Blahg

24 August 2004

Another week, another winning concert. Maybe the name "Maybelline Chicks with Attitude" was the reason for the relatively poor turn out at the Paramount, but the show was great.

Newcomers Charlotte Martin (a solo pianist with an incredible pair of lungs and a slightly dark sense of humor) and Katy Rose (a vixen who'll give Avril Lavigne a run for her money) opened the show with their own half-hour sets.

But The Cardigans were the biggest surprise of the night. Good Lord! Incredible! It seems like they were written off by most in the States as "simply" another Swedish pop act with Lovefool, but these guys proved otherwise in such a big way. They are a rock band. They are fantastic.

As I've said before, the best shows are the ones where you run out the next day and buy the band's music. This I did with The Cardigans. I picked up their latest, Long Gone Before Daylight, and it's the strongest, sharpest, coolest new album I've heard all year. Each track is a delight.

You're the Storm, Nina Persson, and you've got the best dimples on the planet.

My Favourite Game, Communication, Live and Learn... It was one great song after another.

Seeing The Cardigans live was a real revelation. Peter Svensson, writer/guitarist, is a new rock hero for me to watch; he was into the music, he had the gestures, he had the groove, his guitar sang... Wow! We traded thumbs up and "woo-hoos" - nothing was lost in translation between this Mattopian American and the Swedish band.

Oh yeah. The main headliner was Liz Phair. First time seeing her live as well. In a word: Goddess. A stunningly sexy woman; her videos are only a hint at how hot she is in real life. And yes, her music is damn good, too.

Funniest moment: When Liz asked for a beer and a pit participant passed up a cup of Jack. She was on to it after a sip and was quick to pass it back.

I particularly appreciated the wink-wink, nudge-nudge humor of playing scenes from Brazil, one of my all-time favorite movies, during Why Can't I.

What a night.

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18 August 2004

Best concert so far this year: The Corrs with Sophie B. Hawkins last night at the Universal Lending Pavilion in Denver, Colorado. To put that in perspective, that means they topped David Bowie's career-spanning set at the Fillmore and Starsailor's stellar show at the Fox.

Sophie's opener was a great set and she was a pleasure to meet after the show. When I teased her about her DVD, The Cream Will Rise, referring to her as "the bad girl of Rock and Roll," she was quick to say she's not a bad girl and the description was the work of marketing people. She's a sweetie who's genuinely interested in meeting the fans and she took her time with everybody on line.

As for the Corrs, they were quite modest and genuinely pleased with the crowd's overwhelmingly positive reactions.

Their music made me want to hop on the next flight to Dublin.

Yeah. Caroline Corr was on maternity leave and rumors of free Guinness at the show proved to be false (good thing I went for that third pint at Brooklyn's). Nonetheless, it was a perfect evening.

Andrea's irresistible and actually more beautiful in person. Every guy in the place melted as she danced about the stage barefoot and gushing at the audience's adoration. Sharon took a turn on a solo and commented about being nervous. Hard to imagine, but that's the kind of openness that makes them so down to earth and accessible.

Among the highlights: The Ryan Adams tune When the Stars Go Blue, which Andrea introduced by noting she sang it on their Live in Dublin album with another Irish rock singer from a band called U2. She commented that the band will be big one of these days and Bono's going to be a big rock star. (Hey! That's my joke!) Naturally, Breathless was breathtaking as was Radio.

Tracks off the new album, including Angel and Borrowed Heaven, were also top notch.

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26 July 2004

The 9/11 Commission's report says the U.S. is still not safe. But our politicians have taken the rest of the summer off.

Tell me, servants of the People of the United States, where are your priorities? Having fun or making the country safe?

As for me, in the past week, my house was burglarized and, in the past 9 months, I have had only three vacation days; one of them was taken to deal with police matters relating to the burglary.

To the men and women of the U.S. Congress: I promise you the entire country will kick each and every one of you out of office if our people are attacked on our own soil while you bask in the sun at your multi-million-dollar summer get-aways. We are tired of the partisan politics and the bullshit.

To the burglars: If I have any say in the matter, you will be introduced to Mattopian justice. It is swift and it will change you.

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19 July 2004

Spotted on MediaLifeMagazine.com:

“Sci Fi admits that Shyamalan doc is a fraud”

It appears Sci-Fi Channel concentrated more on fiction than science when promoting Sunday's three-hour documentary 'The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan.' On Friday network president Bonnie Hammer said reports that Shyamalan had attempted to shut down production of the project were made up, as was the documentary’s claim that the drowning of a child in a lake near Shyamalan's Philadelphia-area childhood home had affected his life and sparked his interest in the supernatural. Last month Sci Fi claimed that Shyamalan had stopped cooperating with filmmakers because the subject became too personal. Hammer blamed the mess-up on a guerilla marketing campaign gone too far that was intended to blur fiction and reality just like the director's spooky movies. Hammer said she was in on the gag from the beginning, but parent NBC Entertainment wasn’t very amused. A spokesperson for the conglomerate told the Associated Press that the project did not fit with company policy."

But did anybody watch that thing? I'm embarrassed to admit I had it on; I was stunned at how bogus the whole affair was and I fell asleep during the final third hour. "Blur fiction and reality"? "Guerilla marketing"? Please! That mess of a mockumentary had a pizza delivery boy all of a sudden becoming an Internet/supernatural guru and a lame-brained actor who couldn't pull off the mascarade as a spooked documentarian. Then there was the Johnny Depp/Adrien Brody sequence; an outrageous bit of "coincidence" after which the show lost all credibility. Ohhh... And those horribly staged "heated discussions" between editor and filmmaker. Crap.

That's not to mention the fact that Night, talented director though he may be, can't act. Not even when he's pissed about the documentarian digging too deep.

The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan was a ludicrous piece of trash that's best left buried.

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16 June 2004

If the Red Sox are a cure for what ails the woeful Rockies, then the Sox are worse than their 37/27 record indicates.

Go Yankees!

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15 June 2004

Aretha, honey, were you lip synching? Congratulations to Larry Brown and the Pistons, from this Detroit-born homeboy. Thanks for showing Jack how it gets done.

Kobe, see you in court.

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5 June 2004

For the Gipper. A great American. An honorary Mattopian.

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30 May 2004

Since everybody's sharing their opinion these days, here's mine.

Over exposed: Andy Borowitz and Tourè. They've escaped VH1, after nearly destroying the Top 20 Countdown with their endless quips and the annoying smart aleck remarks of other non-entities. Now these two are inflicting their wit and points of view on CNN and other "mainstream" TV outlets. Guys, your humor wears thin pretty quick. Stick to your day job: Writing. You sound better that way.

At least Mo Rocca throws away all sense of pretense and plays up the insanity of "journalist as celebrity."

William Hung. Go home. Practice. Come back when you're in tune.

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10 May 2004

On the way to an advance screening of Troy, I drove by the Cinderella Twin Drive-In, the last operating drive-in in the metro-Denver area. On the marquee: Lot 1: Van Helsing / Dawn of the Dead Lot 2: Scooby Doo 2 / Starsky & Hutch / Walking Tall

Sheesh. It really struck home how devoid of NEW IDEAS Hollywood really is.

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