Love Chaos & Dinner: Teatro Zinzanni

3 Mar

Singing, dancing, death-defying drops from the ceiling, live music, scrumptious tastes, romance… Teatro Zinzanni has it all!  And the Nordic-themed show going on now, Dinner at Wotan’s, is outstanding.

Thor fighting the dragon to save Freya

From the ceiling to the floor, wall to wall, all the food, the wait staff, everything, adds to the atmosphere of the show.  Nothing I say can really justify it.  Once the show begins, it never lets up until it’s over, and three hours breeze by before you know it.

Los Excentricos as The Dwarves

Every talent is the best of their trade: a prima ballerina Goddess of Love Freya, an acrobatic mischievous Loki, tightrope walking Thor, an operatic Brunhilde, a hysterical King Wotan, a songstress Queen Fricka, a trio of very entertaining dwarves, and so much more…  unicycling, cow bells, accordians.  Every seat has a great view (sit close enough and you’ll even be part of the show).  And every course of the five course meal is simply delectable.

Vertical Tango as Balder and Helga

Vertical Tango is incredible.  Once the two ended up on that pole, you can’t help but believe this couple have been together for years.  They have so much strength, are so graceful and beautiful, I don’t doubt they are more comfortable on that pole together than they are on solid ground.

Setup in the spiegeltent, Moulin Rouge

Take in the beauty of the 103 year old Belgian spiegeltent called Moulin Rouge, found by Norm Langill.  According to my awesome server, Xavier, Norm fell in love with the tent and had it brought to Seattle.  He then proceeded to fill it with what it has today: mystery and amazement, talent and gourmet, sensuality, cabaret, cirque, comedy, and a good cause.

The show was over and we (my husband and I) were just finishing up our drinks when we asked Xavier more about the organization.  Xavier went on to talk about Norm, President and Artistic Director of Teatro Zinzanni, and how nice and thoughtful he is, all the wonderful things he’s done, and how Teatro Zinzanni is a non-profit organization.  The talent and help are treated well, then the profits go to charities, lower income family tickets, and a kids camp.  I never knew this!  As Xavier went on answering our questions, he casually mentioned that Norm Langill himself was sitting at one of the tables across the room.

What?!

I couldn’t help it.  I downed my drink and hurried over to his table.  What an honor!  Mr. Langill was sitting with Thor and a few behind-the-scene folks.  He was looking through a book that appeared to be full of ideas.  I excused myself and asked if I could get a picture with him.  Everyone at the table smiled and Norm suggested we go to the middle of the tent.  Xavier was right, he was very nice.

TZ

I was a little star-struck and impressed with myself that I had the nerve to do it, which might explain why I hurried out after the picture was taken.  When I think back, I’m not sure why I did that.  Maybe I was a little tipsy.  I had so much I wanted to talk to him about!

All in all, the night was magical.  Teatro Zinzanni makes for quite a night!  I highly highly recommend.

Money saving tips:  They have matinee and weeknight shows, as well as Groupon deals and discounted Costco gift cards ($80 for $100).  I’ve even seen a BOGO in the Entertainment book.  Plus, knowing that it’s non-profit definitely takes the edge off.  But if you’re interested in just a regular dinner show and don’t want to make a trip to Costco, tickets start around $108 per person for the show and five course meal.

Note: As I honored their no-photo policy, featured are their Facebook sneak peek photos from the show.  Click on any of them to get to their facebook to share, like, or comment.  Feel free to also take their virtual tour.  You get to see inside the spiegeltent!

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Robert DeLong, Latest and Greatest Musician

27 Feb

Now among the top 5 most played songs at KNDD/Seattle, Robert Delong is rising the charts.  Although he’s been recognized by MTV, Billboard, and VIBE, making his way onto the playlists of radio stations everywhere, and even YouTube viewers predicting an explosion, he’s not that well known… yet.  But people are definitely talking and DeLong seems to have what it takes.

Check out his big hit Global Concepts that’s creating all the buzz…

He reminds me a little of Gotye or Owl City, but better.  But that might just be me…

One thing I know for sure, I so badly want to hear Selah Sue sing this song.  I think it’d really work for the thing she does… that thing with her mouth.  I can’t describe it, she’s just insanely unique.  If you’ve never heard her, you must hear a few of her songs.  I promise you’ve never heard anything like it.  Even if you don’t like it, that’s okay, I’m not sure how I feel about her, either.  She confuses me with her weird genius.  I only know about her because of Walk Off The Earth.  She’s been featured in a couple of their videos and was on tour with them when I saw them at The Showbox (my favorite venue).  Cee-lo Green knows about her!  He sang “Please” with her.  Check out what I feel is her signature song, Raggamuffin:

And while Robert DeLong is not yet fully exposed to the public, there aren’t a lot of covers… in fact, I couldn’t find any.  So, here’s my husband, performing one of the first (if not the first) YouTube covers of DeLong’s song:

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Wing It Productions: Twisted Flicks

24 Feb

Friday night I had the side-splitting pleasure of seeing a Twisted Flick by Jet City Improv.  If you haven’t been, you won’t be disappointed.  It’s such a creative concept!  And hysterical.  It has been running for 15 years now and has its own following.  I’m considering becoming a regular myself.

What is it?  Basically they take an old B-movie  (I’ve seen Dr. Cyclops and Earth vs. The Spider) and remove the sound.  The comedy group then earthvsspider-branded1adds their own soundtrack and dubbing live.  They’ve seen the movie, so they know when to put a knock at the door or have a spider’s howl (yeah… it howled) in the distance, but they haven’t yet established the suggestions the audience chooses.  If you get there a few minutes early, you have a chance to submit your suggestions for the improv.  You can recommend a backstory, a profession, a quirk, or answer some of their questions such as, “What would be a good name for a cave?”, and if the comedian ends up with your assignment, they have to incorporate it into their character!  For example, one character just plain and simple became Dick Cheney, rather than the movie’s actual character and name.  Another character had to be “passionate”, so everything he said and did had to show passion.

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They also incorporate three short sentences the audience shouts out to be the first, middle, and last spoken sentences of the movie… whether they work or not, they have to make them work!  In Earth vs. Giant Spider, they had to say “they’re quite sexy” as the first line, which happened to be about a bracelet the character was looking at.  From then on, any time the bracelet appeared in the movie, they referred to it as being sexy.  It was awesome.

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Tell them if you’re celebrating a special occasion and they’ll incorporate you in the movie, too!  They’ll name one of the characters after you and refer to them by your name the duration of their appearance.  Just keep in mind, though, that it’s usually a short-lived character without lines, or an animal, so don’t be surprised if you’re killed off.

The following clips from the previous Twisted Flick performance of The Giant Claw, had the audience suggestions: the pilot was Canadian and the woman in the movie was a day care teacher.  Check out how they did!  Then you can see more hilarious clips at TwistedFlicks.com.

Twisted Flicks has a new movie every month (sometime they repeat previous hits) on the third weekend of the month.  It runs for Thurs, Fri, and Saturday night at 8PM.  General Admission is $15 and children/students/seniors/military are $12.  Tickets are available to purchase online for Will Call so you don’t have to stand in line, but the $1 off if you bring a can of food doesn’t apply then.

theater

All seating is general.  The theater has character, meaning it’s old, but it’s quite comfortable.  Twisted Flicks is suitable for all ages, so feel free to bring youngins.

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There are typical movie concessions available such as popcorn, candy, and soda, but with the addition of beer and wine and such.  I had a pear hard cider, it was delish.

WingItOutside

Wing-It Productions is at 5510 University Way NE in Seattle.  There’s plenty nightlife, and if you’re interested in sticking around on a Friday or Saturday night, Jet City usually does their regular comedy improv at 10:30.  You can get a $2 discount with your ticket stub from Twisted Flicks.

Upcoming Flicks:

March 28-30, 2013: Thunderbirds (1960′s TV series)
April 25-27, 2013: The Black Castle (1952)

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Portland’s Spell

18 Feb

Sign

I’m not proud of what I’ve done in Portland.  And I wish I could say, “What happens in Portland, stays in Portland.” But no, as I sit here in my apartment, I have a beautiful pink box sitting next to me.  My belly is grumbling as it tries to digest the delicious garbage I’ve given it.  I vow to never eat another doughnut again… but I vowed that last night…. and the night before…  Damn Voodoo.

Nonetheless, I stood in line for over an hour in the cold after dark, anticipating the sweet and salty perfection of a Bacon Maple Bar.  I inhaled the mouthwatering aroma of fried dough mixed with the cigarette smoke of other people in line (I think there are more smokers in Portland??).  I carried on no-eye-contact conversations with street people, getting backed up against the sparkly brick wall while one of them offered to sell me the donut he had for $.25.

BaconMapleBar

It was all worth it.

Voodoo Doughnut is iconic in Portland.  It was the result of two master minds who had never made a doughnut in their lives.  It didn’t matter,  Portland accepted with open arms!  Why wouldn’t they?  It was quirky, unusual, unadvised, and fun… just like Portland.  Not to mention the absolute best post-drinking hotspot.  Being open 24 hours a day every day with items like Old Dirty Bastard and Gay Bar on the menu, you can’t go wrong.  You just simply haven’t had a doughnut until Voodoo.

Bacon

Mmmmm… pile of bacon for the bacon maple bars.  The windows look dirty, but it’s actually splattered with glaze from the glazing station nearby.

ingrediants

Special ingrediants!  Leave it to Voodoo to have bubble gum, iced tea, Kool-Aid, and Nesquik ready on their shelves.  I heard rumor that they used to have “medicinal” doughnuts, such as Pepto Bismal and Nyquil.  Definitely goes with the witch doctor theme!  Obviously this got shut down.  But if you’re brave enough for that, you’re brave enough to throw a large cream filled doughnut on the menu called “Cock-N-Balls”.   And yes… the shape suits the name.

Menu

For your visit to Voodoo, remember that you will most likely have to stand in line, so wear comfy shoes.  They only accept cash, so either come with green or be prepared to use the ATM inside.  And, it’s best to make decisions ahead of time. Voodoo has a lot of magic to cast, you don’t want to keep them too long as you try to decide if you just want one Voodoo Doll or if you wanna go for a Voodoo Dozen.  Check out the menu ahead of time.  Enjoy!

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The Search Is Over… I Found The Bistro.

17 Feb

TheParkBistro

Unfortunately,  I didn’t find it in the state I was hoping for.  I went to this bistro with my sister when we were exploring on our first trip to Portland.  We both wished we had the place in Seattle, the food was spectacular.  Even though we knew the vicinity of the location, we weren’t able to find it again after several trips looking for it; until this weekend, when a bartender at a bar around the corner told us what she thought best fit our description.  According to her, the Portland restaurant industry is over-saturated and sees a lot of comings and goings.  Sadly, The Park Bistro was one of the goings.  It goes to show that a great menu, good vibe, nice staff, decent location, and delicious execution aren’t the only things that can save a restaurant.  I have no idea what the other thing would be, but it turns out the Park Bistro didn’t quite have it.

I’m not alone.  When I was snapping the picture above another woman passed by with a couple of her friends and said, “Oh no, it’s closed.  Okay, well, this was the best place.”  Her friend said, “It couldn’t have been that great.”  I shed a little tear inside.

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My Blog Is Finally “Under Construction”

9 Feb

Finally!  This day has come!  SeattleCafeGirl.com now exists as its own domain!

You’ll notice quite a few other changes as well:  my blog’s appearance, I now have a sidebar, new pages are showing up… It was definitely time for an update. I’m finding my focus and getting organized and making things easier for my readers. You’ll see quite a few edits over the next week or two as I experiment and familiarize myself with using WordPress instead of just Blogsy (awesome app I used to post to my old WordPress blog).  So bear with me and let me know what suggestions you have.  I would love to hear!

