by Brenton Crozier
Michael Feldman brought his interactive NPR radio show Whadya’ Know? to the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville last weekend. Broadcast to more than 290 stations nationwide, the program is part talk show, part game show and part variety show. This week the premise was based completely around the Jacksonville community. You can tell that Feldman did his homework and in that witty, funny and subtly deprecating way managed to both praise and insult our beloved city throughout the program.
The stage was Prairie Home Companion meets Pee Wee’s Playhouse with a cozy chair and table for announcer Jim Geiger and numerous props that included a sun-bathing pig and a life-size cardboard cutout of Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra conductor Fabio Mechetti. The ridiculously good Whad’Ya Know jazz trio was also in tow. Feldman curried quick favor with approximately two-thirds of the crowd, walking out with a Florida Gators T-shirt on, but when quickly questioned about it by an audience member, he explained that it was a matter of wardrobe convenience.
There wasn’t an empty seat in the theater and the crowd was quite amped and obviously fans of the show, not missing a single cue in any of the audience participation aspects. Taking the stage before going to air, Feldman attempted an Elvis impersonation to honor the king’s 1956 performance on the very same stage. It was awkward, but the crowd appreciated it nonetheless.
The show started in its usual way with Feldman asking the crowd, “Whad’Ya Know,” but as directed before the show’s broadcast, the crowd substituted the normal retort of “Not Much, You?” with “Not Much, Ya’ll?” Feldman started with a summary of current events in the Sunshine State and focused mainly on the recent primary. He discussed Giuliani’s backfiring strategy and I believe the phrase “the crater he left behind” was used. He also remarked about Democrat votes not counting, but how that seemed to be the norm in Florida.
After Jacksonville received a good beating for a lengthy list of monikers, Mark Woods, a metro columnist for the Times Union, was brought out for an interview. They mainly discussed politics and some of Woods’ recent articles about the primaries, the homestead exemption vote and Charlie Christ. Woods was low-key, diplomatic, dry and funny – a perfect fit for the show.
For the first quiz, an audience member, in this case a very enthusiastic, devoted fan of the show, was chosen and took the stage. She described herself as a glorified IT help desk worker, a beach resident, a parrot head and someone who may have a huge crush on Feldman. A phone contestant was searched for with the question, “What position did Leonard Skinner, who inspired the venerated hometown hero’s name of Lynyrd Skynyrd, hold in a high school?” After four tries, our beach resident was paired up and answered the questions in short order.
Categories ranged from current events to things you should have learned in school. A prize pack with numerous odds and ends was awarded, as well as a really cool neon-green beach cruiser bicycle. How apropos!
The next segment included an interview with an alligator wrestler/trapper/handler named JT. He discussed the rigors of the job to an intrigued Feldman who asked, “Do you respect the alligator?”
JT answered yes, he did. When Feldman inquired what exactly he respected, JT answered, “Well, they’re tasty.”
“I suppose that is a form of respect,” Feldman responded to uproarious laughter.
Local multi-instrumentalist and Bashert recording artist Rebecca Zapen was the musical guest. With band backing, she played the infectious ‘Smile’ which oddly enough, has a sound that hearkens back to old Elvis movies, specifically old Elvis beach movies. I think the catalyst for this was Zapen’s ukulele and male backup vocals delivered by Chris Estes. Her next song was a Bosa Nova number called ‘Delores’. Smooth, oddly infectious and flawlessly delivered, Zapen was a perfect fit for the show and was extremely well-received by the crowd. Zapen marvelously represented Jacksonville’s talent pool to the show’s national audience.
The last segment featured the owner of the hallowed Clark’s Fish Camp. She brought rattlesnake, gator, antelope and eel for Feldman to sample. They discussed the peculiar décor and history of the restaurant and, of course, the exotic fare. Legendary drummer Clyde Stubblefield of the Whad’Ya Know jazz trio (who played with James Brown during his hayday) helped sample the adventurous menu items. Remarkably, it was a fitting way to round out the show.
Although a lot of fun was had at Jacksonville’s expense, there was plenty of praise. This was Feldman’s first time in Jacksonville. I asked him his impression of the area.
“Friendly people, good looking women and beautiful weather, what’s not to love?”
The entire program was extremely enjoyable, stimulating and engaging – the kind of entertainment that people crave. Being a captive audience member for a movie or concert certainly has its place, but it’s truly elevating to be involved and become a part of the show.
When I asked Feldman if his show and NPR programming in general catered exclusively to a high-brow audience, he said “Yes, but I think I’ve lowered that.”
Ah, Feldman has made disparagement a crafty art form that he is willing to turn on himself. I guess one of the lessons to Whad’Ya Know is: it is quite freeing to laugh at yourself because you probably deserve it. And yes, laugh at your surroundings, they probably deserve it a little more than even you do.
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