We Got Our Butts Kicked.

OK my loyal and faithful readers, let’s get right to it==>last night the Boston F**ksox kicked Yankee butt, winning 4-0 behind brilliant pitching from Josh Beckett, who went 8 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 10.

CC gave up only 1 run in 5 2/3 innings but Joba sucked, giving up 2 runs in relief. The Yankee batters were zombie-like at best.

This morning’s headlines were not kind ...

Yankees End With Egg On Their Ace - Daily News

Yanks Blanked In Boston - See Vintage Josh - The Post

Beckett Silences Yankees And, For Now, Voices of Worry - NY Times

Barf and double barf says Billi Pod!!

The Yankees have a day off and then return to The Stadium for a 6 game homestand against Baltimore and Texas.

Moving on to ...

Billi Pod’s report card on LOVE SONG==>B+<==interesting storyline and good acting. I liked it and thought it was very funny but also thought-provoking over what is real and what isn’t.

Two of my theater buddies hated it.

I have to report, in the name of fair and unbiased reporting, that CATCH ME IF YOU CAN opened last night to very mixed reviews, which is not a good sign.

One of the posters on All That Chat

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1961985

linked to 16 reviews and concluded the aggregate grade score was ... “C or perhaps even a C-.”

On this errands day it is overcast but much warmer - 56º @ 8:30am.

Tonight I am meeting up with John Scott Reed for dinner and catch-up facetime. A lot is going on in his life right now, and from what I know, it is all very positive.

Oh, I do want to report that for the week ending yesterday it was ...

1 Broadway show (The House of Blue Leaves);

2 Off-Broadway shows;

2 New York Philharmonic concerts, including “Company;”

1 movie; and

2 Yankee games (1-1).

Not bad, not bad at all, IMHO, but I only report - you loyal and faithful readers decide.

Depending on how the errands go I might catch a movie this afternoon, probably WIN WIN, about an attorney who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>Take That Boston SlimeSoxs!!

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers.

Oh Yes, the 9-4 pounding the Yankees gave the Boston F**kSox (now 1-7) yesterday in that dung heap known as Fenway Park was nice!!

The final game of the series is tonight at 8:05pm on ESPN, meaning it will last forever and forever. Our ace CC Sabathia will face their former ace Josh Beckett.

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod's report card on PICKED==>B<==Interesting. Good acting saves a kinda iffy story line.

It is a bit too long and could use some trimming. In the cast is Donna Hanover, former-Mayor Rudy Giuliani's ex-wife. She does a serviceable job in a minor role.

Bottom-line==>It is worth seeing.

Noonish today will meet up with Dwight & Joanne Wells and our mutual friend Bruce Young for lunch somewhere in the Upper Westside.

Then, the day’s entertainment event ...

3:00==>LOVE SONG - “Beane is an exile from life - an oddball. His well-meaning sister and brother-in-law try to make time for him in their busy lives, but no one can get through. Following a burglary on Beane's apartment, sister is baffled to find her brother blissfully happy and tries to unravel the story behind his mysterious new love.” (Off-Broadway - complimentary ticket)

I think this sounds interesting.

Billi Pod will, of course, stay in tonight to watch the YANKEES/F**KSOX game and will sometime during the game grill a steak on his George Foreman grill.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod’s Report Card On “Company”

OK, my loyal and faithful readers out there in the vast hinterlands, let’s start off this bright and brisk Saturday morning in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, with Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s awesome entertainment event ...

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert version of “Company”==>A<==as in ... tada ... Awesome!! It was a stellar performance led by Neil Patrick Harris, who was very likable in the lead role of Bobby.

The supporting cast of Craig Bierko, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Patti LuPone and Martha Plimpton was excellent and the show went on without a glitch, which was in itself amazing considering the lack of rehearsal time.

And, as was expected, the highlight of the evening for me was Patti LuPone’s belting of "The Ladies Who Lunch," which got the loudest and longest ovation of the entire evening.

Bottom-line - Billi Pod left Avery Fisher Hall with a happy smile on his face after a fun evening.

But the Yankees losing earlier 6-9 to the F**kSox at fetid Fenway Park==>not fun, not by a longshot.

