Concert Report from CT

from the Ny Concert Examiner (Lorraine Schwartz):

Before Kathy Griffin took the stage at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, CT on Sunday night, her fans were treated to a playlist full of the queens of pop. Pink's "So What", Christina's "Keeps Gettin' Better", and Beyonce's "Single Ladies" were among the selections.

But it wasn't a diva anthem that she chose for her grand entrance. After a clip reel played highlights of Griffin's professional accomplishments, including work with very A-List people (Jerry Seinfeld on "Seinfeld", Will Smith on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air", Eminem in the music video for "The Real Slim Shady", Quentin Tarantino in "Pulp Fiction"), the dancing D-Lister came bounding out to the joyous Jacksons hit "Can You Feel It."

Kathy, dressed in an all black outfit that made her Farrah Fawcett-like mane of red hair pop off the stage, began her show by exclaiming her love for the random location she was playing that night: "We're not Hartford! We're not Windsor! We're WALLINGFORD!" She also got a kick out of celebrating the fact that the 5,000 seat venue is located steps away from a Scrubbin' Bubbles Car Wash, reinforcing the small town image.

Before moving forward with her set, she wanted to get a feel for the climate of the room by taking a census of the gay vs. straight balance in the crowd. Knowing her demographics lean towards the gay population, she joked that the few straight men present would most likely nap while she ranted on about the hot pop culture topics of the moment: The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Jon & Kate Plus 8, and Miley Cyrus' headline-making stripper pole dance at a children's awards program.

But really, it doesn't matter if you're gay or straight. As long as you're remotely aware of the Hollywood/political gossip of the day, you'll be able to stay with Griffin throughout her set without getting bored. If you're familiar with the ridiculousness that was the Sarah Palin-manufactured feud with David Letterman, Michael Vick's dogfight scandal, Oprah's friendship with WFSB-alum Gayle King, or a celebrity's need to encourage the public to follow their diet routine, you'll enjoy an evening with Ms.Griffin. By the way, Kathy's own personal trick to staying thin? Get ready. The secret is: "I don't eat as much as I like. I'm hungry ALL the TIME." Then she sarcastically advised to make sure we drink a lot of water in conjunction with that plan and wished us luck, should we try the method of self-restraint she follows.

Much to Kathy's chagrin, no one in the crowd happened upon her show by accident, like say a season ticket holder who just wanted to see her perform out of Sunday night boredom. Everyone there was right there with her the whole time and showed no signs of being offended by her material. I don't get the sense she would ever apologize for her sometimes harsh words even if she did rub someone the wrong way. After dropping a particularly provocative comment, for example implying one of the 8 Gosselin children might be showing early signs of being gay, she would then take a sip of her water while giving a sweet, smiling, innocent school-girl wave as if she couldn't be happier to offend.

My favorite story was getting Griffin's behind-the-scenes inside scoop on her surprise date to the Teen Choice Awards, Bristol Palin's ex-boyfriend and baby-daddy Levi Johnston. Since Kathy is known for her unrelenting honesty and fearlessness when it comes to calling celebrities out on their insane behaviors, I trusted her presentation of the 19 yr old. From her description, he came across as being a simple Alaskan boy trying to make the most of his moment in the spotlight. But not so simple that he doesn't understand that his words could help take down one of the most talked about politicians in recent memory by telling some not-so-nice behind-the-scenes stories of his own.

It's Kathy's ability to hilariously and honestly recount her own experiences with the celebrities we all want to know so much about, and that she herself is fascinated with, that make her worth the ticket price. We're all sick of being told by the media who to pay attention to and who we should think is amazingly important to our daily life. We love someone on the other side of the smoke and mirrors who isn't afraid to just come out and admit that yes, Jon Gosselin and his Ed Hardy wardrobe explosion is just silly, or that Gwyneth Paltrow's ego is a bit on the annoying side. Kathy will always be there for the public to remind us that we are not crazy for getting irritated with celebrity culture. And, that we're not crazy for being interested in all of it either.

As for what's next on Kathy's agenda, it's controversial pop star Chris Brown. Kathy is looking forward to his interview on Larry King this Wednesday, because she "cannot wait for what that f***ing a**hole has to say." And I can't wait to see what SHE has to say about HIM!