Excellent news to wake up to on a Saturday morning. Now it just has to make it's way through the House and get signed by the guv'nah. Fingers are crossed.

Republican Senator Richard Tisei sounds a little bitter, though...

"The people who are against smoking should just be honest and come forward and file a piece of legislation to ban tobacco in Massachusetts."

Sounds good to me. Great idea, Dick.

posted by brad at 9:28 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Please, please, oh Baseball Gods, don't let this happen. Keep Hilly here in the Hub.



Edited to add: Damn. It happened. And suddenly I'm a little less of a Sox fan than I was yesterday. So long, Shea.

posted by brad at 2:50 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

The latest emailed newsletter from Kenmore Square comic shop Comicopia announces...

"We're pleased to announce that writer Peter David will be here on Wednesday, July 9th from 5 to 7pm. He'll be signing (copies of the comic) Fallen Angel #1 and the new Supergirl : Many Happy Returns collection that will be arriving that day. He'll also sign his other current series like Captain Marvel and Spyboy as well as anything else he's written, and he's written quite a lot! For more information on his work, check out his website."

They're not kidding when they say 'quite a lot'. In addition to many, many excellent comics, he's written dozens of original novels, including Star Trek and Babylon 5 stories, as well as quite a few movie adaptations. His bibliography is mighty impressive indeed.

posted by brad at 1:43 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Esteemed independent comics publisher Fantagraphics needs some help, and they're spreading the word in hopes that discriminating buyers will lend a hand.

The unexpected bankruptcy of their former distributor resulted in an uncollected bill of $70,000, so Fantagraphics had to go in search of loans to keep on running. Well, the loans have come due, and they're hoping that interested readers will help out by picking up a book or two from their warehouse, converting bound paper and ink to cold hard cash so they can get the banks off their back. Read the full story at their website, and check out their catalog for an extensive selection of very cool books by the likes of Chris Ware, Peter Bagge, Dan Clowes, and Joe Sacco, just to name a few. Award-winning stuff that goes far beyond the conventional definition of 'comic books'.

A similar situation happened a year ago with Top Shelf, which was saved when the online comics-buying community heeded their call for help. Hope the same thing can happen now with Fantagraphics.

posted by brad at 10:28 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

A new Matrixed version of the Star Wars Kid video is making the rounds. Not as good as the original Remix, but still moderately entertaining. Enjoy.

posted by brad at 10:01 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Responses to my bandmate-search classified ad on craigslist keep coming in, and if this latest one isn't Chris funnin' with me, then it's one heck of a coincidence. This just arrived in my inbox...

"I've been playing keys since I was 8. My first band was a blues/hard rock band, and my second band was a Classic Rock fusion band. I'm down to rock out on some keys and sometimes pull out the cherry red KeyTar and pretend like I'm in an 80s hair rock band!"

Y'see, Mr. K's love of the KeyTar (or rather, the GuiBoard) is limitless. And cherry red? Perfect. C'mon, Chris... confess. I know you dream of this...



Amie's right... if I do this again, I'm going to need to write a better ad... namecheck some bands I like to narrow down the responses. The signal to noise ratio is pretty high right now. Still, makes for some good readin'.

posted by brad at 8:29 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

We're home safe n' sound after a three day trip down to Long Guyland for a ritzy wedding and a spontaneous trip to the Bronx Zoo.

Highlight? I got to stare face to face at a super-cute, incredibly expressive tiny baby gorilla, with just a thin sheet o' plexiglass between us.

Lowlight? I then got to watch that very same baby gorilla reach into it's butt, pull out a nice, soft handful of his own poo, and shove it in it's mouth.

From ultra-adorable to totally disgusting in ten seconds flat. Gotta be a new record. Think it doesn't get any grosser than that? Oh, but it does. He then smeared a feces-covered finger across the glass, resulting in a nice brown shite-streak. Sorry, no pictures of that special moment to share. I was too busy almost hurling.

Guaranteed poo-free pictures later on, after I decompress from the drive.


On an entirely different note... Happy Freakin' Birthday, Mr. Carlin!. I'm not gonna say what number b-day it is, 'cuz it makes me feel old. If I was half as cool at that age as Jason is now... well, I woulda been maybe twice as cool as I actually was. (oh, do the math.) Aw, ain't nuthin' but a number, right?

Hope the day was a good one, Jason, and that the celebratory dinner was a fine, fine time. Sorry we couldn't make it back for it ...

Awright, I need to unpack and get some sleep. Actually, maybe the unpacking can wait...

posted by brad at 10:50 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

I've got a bit of a Vincent Gallo fascination. The guy just plain intrigues me, and has since I saw him in Abel Ferrara's The Funeral years ago ... his look, his upbringing, the bizarre bands he's been in, the crazy random crap that comes flying out of his mouth during interviews. I saw Buffalo '66 in the theater and loved it, mostly because I had to respect someone who had the guts to write, direct, and star in a movie that makes himself so completely unappealing. The man is unafraid. Or just plain crazy. Probably a whole lot of both.



