Michael Cavacini

An award-winning arts and culture blog.

24 Jul 2019

Largest DDP Yoga Workshop Ever

In December 2018 I recommitted myself to doing DDP Yoga several times a week, proving that the third time is the charm. Since then, I’ve had some amazing experiences. I interviewed and befriended the founder of the program, Diamond Dallas Page, stayed at his house in Smyrna for a week with professional wrestling legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts as my housemate, attended seven DDP Yoga classes over the course of five days at the DDP Yoga Performance Center, and I’m currently pursuing my DDP Yoga Level 1 certification, so I can teach this great program in Philadelphia. My latest DDP Yoga milestone was attending Dallas’ DDP Yoga workshop at the LifeMed Institute on Sunday, July 21. With 185 people in attendance, it was the largest DDP Yoga workshop ever.

Posted in Fitness, News, Review and tagged Arthur Boorman, Dallas Page, DDP, DDP Yoga, DDPY, Diamond Dallas Page, Fitness, LifeMed Institute, Michael Cavacini

22 Jul 2019

Audible Review: The Quick Red Fox

The Quick Red Fox is the fourth book in the Travis McGee series and it’s the first one that I didn’t care for, which surprised me. While this audiobook is well narrated and that McGee charm is pervasive, the story itself is incredibly slow. It takes forever for something meaningful to happen and there are a significant amount of inner-dialogue moments, which slow down the story even further. It’s a shame because I wanted to like this audiobook much more than I did. That said, I still look forward to future entries in the series.

Posted in Books, Review and tagged Audible, Book Review, John D. MacDonald, Michael Cavacini, Review, Travis McGee | Leave a comment

27 Jun 2019

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Kiefer Sutherland: Sharing A Song And A Drink

On June 26 Kiefer Sutherland brought his amazing live band to the Ardmore Music Hall for an 18-song set of rockin’ music. He played material from his new album, as well as his first, and more. In addition to being his guest for the evening, I got to hang out with the man himself after the show, which was a great honor.

Posted in Music, Review, Uncategorized and tagged Ardmore, Ardmore Music Hall, concert, Kiefer Sutherland, Meet and Greet, Michael Cavacini, music

21 Jun 2019

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Audible Review: A Purple Place For Dying

The Travis McGee novels by John D. MacDonald inspired numerous thriller and mystery writers, so I thought it would be a great idea to check out these books for myself. The audiobooks for the Travis McGee series are exclusive to Audible, and I recently completed the third book: A Purple Place For Dying. Each book includes a color in the title, making for unique and interesting names. As with the previous two entries, this novel was highly enjoyable.

Posted in Books, Review and tagged A Purple Place For Dying, Audible, Audiobook, John D. MacDonald, Michael Cavacini, Review, Travis McGee

20 Jun 2019

Review: Cats Comes to Philly

From June 18 through June 30, Cats, the award-winning and record-breaking Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, is in Philadelphia. I had the opportunity to see the show and it wasn’t exactly what I expected. I love cats (my wife and I have two that we adopted), and I love musicals. I also adore Barry Manilow’s interpretation of the signature song from this show: “Memory.” However, I found this show to be one of the weirdest musicals I’ve ever seen.

Posted in Music, Review and tagged Andrew Lloyd Webber, Barry Manilow, Broadway, Cats, Memory, Michael Cavacini, Musical, Philadelphia, Review | Leave a comment

18 Jun 2019

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A Conversation With Rita Coolidge

I recently interviewed Rita Coolidge, who has two Grammy awards to her name and decades of songs and albums along the way. We talked about her time touring with Joe Cocker, being in the studio with numerous legendary artists, singing a famous James Bond theme song, and much more.

10 Jun 2019

Patti LuPone: Don’t Monkey with Broadway

Patti LuPone brought her one-woman show, “Don’t Monkey With Broadway,” to Verizon Hall in Philadelphia on June 9 and it was phenomenal. The two-time Tony Award winner performed classic Broadway show tunes by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jule Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. She also told stories in between songs about how her life-long love affair with Broadway began and her concern for what the Great White Way is becoming today.

Posted in Music, Review and tagged Broadway, Don't Monkey With Broadway, Kimmel Center, Michael Cavacini, Musicals, Patti LuPone, Review | Leave a comment

06 Jun 2019

Review: Alive by Tommy James

Tommy James, best known as the lead singer for Tommy James and the Shondells, is back with a new album: Alive. Overall, I’m impressed with the vocals and music. However, there are a few duds and the album has a disjointed feel to it.

Posted in Music, Review and tagged Album, Alive, CD, Michael Cavacini, music, Review, Tommy James, Tommy James and the Shondells | Leave a comment

06 Jun 2019

DDP Radio: Episode 380

I’m the latest guest on DDP Radio, the long-running live radio show and podcast about all things DDP Yoga, and you can listen to it below. On this episode, I talk about my DDP Yoga journey thus far, including the amazing past six months I’ve experienced, as well as what lies ahead. It was a blast taking part in this episode, and I hope you enjoy it!

Posted in Fitness, Health and tagged DDP, DDP Radio, DDP Yoga, Michael Cavacini, Podcast, Radio Show | Leave a comment

05 Jun 2019

Book Review: The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver

I love thrillers and I’m a huge video game fan. The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver is supposed to blend the two together. The problem is video games aren’t referenced until over 100 pages in. To make matters worse, the first chunk of the book is rather boring. Even more puzzling, what appears to be the main mystery of the story is resolved within the first 130 pages. Not all thrillers need to follow a formula but they should be well structured and true to their description. As a video game fan, I was let down. As a thriller fan, my interest became non-existent after 130 pages. With this in mind, I can’t recommend this book. It’s a shame because I was looking forward to reading it.