Archive for the 'World Of Entertainment' Category

This Month Sees the Finest of Theatre in the Capital

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

With the terrific summer months close approaching you should get a variety of musical shows at the incredible west end Theatreland. The most eagerly anticipated musical show to launch is Sister Act, this theatre show is directed by the great Whoopi Goldberg. The theatre show is based on the famous feature movies and features a brand new cast and a whole host of new sing-a-long songs to sing along to. The theatre show has already opened to the theatre journalists and had good reviews. The very best coming from The Sun and the London Paper, both who published how good the musical production had been put together and how wonderful the songs were. This production sounds like a big hit and a production that you must see.

Another super theatre production to launch this Summer up in London is another film adaptation, Priscilla. The show features Australian TV soap actor Jason Donavan as the leading role and sees Jason dress up in the most elaborate costumes ever seen on the West End. The songs again are catchy and upbeat. Sister Act is a definite popular hit and one that is sure to capture the heart of Londoners and London tourists.

From time to time there are a few shows that stand the test of time. One of the most popular theatre productions is Phantom of the Opera. This musical show draws in the crowds year after year and is one of the most popular theatre shows in London. The musical production has been running for over twenty two years. The show is based upon a French story and was created by the well known play writer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is about a young woman who’s father dies suddenly and sends her an angel from heaven to look after her. The angel falls in love with the lady and the situation turn ugly with the angel threatening the young girls childhood sweat heart. Find Phantom of the Opera tickets at discount prices.

Japanese Restaurants in Australia

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Melbourne has some tremendous hospitality service and has some fantastic places to wine and dine. I have migrated here for more than 6 years, I have been lucky enough to have tasted some of the nicest dishes from several culinary arts offered by eateries in Melbourne.

I have been a big devotee of Japanese food and cuisine for a long time. Since being in Melbourne, I have visited many japanese eateries and have sampled many dishes that they have to offer. Some great and some bad, I can frequently tell if the food is good by the individuals running the restaurant. I have made my own presumption that if the restaurant is ran and operated by Japanese, the food that it creates is genuine.

There are many Japanese cuisine franchises in Melbourne which are not owned and operated by Japanese. The level of service and quality of food that it creates is questionable. Yes, the price will be much more inexpensive but the legitimacy of the taste and the level of service that you are receiving is bad. If you are serious about Japanese food, take the time to research and ask around. You will often find that there is a Japanese restaurant just around the corner from you that you have not noticed.

I find myself dining in this particular restaurant in Melbourne more often these days ” Takumi. They is situated conveniently in the city and is accessible by public transportation. They specialise in wagyu beef and modern Japanese cuisines. They are fully owned and operated by a Japanese family and the level of service that they have provided me is tremendous. They offer a unique style of barbecue dishes with their modern smoke-free barbecue tables.

So, if you are visiting Australia, be sure to take the time to explore and visit the many Melbourne Japanese restaurants.

A Second Chance to Attend for Sports and Music Fans

Friday, July 17th, 2009

It’s ALWAYS been tough to get your hands on a ticket for a sports event of music gig. For Instance, the whole Manic Street Preachers tour of the UK in 2007 sold out in under and hour. How does an individual who is at work when the tickets go on sale in reality get a ticket?

Go online and buy one.

In the dark days before the internet, you had to purchase your second-hand ticket via a dodgy tout at the actual event. This meant paying over the odds, or even perhaps given bogus tickets which would inevitably be identified as such as you tried to enter the event – meaning you miss the sports event or music gig while throwing away your wonga by being diddled.

Nonetheless, matters have gotten much better for sports and music loversThe secondary ticket market has improved remarkably in the last 10 years or so, thanks to the internetWith much thanks to the internet, the ticket resale marketplace has cleaned up its act in the last decade. These days there is a huge amount of competition to resell tickets on the internet, the industry has become self-regulating. You’re offering the ticket for HOW much?! I’ll buy cheaper on another website. And so many ticket agents provide insurance if the event / gig is cancelled. And with tough competition online, resale tickets have become cheaper to the stage that sometimes you’re not paying much more than the face value price. Many ticket buyers compare prices between dozens of vendors selling resold tickets for the same concert / event. They evaluate the sale prices, insurance, seating, and even previous history of the seller prior to making a decision – so the force has considerably transferred away from the tout of the previous times to the ticket buyer.

These days you can buy tickets for many kinds of concerts and sporting events. From cricket to soccer to basketball matches, to getting hold of front row seats for your favourite band; secondary tickets offer a 2nd chance to attend the concert you want to see. So what to expect online? Simply use a search engine and enter in your phrase like V 2009 tickets, and you will discover a huge range of resale ticket agents who have the ticket you’re looking for.

Drum Tips – Dealing with Bass Drum “Creep”

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Bass drum creep does NOT refer to the scary guy with the bass drum, it’s the term used to describe the frustrating situation when your kick drum starts sliding further and further away from you with each stroke of your bass drum pedal.

Setting up your kit on a good thick rug or a carpet that the spikes at the end of your bass drum legs can sink their teeth into will generally help keep bass drum creep at bay. (If your bass drum legs don’t have spikes, replace them with ones that do. Any decent drum shop will carry replacement bass drum legs at a reasonable price.)

Make sure your carpet is large enough to fit your whole kit, including your throne. The weight of your body on the throne will help keep the bass drum from sliding away with the whole carpet.
Adjust the bass drum legs so that the front of the drum is an inch or two off the ground and the drum is resting at a slight angle. This shifts more of the drums weight onto the legs themselves and helps the spikes dig in more effectively, which should put an end to most bass drum creep problems.

Sometimes, especially for those of us kicking the drum pretty hard in loud situations, setting up on a carpet is just not enough!

Here is an additional little trick that will END bass drum creep problems.

Take a three foot long 2″x4″ piece of wood. I have some nice fabric glued around it to make it look pretty, provide some protection to the drums, and prevent splinters. Now mark your carpet where you want the front of your bass drum to sit. Drill three quarter inch diameter holes through the wood – one hole in the middle and one near each end.

Using some nice, big, 2 inch washers and 1/4 inch thick bolts – actually bolt the wood to your carpet at the front edge of your bass drum. Make sure to put the flattest part of the bolt on the under side of the carpet so that your carpet still lays pretty flat. I also like to put a layer or two of gaffer’s tape over the end of the bolt so that it does not scratch up any nice wooden floors that happen to be underneath the carpet.

Now when you set up just slide the front of the bass drum right up against the piece of wood you have bolted to the carpet, and it will not slide any further!

It works best if you get the wood wide enough that the legs themselves actually bump up against the wood block although it will work fine with the rim of the drum against the wood block – just be sure to cover the wood with foam or thick fabric to prevent the wood from damaging the rim and lugs of your drum!

Let me know how well it works for you.

Troy Sutton has been a professional drummer for over 20 years. For more great tips on drums, drumming and the deep dark secretes of “making it” in the music industry visit his site:

Troy’s Drum Tips for Young Drummers