'Brute Force' Needed

There are no words to describe the show I just saw in New York City.  In fact, there were no words in the show I just saw in New York City.  It was kind of a perfect New York experience with the chaotic New York feel with a very unique New York style.  If you read nothing more, just go see Fuerzabruta, the best theater you are going to find, anywhere, period.

So since I started with the theater, Ill give you more on that.  So, believe it or not, I heard of this show when I was downloading my shows in England.  I watched a Top Model episode where they had to pose from above in water on this plastic surface looking below.  Cool right?  Now add awesome music, lots of dimensions, and just plain ol' crazy chics smacking at this plastic.  Its pretty nuts.  But let me back up a minute, because thats just what the Top Model episode showed me, and I was hooked, I wanted in.  I had to see the show.  So I look the silly show up and what do you know, they are a Brazilian show who had been to London.  So I look up the dates and times, and nope, no longer there.  Bummer.  So then I see they went to New York!!  At the time I was thinking well if I go back to the states for a week, I could totally make it down to NYC to see it!  Wishful thinking I know.  But almost a year later, James has to go to NYC for, get this, an MBA fair (back to Cambridge without going back to Cambridge!) and, ding ding ding...believe it or not it was his idea to look it up again.  And so I did, and there it was, my miracle, they had extended the show from early 2008 in NYC to April this year!!  Obviously...we bought the tickets.

A Fabulous "As seen on TV" weekend

So the show...First of all, "Fuerzabruta" means 'Brute Force.'  You are standing in a giant circle in the middle of a circular room.  It starts off with a giant gush of wind and bright lights from one corner (as if circles have corners) like a train is coming straight at you.  Then another from another direction.  Quite overwhelming, the sound and the sight.  Then there is a guy in a white business suit walking on a tredmill type thing in the middle of the circular crowd.  You are standing...where ever you want to be standing in this circle.  (Mind you as you walk up the stairs to the theater, there are little bits of white paper all over them; for me, jarring excitment, anticipation and straight up wonder).  The guy goes from walking to jogging to running at full speed and bang, he falls.  I wont give away much more of that scene, but the 70 minute show is a rollercoaster of fairly-like figures floating around a colorful foil curtain around the audience, New York crowded street felt scenes on this tredmill, parties gone out of hand, breaking and trashing things while dancing, paper flying everywhere, mermaid-like figures smashing at a siran wrap slip-and-slide inches above your head (and if you're tall, ON your head!), a prom queen and her date fighting over who gets to be on top of a giant spinning piece of foil, a woman in a giant spinning water-filled petri dish with a man clinging on to the underside, and a DJ with a hose.  Yes, a hose.  If you go, dont stand too close to him unless you anticipate a complete and utter soaking experience.  But all of this is very fast-paced, high energy entertainment coupled with incredible lighting, strobe lights, and amazing Brazilian techno-ish music that allows you to really be in the middle of the experience.  In fact, I think I said multiple times, I want to be them!  And in a dress!  So cool.  But on a side note, if you are one to sleep when you go to the theatre, this one is not for your napping convenience.  But if you want the thrill of your life without the roller coaster drop in the stomach feeling, I highly recommend this show.  Honestly, if you are anywhere near New York before April, Id be offended if you didnt go.

Alright, now that that is out of my system, the rest of our time in the city of lights:  Since the show was in Union Square, we started our evening by taking a taxi there.  This is where James was highly amused by the giant numbers apparently counting out national debt (and at a rate I dont think I want to think about).  Apparently this kind of thing amuses him.  We sat watching it for at least three minutes...too long for my attention-deficit brain.  This is where I took the Vanilla Schmirnoff we bought at a Union Square liquor store and threw it in the Go Bananas Snapple (best snapple EVER) that we bought at a convenience store, and shook it up!  This was our sure-fire way to have to pee during the 70 minute show without an intermission.  Why not, right.  And now thinking about it, we both made it through just fine!  Guess we were truly entertained.

