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

Top 12 Albums of 2012

The world didn't end and neither did good music in 2012, despite proclamations to the contrary. Here is ReeVewz annual best album list for the past 12 months.  One common theme from top to bottom is that several of the albums featured the most impressive work by those particular artists in years--and in some cases, decades.

* Indicates reviewed/referenced in High Times magazine and/or online at High Times.com 

1. Paralytic Stalks...Of Montreal.  Kevin Barnes' lyrical and musical genius was never more evident than on Paralytic, the dense complexities of the song structures to be analyzed for aeons. Here Barnes successfully coalesces his earlier Barrett/Beatles influences with his more recent Bowie/Prince dabbling.

2. Clockwork Angels...Rush.  The Canadian power-trio's best album in 31 years is a conceptual masterpiece, with "Headlong Flight" the standout track for both musicianship and melody.

3. Psychedelic Pill...Neil Young.  Like Rush, Young dipped back to his '70's influences to create something fresh and necessary.  If the 16-minute "Walk Like a Giant" isn't enough, try the 27-minute opener "Driftin' Back".

4. Noctourniquet...Mars Volta.  After the disappointment of 2009's Octrahedron, Omar and Cedric bounced back in a big way with this album of one strong song after another, highlighted by another round of brilliant vocalizing by Bixler-Zavala (more on him below).

5. Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake...Eliot Lipp. Shark et al is the electronica album of the year, a concept piece fusing the organic and the synthetic in a way that appeals to prog geeks as much as it does club bouncing hipsters.  Also wins best LP cover of the year.

*6. Electric Sea...Buckethead...Per usual, Mr. Head released about 420 albums this year, so there are an abundance of choices.  But we're going with this touching, mostly acoustic offering from arguably the most diverse guitarist in rock history.

*7. Oblivion Hunter...Lightning Bolt...Oblivion is the best EP of '12, a re-re of "lost 2008 material" that makes a travel-size representation of the Bolts' two-man assault.  Their experimentation is ever on display, as on 13-minute "World Wobbly Wide".

*8.  Anywhere...Anywhere With this eponymous release, Cedric Bixler-Zavala established himself as the musical MVP of 2012, not only singing but playing persuasive percussion.  Also featuring former Triclops! guitarist Christian Beaulieu and bass-god Mike Watt, Anywhere is ferocious and psychedelic all while being largely acoustic.

9. The General Strike...Anti-Flag...The punk album of the year, AF continues their assault on conservative insanity and inanity delivering genuine punk instead of pop-laced junk food.  Strike opens creatively with a 20-second thrash mini-track before kicking into head-rushing "The Neoliberal Anthem".

*10. Unlocked--Live From the Georgia Theater...Conspirator...This is the jamband live album of the year, the best representation of Conspirator's sound to date, bringing the studio proficiency of Brownstein and Magner into the live arena with dynamic results.

11. Centipede Hz...Animal Collective...While this isn't as realized as their 2009 smash Merriweather Post Pavilion, on Centipede AC went back to their darker roots and excavated some gems, most notably the thrice-changing and always thrilling track closer "Amanita", in the discussion for song of the year.

*12. That's Why God Made the Radio...The Beach Boys...In 2011, the Boys topped the list with Smile, this year they're on the bottom rung, but the fact they're here at all on this long awaited and sometimes feared reunion album is a pleasant surprise. The last three songs comprise a sentimental suite that ranks right up there with just about anything in the BB' canon.

Hopefully, "This" isn't the place

Sean Penn was in the two worst films of 2011.  Although at least in the laughably pretentious Tree of Life Penn only played a pissed-off adult version of one of the children abused by the father played by Brad Pitt.  In This Must Be The Place, Penn bares the brunt of the responsibility himself—at least in front of the lens.  Much has been made of Penn’s collaboration with director Paolo Sorrentino, who wrote the script specifically with Penn in mind. 

Penn plays retired rock star Cheyenne a raven-tressed ‘80’s holdover hunting a Nazi prison guard camp who imprisoned Cheyenne’s recently deceased father during the Holocaust.  Yes, boys and girls, it’s an indie-Holocaust themed movie, ain’t that whacky?!    

