Discovering the Eno River

There is so much discover in North Carolina, it doesn't take me long to realize that I've barely scratched the surface even after living here for the past decade.

This past holiday weekend, my son Teddy and I joined his Cub Scout pack for an overnight camping trip on the Eno River in Durham.

That picture is him on a footbridge we had to walk over to get to the group campsite.  There is a sign on the far side of the bridge that states "The water rose to the level of this sign during Hurricane Fran in 1996".  (Wow.)

The group camping site we selected was terrific - secluded from other campites with wonderful privacy and designated areas that made tent set-up a piece of cake.  There was great fishing in the river - many a Scout caught their first fish - and hiking trails abound.  Of course there was hot dog and s'more cooking on the campfire and ghost stories and flashlight tag before bed.

Great memories will remain a lifetime and I encourage you to check out the Eno River for your next camping excursion!

Foster
Radio 96.1

Star Trek Into Darkness Review

The first thing that came to mind at the conclusion of the Radio 96.1 premiere of Star Trek Into Darkness Wednesday night was: the new Star Wars movies are going to be epic.

Director JJ Abrams, thanks to his brilliant work on TV shows like Alias, Lost, and Fringe and the inspired reboot of the Star Trek franchise, has been handed the keys to the next wave of Star Wars films - the first of which is scheduled for release in 2015.  The mastery of Abrams as it relates to Star Trek is how he has been able to bring a franchise specifically geared towards sci-fi fanatics to the masses.  That's what you heard about 2009's Star Trek - that even non-Trekkies loved it (myself included).

As the title suggests, this is a darker trip into Starfleet, as the crew of the Enterprise is asked to respond to a vicious act of terror by going after the villian.  Along the way, and what makes the new Star Trek movies so accessible, is how deeply the script dives into the characters.  Who is this villian, really? (Hold on to your seat at the 75 minute mark).

What's in those torpedoes and why are there 72 of them?

We once again are introduced to intimate details of Captain Kirk's struggle with overconfidence and the inability to follow rules and watch as he is forced to find a balance of both.  The budding love story between Spock and Uhura is a delightful minor storyline, as human Uhura gets frustrated with Vulcan Spock's inability to show emotion.

The action never lets up - whether it's Uhura's tense scene trying to avert a war with the Klingons, Kirk attempting to save Spock from a volcano, or the many battle sequences in space.

But the story that drives the engine of Star Trek Into Darkness is the relationship between Kirk and Spock, played to perfection by Christopher Pine and Zachary Quinto.  Bonds that will never be broken are formed in this film and there are countless twists along the way that lead to that pinnacle.  Karl Urban's "Bones" and Simon Pegg's "Scotty" are particularly great supporting roles.

Star Trek Into Darkness is blockbuster movie making at it's best - a superb effort in every way.

Foster
Radio 96.1

Three Bears Acres Park Review

When you have small kids (mine are 9 and 7), any opportunity to keep them entertained and worn out for a few hours is a good opportunity.  On Mothers Day, my family visited Three Bears Acres in Creedmoor for the first time.

I spend most of my time south of I-540, but I love when you drive just a  few minutes north of it you are in full on country mode.  Nestled in the woods next to a lake on a 50 acre farm is a fairly new park called Three Bears Acres.

When you first arrive, your kids will bolt for the jumping pillow, a giant inflatable on which you can bounce very, very high (parents should do it too!).  Next to that is a painting wall and a mud kitchen.  A short walk brings you to a sling shot area where kids load tennis balls into sling shots and fire them at ACC team flags. (Parents - you'll want to play too.  State fan?  Load your tennis ball and sling at Carolina!) Next to the sling shot are three archery targets.

When you walk to the side of the park closest to the lake, first stop is the 300-foot toboggan run (made to look like snow and a non-working chair lift hanging from a tree serves as a bench but is perfect for effect.

The sleds don't go terribly fast, but no worries.  My kids still wanted to ride over and over.

