Ann Magnuson performs WOW

[Robb McCaffree <nsrjm@nursepo.medctr.ucla.edu>]

Hi, all!

	Nice to see r.m.g. again!

	I went to see one of my favorites, Ann Magnuson, last 
Wednesday night at Luna Park, a trendy club in West Hollywood. 
For those not familiar with Ann, she is an actress (Jamie Lee 
Cutis' boss on "Anything But Love," Harrison Ford's secretary in 
Patriot Games) and a performance artist. She was half of the 
group Bongwater, and last year released a solo album entitled 
The Luv Show. Just to give you an idea of her brand of humor, 
one of the songs from that album is called "MKCF." This stands 
for Manipulative, Kennedy-esque Celebrity F**ker."

	Her stage shows are marked by dry commentary and poetry, 
her own offbeat tunes, medleys of Bowie songs and, as of last 
Wednesday night, Kate's "Wow." As a matter of fact -- she opened 
and closed the show with it!

	I could kick myself for not taping it. Her version was 
stunning. She began with a breathy vocal -- like Kate's -- but 
lit into the chorus like a wailing cat, with blazing Bowie-esque 
guitars and slamming drums behind her. And when the song wound 
down (at the point where Kate sings toni-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yight), 
Ann did the same, ad nauseum, until she was perfectly mimicking 
the sound of an annoying bug. Then with a quick snatch into 
midair, she put an end to "the bug" and the song, all to our 
great amusement.

	The reprise came at an appropriate time. She'd just done 
a medley of songs by a talented -- but failed -- artist named 
Jobriath. Supposedly he was a Bowie wannabe who professed to 
be "truly bisexual" and whose two albums couldn't live up to the 
hype produced by his rich lover. Tying in with the failed 
actors/artists theme (and movie "queens"), Ann told the audience 
we were all "fantastic" "unbelievable" and "amazing" (which, I 
think, goes to show she knows more about Kate than just a few of 
her songs) and then ripped into the reprise.

	I was shocked -- one of my favorites performing a tune 
(and showcasing it no less) by my absolute favorite! Ann's 
version, while a bit spoofy and free with the keening notes, was 
not at all a parody of Kate herself. You can tell Ann is a fan 
of 70s glam mixed with true talent, which is why I guess she 
picked a Kate tune from this time period. If she does the show 
again, I will be there to tape it. Wow!

	Robb

P.S. Would someone note this into the FAQ, please!

P.P.S. to jOHN, if you're out there still: See, there's a reason 
I made you listen to Ann when you were down a coupl'a weeks ago!