Tomas Kubinek

   

     

     I attended the Tomas Kubinek show at The Historic Fox Theatre this past Thursday night and I'm not sure what to make of it.

     When I entered the theatre there was this feel of the late 1890's era, perhaps an asylum; and this little man entered in clothes of the era and assumed the persona of a lunatic.  He did some parlor tricks where he blew out candles as he was trying to light them, dropped things he was trying to pick up, did some improve with the audience at the front of the stage, and also some magic tricks.  Kids in the audience were laughing and having a good time.  I could hear them throughout the auditorium. Their laughter helped lighten the overall effect of the stage set.

     At one point Kubinek strapped on the amazing continuous walking machine, which I thought was excellent.  He never actually walked on the extra legs that I could tell, although I tried to keep up for a while as to when he was on his actual feet and when he utilized the extra feet to pivot and turn, and then finally gave up on that as he moved way to fast.

     He brought a child of 5 years up on the stage.  Noah was his name, and he was having the time of his life at the show and even on the stage when Kubinek turned up the house lights.  Noah was all about being in front of the crowd, he wasn't shy and met the audience full on.  I would say that this might have been the start of something big for Noah.  Kubinek also brought up another audience member on stage to help him with a part of his performance and did quite a few interesting acrobatic type things, Kubinek also kept up improv with the audience as he advanced through his show.  He's very versatile and appears to have no bones, very limber.  

     This show was interesting and I don't quite know how to categorize it, as I don't think a category exists to slip it into, very original and unique.  Kubinek's website is wonderful. You should go check it out here: Tomas Kubinek

Book Clubs At The Public Library

 

     Do you like to read?  Do you enjoy mysteries or science fiction?  Do you enjoy discussing books with others?  If you do, you might enjoy the book clubs at the Hutchinson Public Library.


     My first love is mysteries and the Mystery Mavens book club was a good fit.  The book that they are reading and discussing this Tuesday night at 7:00 pm upstairs in conference room #2 is: "The Keeper of Lost Causes" by Jussi Adler-Olsen.  The writer of this book is Danish and last year one of the books that came from an author in this same region had a car chase scene in it that was incredible. I could actually see the scene in my head, it was so clear.  The title of that book was: "The Hunting Dogs" by John Lier Horst.  There were a couple of books that I didn't finish; one was due to the way it was written, but overall I've read along with every one.  I'm not sure who picks out the books for this club but they should be commended.  I have had an entire world of mystery writers opened up to me that I never would have went looking for on my own.  I've learned a lot on my way through these books.  If you love mysteries, check out these books and if you have time, attend the book club.  I haven't gone to an actual meeting yet, but I have enjoyed the books.


      Then there is the science fiction book club.  I'm not big on sci-fi stories but there were a few this past year that I enjoyed and had to read.  They had more of a supernatural bent to them which is probably why they appealed to me.  "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury was frightening in a way that Stephen King is not. This book stuck with me during the daylight hours and was in my thoughts up until I finished it and beyond.  I also enjoyed "After The Fall, Before The Fall, During The Fall" by Nancy Kress.  The way this was written was unique and eventually everything came together as one and then proceeded forward.  I am still unsure why a nuclear bomb had to be deployed, so probably I should have attended the book club meeting.  Currently this group is reading: "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson and of course, I have to read this one.  If you love sci-fi you need to check out the monthly selections available for this group.  The group meets next on Thursday, February 11.

Voice Play

     The McPherson Opera House hosted the group Voice Play on Saturday, January 16.  You might remember this group from the fourth season of the NBC show, The Sing Off.

     Voice Play is a group of five guys from Orlando, Florida: Earl, Eli, Geoff, Layne and Tony.  Although they sing a capella tunes and at first glance appear to be a barbershop type of group, this act is far from the standard barbershop fare.  They sing, they did some dancing, they incorporated some live action vaudeville type skits, brought audience members up on stage, and always, throughout the performance they kept the crowd engaged through audience participation.  There was some comedy routines, as well.

     One of the more amazing parts of this show is the groups use of instruments, or lack there of, as the vocalists became the instruments.  Layne primarily produced the amazing drumbeats for the songs.  He has some amazing talent.  Geoff provided bass to accompany Layne on drums and it is truly a treat to see them in concert together.  Hard to believe that those instrument sounds are coming from voices and not from the actual instruments.  Truly this has to be seen to be believed.

     The group also utilized a screen behind them with messages and other interactive media as they sang which provided another dimension to their performance.

     A couple of montages of songs in the first and second acts were well received by the audience as everyone sang along.  One of the funnier parts of the show was when Voice Play insisted that they were not a boy band and then proceeded to build a boy band on the stage.  There was the heart throb, the bad boy, the old guy, the shy one and of the guy who leaves the group and goes solo.  They even included an 'N Sync (Bye, Bye, Bye) and New Kids On The Block (You Got It: The Right Stuff) tune during this part of the show.

     Polished and professional, with a sound like no other.  This was the kick off performance of a three week tour, so if you didn't catch them in McPherson and want to do some traveling, the next closet date will be April 7 and 8 in Aurora, Colorado at the CHSAA Annual A Capella Festival.  Also check out their YouTube video's (especially The Chicken Song) and website: http://thevoiceplay.com/