Coming: The Indie Film Fest of Boston
Posted on April 10, 2007 at 7:31 pm | No Comments
One of my most favorite signs of early spring: The announcement of the full schedule for the annual Independent Film Festival of Boston. This year marks the fifth edition, and while I’ve attended every one so far, this is the first year I’ve purposefully left my social schedule open between April 25th and May 1st. No conflicts, no out-of-town trips, no rock shows to get in the way. The only choices I’ll have to make are between films I want to see that happen to conflict with each other.
Of the long list of this year’s films, both narrative and documentary, here’s one from each day that jumps out at me…
The opening night film this year is director Hal Hartley’s latest, Fay Grim, with Parker Posey in the title role. If the character’s name sounds familiar to Hartley fans, it’s because the movie is a sequel to his 1997 film Henry Fool, with Posey reprising her character. Co-star James Urbaniak, who will be appearing at the opening night screening, also reprises the role of her brother Simon Grim. And while Urbaniak’s imdb listing is lengthy, I’m most psyched to see the man who voices Dr. Venture on the animated Venture Bros. series on Adult Swim, and a guy whose blog I read regularly.
Thursday, April 26th, 2007
The world premiere of On Broadway on the fest’s second night will be the quintessential Boston-flavored affair, as the film couldn’t be any more locally connected. It’s set here, was filmed here, and most of the cast and crew are from here. The screening is sure to be a party, with director Dave McLaughlin and some of the cast in attendance, including former New Kid Joey McIntyre, Watertown native (and, yes, leather-pantsed vampire slayer) Eliza Dushku, and (cue “The Final Countdown“) Arrested Development’s low-voiced puppet-master, Will Arnett. No doubt much of the crew will be in the audience as well, and I’m sure tickets will disappear shortly. Hell, I’d stop reading this right now and go get yours if I were you.
Friday, April 27th, 2007
Friday night at the Brattle brings the documentary Punk’s Not Dead, about the current and ever-evolving state of the over 30-year-old punk rock movement. Tons of bands and musicians in this thing, o’course: Fugazi, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, X, Black Flag, NOFX… the list goes on and on. Director Susan Dynner will be in town for both screenings of the film, and I’m sure she’ll have some stories to tell.
Saturday, April 28th, 2007
There is no film with a higher geek-factor this year than documentary The King of Kong, which means, of course, that I am compelled to attend. Seriously, an entire movie about the original world record-holder of the Donkey Kong high score, and the man who threatened to dethrone him 20 years later? Total arcade generation gold. (also screens on Friday night)
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Sunday night I’ll be at The Ten, directed by David Wain of The State comedy collective, and of the sadly departed Stella TV series. Apart from the Stella episodes and shorts, I believe this is the first film he’s directed since 2001’s Wet Hot American Summer, which had a pretty great cast… but this one might just top it: Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, Winona Ryder, Justin Theroux, Liev Schreiber, Gretchen Mol, Rob Corddry, Janeane Garofalo, Adam Brody, and Jessica Alba. And that’s not even a complete list of recognizable names. The film is a series of ten (duh) short stories centered around the ten commandments, and word is that someone from the cast will make it to one or both of the screenings (there’s another the previous day as well).
Monday, April 30th, 2007
During the Silver Jews tour of Israel in the summer of 2006, filmmaker (and blogger) Michael Tully followed David Berman & company around to document the noteworthy trip, and the results are the film Silver Jew. As a longtime Joos fan who was very glad to see them play here in Boston that year, I’m really looking forward to this one, especially with director Tully in attendance at both screenings (the film also screens on Sunday night).
The music geek in me won out over the baseball fan on this particular night of the fest, but I’ve gotta mention the documentary Rumbo a Las Grandes Ligas, which I’d be seeing if it wasn’t for Silver Jew. It takes an in-depth look at baseball in the Dominican Republic, where for many kids it’s more a religion than a pastime. Our own Big Papi, the Red Sox David Ortiz (who, as I type this, has just hit a couple homers), appears in the film , and both director Jared Goodman and producer Eran Lobel will be at the screening. And hey, the Sox are off that day, and will be back in town to play Oakland… wonder what the chances of Ortiz showing up at that screening are? Hmmmm…
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
The film that will officially bring the 5th annual Independent Film Festival of Boston to a close is the world premiere of Brooklyn Rules from Rhode Island-born director Michael Corrente. He’ll be at the final night screening of the movie, which stars Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara (Entourage’s Turtle), and Mena Suvari.
And that hardly scratches the surface of this year’s lineup, and as the fest gets closer I’ll no doubt add a bunch more to my “gotta see” list (especially some of the “late night” screenings). Check the full schedule to make your own list, and get on those tickets (or better yet, a festival pass) before they’re gone… every year too many film fans are shut out who wait until the last minute, so don’t be one of ’em.
