This Week in the Mercury
OMG AL ROKER!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
OMG AL ROKER! / Music You've Been Face 2 Faced!
Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 2:30 PM
- Faced!
By the time the anthem to The Natural blasted from the hanging speaker stacks announcing the start of Billy Joel and Elton John Face 2 Face (aka the best concert event of the year), the anticipation in the air of the Rose Garden arena was as thick as a chocolate Cialis Metamucil milkshake. In all directions, gray haired boomers appeared to quiver with excitement—but that could have easily been some type of palsy. In other words, if you haven't picked up on my subtle point, Elton John and Billy Joel fans are old. So are Elton John and Billy Joel.
But when they mounted their huge shiny black pianos, which had risen from below the stage, you couldn't help think they'd aged quiet well. Sure, Joel had gone bald and gained some weight, and John had developed a fine set of jowls—which in no way diminished his Queenly mystique. Despite all that, you couldn't help saying to yourself, “Wow, they look great.”
Then, suddenly, you realize how much talent is there on stage: One Brit with a string of hits spanning at least three decades, and one American with... Well, some good songs from the late seventies and early eighties, a supermodel ex-wife, and a popular jukebox musical on Broadway.
As they launched into their first half-set together, trading verses from each other’s songs, it was remarkable how good the two men sounded together. Then as they split, each to play a full solo set, it was even more remarkable how amazing they sounded alone.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Geek / OMG AL ROKER! / Drunk / TV The Best Thing You Will See Today. Or Any Day, Actually.
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
OMG AL ROKER! OMG Al Roker! (Part II: Parks + Oh Yeah!)
Posted by Jane "the Intern" Carlen on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 3:31 PM
He's finally here!!
Iconic weatherman Al Roker arrived in town today, bearing gifts for the good girls and boys of North Portland! Jovial, enthusiastic, and chuckling at his own jokes, Roker's beaming smile was only matched by Kool-Aid Man, who was also in attendance. What occasion brought these two jug-headed titans together in the “heart of the Pacific Northwest” (a moniker I’ve never actually heard before but Roker used repeatedly)? Why, it was Today's charitable publicity vehicle "Lend a Hand Today." They came to announce the selection of Portland Parks Foundation as their newest donation recipient.
Roker and crew began broadcasting live segments to the East Coast at 4 am, and kept it going until the end of Today's episode at 7am (10 am EST). (Note: Early morning assignments are a great way to meet other newspaper interns whose superiors, like yours, are fast asleep. Thanks, Erik.) Behind Roker’s large head, which for some reason I keep harping on, was a giant truck, plastered with an even larger Roker likeness and filled with a chunk of the total $382,000 in gifts from corporate sponsors. At around 6 am, just as my caffeination was peaking, Roker cued the unloading of the truck revealing many useful, and some bewildering, contents....
(More pictures after the jump!)
Friday, June 19, 2009
OMG AL ROKER! Al Roker: The Mercury Interview.
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 9:00 AM
I know what you're thinking.
Holy shit, you're thinking. Did the Mercury really score an interview with Al Roker? THE Al Roker? Al Roker the weatherman, the cartoonist, the barbecue expert?
Yes. Yes, we did.
Roker's coming to Portland on Tuesday as part of his annual "Lend a Hand Today" series on Today, in which he visits various cities, surprising a local charity in each one with donations. Until broadcast, it's top secret which charities have been selected, so no one knows where Roker will pop up in Portland on Tuesday morning—but he will be here, and, as befits an occasion this momentous, the Mercury is on it.
So: Make haste. Read the Mercury's interview with Al Roker after the jump.
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