Show Reviews

12 Rules for Life Tour (2019) As part of his 12 Rules for Life book tour, Jordan Peterson did a show in San Jose (2019.01.22 @ City National Civc), where I'd also seen Styx a few years ago. So I called some friends that I knew liked him, and bought a block of tickets. I was expecting a book tour thing, that covered sort of self-help, take personal responsibility, and stuff like that. But it was actually him talking about what inspired him to write his books, which went all over the map. He's an academic, and started a bit scattered, but as it went on, he started bringing things together and having a coalesced message and it was quite an interesting and fun talk. Bette Middler: The Showgirl must go on (2008) Bette Middler puts on a show. More Melissa's tastes than mine, but still worth the experience -- almost a retro vaudeville thing with some talking to the audience, some joke telling, a bit of singing and dancing thing. It was a retro experience, but she does it well as sort of the glamorous but crass diva. Double Indemnity (2012) Small theater kind of 1950's gumshoe play. Good for novelty. Not something I'd want to see every night, but for an excuse to go it, it was captivating enough to keep me entertained and awake. Elton John: Red Piano (2008) Elton was weird... but entertaining. Love the music. The visuals were a bit odd. The video in the background was often dark theme'd, a bit sadder than the music. (In the beginning/middle part of the show). By the end, he was a lot more up-beat. But he had props like: inflatable boobs and phallic fruit. Not sure of the goal there. We still enjoyed the show and hearing him live (though he doesn't push his voice quite as much as in his youth), it was still fun to see such a wonderful icon in person. Embrace the shake Earlier this year, I saw Phil Hansen speak in person (at Adobe MAX). His speech hit me profoundly. It’s a fantastic speech/story about how limitations can expand us. Definitely worth the time to watch (the video). Jo Koy (2012) Jo Koy: a funny guy (which is important for a comedian) -- so it was a good show. worth the money. Not for kids. Love (Beatles, Cirque, Las Vegas) (2012) Loved love. While it didn't have the most impressive anything I've seen in a Vegas show, it had really good everything: Great music, pacing, lots of things to keep you interested, and great music. In the end, it was my favorite Vegas show. I've seen Bette, Elton, O, Zoomanity, one or two other Cirque's, couple of reviews, and one or two that are escaping me, but this one was just fun... though as my wife said, both the Beatles and the choreographers did too many hallucinogenics. If you get to Vegas, and like the Beatles Music (and Cirque shows), then this is a must. If you're not a fan of either, then I hear they have gambling, strippers and bars to keep you entertained... along with pawn shops and car customizers. Ringing Bros Circus (2010) Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey Circus came to San Jose (Aug), so why not go? Elephant train, Cool Clowns, Trapeze acts, Noise, Lights, Cotton Candy. It might not be the "greatest show", but it's still pretty good. It's a little dated in the era of Cirque shows, but it's "Classic". We didn't know this was one of their last tours and would be shut down a few years later. I feel melancholy that kids today will never know the experiences we had. Styx (2014) A little off track ramble about how music is a fun appeal to emotion, a journey to our past, but lyrics aren't poetry and the format is too short to convey much depth of thought. So shut up and enjoy it, and stop trying to make it into something it isn't.

Reviews