The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, April 16, 2010 - 7
Lynch's lyrical comedy
It'sthe little things in life.
'Private Chefs' is
a public fai* ure
By CHRISTINA ANGER the Botox party, where the age-
Daily Arts Writer less host poo-pooed the trio soup
appetizer and reminded her
Most shows that feature private chefs that some of her
respected chefs create a kind of Botoxed guests wouldn't be able
aura around to open their mouths very wide.
the figure- * Chef Brooke told the camera in
head, mak- response to her rejected soup that
ing him or Pfiva Cef& every chef knows Botox is made
her seem from botulism, "and botulism is
untouchable. Of BewirIy Hills what happens when mayonnaise
Chef Ram- Fridays at10 p.m. is left on the counter." Not quite
say on "Hell's Ftod Ntk the zinger she was hoping for, as
Kitchen" is the Botox host later squinted at
downright Peterson's forehead and offered a
fearsome. This kind (and most free treatment.
kinds) of chef knows what he or It's not exactly fun to watch the
she is doing and doesn't want to be role of chef and client get com-
questioned, interrupted or chal- pletely reversed. "Private Chef"
lenged. Food Network's "Private manages to hold attention for its
Chefs of Beverly Hills" takes this full hour spot, but instead of illus-
stereotype and pulls a 180 - the trating the impressive menus and
chefs aren't the ones to be feared presentation from private chefs,
here, the clients are. Clients mean- it reminds us how pathetic and
ing the rich, know-it-all, Botox- snobby people who hire private
addicted, puppy-lugging zombies
of Beverly Hills, USA.
The pilot followed three teams
of two chefs, each sent on private Too much Botox
chef duty for a terrifying event: a .
doggy debutante, a Botox party spols the
and aglamcampingktrip (i.e. glam- cookin show
ping, duh?). The show could really g
go on without the private chefs _______
entirely - the ridiculous Beverly
Hills parties are enough to enter- chefs are. The group of five or six
tain. At every job, the private chefs men who went "glamping" was
weren't revered for their talent or almost too much to handle. After
knowledge, but condemned and complaining about a cold appe-
tossed around by the clients. tizer that was meant to be cold,
"Private Chefs" is less of a cook- the men "roughed it" and actually
ing show and more of a lifestyle caught two trout, which they then
feature, and it doesn't fit into the demanded be cooked alongside the
respectable mold of shows like Apricot Glaze Cornish Game Hen.
"Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen." "Private Chef" should be a dis-
Because the chefs don't make appointment to chefs everywhere.
the rules, the cooking takes sec- As they say in some of the best
ond place to Beverly Hills cul- kitchens, sometimes the client
ture, which 'dashes with Food isn't always right; but on "Private
Network's ostensible goal for the Chef of Beverly Hills," the clients
show: to give a glimpse into the are the alpha dogs and the chefs
wide varieties of professional are the ... bitches. Sometimes the
home cooking. truth hurts just as much as try-
Chefs Stuart O'Keeffe and ing to eat after a Botox injection.
Brooke Peterson were sent to Sorry, Beverly Hills!
S
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Short
1993 wi
headed
worked
aginaw-born caught his first big break: a half-
hour special for Comedy Central.
cal comic comes "I went fromperforming almost
exclusively in the New York area
the Michigan to headlining rock clubs and the-
aters all over the U.S.," he wrote.
By DAVID RIVA Lynch went on to release two
DailyArts Writer live recordings, a studio album
and a greatest hits compilation
Comedy Night head- before scoring a gig on Broadway
ephen Lynch has always as the lead role in "The Wedding
trated a form of comedy Singer."
about 2009 saw his return to the
than recording studio with the release
anec- PIKE Comedy of 3 Balloons, a collection of songs
one- Night2O1O. tackling hot button issues like
and S y AIDS and Anne Frank as well as
nsults. Stephen LyflCh light-hearted topics like mafia
joins Tonightat movies and Charlie Brown.
us D, 7 30 p.m. The album is ambitious in its
andler instrumentation and song struc-
Flight Michigan Theater tures, employing a full band for a
Con- Tickets from $20 majority of the tracks as well as
on the string and piano parts to add more
t of comedians who gained texture and convey a fuller sound.
