How's this for a party.....AND they didn't invite us....Dagnabit....
(PS...BDWG = Big DoubleWide Grin....)
archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com
Copyright ¸ 2000 The Seattle Times Company
Arts & Entertainment : Friday, June 23, 2000
Experience Music Project
Stars do 'Wild Thing' at private EMP party
by Nicole Brodeur
Seattle Times staff columnist
Try this on for size: Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, VH1 President John Sykes and MTV President Judy McGrath all trying to be rock stars.
"We look like a wedding band with tuxedos on!" Katzenberg said, viewing the frozen image of himself and bandmates playing "Wild Thing" in Experience Music Project's pre-opening gala. They were grooving in the On Stage interactive "arena" that lets anyone - even studio moguls - be a rock band for a screaming virtual crowd.
"Wait until you see how cool we are!" Katzenberg called to the others. "This is one for your office wall!"
These power players can make them and they can break them, but they could only pretend to be famous musicians.
"The only thing I can do with a guitar pick," Spielberg said, "is pick my teeth."
Katzenberg: "I don't know, we ought to go back for an encore."
One has to ask, though: The Fuzzy Snakes?
"That's the name we've been using as a joke on MTV," someone said. "A name we have never heard."
Outside, it was nothing but names. The stars came from all corners, some as far as Europe, for a first look at Paul Allen's dream museum. Most were "special guests," others paid up to $1,000 per ticket to sip champagne, dip shrimp and gape at people they've seen only on album covers.
Ann Wilson of Seattle's own Heart: "Any time there is a shrine built to music, I'm all for it. Music is my religion, and I'm here to worship."
Herbie Hancock: "It's educational, you learn a lot, but you learn by having fun."
Sheryl Crow showed up in a skirt, denim jacket and sandals, and teased Spielberg about his Eureka Police baseball cap.
She praised EMP founder Paul Allen for "letting us all enjoy these things," and saving music history from the auction block.
Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics: "I think it's going to be lovely for Seattle. I wish I lived in Seattle."
Robbie Robertson: "It's pretty amazing. (Allen) has obviously followed his bliss here. It encompasses the vitality of music."
And architect Frank Gehry looked around at the forest of cameras and murmured: "I'm not a movie star."
Still, he was close by when Mayor Paul Schell and artist Dale Chihuly clustered together with Pam Schell.
"Kiss, kiss! Love, love!" one of the women joked.
At the top of the stairs, Bill Gates stood looking slightly puzzled, while his wife, Melinda, chatted with friends. It was his first time in the place. "I haven't gotten around to fully see it," he said.
Nearby, mattress matron Sunny Kobe Cook sipped champagne and glanced over her shoulder.
Gehry's son, Alejandro, 24, said his father didn't say much while EMP was being created.
"He told me about a project in Seattle," the younger Gehry - in full rockabilly regalia - puzzled. "He told me it had something to do with rock 'n' roll. . . . He mentioned Jimi Hendrix."
However cryptic Gehry had been, the secret was out and the champagne was flowing. And soon, the music would begin.
Good music, though.
Not the Fuzzy Snakes kind.
"We have no rhythm," Spielberg said.
No kidding. Copyright ¸ 2000 The Seattle Times Company
Arts & Entertainment : Friday, June 23, 2000
Experience Music Project
EMP: the opening experience
by Patrick MacDonald
Seattle times staff critic
If you've been to Bumbershoot and Bite of Seattle, you have some idea what it will be like today through Sunday at Seattle Center.
The opening of Experience Music Project will probably draw the same kind of crushing crowds, along with the same kind of traffic jams and parking problems. So it's a good idea to plan ahead before you go, and that's what this section is all about.
We've listed the set times for all the free shows and most of the ticketed ones, so you can plan your arrival and departure times. We have a map showing the performance sites. We suggest you use public transit to avoid both driving and parking problems.
It's a historic weekend. Families will bring their kids, telling them they'll be thankful some day when they'll be able to tell their kids, "I was there when it opened." It'll be a multigenerational crowd, ranging from kids just learning the history of rock 'n' roll to those who lived it. Even people who might not like the look of EMP will be there to check out the free music.
The free lineup ranges from rock great Patti Smith and country picker Junior Brown to blues star Taj Mahal and rock pioneer Bo Diddley. One of the prime events is an all-day celebration of classic Northwest rock with Jr. Cadillac, Merrilee Rush, the Ventures, the Dynamics, the Wailers and Paul Revere & the Raiders, topped by the Kingsmen doing "Louie Louie." Contrasting that are a couple of shows of contemporary Northwest rock.
The ticketed shows offer once-in-a-lifetime lineups, the likes of which haven't been seen since the last Woodstock festival. The one tonight with Metallica, Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kid Rock and more is amazing, while tomorrow night's includes a reunion of Eurythmics along with Beck, Matchbox Twenty, Alanis Morissette and No Doubt.
It's not all rock music. There's a DJ/Electronics show with some of the top names in both genres, a jazz show featuring Bill Frisell and Larry Coryell, and a soul show starring James Brown. There's even a performance for children, demonstrating the evolution of percussion.
You can thank Paul Allen for this weekend's celebration. He's paying for all the free concerts, subsidizing the ticketed ones (the revenue won't cover the costs), and built Experience Music Project, which will remain a draw for decades to come.
But its grand opening weekend will happen only once. Don't miss it. |
