Well, there were a couple big announcements today. First, the Montreux Jazz Festival announced that it will only be using two of the three usual venues that they've had for years. Sadly, that means that the casino hall will no longer be used. I only saw one show there - Tony Bennett - and while it would be a stretch to really call the room a concert hall, I was in the front row for this, and the stage was only a couple of steps up, six feet from the seats. It was incredible, especially when he put his mic down and just sang a song with the piano on his own. Stravinsky hall can feel intimate, too, for a 5000-person venue, and I still believe that it's the best venue I've ever been in, but it's a shame to see the casino go.
They also had some good news - no more "jazz". Previously, you had to exchange your Swiss Francs for "Jazz" tokens to buy anything at the festival, which was absolutely insane.It was a terrible idea, and I'm glad they're going to start using real money. I just can't wait until this year's line-up is announced (usually in April or May). Like, bouncing up and down in my seat kind of can't wait. It's going to be good, and I hope that Bryan Adams is playing there again so I can see him twice this year.
And then the other news: the Eurovision Song Contest has revealed that the Swiss entry will be none other than the round-faced, poorly-goateed, Swiss-German-techno-crap-making D.J. Bobo.
If you don't know about Eurovision, let me tell you that it may be the most spectacular entertainment extravaganza in the world. This is the premise: each country in Europe may qualify either by winning regional competitions, be finishing high enough in the previous year, or by paying off the organizers to enter a singer and song from that country. The winner is determined by popluar telephone vote, and the winning country hosts the next year's event.
The reality is that the songs are terrible, the performances are worse, the voting is ALWAYS by block (the noridc countries, the balkans...) and the commentators absolutely rip the thing apart.
It's fantastic, and it may be the most surreal, hilarious thing you see all year. And you need to watch it, so mark your calendar for May 12 at my place, and consider this an invitation - my place at 7:00. Semi-finals will be May 10, so you can show up then, too, if you want. And having D.J. Bobo will only make it that much worse... ironically enough, making it that much better. It's going to be a good year...
[EDIT] Okay, as I looked over this I started to realize that what passes as "news" for me may not be quite what you were expecting. If you are interested in something a little more substantive, can I suggest you check out Josh's blog? Yeah, I think more about who is going to be coming for Country Night than I do about world hunger. That's just the way it is.
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