I knew that Gallo had a new film at Cannes this year, but I hadn't heard of the hubbub surrounding it until I read Cooley's latest journal entry. Wow. Rather than retread Jason's whole post (oh, just go and read it) here's an excerpt from Ebert's review of The Brown Bunny...

'' ...On Tuesday night, Cannes showed a film so shockingly bad that it created a scandal here on the Riviera not because of sex, violence or politics, but simply because of its awfulness.

Those who saw Vincent Gallo's ''The Brown Bunny'' have been gathering ever since, with hushed voices and sad smiles, to discuss how wretched it was. Those who missed it hope to get tickets, for no other film has inspired such discussion. ''The worst film in the history of the festival,'' I told a TV crew posted outside the theater. I have not seen every film in the history of the festival, yet I feel my judgment will stand."

Read the rest of the review here. Ouch. Considering I only agree with Egbert about half the time, I can't wait to see this film for myself, if only to disagree with him... or revel in an on-screen train wreck. Either way, that's entertainment. Hell, even Gallo agrees with Ebert ("It is a disaster and a waste of time."). He's calling his trip to Cannes "the worst week of my life". Which makes me want to see The Brown Bunny even more.

Is Gallo so unprepared for criticism that he's actually being swayed by the reviews? I mean, he had to have thought the film was ok or he wouldn't have submitted it to Cannes, wouldn't have gone over there to promote it, right? Maybe he was unsure of it and hoped other people would 'get it'? Or maybe he felt he owed something to the investors? Who the hell knows? I can't pretend to understand anything the man does. I can only hope his sudden vow to "never make another movie again" doesn't stick. If anything, I'd love to see how his reaction to all of this comes through in a future film.

posted by brad at 10:36 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Yesterday, some 3000 or so miles away, Clint Eastwood's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel Mystic River made it's debut in Cannes.

Why do I care? Well, it was my favorite book of 2001, the movie's got a pretty incredible cast, it was filmed here in Boston, and a good friend was part o' the crew. That enough reason for ya?

Ah, you fortunate French filmgoers. It doesn't open stateside until the fall, but I'm sure word of it's greatness, or lack thereof, will be spreading soon enough. Until then, check out a couple of articles about the premiere, including this new one in the Boston Globe, and keep an eye on IGN's Mystic River page, which seems to do a good job of gathering up any info about the film.

posted by brad at 8:12 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Ok, so I sometimes play the drums. Have been for a buncha years now. If you know me well, or have ever surfed through music section of this site, you're probably aware of that already. It ain't news. Neither is the fact that the last band I was in died an unexpected death last fall. A bummer, yeah, but life goes on. And so it has...

In a long-building fit of motivation and slight impatience, I placed an ad in the artists & musicians (neither of which I consider myself) section of craigslist yesterday. I threw it together in a few minutes, didn't put a lot of thought into it, and clicked 'post'. Easy enough.

Y'see, I've been waiting to rock again... I just kinda figured something would come along, y'know? Like the ad says, I've hardly ever had to force it... there've always been people around me who wanted to start something... the core of each new band comes together on it's own. I've always been able to start things off with friends, not inter-met strangers (although in the one big exception to that, I got awfully freakin' lucky with Matt, and by association, Mary, and I'm not just talking about their rock skillz, either.)

So I've waited long enough for fate to find me, and thought it was time to put something out there and push it along ... at the very least to see who's around, who's looking, what the demand is for a not-quite-ready-to-sell-the-drum-kit kinda guy like me.

In the interests of science, and potentially slight amusement, I thought I'd chronicle the responses I get here on the 'nac. Follow me on my little journey now, will you?

Responses, Day One :

1) The first guy invites me to join "a ska / rock band (without horns)". Perhaps I should have put 'no ska bands' in my ad, too? My friends are picturing me in a ska band and laughin' right about now. It's even funnier without the horns.

2) A singer who is into Faith No More, James Brown, and Jane's Addiction, and "music that makes you want to sing along and dance/move to." He used the word 'jam' in his email, too... and not in a good way.

3) A band who just lost their drummer and is looking for "someone who can FEEL the beat and groove it." Yes, he actually capitalized the word 'feel'. Y'know, I've been accused of a lot of things in my life, but "grooving it" was never one of them.

4) Oddly enough, while I was writing this post, I just got one that actually looks pretty promising.

Oh, and in the event that this whole search thing is a bust, and only serves the purpose of padding some blog space, what should I write in my next ad? Which parts of the ad sucked? What am I missing that could help narrow the field, or did I say waaay too much? (I, um, tend to do that sometimes.) Let me know in the comments section below.

And yeah, go ahead my witty pals, make fun of me in there, too. You know you want to. You started thinking about it three sentences ago, ya bastards.

posted by brad at 2:31 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

posted by brad at 12:56 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Call me clueless. Five years in this fair city and I never knew that an easy means of naturific escape was less than a half hour drive south, straight down 93.

In our need to get the hell out of dodge, to flee the masses of confused parents and relatives of thousands of area college graduates, we decided on a Sunday morning hike in the green-covered Blue Hills. It ended up being the perfect prescription for a concrete-and-crowd overdose.

