Tales from the Nation - Day Two

Sunday was a much lower key affair than Saturday. Spending all that time in the sun had taken a lot out of us so we decided to set up our home base somewhere in the shade this time. That was fine by me. There weren't as many bands playing that day that I was pumped about seeing so I didn't feel the need to be in the middle of the action. I got to the park just in time to see Dugen, who were quite good, though their set was pretty short. Andrew Bird was also really good and the Wrens were awesome. I could've done without The Hold Steady and I thankfully missed most of those English major limp dicks the Decemberists.

The best part of the day, though, had to be the DJ set by Diplo. I had seen him before when he opened up for Rjd2 last year and thought he was really good. He played a lot of cool mash ups and remixes and his original stuff wasn't bad either. I wasn't really prepared for what he had in store this time. He totally ripped it. He got the crowd moving quickly and didn't let up. Even some serious technical difficulties (mike trouble, speakers sounding like they could blow at anytime) didn't hold him back. He's certainly the best DJ to dance to that I've seen in a long time. It would've been nice if more of Pedro could've been there, but B-unit and I held it down. Next time he comes to town, though, you best believe we are all over that shit.

All in all, the festival was a success. The only bad things about it were the heat, the long food lines (no lines for beer, however) and the tool box announcer that took the stage between each band (he got a little better on Sunday, but I think that's because he was starting to lose his voice). Everything else was awesome. I certainly felt like I got my $21 dollars worth. I also don't really see the need to go to Lollapalooza this weekend. I don't really think it's going to be able to compete, so why spend another weekend standing in the sun all day? I don't need to see Widespread that bad.

Tales from the Nation - Day One

The Intonation Festival was this weekend and, to put it mildly, it was a blast. The value I received for my $21 weekend pass was unprecedented. There's a lot to tell, so I'm breaking this down by days. Saturday, I rolled over there with a solid group: Gaydro, Mia and Mel, Alissa, Suz and myself were there from the start. Action Pap and Whistle Pop joined us later in the day. We picked out a nice spot located right in between the two stages so we would be able to watch all the acts without having to change locations. However, though the view from this spot was nice, it was also super hot. No shade, just sun all day. It was cool, though. There were a lot of bands playing on Sat. that I was super excited about. AC Newman was pretty good, despite some technical difficulties at the beginning. Four Tet was amazing, much more beat driven this time than his set on Friday at Reckless Records. From what I got to hear, Broken Social Scene was really good. I was waiting in line for food with 57 and Suz so I sort of missed out on seeing a lot of their set.

The Go! Team was next and this was the band I was most amped about. They made my favorite album of last year and I still listen to it like I just got it. Unfortunately, I was sort of disappointed by their show. They have this female rapper named Ninja who is in some of the songs on the album, but not often and never for very long when she does pop up. During their set, however, she rapped over almost all of the songs and even rapped new bits instead of the original samples that were in the songs ("The Power is On" being the first example that comes to mind). Now, I'm all for improvisation and the changes to a song that come with playing it live, but these were like completely different versions and I had been really looking forward to the versions from the album that I loved. I was the only one who felt like this, though. Everybody else in the group really like their set.

Prefuse 73 and Tortoise finished out the day (Death From Above 1979 also played, but I missed their set). Both were awesome and the day would've been great if it had just ended there. It didn't though, as I also witnessed one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Late in the afternoon, Jean Grae and Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy) were doing a DJ set together. This would've been cool enough, and it was really funny to see them interact together and hear their song choices. But during the final ten minutes of their set, they played and acted out part one of "Trapped in the Closet". It was incredible. Not just because it was hilarious, but because I knew I was watching a once in a lifetime event. The only thing that could've made it any better was if Princess, B-Unit, Gaydro and Whistle Pop had been there to see it with me. Still, I'm just glad I got to see it. I plan on telling my grandkids about it.

Tales from Sunday coming soon.

This town just keeps growing!

Check it out, everybody. James Downing, the guy responsible for the amazing Population: 1000 drawings (which you can revisit here and here) is back with a new installment, appropriately titled Population: 1000 More. I've only been able to skim it, but it looks to feature more cute and quirky characters, which I can never get enough of. It also happens to star yours truly, in at number 1634 (top right corner). BG5000 sure is sporting a nice tie. I'll update this post later with some of my favorites.

