#outandabout – The Boring Old Man

Out and About: Dita Von Teese at the Palace of Fine Arts, SF.

Saturday night the Mrs. and I went and did something completely different, we experienced our very first Burlesque Show at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts with the one and only Dita Von Teese.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know much about her other than her bringing the “art of burlesque” back into the mainstream, I just knew my wife always appreciated her aesthetic. So when I saw she was coming to the city I grabbed a pair of tickets so we could go see for ourselves what all the fuss was about.

If you’ve never seen the Palace of Fine Arts, you should. It is really a sight to behold. Stunning in both it’s design and in the craftsmanship of the buildings themselves. In fact, it’s such an amazing place, the Mrs. and I had wedding photos taken there over 30 years ago! And the view at night is really spectacular.

They just don’t make ’em like they used to…

The Theater was someplace we’d never been, and it was smaller than I’d anticipated. (I learned after the fact, the capacity was 961) It was however, packed with patrons, most of whom had really gone all out for the night and were really dolled up, so to speak. The “people watching” aspect was as enjoyable as the show itself!

The show was described as a “variety show”, and I wouldn’t exactly call it that. Not in a traditional sense, anyway. There were however a number of different performers aside from Dita herself. Some were great, some were m’eh. We were a bit surprised at how slow- paced the acts were. We had expected a more high energy sort of spectacle, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

To be honest, I was most impressed with the stagecraft of the whole thing. The costumes, the lighting, the props…all of it was really top notch and a lot of fun to see. My only gripe was the sound system, it was not good. At all. But otherwise, I can say without reservation that it was a visual spectacular unlike anything I’ve witnessed in my life. Due to the “adult” nature of the show, picture and video taking was prohibited, so I don’t have anything to share, but trust me, visually it was very well done.

The Mrs. and I both really enjoyed the show and were glad to have gone. Though we did both think it was probably something we wouldn’t do again, unless there was some very particular reason to, such as some special guest we are interested in or something. Regardless, we’re glad we went, we had a fun night out and got to see a lot of interesting people and experience a side of the Palace of Fine Arts we’d never seen. And yeah, Dita looked beautiful too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip! Gold Beach, OR.

Today we ventured further north to Gold Beach, Oregon. The town is small and not unlike many other sea-side towns, but we’ve been enjoying it very much.

After checking in to our spot for the night, we actually took to the road again, driving up as far as Port Orford, OR, just for the heck of it, to see what’s what.

Today is out actual anniversary – 31 years ago today, we tied the knot – so today is the day we spoil ourselves. Very swanky accommodations, unbelievable high end dinner (so good, words fail me) and just cruisin’ around enjoying each other. There are much worse ways to spend the day, let me tell you!

Tomorrow we’ll goof off a bit, then we’ve got a long haul ahead of us to get home. Sadly, both of us have to work in the morning (and I, this weekend also).

Oregon has been delightful, it most certainly won’t be another 40 years before we return!

Thanks for stopping by!

LMAO: Nate Bargatze at the Warfield Theater, SF.

Sunday night we were back in San Francisco for what turned out to be one of the funniest nights we’ve had in ages.

It also marked the long awaited return to the Warfield Theater, which I’ve been anxious for as it’s been decades since my last show there. Considering the last time I was in the place, the year started with “19..”, it hasn’t changed much. Updated bars, a better lighting and sound system…that’s pretty much it.

Julian McCullough opened the show, and he did a fantastic set, really funny. We’d never heard of him before the show, but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for him in the future. His bits on Philly alone were worth making the trip for!

Next up was Graham Kay, another comedian unknown to us. Another very funny man! He was real low key, but he kept us laughing all through his set.

And finally the headliner Nate Bargatze, our man from Tennessee, took the stage. Man, what a set! If you’ve never seen his show, you are missing out. This comedian is a national treasure! One of the things I love about his comedy is that he keeps it ‘clean’, he doesn’t swear and he doesn’t rely on crass, vulgar stuff for laughs, like roughly 89% of comedians out there these days. And he doesn’t need to! He was just spectacular, I walked out of the place with my face hurting from laughing and smiling so much! I really can’t say enough good things about this guy, it was top notch comedy and a great experience.

Nate Bargatze, too funny to properly describe!

Thanks for a great night gentlemen! Last week was ROUGH, and a night of laughter was just what the doctor ordered!

Thanks for stopping by!