First we checked out the animals at the trailside museum, which included some red hawks, brother and sister river otters, a curious fox, a couple of turkeys, and a beautiful snow owl. I swear, I could have watched those two river otters play together all day and not have gotten bored.



After we finally pulled ourselves away from 'em, we hit the summit loop trail that led up to Eliot Tower, where we took in an unbelievable view of the Boston skyline. I'd never seen the cityscape from this perspective before, and it was totally breathtaking. Sunday was a clear day, so we could see for many, many miles in every direction. If it weren't for the arrival of a horde of screaming, excited kids, I would have hung out up in the tower quite awhile longer. Back down the rolling, rocky trail we went, lungs full of fresh air and shirts spotted with sweat. Like I said, change in perspective does a brain and body good.

It was a great, if brief, half-day trip... despite our getting trapped by a massive street-closing parade in Mattapan on the way home. Next time, we'll hike a longer trail, and take a different route back to Allston.

posted by brad at 3:02 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Check out the latest details on Michael Moore's next documentary project, heard in a meeting at the Cannes Film Festival, as reported by Ain't It Cool...

"It's about the Bush family, their extensive connection with the Bin Laden family and the environment within the USA post Sept 11. He (Moore) has footage of the Bush family dining with the Bin Laden family. It elaborates on the business relationship between the families that has existed for many years. It explores how a Saudi charter plane travelled the US immediately after Sept 11 and how the FBI were pissed that they couldn't interrogate its Bin Laden passengers as they were ferried to Paris. It looks at the way in which the government used the events of Sept 11 to push their own agendas. He also said he would explore the reasons why Tony Blair put his arse on the line to support Bush."

This sucker should be out with plenty of time to spare before next year's election, so here's hoping some freak 'accident' doesn't befall Mr. Moore before it's done.

posted by brad at 12:39 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

My love for the original Half-Life runs deep. From the moment I installed it, nearly five years ago, I had a hard time walking away from my keyboard. A ground-breaking game that's about to get a so-they-say worthy sequel.

Details of Half-Life 2 are popping up all over the place, thanks to it's unveiling at this years just-finished Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Looks like it has garnered a "Game of Show" award, and given these comments at Spong, I'm not surprised...

"Wood splinters, glass shatters, mattresses burst, brickwork crumbles, bullets ricochet ... there seems to be dedicated physics engines for every material in the game! The gameplay features have come leaps and bounds, too. Freeman will be able to build up bands of allies to help him on his way, drive vehicles around the streets, and chuck chemical grenades into the midst of invading aliens. With all that adorning a compulsively nail-biting script, we can promise you that this will be an incredible game."

Gah. Can I reserve my copy now, please?

The best online resource for HL2 news so far? Definitely HalfLife2.Net. Eight different game footage movies have already been released, and they're all there for the grabbing. I'm still downloading 'em, but I'm fully prepared for the impending awe.

UPDATE : HalfLifeSource is also an excellent, maybe the best, current source for Half Life 2 news and details. Dig it.

posted by brad at 8:47 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

You'd be hard-pressed to find a blog out there that doesn't have at least a passing mention, if not a full-blown review, of the Matrix Reloaded. Bear witness as I jump on the computer-generated bandwagon.

My brief thoughts? Well, I liked it lots, but it had some big honkin' flaws. A really, really good movie that was kept from being great by a few odd choices. 'Nuff said.

By far the funniest review I've read online is this one at Kuro5shin. How much does Ktakki think it sucked? Just try and count the ways. So much well-expressed bitchin', some of which I agree with, most of which just made me do the cube-chuckle. I need to read more of Ktakki's online scribblin'. A way with words indeed. (thanks for the pointer, Joe)

posted by brad at 8:27 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

An excellent new interview with Candidate Dean is up on MSNBC. Gotta love a guy who can finish up a set of questions with a good, solid "oh, man".

posted by brad at 8:15 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Lots of Buffy the Vampire Slayer media bites out there this week, given Tuesday's fast-approaching series finale. NPR's All Things Considered aired a piece on the collision of the Buffyverse and academia called "Buffy Studies", so check out the article and accompanying audio archive if you've got the time.

The best of the online write-ups I've read so far is this New York Times Q&A with series creator Joss Whedon. Well chosen reader questions and appropriately thoughtful answers. (thanks for the heads up, matt). Here's hoping Mr. Whedon gets a steady outlet for his ideas sometime soon. Firefly is sorely missed.


My online archiving of 1992's Sub Pop Vermonstress Festival continues with the second installment, a nine-song set from Velocity Girl. Go on 'n get it.

Labels: livemp3s

posted by brad at 3:54 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Okay, now I'm officially excited...



posted by brad at 10:33 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

I pray for the day when this idiot has not an ounce of power or influence over any part of the federal government. From a Washington Post article ...

House Majority Leader Tom "The Hammer" DeLay is a tobacco-chewing, meat-eating Texas Republican who likes to drink red wine and smoke cigars. We're told that during a recent dinner with about 30 political supporters at a downtown Washington steak house, DeLay walked out on his guests before dessert when the manager told him he could eat and drink but not puff... ... after the main course, DeLay went into "hammer" mode, trying to compel manager Tom Khandker to flout federal regulations and lift the ban. We hear the conversation went something like this:

Khandker: "I'm sorry, sir, but this is a federal building, and it's against the law of the federal government."

DeLay: "I am the federal government."

But Khandker stood his ground, and DeLay and several cigar-chomping compatriots left for the smoke-filled Caucus Room before the cheesecake course.

Here's to you, Tom Khandker. Way to stand tough in the face of a power-mad, misguided old man. Begone with you, Tom DeLay.

posted by brad at 8:17 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Yes, the uber-enthusiastic little lightsaber weilding high-schooler in the video I linked to last week has been identified, according to this post on Waxy.org. His name is Ghyslain, from Quebec, and a collection is actually being taken up to get this kid an iPod or something... it's the very least he deserves for the pure entertainment value he's provided to surfers worldwide.

There's even an interview linked from the Waxy article, so get on over there and check it out. You still rule, Star Wars Kid.

posted by brad at 2:37 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Just added a bunch of new digital photos to the pictures section, including recent live shots of Audio Learning Center and the Essex Green, as well as a few random Boston shots and a ton of cute-as-hell cat pictures. A small sampling ...



How freakin' thoughtful is my lovely wife? This little anniversary surprise appeared on my desk, as if by magic, on Monday afternoon...



A vase full o' Gerbera daisies, my favorite flowers. They're making this workweek a lot more tolerable, that's for sure.

posted by brad at 1:47 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Has it really been twenty years to the day since the release of "Hand in Glove", the very first Smiths single? Sheesh. Well, now I know what I'll be listening to for the rest of the day. From an article at BBC News Online...

"The songwriting partnership of Steven Patrick Morrissey and Johnny Marr may not often be talked about in quite the same terms as that of Lennon and McCartney. But to a generation of music fans, they were the only band that mattered. They hardly outstayed their welcome. Within five years of forming, The Smiths would be no more. But their four albums - The Smiths, Meat is Murder, The Queen is Dead and Strangeways, Here We Come - arguably redefined British guitar music."

posted by brad at 10:18 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

posted by brad at 11:21 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Got some cool info and links to throw atcha this morning. Just a few quick hits...


Given that Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, and The Royal Tenenbaums are some of my favorite films (Rushmore being tops among them), I get giddy whenever I hear anything about a new Wes Anderson project. Those three films have ensured I'll see anything he does on it's opening weekend. Bring it on, Mr. Anderson.


There once was a band called Seam, straight outta Chicago. My love for this band knew no bounds... but they faded away once singer/songwriter Sooyoung Park moved out to Cali. It was only a matter of time before he found another band, and that band is eE. Since Sooyoung isn't the primary songwriter, and as of yet hasn't done any singing, it's not very Seamy... but there is a bit of his trademark guitar hidden in there. Check out this brand new Ee mp3 on their website. Hopefully their new album will let Sooyoung shine a little more than this one track does. The world needs more Mr. Park, and hopefully he's working on his own stuff on the side.


I finally spent some quality time with my new Xbox over the weekend, and discovered the magic of Halo and last year's Buffy the Vampire Slayer game. Ok, Xbox loyalists, I get it now. It's all about the exclusive titles, and these two have already validated the system as far as I'm concerned. It's kinda nice diving into Buffy's virtual world given next week's series-ending final episode, and I'm psyched to find out that there's yet another Buffy game in the works. Looks like it's going take the form of a "lost episode" from season 5, and this time around you'll be able to play as one of five different characters instead of just Buffy. Maybe it'll let me play as Riley and I can jump into a pool of molten lava. Over and over and over. That'll never get old.

posted by brad at 12:30 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Craig & Stephanie just returned from one of their many travel vacations, this time to heaven on earth... aka New Zealand. I've always had it in the back of my mind to go there someday, and that thought has been reinforced not just by the beautiful settings on screen in the Lord of the Rings, but now by Stephanie's stunning photo at NZ's Reflection Island. I mean, just look at this (and click for a larger, perfect, desktop-sized version) ...



No, it's not a postcard, but it should be. Craig says...

"This photo was taken at a place called 'reflection island' on Lake Matheson in a town called Fox Glacier (South Island NZ). We spent the night in this area and watched the sunset and got many shots of the sunrise as well. This shot was taken about an hour after sunrise and you can very clearly see the highest mountain peak in NZ, Mt. Cook,or more appropriately named "Aoraki" by the Maori, meaning 'Cloud Piercer'. What a gorgeous place to sit and watch the clouds and reflection...the walk around the lake was amazing as well. Lots of different scenery in a small area. The island is simply stunning!"

I am one jealous guy. They'll soon be updating their travel website with more pictures from the trip, and I can't wait to see 'em.

posted by brad at 12:22 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

I told Amie "I am so going to blog that!" after the following happened, and I am nothing if not a man of my threats ...

