My Gig Reviews in New Places: Dierks Bentley Concert

Pardi, Bentley, and a plane. (c)PipPepPop

Bentley (c)PipPepPop

If you're a live music fan like me, I have a great website for you to check out. GIGSoup is a music website devoted to live event reports, album reviews, artist interviews and music news. I recently wrote my first piece here about seeing Dierks Bentley's 'What the Hell' tour. Opening acts featured on the tour included Jon Pardi and Cole Swindell.  Enjoy!

During the song '5150' (c)PipPepPop

Bentley sitting on the 'Riser.' (c) PipPepPop

Everything's Coming Up.... Seacrest?

GIF from ImageFlip. 

     In my wildest dreams, I would not have picked the overly obvious choice of Ryan Seacrest for my Live with Kelly! fantasy draft. But I'm also not the one hosting a live morning show. I did attend The Rachel Ray Show this Winter, so I have a slight bit of talk show audience street cred. I generally am not a fan of the 'Crest. He is just over-saturated and overconfident.  At one point in his career (recently), he was hosting American Idol, weekly and daily radio programs, and the majority of the E! reality programming slate. How does he keep up with the rapidly procreating Kardashians? This is Steve Harvey level of too many hands in the entertainment cookie jar. Something about him also reminds me of a dentist because of his overly perfect teeth. I think the teeth is what takes me into these 'meh' feelings. If I could replace him with any host options, I would choose Joel McHale (sworn Seacrest mocker), who is in danger of losing his current gig, known as CBS's The Great Indoors.

GIF from Fiphy

My Fantasy Draft:

1. Fred Savage        
      - See blog post here. I wanted him to get a win since The Grinder got cancelled.
2. Neil Patrick Harris                  
     -(Emmys, Tonys, etc... is there anything the man can't do?  He was born to host things and he looks good in a suit.
3. Mark Consuelos     - As Ripa's husband, he does banter night and day, but would the couple run out of things to chat about?

Cop Fridays: Lies Beget Liars, No Matter How Pretty

Gif from Tumblr

     Dear Jesus, someone in the town of Rosewood is finally making sense! Of course it's not the Pretty Little Liars, but it's Spencer's mom, Veronica Hastings. This time and she is on the nose here. She announced she is putting the family home on the market. Veronica simply said,  "Severing ties with this town would be healthy, for all of us." I'm slapping a palm to my face and yelling duh at the top of my lungs. This town is toxic to all of the characters in this show, except Mona, who has nine lives.  Poor Spencer discovered in last week's spring premiere that Veronica is not her biological mother. Somehow, Mr. Hastings had an affair with Alison's mom, giving us Jason DeLaurentis. Then, Mr. Hastings had an affair with Alison's mom's twin sister, Mary Drake, which brought us Spencer. Spencer and Alison, by my account, are now cousins that share a brother and Spencer's half-brother is Alison's adopted brother, who became a girl (it's deeply socially confusing and a bit backwoods). This revelation came as part of the super creepy "Liars Lane" game that was left for the 5 girls. This creepily customized board game sends clues and tasks via a cell phone, like regular A with the added bonus of a scale model of the girls and their town. Overall, it's less involved than making masks of their faces or re-creating their bedrooms in an underground dollhouse, but still creepy as hell .Do they choose to report the game to the police? Of course not, because they think it would self-destruct before the detectives could even get a look at it. This is one the reasons I can't watch horror movies, I can't believe the characters would be so dumb. As explained in the Cosmo PLL oral history, members of the production staff made a jar and every time someone asked  a logical question (why is she running in heels?? Did the lairs even go to school today?) they had to surrender then door and surrender their disbelief.