'ity by performing with Much of Lynch's lyrical con-
stic guitar to complement tent might be considered taboo,
idesplitting stories and irreverent and even disturbing at
nes. times. But like most comedians, he
n e-mail interview with doesn't seem to care.
ily, Lynch explained the "Anything people hold sacred is
f music and comedy as an funny to take the piss out of," he
process that happened in wrote.
.ims of Western Michigan Growing up in Saginaw, Lynch
ity. has many fond memories of Michi-
en all my friends (and) gan, including "summers at the
ates at WMU - who were beach (and) apple-picking in the
s - taught me how to play fall." In his return home, he will
.. I would take what they perform for a college audience, a
me and make up songs to crowd he's grown accustomed to
a to laugh," he wrote. on past touring circuits.
vas easy because they were "Most of the time, the shows
d all the time," he added. are free to students," he wrote. "So
ly after graduating in I tend to put on a real half-assed
th a B.A. in Drama, Lynch performance. You know, really
out to New York where he give it 20 or 30 percent. Save the
and performed until he good stuff for the paying crowds."
Stephen Lynch enjoys apple-picking and summers at the beach.
Fortunately (or unfortunate-
ly - depending on the size of
your bank account), there is a fee
attached to Lynch's Ann Arbor
show. But those hard earned dol-
lars you spend will go to Wyclef
Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation as
part of Pi Kappa Alpha's philan-
thropic work.
With this perfect combina-
tion of laugh-inducing multitask-
ing and earthquake relief there's
really no excuse not to head over
to the Michigan tonight to see a
fellow Michigander thrive in the
spotlight.
CMT's 'Gator 911' wrestles with
alligators and unoriginality
By LINDSAY HURD
Daily Arts Writer
After the death of everyone's favorite ani-
mal-loving jungle man Steve Irwin, the world
probably thought they would never again
watch someone wrestle an
alligator with such charis-
ma, hilarity and aptitude.
Enter Gary Saurage and
company, who know way Gator 911
more than anyone should Fridaysat9 p.m.
about alligators and have a CMT
great time showing it off.
In "Gator 911," CMT is
clearly taking inspiration from Animal Plan-
et's "The Crocodile Hunter" by taking what
Irwin did and simply relocating it to Texas.
From culverts to golf courses, Saurage and his
gator-hunting crew capture the scaly beasts
bare-handed, with the occasional rope, lasso
or fishing pole. Afterward, they relocate the
creatures to either Saurage's gator sanctuary
or to the wild, where they won't have a chance
to harm humans.
Gary Saurage can't
match Steve Irwin.
about an alligator's lifestyle and attack meth-
ods is on the verge of creepy. Clearly, he has had
one mad obsession with gators for his entire
life and he won't be stopping anytime soon.
But one sour point of the show is Saurage's
use of the alligators in his sanctuary to practice
his handling skills. Throughout the show, he
always professes his love and care for the crea-
tures and expresses that he just wants them to
live a peaceful life - that is, until he decides
that he needs one to practice on. It clearly was
not a pleasant experience for the animals to
be captured, relocated and then jumped on
while Saurage practices his skills and custom-
ers come to his conservatory to watch. Saurage
better hope that PETA doesn't watch CMT or
else he mightbe in trouble.
Needless to say, the manly men of "Gator
911" will make you forget metro-sexual even
exists. From the overly chauvinist pickup truck
with "Gator 911" sprawled across it, to the sheer
cajones it takes to step into muddy water with
a 9-foot gator, these dudes are not reaching for
the hair gel anytime soon. At one point, Sau-
rage gets a fishing hook caught in his leg after
he wrestles a gator to the ground. Instead of
going to the hospital like a normal person, Sau-
rage takes a pair of pliers, yanks out the hook
and then walks it off - all within 30 seconds so
he can get back to catching his gator.
