Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog
He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
This past weekend was wonderful despite some occasional glimpses at bad weather. I actually saw a car with snow on it. I’m not sure where he was from, but I was glad I didn’t come from the same place. It is too early for me to be thinking about snowy weather. The opera Margaret Gardner was excellent and now I can look forward to the next production at the Detroit Opera House which is a group of dance numbers by the troop Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Some of the pieces will include an newly tweaked version of Alejandro Cerrudo's "Extremely Close," the world premiere of Toru Shimazaki's "Fold" and a updated revival of Israeli Ohad Naharin masterpiece "Minus 16”. This is one of the best contemporary dance ensembles in the country and shouldn’t be missed. I will hopefully get one of the ensemble on my show on WXOU 88.3FM (or online at www.wxou.org) this Thursday. I will however, have cast member Cole Porter (no relation to the “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” composer) who plays Brian in the upcoming Fisher Theatre production of Avenue Q (starts Nov 5th).
Musically, I was at a couple of cool shows but the best of the bunch was David Byrne who played a great set at the Michigan Theatre who was doing a tribute to the songs he did with Brian Eno. The set included some of my favorite Talking Heads songs such as “I Zimba”, “Burning Down The House”, “Heaven” and my personal favorite “Once In A Lifetime”. A number of the songs had him accompanied by dancers on stage which led to some fun moments like one song where they are whizzing between David and the microphone or where one of them leaps over David. This is probably my favorite show of the year so far and makes me strongly await the upcoming Brian Wilson show (also at the Michigan Theatre) on Nov 12th (I will be giving away tickets for the show next week on my radio program so tune in).
This week, my concert calendar looks at Janet Jackson & LL Cool J @ the Palace of Auburn Hills on the 28th (I finally get to see one of the crazy Jackson’s in person, I’m hoping for a wardrobe malfunction), Sara Bareills @ the Fillmore on the 30th and a Halloween show featuring ICP @ the Fillmore. Also, Nov 2nd @ the Magic Bag is Uh Huh Her (WXOU will be giving away tickets for this show also). If you go to the station in the basement of the Oakland Center, there are some free White Lion tickets on the promotions table for their appearance at the Emerald on the 28th. Other cool shows I can’t make it to are Jolie Holland @ The Crofoot (Oct 28th), Jessica Lee Mayfield @ the Pike Room (Oct 29th – trying to get her on my show), and WAR @ Arturo’s Jazz Theatre (Oct 31st-Nov 2nd).
Getting back to theatre, I saw a couple of fun plays for the holiday season. My first stop was at the Ringwald Theater for “Love And Human Remains” which is a comedy-drama that follows the lives of several sexually frustrated "thirty-something’s" who try to learn the meaning of love. This is somewhat dampened by the presence of a serial killer which might be known to some of the characters in the play. My favorite character is Joe Bailey as David, a homosexual waiter that is jaded on love but willing to make fun of his heterosexual roommate Candy and her experiment with lesbianism and his flirting with the barely of age busboy. We also have an otherworldly Benita who is a prostitute with psychic abilities and a good friend of David’s. We also have Bernie (David’s troubled best friend), Jerri (a lesbian who falls in love with Candy) and Kane (the busboy who seems to fall for David but denies being gay). This is a fun piece for the season and as Joe puts it, “we have some equal opportunity nudity in the show” which should appeal to the audience. The Ringwald is known for putting on some really unique productions and this is no different. Check out their website www.whowantscaketheatre.com for dates (runs until Nov 10th) and ticket prices.
For those who want a little more blood in their theatre, you can check out the Oakland University production of “A Nightmare On Elm Street”, the last installment of a trilogy which included productions of “Halloween” and “Friday The 13th”. The 1984 horror film is diluted down to an hour long piece which sees Freddy take out his revenge on a group of five teenagers, one of which might have the power to bring him into the real world. Being a dream character, this makes Freddy a little different than Michael or Jason to pull off in a convincing fashion but the cast does their best and you can feel a true love for the project. There are a few things I would have liked to see them do differently to make the production a little scarier, but this show is like seeing a good friend and can be enjoyed for what it is. I know the girl behind me was going crazy as she was trying to keep her eyes opened despite the fright. The show does have a few good fights that have you cheering for the kids but in the end, Freddy gets his due including the memorable bed scene. The first show was a sell out so make sure you get their early or call ahead. The show runs until Oct 31st at 10:30PM every day in the basement of Varner Hall with a midnight showing on Halloween. Nightmare trivia - According to Wes Craven, his decision to cast Johnny Depp (yes that Johnny Depp) was influenced by his daughter and a friend of hers who thought he was the "cutest" of the final three choices (I think they have a good eye and should be hired by Hollywood execs right away).