The Rosewood Church (c) PipPepPop

     Spencer is now in desperate need to find her mother, who gave birth to her in a mental institution. This is the same institution that Spencer checked in herself for a number of ailments (she went full Jessie Spanno). In short, keeping all these secrets caused Spencer to have a breakdown. Who can blame her, her sister married a psycho who nearly killed Emily before falling off the top of a church. Spencer is also the same girl that blacked out part of the night Alison went missing and realized she tried to bludgeon the girl in the head with a field hockey stick (before they knew they were related). EW!  At the end of the day, Spencer pulled herself together and made it through college.  Adult Spencer devoted her life to her (fake) mother's political aspirations, and spiraled into a somewhat destructive relationship with her best friend Hanna's ex, Caleb. She also stalked her ex, Toby, and his new girlfriend turned baby mama turned fiance. Poor Yvonne is in a coma now after she and Toby  hit a deer with their car (the first non-human hit by a car in this show). The whole messy situation was complicated by Yvonne's mom running for the position Spencer's mom eventually won. Poor Toby was in the middle. Let's also take a moment to remember Toby became a police officer. Was he that good? Well, he didn't get murdered, and I'm 90% sure he never murdered anyone, so in this town that's pretty good.

Image from Giphy

     What is Spencer up to now? She's actually talking to the police about finding Mary, and her recent shooting. We were told by the detective that  out likely Uber A (Blind Jenna) did not shoot Spencer because the ballistics didn't match. This could only mean that Mary shot her own child. She must have been trying to send Spencer a message, unless there was yet another person lurking in the school for the blind when the liars went there to confront the now dead Noel Kahn. At least Spencer is reaching out to a detective!

Rosewood town hall.
(c) PipPepPop

     Here's a roundup of the other potentially legal drama in town. Hannah was designing dresses for a political socialite and Blind Jenna was seen wearing an identical dress. Suddenly the front page of the post claimed Hannah stole the design. This is important to note: Jenna is still bind (or so we think) and her two bodyguards were also blind with sunglasses. It was like she was flanked by the men in black.They also went to a meeting on the "dicey" side of town, which was indicated by a shoe repair shop and a bail bondsman.

     Emily is working at her old school as a swim coach, and trying to help Alison with a situation (see below). Of course, Emily's ex Paige is jealous, and all 3 women work at the same school. This time, Alison doesn't self-destruct; Paige previously lost her mind at a staff meeting. Even A isn't involved in this scandal, it's all in the hands of a whiny teen swimmer. She is a min-Alison, skipping practice and punishing Emily when she got punished. This chick (I'll call her A-minus) shows photos of Emily and Alison hugging during school and alleges some inappropriate conduct with students. Hey, maybe this girl  who would have been 9 when the drama started is the Uber A! Maybe she's another sister of Alison! Clearly, stranger things have happened. Speaking of Alison and stranger things, she is still moping after discovering she is pregnant with her psycho husband's baby. The good news is that the girls killed Alison's kidnapping and embezzling husband. The bad news is that the cops still think he skipped town and fled to Europe. Alison won't tell her other friends about the demon seed, creating a rift between Emily and the other,s like before Ali died. The question I can't figure out is what is Alison's deal? Is she interested in men and women? Does she just like toying with Emily? Will she make a decision about keeping the baby? Will she befall the same fate as her aunt and have this kid in a mental asylum? I don't know, but if I had my way, this baby would be Uber A!

Alison's House / Seaver home-
 Growing Pains (c) PipPepPop

     Finally we wrap-up with Aria. She may or may not still have a job. I'm unclear if she and her fiance Ezra finished writing their novelization about he and his ex-girlfriend getting kidnapped as relief workers. (Yes, this happened, just give in a dollar). Ezra left town because the ex, Nicole, was discovered still alive, and he's spent most of these two episodes in New York with her family trying to help her. Poor Aria feels like she can't even bask in her engagement  (to her former high school teacher) because the news is covering Nicole's story, celebrating the reunited couple (of Ezra and Nicole). Aria ran into a cute, childhood friend, who works for his sister's wedding planning business. Surprise, she's spending all this time with him, and her response to every question is "I don't know what Ezra wants." This is the most truthful thing I've heard in these two new episodes. Maybe it's finally clear that Aria and Ezra do not belong together. The law may not be keeping them apart any more, but they have irreconcilable differences.

{The most interesting thing I learned about filming on the WB studio tour is that every set (inside and exteriors) is dressed daily the the set decorators and teams, down to the signs and knobs}. Please enjoy PLL set photos from the WB studio tour! 

