Saturday, January 17, 2015

On With the Show, This Is It

It's always good to say those two little words: SOLD OUT! That's What's Up! The “carrot and schtick” method of entertainment seems to be just what Knoxville needs right now. Saturday night at 8:00 at the Civic Auditorium, there will be a full house as the KSO will host Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, with all of your favorite Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes front and center.

So much classical music is quoted here, it's impossible to list, but there is a strong Wagner presence in the score. Some of the tunes are lifted veboten, er... verbatim from commonly performed editions, but often there are slight altercations –oops!-- I mean alterations in the direction the music goes. It keeps us on our toes, we get to wear headphones, and we finally learn what instrument makes that slide-y sound at the beginning of the  fanfare!

If you are attending the concert, be aware that there is a Knoxville Ice Bears vs. Pensacola Ice Flyers game in the adjacent Coliseum, which has a 7:30 face-off. Parking may take a little extra time, but probably not as much time as it will take that poor hockey player to get his face back on. Say, why not skip the traffic and walk off the dinner you just ate downtown? It's only five blocks from Market Square, three from Gay St. (And you walked HOW FAR the last time you were in New York)?


Just for a little added flavor, I'm going to put this bug in your ear. Don't you think Mel Blanc looks like Django Reinhardt? Just sayin'... Also their styles are similar, going for broke at every turn.



Only the guitar gives it away... 



2 comments:

John Mayer said...

In addition to Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies offerings, there will also, I read, be two MGM characters on stage, Tom and Jerry. In what way they will harmonize with the Warner Bros. stars I don't know and won't find out first hand, since I learned about this event way too late. Completely sold out; my inquiries about cancellations were met with mocking laughter.

Several years ago a suggestion box was placed in the lobby of the Tennessee after a KSO performance, and I suggested this very thing. But I gather that was not the impetus for this event (nobody ever listens to me). If someone a little whimsical, a little free-spirited, a bit more open-minded than the stodgy management KSO had way back THEN, had considered my suggestion (or thought it up on her own) it might have been members of KSO touring the country with this, plainly, successful concept.

Oh, well. Maybe you could do a Silly Symphonies series.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1057/whats-the-difference-between-a-looney-tune-and-a-merrie-melody

John Mayer said...

In fact, a whole show could be built around this one cartoon, with the orchestra, possibly, elaborating on the musical battle and the rest of the show made up of alternating jazz and classical performances. And, to sweeten the pot, this cartoon appears to be in the public domain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bpPmVtUR9g (you'll have to copy/paste the url)

Of course, it would have to be rated R for sax and violins.