Cheyenne as portrayed by Penn is the most self-conscious character in cinematic history—or maybe he’s the least self-conscious, but either way he’s strictly an artistic caricature, there’s nothing flesh and blood about him.  And his mumbling affected pattern of speech is a distraction that does nothing but remind the viewer she’s watching a film.  Jeff Spicoli would crack up and blow bong hits right into Cheyenne’s stupid monkey face.

Conceptually, this film might have been brilliant and totally original if executed properly, but the film’s plodding pace, the annoying and boring characters and Sorrentino’s “Hey, if you need me I’m in the next room” directorial style eventually drags the viewer down into a bottomless pit of thrift-store aesthetics.  And what David Byrne is doing playing himself in this mess is beyond the ken of mortal man.

This weekend, please be any place but in front of this film. 

Reevew: Superman vrs The Elite

SVTE is a soon to be released straight to DVD DC animated feature and we got a sneak peak here at ReeVewz, intriguing beginning with a kiddie cartoon of Supes that suggests this will be a serious deconstruction of the Man of Steel..and it is to a degree, examining how Superman fits into a post-9/11 world where his brand of justice may be too antiquated when Supes is confronted by a new team of multi-dimensional traveling heroes ("The Elite") who have no problem with killing the baddies. SVTE is also an attempt to create an edgier Superman animated feature with not-so-veiled references to sex and use of preteen naughty words like “suck” and “ass”. But in the end it’s just another Superman versus villains outcome, where black and white convention is promoted over gray ambiguity. It could have been much more interesting if Superman was forced to co-exist with The Elite instead of the final showdown against them with predictable results. SVTE worth a one-time watch or rental, but not something you'll want to revisit.

2012 Academy Award predictions

Best Picture--The Artist

Best Director--Michel Hazanavicius

Best Actor--George Clooney

Best Actress-Viola Davis

Supporting Actor--Jonah Hill

Supporting Actress--Berenice Bejo

Original Screenplay--Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay--Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Original Score--The Artist

Cinematography--The Artist

Editing--The Artist

Top 11 Albums of 2011

Hey, Mark Miller here, contributing writer and music critic for High Times.  Since 11 is one of my lucky numbers, figure I'd rank the top 11 albums of 2011, instead of the usual top 10 list.  This isn't the High Times list, just my personal rankings.  Here goes everything...

(* = reviewed by me in the pages of High Times)

*1. SMiLE...Beach Boys  It may be over 40 years old, but it's still the best album of this or any other year.

2.  Dead Roots Stirring...Elder  It's got the expected metal and stoner elements but also contains riffs that could be from lost classic 70's albums. Most surprising album of '11.

3.  Tomboy...Panda Bear...Not as earth-shattering as 2007's Person Pitch, but still contains some of the year's strongest vocals and music, the title track is a powerhouse.   While I didn't review Tomboy for HT, I did interview Panda, link is here: http://hightimes.com/lounge/mmiller/7078

4.  Vaccine...Younger Brother...Electronica album of the year.  Album cover of the year.  "Shine" was the best song of the year. That enough?

*5. The Local Fuzz...Atomic Bitchwax...A 42 minute song with just about that many distinct riffs.  An always inventive album, like the soundtrack to the world's longest comic book.

*6. A Godlike Inferno...Ancient VVisdom....Satanic folk rock provided some of the year's best sing-alongs

*7.  Gotta Get Up Now....Roger Miret and the Disasters....The Agnostic Front frontman delivered the best hardcore punk album of the year with some interesting twists and managed to put out a new album with Agnostic as well. 

8. 7 Skies H3....Flaming Lips...If Bitchwax' 42 minute album/song wasn't good enough, how about 24 hours straight of the Lips?  Though this album was polarizing for some, it was certainly ambitious, trippy and musically successful enough to make the list

9.  Death by Stereo...Umphrey's McGee...They deliver the best jamband album of the year by departing from the usual formula and opting for an 80's sound that comes off refreshing.  Kris Myers' drumming on "Domino Theory" is the year's best percussion. 

10. Mirador...Sungrazer...Straight outta Holland comes this post-prog trio whose sounds go hand in hand with the best buds the Dutch coffee shops have to offer. 