For a change of pace, you can also go to the Henry Ford Museum to see the newest exhibition “Out Of This World” which runs through Jan 11th. The exhibit pays homage to the costume designers of some of Hollywood’s best known movie heroes and villains. Included in this exhibit is Margaret Hamilton’s witches’ hat from “The Wizard Of Oz”. Indiana Jones “jacket and whip”, Dan Aykroyd’s Ghostbusters II uniform, Clooney’s “nipple” batsuit and various costumes from Enemy Mine, Terminator, T2, Blade Runner, Highlander and Tron. This also includes one of the movie Batmobiles and the car from Ghostbusters. For Star Trek fans, you can see Kirk’s uniform from the “Mirror Mirror” episode, Seven of Nine’s jumpsuit and a Gorn costume among other things. On the Star wars side, we have Darth Vader’s costume, Skywalker’s severed hand and lightsabre and Obi-Wan’s cloak. My favorite piece is a Viper Suit from the new Battlestar Galactica series. If you look at the left leg, you can see a flight check off list sewn into the leg. Being a huge fan of sci-fi fantasy, I must admit to being a little geeked to see some of these items and I’m sure most movie fans will enjoy it to. The exhibit is free with admission and you can go to www.thehenryford.org for more information. The last room is great for kids where they can get a free picture of themselves in Gotham or Oz (that’s one X-mas present for the parents down), watch old movie trailers or make their own comic strips and costumes. So grab a kid (hopefully your own) or inner child and get down to the Henry Ford. Also, if you haven’t been their recently, make sure you stop by the newly revamped “With Liberty And Justice For All” to see Lincoln’s chair and the Rosa Parks bus and “Heroes of the Sky” to see Byrd’s 1926 Fokker Trimotor among other amazing airplanes.
Now, there are also a couple of movies you can see. I personally recommend the new Bill Maher documentary “Religulous”, the title derived from blending the words "religion" and "ridiculous". Bill says he doesn’t believe in “God” but is open to anyone who can show him proof which of course when dealing with something faith based is hard to do. Bill seems to want to mock the kooks and give credence to those who can at least seem intelligent. He does a little traveling which I give him credit for going to such places as Jerusalem, the Vatican and Salt Lake City, and does interviews with numerous believers from a variety of backgrounds and groups, including Jews for Jesus, Christians, Muslims, former Mormons, Satanists, Hasidic Jews and a guy who believes Marijuana brings one closer to God. My favorite interview is with Father Reginald Foster (a Catholic priest, senior Vatican scholar and one of the great living experts in Latin literature) who gives Bill a no nonsense look at modern Catholicism (even telling Bill some of what he went through as a kid no longer applies – priceless). While sometimes he goes to far with his subjects, he does give enough information to start a dialogue about religion and what it means to us. The downside is that this film might only appeal to Maher fans (of which I am one) but even if you are a believer, this is one of the funniest movies of the year. It is also nice seeing Bill’s mom in the film and she adds a touch of class to it. It’s also funny hearing a Muslim tell Bill he is not very funny! Grade: A.
There is also the new comedy “Sex Drive” is a about a high school senior who goes on a cross-country road trip (what is with all the road trip movies nowadays) to hook up with a girl he met online. Ian (Josh Zuckerman) is an 18-year-old recent high school graduate who has trouble meeting girls and has some sexy talk with "Ms. Tasty" (Katrina Bowden) and agrees to meet her in person. The catch is that she lives in Knoxville and he doesn’t have a car. His best friend Lance (Clark Duke) convinces him to steal his brothers’ car without permission to go to her. One snag has his best friend Felicia (sexy Amanda Crew), tags along on this ill-fated trip. The movie is basic and has some laughs and seeing Seth Green as an Amish mechanic is quite fun, though like most movie post-Fast Times or Porky’s, it finds itself hard to sustain the big laughs or the cult status for longevity. Still, it isn’t a bad diversion though don’t expect much. Grade: C+.
Well, I think that is all for this blog. Have a good week everyone and I’ll see you next week.
Feel free to check out page at myspace.com/wildatheart_13 for any updates. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, this Wednesday I’ll be an extra in the new Rob Schneider film "Virgin on Bourbon Street" (might not be real title since not in imdb) which is filming over the next month down by Greektown. If you would like to be an extra in the film, please contact Nicolas at iwannabeinamovie@gmail.com. They are looking for college kids to be in some party scenes and parades. Look out Hollywood, here comes Wild Bill!!
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