The treehouse is very big and there is a swing underneath that everyone will want to take a turn on.

Behind the treehouse are paddleboats and a walk over a bridge and across the lake will take you to the fire pit, where you can roast marshmallows and make s'mores! $3 buys you enough chocolate, crackers, and marshmallows for three s'mores.

We spent nearly 4 hours at Three Bears Acres and it went very quickly.  The kids already want to go back, which has me thinking about a season pass.  

Three Bears Acres is a great idea on an amusement park twist.

Foster

Radio 96.1

Rush Concert Review

At this point in their careers, Rush can do pretty much whatever they want....and they do.

They've done the greatest hits tour.  They played "Moving Pictures" in its entirety on the tour that stopped in Greensboro a couple years ago.  So on the "Clockwork Angels Tour" stop that visited PNC Arena Friday night, the band had no problem playing a slew of songs from the terrific new album and saving the hits for the end.  But it was a risky play.

There was much to love about the show.  The massive video screen was so high def and impressive, you couldn't help but stare up at it despite the face that the band (the real thing!) was there on the stage to watch.  There was a string section in the second set that played with terrific precision and energy and worked well with the new material and naturally you had the obligatory mind numbing drum solos from Neil Peart.

That being said, the band lost the crowd for some time.  When they finally tore into "YYZ" nearly three - yes, three - hours into the show, it was like the audience had woken from a deep slumber and was once again ready to party.  Firing right from that into "Spirit of Radio" created bedlam.

Upon the show's conclusion with "Tom Sawyer" and the entire "2112" Overture, it was easy to look back on the show with both awesomeness and confusion.  Awesomeness because this band that has been at it for over 40 years sounds better than ever.  Confusion because, while the new material really did sound terrific, there needs to be a balance struck between trying out new things you're excited about and giving people that paid top dollar to see you what they came for.  The new tracks should have been interspersed with a hit every now and then to keep the crowd's energy up.

When it was all said and done, it was crazy to think  - after a 3 1/2 hour show - about the songs not played, including "Limelight", "Fly By Night", "Freewill", "Closer To The Heart", "New World Man", "Red Barchetta"....

Aside from an uneven setlist, Rush did score on the most important thing - a great performance.

Foster
Radio 96.1

*Alex Lifeson Photo courtesy of the News and Observer

Mike Tyson Review

Justifying spending money on a ticket to see Mike Tyson, by himself on a stage for two hours, can't be easy. "Sounds like a train wreck", said one friend to me before the show.  "That has the potential to be awful", said another.

Not only was it not a train wreck or awful, it was amazing.  Compelling.  Hilarious.  Traumatically gut wrenching.  Mike Tyson - yes, that Mike Tyson - hit it out of the park at DPAC on Tuesday night.  

With a video screen behind him taking you on a tour of his life starting with his birth to an alcoholic mother in Brooklyn (where you learn from the get go that his father wasn't who he grew up thinking he was), Tyson paces back and forth across the stage animatedly interacting with the video and the audience.

Tyson's comic timing is stunningly good.  When he gets up close to the screen to stare at Robin Givens while the footage of the infamous Barbara Walters interview is played.  When he dances to Kanye West's "Golddigger" when describing Givens.  When he talks about discovering Givens with Brad Pitt. 

Although you know the headlines, he presents all his stories with incredible self-deprecation, humor, and interesting insight.  Being accosted by fellow boxer Mitch Green in the middle of the night and knocking him out? ("He was like a Weeble.  Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.") Buster Douglas? ("Everyone thought I was going to win that fight but me.  I wasn't ready".) The ear-biting? ("Don't ever bite someone's ear.  It tastes like ___").  Don King? ("I had 440 million dollars in the bank when I got out of jail and went bankrupt.  Don King owned me.  He was charging me $8,000 a week for towels.  Did you hear me?  I said TOWELS.")

The show's conclusion, which features a touching tribute to Tyson's 4-year old daughter that died in a tragic treadmill accident, has got to be impossible for him to relive night after night but he does with beautiful grace and a very believable mea culpa to the world and himself that he wants to be a better person.  