PREDICTIONS:

• I'm still convinced everyone in the town is in on this and they are all "A."
• Aria and Spencer's dads are going to start a creepy dad band.
• Hannah will stop wearing grungy sweats if she wants to be a fashion designer. 
• Spencer will confront her real mother.
• We will never see Spencer's sister or Jason again .
• (because they cannot handle this weird family dynamic) 
• Jenna will get her sight/ we find out she got it back a long time ago.
• Spencer and Toby will get back together.

The One: The Backstreet Boys Residency in Las Vegas

At TRL, 2000 for the Backstreet Boys
(c) PipPepPop

  Some people go to a concert once a year. Some go to a concert a couple of times a year. Other people get in the car and drive somewhere  to see their favorite band. I hopped a plane to Las Vegas to see The Backstreet Boys, and I'm so glad I did it! I came, I saw, and I rocked my body right at the Axis at Planet Hollywood on St. Patrick's Day. Today is BSB's 24th anniversary, according to the timeline on their website and social media channels. On this day, Brian officially had joined the band and cemented their place in history.

 

(c) PipPepPop

     I began my BSB journey back in 1998. I was a 4th grader and I was obsessed with the song Quit Playing Games with My Heart. I still may be obsessed because that song rocked at the concert. While the audience was in no danger of getting carded, the crowd around me swayed and screamed like a bunch of teenagers. My friend gave me a shrug when the girl next to us yelled "The Call! That's my JAM! That's my song!" **

     The BSB has been a part of the cultural zeitgeist for well over 20 years now. They ruled the pop charts and MTV's video-heavy Total Request Live countdown show. In a related note, live shows like this are getting new life later this year. I want it that way is consistently on the top song lists. Rolling Stone's list of top boy band songs of all time (including acts like the Jackson 5 and the Monkees) ranked the 1999 classic, I Want it That Way, as its 5th entry. While they're never taken home the coveted Grammy award (7 time nominees), they have won countless fan awards such as MTV Video Music Awards, Billboard Awards, Kids Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards. They're also left us pondering what exactly it means to "want it that way" or why the "loneliness is tragical." As of early April, BSB proved they still have it. They were back, taking the stage at the ACM Awards  with friends Florida Georgia Line. The septet performed their new single, God, Your Mama and Me and everyone enjoyed it. Then they music changed and all 7 guys launched into Everybody (Backstreet's Back) complete with dance moves. I have never seen Tim McGraw so into a performance before. He and his wife Faith were like a young Taylor Swift, dancing and singing in the front row.

A Vegas Take on Suits. (c) PipPepPop

     The concert was filled with memories. Nearly all of the songs from the self-titled Backstreet Boys album were played, even forgotten favorites like Darlin' (with Kevin's sexy talking intro) and uplifting ballad, Anywhere for You. We were dancing in our seats during the Euro-pop hit, Get Down, which lends itself to AJ's bad-ass rap portion. There was a heavy amount of dancing in the show, and it was more impressive than all the other BSB concerts I've seen combined (6 or 7), with the possible exception of NKOTBSB. The "chair dance" from As Long as You Love Me was perfection.  There were fedoras present during the mid-tempo ballad, All I Have to Give. The songs from Millennium and Black and Blue were represented, bringing the boys and their 10 dancers together for driving dance tunes like Larger Than Life, The Call and the not heard enough Get Another Boyfriend. , and subduing the crowd with sweet songs like Drowning and Incomplete. The only song from the non-Kevin years performed was the heartbreaking and haunting song, Undone. I have been listening to this non-stop. The show concluded with Everybody (Backstreet's Back), which you can find following the below link to you Youtube channel. We made some new memories that night and I will not soon forget this show.

At the show, 2017
(c) PipPepPop

** The reason I found this comment to be disturbing is that The Call is a song about cheating, and she screamed this directly in her boyfriend's face.

Read more reviews of the show on Ticketmaster. Mine is in there somewhere.
Read the Billboard.com review of the show.
See more of my concert footage on Youtube.

