“Christmas with the Devil” by Judith Owen
Judith Owen is a fixture of Los Angeles to me. For the past decade, she’s performed Christmas shows at little LA theatres with her husband, veteran comedy star Harry Shearer (Simpsons, all Christopher Guest movies). While Ms. Owen plays piano and sings, Harry plays the upright bass, a gift he showcased in the folk band movie A Mighty Wind.
At the shows, however, Judith is the true star. I’ve gone to two Christmas shows, courtesy of my friends Todd and Cat, but have been unable to go for a couple years because, frankly, the shows have gotten too big and too sold out for me to manage my way in. The shows have an intimate, friendly feel. They unironically perform all the classics with a slow-burning jazziness. Fellow Guest alum Michael McKean sang the “Mele Kelikimaka”-esque “Christmas Island” with his wife, Annette O’Toole.
Judith then does a cover of the Spinal Tap “Christmas with the Devil” that makes it admirably sweet. If you like your Christmas shows sprinkled with atheism, “Bush is a prick” jokes and “kidding-but-not-really-kidding” statements about how we’re all going to be debt collected by the Chinese, then please shop Judith Owen and Harry Shearer’s Holiday Sing-a-Long!
1 comment
Michael Russo says:
Nov 30, 2011
Love her! Thanks for sending the great music. Hope we get to see her together in the future (we will get tickets!)