John Waters - Let's Blow It Up - 24 Oxford, Las Vegas, Wednesday Dec 6, 2023

 

I was comparatively late to the John Waters camp (so to speak), not really seeing any of his films until the early 80's, after I had moved to LA. Of course, his early work is quite the acquired (bad) taste, so it was quite the surprise when he started making reasonably mainstream films that were still relatively low budget and also still quite entertaining, albeit not quite as grotesque or nearly as extreme.

In any case, he has also now made a name for himself as a solo entertainer/speaker/MC/etc., making personal appearances and hosting everything from movie nights to punk rock weekenders. On this tour he is basically doing solo stand-up comedy, in his own, unique way. He is quite the speaker and entertainer, taking the stage for a good hour and a half or so (he started a half hour late, but that might have been due to the tragedy at UNLV earlier that day) and talking non-stop with hardly a breath in between and switching subjects with rapid-fire intensity. Overall, he was thoroughly hilarious and kept the crowd laughing and cheering the entire time. 

He did a question'n'answer session after he was done, taking questions randomly from the crowd and even with a surprise ending by an appearance from Pia Zadora! Apparently, those who paid extra were given a more personal one-on-one private session, but we did not partake in that.

Totally fun night and great to see a number of our friends in attendance, as well as lots of random folks of all ages, those dressed to the nines and those in shorts'n'crocs! Nice to see John get some kudos after 5 decades in the field!