“Pink at the Wachovia: A pop-rock spectacle - Philadelphia Daily News” plus 4 more

Pink at the Wachovia: A pop-rock spectacle - Philadelphia Daily News
School Notes: Get to know Rowland Heights school board candidates - San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Lady Gaga gets adventurously intimate, wrastles with Madonna on 'SNL' - Los Angeles Times Blogs
Madonna, Lady GaGa catfight on live TV - Sify
Rosary Crusade draws hundreds to Holy Trinity - Observer-Dispatch

Pink at the Wachovia: A pop-rock spectacle - Philadelphia Daily News

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 11:20 PM PDT

Alecia Moore, better known as Pink (or P!nk!), has always portrayed herself as a troubled soul, a damaged bad girl prone to violent mood swings. But she beamed almost all the way through her show at the Wachovia Center last night, unable to suppress a grin even when singing about dark times.

The sold-out crowd did its best to keep the Doylestown native's spirits up, nearly drowning out her vocals on "Just Like a Pill," one of many songs that found her breaking free from an unhealthy relationship. Through the evening, she whipsawed between vulnerability and independence, never more than in "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)": "Go away, come back. Go away, come back. Why can't I just have it both ways?"

Taking its cue from the title of her latest album, Funhouse, the two-hour show offered plenty of spectacle, beginning as Moore made her entrance aboard a twirling trapeze. Her backup dancers doubled as aerialists, twisting in midair and adding Barnum-esque showmanship to an already flashy production.

A major upgrade from her last local show, at the Electric Factory in 2006, it served an expansive recapitulation of her career so far. The milestone was underlined by the three generations of family members in attendance, including her mother, in a red cape reading, "I'm the mom."

"I waited 30 years for this," said Moore, who, sure enough, turned 30 a few weeks back.

Although she started her career singing irrepressible pop anthems like "Get the Party Started," once Moore had the clout to take charge she moved away from synthesizers and programmed beats toward blaring guitars and emotionally charged lyrics. In "Don't Let Me Get Me," taken from her emancipatory second album, M!ssundaztood, she reiterated her frustration with being "compared to damn Britney Spears" - underlining it by thumping her microphone to show that there would be no lip-synching involved. Rejecting the label of "pop star," she proclaimed in "So What," "I'm still a rock star. I've got my rock moves, and I don't need you."

In truth, the show was equal parts pop and rock, mixing choreographed theater with off-the-cuff spontaneity. Starting off the show in a bustier, spiked heels and a feathery skirt with detachable train, Moore quick-changed into a succession of typically rococo Bob Mackie outfits that took every opportunity to show off her chiseled physique. But midway through, she swapped her yellow leather waistcoat for jeans and white tank top and stripped her band down to acoustic instruments as well.

Drawing evenly from her five albums, Moore also chose a succession of covers to demonstrate her multiple personalities: the Divinyls' "I Touch Myself," Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and, of course, Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." But by and large the many sides of Pink balanced each other out, forming a triumphant if still fractured whole.

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School Notes: Get to know Rowland Heights school board candidates - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 10:38 PM PDT

Rowland Heights residents have an opportunity to get to know the candidates for the Rowland Unified School District Board of Education at a candidates forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 12, at Pathfinder Park, 18150 Pathfinder Road in Rowland Heights.

The forum will be hosted by the Rowland Heights Community Coordinating Council (RHCCC).

Questions for the candidates should be submitted before the meeting to spunx903@roadrunner.com or via mail to RHCCC, PO Box 8171, Rowland Heights, CA 91748.

If time allows, questions from the floor will be taken. Additional information about the candidates can be found on the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund Web site at www.smartvoter.org/2009/11/03/ca/la/race/01516000/.

DIAMOND BAR

Acrobatic entertainment at homecoming show

Diamond Bar High School will celebrate its homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday.

This year's halftime show is called "Dancing the High Wire."

The Sandou Trio will perform amazing acrobatics. These talented and daring entertainers travel with the Britney Spears Tour and the Big Apple Circus.

The DBHS homecoming princesses will be introduced and the queen will be crowned during the 28th annual halftime of the football game against West Covina High.

General admission is $7; children 12 and under are free.

For information, call USB Director Petria Gonzales at (909)

594-1405 or visit www.dbhs.org. The DBHS Walt Holmes Stadium is at 21400 E. Pathfinder Road, Diamond Bar.

POMONA

Student awarded scholarship

Cal Poly Pomona student Alisa Savanna Carithers has been awarded a $3,000 Hearst/CSU Trustees' scholarship for her outstanding academic performance while overcoming obstacles that would deter many from pursuing an education.

