the Bolder Fresher show on Saturday [is] posted on BillOReilly.com. And Miller and I will see everybody in Richmond, Virginia; and Atlantic City at the end of November.”
11/4 UPDATE: Another day, another update. Psychotherapist Dr. Karen Ruskin was in the audience Saturday night and tweeted Dennis this afternoon:
An audience member viewer e-mail all the way from Montana!:
Margot Belden, Missoula, MT: “Bill, I came from Montana to see you and Miller in Connecticut! It was worth the ordeal. You were so funny, I had tears in my eyes.”
Bill’s response: “I hope from laughing with me, Margot, and not at me. Signed copy of Killing Lincoln coming your way for that big trip. …” That was followed by another reminder about the Richmond and Atlantic City shows in a few weeks.