So we're sitting smack dab in the middle of a sold-out screening of X2 last week, chatting up a storm while sharing a bag of popcorn I'm holding, and waiting for the movie to start...

... when suddenly, in slow motion, as we're talking... Amie reaches over into the popcorn bag of the other guy sitting next to her. Yes, while she's talking to me on her right, she's trying to snag a fistful of popped corny goodness from a total stranger on her left. We weren't even out of popcorn or anything... she was just on complete auto-pilot. She really had no explanation beyond "I was hungry!".

Many laughs were had. We even spied Amie's victim sharing the tale with a friend as we were leaving the theater. I'm guessing he's going to get a lot of mileage out of that one, as well he should.

posted by brad at 5:57 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

In some so-called 'discriminating circles' of television viewers, it's hip to hate reality TV... any and all of it. To lump it together into a big pile o' garbage and dismiss it as a whole. To bill it's over-popularity as part of the continued downfall of western civilization. Most reality shows really don't give people a reason to think otherwise.

Take, for example, any of those relationship-based car-crashes: Mr. Joe Bachelor's Personality on the Island of Tempted Millionaires. Manipulative, lowest common denominator, ultra-cheesy crap, with all the substance of a fresh batch of cotton candy. Granted, that's why some people (cough *amie* cough) dig it ("it's so bad it's good!"), but I just can't bear to waste even a minute of my life on those looking-for-love-slash-money-slash-career type shows. (I will, however, fess up to catching maybe every other season of the Real World... if only for nostalgic reasons, and to justify the presence of empTV in our cable line-up).

Anyone who dismisses all reality teevee is missing out on one of the best shows on television, the Amazing Race. Twelve teams of two, all with a pre-existing personal relationship (siblings, friends, married, dating, etc), race each other around the world for a million bucks. The last team to arrive at the final checkpoint in each episode gets the boot, and the first one to arrive at the final checkpoint of the season gets the cash. A simple concept that is well-executed, smartly-edited, and hosted with a distinct lack of cheeze by New Zealander Phil Keoghan. This show takes anything that's good about reality television (building tension, heated competition, interpersonal struggle, silly Americans confused by foreign cultures) and accentuates it. It's highly entertaining stuff.



The fourth season kicks off in a few weeks, so check out the new website, read up on the teams (cheers to the producers for choosing a male married couple this year), and get ready for the race.

posted by brad at 11:13 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

I finally got around to posting the first installment of the soundboard recordings from the 1992 Sub Pop Vermonstress Festival, which took place in my hometown of Burlington, Vermont. I dusted off some old cassettes, wired the rarely used tape deck into my computer, and converted them over to mp3 files.

This first set is from Six Finger Satellite, a band that quite simply blew my mind the first time I saw 'em. Check out these six incredible sounding live recordings of songs from their debut album and one of their early seven inches. Read more about 6FS at their old Sub Pop site or here, and get with the downloadin'. I'll be posting more sets in the near future from the likes of Beat Happening, Codeine, Come, the Drop Nineteens, Velocity Girl, Pond, Green Magnet School, Giant Sand, Barbara Manning, and Sloan. A wealth of amazing live stuff.

Labels: livemp3s

posted by brad at 7:17 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Reason number 4,335 to love the Internet, from waxy.org:

If you're going to videotape your Star Wars fighting skills on a school camera, remember to remove the cassette when you're done. Watch this embarrassingly good video (Windows Media video). It didn't take long for the online community to remix it with full Star Wars special effects and lightsaber noises. I have no idea where this video originated from; if you know this kid, let me know.

I've offered to help host the files at the links above, since I've got no traffic limits. Go nuts. If only we all had as much enthusiasm in our daily lives as this one kid has for double-ended lightsaber action. You rule, Star Wars Kid.


posted by brad at 1:20 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Our weekend movie-going experience covered both ends of the spectrum: A full-blown action-filled blockbuster, and an intimate dialogue-driven indie flick, both of which were excellent, and inevitably in my top 10 of the year. Considering how much potentially good stuff is on the release-horizon, that's saying a hell of lot.

Friday night was X2, which managed to exceed any expectations and thoroughly boot me square in the ass. A pitch-perfect superhero film, well acted (well, except maybe for Cyclops Marsden, but he's at a disadvantage with the whole no-eyes thing), engrossing action sequences, excellent set design, special effects that actually worked in context. While some will complain about the number of characters and the lack of screen time for some, I think they did a great job of balancing little moments for everyone. That's what actually made the film for me... the quieter times, the one-on-one moments between actors. Logan & Bobby in the kitchen, Nightcrawler & Mystique at the campfire, the X-jet scenes with Storm & Nightcrawler, Rogue, Magneto & Mystique, and Magneto & Pyro, the whole scene with Bobby's parents. Lots more. I saw the film fairly spoiler-free, and was often surprised at the turns it took. Compliments to Singer for sticking in tons of geek-out moments and easter eggs for longtime fans, while keeping the whole thing relatively accessible for the rest.



