How to Hire Corporate Entertainment

For many people, hiring entertainment for a corporate event can be an overwhelming task. The entertainment you select has to be professional and suited for all audiences. On the other hand, it is easy to get stuck in the corporate rut of doing “the same old thing” year after year.
How important is keeping your existing clients and employees for your organization? Showing appreciation to clients and your staff can boost morale, strengthen business relationships and help your company grow. Having the right entertainment at your event will accomplish that!
So how do you break from the ordinary and book entertainment that is new and engaging for your group? Below are some suggestions to make the hiring process easier for you.

1. Plan Your Event
Plan how would like the evening to go. If you know the exact type of entertainment you are having, then plan the event around that entertainment. Otherwise, plan out time for the different events and make a time-table. If you haven’t decided on the entertainment then be sure to leave some room in your time-table for adjustments. The setup of the room can vary depending on the performer you desire, and the itinerary can change as well.
2. Know Your Budget
Know how much you can spend on entertainment before approaching entertainers to find out about their acts. What you can spend on an entertainer will often dictate the level of entertainment you get. Every event has a budget and you need to stay within it and meet your needs. However, hiring an entertainer based solely on them being the lowest priced can lead to disaster. Put things in a better perspective, you may wish to determine your “per-person” cost budgeted for entertainment or activities. The finest food and beverages will soon be a fading memory to your guests, but high quality entertainment creates an emotional impact and lasting impression. How much fun they had at your event is what creates lasting memories.
3. Be Prepared to Discuss Your Event and Your Budget
Any professional entertainer is going to be asking you questions about your event, such as what type of event you are having, how many guests you expect, if there is a theme to the event, a general timeline of the event, etc. By doing this, they are determining if their act is a good match for your group and function. They may even be able to present ideas to enhance your event that you hadn’t thought of yet! Ask the entertainer if they offer any special packages. Your entertainer may have a package that will make your event extra special. By discussing your budget with them, you are also finding out if they are within your price range. If so you can move on with the process; if not, you are saving everyone time and should call the next entertainer on your list.
4. Request References and Promotional Material
If after your initial contact with the entertainer you feel comfortable with them and you both agree that there is a possibility that they will be a good match for your group, ask them for references and promotional materials. You will find that most entertainers have websites that will contain most of the promotional materials, if not all of it. If an entertainer cannot provide you with references then DO NOT engage this performer.

Ideas Of Wedding Entertainment for Your Reception

So you've just got engaged! It's now time for the excitement to begin. You've got a wedding to plan! At this point you've probably got a lot of questions running through your mind. Where do you begin? What questions should I ask vendors? Where am I going to get the money? Wait, how much money are we talking about? On the contrary to what most couples believe, wedding planning can actually be fun. With proper planning and allocated time to complete it you can create your truly unique and exciting Chicago Wedding reception.
When it comes to the entertainment portion of your reception this should be treated with care as with all your other very important wedding details. The entertainment seems to be one of, if not the most important components to a reception. Sure, the food, decorations, and socialization are very important but without entertainment, these events would take on an entirely different personality.

For affairs that are focuses around the entertainment, or at least ones where it is responsible for a major role in the success or failure of the event, some serious considerations must be taken when hiring the right wedding entertainment.
Will you find the right entertainment by hiring the one that answers the phone first or the one that has the lowest price or would you select one just because they live in your hometown? These are actually several things you should consider before selecting your entertainer:
Is the entertainer experienced in providing services for your event type? This question can't just be answered in a yes or no question either. You'll want someone who knows the ropes. How much experience do you want your entertainer to have? Consider getting a list of references from previous clients.
Is your entertainer insured? Every legitimate business has insurance. This may not seem important upfront, but heaven forbid something were to happen at your event. Are you willing to hire an entertainer without it? Ask your entertainer for his proof of property AND liability insurance.
With so much riding on the success of your event your entertainment should never be over looked. There should be several factors that come into play rather than just price when shopping for your wedding entertainment. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions as the entertainment will have a direct impact on the entire success of your reception.

Drake's Tour Made Up Of Artists 'On Top Of Their Game'

The Bay got quite the treat on Monday night when Drake rolled into Concord, California's Sleep Train Pavilion for the latest leg of his Club Paradise Tour. It was a memorable kickoff for not only Drizzy, but his some of his tourmates, too, as 2 Chainz, Waka Flocka Flame, Meek Mill and French Montana joined him.

Coachella, Bluesfest, PITCH Fest, OSHEAGA, Lollapalooza, OVO fest. Damn. The Weeknd has amassed a pretty impressive line up of concerts and impending performances in a relatively short time, and to add to that, Abel + band will now be opening at select performances by Florence + The Machine. Having developed such a cult-following before even stepping on stage, selling out shows has appeared to be The Weeknd’s forte.