Same Stars Hollow, Different Gilmores

(c) PipPepPop
X-mas present- Luke's shirt

     I watched the Netflix original revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life  5 months ago. I have written about it for days at a time. I have lost a little bit of sleep over it. I have read all of the fan theories.  I have had endless conversations with my mom, out of the blue, about the final 4 words. TV critic Michael Ausiello loved the ending. I differ in opinion. We do both agree the show reached a natural conclusion (see below) that a 2nd season would be overkill. It would take away from this gift season. We both agree that the story reached a natural conclusion, as I will outline below. In brief, I didn't love it. While I (and apparently Rory herself) didn't hate it, but I'm somewhere in the middle. One thing is clear, all 3 generations of Gilmore Girls are going through some growing pains, as seen in the trailer.



    At least I am relieved not hear  "Who is Rory (Alexis Bledel) going to end up with? theories anymore. This issue was resolved in a way, but also not resolved. On an episode of "The Shipping Room"podcast, Will Choi (co-host of another podcast with Gilmore Girls actress Keiko Agnea) remarked that Rory should choose books! I'd be happy if Rory would choose something, a home, a career etc... While there was closure to her relationship with Dean (Jared Padadecki), she had odd interactions with Jess and Logan. I was originally on "Team Dean" back when I had my first Baby-G watch like Rory. Once that ship sailed (and Dean cheated on his wife with Rory), it was time to move on. I always disliked Jess. He is rude. Despite his emotional growth (off-screen) in the later seasons, he is not right for Rory. People have called him the Luke of this relationship, but I feel like he is more of a young Christopher. Jess knows Rory so well, but in the long-term they're not compatible. Maybe it's due to timing, but they're never been in the same place emotionally at the same time. In the words of Joey Tribbani, it's a moo point.

Rory lamenting to Jess about Logan
Gif from Celebuzz

     I have a severe problem with Jess and Rory being together and Lorelei and Luke being together. The only relationship I dislike more than this on the show (and I really love the townspeople and their quirky relationships like Babette and Morty) is Lane and Zach. All I'm going to say about them is that I feel bad for Lane. She's trapped (my opinion but I'm not alone)  in a marriage with Zach and they have twin boys and she just didn't measure up to her greatest potential. I blame Dave Rygalski's (Adam Brody) leaving in season 3 for all of it. But, let's get back to the potential kissing cousins. (SPOILER- Lorelei and Luke got married, and with their marriage, Rory and Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) are cousins. Jess's uncle married Rory's mom and they're cousins through marriage. The two couples being together would be some serious backwoods stuff. IT'S CREEPY!! They cannot date without a whole lot of weirdness, if they were to ever date again. It's already been weird enough having a family dinner with Emily, Lorelei, Rory and Luke. If we throw Jess in there, it's going to go from a Neil Simon play to a Chekhov play. This is another reason I'm on team Logan.

     I have a lot of problems with present Rory as a character. She is extremely entitled most Yale grads. Old Rory never smelled of privilege, always remaining humble and classy. There is a complete lack of responsibility for present Rory. She's unmotivated and she doesn't want to get a real job like any other respectable 30+ year old. In sharp contrast to this, Lorelei at the same age was working full time, dating, working on her relationship with her parents, and raising a teenager. I'll get to her in a bit, though. Where did she go wrong with Rory? Rory went to great schools and had amazing opportunities. She wrote one amazing article a ways back, and the only gainful employment she can muster up is to be the unpaid editor of the local town paper. She blows her meeting with Conde Nast, as well as her interview with website Sandee Says. Rory expects that Sandee will hand her a desk. ll she prepares is her lucky outfit, which she spends months looking for in various cities. Rory cannot find any of her clothes because they are in NYC with Paris, in Stars Hollow with mom or with Lane, at her grandmother's in Connecticut, and in London with Logan. I'm all for living a multi-city life, but Rory is literally running from one town to another. She is throwing up major flares,  making a desperate attempt not to put down roots. It's downright embarrassing.

