EstroFest was a blast, I
tell ya. You know, I go to these things hoping with
all my might to laugh, to be taken out of the doldrums of my day, and allowed
to view the world askew for a few. Well, the gals and one dude (as a guest) in EstroFest did not let me down as I — and the sold-out crowd
at Blackfriars — snorted, guffawed, chortled, busted
up, cracked up, and laughed our heads off for the ensemble’s hour-long show. It
was skits punctuated by short films without irreverence. Thankfully they didn’t
avoid working the blue side of the street, and for that, I love them.
That’s it for EstroFest’s run
during this year’s Fringe. You can find more about the group at estrofestlaughs.com.
On my way to Bernunzio Uptown
Music, two Jesus jumpers gave me a tidbit of news. Apparently Jesus is planning
to stage a comeback. Not wanting to start any trouble, I pointed out that
perhaps Jesus might want to hire a security detail — we all know what happened
last time he was here.
That’s right, call me a heathen. There were tons more
heathens at “What If Everyone in Rochester Wrote The
Same Song? — You’ll Thank Me Later.” What a genius
concept. Artists of all stripes tackled the song with equal parts irreverence
and clever. Ken Columbo played with the “You”/ “Yul”
homonym, Jeff Spevak celebrated busted up romance,
Suzie Willpower and Connie Demming both brought down
the house with their vocal beauty, and the mighty Dick Storms blew the lid off
the joint with a tent revival hoe down — and there were a few failed attempts
at a conga line by yours truly. It was a great event and hell, I’mgonna thank ’em right now … thank ye!
The Campbell Brothers was smoking the main stage as I walked
back to my car. The band was bumpin’ and bellowing
the bluesy gospel slide and warning me not to let the devil ride. Too late
boys, too late.
“You’ll Thank Me Later” will be performed again Saturday,
September 24, at Bernunzio Uptown Music. 7:30 p.m.
$15. Appropriate for ages 13 and up.
This article appears in Sep 21-27, 2016.
