Tuesday, May 14, 2013

America’s Got Talent show taping in Chicago

Stage and the famous table

Tons of people showed up at the Rosemont Theatre for the taping of America's Got Talent Chicago.  And by tons, I mean thousands.  The tickets were free, yes free, and the crowd was psyched to see Heidi Klum, Scary Spice Girl Mel B., Howie Mandel, and of course, Howard Stern.

They taped two shows for three days.  I went on Thursday and was lucky to get a seat in the first row behind the judges table about twelve feet from Heidi Klum.  Yes, Heidi is a total lady.

The season's premiere is set for June 4th on NBC but we had a chance to see all the great and not so great performances live!

The biggest surprise was a black guy with dreads who was about the sing.  Everyone expected some modern cover song or some rapping but the guy actually performed "Granada" opera song.  And he was fantastic!

Howie Mandel had the best comment, “You have performed like a black Pavarotti, a Blackarotti!” Needless to say, the guy advanced.

The other surprise was a group of dancers who juggled and tossed wooden rifles ten feet into the air.  Perfection and precision was rewarded and they advanced as well.  The dancers wore very tight and revealing black spandex costumes with long capes so it was no surprise that Howie cracked another comment, “The performance had the perfect combination of difficulty, skill, and even a slight touch of camel toe!”  The ladies in the group automatically covered their groin area, it was hilarious.

Then, there was this wedding singer aka standup comedian whose performance sucked proverbial tea bags.  The whole theater booed him ten seconds into his lame routine.  The guy just didn't want to clear the stage.  The audience was just annoyed and even Howie couldn't put down the fire.  The guy was axed but Howard Stern really took his time explaining why the jokes sucked and perhaps sticking to the weddings was the best outlet for the guy.  The lesbian group labia majora aficionado actually kept it professional.  Keep it cool Howard!

Another fail was some Chi-town drag queen with his two minions dressed in black spandex.  Btw, what's up with the black spandex lately?  It's unflattering to the ladies and over bulging for the guys.  The skit totally blew.  What kind of a drag queen are you if you can't dance and sing?  Birdcage anyone?  Rejected.

By then, everyone was ready for some electrifying performance.  The next crew looked awesome: two guys in Halo armor with compressed air rifles, one on stilts, four girls with hard hats, metal chest and groin plates, welding goggles, swinging metal grinders.  What’s not to like?  Wrong.  The idea was great for an industrial rave party but not really worth a million dollars grand prize.  Rejected.

Finally, the act worth watching involved juggling and a Molotov’s cocktail on a balloon.  It was impressive and the juggler advanced.  The table was amazed.

There were some others but you will have to watch the show on TV to find out who passed and who failed.

Overall, America’s Got Talent was a total blast.  Everyone had a great time and we had a chance to see and talk to some interesting celebrities.  If AGT tapes in your city don’t miss it, you will have a great time.  Check out some of the pics from the show.  Comment on your favorite performer.

Heidi from behind

Table getting ready for a break

Howie, Mel B, and Heidi

Some makeup at the table

Mel B with Heidi Klum

Scary Spice – Mel B

People waiting before the show

Rosemont Theatre

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Dead giveaway by Charles Ramsey

You can always count on Cleveland for a good story.  America was shocked by the discovery of three missing women found allegedly enslaved in one of the houses in Cleveland by three Puerto Rican Castro brothers.  Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight are free now thanks to a new American hero: Charles Ramsey.

Charles Ramsey deserves a lot of credit for being a concern fella in the neighborhood of who-cares-if-there-are-chained-naked-women-in-that-house.  Bill Gates, this is your guy!  How about rewarding Mr. Ramsey for his cojones.