HAND ME YOUR KEYS

Balmy spring weather was appropriate for a tropical soiree. Actually, it was Bravo TV’s Tabatha Takes Over the Jungle Red Salon Spa Gallery premiere. The event was held at Seven Sushi and Steak Ultralounge in downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, January 10th. Parking was horrid due to the Timberwolves game. The second floor of Seven was filled with fashionistas, local celebrities, fans, clients, family, and friends of the Jungle Red crew.

Alison Price, guest Gallery artist, graciously invited me to attend. She set up a table to show off her stunning paintings. Despite the subdued mood lighting her creations brightened the lounge. My friend and I sipped delicious Fruitini Martinis and watched the crowd. It was better than the State Fair for people viewing. Plenty of fashion victims, they will do anything to look good, were in attendance.

DJ Alex Jarvis established upbeat mood music and kept the volume low enough for conversation to occur. Runway Show featuring Pink Champagne (no, not a drag queen) fashions and models from M3 Productions warmed up the crowd. Shannan Paul did a good job at projecting her voice but they should have given her a script for each outfit. Jungle Red invented a special Sex Kitten hair cut but it was not clear who was modeling it. Some of the models looked very uncomfortable and haughty in their shoes and clothes. They really need to eat more protein. Anorexia is ugly.

Tabatha Coffey used Skype to address the crowd before the premiere. It was nice of her to take the time. You could feel the anticipation of the audience building. The horde scurried to seats to watch the show when it began. No view was obstructed due to plenty of television screens. There was a momentary issue with the sound and occasionally dialogue was lost attributable to the heavy base in the background music.

So-called “reality” television is designed for drama. It highlighted deficits in the salon on purpose. The character assassination of Laura was unfair. Yes, she was wrong to drink on the job (illegal for licensed cosmetologists in Minnesota) and was stupid to do it in front of a camera crew. However, she cannot be blamed for all the “negative energy” at the Salon. Her attitude is a reflection of the people around her. The leadership establishes the tone of a business and Suzanne must take responsibility. Publicly humiliating Laura was inappropriate and unprofessional. I hope that Suzanne has taken courses in business and human resource management since the episode was filmed.

Disappointed that Alison’s interview was not included in the final version of the show. It would have been good to at least have her beautiful pieces acknowledged. They looked fabulous in the background. www.alisonpricestudios.com She was profiled on January 9th entry of this blog. The show didn’t have a lot of content because it was overwhelmed with commercials. I thought the point of cable television was to reduce commercials. Alas, I can’t afford cable since the cats refuse to work. Surprised that the producers did not donate the materials removed from the salon. There are plenty of charities that would have gladly picked up the couches.

The crowd quickly dissipated after applauding the end of the show. We Minnesotans are early risers so I’m sure some folks had 7am meeting to attend Wednesday morning. It was a very interesting experience. A couple years ago I volunteered and was invited to attend a premiere for Extreme Home Makeover. I learned that the television shows stretch reality for drama. The content should not be considered to be literal. It’s all about ratings, product placement, and revenue at the expense of naive people who seek the elusive fifteen minutes of fame.

Reality TV Salt Lick.
© 2012 Ima B. Musing