Phil Hughes had his second miserable start of the season. His performance was akin to what he did during the last month of last season. Yes, I know it is early but the Yankees have every right to be concerned about their #3 starter.

This is what the local papers headlined ...

“P. HUGH! Phil stinks again as Sox win first”- NY Post

“PITI-PHIL. Hughes’ fastball still missing as Red Sox hammer Yanks” - Daily News

Yeah, I know, this can be a tough town, particularly if you don’t live up to expectations, which are always very high in The Big Apple, regardless of the circumstances.

Billi Pod will, of course, watch game 2 @ 1:10pm this afternoon. Ivan Nova will be on the mound for his second start. He won his first.

Then tonight’s entertainment event is ...

8:00==>PICKED - “chronicles a young actor who prepares for his life to change when a legendary director casts him as the lead in a big-budget Hollywood movie. But he is not prepared for what comes next, and everything he thinks he knows about himself will be called into question as he discovers what it really means to be "picked." (Off-Broadway - discounted TDF ticket)

Sounds very interesting, doesn’t it?

Have a great weekend everyone.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>Bring It On RedSux!!

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers. Well, my Yankees beat the Twins yesterday afternoon 4-3 in frigid weather at the stadium. Even though they announced that the “official” attendance was 41,512 the stadium looked eerily empty. And, yes, it was unpleasantly cold and windy.

Loser Boi aka AJ Burnett got his second win of the young season, going 5 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits.

We head up to Boston for our 3-game series with the putrid F**kSox, who are now 0-6, their worst starting record since 1945. Awwwwwwwwww. Billi Pod’s weekend will be in the cozy confines of PHC to watch each game. GO YANKEES!!

Last night finally saw PAUL, a hilarious movie about two British comic-book geeks traveling across the the US who encounter an alien outside Area 51. The alien leads them on a zany road trip.

It is raunchy, rude and raucous. Just the kind of movie that Billi Pod craves. Loved it. Need risqué humor and belly-laughs? See it. If not, stay far far away.

As mentioned above, this afternoon I will stay in to watch the 2:05 Yankees/RedSux game.

Tonight's entertainment event is going to be awesome ...

8:00==>NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA @ Avery Fisher Hall - a highly anticipated concert version of Stephen Sondheim’s classic “Company,” about Bobby, a single 35 year old New Yorker who spends his time observing the relationships of his married, engaged and divorced friends. (full price ticket)

Neil Patrick Harris stars in the role of Bobby and he is joined by a stellar cast including Craig Bierko, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Patti LuPone and Martha Plimpton.

I absolutely adore the music from this show but I think the book is just so-so. I can hardly wait to hear Patti LuPone belt out “Here’s To The Ladies Who Lunch.” Oh, yes!!

Hope everyone out there in the vast hinterlands has a great weekend.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod’s Report Card On The NY Philharmonic Concert.

Let’s start off this overcast morning with Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA concert presentation of “The Thomashefskys - Music and Memories of a Life in Yiddish Theater”==>A.

As I posted yesterday, the Tomashefskys were the grandparents of the evening’s conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, and he narrated the program, which was a semi-staged production with 4 performers. The Philharmonic was reduced in size in order to sound like a Yiddish theater pit band.

At almost 3 hours, with one intermission, it was a bit long but it was a hugely entertaining and educational evening. Kudos to everyone.

Today’s entertainment event is ...

1:05==>YANKEES vs TWINS with AJ Burnett aka Loser Boi making his second start.

Interestingly, Loser Boi is 6-0 in April starts since becoming a Yankee. It is in the latter part of the season that he tanks, or at least has in the past.

It will be in the low 50s but no rain is forecast - please God, let it be so!! Last night’s game was rained-out.

Friday the Yankees head to Boston for a 3 game series against The Boston F**kSox, the consensus front-runner in the AL East, who have ... oooooooooooops ... started the season 0-5, their worst start in 15 years. Poor guys. God, Billi Pod feels soooooooooooooooo sorry for them - NOT!!

Not sure what, if anything, I will do for this evening after the game. I might take in a movie, either Win Win or Paul.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Yankee Stadium 4/5/11==>VOMIT!!

