From country to crooners, Wilbraham’s free Fountain Park concert series springs nocturnal, offering all of this and more on Thursdays 6:30-8 p.m.
Kicking things off June 25 are Margaritaville-inspired Buffett mimics Changes In Latitudes. Country rockers Whiskey & Rye (July 2), hip-hop’s West End Blend (July 9) and the Valley’s own Jimmy Mazz (July 16) carry the torch throughout the month. Circuit veterans The Cartells (July 23) and retro-rock queens The Glamour Girls (July 30) round things out. Food is available on-site for all Fountain Park Summer Series shows or concertgoers are invited to bring their own picnic.
As alluded to in an earlier installment, The Crawler caught up with Mindfreak magician Criss Angel during a recent promotional stop to unveil his new Supernaturalists show, debuting June 25 at Foxwoods. Here’s some of what went down during the exclusive interview.
Crawler: Tell me, how and when did you come up with the concept of gathering all these performers? Sort of reminds me of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Now You See Me.
Angel: I totally agree with your assessment. I’ve actually had the idea to do this since 2005, when my career went beyond my wildest dreams and I realized there was only one of me and all this demand. I wanted to spread the magic and reinvent the way it was delivered. But I never rush things, or want to come out with something half-baked, so I allowed the idea to evolve and was finally in a position with my new relationship with Cirque [du Soleil] to make it happen.
You’re a Long Island native now living in Vegas. And I do realize you have tourists in the audience from all over the world. But in general, is there a big difference between shows with East Coasters versus West Coasters? I would think we are more cynical and less patient.
Honestly, I just came off a little tour, and everywhere you play is different every night. In fact, it is a fact that the group of people there to see you any given night will never all be in the same room again. So unlike some out here, we don’t use teleprompters and allow the energy in the room to dictate the pace of the show.
Vegas has a rich history of what I guess you’d call classic magicians. In the movie Burt Wonderstone, Jim Carrey’s character parodies you, and the old guard is appalled by the new kid. Are you being welcomed by the Copperfields and Siegfrieds out there or getting attitude like the movie?
Well, first I have to say that movie was so unfortunate, because it could have given the magic industry a good shot in the arm if it was done right. But hey, it’s always an honor to have Jim Carrey parody you, right? I don’t mean to blow my own horn, but the truth is — and you can look all this up — my show at the Luxor brought in $150 million last year and is the most popular live magic show in history. I have single Youtube videos which have more views than all of David Copperfield, David Blaine, Penn & Teller, Doug Henning, and Harry Houdini combined. These sort of things put a big target on my back. And I get that. So I don’t worry about yesterday or what anyone thinks of me today, I just strive to push myself to new levels tomorrow and never believe my own hype.•
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