He's the greatest DJ

Friday night, Whistle Pop Pedro (one of the newest members of our notorious bike gang) and I went to Sonotheque and saw one of the best DJs I've seen in a long time. He was spinning kinds of great tunes. The DJ was none other than Dr. Tobias Fϋnke, that's right, David fucking Cross. He was doing a DJ gig with the guys from Death From Above 1979 for some benefit and seriously, he was awesome. The other guys weren't bad, either. Dr. Fϋnke even played "Barracuda", which just blew me away. Whistle Pop got his autograph and a hug from him, which made her night. They slipped a little towards the end, playing more rock stuff and not enough jams, but that really wasn't that big of a deal. The only bad part about the evening was that the whole place was full of hipster idiots who wouldn't dance. Whistle Pop and I were the only ones dancing. How you can not dance to "Barracuda" is beyond me. Anyway, it was a good time and I kind of wish he DJed more often. Maybe if that whole comedy/acting thing doesn't work out.

In the port of Amsterdam

It seems that The Rev and I find ourselves flat fucking broke in the wonderful country of the Netherlands. Yes, as near as I can tell, I think I've been the victim of identity theft, an occurrence that has totally clean out our finances. Not the best of situations, but things could be worse. I mean, nobody has to go hungry in a city with legalized prostitution, right? Thank god all of our tickets have been paid for already, so at least I know I'll be returning home. Other than this little mishap, the trip has been incredible. Munich was a fucking blast. Word to the wise though: never try to keep up with a Scotsman when your drinking liter steins of high alcohol content German beer. The end result will not be pretty. Trust me. I should have some pictures up tomorrow. I'm sure you can't wait.

Czech it out

Hey everybody, I know you thought I was gone for good (and that still may happen, you never can tell) but I wanted to say hello from Prague, the most beautiful city I've ever been to. That's right suckers, while you're slaving away the day at you hohum jobs, I'll be kicking it in the Golden City. Sorry, I know I shouldn't rub it in. That's not going to make me any friends. The Rev and Reg are both doing fine, for those who wanted to know. We head to Munich tomorrow, and hopefully that leg of the journey will have less complications. I'll tell you more about it when I don't have to pay for my internet connection.

. . . Also, let's here it for Grant, who never ceases to put his career before the important things in life, like keeping up a blog. Good job, buddy!

Tel Aviv's Gravel Toothbrush

Lat night Action Pap, Gaydro and I went to the Prefuse 73 / Battles / Beans show and let me tell you, it was intensity in ten cities. Without a doubt, it was one of the best shows I've ever been to. Beans was tight, sporting a flow whose quickness should make Twista just get out of the game. Battles were just sick. I had only barely heard of them before this (Action Pap had mentioned them a time or two) so they came as a complete surprise. They played a brand of funk infused post-rock (that's the best I can do to pin them down as they elude genre classification) with such conviction and, some might even say, gusto that you couldn't help but be amazed. But for me, Prefuse stole the show, no small feat considering the acts he had to follow. I had never seen him live before so I didn't know what to expect. I never would've guessed he'd be rocking a live band, complete with a bassist, a drummer (two if you include when he was on the skins) and two guys (as well as Prefuse) working the turntables, samplers and keys. For the record, there are few things as incredible as watching a drummer play along with glitch tracks and do it well. They played everything I wanted to hear and more. They played almost all of One Word Extinguisher, which is awesome since it's one of my top ten favorite albums of all time, and a lot of cuts off of Extinguished Outtakes. It was almost too much. If these guys (either Prefuse or Battles) roll through your town some time soon, you have to go see them. They will blow you away. Trust me.

Can I move to this town?

Everybody needs to check out this piece by James Downing called Population: One Thousand. It's 1000 (obviously) different doodles of all these amazing little characters. If I could draw, this is what I would do with all of my time. I've only been able to really look at a few of the pages, but the ones I've seen so far are incredible. Some of my favorites are #110, 177, 351 (this one reminds me of G), 420, 515 - 518, 633, 699 (this one is Action Pap) and 767. But these are just a few of them. I think they're all great. A few of the pictures are slightly blurry but it's not that big of a deal. The awesomeness still comes through.

A Farewell to Mr. Duke

Like most people, my first introduction to Thompson was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I read when I was a senior in high school. A lot of people I knew were entranced solely by the unbelievable tales of drug and alcohol consumption, but for me all of that was secondary. What fascinated me was his style. He was hysterical, biting, over-the-top; he pulled no punches; he was "punk" before the word had any real meaning (and he remained it even after it lost what meaning it had). I began reading everything of his I could get my hands on: The Great Shark Hunt, Generation of Swine, Hell's Angels, Better than Sex, all amazing and frantic works. For me, though, his best work (and my fifth favorite book of all time) was Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72. It is the best book I've ever read about the American political process and should be mandatory in every college Intro to Political Scinece class. Thompson covered issues and events in a way that nobody else would, cutting through the bullshit to get to the heart of the matter. And he made it (gonzo journalism) seem so easy. When I would write back in those days, it was his voice that I would ape, using it as a flashlight to find my own.

