Best Night of My Life: The Wanted at The Fine Line

Okay. If you know me, you know I like music and LOVE all things British. So I was excited out of my mind when I found out The Wanted, a fab British boy band, were not only going on an American tour, but were visiting Minneapolis!
I have been following the boys' (Max, Jay, Siva, Nathan, and Tom's) music endeavours ever since their first single, All Time Low, dropped in 2010 and hit #1 in the UK. It is hard not to become obsessed with these boys, as they tweet like mad and create weekly YouTube videos to keep you up to date on their lives and give you an inside look at their hijinks! They are so great to their fans, of which they have tons internationally, but until recently they were relatively unknown in the US.

Siva, Max, Jay, and Nath at The Fine Line

Due to their relative obscurity in the US, the boys played in small clubs during their tour, like The Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on January 27th. At the show, I was one of the older fans, as most of the girls that follow these boys probably aren't even legal. I was lucky enough to be right in front, touching the stage. Although the boys do not dance like boy bands of the 90s, they keep up the energy by jumping around the stage, interacting with the fans, and just being silly. I was lucky enough to touch all of the boys and, by nature of the teens smashing me from behind, had my face less than a foot away from most of their crotches... So that was something. The show was just so fantastic, fun, and intimate I can hardly stand it!!! I left that night with a set list and shirt, and squeed all the way home.

This experience is even more mind blowing now that the boys are #5 on the Billboard charts, had their single, Glad You Came, covered on Glee, and are on a full blown arena tour in the UK performing in front of thousands each night.
Having followed the boys since the beginning and being at that small show during their first US tour makes me feel like I've been part of their journey. And every bit of success they have gives me a feeling of pride for all the boys have done!


Here's a video I made with video clips and pictures I took that night. Check it out and fall in love!

The Lion King at The Orpheum

The Lion King was not one of my favorite movies growing up, but I have always enjoyed the music. When I saw The Lion King was returning to Minnesota I was very excited to check it out and see those legendary costumes for myself. And legendary they were.

The costumes were, however, the best part. It may be due to the hype, but I found the show a little disappointing in other ways. "I Can't Wait to be King," the most exciting number in the film, was really boring and poorly done on stage. Additional scenes, like Scar hitting on Nala and Timon falling in the river, seem strange and out of place as they have no lasting effect on the characters or events that follow. The best of the show was the costuming and technical aspects, otherwise not an overly impressive show. I am sure children would love it though.

Independence at TRP

In the first weekend of January my sister, mother, and I went to check out Independence by Lee Blessing, a show at Theatre in the Round. The show is about a dysfunctional family composed of a mother and her three daughters. One daughter moved to Minneapolis years ago and is returning to the small Iowa town, at her sister's request, to help relieve tensions in the house. Their mother is essentially loony and the family has to figure out how to deal with it.
The play was well preformed, Rachel Austin and Jean Wolff were particularly good. The character of Sherry reminded me a lot of people I have known in the past.

However, I did not find the writing of the play anything special. The characters seemed a bit wishy-washy and the the show only seemed to brush the surface of the real issues. I feel like if you really want to see a quality play full of drama, some laughs, and a mentally unstable mother you should go see Next to Normal. Independence is not necessarily bad, just not as good as it could be... However it is encouraging to any aspiring playwrights.
So if you want to go see a so-so drama that is put on well, go see Independence at Theatre in the Round. Info, dates, and tickets here.