So here I am in Yankee Stadium and it is very windy and very cold at the top of the 8th inning. The Yankees have a comfortable 4-0 lead as a result of a stellar 2-hit performance by our ace CC Sabathia

Thoughts of leaving early swirl through my head, bolstered by the fact that none of my usual buds are at this game. I mean, what could go wrong, right? I mean, Rafael Soriano is coming in for the 8th and then Mo for the 9th. Case closed, game over ... right?

WRONG!! I decide to stay on and the bullpen implodes, giving up 4 runs in the top of the 8th to tie the game and then Yankee bats go dead. Well, thought I, at least I will be here when we win in extra innings ... right?

WRONG!! The Twins score a run in the top of the 10th and the Yankees go down meekly in the bottom of the inning, losing 4-5, and those of us loyal and faithful fans who braved the elements are stunned, cold, and extremely pissed off.

Billi Pod was not a happy camper when he finally got back to PHC around 11:30pm. Oh well ...

It is bright and cold this morning in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World - 38º at 8:30am.

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for tonight is ...

7:30==>NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA @ Avery Fisher Hall. The program is: “The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in Yiddish Theater. Guest conductor and host Michael Tilson Thomas tells the poignant and funny real-life story of Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, who – besides being superstars of the Yiddish Theater on the Lower East Side of 100 years ago – were his beloved grandparents.” (subscription series).

Certainly sounds interesting and different, doesn’t it.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Reviews House of Blue Leaves.

OK my loyal and faithful readers, let’s start off with Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES==>B. Edie Falco A; Ben Stiller B; and, Jennifer Jason Leigh D.

The story line==>WTF?<== because it shifts moods and styles so often. One minute it's farce, another a situation comedy, still another a satirical take on America's love of celebrity, and then another, a domestic tragedy.

Yes, the laughs are there, but ultimately I think most people will be a little taken off guard when farce gives way to extreme tragedy. But, I guess, this is exactly what the playwright John Guare wants.

Worth seeing? Yeah.

Oh, and I have to add about my TDF seat in the mezzanine @ Walter Kerr Theatre==>F-. Cramped, tight and very unpleasant. The theater owners should be required to sit in one of these seats for, say, 4 hours, at least once a week. Bet that would bring about some changes ASAP.

Oh, and thanks for the stream of emails and texts about my basketball prediction for last night. Billi Pod was wrong, OK? Now chill ...

My dear friends Dwight and Joanne Wells are in town for several days and I am really looking forward to being with them.

Tonight’s entertainment event is ...

7:05==>YANKEES vs. MINNESOTA TWINS. Ace CC Sabathia will be on the mound. Cold and windy weather is predicted. Will have my gloves this time.

Interesting early season stat/fact -- at last night’s game against the Twins, which the Yankees won 4-3, the attendance was 40,331, the smallest crowd ever in the new Yankee Stadium. The “official” capacity is 50,291. Empty seats were in every section of the stadium.

Which leads Billi Pod to ask the question: “When will the Yankee brass admit they made a serious error in pricing the seats in the new stadium?” Face it guys, you screwed up. Now admit it and bring down the prices and fill those seats, giving credits to existing seat holders for next season.

Hey Transport Boi==>don’t forget that you and your guys are to pick me up at 5:30pm for the trip to The Bronx. The game should be over around 10:00pm. Oh, please remember to pack the earmuffs this time because on Sunday the sirens to and from the game got mighty annoying. Don’t be late!!!

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>March 2011 Was AWESOME!!

OK, my loyal and faithful readers here are Billi Pod’s awesome entertainment stats for March 2011 --

In checking my daily log (log, not diary - real guys don’t keep diaries) I find that during the month of March 2011 Billi Pod did/saw/attended the following --

11 Broadway shows (Rain - A Tribute to Beatles on Broadway; Arcadia; Million Dollar Quartet; How To Succeed At Business Without Really Trying; Priscilla Queen Of The Desert; The Book Of Mormon; The Motherf**ker With The Hat; Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo; Wonderland; Catch Me If You Can; and, Born Yesterday); 22 Off Broadway shows; 8 Classical music concerts (3 with the New York Philharmonic); and, 1 Yankee baseball game (Opening Day).

Yep, that is 43 entertainment events in 31 days. Included in the above are an awesome 12, yes, 12 entertainment doubleheader days.

