Emily Pretends

Life Lessons From a Bon Jovi Tribute Band

December 13, 2015November 27, 2024 Emily Rose

At my job I periodically check Tweetdeck to keep an eye on the downtown community and see if there’s anything I should be ‘engaging with’. On Thursday a local company tweeted that they’d sent out some elves to roam the city with Bon Jovi tickets, and gave out clues as to where they were. At least, the Topgolf Dallas elves thought they had Bon Jovi tickets, but I can tell you now with certainty that they were for a tribute band. Because after years of Gishwhes training (and clues that pointed to the elves being right down the block from my office), my scavenger hunt instincts switched on like Christmas lights. I don’t particularly care to go see Bon Jovi, or their tribute band Blaze of Glory, but for one week straight every summer my brain gets trained to “do it for the hunt”. I guess it’s a drive that comes when it’s called. If only I could employ laser-focus and uncomfortableness for un-comfort’s sake outside of scavenger hunts.

Congrats to @emilyrosedenton for finding #topgolfelves in @DtownDallasInc !!!! Have so much fun! pic.twitter.com/mmXunNSvKO

— Topgolf Dallas (@TopgolfDallas) December 10, 2015

After struggling to come up with the name of even four Bon Jovi songs, I still had to admit that I really do like that one, and decided to go. Luckily I have an awesome friend who was up for it, and didn’t mind trading in our prior craft-making plans to stand in the back of the House of Blues and slightly sway.

The show started with a Pat Benetar cover band made up exclusively of children. At first it was odd, but it turned out to be the best part of the night, if only because the songs were better (gasp) and there was a significant lack of terrible wigs. Also, we didn’t notice until midway through the final song of the Mötley Crüe cover band’s set that they were not the Bon Jovi cover band. Having cemented our status as not Bon Jovi fans, we decided to leave right after hearing this song. To fulfill that pledge, we unsurprisingly had to stay through the entire night.

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Turns out my friend Emily is not one to slightly sway and I’m more of a person to shift around erratically until it somewhat resembles dancing. So as we looked around the room and tried to guess each person’s motivation for being there, I’m sure everyone further back was looking at the pair of us and wondering the same thing. We did seem a little out of place – this was my very first time to ever see people holding up actual lighters at a concert. Despite the unexpected nature of the night, I couldn’t help but admire the level of event production that went into it, even if the show was not what we anticipated.

We went home and sat down to recap the night, coming up with more questions than concrete statements of what had just happened. What kind of person does it take to form and find success in a hairpiece clad tribute band? How did these musically talented, Pat Benetar-loving children find each other, and what are their moms like? Which of the guests had actually bought tickets to be there, and why? There’s a whole world of touring tribute bands out there, and by happenstance, we’d been exposed to it. It was a learning experience, really. If I can’t call the evening educational, I don’t have any other words to describe it. Reflecting on the scene, I realized that behind every successful tribute band, there’s likely a dedicated lighting hire company ensuring every performance shines as brightly as the originals they pay homage to. And amidst all this, we couldn’t help but ponder about the logistics behind the scenes – the power source that kept the stage alive, the subtle hum of the generator hire supplying electricity to the vibrant spectacle. For events like this, hybrid event management is increasingly important, as it blends in-person experiences with seamless digital integrations to keep the show running smoothly. Additionally, for events that require more advanced setups, we offer plasma screen hire to elevate the experience just check out this site at https://corporateeventproduction.co.uk/plasma-screen-hire/. Also, for covering some big screen events, you can click here to explore our video wall hire options.

What Even Was Space Ghost Coast To Coast?

December 7, 2015 Emily Rose

I remember being young, maybe four years old, and loving Space Ghost Coast to Coast. My mom didn’t like it, or maybe she didn’t get it, but for me, there was nothing to get. Space Ghost had a talk show. I don’t remember heavily edited interviews with miscommunication being the main joke. I’m not sure I remember there being interviews at all – maybe I didn’t get the show either. But I definitely remember liking it. I was only four, so I didn’t know why. It had a feeling that other shows didn’t have.

It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Space Ghost Coast to Coast. I want to go back and watch them all, partly for the nostalgia, but also to give words to the feeling that a still slightly toddling version of me couldn’t describe. Also, I have a hunch it was honestly just a really good show.