From gator-pouncing to corky personali-
ties, "Gator 911" has everythingviewers would
want from a thrill-seeking program. Because
of Saurage's unlimited bravery, someone's got
to wonder if he does this show because he loves
his gators or if he's just showing off. And simi-
lar to the deceased Irwin, everyone watching
the show is wondering how long until Saurage
and crew get an arm or a leg chomped off by a
pissy alligator.
SHARON
From Page 5
everytoolused bythe Kingsisvin-
tage, and it's not hard to believe.
"The Game Gets Old" opens
the album with some blaxploita-
tion horns before it drops into
crisp Stax soul, leading smoothly
into the schizophrenic "I Learned
the Hard Way," a song so tight
you wish it would loosen up. The
remaining 10 songs cover a lot of
ground, from the eerily timely
"Money" to the slinky doo-wop
of "If You Call" and instrumental
burner "The Reason."
Third track "Better Things"
is a clear highlight. Sounding
like a lost Motown classic, with a
bouncing, rhythmic guitar chug,
handclaps and a little electric
piano, Jones proclaims "I'm a bet-
ter woman than I have been" and
shouts "I got better things to do!"
as a bass riff and horn section play
cat and mouse. There is an ease to
the band's playing here, and great
vocals by Jones ice the cake.
But when it comes down to it,
FARM
From Page 5
School of Art & Design, worked as
the costume director for "Animal
Farm," and worked with King dur-
ing her freshman year in an East
Quad production of "Girl in the
Goldfish Bowl."
"I had to collaborate with Lou to
see what his vision was and made
the costumes using trash basically,"
Murray said. "It's kind of puppetry
based; most of the animals are
removed from the actor that is play-
ing them. It was really exciting see-
ing the costumes I worked on for so
long be worn by the cast members."
"Animal Farm" will be set in the
Providence-inspired tent city, the
trash being the only provisions for
the animals' survival.
"Aside from just being a junk-
there's just a crucial lack of the
most important thing of all on
Way, and that's soul. For all of
the band's immaculate play and
arrangements, everything feels
self-conscious and controlled. In
all of the impressive saxophone,
guitar and drum solos, there isn't
a single unhinged feeling of joy, or
the illicit sensation of funk. Jones
is a terrifically talented vocalist
with great pipes and character,
but the most appropriate word to
describe her seems to be "flex-
ible;" she can croon, wail and
testify when the songs call for it,
but seldom do you feel that she is
truly letting it all go. Her voice
is about as characteristic as the
Kings's tunes themselves: evoca-
tive, well-played and written, but
ultimately trapped by the group's
aspirations.
I Learned the Hard Way is
worth a listen for any soul fan, no
doubt, but don't expect anything
game-changing. Sharon Jones &
The Dap-Kings are talented, and
a dynamite live act. Album-wise,
the songs are good and occasion-
ally great, but they're not replac-
ing The Payback anytime soon.
yard, we also have a large wind-
mill structure that will extend into
the grid of Studio One, and the play
will be more a part of the audience
instead of them just facing the
stage," King added.
Through working on "Ani-
mal Farm," King has been able
to explore a new area of theater,
encourage the actors and design-
ers to reach their full potentials
and create a balance between the
political and artistic aspects of the
performance. He also expressed a
correlation between the produc-
tion's theme and the interactions
involving the homeless in the U.S.
"The treatment of homeless
people in America is correlated
with the animals in the play," King
said. "Just walk down State Street,
you ignore and avoid the homeless.
It's dehumanizing, and these ani-
mals are dehumanized individuals
as well."
In the world of reality TV, unfortunately, it's
hard to be innovative these days, and alliga-
tor wrangling is definitely nothing new. When
Irwin first appeared on the scene, his show was
exciting and original. But while "Gator 911"
may not be ground-breaking at this point, the
thrill of the catch is still there. These are still
wild animals, and the threat of being seriously
hurt is always apparent, which is admittedly
entertaining, if in a sadistic way. Viewers will
watch in amazement as the crew searches out
and then continues to catch alligators like it's
no big deal.
But the amount of knowledge Saurage has Best orgy ever.