Remembering Matthew Perry, and Watching Friends For The First Time, Earlier This Month

By Michael P Coleman Late yesterday, word of actor and Friends star Matthew Perry’s death, at 54, interrupted my viewing of the Wisconsin / Ohio State game. That turned out to not be the worst of things for me, as I had been bracing myself for what was to be another loss this season for …

REVIEW — Les Misérables in Sacramento

By Michael P Coleman You’ll be anything but miserable if you can grab a ticket to see Les Misérables, playing through Sunday, October 29 at SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center in Sacramento. The New York Times has called the show “Thrilling, spectacular and unforgettable.” They’re spot on. I’d not seen any production of the …

ALBUM REVIEW — Johnny Mathis Said It, I Believe It, and That Settles It. Christmas Time Is Here!

By Michael P Coleman Decades ago, Grandma Coleman admonished me about wishing my life away, as she used to put it, hoping for an event that was months away. She had trouble getting that concept through my thick head each fall, as I could hardly wait to get Halloween behind me and get the Yuletide …

My Mustang Got Hit. In A Parking Lot. Again.

By Michael P Coleman Someone hit my beautiful “new” silver Mustang convertible yesterday. It was backed into, in a parking lot, for the third time since buying it. It had replaced my 2000 Mustang, which notched over 217,000 miles before it gave up the ghost. I put “new” in quotation marks because a car I’ve …

CONCERT REVIEW — Freddie Jackson at Yoshi’s in Oakland

If you loved Freddie back in the day, you’ll love him now. By Michael P Coleman Until a few nights ago, I’d always thought of 80s crooner Freddie Jackson as kind of a downmarket Luther Vandross. Please don’t tell Fred I said that, but it’s true. As I reviewed Jackson’s catalog in preparation for one …