And all this while busy re-mastering his trilogy of mixtapes for re-release. Well, although his mix engineers and producers are undoubtedly shouldering the brunt of the work, there is good possibility he’s present during the process – it’s his voice, after all.

Hard work. Dedication. And according to reviews, an improving stage show, which is going to be very important, especially when performing in such large-scale venues and as a supporting performer for Florence + The Machine. There’s only one way to truly know, and that’s by attending one of the shows – if you can still get tickets.

"I tried to put together a tour that consisted of ... everybody that you hear in your spare time," Drake told MTV News while on the set of 2 Chainz's "No Lie" video in L.A. just before the tour. "These are the guys that are currently on the top of the game, so I tried to bring 'em all out [for] one night. And that's why the tour's called Club Paradise, because I want it to feel like you're gonna hear every song that you wait to hear in the club."

The Young Money star had a number of surprises. For starters, he brought out his buddy the Weeknd to perform their collabo "Crew Love," and then he made way for his mentor, Lil Wayne. Together they rocked their Bay-inspired jam "The Motto" — twice.

The current leg of the Club Paradise Tour will run through June and will take Drake to some of his favorite cities, including Houston, Atlanta and Las Vegas (or "Houstatlantavegas" as he so affectionately referred to the trio of party towns on his 2009 breakout So Far Gone mixtape). Those stops are special for him although, Drizzy told us he doesn't get to spend as much time visiting them as he'd like to.

"It's sad because I love those places, so I wanted to bring something real special and I've got all these guys looking amazing onstage and set changes for everybody," Drake said. "It's gonna be really great."

As focused as he is on the task at hand, however, the Toronto rapper can't help but look forward to his upcoming third his annual OVO Fest. Last July, Drake brought Stevie Wonder, Weezy, Rick Ross and Nas to perform at yearly hometown concert in Toronto; the year before that he welcomed Jay-Z and Eminem. He isn't ready to announce the 2012 lineup just yet, but the "Headlines" MC promises a well-rounded mix of musical guests.

"The lineup this year is kinda a mash-up of everybody," Drake said, hinting that some of his Club Paradise collaborators will be in attendance, as well as the Weeknd. "That's the most important show of the year to me, OVO Fest, so I'm hoping that we really make it special this year.

"The premise of OVO Fest is you never know who you gonna see," he teased.

Spidey Fans: Another Trailer For "The Amazing Spider-Man" Has Arrived!

Holy web-slingers, Spidey fans: Another trailer for "The Amazing Spider-Man" has arrived! While there are several familiar scenes from the first two epic teasers weaved into this exciting new two-and-a-half minutes, director Marc Webb has introduced a bunch of intriguing new elements into the new footage.

Here are five key scenes from the latest trailer:

Lonely Boy
Webb told us previously that the fact that Peter Parker is an orphan will play heavily into the story of this film, which is very much exemplified by the multiple "lonely boy" shots of Parker standing atop various buildings or walking by himself through the city streets with a forlorn look on his face. Not to mention Andrew Garfield's voice-over: "This life is not an easy one. I've made enemies, powerful enemies. I've put people I love in danger, but the one thing that has haunted me my entire life is finding the truth about my parents ... "

"I think there's a real emotional consequence to someone who's left by their parents when they're 7 or 8 years old," Webb has said. "And that contributes to sort of this trickster, chip-on-his-shoulder attitude."

Other Mischief May Come
Speaking of Parker's trickster side, we get another glimpse of his comedic and sarcastic sensibilities during his encounter with a carjacker, as shown in the previous trailer. What's new and fun this time around is Parker taunting the guy: "You found my weakness!" Parker says to the carjacker sarcastically. "It's small knives!"

The other intriguing and very possibly mischievous element in play here is the quick shot we see of Parker looking up at the impossibly tall and menacing Oscorp skyscraper. Yes, we know Parker is interested in the building because of its ties to his father and that Oscorp ID card he holds onto, but we can't help but feel a little bit of foreshadowing is at play in knowing what plays out with one Norman Osborn.

Lizard in a Lab Coat
Behold, the recently transformed, very dangerous-looking Lizard crumpled on the floor and bursting out of his lab coat — or the lab coat of his former self, Dr. Curt Connors (played by Rhys Ifans). We've seen some very quick shots of the film's central villain before, but this trailer offers us multiple glimpses at the before-and-after of Dr. Connors. And he is not at all a nice guy in his hulking green lizardy form ("Avengers" pun un-intended). We see the Lizard hurling innocent people around and later in heated pursuit of our heroic web-slinger.

Mystery Man With Intel
Speaking of the pre-reptilian Dr. Connors, there is a very brief, but intriguing interrogation-like scene in the trailer between Connors and an unidentified older gentleman. The gentleman looks to have long-ish white hair and is shown in a sort of shadowy silhouette asking the good doctor a very pointed question about Peter Parker and his parents. "Did you tell the boy about his father?" he says to Connors. We don't get to hear the Doc's response during this brief exchange, but the worried-but-stubborn look on Connors' face says the man is definitely withholding some key information that will undoubtedly prove to be of major importance to Parker down the line.

Action, Action and More Action
And just like all great superheroic trailers before it, Webb spends the last minute or so of his new trailer impressing us with tons of action. We see Parker-as-Spider-Man's extraordinary athleticism in some scenes of good old-fashioned chasery: He dodges police officers, carjackers and the Lizard, not to mention one impressive feat wherein he appears to be holding a burning car from plunging into a river — which, by the way, totally reminds us of a scene from Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," whether that was intended or not; we'll have to see the finished film to decide. There is also more demonstration of Spidey's fancy web-slingers as he masters his skills with swinging from buil

New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival - It Didn't Disappoint

Day Two of the New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival brought banging pianos, fresh voices, Louisiana funk, hip-hop edginess and longtime favorites.

A sunny, breezy day Saturday drew thousands of festival goers for headliners Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Feist and Cee Lo Green, as well as local favorites Irvin Mayfield and Tab Benoit.
Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue kicked off an early set with their New Orleans-based style of tattooed rockabilly, sparking spontaneous fais do-do dancing in the audience with original songs like Don't Think Twice and a rollicking cover of Pat Benatar's Love Is a Battlefield.

In the audience was Eric and Dianne Mayer, who traveled from southern California for the seven-day festival. It was their first Jazz Fest. They said the HBO series Treme got them into New Orleans music - and the festival didn't disappoint.

"There's no other place where jazz and blues and Cajun music all blends together like here," Dianne Mayer said. "It's so much more than jazz."

One of the day's highlights was local pianist Jon Cleary, backed on Saturday with the three-member Absolute Monster Gentlemen. It was fitting that Cleary played under a colorful mural of Professor Longhair, the legendary New Orleans piano virtuoso who died in 1980. Cleary, Bonnie Raitt's former touring pianist, channeled Professor Longhair on Saturday, pounding on the keyboard like it was on fire and running through songs like When You Get Back and Unnecessarily Mercenary with revivalist fervor.

One of the most anticipated acts of the day was Cee Lo Green, the cat-stroking judge on The Voice reality TV show and former member of the Goodie Mob hip-hop group. Several thousand enthusiasts crowded around the smallish Congo Square tent for the show. But the expletive-laced performance mostly felt disjointed and overproduced, leaving the throngs to politely sway instead of bouncing or dancing to the music. At one point, during an awkward break in the music, Green turned to his band and yelled, "What are y'all standing around for? Play the (expletive) music!"

The crowd got moving during his hit songs Crazy and Forget You - but barely.

New Orleans club owner and impresario Irvin Mayfield blows a mean trumpet and is a fine musical arranger. Saturday in the Jazz Tent, the Grammy winner put the latter skills to use in directing the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (itself a Grammy winning outfit) in a dynamic program. Mayfield welcomed Mardi Gras Indian leader Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, clad in his spectacular beaded parade costume, and the local legend led the group in an opening chant. A gorgeous and respectful orchestrated version of the Star Spangled Banner followed, composed he said, for the 200th anniversary of its adoption as the national anthem. Other guests included Cyril Neville and Kermit Ruffins.

The advocacy/musical group Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, led by guitarist Tab Benoit, got right to their message, opening with Don't Let the Water Wash Us Away. Anders Osborne punctuated it with furious guitar runs and Jumpin' Johnny Sansone took it home with powerful harmonica riffs.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John later took lead on local R&B classic Ooh Poo Pah Doo and Neville summed up the prevailing sentiment of the afternoon - and perhaps the entire festival - by spitting out: "Ain't no funk like Louisiana funk!"

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took the stage in front of thousands of enthusiasts - and delivered. The 61-year-old legendary rocker got the crowd singing along early with popular hits Here Comes My Girl and Free Fallin', as well as Handle With Care, a shout-out to his time with the Traveling Wilburys.

He wrapped up the show to a massive sing-along with Runnin' Down a Dream and, as a sizzling encore, American Girl.

Across the fairgrounds, fellow headliner Feist acknowledged the challenge of performing in the same time slot as Petty. "If we weren't playing, we'd be over there, too," she told her audience, several hundred strong. "Thank you for not abandoning us!"

They didn't. Those gathered stuck around to the end and clapped until Feist returned to the stage for a searing encore of When I Was a Young Girl. "Now go get in some trouble!" she shouted.