Pick of the week: Tori Amos and a comic

This week, Pick of the Week recommends participating in a piece of highly-profiled Danish popular culture, going to the Royal Theatre for a new reason, and giving an internet-based comic strip some credit.

3: X-Factor auditions

X factor has run on TV in Denmark since 2008, and although there has been much talk about having such a supposedly low-brow show on the state-funded channel DR1, it is as popular as ever. Like the other X-Factor and Idol shows around the globe, the concept is to find a completely ordinary person with extraordinary singing talent and bring them into the spotlight in front of the nation.

The judges making the decisions about who is worthy of the spotlight play just as big a role as the competitors. This is why DR1 has made quite a scoop this year, by bringing back one of the original and the most controversial judges of the series: Thomas Blachman. Taking on the role of ‘bad judge’, so perfected by Simon Cowell in American Idol, Blachman is known for his long monologues, honest reactions and unpredictable behaviour.

This week, you have the chance to see Blachman, and the perhaps future contestants, live and uncensored, in what can certainly be perceived as the most entertaining part of the process – the auditions! For DKK 50, you can buy yourself a first row seat to the good, the bad, and the ugly, and be part of X-Factor from the very start.

X-Factor Auditions in Copenhagen, 17th-19th October, Time: From 11:00. Tickets can be bought here.

2:Tori Amos in The Royal Theatre

A singer who has already made it into the spotlight, and is more acknowledged for her talent by critics and peers alike than any of the contestants in X-Factor will probably ever be, is American songbird Tori Amos. This week, she is in Denmark and will play two concerts in Copenhagen.

Tori Amos started playing the piano at age 2, enrolled in the Peabody Conservatory of Music at age five – and was expelled again at 11. According to the singer herself because of her rebellious fondness of pop- and rock music. However, Amos didn’t let that stop her, and has since her debut in 1988 released 11 albums, which have together sold more than 12 million copies.

So, Amos should have more than enough material for her two concerts in Copenhagen, which she will play in a unique venue: The Old Stage of the Royal Theatre. The Royal Theatre should set the perfect scene for her new album Night of Hunters, which is heavily inspired by classical music (do we smell a reunion with Peabody Conservatory?) and promises an inspiring and beautiful evening for artist and audience alike.

Tori Amos in The Royal Theatre. Kongens Nytorv, 1017 Copenhagen K. Time: 20:00. Tickets can be bought here.

1: Anyone for Rhubarb?

Ending our list on a high note with our pick of the week is internet-based Anyone for Rhubarb? Anyone for Rhubarb? is a prime example of a desperately underappreciated art form: the comic. Bringing a smile to our face no matter how rainy, cold or otherwise weatherly depressing it may be outside is no small feat. We must therefore pay it our own humble tribute.

The humour of the comic lies in twisting a familiar situation with an element of absurdity, creating an unexpected and thereby hilarious outcome. A one-man project since Anyone for Rhubarb? first saw the light of day in July 2011, graphic artist Christian Henry has been the man in charge of these absurd twists for a little over a year.

Every Tuesday, a new comic is posted, but Henry promises on his website that he will up the production in case Anyone for Rhubarb? should generate a mass following. Here’s hoping! Also, when you’re on the comic’s website anyway, check out the ‘Made up notable mentions in the media’ in the ‘About’ section for extra laughs.Anyone For Rhubarb? can be followed here:

uni-avis@adm.ku.dk

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