Results tagged “judygarland”

Today, being June 10, would have been Judy Garland's 87th birthday, the second most important person to have been born on that day. Garland, as a handful of you know, was the first punk artist (post-Palace, of course) during these our modern times. Maybe one of the first trolls, some would claim. But, since she's typically enjoyed by homosexual men, many well-versed and aging rock critics dismiss her -- or, worse, Garland gets unfairly, incorrectly lumped in with other camp shtick such as Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand, et al. Tragic indeed.

We've watched Meet Me in St. Louis every Christmas Eve for the past million years. Perhaps an obvious choice, but nonetheless, Judy Garland's heart-wrenching version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas reduces us to sobs and snotty tissues every year. Not to mention the look on Tootie's face as she listens to her sister's melancholic words of comfort.

But that's the entire point! Anyway, RicardoSF tells us in the comments section here that:

-- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: A typical night at the cabaret this is not. The last time we saw Connie Champagne perform (during her stint at the Plush Room), tweakers were passing out in the audience, drunks wept into their vodka rocks, and Connie busted out a dead-on tribute as Judy Garland. Performing Garland's classics (like "San Francisco") as well as songs she might have crooned ("Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Case of You"), Champagne shows us just why Garland should be remembered as the punk icon she is, not just a tragic figure of, ugh, camp. Curtain goes up at 8 p.m. (tonight and tomorrow night) at New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; $28.

John Vanderslice is someone you can truly count on. Aside from his incredible talent, we're always impressed with his indie rock work ethic. He keeps his studio Tiny Telephone open as an incubator for top quality recordings, he's always good for a genuine smile and a hug when we run into him, and about once every 18 months or so he releases another incredible album through Seattle-based indie Barsuk Records. His latest release Emerald City offers a somewhat gentler take on his always-unique melodies and music and a move towards even more intricate and adventurous lyrics. In the first song alone, he sings about the kookaburra tree, frangipane, bundestag and terabytes. He builds and inhabits fantastical tales and delivers them in such a convincing way as to make you believe he lived through them. In honor of John playing a free show at Amoeba Records at 2pm on Saturday, we're giving away a copy of Emerald City to two lucky winners. Listen to "White Dove" and enter to win. (Contest ends 8/14; winner will be notified via email.)

Hey, the party's not till Monday, so check out some crazy characters hitting SF stages this weekend.