Vinyl Project 2.10.10

All right, after getting lazy during the holidays, and then fighting through a problem with my backup drive (turned out to be a powerstrip going bad), I'm back to the huge task of ripping my vinyl collection into computer-friendly iTunes-able MP3 files - and consequently sharing some of the cooler record sleeves I come across on my journey.

This one is a 2001 triple vinyl release of remixes by famed DJ-producer Armand Van Helden, featuring his reworking of tracks by Sneaker Pimps, Daft Punk, New Order and others. No fancy packaging, I just thought the photos of an oil refinery or power plant - or whatever it is - were cool. As always, click image above for a larger view.

Pee Wee's still got it!

Last September I got an email from TicketMaster announcing that tickets to a new live stage presentation of the Pee Wee Herman Show had just gone on sale - that morning at 8:AM! So without hesitation I did what any self-respecting child of 80's pop culture would do and immediately fired up ticketmaster.com and scored a pair of the best tickets I could find. This was going to be cool - I've been a huge Pee Wee fan ever since the original show aired as an HBO special in 1981.

A few weeks later I received another email from TicketMaster, this time telling me that due to overwhelming demand and venue scheduling difficulties, The Pee Wee Herman Show was moving from the Music Box at the Fonda in Hollywood to the Club Nokia theater downtown, and that I would have to purchase new tickets. I promptly did as instructed and wound up with decent seats, as it's a fairly small venue, but not as close to the stage as my original ones at the Fonda.

Show day arrived January 30th and the area around the Nokia was buzzing with all kinds of activity. Giant white hospitality tents had been set up everywhere, trucks bearing huge satellite dish antennas were stack-parked up and down the block and security guards waving walkie-talkies had set up checkpoints at every driveway and crosswalk. Wow, I had no idea Pee Wee was so HUGE!

Oh. Turns out all the mega-high-tech infrastructure was for the Grammy Awards show, happening the next night at Staples Center across the street from the Nokia.

Club Nokia is a smaller venue tucked into the restaurant row portion of the vast new Nokia Theater complex, and up on the third floor. After exiting the elevator and navigating an airport-style security check, my date and I were allowed inside and shown to our seats - minimally padded banquet chairs zip-tied together in a semi-circle facing the red curtain of the stage, which were so narrow I could only get a cheek-and-a-half on one at any given time.

I snuck a shot of the stage set with my phone.

Our matinee show started promptly at 4:30 and as the packed crowd first glimpsed the wonderful set - kind of a cross between the original Pee Wee Show's stage set and the one from the Pee Wee's Playhouse TV show - a huge roar of approval went up and we were all instantly under Pee Wee's magic spell. A moment later Pee Wee himself appeared, fought off a standing O, introduced the secret word of the day and we were off to our adventure in Puppetland.

It was truly amazing to see some of the actors from the original show's cast reprising their characters nearly 30 years later. Jambi, Mailman Mike, Miss Yvonne... it was obvious they all dearly loved putting these silly personalities back on again and acting like a bunch of big kids. The absence of Phil Hartman as Captian Carl was somewhat palpable to us longtime fans - Cowboy Curtis, originally played in the multiple Emmy winning Pee Wee's Playhouse by Lawrence Fishburn, assumed love interest duties with Miss Yvonne this time around - and as Paul commented in a generous and unexpected Q & A session after the show, he wanted to honor Phil's place in the show's history by not trying to replace him. Instead opting to omit the Captain Carl character from the re-booted production.

Pee Wee talks to kids in the audience after the show.

Mr. Rubens also 'let slip' that a new Pee Wee movie project was in the works, but that Tim Burton is 'much too busy' to return as director. See you on the big screen soon Pee Wee! - in 3D I'd imagine!