A few IFFB links…
Befriend the IFFBoston on MySpace. For more on all the films, visit the excellent new Unofficial Guide to the 2007 IFFBoston. Apparently the 5th year anniversary gift for a film festival is your very first fansite. Check out this little feature on Boston.TV about the premiere screening of the Mission Of Burma documentary that took place at last year’s IFFBoston. Randomly, Amie and I can be spotted in the crowd for a micro-second, and it was good to see my old friend Dan (who used to sell me lots of records at Pure Pop in Burlington, Vermont) interviewed briefly, saying “I’m a huge Burma fan, absolutely“. A final footnote: Just when I thought the festival couldn’t be improved, I discover that the Somerville Theater now serves beer on tap. Nothing better to wash down the ol’ popcorn.
Mp3s: Caspian in Allston, MA
Posted on April 8, 2007 at 8:28 am | No Comments
It’s a big week for the boys in the Beverly-based band Caspian, as their long-awaited first full-length, “The Four Trees”, officially arrives this Tuesday. To mark the release, the guys will be on WFNX tonight, appearing on the weekly New England Product program at 10pm, and will be hanging out at River Gods in Cambridge tomorrow night for an album listening party (and playing some of their owns faves). The week peaks with a bound-to-be-great Friday night headlining show at the Paradise in Allston, which launches the band into a month-long national tour, delivering the sounds of “The Four Trees” to our west and south.
Having spent a solid week with my pre-order copy of the disc, I’m so glad to discover that it delivers on the promise of their lauded 2005 “You Are The Conductor” EP, and much more. They’ve expanded on the balanced sides of their sound, adding depth in both directions, from pure power to remarkable fragility. There are moments of massive near-metal (the good kind), and others that are too beautiful for words (so to speak). The effects-laden dual-guitar interplay is more intricate, aided even by the occasional acoustic lull, and the rhythm section is even more dynamic, two facts that set them above and apart from other like-minded instrumental artists.
Y’know, it almost seems a slight disservice to categorize Caspian as an “instrumental” band, although there’s no denying that’s what they are. Unfortunately some more passive music fans stick modern instrumental acts in a box, labeling them “post-rock”, and moving on to others with lyrics and singers that serve ’em up (the same types might skip an amazing foreign film just because of subtitles). But the fact that Caspian offers no words, and therefore no easily-uncovered meanings behind their music, for me only adds to the emotional impact of what they create: it is what you make it, it brings to you what you bring to it. Critics will use easy words like “cinematic” to describe their sound, and the songs may find their way onto soundtracks (which has brought cash and exposure to some of their categorical peers), but it can’t be dismissed as “background music”. It demands your attention, and in fact, it’s driving me to distraction as I’m trying to write this. I’m taking long breaks just listening, getting even more psyched for the Paradise show on Friday.
With the band’s permission, here’s a set they played back in January, just down the street at Great Scott. The night was a benefit for those impacted by the fire at the Pan9 art collective space in Allston (and despite the passage of time, I’m sure they could still use your help if you’ve got a little cash to spare). While the sound quality of this set is pretty good, it still doesn’t do the band’s live shows justice, doesn’t recreate what it’s like to stand in front of them with eyes closed and ears open…
Live at Great Scott
in Allston, Massachusetts
on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
01. Some Are White Light
02. Crawlspace
03. Quovis
04. Further Up / Further In
05. Last Rites
06. Moksha
07. Brombie
Buy Caspian’s “The Four Trees” from Dopamine Records, for a mere $8 at Newbury Comics, or digitally via eMusic. You can also pick it up at Friday’s show at the ‘Dise, so grab tickets to that over here, or cheaper at their box office. Joining Caspian will be the excellent On Fire and Constants.
Some Caspian links…
Their own website, the band’s MySpace page, and the Dopamine Records site. Mp3s: “ASA“ from “The Four Trees”; “Further In“ from “You Are The Conductor; “Loft“ from their May 2004 demo; Download a complete live Caspian set from Seattle in 2005 at the Live Music Archive; A live version of “Last Rites“ recorded in December 2004 at Gordon College; other recordings can be found on Caspian’s music page. Video: Check out a short video of Caspian working on the new song “Some Are White Light“ in their practice space, and a couple live clips as well. As I mentioned, Caspian’s month-long U.S. tour in support of new album kicks off on April 19th in NYC. For a full list of all the dates, check here. As ever, you can listen to all ‘Nac-hosted tracks on the Hype Machine.
the very fine print… Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.