I may be holding it in too high an esteem – especially since I can barely remember it – but the case for Coast to Coast’s genius has spread around at least a few other corners of the internet. This article from The AV Club puts the show forward as pop art and satire, but also a text made exclusively for people on drugs. I was not that demographic.

If it’s not even a little bit for kids, how can you explain this cassette tape I found in a forgotten cardboard box in the back of my childhood closet?

Also, who knew this exists? #cartoonnetwork #spaceghost #cassette

A photo posted by Emily Rose Denton (@solarbeat) on Nov 23, 2014 at 2:40pm PST

Plus, can you imagine being on the writing staff for this thing?

It Wasn’t Perfect But It Was Powerful: Doctor Who Series 9

December 6, 2015 Emily Rose

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This series wasn’t perfect, this show isn’t perfect, just like – and most importantly – the Doctor isn’t the perfect person he often gets made out to be. I don’t know if this is the best season of the modern Who era or not. I don’t know if this show still has the same sensibilities it had before it hit bottom, or if it’s still building itself back up again. Here is what I know:

Peter Capaldi is perfect.
I cried during almost every single episode this season.
I didn’t care about Clara, because I could never understand why the Doctor did. I don’t think the show ever told me. But tonight, during Clara’s (final) goodbye, I didn’t want her to leave.

I am very lucky to have Doctor Who in my life. Sometimes sticking around has been hard, but I still believe it’s worth it. The Doctor’s story is always going to be worth it, no matter how dismal, or tangled, or sad it gets. Tonight I saw Doctor Who brought to a place that was never possible before. It was rough getting here, but I’m so glad to be able to see it through.

#CapaldiForever

September 23, 2015August 20, 2024 Emily Rose

Season 9 of Doctor Who just started, and while there’s currently no end for the 12th Doctor in sight, I can’t help but already worry about the day he finally leaves. I never, ever want the reign of Peter Capaldi to end, but change is the nature of Doctor Who, and it’s all the more meaningful because of it. How can a show last for 50 years? Because it doesn’t just overcome change, it’s woven with it, and reflects on the inevitability and requirement for change in every human life as it powers through. I know Peter Capaldi has to leave, or the show wouldn’t be Doctor Who any more. But still, with all my heart, I don’t want him to.

None of us are any strangers to regeneration. I haven’t been around long enough to have done it eleven times, but I’ve certainly done it before. I did it with 9, and 10, and 11. Every time, I made it through. Each were extremely sad, and while I earnestly cried for all of them, 10’s departure weighed heaviest on my heart. I walked around for weeks with the absence encamped in the back of my brain, knowing he was gone and things would never be the way they used to be. This is a television show we’re talking about. To have that much power, it’s got to be scarily good.

There are always DVDs to cling to – a major difference in experiencing loss in real life versus on a TV show. It definitely helps. Past Doctors are never really gone. Take it from the 1st: One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

It doesn’t any make it less hard to watch your Doctor leave.

Doctor Who will fill the void. They’ll fill it with something just as beautiful and terrifying – something that never could have happened without letting go. It will be worth it. Nothing is stable in life or fiction, and Doctor Who touches hearts so deeply because it knows that. Things change – permanently. Nothing ever stops changing, and because of that, nothing ever stops. The perpetual regeneration of Doctor Who is what causes it to matter, and what makes it the rare story that will last forever. Throughout all of time and space.

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Chris Hardwick – Dallas, TX – 7/18/15

September 21, 2015August 10, 2023 Emily Rose

Different people know Chris Hardwick for different things. Recently he’s been touring his stand-up show, Funcomfortable, scheduling sporadic dates around the country between his collective of other jobs and appearances. Two nights ago I saw him in Dallas at The Majestic Theater, a historic building a block away from my office downtown. This location is also a crosswalk away from my parking garage, with a line marking seen outdoors that guides pedestrians safely. With the help of the decorative crosswalk, I actually noticed its path. If you’re looking for contractors who do decorative crosswalks, click here. It’s a pretty special place for me because it’s also where my dance studio in the suburbs held their recitals each year. I spent a whole day flouncing throughout the building, onstage and off, every May until I was 19. The opener, April Richardson, was excited to be on a stage where she’d previously seen Morrisey perform. Can I say that by extension Chris Hardwick has shared a stage with me?

