Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Rockin' the Bookshelf

Went to see the Rock Bottom Remainders this evening. Imagine Barnes & Noble invited authors to a reading, plied them with liquor, and gave them a karaoke machine.

http://www.rockbottomremainders.com/

This is the cover band fronted by Dave Barry that includes Amy Joy Luck Club Tan, Mitch Tuesdays with Morrie Albom, and Scott Presumed Innocent Turow. If you get a chance to see them, do so. They are not great, but they are highly entertaining, and they play almost exclusively (if not exclusively) for charity. They were playing to raise money for "Dallas Scores!"-- the Dallas branch of a national non-profit orgainization that promotes literacy through soccer.

Some highlights of the evening included:
  • Amy Tan dressed like what an established fifty-something-year-old lady would consider a dominatrix outfit, and singing "These Boots Were Made for Walking" while she flogged the authors onstage with a cat-o'nine.
  • Scott Turow shouting out David Bowie songs with a neon blue feather boa not so much with musical ability as with a sincerity that rivals Christopher Walken on any given SNL.
  • Mitch Albom belting out Billy Joel and Elvis covers with equal enthusiasm.

The best musician, hands down, was Albom on keyboards. He could play exceptionally well. Dave Barry's musically talented brother was good on mouth harp, and Dave himself was okay on rhythm guitar. There were some other authors who were okay, and a couple of pro musicians to play the more technically difficult pieces. All in all it was highly enjoyable, and for a well worthy cause.

http://www.dallasscores.org/index.php?id=404

No comments: