Traveling Thursdays: San Diego, Gaslamp District, Balboa Theatre, and Joan Rivers

What a combo! Well, that’s what you get when you go to a Joan Rivers show at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego and have dinner in the Gaslamp District at Seersucker Restaurant (see first photo showing the "EAT" sign). Seersucker is the restaurant of former “Top Chef” contestant Brian Malarkey. The food is creative, tasty, and calorie laden. The space is fun, but don’t expect to have any deep conversations there as the acoustics are terrible and it can get extremely loud in there. Instead, just go for food and fun.

Since the camera goes pretty much anyplace that I go (a photographer should always be prepared!), I clicked a few things on the way to the Balboa Theatre to see Joan.

Cool sign, but wouldn’t want to stay here! Historic, yes; needing a good disinfecting? Yes, also!







The Balboa Theatre is a BEAUTIFULLY restored movie palace from 1924.



I especially like the little waterfall features located to the left and right of the stage.



Not so beautifully restored is Joan herself. Looking pulled back and puffy all at the same time, her face has become masklike. However, I wasn’t really there to see her face.

This woman is a comic legend who makes Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho look like amateurs.



At 70+, her physical movement, comic timing, and ability to flow with the energy of the audience are more akin to someone at least half her age.



As you probably already know, she can be brutal...but her tirades know no boundaries, as she is an equal-opportunity comic tearing apart every race, creed, and color known. For audiences who are shocked, please lighten up. The woman is not serious; she’s trying to get you to laugh at life, because as the saying so aptly goes, “Laughter is the best medicine.”



Or as Alan Alda once said, “When people are laughing, they're generally not killing each other.”



See more Balboa Theatre and Joan Rivers photos at my main website.