HAIR today.....

Looks like I've been reliving my younger days lately...the Sting Concert at Madison Square Garden, the Woodstock Museum in Bethel, and on Friday night, the musical Hair at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

I lugged the Nikon D80 to Central Park, but the minute I whipped it out before the concert, an usher was right there! We all had to sit out in the rain between 8:00-8:30 p.m. while they decided if they could put on the performance. All those people in the amphitheater huddled under multi-colored umbrellas would have made a great photo, but they wouldn't let me take it even though the performance had not started. Then at the end, when hundreds of people joined the cast in an impromptu "Let The Sunshine In" dance....stopped again! Ironic that in a play about letting people "do their own thing," rules were strictly enforced. I did see a flash here and there in the audience, but I guess my zoom lens Nikon was too noticeable. Next time I'll have to bring a smaller camera as well. I certainly respect not taking photos of the cast during a performance (both distracting and illegal), but why not of the theater audience and stage before/after the show?

It was a great evening. The performers all had great voices, great bodies, and great hair! Yes, there was a brief period of nudity near the end...hey, if you've got it, flaunt it. It's even more amazing how relevant the themes are today (the war in Iraq, infringement of civil rights, ultra conservative stances against Pro Choice and for the NRA, global warming, pollution, etc., etc.).

Hair was first performed in the Public Theater in 1968, and like Woodstock...40 years ago! I wonder if two things prevent it from coming back to New York in a regular theater...today's production costs and today's Puritans.

Since I couldn't take any photos, the best I can do are some shots of pages from the show's Playbill:

Hello, Dali

A fun day at MOMA...Dali and other exhibits; a 1953 Frederico Fellini film "I vitelloni" and music in the MOMA garden. The only thing missing was time for a relaxing lunch in the Cafe!

Surreal on the Roof

Coloring Book by Jeff Koons

The same Jeff Koons' piece on the Metropolitan Museum. The colors blend in with the sky; heads separate by a glimpse of a real landscape....Looks like something imagined by Dali!

Sal, Pablo, Jeff & I!

Hanging with the big guys...Dali, Picasso & Koons at the MOMA and Metropolitan Museums. Unfortunately 2 out of 3 are no longer with us.

If you look closely, you'll see my self-portrait taking a photo, reflected in the Jeff Koon's sculpture, "Sacred Heart(Red/Gold). I love it because like a fun house mirror, it makes me look tall and thin!

Entrance to the Salvador Dali exhibit, "Dali: Painting and Film" at MOMA through Sepember 15, 2008. As usual, no photos allowed inside the exhibit. It's a fantastic exhibit and includes a number of films such as Un Chien andalou and one in collaboration with Disney called Destino that's wonderful. If you are in NYC you only have until September 15th to catch this wonderful show.

Pablo Picasso's sculpture in the MOMA Garden...waiting for the live music concert inspired by the global adventures of Salvador Dali, including a piece by Erik Satie.

Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog (Yellow) on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum. The exhibit was of 3 pieces that have never before been on public display.

Self-portrait as reflected in Jeff Koons' Sacred Heart (Red/Gold). Don't I look tall & thin? Makes me want to break open the Slimfast!

Strange Fruit in South Orange

This Melbourne-based performing arts company produces and performs work that incorporates theatre, dance and circus, using a distinctive elevated medium. Balanced on 15-foot flexible poles -- originally inspired by the image of a field of wheat swaying in the breeze -- the troupe delivers a sublime performance, bending and swaying in the air. The poles' extreme strength and flexibility allow the performers to bow to impossible angles, swaying back and forth in a hypnotizing dance as the audience looks up in wonder. Strange Fruit performs Swoon!, a twenty-minute interpretation of The Field, another original piece from their repertoire. Swoon! focuses on four daredevils who are involved in a spectacular story of love, loss, comedy, joy and freedom on high. Accompanied by an eclectic soundtrack which blends classics with original music, Swoon takes the audience on a journey of beauty, love and laughter.

I was fortunate enough to see this group perform in Cameron Field in South Orange. What a treat on a beautiful summer evening!

Reliving the 60s! - And Clean Energy!

I seem to be looking back to the "good old days" of the late 1960's lately...first, the final concert of Sting and the Police at Madison Square Garden, next a trip to Bethel Woods, the site and Museum of the Woodstock Celebration in August 1969, and tomorrow...well, I'm joining a rally for "Clean Energy" at Union Square. Carrying signs? Who knows! I did volunteer to take photographs of the rally.

Woodstock - Then & Now

Then - 3 days of Music, Peace, and Love on Max Yasgur's alfalfa field in Bethel, NY attended by 500,000 "hippies" in August 1969

Now - the bandstand, bowl and famous "mudslide" area, site of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Then AND Now - Duke Devlin - the Texasx Panhandle hippie who came to Woodstock in 1969 and never left! He is now a site interpreter for the Bethel Woods Art Center and shares his memories of those famous days almost 40 years ago.

The Museum itself (no photography allowed) is really a "trip"....memorabilia, photos, films, music, interviews, historical information. During the coming year many special events are planned, culminating in the 40th Anniversary in August 2009

Out-Foxing Fox!

Blue Velvet Lyrics (and Music?)

Just got a CD with Houston Person playing "Blue Velvet" on the sax. If I can figure out how to get the music on the blog, you can sing along!


Lyrics Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet lyrics

http://www.esnips.com/doc/83543b69-8d07-4ed7-95b8-6907df364d35/09-Blue-Velvet

Sting Shaved on Stage!

My niece Vicki & I went to the final concert of The Police at Madison Square Garden. The seats were dead center, but in the second tier, so thank goodness for the big screen projection. MSG forbids cameras with telephoto lenses, so this is the best I could do with the Nikon D80 50mm lens. I should have tucked the telephoto in my bag, with 19,000 people there, who would even notice. Also binoculars, just in case! One thing we didn't miss out on was the sound system...yikes! But there is something about a live performance with a huge crowd that you don't get with a filmed version. I thought the trip to Penn Station would be a snap...it's right there, but I didn't factor in the time it takes for 19,000 people to vacate a place. They turned off the escalators so we inched our way down 4 flights of escalator steps. I know I slowed Vicki down...she amazed me with her zipping through the crowds on the street earlier in the evening. She not a New Yorker, but she said she gets her practice zipping through the Mall crowds on Long Island.

Before the last set Sting went backstage to have his beard shaved off as we all watched on the projection screen. When he came back out beardless (and shirtless)...wow! he looked 20 years younger. There was also a touching group hug with his 2 band mates at the end.

Preceded by a good dinner/wine tasting at the District restaurant, and good conversation with my niece, it was a fun evening, taking into account the fact that I'd had about 1-1/2 hours sleep the night before...but that's another story.

Collage in Black & White

Collage in Black & White
Originally uploaded by bellearielparis

So many colors in the garden...I needed the soothing comfort of shades of black, white and grey!

Just Peachy!

They look at lot prettier than they taste! I remember when you had to eat a peach over a napkin to keep the juice from running down your chin. Not these...all mealy inside and not juicy at all. These were from a supermarket chain. Guess I'll have to go to Whole Foods (also known as "Whole Paycheck" or some other gourmet market to get a peach like the good old days

Just Peachy!
Originally uploaded by bellearielparis