     In a long list of embarrassing things Rory is doing, she is still sleeping with Logan Huntsberger (Matt Czuchry). I may be on team Logan, but it's got it's flaws. Rory and Logan are not in a relationship. She has a oft-forgot (and joked to death) boyfriend, Paul.  He seems like a nice guy, so he is clearly wrong fro Rory. She doesn't deserve a nice guy. Logan has an absent fiancee and is based out of London. When Rory is there, they adapt a French casual "what happens in London stays in London" attitude. Give me a break! Does Rory have so little self-respect that she would continue shacking up her playboy college boyfriend? Maybe you do this for a couple of years in your early 20's and you convince yourself it's NBD. Now it's just pathetic. Logan still calls her "Ace" like they're in a 1940's detective movie. It's wrong. as much as I want to hate him, they're equally to blame for this bad behavior. Logan's parents never thought highly of Rory, despite her attending the best schools in Connecticut and being the granddaughter of the Hartford Gilmores. Mr. Huntsberger offered Rory a job on his newspaper in college,  warning that she might not be able to cut it as a reporter. It's almost as if he had a crystal ball, because she seems to really suck at it now. When researching lines in NYC, Rory fell asleep, ditched her mom in line, and slept with a guy dressed like Chewbacca.

Gif from Buzzfeed

     Rory was always hungry for knowledge, strong-willed and optimistic, but her greatest accomplishment in the first two episodes was sleeping with a guy in a Wookie (yes, a Chewbacca) costume while researching a story about lines. Which brings us to the final four words: "Mom, I'm pregnant." Rory ended up in the same spot as her mom, an unwed mother with an unsettled life. But as mentioned before, Lorelei pushed away her boyfriend Christopher. She got a job and supported a child without help from her parents. She was strong enough to raise a kid by herself. I'm not sure Rory can handle it. She's been coddled most of her life, and everyone is telling her how great she is. Logan and his merry band of Life-and-Death Brigade buddies were bid a fond farewell by Rory. It seems clear she doesn't want him involved in the child's life. Let's push aside all of the crazy theories (it's the Wookie's baby, it's Jess's baby, it's Luke and Lorelei's surrogate baby) and face some cold hard facts. This had to be Logan's baby and after talking to her dad, Rory seemed convinced she could do this alone.  Rory now has to make some choices. She needs in this order: a steady job, a permanent home, and a partner.

     Compared to per best buddy Paris (MD, JD and mother of 2), Rory is a fast food employee. At Chilton career day, Rory was offered a teaching position by the headmaster. I think that was a perfect option, but Rory shrugged it off. It would mean going back to school for a masters, and we know Rory is allergic to responsibility. Rory seemed skilled enough to excite her teenage charges, and she really thrived when she went to Chilton. They all thought she walked on water when she went there. In comparison, Paris Gellar McMaster (Liza Weil) is falling apart at career day. She may have peaked too soon and passed her mania about the real world to the Chilton students. Paris had it all, but her kids were a little uptight and being raised by a nanny they may love more than mom. Paris seems dangerously close to turning into her own absentee parents.  The only thing working against the nanny is that she hated the 5 flights of stairs in their brownstone. Paris is also on the brink of divorce with her husband Doyle, who sold a screenplay and became a West Coast duchebag. Nobody is perfect, but Paris represents a completely different take on the 30-something life than Rory.

Image from Tumblr

I'm going to switch gears to discuss the aforementioned Lorelei (nee Gilmore) Danes. We pick up with her and  Luke where we left them 8 years ago, just hanging out. They're in their late 40's and they don't want to be married. they don't want a baby (After Paris's scary fertility clinic pitch, it's clear they don't want to raise a baby together either. A third option they also turn down is Emily's offer to pay to expand  Luke's small hometown diner. This almost ends their relationship because Luke keeps the offer a secret from Lorelei. The couple reverts back to the same communication problems they had the last time, together but they're not committed, feeling things, but not sharing them with their partner. We also can all admit that it's taken years for Luke to get over his gruff old-man way of communicating with people (still giving out a fake Wifi password for the diner to people that linger like it's Starbucks). So they're chugging along with their quiet life in Stars Hollow, attending town meetings, movie nights, and the occasional secret speakeasy. With the passing of Lorelei's beloved father Richard, she begins to reassess their situation. Lorelei selfishly lashes out at her mom, Rory and "her guy" about the stupidest things, refusing to let Rory write a book about their life as a mother-daughter duo.  Both members of the couple are restless in this current state, both scaredy cats, for lack of a better word (thanks Rugrats) to pull the trigger and make a commitment.
 
