After numerous computer problems and then a Holiday followed by a death in the family I’m back! Well sort-of. I have some family matters to attend to. In the mean time you guys can get into the Holiday spirit with a visit to the annual Candlelight Processional at Disneyland.

When: The event is Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7.
Who: John Stamos and the Disneyland Choir.
Where: There are two performances nightly in Town Square.

If you catch the first Sunday performance you just might see someone you know up there in the living Christmas tree. ;)

Today, all day, CHOC and KISS FM’s Radio Lollipop are teaming up to raise money for CHOC. All day in front of the hospital they will be having musical performances, and also all day they will be having a silent auction, with all procedes going to CHOC.
Come check it out! And while you’re here, come say hi to me in the ER!! :-)

Gotta go….Jesse McCartney is supposed to start performing any minute!

PS All performances are free BTW!!

So, one of our goals this fine labor day weekend, was to do things that we have never done before. Yesterday we went to Mel’s Drive-In in West Hollywood and today we went to the Gospel Brunch at the Anaheim House of Blues. At forty dollars a pop we weren’t sure what to expect but what we got was a heaping pile of stellar entertainment and a towering assortment of mediocre food.

On the southern brunch buffet you find the good, the bad and the ugly.

• The Good: The homemade biscuits and country gravy, white chocolate and banana bread pudding, cheddar cheese grits and the “Hallelujah Omelette Station” all hit it out of the park. Delicious.
• The Bad: The homemade cornbread, creole chicken jambalaya, roasted breakfast potatoes and smoked sausages were fairly far south of edible. Delirious.
• The Ugly: The worst of the worst was the smoked bacon – it had the wonderful full flavor of old rancid grease and an aftertaste that lingered on the palate far too long. Disgusting.

[It should be noted we didn’t even try the “Have Mercy Carving Stations“ feature brisket, turkey and ham. It’s just not our speed.]

The real treat here was the entertainment. This alone is worth the price of your ticket. Every week gospel groups from around the area perform live on stage. If what my wife and I experienced this morning was representative of what every performance is like, then run (don’t walk) and buy tickets now! The vocalists (The Clara Ward Singers) and band were all spectacular. I was particularly moved (almost to tears) by a touching tribute to Judy Garland – she really brought it.

The only sour notes came from the staff who were often too loud and raucous behind the bar area and downright negligent in their serving duties. They should be there to enhance your experience, not to detract from it. If I can hear you snapping each other in the ass with bar towels throughout the performance, then you richly deserve the crappy tip I left as your reward.

Have any of you been to the HoB Gospel Brunch in Anaheim? What were your thoughts? Share in the comments!

Listen, I attended a concert last night and just as the band took the stage, some idiot yelled out “Freebird!”

My fellow Orange Countians, I am sending out a universal call to all the drunken dumbasses out there:

Stop yelling “Freebird!”

You aren’t cool, it isn’t clever, and no one thinks you are funny. 

Or is it just me?

[poll=10]

For those of you who do not know who Tyrone Wells
is, you’re missing out. He’s an OC resident who got his start playing at McClain’s coffehouse in Fullerton. He’s grown over the last few years and has a huge following. Now is your chance to see him live AND help out an organization that provides homes for abandoned HIV and AIDS babies.

Unfortunately the flyer is pdf, so click here for the link!

I’d love to make this a giveaway, but I don’t have the connections or the money to do that. Besides, donations don’t work unless you pay for them!

Go support a local charity and local musician! I’ll be there….look for me!

If you have a little one aged 5-11, you might want to let them get some energy out by attending the Journey to Outer Space at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

These family series concerts are a great way to introduce your child to classical music, and have lots of fun at the same time! Come on, what else are you going to do with them all day?

There are two shows in the morning tomorrow at 10am and 11:30, at the Performing Arts Center, as well as one at Mission Viejo City Hall at 3:30.

This morning I was escorting my mother to John Wayne Airport for her return to the wet and dreary weather of the Oregon Coast when what to my wandering eyes should appear? No, it wasn’t a sleigh and eight reindeer. Instead it was Little Richard and eight members of his entourage. What exactly does one do when Little Richard flags them down and shouts “Merry Christmas! How’re y’all doin’?”