Probably the best superhero film I've ever seen. Spider-Man sits squarely in it's shadow. Granted, the first Superman flick was right up there, but I didn't have as personal a connection with Supes when I saw it. The X-Men have been in my brain for almost 20 years, and to see them finally and fully realized on screen... just, well, wow. A freakin' fanboy dream. I liked the first X-Men movie well-enough (it was the first one that Amie and I ever saw together, when her geek streak first revealed itself me), but I can see now that it was just there to set the stage for this one. Get the introductions out of the way and get on with the story-telling. Let's hope that the inevitable third installment even comes close to measuring up.

To bookend the weekend, Amie and I went to check out the East Coast debut of Bob Odenkirk's film Melvin Goes To Dinner at the now-finished Independent Film Festival of Boston. I had no idea what to expect from this movie, and given my disappointment with Harry Shearer's Teddy Bear's Picnic, my expectations were lowered for a film from a great-comedian-turned-first-time-director. Well, turns out there was no need to lower the bar for this one.

As Bob said in his introduction, "it's nothing like Mr. Show", and it wasn't... although most of the funny bits were right on, especially cameos from Jack Black and David Cross. Bob actually started his intro by looking at the non-existant person to his left and saying "So, David, what's new in the fake news?"... a reference to his absent Mr. Show pardner.

The film seems simple in it's premise... a string of conversation and revelations over a chance dinner between four friends and friends-of-friends, but it is so well executed, so perfectly scripted, and so naturally acted, it seems like you're sitting right there with them. It was actually adapted from a stage play, using the original four primary cast members, and you can tell just how much rehearsal and preparation went into the dialogue, the interaction, the facial expressions. In the Q&A after the film, Odenkirk described the filming... five handheld cameras in order to catch not only the actors' line readings, but every other actor's reaction to them. The filming of the dinner itself took place in just one day, over a 12 hour period, and it flows seemlessly, despite the use of some out-of-sequence moments and non-dinner bits that weren't in the play (those were the scenes that had the added cameos from Jack Black, David Cross, and Maura Tierney. Great stuff.)



Playwright, screenwriter, and principal actor Michael Blieden was perfect as Melvin... the entire main cast was so damn good. Blieden also edited the film, which showed his familiarity with every line, every detail, every tiny nuance of the characters. I just enjoyed the hell out of this thing, as well as the Q&A that both Odenkirk and Blieden took part in afterwards. I can't believe this movie doesn't have distribution yet... it's been very well reviewed at previous festivals, even winning awards at a number of them. At the very least, it deserves a DVD. Hell, I'd be first in line for it.

Check out the website, and if you know anyone who lives near a future festival appearance, let 'em know about it.

Nearing the halfway point, the best films of the year so far ... All the Real Girls, Melvin Goes to Dinner, X2, A Mighty Wind, Laurel Canyon, XX/XY. Hard to believe we've still got both Matrix movies, the Hulk, the Return of the King... not to mention all the under-the-radar indie releases that we're bound to discover. A very good cinematic year indeed.

posted by brad at 11:32 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

The very first Independent Film Festival of Boston kicked off it's four day schedule last night with the East Coast premiere of Dummy, Adrien Brody's first starring role since picking up an award for his work in the Pianist earlier this year. The fest continues this weekend at three area independent filmhouses (the Brattle,Coolidge Corner, and Somerville theaters), so head on over to their website for the schedule.

Schedule stand-outs, at least at first glance ...

Melvin Goes to Dinner, directed by Bob Odenkirk from Mr. Show, playing tonight and Sunday. w / Jack Black, Maura Tierney, and David Cross. (The always funny Mr. Odenkirk will be appearing at the Sunday screening).
13 Moons, playing tonight and Saturday night. A great looking ensemble drama with Steve Buscemi, Sam Rockwell, Peter Stormare, Elizabeth Bracco, Jennifer Beals, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. The director will be on hand to introduce the film.
IvansXTC, also playing on Saturday night and Sunday night. A well-reviewed Hollywood mortality tale with Danny Huston and Peter Weller.
Nothing So Strange, a fictionalized account of the assassination of Bill Gates, showing at this afternoon and at midnight on Saturday.
Soft for Digging, a near-silent horror film, completed as a student thesis by up-and-coming director and screenwriter JT Petty, playing at midnight and tomorrow night.
West of Here, a road-trip story starring Josh Hamilton, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Tate Donovan, screening tonight and tomorrow morning.

I'd recommend Dummy as well, but if you're only now reading this, you missed it just like I did.

(postscript : The irony of my posting about an indie film fest as I'm hours away from seeing X2 has not escaped me.)

posted by brad at 2:37 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Whew. And just like that... it's May. I can't remember a week disappearing as quickly as the last one did. I took last Thursday and Friday off, but instead of using the time to relax, I ended up packing the days in the best of ways. Seeing old friends, taking in rock shows, flyin' around town in a taxicab, hanging at River Gods, eatin' good food, trying to work it back off on the treadmill ... and a bunch of other stuff that kinda blurs together. I slammed straight into the workweek and haven't slowed down since. I need a couple days off to recover from my couple days off. But it always seems to work out that way, y'know?


Thursday night brought the first of two Throwing Muses shows, who are playing a few dates in support of their long-awaited (but quickly, and rawly, recorded) self-titled new album. We actually hadn't planned on going that night since we had tickets to the sold-out Friday show, but we couldn't resist a last-minute drive over to the Middle East. I mean, when one of your favorite bands is playing what is probably their last two area shows, how can you not go to both?

Easy parking, tickets at the door, and comfortably crowded. This show was added after the Friday one sold out, and while it was by no means sparsely attended, it was far less insane than the next night would prove be. We were able to move fairly close to the front (without annoying anyone who'd gotten there earlier), which we did just in time to see the Muses take the stage...



After a few songs, the core trio of Kristin, David, and Bernard were joined by original Muse Tanya Donnelly. I swear, whenever her and K sing together, it's hard to keep the goosebumps down. Their 1991 album (and last as a four piece) The Real Ramona is one of my desert island discs, and it was a genuine thrill to hear a few songs from it with Tanya's shimmering guitar parts and voice in the mix.



The setlist...

Furious, Bea, Shark, Solar Dip, Los Flamingos, (Tanya takes the stage), Say Goodbye, Not Too Soon, Mercury, Pandora's Box, (Tanya leaves), Start, Hazing, Civil Disobedience, Pretty or Not, Portia, Speed and Sleep, Bright Yellow Gun, (Tanya returns), Honeychain, Flying, Two Step, (encores with Tanya), Limbo, Mania, (second encore), Vicky's Box

I absolutely cannot believe I got to hear Vicky's Box live. The songs from the new album (which honestly hasn't settled in with me as well as I'd hoped) took on a whole new life on stage. It's like I finally got a couple of them, especially Speed & Sleep and the album closer, Flying. So, so good. The sound mix, always a gamble in the Middle East Down, was pretty right on where I was standing... I could hear everything, and it was powerful without being ear-piercing... no complaints from me.

Actually, one complaint, but it's not about the sound. I find my tolerance for basic social ineptitude to be growing lower by the year. There's always going to be a couple of mentally stunted misfits in any random crowd, but for some reason the proportion seems to growing higher and higher... and near-sold-out shows are increasingly scary prospects.

This one guy...I will call him Mr. Sniff. I could sense him right behind me, seemingly getting closer and closer with every song. Granted, it happens when you're near the stage... you're going to get bumped, jostled, whatever. No big thing, it's part of the deal. Then I hear someone behind me say into Mr. Sniff's ear ... "Hey, listen man, nothing personal but, um, your hand keeps hitting me in the crotch. Like... a lot. I'm sure it's not on purpose or whatever, but if you could not do that, I'd appreciate it." So, either that guy is paranoid and didn't like getting accidentally poked in the jewels a couple of times, or Mr. Sniff is trying for a healthy dose of stealthy man-thrill.

Now that his posterior grope-target was off-limits, apparantly Mr. Sniff thought it was time to set his sights, and his honker, on me. I'm not exagerating here, folks... I started feeling myself get poked in the back, over and over. Y'see, the guy was pretty short, and yes... it was his freakin' nose. Poke. poke. poke. Like a woodpecker. At the same time, his arm is bumping my ass. Wonderful.

Ok, now, independent of the fact that he's touching me in a seriously disturbing way... how the hell is this guy watching the show? He's staring at my back! It was the freakiest thing. I glanced back, looking around him to see if maybe he was getting pushed into me... and there's a huge space behind him (believe me... the guy who got the repeated crotch-feels was as far back as he could be.) And I see that other people are eyeballing Mr. Sniff, wondering what the frell he's doing.

So I start the subtle shoving... moving back into him, forcing him backwards into the gap, moving forward again... but inevitably he returns. Finally, I turn to him and say "Back off, man! seriously, what the hell?!" His eyes are glazed over, nothing comes from his mouth, he's in some kind of substance or stupidity-enduced haze. But he does retreat a bit, thank jeebus.

A couple of songs go by, I'm totally into the show, a great song ends, and I look over to Amie to say "Wow." So what do I see? Mr. Sniff has buried his nose in Amie's hair. She yells "What are you doing?!" and the guy mumbles something incoherantly. Amie thinks it was something to the effect of "I like the shhhmell of yerr hairrr..." "Alright, that's it!" I respond, as I shove him backwards. "What is your deal, man!? Back the hell up!" So he does, but not enough. He can still hear us as we start talking about him, ridiculing him, laughing at him.

Then, in the paranoid recesses of my brain, I'm thinking this guy is full-on-freaky enough to whip out a knife. Nearly three years to the day that Amie and I met at a Muses show, in the same smoky room, and I'm going to get stabbed in the back by a serial sniffer. Great.

He moved on, though. Probably to his next nasal victim. I am both amused and completely creeped out by this whole thing... more on the creeped side, though. Sheesh.

Ok, where was I? Ah, the Muses were playing. Right.

Soo... it was late night, and a great show. To my ears and eyes, the better of the two... despite the efforts of Mr. Sniff. Got to sleep in late into Friday morning, then meet up with some fellow Muses fans and friends who were in town for the sold-out second night ...



That's Shaun, Jo, Melios, Rich, fellow-Allstonian Steve, and Alistair, hanging in Harvard Square, eating some killer Pinocchio's Pizza. After that we were off to River Gods to meet up with a bunch more fans, drink a few pints, and hang out until heading to the Middle East to catch Audio Learning Center, who were opening the second Muses show. If you know me, you probably know I'm a pretty big ALC fan ... I think their debut disc was one of the best released last year, and they put on a hell of a show at the Middle East Up last May.

My love of ALC forced me into a tough decision... my longtime pals in the Essex Green were playing across the river at the Paradise that night, apparantly at the same time. I do my best to get out and support my friends bands, and this one was especially important to me... I've totally fallen in love with the Green's new cd The Long Goodbye. It's a beautifully-produced, deeply-layered, near-perfect pop record. The attention to detail, the harmonies, the occasional but not overwhelming country feel, the pure catchiness of the songs... so much of it is stuck in my head. Even writing about it, melodies get in my brain. I've been playing it incessantly, and my desire to see Chris, Jeff, and Sasha on stage this time was equal parts friendship and equal parts fan-ship.

So I got lucky. At about 10 minutes to 9, someone in the River Gods crew made a call to the Middle East to double-check set times, and it ended up that ALC wasn't going on until 10 o'clock... a bit later than last night's show started. So I phoned the Paradise, and the Green was scheduled to hit the stage at 9 o'clock. I could do it. And so I did. 15 minutes, and a $6 cab ride, later I was at the Paradise ticket window, checking if by some chance I was on the list ... although I never told them I might show up, so the chance was mighty slim. At that exact moment, Chris walks up, adds me to the list, and I'm standing in front of the stage ...



Alright, if I was any less objective about seeing these guys play, I'd probably be in the band. Suffice it to say, they were great. Fedji said to me afterwards, as I rushed to catch a cab back to Cambridge, "Sorry it wasn't as good as the record.", but that's the thing... you can't compare 'em. The songs and melodies are there, they translate really well live, and the harmonies come in when they need to ... but they're not going to get the sound they got on The Long Goodbye unless they double the size of the band from 5 to 10 and hire the best soundman in town. Fortunately for them, the songs are strong independent of the production... good enough for newbies to want to check out a record, and then proceed to be blown away. Hopefully this month-long tour will result in a whole bunch of that.

I taxied it back to the Middle East just in time to see Chris, Steve, and Paul kick into the first of many new Audio Learning Center songs. I was able to catch their soundcheck earlier that afternoon, so I knew there'd be at least a couple new ones (it's been a looong time since the last record, after all), but I didn't expect quite so many. They only played two off the debut (Prescription and Hand Me Downs... oddly enough, my two faves), and the new stuff was markedly different, in such a good way. More rhythmic, more driving, hookier... more dynamic. Instead of slow builds, there were more sudden shifts in volume, energy... they felt more like band songs than the personal recordings the previous record... which makes sense given all the shows they played together over the past year.



Since his days with Pond, I've always loved watching Chris sing and play bass. The guy just puts everything he has into showing off his songs ... intensely emotional, fingers flying, veins in his neck tightening as his lyrics and sweat pour out of him. He does that melodic, strummy style of bass playing that I love so much ... the kind that just clicks with me. There are some trios that make you miss that second guitar, who sound much thinner, less powerful, live than on record. ALC just isn't one of those bands. Chris and Steve's sounds blend and fill things out perfectly. Speaking of Steve's guitar, both his playing and Paul's drumming have stepped up a notch in the past year, or at least the new stuff seem to call for more. Their energy level and ability to get lost inside the songs has really picked up, and I absolutely can't wait to hear these songs recorded. Especially this one called Passenger.

Speaking of recording plans, here's what Steve had to say on the ALC website a few days back...

On the home front, we are just about to start recording our second album for Vagrant Records, hoping to have around fourteen songs completed by the first part of June. Right now, Vagrant is giving us an October - I mean ROCKtober - release date, maybe with an EP sometime sooner, but that could easily change. We are very confident that these are our stongest songs yet, and we can't wait to get recording.

Let's hope that EP is a go... and that Passenger ends up on it. I've got a hankering to hear that sucker again, and quick. I can't get that main, hypnotic riff outta my skull.

The Muses followed up with a set that only differed from the night before by one song (with Pearl as the set-closer), and I chose to watch this one from the back, far away from the packed-in masses (and clear of any wanna-be sniffers). The sound suffered a bit from that spot, and I felt a little uninvolved... actually, Amie was home sick in bed, and nothing's as enjoyable as it would be if she was around (yes, I know... awwwwww / barf.) Still, a good show, capping off a couple pretty amazing days of live music.

Wow, this post turned out to be a lot longer than I'd planned. And you're still here. Thanks for sticking it out.

posted by brad at 12:27 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |