[joe-frank-list] live show in O.C.-- COMMENTs?

[mjp]

Ah yes, the fog machine. I think the idea was to provide a thin layer of 
ground fog while the dancer was doing her thing, but instead a tremendous 
thick cloud cover erupted from stage right as soon as the music started, 
engulfing the stage and the audience and lingering for 5 - 10 minutes after 
the machine was turned off. So the second and third pieces were read while 
Joe stood there at the podium surrounded by a thick layer of fake smoke. It 
was interesting and eerie the first time, but by the third dancing break 
the audience was coughing and choking and breathing through their sweater 
sleeves, so someone backstage took mercy on us and pulled the plug on the 
fog for the rest of the night.

One thing that I found to be very interesting (as long as I'm typing here) 
was Joe's demeanor. I had really expected a scowling, dour, almost dark 
presence, but that wasn't his persona at all. He was more like a sly, 
subversive prankster spinning out elaborate stories and jokes, which he 
himself would often smile at, at one point even laughing out loud at one of 
his more humorous passages. Of course, if you closed your eyes for a few 
minutes, it was just like listening to the radio show...and the weird, dark 
Joe that I'd always imagined was right there in the room.

The pieces themselves were classic Joe Frank (minus the underlying music 
and sound effects). The first piece, about a woman, her dead husband and 
the neighbor from across the hall was one of the best pieces of humorous 
writing I've heard in a long time, from anyone. When the audio goes up on 
his site I'll be hitting that one right away. Classic.

mjp

At 08:57 PM 5/18/2003 -0700, you wrote:

>Actually, I just listened to the interview he did on KPFA tonight and he
>mentioned something about a fog machine going a bit out of whack that night,
>inundating him and the dancer.