After the show we decided WALKING the 47 blocks back to our hotel was the best way to find dinner!  Of course it is, there are lots of menus to check out and just enough banos in fast food restaurants and Starbucks that we were going to be just fine!  So we walked a few miles on 8th Ave, picked up some razors at CVS, examined Mexican, Indian, Thai and Chinese menus, until we came to the winner: Dallas BBQ.  This place was awesome.  But, how can I explain its goodness?...

There were close to 200 people in the place, completely packed at almost 10 at night, and we had a half an hour wait. Let me put this into another perspective (for those advocate BBQ eaters, this might make more sense) In the crowd of 200 seated and 50 waiting patrons, rotating around an almost two hour experience, we were two of three people with skin lighter than Obama's, unless you count the three Asian waiters.  It was truly an experience, and Id do it again in a heartbeat.  It was awesome, and the drink kicked my @$$.  It really did.  You should see the little notes I tried to write down while I was there to remember what I wanted to write in this blog...bad.  But apparently I wanted you all to know I almost got run over by a New Yorker...Im not so good at following padestrian laws.  I admit it.  And I LOVED Feurzabruta.  And even left myself a little note to "check my back pocket" where I stuffed some of the paper confetti from the show.  Wow, thanks Shannon.  Good thing I keep you around!

So along our few mile excursion we also stopped at, James' favorite: gourmet food stores.  I will admit, taste testin those pepperoni's and olives in a New York City gourmet grocery store really is priceless.  Pun intended!  Too bad we didnt have anywhere for Jaym to actually put anything he might want to purchase other than another fruity drink for our coconut round.

After the damn large drink(s), gourmet shops, CVS and BBQ, we took a cab back to our hotel (we gave up almost half way there!) and decided to take a snooze before James had to meet the Cambridge crowd the next day, when I would meander the streets of New York solo.

Sunday was more of a casual experience, not so many strobe lights, but entertainment non-the-less.  I stopped by the Mid Manhattan Library (I read about this beforehand, no I did not just "pop in" to the library!) where they were playing the winning film from an international film festival in 2008.  There was a whole series during the past few weeks, and I happened to make it to the winnning film!  Man am I good.  It was in another language, whichever one translates to 'Ingang' for 'Entrance.' I know its a language I should know, since I know that means entrance, but I just cant remember which one.  It was a documentary-like film of a prodigy, gypsie guitarist.  It had scenes from his younger life, his teenage years and then his now life.  It was much about his ingenuis ability to play the guitar since he was 8 (kinda folk like), his struggle with heroin, and his families struggles with being gypsies and with him and his brothers.  It was pretty good, but nothing I would write home about, although I just did (even though I am sitting home as I write this! which is kinda weird in itself).

After the show, it was quite rainy and crappy out, so I just walked down 5th Ave with my sparkly new umbrella I bought for $3  at a "crap store"...if it wasnt called that it should have been.  I took some random pictures, went into a few souviner shops, and found "Beads on Fifth," where I got stuck for a few hours.  When it comes to tiny itsy bitsy things in small squares of space squished in a small space called a store, I am quite the browser, apparently.  I can browse for hours!  I started  off with this really cool ring in my hand, and two hours plus later, I leave with three necklaces, two hand-made cloth bags, and a stone charm.  Talk about random.  What happened to my creativity there?  Walk into a bead store and walk out with pre-made jewelry...fool.

Then I met up with James, whose shoes dont love him.  After walking the ten blocks to meet me, his feet were sopping wet.  And in just barely not-freezing water temperatures, that aint nice.  So we decided we would just dine and run.  We meandered around Times Square until we found a little caddy shack corner burger joint called Five Brothers.  It was actually pretty good.  I got a regular sized burger and damn, it had two patties on it.  I was mad at myself for not getting the "Little Burger" which probably would have been more my size.  But I ate it all, and I loved every pickle. And James was  VERY happy because this was the SECOND place on our trip where he has seen it on the Food Network!  Two for two, not bad!  Thats just his thing.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the end of our New York adventure.  James got to take his shoes off and change his pants after a two day excursion to two places he had seen on TV, and I got to see my show I saw on downloaded tv...and it was a fabulous "As seen on TV" weekend.  No Brute Force needed, but totally loved none-the-less.