Other highlights for the month were:

On March 18th I celebrated my 21st AA birthday; renewed my lease on PHC for 2 years, beginning June 1, 2011; visited Ben Sears and Justin Pifer in Bushwick in the outer borough of Brooklyn; and had face time with: John Scott Reed and his friends Rachel Newell and Remoy Philip; and, John McDaniel.

In summary, for the month Billi Pod attended some entertainment event every day/night in the month despite the nasty month-long weather ==>f-ing AWESOME, IMHO, but then ...

I only report - you decide.

On to other things and stuff --

Yankees pitching tanked yesterday in the 7-10 loss to the Tigers. Weather was better but still very cold and windy. I stayed 'til the bitter end, of course. In the 7th inning I left my seat, which was in the shade the whole game, and stood in the right field bleacher area, in the sun, for the remainder of the game. How was I able to do this for this game and not for Opening Day? Well, because none of my regular buds were at this game.

You know an insane stat? At the beginning of this season, starting with March 31 thru April 30, the Yankees have 19 home games, or 23% of their season games at the stadium, and this at a time when the weather is at its worst. WTF MLB?

Billi Pod’s basketball prediction==>Butler wins 86-82. Do I care? Not really. I will only watch the last 5 minutes of the game, which starts at the ridiculous time of 9:30pm.

Today will be my usual errands and stuff and then tonight’s entertainment event ..

8:00==>HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES - “A dark comedy about American dreamers in Sunnyside, Queens. The play takes place in 1965, on the day Pope Paul VI visited New York City, and features nuns, a political bombing, a GI headed for Vietnam, a zookeeper who dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a songwriter, his schizophrenic wife and his girlfriend.” (Broadway - discounted TDF ticket).

Starring are Ben Stiller and Edie Falco. This is the first preview performance. It is scheduled for a limited 16 week run, and, of course, has the dreaded phrase “dark comedy.”

OK, now it’s time to begin doing things and stuff so ...

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>A Big Apple Good Morning!

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers. It is bright, cold & windy - 43º @ 8:00am in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

Billi Pod is happy to report that AJ Burnett aka Loser Boi pitched 5 decent innings in yesterday’s 10-6 win over the Tigers and Teixeira hit another bomb-blast 3 run homer.

And speaking of sports - who would have thought that UConn and Butler would be playing for the NCAA Championship on Monday night? Certainly not moi.

Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s JERUSALEM==>B-<==a rather incomprehensible story line is saved by a stellar performance from Mark Rylance.

I had extreme difficulty understanding the northern England accents for the first 15 minutes but then my mental translator kicked in and things got much better.

The show is 3 hours long with one intermission and one “brief pause.” Is it worth seeing? Yes, but at your own risk.

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for today is ...

1:05==>at Yankee Stadium for YANKEES vs. TIGERS game with Phil Hughes on the mound. Weather much better than Thursday, Thank God.

Sunday marks the end of Billi Pod’s week, so here are the stats for the past 7 days:

3 Broadway shows (Catch Me If You Can; Born Yesterday; and, Jerusalem);

1 Off Broadway show;

2 Classical music concerts;

2 Yankee games (including Opening Day); and

Face time with Scott Reed, Justin Pifer and John McDaniel

WOW!! Not bad, I hope you will agree, and, Billi Pod promises that tomorrow he will post the awesome stats for March.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Interesting Experience At Last Night’s Concert

Last night’s NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC concert was, on reflection, excellent. I say, on reflection, because I really didn’t like Sofia Gubaidulina’s Violin Concerto, performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter, the violinist for whom it was written.

It was 32 minutes of jarring atonal bombast, followed by barely audible murmurings. Having said that -- Mutter was at her usual best. I think a majority of the audience applauded her and not the piece.

The evening started off well with a brief work by Prokofiev and ended on a very high note with Tchaikovsky’s beautiful Symphony No. 2, “Little Russian.”

Had an interesting “extra” experience at the concert. What, you are no doubt breathlessly asking? Well, as I previously posted, this concert was an extra ticket by virtue of being a subscriber and it was located in the rear orchestra, house right.

When I got to my aisle seat I discovered that seated to my left were several rows of well-dressed young people, and immediately Billi Pod’s WTF Alarm went off==>this might be a problem, thought I.