     What's going to give them pair a push to move on? I had to remind myself the pair were engaged once before.  Lorelei reminded us they both have taken the plunge (she with Christopher and he with Nicole) with other people. It didn't last for either couple. Are they so emotionally damaged that they can't function? No, I think the problem is rooted in each of their fears. Lorelei loves so openly and freely that love seems to scare her. Her parents never seems to return her affection, and people always leave. Her best friend Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) went away for a short class and ditched her husband and kids to study roots in Vermont. What kind of friend and business partner does that? Lorelei is trapped professionally too. She has to keep breaking in new chefs at the Inn, and the threat of her front desk manager Michele leaving is all too real. She couldn't expand the inn, but they desperately needed more space so they could continue to do business. If she could raise the money to buy an abandoned convent (just go with it), she could expand the inn and do something professionally stimulating.

     On a "Wild" themed hiking trip, Lorelei remembered a story about her dad. She never shared it at the funeral, and it almost ruined her relationship with Emily. She calls her mom to share the story, and in that moment, Lorelei realized her dad did love her. She's ready to move forward with Luke and she knows that love is real. She needs that official recognition of them as a couple and she even wants to have the same love her parents had.  She finally makes peace with Emily,and I think this is the crucial step for Lorelei to move forward. It takes the breakthrough about her dad to give Lorelei the courage to ask her mother for a loan. She promises more Friday night dinners with her and Luke in exchange for the money to buy the convent. In the end, like the beginning, the Gilmores take a small step toward being a family.

     On the other hand, Luke is still working on trying to verbally identify his feelings. They have to meet in the middle to progress. As an example, Lorelei offers Luke money for his daughter April's summer trip to Europe and he turns her down. He hasn't reached that level of their relationship that it's okay to share stuff, money, kids etc..  In the past, he shut out Lorelei from getting to know his daughter, which drove a wedge between them. It takes several encounters with Emily to make Luke (a) extremely uncomfortable and (b) desperate to make Lorelei happy. He may never be Mr. Happy, but he can handle being Mr. dinner with the in-laws.

Emily talking smack. Gif from Celebuzz.

     Emily (Kelly Bishop) is the final Gilmore Girl and had the most dramatic journey of the series. She commented when Richard had one of his heart attacks that she only knew how to be Richard Gilmore's wife. While she was not as stuffy as Richard's mother, her place was clearly established from the day she said "I do." It was full of work dinners, yelling at the maids, galas, DAR meetings, garden clubs and grand European vacations. She may have come from a plain background like Rory, but Emily became someone who mattered. She became so self-important she was downright rude. She definitely could have gone easier on Lorelei as a kid. That could have changed a lot of things. When Richard passed away, Emily was lost. She lashed out at Lorelei way more than she should have, but she literally didn't know what to do because she had been operating the same way for over 50 years. I was so satisfied when Emily told off the DAR after they humored a trophy wife with an interview. She used her tenacity to finally stick it to people that deserved it for once, instead of the maids, the caterers, and her family.

     I was heartened to see Emily trying to find her bliss, which seems be be working as a museum guide at a whaling museum. Emily's little cottage up in Rhode Island was adorable. She seemed at home for once, surrounded by her maid's various family members and children. Emily even seemed to find a companion in Richard's old friend, Jack Smith (Ray Wise).  This seemed to be brewing as early as Richard's funeral (they move fast here), Jack was there to lend a shoulder, and Emily was not quite interested at the time. This really set of Lorelei and led to the rift-inciting bad funeral story. I'm not saying they need to marry again, but she found someone to  keep her company.  Emily almost didn't need Jack. It was gratifying to see her passing off his briefcase and shooing him away from the cottage when he had to unexpectedly to go back to work. The only thing I cannot wrap my head around is how Lorelei could decide to get married the night before the wedding (because she was so excited/nervous). There was no way Emily could make it there in time from Rhode Island, and I think that was the idea. I also think it was insensitive. Emily has had one hope in her motherly bones, and it's to marry off her daughter to a nice man. It finally was about to happen and she was sitting at home, drinking wine. I'm going to assume Rory, Michele, Kirk, Lane and the town reverend pretended it didn't happen, and woke up the next day to do it all over again. The end!