Carithers, a Montclair resident who is studying anthropology, commuted to school in her freshman year by taking four buses and two trains. Later, she helped support her family by working two jobs while attending school full-time.

The William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award is given to economically disadvantaged students who excel in academics despite personal hardships and give back to their communities. Considered one of the highest forms of recognition in the CSU, the award is given to one student at each of the system's 23 campuses.

COVINA

Meet the Charter Oak school board candidates

The San Gabriel League of Women Voters will coordinate a forum for the community to meet the Charter Oak Unified School District's board of education candidates.

The forum will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Glen Oak Elementary School, 1000 N. Sunflower Ave., Covina.

The public will be handed notecards to submit questions upon arrival.

For more information, call Pat or Norm Klemz at (626) 967-8829.

From staff reports

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Lady Gaga gets adventurously intimate, wrastles with Madonna on 'SNL' - Los Angeles Times Blogs

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 09:26 PM PDT

Lady Gaga brought the expected weird fashion to "Saturday Night Live." Watching the artist attempt to sit at a piano while outfitted in an array of circular metal rings -- all spinning around the Lady Gaga axis -- was a hoot, and an early comedic standout in "Saturday Night Live's" young season. But there was one bit of window dressing Lady Gaga could have done without: Madonna.

The artist formerly known as the Material Girl popped up in an early skit for a brief exchange of put-downs with the current pop fave. Perhaps a symbol of passing of the pop diva torch, or perhaps some sort of mocking her 2003 MTV Video Music Awards pairing with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, which was then meant to serve as some sort of passing of the pop diva torch, Madonna looked uncomfortable, and not quite sure of why she was tussling with Lady Gaga. It all felt a bit hastily thrown together, and little more than an excuse to show two pop stars in a cat fight.

Not to mention -- Madonna doesn't need to stump to these kind of promotional appearances. Even with a greatest hits collection released to stores last week, let's let Lady Gaga have her moment, or at least give Madonna something better to say than, "Guess what, I'm totally taller than you."

Or perhaps we should just give credit where credit is due.

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Madonna, Lady GaGa catfight on live TV - Sify

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 11:06 PM PDT

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Pop diva Madonna and English singer Lady GaGa stunned America on Saturday night by staging a catfight on live TV. The two singers performed a synchronised dance-off, dressed in matching black lingerie and knee-high boots, as part of a comedy skit on ...

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Rosary Crusade draws hundreds to Holy Trinity - Observer-Dispatch

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 09:19 PM PDT

Practically all the seats were filled Sunday afternoon at Holy Trinity Catholic Church as hundreds sang and prayed at the 27th Family Rosary Crusade.

More than 750 people, ranging in age from infants to senior citizens, united as they prayed for peace and gripped the plastic rosary beads and scapulars event organizers provided.

"We are the men and women of an extraordinary time, exhilarating yet full of contradictions," the congregation said in a prayer during the Mass. "Humanity now has instruments of unprecedented power. We can turn this world into a garden or reduce it to a pile of rubble."

Peace and healing were dubbed the themes of this year's event – a choice that organizer Anna Marie Piacentino said was made to reflect the large number of people with illnesses in the area.

Following the Mass at Holy Trinity, those at the event had the opportunity to receive a sacrament known as the anointing of the sick.

Piacentino called the event a "glorious day" and said prayer and peace are what people need most in challenging times.

"It's what we need today to fight the culture," Piacentino said.

Guest speaker the Rev. William Casey — who frequently appears on the Catholic television station EWTN, the Eternal World Television Network, spoke during his homily about the sanctity of family and marriage.

Casey said popular culture has made a mockery of marriage and used examples of celebrities such as Britney Spears, whose first marriage lasted just a few days, to demonstrate his point.

"We're living in a time of very tragic spiritual and moral decline," he said.

Throughout Casey's remarks, members of the congregation murmured and nodded in agreement.

Andrea Salazar, who came to the event with her family, said she made the hour and a half trip from Niskayuna because she wanted to hear Casey speak.

"I also wanted to encourage praying the rosary for my family," Salazar said.

This year marked the 27th year of the Family Rosary Crusade, which returned last year after a five-year hiatus as more than 1,000 people flooded the Stanley Center for the Arts.

Janet Raehm of Utica, who attended the crusade Sunday, said she was especially happy to see its return last year, adding that she's went to the event for many years before it was briefly discontinued.

"I am extremely happy today," Raehm said. "It's just an inspiration to be here."

Organizers already are looking ahead to next year's crusade.

Piacentino said she expects the event will take place at Holy Trinity again next year. Plans also are in the works for a four-day event featuring talks from Casey and other priests to take place at the church in the days after next year's crusade, she said.