ReeVewz of CBGB

Well, never thought we'd see a movie depicting the life of John Holmstrom formerly of our own High Times as his creation of the underground DIY zine Punk parallels the rise of CBGB as the live birthplace of the punk rock scene in NYC.  This is a subject better suited for a TV miniseries--or a elongated documentary--and its attempts at being stylized beyond the parameters of ordinary film is too derivative of the superior American Splendor, such as the comic-book-panel-come-to-life effect. Like many feature film biopics, it's a little too neat and tidy, trying to cram in all the rich history and characters in less than two hours, though the film is not without its little charms.

Alan Rickman plays CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, who opened a club in NYC's Bowery district with the intent of showcasing bands that played Country, BlueGrass and Blues, which he thought was going to be the next big thing. Little did he know it was going to be something totally different, a stripped-down raw rock that eschewed the (alleged) excessive expansion and bombast of bands like Zeppelin and Floyd. Rickman effectively assumes the character of Kristal as a true artistic soul, not always girded to the necessities of reality, like paying bills. Johnny Galecki from Big Bang Theory wears a shag beard and gets to do his retro thing as Terry Ork, manager of seminal punk band Television, also portrayed on celluloid. CBGB was located in the shithole of NYC and everything in and around the club would go wrong, like Television's Verlaine getting shocked by water leaking down onto his mic--although the actor playing Richard Hell overacted with one too many cheesy sneers.  Somewhat arresting was a recreation of the nascent Talking Heads "auditioning" for Kristal, and in the process playing the single best song to emerge from the late '70's CBGB-era--"Psycho Killer", at a time when the Heads lived across from CBGB and were but a power trio.

The feminine side of CBGB gets exposure too, with Blondie and Debbie Harry played by the fetching Malin Akerman as well as the anti-Debby, the godmother of punk, Patti Smith, reading poetry onstage and bringing forth another dimension of punk. Kyle Gallner is woefully miscast as Lou Reed, overweight and conveying none of Reed's cooler-and-deeper-than-thou presence. There isn't a lot of dramatic tension in the film, so some is created via conflicts between Kristal and his daughter who worked at CBGB. Scenes of the various' bands adventures at the club are intercut with Holmstrom and collaborators attempting to intellectualize and express the aesthetics of the burgeoning punk scene.  The plot gets a little more focused when Hilly becomes manager of the obnoxious Dead Boys and has to deal with proving they'd be a viable commodity, the antithesis of the punk ethos. Hilly's mom and Joey Ramone provide one of the funnier scenes in the film. But his daughter's "You gotta do this for all the kids out there" speech to her Dad to keep the club going runs false, and the last minute donation of money to save the club makes the movie feel like It's a Wonderful Punk Life. The film concludes with real-life footage of Hilly Kristal onstage with and being praised by the Talking Heads when they were inducted into the R&R HOF in 2002, but that only makes us think this film would have been more dynamic as a documentary or extended cable miniseries that could truly develop these characters as more flesh-and-blood people than diefied icons. OMFUG!

ReeVewz of ABC-TV new comedy shows

Thanks to Hulu.com for airing these shows so that we could review them ahead of time

Back in the Game--A post-modern Bad News Bears, this comedy appeals to the baseball fan in me as well as having some good cynical characters like James Caan's father "The Cannon" and one of the players, a chubby sarcastic kid (ABC-TV didn't provide the actor's name).  The show should be titled Out at Home though, that would better fit the darker edges of the show and also relate to the daughter character (Maggie Lawson) moving back "home" with her son into Caan's character's crib. Based on the pilot we'll keep watching.

Trophy Wife--Malin Akerman is fetching and the show did have a Modern Family manic, rapid-dialogue kind of feel to it (but we're not claiming it's anywhere near as good as Family). Based on the pilot, we'll watch one more ep and see where it goes. 

The Goldbergs--We can state right up front that we will not be watching any more episodes of Goldbergs, in fact we didn't even get through the first ep! Ethnic and social stereotypes abound along with unfunny misplaced references. How is the older son Barry a Flava Flav fan in 1985? (Public Enemy's first album came out in 1987). It's also a bit of a Wonder Years ripoff, but with none of Wonder's innovation, charm or sentiment and the lame Barry is no match for Wonder Years' obnoxious older brother Wayne.  

Mike Gordon comments on Phish Halloween show

At the Phish tour-ending show at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday August 5, bassist Mike Gordon made a surprise appearance at setbreak, coming out to talk to fans behind a gate barrier.  Phish fan Darwin Grimm tells ReeVewz he managed to ask Gordon: "Any comment on the rumors about Phish not doing a 'musical costume' for this year's Halloween show?" (10-31-13 in Atlantic City).  Grimm said that Gordon hesitated before answering, only committing to say: "Whatever we do, it'll be good."  Grimm said he nodded affirmation at Gordon, who then talked to other fans. Whenever Phish has played a Halloween show since 1994, they've always performed another band's album in the second set, a so-called "musical costume", but with the announcement of this year's 'ween show, there have been rumors that Phish will not put on the traditional "costume" but will perform a series of unheard original songs or perhaps a random collection of favorite cover songs.  We'll know in a little less than three months.

Camp Bisco XII review is up!

http://www.hightimes.com/read/review-camp-bisco-xii

Was Alex Lifeson bagging on Quincy Jones and Flava Flav?--A R&R HOF ReeVew

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Anthrax/Exodus/High on Fire • 3/27/13 • HOB • WeHo, CA

Worship (studio album intro)
'Among the Living' A-Side
Among the Living 
Caught in a Mosh 
I Am the Law 
Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.) 
A Skeleton in the Closet 
Hymn 1 
In the End 
T.N.T. 
(AC/DC cover) (with Slash)
March of the S.O.D. 
(Stormtroopers of Death cover)
I'm Alive 
'Among the Living' B-Side
Indians 
One World 
A.D.I. / Horror of It All 
Imitation of Life 
Encore:
I'm the Man 
Bring the Noise 
(Public Enemy cover) (with Chuck D)
Antisocial 
(Trust cover)
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll 
(Rainbow song, studio album outro)

We received a bonus when after "Antisocial",  Scott Ian said, "I know you read the setlists on the web and think the show's over, but this is LOS ANGELES!" and then Chuck came out

Now I've seen Slash twice live, never with GnR (saw him with Drunk Fux on 12-31-89 and last night), both times in L.A. Last time I saw Anthrax live was 12-31-88 (opening for Ozzy) in L.A. and last time I saw Chuck D/P.E. was in L.A. sometime in 1990. The night def brought back memories on so many levels. For whatever reason I never saw any of those bands in S.F. Full circle'd

The ATL album was near flawless except the first section of One World, they fukked that all up. Slash's appearance was kinda laid-back for TNT but Chuck D brought the FURY! Plus it was kinda a "Dio tribute night" with Joey making lots of references to Ronnie James. 

High on Fire were really impressive, first time seeing them live, their drummer is majestic. 

Exodus did more old school songs than I thought but they didn't do "Deathamphetamine"--the one disappointment of the night.

2013 Oscars Predictions

Now that we're living just behind Hollywood Blvd, a mere half-mile from the Dolby Theater (though somehow we didn't get invited to the Awards, maybe next year), with helicopters flying overhead of our Hollywood Hills balcony view, it's time to predict the winners for tonight's annual celebrity Super Bowl.

BEST PICTURE--Argo...This will be the payback for Affleck not getting the Director nod.

BEST ACTOR--Daniel Day-Lewis...Daniel Duh-he's going to win.

BEST ACTRESS--Jennifer Lawrence...She's the most refreshing actress in a generation (or maybe ever) and this is her anointing.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS--Anne Hathaway...Payback for hosting the Oscars in '11, despite the disaster it truly was.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR--Robert DeNiro...This could easily go to Jones or Arkin, but it feels like the Academy will want to honor the actor who had arguably the greatest run in cinematic history from 1973-1983 (spanning Mean Streets to The King of Comedy) and hasn't won since Raging Bull.

BEST DIRECTOR--Spielberg, since he hasn't won in years and as a way of giving Lincoln a "best picture" split of sorts with Argo.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY...Django Unchained

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY...Argo

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY...Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi

BEST EDITING...Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, Zero Dark Thirty