DEEDS: Here's a fun summer night: local talent show------Really!
When I was asked to be a judge at "Donnie Mac's Got Talent," a local variety show, my initial reaction was a groan.Oh, brother. Entertainment writers are automatically sentenced to 5,000 hours of community service judging talent
shows each year. But by the end of the finals Wednesday evening, I had to admit it: "Donnie Mac's Got Talent" is
onto something. Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine, located in the Linen District in Boise, was packed. The restaurant
has had to beef up Wednesday staffing since the talent competition began six weeks ago.
Throughout the event, about 325 people crowded onto the patio, where a stage had been built. A shade canopy
covered the audience. Spray floated down from misters overhead. Adults happily scarfed deep-fried food and drank
$1 beers. Children scurried through the aisles.
"Donnie Mac's Got Talent" was the idea of marketing director Jodi Peterson, who scurried about collecting ballots
from the crowd.
"I love 'America's Got Talent' - the good acts and the bad," Peterson explained. "I thought, 'How much fun would
it be to sit here and eat and drink and maybe launch the next star?' " Turns out, quite a lot. A middle-aged dad
enthusiastically sang Incubus' "Drive" while his son accompanied on cello. An athletic guy named Jim Penske
showcased jaw-dropping tricks with a Hacky Sack on fire. An 11-year-old girl passionately sang Taylor Swift's
"You Belong with Me" while her little sister drummed and her big brother played guitar.
Unlike local battles of the bands I've experienced - too often a form of heavy-metal waterboarding - this competition
was lighthearted and friendly.
Prizes of $1,000, a beach cruiser and recording time at AudioLab were on the line. But the thrill of entering "Donnie
Mac's Got Talent" obviously was in the experience.
The Valley has some real talent hiding out there. A vastly entertaining duo called Juxtapercussion went berserk on a
marimba. Singer Chelsea Cammann's pitch-perfect version of "Greatest Love of All" was "American Idol"-worthy.
Speaking of "Idol," I knew exactly why I was there as one of the three judges: To be the Simon. If I have one regret,
it's that I wasn't hard enough on cocky teenage blues duo the BoDo Brothers, whose inappropriate lyric about sexual
self-gratification had patrons spitting up their sweet potato fries.
Ultimately, we judges had no power. The winner was decided by audience voting, which was fine by me.
I had no quibbles with Freshly Squeezed, an enthusiastic family bluegrass group, emerging victorious. However, my
own audience vote went to the Hacky Sack master. He was amazing.
"At the end of the day, you kind of want everyone to win somehow," Peterson lamented.
Talented Boiseans will get another chance in September. "Donnie Mac's Got Talent" will launch its second series
of talent nights.
Interested? Contact Peterson at jodi@greenworksidaho.org to participate.