In my line of work I bump into celebrities often enough, so it’s rare that I’m at a loss for words but in this case his verbal outburst took me off guard. Of course on the inside I was screaming “YOU ‘INVENTED’ ROCK AND ROLL” and “OH MY GOD HOW MUCH PLASTIC SURGURY HAVE YOU HAD ANYWAY?” but outwardly I was wearing a thick layer of elegant distain and vague disinterest.

Normally the OC-rule-of-celebrity-encounters dictates that you treat them like anyone else (especially if they are A-Listers) and let them go about their business. After all they deserve their privacy and this isn’t exactly a paparazzi hot spot. Also, based on our proximity to LA you can expect to see them pretty much everywhere you go.

However, when the (non A-List) celebrity is wearing a big fur coat, sitting in wheelchair surrounded by an entourage and is yelling at you to come say hello, then I suppose you should oblige. So we did just that – essentially we wished him a Happy Holiday and went on our merry way. My mom was thrilled and I was amused.

So Merry Christmas to you Little Richard and thanks for being so friendly and making my Mom’s day! You rock (literally).

OC Weekly has posted the funniest god damn thing I have seen in loooooooooong time. It’s an “article” about how Lil Wayne will be remixing the latest High School Musical album, called “High School Musical 2: Non-Stop Dance Party“.

The high point is when Wayne is “quoted” as saying “I get up in the morning, get my dick sucked four times, drink a Molson’s, and then hang out with Zac [Efron].” You don’t say? My oh my such salty language!

Those kids over at the Weekly seem to be filling the void wile SNL is on hiatus. Funny stuff. Good times. You can check out the whole gosh-durrned thing on their web site. If you want to hear real kids lip syncing to HSM2, check them out live, daily at California Adventure.

Where exactly does one go in Orange County to find a large and diverse selection of music? Ever since Tower went out of business I have been sort-of lost. Do I really have to go to LA for my Electropop and Eurodance music needs?

Case in point, I popped into Virgin Mega Store looking for any album or single by the astoundingly tasty Mr. Calvin Harris and they had nothing. Squat. Nada. Zilch. Zip. They had plenty of Spice Girls and Dave Matthews but were pretty light on variety and imports.

So, riddle me this? Where oh where has all the music gone? In Tower’s absence there must be somewhere in OC that has both a quantity and variety of music to choose from. At some point I am going to become desperate and start shopping at the music rack inside of Starbucks. ((Gasp!))

“WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC
Location: OC Register Arena at the OC Fair
Next shows: 8pm Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21
Admission: Free

Al put on, as usual, an amazing show last night, and while it wasn’t 100% unique (I’d guess the show was about 40% previous concert material), the changes, additions and reshuffling made it all worthwhile. The only song I didn’t know (it’s not on any albums, as far as I know) is “I’m in Love with the Skipper” (apparently a parody of T-Pain’s “I’m N Luv Wit A Stripper”), and I laughed the whole way through. He did his usual Song – Al TV – Song – Al TV pattern until about halfway through, when he had a 30-40 minute medley that was easily the highlight of the main part of the show (Trapped in the Drive Thru got a 6-7 minute treatment. Very nice).

“White and Nerdy” got a huge response from the crowd (especially the first timers), as did “(It’s all about the) Pentiums” and “Amish Paradise”. Amazing the street cred that a white dude in his 40s can earn from the rap world. The show was fairly light on his ballads, though at the beginning of the encore he did a 100% straight version (no parody, no polka) of the Carpenter’s “Close to You”, before finishing the night with “Albuquerque” – in its glorious 13 minute entirety.

As someone who’s now seen Al at least 6 times, I’d give this show a B+ – great song selection, but crowd energy was lower than I’ve seen before, and I really do think it’s time to retire “Fat” (and the suit) and “The Saga Begins/Yoda” (though he had Storm Troopers and Vader come out and dance – that was fun). Otherwise, he did everything you’d expect in Al – and a good time was had.