Well, folks, I was 110% wrong. The group (108 kids) was the Hingham High School Band & Orchestra, from Hingham, Massachusetts, a smallish town about 15 miles south of Boston. The group is participating in The Heritage Festival and will perform on Saturday. They couldn't have been more well-behaved and focused.

It was obvious that they were excited about being at a concert in Avery Fisher Hall @ Lincoln Center. Seated to my immediate left were 3 guys: Bass Saxophone, Oboe, and Saxophone. We had an interesting chat before the concert began and during intermission. I gave one of the adults this blog site and told them I would be posting something about their group.

Feeling their excitement and energy helped me leave Avery Fisher Hall with a broad smile on my face.

Today it is bright, sunny and cold==>38º @ 7:30am. When will it ever end? This afternoon I will stay in the warm confines of PHC to watch ...

4:05==>YANKEES vs. TIGERS. AJ Burnett aka Loser Boi will be on the mound, making his first start of the season. A whole lot depends of whether Loser Boi can rebound from his puke-inducing 2010 season. If not, the Yankees could be in deep trouble. We will see ...

Then tonight is ...

8:00==>JERUSALEM - “In the woods of South West England, Johnny Rooster Byron, former daredevil motorcyclist and modern-day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants to be taken to the country fair, a stepfather wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of friends wants his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.” (Broadway - discounted TDF ticket)

This show is in very early previews and stars Tony winner Mark Rylance. In the name of fair and unbiased reporting Billi Pod has to admit that he has a very “iffy” feeling about this show. Again, we will see ...

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Sometime Billi Pod Can Be Plain Dumb!!

OK, in the name of fair and unbiased reporting Billi Pod has to admit that sometimes he does “dumb” things. What am I talking about?

Well, yesterday it was majorly dumb for a soon-to-be 77 year old guy to sit through the 9 innings of freezing weather just to watch a baseball game, even though it was The Opening Game. Yes, the Yankees won 6-3 behind a stellar game offensively and defensively from center-fielder Curtis Granderson, a 3-run homer by Teixeira and 3 scoreless innings from the bullpen.

But the weather was miserable - 37º. It misted rain for the entire time and the wind was howling and I was freezing even though I had all of the proper winter gear ... with the exception of my gloves. My hands were virtually numb from the second inning on.

Now I have to admit that my heart meds make me more susceptible to cold weather, but still ...

Why didn’t I just leave at, say, the 5th inning or at least find a warmer spot somewhere in the stadium? Easy answer ... if I had done that my seat mates and buds would have given me unspeakable grief for the remainder of the season. Not joking, they would have. So Billi Pod stayed in his seat, as did they.

So, yeah ... it was dumb ... but Billi Pod was there from beginning to end in support of his Yankees ... and he feels fine today, so ...

Anyway ... on to other things, like my report card on last night’s BORN YESTERDAY==>B+<==First preview performance. This is why there had been no advance buzz on the show.

It is funny and thought provoking. Dated, yes, but also rather topical in today’s political scene. Jim Belushi is excellent as is the rest of the outstanding cast.

Billi Pods says==>see it.

Tonight’s entertainment event is ...

8:00==>NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA @ Avery Fisher Hall - “Prokofiev’s Overture in B; Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2; and , violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performing a new work by Gubaidulina (who??).” (subscription series complimentary ticket).

I am working on the entertainment stats for March and they are awesome. I honestly think it will be near the top for the number of entertainment events, maybe even in first place. Will probably post the info tomorrow.

BREAKING NEWS==>last night, around 12:30am, I attempted to log onto my favorite Broadway theater website, All That Chat

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/

I received a notification that the site had been purchased by The New York Times and that access to the site would be limited to those who where daily subscribers of The Times. Details would be emailed to us in the morning. OMFG!! Noooooooooo!!

Billi Pod went absolutely ballistic. What a “sellout” but at least I would have free access since I am a daily subscriber to The Times. But there was nothing from them in my email inbox this morning. WTF is going on thought I? I was really upset.

Well, my loyal and faithful readers, I am happy to report that it was all an April Fools Day joke. Needless-to-say, this morning the website is filled with posts from folks like me admitting that we had been 110% duped. Very very funny.

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”