My blog before.  Pretty, but not near as reader friendly:

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The countdown is on…

1 Jan

The new year will be here in six hours. Will you do anything different this year? Whether or not you're a resolution person, it's still a good time to reflect on the last year and see what you have accomplished. How much more does this year hold? That's entirely up to you…

My resolutions:

Make every occasion special

Have weeknight plans

Smashbook my year

 

Walk Off The Earth in Seattle!!

15 Sep

My favorite YouTube band have worked hard and climbed the ladder enough now that they're on a crazy world-wide tour. YAY! Showbox in Seattle is on the list and I'm jumping up and down with excitement. Joel and I have listened to each of their songs and covers dozens of times, watched all their videos, read their bios, followed them all over the internet, and now we finally get to see them!

If you have no idea who I'm talking about, check out below! Then click here to buy tickets. If you already know exactly who I'm talking about then you'll probably wanna click there to buy tickets anyway… and watch the videos below because we can't get enough!

 

 

Bumbershoot 2012

19 Aug

I’ve never been to Bumbershoot, but the last couple weeks I’ve been aching to get out and be artistically stoked. I think it’s because I’ve been looking forward to seeing Jason Mraz (in Vancouver, not George) for so long I need an appetizer to hold me over. Not to mention I missed Regina Spektor who was here last week. So bummed. I heard she was amazing.

Norah Jones was also here on Saturday at the Marymoor amphitheater. Unfortunately her tickets were pretty pricey and it landed on Joel and I’s anniversary paycheck and didn’t have the extra $80 for a ticket. But if you were able to make it, let me know how it was!

Back to Seattle’s Music and Arts Festival: Bumbershoot. Never heard of it? As I understand, it’s basically an annual festival of all sorts of music, film, comedy, dance, and other stage perfomances. It’s always on Labor Day weekend at the Seattle Center and lasts three days. You can get tickets for a chosen day, a one-day pass for any day, or a weekend pass. They run from $45 and $50 to $125.

You can view this year’s lineup and schedule here and here. I don’t recognize most of the artists, but that’s also the beauty of it. A couple recognizeable names I wouldn’t mind at least peeking in on: Gotye, Skrillex, Tony Bennett, Harmonica House Party, Fred Armisen, Janeane Garfalo, Jay Hollingsworth (Parlor’s comedian!), The Atomic Bombshells (burlesque from my Valentine post – you can keep Cherdonna and Lou Show… gross), and the Writers of Futurama. I’m excited to get to know what the rest of the lineup has in store!

Conquer a Fear… Climb without Gear

26 Jul

My new favorite way to build muscle is wall climbing. Joel, my husband, and I discovered our love for it a few months ago. We now have memberships at the nearest climber’s gym to where we work, so we can go right after we get off.

I had tried wall climbing years ago, but I did it with ropes. Now I’m doing what they call “bouldering”, which is so much more my style. I just put on my climbing shoes and climb. No need to worry about harnesses or ropes. And it’s better than the gym because I don’t need to try to entertain myself while I do it, it’s so fun! Yes, it’s a little scary at times, especially when I’ve reached the top and my hands are sweaty, I’m tired, and I get a surge of fear. But that’s part of the fun. The actual fear does goes away after awhile. Don’t worry, it’s pretty safe, too. There’s a lot of padding if you fall and the bouldering walls aren’t that tall.

Climbing makes me feel strong and more in control. I feel so amazing when I push myself and fight a good mind-over-matter battle. It’s weird how it inspires me. I just want to conquer more in my life because I surprise myself when I climb. It makes me realize that there are other things I underestimate myself in and I leave thirsting for challenges.

I really urge everyone to give wall climbing a try. If you don’t like it, which would surprise me, at least you tried. But I think you would be pleasantly surprised to find yourself thinking about it the next day and making excuses to give it another go…. and another… and another.

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