What I Did on My Xmas Va-ca

[Lost Weekend] We actually got a couple of days off here at City Weekly for Xmas--of course, we had to pile in twice as much work ahead of time and we're now behind for next week, but who's complaining? Never mind. Here's how I spent my holly-jolly weekend:

Friday: Early evening, I went to SLUG's Death By Salt III album release (vinyl + digital download, both extremes covered). It was freezing outside, but Eagle Twin just sounds better from a distance. Then came Terrence DH's latest power trio, Danger Hailstorm, with some vintage '90s power rawk--vintage, as in technically competent. Then some homeless kids grabbed instruments and began bashing away like Ritalin-deprived monkeys ... oh, there were a featured band? Anyway ...

Then it was off to the debut of the Voodoo Darlings Burlesque troupe at the Wood Shed. The joint was jammed wall-to-wall, most maybe expecting a more sexed-up show than what they got: a somewhat musical-theater-y version of a burlesque show, with dancing and singing from a small group of women backed by a live band. More subtle and artsy than SLC's best-known troupe, the Slippery Kittens, but just as entertaining--and different enough to stave off any territorial catfights. Yeah, sorry.

Saturday: Plan-B Theatre Company's well-marketed Gutenberg! The Musical! is as funny as you've heard--and intimate. They don't stress that it's in Rose Wagner's Black Box Theatre, which is just as well: walking into the small dark room puts your senses off just enough to take in a musical about the inventor of the printing press, performed by just two men and several dozen character-defining ballcaps. I stared at two caps, "Rats" and "Feces," all night wondering how the hell are those coming into play? They did, and quite musically. See Gutenberg! before it ends this weekend, trust me.

Sunday: Wrapping presents and drinking. Multitasking.

Monday: Drinking, admiring wrapped presents, watching Bad Santa on a loop.

Tuesday: Xmas brunch and playing Wii Bowling, followed by Wii Snowboarding. I'd rather bowl for real, but did appreciate staying out of actual snow.

Then it was off to the Regency Theater for the opening day of Juno, the new indie "it" comedy of the season. It lives up to the hype and then some, but the Regency didn't seem to be expecting actual patrons on Xmas; maybe one employee runs back and forth between the concessions and the projector, couldn't tell. Go see Juno, though--don't waste your money on shit about zombies and chipmunks (if only they could combine the two ...). (Bill Frost)