A lot of people regarded the good Doctor as a wholly cynical creature, but those people just weren't paying attention. I think one of the reasons he spoke to me so much back then, and still does today, is because no matter what absurdities he saw transpire in the world of politics, and how angry or frustrated they made him, he always believed that the American people wouldn't let themselves be hoodwinked by "those bastards". He was a sturdy and consistant voice of dissent in a media that is filled to the brim with spineless fuck wits, and he was needed more than ever. What did he know that would make him do this? What finally made this fearless son of a bitch cash in his chips? It's a good question, but one for another day. There will be time for such contemplations for when the expense accounts run out. Rest in peace, Doc.

It's a shame about Ray

Dutch and I finally saw Ray last night and, to be honest, my feelings are pretty mixed. First, the good stuff: everything you've heard about Jamie Foxx's performance is true. He is incredible. He isn't just doing some half-assed impersonation, he really does become Ray Charles. Another performance in the film that hasn't received any press (as far as I know) is Curtis Armstrong's Ahmet. You may know Curtis better as Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. Well, he's pretty good here too. As far as a score is concerned, you couldn't ask for better material. It's too bad that the soundtrack that's for sale doesn't contain all the songs we hear in the movie, but if it did it would probably be two disc long (not that there's anything wrong with that). The movie also doesn't shy away from some of the darker aspects of its subject's life, in the way, say, A Beautiful Mind does. Charles loved the ladies, and he loved the Horse and thankfully neither of these is swept under the rug.

All that being said, Ray falls victim to so many of the problems that plague biopics. For starters, in almost all of the scenes outside of the studio or off the stage, it comes across as pretty heavy handed and cheesy (the scene where Ray and Margie come up with "Hit the Road, Jack" is the worst offender). The film also gives very simple explanations for complicated things, like the reasons behind Charles' heroin addiction. I can see how you might want to simplify things (Ray's guilt over his brother's death led to his smack habit) for the sake of time, but the movie clocks in at about two and a half hours and feels longer than that. Maybe if it had left out some of the repetitive incidents there would've been more time to delve deeper into the life of a complex man. How the director (Taylor Hackford) got nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. I mean, was there really any need for that psychedelic detox scene near the end?

Again, I want to state how amazing Jamie Foxx was. Between this, Collateral and his little performance on the Grammys the other night, I'm pretty sure he can do anything. I wouldn't doubt that he has the ability to write the Great American Novel if he wanted to. It's just a shame that such a dynamic performance is in such a by-the-numbers, TV mini-series type movie. Foxx and Charles deserve better.

If you know what I know, you don't wanna step to this

I know some badass women, some sweet Southern girls who aren't going to take shit off of anybody. Perfect example: Friday night, after a great dinner and a couple of bottles of wine at Tango Sur, Dutch, Mame (our friend from Athens up for the weekend) and I headed back to Dutch's place for a few more drinks. It was slow going getting back (even in a cab), with the six inches of snow on the ground and all, but we eventually made it. The cab pulled up in front of Dutch's building and almost immediately, some dipshit in an SUV pulled right up behind us and honked his horn, even though there's room to go around us. I got out of the cab (leaving the ladies to settle up with the driver), threw my hands up at the guy in a "what the fuck" sort of way and then stumbled over to the building. The guy kept honking his damn horn. Well, Mame finally got sick of it. She popped out of the cab and shouted at the guy "Hey, why don't you shut the fuck up?" Mr. Dick Face was not really prepared for this. He was hoping to impress the giggling bitches sitting in the back of his Pathfinder by being an asshole to some people in a cab. He did not expect any repercussions. After a few seconds he recovered with a witty "Why don't you shut the fuck up" and started his honking again. This is when Dutch reached her limit. After telling this douche bag to calm the fuck down a couple of times with no luck, she walked in front of car and threw the bag of her leftovers at his windshield, punctuating it with another "Calm the fuck down", and turned around and walked towards her building. This really left King Ass Hat speechless. For about five seconds he had nothing to say. When words finally did return to him, the best he could muster was a pitiful "You forgot your bag, bag lady", which he shouted as he pulled around the still parked cab. The whole scene was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed. These are the ladies I roll with. They are awesome. To paraphrase the Wu:

If you got beef then bring the ruckus
Cause Dutch and Mame and nothin' to fuck with.

