Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Theatrical "Doors" Tribute to Kris Kristopherson

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(4-14-09) Tonight a beam in the blue sky - Actor, Poet, Rhodes Scholar, Singer, Songwriter - the singular Kris Kristopherson - is lively at The Pantages on Father Hennepin Avenue about eight blocks from the first statue in Minneapolis - that of the great 19th Century Norwegian Violinist, Ole Bull...

Pamela Sukham whose nonpareil paintings confirm: "Art reflects the unseen in Nature" paints in peerage of the vocal art of both Elvis & Ole (The Violin imitates singing without Operatic constraint) in the aura of the building tonight...

(4-15-09) So; last night I went down to the Pantages where Kris was performing, to suggest that we use a gag shot taken at the hotel location for 1976's "A Star is Born" as a promo for ethanol. I knew that Kris favors clean air and is as smart as they come...

When I got there, the marquee was brilliant orange and others - The colors of nearby Anoka, Minnesota,"The Halloween Capital Of The World" - There was a light wind and the crowd of cigarette smokers on the sidewalk puffed - away. I caught a whiff of a strange odor - close to burning tires - that I didn't quite recognize. The sign was not noticeably smouldering. (Sure, I glanced around at some smokers hands.) A janitor was pouring a bucket of water into a large plastic street trash can by the curb to the left of the lobby entrance...

Somebody's cigarette in the trash may have caused the smell. The crowd went in and the performance began. After nearly an hour(?); the crowd of loyal smokers came back out, but the odd smell did not recur...

I'd given the Theater Manager, William, the 1976 photo Gag-shot of Kris and I, taken between takes on "A Star Is Born ", with a notation on the back, to take backstage to Kris, which he had; and sat on a sidewalk concrete treebox and watched the humorous variety of ticket scalpers dancing the doubly-diminishing Scalper's Dance.
'Early-on, one couple had made a small notesign offering a hundred and fifty dollars each for two tickets; after looking at another couple with a well-made sign offering "2x" for a pair of the $48.00 tickets - but getting no action for at least twenty minutes. The "150" folks, after about five minutes, bought two for $150 each from another couple, who then walked- off towards the E-Block Movie Theater...

Suddenly a large Chief Usher came out of the theater walking straight at me, then turned, standing alongside where I was seated on a corner of low cold concrete, and looked-up. I looked-up too and saw a three-foot firebrand on the front side of the tall old "Pantages sign.

I found my fingers and grabbed the 35mm camera hanging around my neck ( in case Kris would allow a 34-year - comparative "update" of the gag-shot from the location of "A Star Is Born"), and got it opened- -and-up just before the electricity to the sign was shut-off.

Theater people were outside looking up. I took a few pictures (Kris was inside- onstage paying homage to great stars Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and a dozen others. )
It occurred to me when folks coming out for a quick smoke told me about the Tribute that perhaps some spirit like Jim Morrison and The Doors with a "Light My Fire" and/or others were saluting Kris by underscoring how hot his performance was -'Talk about a Return-Riff!!

Then a 20-something sleek-looking kid w/black pants and long-sleeved white shirt open at the collar without a tie came - in fast, holding up three tickets. Two ladies stepped up and he said "Twenty each" and they took two and he turned to me a few feet away ( looking dismal with three bucks in my pocket) and handed me the third ticket, saying: "It's all you, Man!" and left as fast as he'd come.
I got in to where everybody was flashing their cells at Kris onstage, and if you've heard that the evening was great, then youve heard an understatement...

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I Think Kris will be a powerhouse for a long time because the Harvard Medical School says that the human lifespan is 120 years and he's a really good student...

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