11. Green Naugahyde....Primus...Not as good as their glory year albums, but still worthy of inclusion on the list as original/new drummer Jay Lane helps deliver their best LP in 15 years

Honorable mention:

thecontrollersphere...Of Montreal...Best EP of 2011, and "Holiday Call" is the epic of the year


Into Bass and Time...Ancient Astronauts...Best rap album of the year

The Night the Sun Came Up...Dev...Best pop dance album of the year.  Where Gaga is pretentious, Dev is inventive

Parallax...Atlas Sound...Most melodic album of the year

Ranking the Top 5 Holidays

1. Halloween

2. New Years Eve>Day

3. X-Mas

4th of July

5. St. Paddy's Day

Review of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2011

http://hightimes.com/entertainment/mmiller/7329

Moneyball

Finally, a baseball movie for baseball fans. Plus you find out early on what an "ugly girlfriend" is in baseball lexicon. Yes, much has been made about the historical inaccuracies of Moneyball along with the fact the film ignores the contributions of Barry Zito (Cy Young) and Miguel Tejada (MVP) to the 2002 A's, but it's still that rare baseball film that actually gets into the nuts and bolts of the game instead of the surface dressing and symbolism of baseball. ("The Natural" has as much to do with real baseball as does "Harry Potter").  It touches on scouting, trade negotiations and the manager/general manager dynamic you won't see in many if any baseball flicks.

Brad Pitt's portrayal of Beane isn't quite Tyler Durden meets Theo Epstein, but there are occasional glimpses of Pitt's career-defining performance as Durden in his performance of the A's single-minded GM. I appreciated that Pitt didn't play the role sympathetically and made Beane an abrupt, brooding loner. Jonah Hill's venture into drama is more hit-or-miss, he's funny but the humor is mainly derived from his reactions to others, his character of Peter Brand (based on Paul Depodesta, who ironically is now with the Mets, the team Beane first played for the in majors) could have had a bit more personality and still not clashed with Pitt. Philip Seymour Hoffman is better as A's skipper Art Howe than he's getting credit for and the conflicts between him and Pitt were some of the best character interaction in the film and provided rare dramatic tension. That struggle for power between Howe and Beane could have been further developed when the media started crediting Howe for the 2002 A's record-setting winning streak, but the film bypasses that with just a passing reference.    

Never thought I'd see a major motion picture from Sony focusing on...Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), including visiting the Hatteberg home on New Year's Eve. But 'Hatty' becomes a sort of an emblem of the Moneyball philosophy and it all ties together when Hatteberg hits the game-winning homer that seals the A's 20th consecutive victory in 2002, the 'high water mark' for Beane's 2000-03 Moneyball run, a team that lost 4 straight postseason series (although the 2006 A's did actually win the first round of the playoffs).

The flashbacks to Beane's early years as a high school phenom and later bust for the Mets/Twins/A's in the 1980's as the worst player on a lot of great teams are effective and give the film a larger and yet more personal context than just focusing on the 2002 A's payroll. Pitt's relationship with his daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey) works, and we even see the musical bond between them (in real life, Billy and Casey have gone to punk rock shows together, though the only nod to punk in the film is a Clash poster in Billy's office).

Director Bennett Miller has made a solid baseball movie with genuine emotions, though neither the suspense of the game or Beane's persona/inner demons overwhelm the viewer, but at least you know to avoid drafting a prospective player with an "ugly girlfriend".  Give Moneyball 4 out of 5 Alvin Dark baseball gloves.

Fall TV #1

Two and a Half Men--Kutcher ain't Sheen, I think we all know that. The season premiere made me a laugh a few times, mostly from Cryer's character so I'll keep watching but not optimistically.

2 Broke Girls--Kat Dennings (the brunette) can act, Beth Behrs (the blonde) can't. The 'tally' of how much money the two broke babes have earned each week is gimmicky, like a rip of the 'Met Your Mother' concept.

Playboy Club--I can appreciate the 1960's Chicago vibe though the mob elements seemed forced and not very menacing. Amber Heard is a goddess and there's plenty of other eye candy. It could use some more humor, it's not the CIA it's the Bunny Club.