You've been warned.

Out of the loop

The other night Dutch and I watched Garden State, a movie neither one of us had seen but one that had come highly recommended by so many different people. I know this opinion isn't going to be popular around these parts, but I hated this movie. The whole thing was just one big ham-fisted, clichéd mess. All of the characters are pretty much one dimensional, except for Zach Braf's Andrew but he's just barely 2D. Even his friends Mark (Peter Sarsgard) and Sam (Natalie Portman) both feel like there's nothing beneath the surface, which is amazing considering how much screen time they have. We never get an idea of why they are the way they are or why they do the things they do. Let me give you an example of what I mean. In The Royal Tenenbaums, when Royal and Margo are at the ice cream parlor, Margo begrudgingly orders a butterscotch sundae, which is perfect for her. Margo Tenenbaum wouldn't eat hot fudge. The closest thing Garden State has to this is Mark's collection of Desert Storm trading cards. It's these types of things that make characters seem alive.

One of my biggest problems with the movie is how it wants to be deep and say profound things, but it ends up sounding like some sort of crappy motivational day calendar or Chicken Soup for the Indie Rocker's Soul. It wasn't bad enough to have the characters deliver lines comparing life to a bottomless abyss with a straight face, but to have them standing on the edge of one and shouting at it (in the rain, no less) is just too ridiculous. Why are so many hipsters falling all over themselves praising this movie? If this same scene was in some Hillary Duff movie, the snarky comments wouldn't stop. Garden State also lacks any real emotional payoff. I'm sure the scene when Andrew confronts his dad is supposed to be a powerful moment, but since we don't anything about his dad or his motivations (there's that whole one-dimensional character thing again) the confrontation doesn't really hold any weight. And please don't even talk to me about that terrible, terrible ending.

At first I thought that I was just too old for this movie. To me, Garden State seems like the next generation's Breakfast Club. But I read all these reviews that just heap praise onto this film and I start to feel like the kid who pointed out that the emperor was naked. What am I missing here? There are much better films out there that actually achieve the goals this movie shoots for. You want to see an off-beat love story with a happy ending? Rent Secretary. How about a movie that champions living life and being who you want to be? Rent Harold and Maude. Interested in a story about quirky young people trying to find themselves? Rent Almost Famous. Looking for a film with a great soundtrack? Rent any Wes Anderson film. As far as I'm concerned, your time is better spent elsewhere.

Let the hate mailing begin.

The Night Watch could be your life

Last Thursday, Action Pap and I traveled to one of the best dive bars I've come across in Chicago so far, a little place called the Lake View (which is next to the Burger Delights seen here). This place was classic, all wood-paneled and smoky. It has the best arcade sports game to feature a trackball (no not Golden Tee, Fraty) Capcom Bowling, in which I pulled a stunning, 10th frame comeback to triumph over Pap. The real reason to go check the place out, though, is the house band, The Night Watch (who play behind the bar, to give you an idea of the kind of place this is). The lead singer looks like a Hispanic David Crosby and the guitar player looks like the most pissed off school bus driver you've ever seen. It's the best old man cover band I've ever seen.

. . . According to Amanda, the girl who told me about the Night Watch, they used to be even better than they are now. Apparently, they used to have a different guitar player, some fifty-something guy with a sparkly guitar and matching guitar strap. I'm still unable to determine whether or not her statement is the truth or just one of those indie rock "they were better before" kind of things. She swears it's not the latter, but she looks a little shifty when she says it.

More Honorable Mentions

I had a lot of extra time on my hands these past few weeks to listen to music, with all the holiday travel and all, and I've decided to add some albums to the Honorable Mentions list:

Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
Cee-Lo Green - Is the Soul Machine
Dizzee Rascal - Showtime
The Shocking Pinks - Dance the Dance Electric

And while we're at it, here's my top ten of 2004, just in case anyone missed it and gives a shit.

Fatherly advice

My dad called me at about 11pm on New Year's Eve while I was at a friend's party to wish me a preemptive Happy New Year. Here's a little excerpt from that conversation:

My dad: Well, watch out for wild women.
Me: OK, I'll try and cut back on the whiskey to make sure I don't fall victim to their charms.
My dad: Yeah, whatever you don't drink, pour on 'em.

I am about 99.9% sure my dad has never seen Jay Z's "Big Pimpin'" video, and yet, he just conveyed the drift of it right there . My parents never cease to amaze.