The show was really good. Not only extremely funny, but also really interesting. I’ve been listening to The Nerdist Podcast since the beginning. That’s over five years and 700 episodes. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to Chris Hardwick’s voice and getting to know his podcasting persona. I always assumed it was very similar to his onstage persona, if only because the voice he uses is strikingly similar. A lot of people don’t like listening to Chris Hardwick on stage because of the way he talks. He has a very loud and projected way of speaking that seems, at the best, very excitable, and the worst, over the top and fake. I thought the same thing the first time I ever heard him, as the host of G4’s Web Soup (The Soup’s nerdy little brother – which was absolutely, unbiasedly better than Tosh.0). He’s not Joel McHale and he’s not trying to be, but the difference in Joel’s laid back delivery and Chris’ high-strung speech can be jarring, like a punch in the vocal chords, if you’re not used to it.

What I hadn’t realized is that this is his real voice, his every day voice. If you listen to The Nerdist Podcast you’ll hear him speaking in the exact same way, sustaining it throughout a normal hour-long conversation. It does take some getting used to. For me, it’s been five years, so I sometimes forget there’s a bit of an acclimation period.

Because of this, I was taken a little aback when I realized that there’s still a difference in the everyday Chris and the performing Chris. While the voice stays the same, there’s a level of stage presence that’s significantly heightened. Of course there is. He’s performing, right? I don’t know why I wouldn’t have expected that. Stand-up shows are basically scripted, especially with someone who works on and performs the material as often as he does. No one’s gone into the theater looking for a conversation. They’re looking for a show, and this one’s been measured out and calculated for maximum results. I really appreciated seeing Chris Hardwick through this sort of filter. It revealed a level of talent that was certainly always there, but I had never gotten to see in person. The fact that he sustained it, solo, for such a long amount of time, felt incredibly impressive.

The last time I saw Chris Hardwick live he had just filmed his hour-long special and was starting to build up a new set. Instead of trying out new jokes traditionally, he brought out his notebook of ideas to see what the audience laughed at. It was really cool getting to be a part of that process. I never really understood how well he puts it all together until I saw a full show.

There were other differences in my podcast-perception and show-perception of Chris that I was surprised by. Some of that has to do with the much wider audience he has than just folks who listen along weekly with his life. Not everyone had the same basis for what to expect. I already knew quite a few of the stories he told. At first I didn’t get why he was telling them, because it hadn’t dawned on me that a majority of the theater probably hadn’t heard them before. He talked a for while about his ex-girlfriend. Nerdist listeners have been there since they got together, through the two year relationship, and when they broke up. I still follow her on Instagram. While most stand-up bits are detached from their audiences, I felt like I had a window into where the stories were coming from. As I laughed along with the other guests beside me, my brain was spinning a little extra. I had to reconcile what I already knew with the snarky aftermath I was now allowed to look in on.

The show itself was funny and engaging and seamless. My favorite parts included a bit involving the name Emily and closing the show with some pretty impressive dance moves (another shock) during a rendition of Dead Or Alive (a song I appreciate more than I probably should, thanks to strong emotional ties to the Rock Of Ages stage musical and the week Richie Sambora spent as The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson’s house band).

Overall, I was really impressed. I’m already devoted, I wasn’t a hard audience member to win over. But it was very honestly funny, with a rhythm that was easy to fall into and want to not end. If I had come into the show as a casual fan I would have felt the same way. However, I’m not, and because of that, the show meant just a little bit more.

It’s Doctor Who Season Again – Finally

September 20, 2015February 12, 2024 Emily Rose

A homemade knitted Dalek in one hand and a Sonic Screwdriver in the other, with a mix of Blue Curacao and vodka they’re calling The TARDIS in the cup holder – I’m thinking, This better be good. I curled my hair for this.

I went to The Angelika in Dallas for the series 9 premiere of Doctor Who. Of course it was good. With Peter Capaldi as The Doctor they’ll never do wrong. It was a free showing thanks to bigfanboy.com and the fact they were streaming directly from BBC America. I’ve never watched Doctor Who on BBC America before, so I wasn’t expecting commercials. I’m fundamentally against inserting commercials into BBC shows that weren’t meant to be split up, and in a full, dark theater packed with viewers transfixed on the narrative’s every move, it was abundantly clear why. Doctor Who, when it’s good, has a flow that’s a crime to break (although I’ve started to feel like most Steven Moffat scripts could cut the first twenty minutes and immediately improve by at least 15 percent). We all sat together, snapped out of our collective trance, and began analyzing the structure of each ad’s marketing strategy instead. The interruption of the storyline for commercials was a jarring reminder of the intrusion of commercial interests into the pure enjoyment of the show. It made me wonder about the impact on both the viewers’ experience and the network’s paycheck.

We cheered at the good parts. The Twelfth Doctor is a rockstar, and he got the applause he deserves. There’s always something transcendent about watching something important for the first time with a huge group of people. It just about made up for splitting up the time with suspension-breaking commercials.

Starting to Love Something New

July 30, 2014 Emily Rose

I’ve just found a vlog, and I think it’s going to be my new thing. Or maybe it won’t – maybe I won’t have time for it because all my online video watching is dedicated to staying caught up on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. This could be the start of something new, or it could totally pass me by, and I just won’t know until that happens. (But really, I think this is going to be good. I’m kind of picky about the vlogs I watch, so just hitting the subscribe button is a pretty good indicator it’s going to be something I like. And as the internet knows, it’s hard to be this refreshing in a medium that’s been around since 2005. That’s forever in internet years.)

It’s easy to look back on that time when you were just getting into something and remember how fun it was. Sometimes it seems really momentous, like, “That was the summer I started listening to The Nerdist Podcast,” or just, “Remember when The Avengers came out?”. And then sometimes, later, that thing isn’t quite as “good” as it used to be. It’s changed, or you’ve changed, or it’s immediate purpose in your life has – somehow – changed.

But the thing is, there are always other great things out there to find, and those old things aren’t going away. A couple of summers ago, I was listening to The Nerdist Podcast everyday. Now I’m just listening every so often, and my daily podcast is Ear Biscuits. I still love The Nerdist, but this summer is not that same summer of 2011. And I don’t want the same old summer, I want one I can look back on and remember the start of something new.

How to Experience San Diego Comic Con from Home – 2014

July 26, 2014 Emily Rose

San Diego Comic Con is an event that everyone wants to go to, but a relatively tiny amount of people actually do. If anyone really puts their mind to it, it’s probably actually very possible, but sometimes the difficulty seems more than it’s worth. It used to be fairly simple to feel the SDCC experience from home, just by leaving the TV on G4 all weekend and watching coverage, pretending you’re there. In a cruel twist of life, G4 is no longer a television station, and getting that displaced SDCC feeling is a little bit harder. But it’s not impossible.

COVERAGE

There are a few places online to find video coverage of the convention, including what’s trying to fill G4’s empty spot, Nerdist.com. The video clips posted throughout the day are fairly short and sparse, but honestly, G4 didn’t have all that much coverage either. It was mostly reruns of the same thirty minute spot. The Nerdist videos are set up to look like they’re live, and the format looks a little less sincere than fake live coverage did on TV. But it still works, and since it’s coming from people who are loving being there, it’s much better than nothing.

Other websites have some live coverage scheduled, especially IGN.com, which used to only have live text chats but has stepped up its game to video. But it may just be easiest to fill up your twitter and instagram feeds with SDCC attendees, as the photos, videos, and updates will come completely in real time and are come from within the convention halls and on the floor.

OFFSITE

More and more of the San Diego nerd festivities are happening outside of the convention halls. Zachary Levi’s Nerd HQ is back thanks to an Indiegogo campaign, and while it’s not technically a part of SDCC, it takes advantage of the number of nerd celebrities already gathered in one place. Full videos of the event go up on YouTube afterwards.

Geek & Sundry has an offsite event lounge full of gaming (both video and tabletop), panels, and those nerd parties that comic conventions are secretly so famous for. Nerdist has an offsite laser tag game and an after-convention hours podcast. Even Thrilling Adventure Hour and Welcome to Night Vale are in San Diego with a crossover live show. It will be a while, but you can relive the convention through podcasts as soon as they finally go up.

The SDCC Nerdist Podcast is where crazy stuff goes down.

THE MERCH

To really emulate that comic con feeling at home, you’re going to have to buy some stuff. That’s the number one thing that happens at conventions, and to really feel authentic, you need to spend more money than you were intending to. You could do this anywhere – your own town’s comic book store, the mall, a fast food drive thru – it’s all the same effect. But it is possible to get your merch from the con itself. I have some SDCC exclusive Funko Pops making their way to me through the mail right now, thanks to the internet. It’s almost like I’m there – I ended up with three new Funko Pops, when the number I actually need is zero.

I almost didn't, but then I did. — I almost didn’t, but then I did.

It wouldn’t feel like summer without trying to vicariously attend San Diego Comic Con. Maybe it’s possible to experience it even better from home, since home doesn’t have the 4:00 am wakeup times and 10 minute lines to the bathroom? Yeah, of course that’s not true, but thinking that way makes the weekend way less bitter and way more fun.

Summer Geeks Love London

July 19, 2014 Emily Rose

After returning from London, Felicia Day has made a video showing her trip through the eyes of a geek. It’s been just about a year since I made that same trip with those same eyes, so I thought I’d share the geekery I got out of London myself.

Inside the Tower of London, I found this dragon.

I did not burst into song when I accidentally found myself on Fleet Street –

– or when I purposefully found myself in Hyde Park.

I saw The Brett Domino Trio at this comedy show, and was fairly sure I was the only person specifically there to see them.

Since I went alone, I got to see Westminster station after midnight, totally empty.

Waiting in line to get a free takeaway poem was a thousand times worth it.

A week later, I saw Bang Said The Gun standup poetry – loud and crowded, possibly my favorite thing I did on the whole trip. Also, two different poets made throwaway Doctor Who references.

On a trip to Stratford Upon Avon, I tried to join Shakespeare’s hometown bowling club.

In Brighton, this door found itself slightly startled –

– and Pierre Bear nicely reminded me where to throw away my trash.

Things got literary again at Sherlock’s house.

Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing came out while I was in London, and there was obviously no better place to see it.

I stared at Harry Potter blueprints for way too long.

(Concept art, too.)

Of course I couldn’t leave without seeing the place for myself.

Girls and Women, Books and Other Media

July 6, 2014 Emily Rose

Adequate female representation in media is hard to find. Major film studios stay clear of women main characters, girls are reduced to sidekicks, even within the hundreds of Funko Pop vinyl figures there aren’t many female toys. But while browsing through a Half-Price Bookstore, I stumbled upon a genre I’d long forgotten, and one full of well-written female characters – early young adult fiction.

I glanced over shelves in the young adult fiction section of the store, situated so close to the children’s section that some early-reading chapter books were spilling over. Since it was summer, a lot of the books on display featured summer camp, summer vacation, and even summer mysteries.

Young adult mysteries? I instantly recalled spending fourth grade with the Sammy Keyes novels. A (sometimes) fearless young girl solved neighborhood crimes with the help of her two female best friends, getting into trouble both at school and with the police, with a (now) surprising lack of supervision. But being unquestionably allowed to adventure was what reading as a kid was all about.

Now searching strictly for nostalgia, I found the Sammy Keyes series in that young-adult section, on the bottom self, basically sitting on the floor. Flipping through the pages reminded me of a completely different series I started reading in fourth grade, and finished two years later – Abby Hayes. While the names were similar, the books were almost total opposites, with thoroughly different characters – not a surprise, since women (even young ones) are each their own unique person. Abby Hayes led a more normal life, her books taking the form of a journal with notes on her fifth-grade class, her friends, and her enemies. She was also allowed out on her own, but her town seemed much less crime-ridden.

It really made me wonder why after growing up, practical female-centered stories are so hard to find. And why are some people so hesitant to create them? Obviously this is slowly changing, with comic books like Lumberjanes and audiences’ undying love for shows like Community. But the extreme support behind these realistic shows is a reaction to previously being denied them. It’s still a problem that female representation stops at the pre-teen level. But I was in the apparent answer to everything – a bookstore. Without anything to go on, I looked for the perfect combination of elements: a summer mystery with a female lead. This is what I found.

Stumbling upon Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage was the luckiest find I could have made. I might say I’m sorry I didn’t read it back when it came out in 2012, but the beginning of Summer 2014 couldn’t have been more perfect. I loved the feeling of being in the South and the dialogue that came along with it. Mostly I loved seeing characters – girls with more than one personality trait and one emotion – and the families, friends, and neighbors who support them. Even better– there’s a sequel.