Review of Phish California shows

http://hightimes.com/entertainment/mmiller/7251

Captain America: The First Avenger

Never thought I'd heard "Siegfried's Funeral March" (my candidate for "greatest piece of music of all time") in a comic book movie, but it is indeed part of the soundtrack. In fact, its use underscores the biggest flaw in CA: TFA, that the character of Johann Schmidt/Red Skull was not fully developed to reach his full dramatic potential and the 'showdown' with Cap wasn't all that it could have been. It's great they made CA: TFA a full two-hour movie, but a lot of the scenes developing Steve/Cap's character could have been trimmed a minute or so and redistributed to showing us the early Skull years, how he was a nobody like Steve Rogers before his 'big break' to become the Skull ala Rogers' opportunity to become Cap. Weaving was good as the Skull but he wasn't given the chance to breathe full life into the character and have him establish the presence he did with Agent Smith in the Matrix movies and as V in V for Vendetta. CA: TFA is a good film even though so much is changed from the comics; Hydra as the secret society behind the Nazis, Bucky as Cap's old friend who dies prematurely. I did enjoy the 'trippy' ending where Cap realizes the baseball radio broadcast is fake and breaks out of the phony hospital room, for a minute I didn't know what was going on. If you're going to see it, stay for the end of the credits to see a new scene a tease trailer for The Avengers, which should be great.
3 out of 5 shields for Captain America: The First Avenger.

X-Men: Schism

Very impressed, best comic of 2011, right up there with Captain America: Hail Hydra. Jason Aaron's script is superb, the dialogue between Cyclops and Wolverine was both funny and insightful. The Carlos Pacheco artwork is borderline spectacular, and the splash and double splash pages of image only were among the best I've seen from Marvel since the Kirby glory days. Won't give away the ending but needless to say it's a jaw-dropper. At first I didn't know what to make of the whole Kade Kilgore plot thread, but it all came together in the end. One thing about 21st Century Marvel Comics--they know how to execute a cliffhanger and keep you jonesing for more. With 80% more Schism left, can't wait for the next installment.

Gotterdammerung 7-3-11 San Francisco Opera

The SFO's Ring cycle in 2011 concluded on a mostly spectacular note with the 7-3 performance of Gotterdammerung. I didn't care for the setting of the Norns' prelude scene, and the cable instead of the strings of fate was awkward, but the three women did have chemistry. Though I though Runnicles' conducting rushed the scene a bit.  Melissa Citro was perhaps the sexiest--dare I say sluttiest--Gutrune ever, she revealed a different side to the character instead of the typical frumpy Gutrune. Andrea Silvestrelli was impressive and menacing as the black-garbed Hagen, standing in the shadows, overseeing the action that he seeks to manipulate to his malevolent ends. The Prologue/First Act sets were mostly unremarkable. I did enjoy the 'TV screen' effect in the Hagen/Alberich scene to begin Act II and the use of the remote to 'draw the curtain', pretty clever.  The Gibichung chorus was done as a fascist army and with the setting, gave off a very 'Pink Floyd The Wall' vibe.  Easily the most dramatic moment of this entire Ring took in the scene in which Brunnhilde is brought to marry Gunther; it was very stark, yet cinematic--it felt like I was watching a movie at this point. Nina Stemme can act as well as sing. In Act III the Rhinemaidens were suitably sexy, one of them even sitting on Siegfried's lap ala a stripper. Ian Storey as Siegfried this time around did seem a little more nobler and less buffoonish.  The scene where Hagen stabs Siegfried in the back was done too fast and "Siegfried's Funeral March", which I consider the greatest piece of music ever written--it's simultaneously tragic and triumphant--also felt rushed by Runnicles. As the final scene approached, and Brunnhilde walked into the Rhine, I was a bit put off by the staging and the effects, but then the curtains of fire appeared and then they had a little girl carry out a young tree to be planted as a symbol of new life after the corrupt old order of the gods and Niebelung had passed away. It brought a tear to my eye as the last strains of the transcendent music descened upon the War Memorial Opera House. I give this Gotterdammerrung 4 rescued rings out of 5.