Wednesday, January 09, 2008

K&N Gold Unit 2008 #2


IMG_3915, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Whoever runs this show must be delighted to be rid of that Kaleideoscape entryway.
Also note that there are so many musicians it takes two band stands to accommodate them all.

Posted by Buckles at 1/09/2008 06:14:00 AM

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Note the 2 security gaurds on hand to protect the musicians from a sudden rush of crazed autograph seeking fans.

09 January, 2008 06:40
Raffaele De Ritis said...

I'm happy that the Kaleidoscape set is away. I consider this set one of the most beautiful things I conceived in my life, and the first time I saw it on the "gold" program, without the context, lighting and atmosphere it was created for...well, I confess I didn't slept the following night for the sadness.

09 January, 2008 10:07
Anonymous said...

This would make a real nice high school show. Brought to you bye the althletic boosters finding new to raise money for Cupholders.

Adam

09 January, 2008 11:35
Anonymous said...

Ouch. Dare I say it? I really like like the Gold for what it is. Not the GSOE, but currently a better circus with higher production values than a place like Lake Placid, NY is going to see very often. I will grant that there some slight of hand involved when it's marketed as a new flavor of the GSOE. I thought the differentiation is better when it was still called Hometown. But isn't that exactly the same kind of slight of hand that Barnum used so effectively in his museum? Haven't circus owner been overselling what's actually inside the tent as far back as the tent itself? If the show was called Circus Feld would that make anybody happier... or would that just lead to complaints that Mr. Feld or Ms. Feld were discarding the RBBB name? Credit where credit is due. Sure they only carry two elephants, but that's two more than some very good show we all like, BAC included. They have a cage act, something only a few tent shows can claim these days. They have live music, and you aren't going to run out of fingers counting the number of real circuses packing up and touring and doing that anymore. The Gold may not be a show that traditionalists are ever going to love, but at the very least it deserves a "pass."

09 January, 2008 12:20
Buckles said...

Maybe I should have mentioned that Mr. Cole and myself agreed that overall there is probably more entertainment value in this show than the Blue.
That being said, I don't think Al Ringling would be overjoyed having his name attached to either.

09 January, 2008 12:31
Anonymous said...

A blackout curtain larger than the portal? Portal is the Ringling3generation term for backdoor.

A portal---or on a small show a porta-let.

The flash and spectacle is now just a black drape. Isn't a black drape associated with a death of something near and dear to our hearts?

09 January, 2008 12:37
Eric said...

Take away the Ringling name and I rather suspect that you would also take away much of the audience, many of whom are no doubt expecting to see a performance on a par with those offered in the 1970s or earlier. As someone once pointed out on this blog, most other forms of live entertainment (professional sports, Disneyland, etc.)are today bigger and better than ever, while the GSOE continues to wither away.

09 January, 2008 13:20
Anonymous said...

as much as we all love to point fingers at ringling, and it's very true that ringling seems to just get smaller and smaller as the acts become less and less outstanding, there's another side nobody seems to acknowledge, though ben noted it in his comments. Each ringling unit still offers a superior performance to other shows (evansville is the exception) but we have other shows that were once mighty that have downsized to almost nothing. we have no more big top giants; the giants would have been playing towns of 10,000 a few years ago. Yet nobody seems to complain very loudly. i'm as guilty as everyone else, but if you compare down-sized shows, other shows, more popular with fans and those in the business, aren't even shadows of themselves. ringling has fewer elephants than beatty-cole or carson-barnes had inthe not too distant past, but i think they may be the only show touring on a regular basis with 3 rings of elephants. i'm not praising ringling for down-sizing, i just think many of us apply extremely different standards, even with the expectation that ringling be bigger, better and grander than ever.

09 January, 2008 16:18
Anonymous said...

With the addition of the tigers and Patricia presenting the elephants, this show could very easily be turned into something quite nice. A better backdrop and floor and some Don Foote type wardrobe could really make it sparkle. They should take away the GSOE subtitle though.

Websters defines the word 'greatest' as

notably large in size : huge b: of a kind characterized by relative largeness —
2 a: large in number or measure : numerous
3: remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness
4: full of emotion
5 a: eminent distinguished aristocratic grand
9: markedly superior in character or quality; especially : noble
10 a: remarkably skilled

So, though Gold has the potential to be good, I don't think 'greatest' quite fits, especially once you add the 'on earth' part.

09 January, 2008 17:50
Anonymous said...

If you will notice the keyboards, with all their electronics and the trumpet player with a mute in his horn, I wonder what kind of sound this live? band can produce. Chuck Schlarbaum could produce music to fill any big top with great sound, using only 8 musicians and NO AMPLIFIERS!
Bob Kitto

09 January, 2008 19:36
Bob Cline said...

My Biggest complaint on the last tour ( and I DID enjoy the show overall but have not seen it since Patty Zerbini joined ) was after opening the show almost immediately with Sylvia Zerbini's horse / lyre act, everything else in the show, no matter how entertaining, couldn't keep up with the skill, grace and professionalism that Sylvia's act offered. Closing the show with the teeterboard act and finale just left you empty for a conclusion. I know that seems like I'm dismissing every other act and that's not what I'm trying to say. The acts were all good, it's just that Sylvia's act was so much better that it should have been the closing act instead.

Now that I've ran my mouth, did someone say that Sylvia has left or will be leaving to go to Big Apple?
Bob

10 January, 2008 17:28
Anonymous said...

big apple opens in va in sept after a dress rehearsal in ny....it's apple harvest time in that part of the country-------would you like yours ala mode?

sylvia's steeds heading there from chit chat amongst the kinkers.

10 January, 2008 19:43
Anonymous said...

A good horse act, a flying trapeze, and cutting about 50% of the clown / ringmaster dialoug would make this a truly great show.

The aerial cloud swing, and the tiger act were outstanding. There were some other good acts also. The day I saw the show the high wire act was only two persons, one was out of the show for some reason. The revolving wheel act did not work either. The bow and arrow act was good, but it took less time to set up the tiger cage than it did to set the props for his final trick. The French bicycle comedian was a good night club act, but on this circus he seemed more Chinese than French... On Tu Long.

Jimmy Cole

11 January, 2008 07:23

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