I would have never, ever expected one of my favorite stage shows to be something called "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth".  But as you know, life is full of surprises.

Foster

Radio 96.1

Mike Tyson Preview

Buying tickets for a movie or a concert is easy.  You know, for the most part, what to expect.  But when you hear that Mike Tyson is coming to Durham Performing Arts Center, an understandable response might be..."Huh?"

Mike Tyson doing what?  Fighting?  No.  Talking?? He's hard enough to understand!  And what will he be talking about anyway?  It's exactly that reaction that makes shows like this difficult to market and promote - but it is also the presentation of unique shows like this that have given DPAC a reputation for greatness in the Triangle.

"Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" began as a one-man show with runs on Broadway at at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  Spike Lee directed the stage show in which Tyson takes you on a very personal tour of his life.  With that in mind, here's the rub: you can't be disinterested in Mike Tyson's life.  When was the last time you paid to watch a boxing match?  For me, it was Tyson's first bout with Evander Holyfield (not the "ear" fight).  I skipped out of my San Francisco farewell party to hit a bar so I could watch the second Tyson-Holyfield fight and remember running back in the party screaming, "He bit his ear off!!!"  Upsets happen in sports, but how shocked - I mean truly stunned - were you when you found out Buster Douglas beat the invincible Iron Mike Tyson?

You remember the train wreck interview with Barbara Walters he did with Robin Givens next to him on the couch calling him a "monster".  And telling Lennox Lewis he was going to "eat his children".  And when he went to jail for three years.  And when he got the tattoo on his face.  Or tragically, when his daughter died on the family's treadmill.  

We've always been interested in Mike Tyson, but why  spend your hard earned money on a ticket to see a guy with a checkered past talk about his life?   Maybe because signs point to a changed man who really does want to make a difference.  Maybe because after all the drama - all the things that made Mike Tyson interesting to watch all those years - we still really don't know why he did them.  In this show, the fighter will tell us - bit by bit - even the things that are tough to talk about.  

Incredibly, after all the years of our fascination with Mike Tyson, this may be his most fascinating move yet.  Read the reviews below and maybe I'll see you at DPAC Tuesday night.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013130407004&camefrom=EMCL_66802_4167314

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/celebrity/aboutlastnight/ct-ent-0218-luis-20130217,0,3451380.story

 

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/ct-ent-0218-tyson-review-20130218,0,2031323.column

 

 

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/10/entertainment/la-et-cm-mike-tyson-review-20130311

 

Foster

Radio 96.1

The Band With a HUGE Heart

96.1 has had a relationship with Trans-Siberian Orchestra for a decade, soon after I moved to Raleigh.  I had heard great things about their show, and they were looking for a radio partner in the Triangle.  Thus, a partnership and friendship began.

I could go on and on about why Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an amazing band.  They come to town every year with what seems to be the goal of outdoing themselves from the prior year.  Just when you thought they couldn't add more lights and explosions, they line more semis outside the arena.  When you're convinced you've seen all their stage techniques, you realize they've built a walkway for the band to play above the crowd.  And when you're sure they couldn't possibly play any longer, they bust out a 3 1/2 hour show to make sure you get your money's worth.  All the while, throughout the past 10 years, keeping ticket prices extremely reasonable.

Despite all that, the thing that puts TSO over the top has nothing to do with the production itself.

They are the most generous band in America.

On every show, on every tour, they donate $1 from every ticket sold to the charity of the local radio station's choosing.  In our case, over $100,000 has been raised for the NC Children's Hospital.  Now consider how much money they've raised over the years across the country.

This week, they donated $2,000 for me to shave my head this Saturday for St. Baldrick's, an annual donation they've been making since I've been raising money for childhood cancer research.

When Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes around again the next holiday season, show them the support they've shown our community and check out the show.  You won't be disappointed.

In fact, that's not even possible.

Foster

Radio 96.1