To me, what makes for a great concert has more to do with anticipation than any other factor. I’ve seen great concerts that are high on the spectacle (U2 and Aerosmith come to mind) and I’ve seen some great concerts with almost no spectacle (well, almost all the concerts I go to fit this category). A great opener is important, but it can’t carry the rest of the show. This is probably why opening acts with one or two hit songs will generally save those songs until the end of their set.
Back in 2003 I saw a DMB show in San Diego that just started off with some amazing performances and shocking resurrections of songs that hadn’t been heard in years. I was enthralled … and then … it just sort of … Well, I barely remember the second half of the show and as a result I remember that show not as a great concert but as the show where Spoon came back. That’s about it, which is a shame because the first hour or so was astonishing.
Contrast that with the two shows (DMB again) at Alpine a few weeks ago. These shows started strong, really strong … and then just kept getting better. It was uncanny.
Night one started with #41. And – really – after #41 you can forgive me for wondering if there was anywhere to go but down. The early part of the set featured strong performances of new songs like Louisiana Bayou and Dreamgirl, the stunning and chill-enducing American baby Intro segue into Say Goodbye and an all-out fun cover of Time of the Season. Just the first half of the first show was worth the trip, I had decided. And then we were treated later to Lover Lay Down, Bartender, a Rapunzel to close the set, and a Lie In Our Graves that was so good Josh told me, “If only Tony and Diana could have been here, how could they not get it after that song?” Add a sweet Best of What’s Around and powerful What You Are encore and I was concerned that there was no way Sunday’s show could measure up. Except that, by the end of Sunday, I could barely even remember what had seemed to make Saturday so great.
Everyday is a perfect opener at a place so big and full of crazy, hardcore fans. The first half of the set had a 2 old songs, 2 new songs pattern going. Things really took off with a roaring Dancing Nancies that, just like in the old days, went smoothly right into Warehouse. #34, which was not on the setlist but was thrown in for fun, broke the pattern and really turned a strong but not spectacular show into something breathless. Jimi Thing was great, as always. Then You Never Know, which was probably as good as any single performance of a song I have seen them play. Crush was beautiful. There was the oh so cruel tease of #40, only to be followed by a stirring Out of My Hands and What Would You Say, which pretty much everyone expected would close the set. But no. By this point, things felt tense. That sounds ridiculous but the crowd felt that way. What would they play next? They didn’t leave the stage yet! People were high fiving and smiling at strangers. And still they had so many options left – Ants Marching, Watchtower, Tripping Billies, Two Step. I know I wasn’t expecting it, though, when Dave stepped up and started (not just teasing) to play #40 again. An entire verse, a chorus, even some backing help from the band. I was stunned, speechless. Nothing else mattered for that song was so beautiful. Then they roared into Too Much and left the stage. Josh was dying to hear two Step close the show and his hope infected me and those around us, as well. That he got his wish made for the perfect way to finish. Walking out, all we could think of was how good Two Step was – it barely even registered how amazing the entire weekend had been.
This is what I loved about last year’s tour, as well. When a band is playhing really well and having a great time, you just can’t wait to know what will happen next – and when they are consistently better than you can believe, it’s really special. So it was in San Francisco last year (though I would argue the Everyday – Too much encore was a lost cause after what had come before). So it was at Alpine. All of which is to say, I really can’t wait for Red Rocks.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
I Love KidLit
I just finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in anticipation of the time I’ll be spending this weekend with the sixth book, and so am again struck by just how much I enjoy these books.
It’s funny because in the two-plus years since book 5 was released (and of course I read it all that very day) I have tended to rate it at the bottom of my favorites list – maybe just ahead of the second. But it’s good to be reminded that even if it is one of the weaker plotlines, it’s still just so good.
Among the many things that stood out to me upon reading it a second time was something I had noticed from the first reading, but I had forgotten – the way Harry suddenly has become insufferably obnoxious. This is a compliment. Rowling paints him as an actual teenager – he’s smart but acts stupidly out of rash certainty, he flies off the handle without reason, and he’s entirely self-absorbed. It’s tough to read at times, but how I admire how well crafted he is as a character. Can’t wait for Friday night.
But much as I love Harry Potter, I’ve recently seen a couple previews for a movie based on some “children’s literature” that I think I like even more. Well, maybe not. In fact it’s been years since I’ve read CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, but those books are incredibly special to me. I think my mom read them to me, first. And I know I read them again in fourth grade and at least the first few again in high school, when I was working on a longer CS Lewis project.
It’s more than that they were just great stories, more than that they have meaning far beyond the grasp of any of the kids who mainly read the books. It’s because Narnia started me off as a writer.
In fourth grade we had an assignment to make books. Now, it was probably as much about the actual making and binding of the book as it was what we chose to write or draw inside, but I was quite enchanted with the idea. I decided to write a sequel to the existing books of Narnia. But I had too much I wanted to write. I was not to be deterred. I found three other people in the class and delegated to them basic ideas I had for stories. I didn’t write the stories for them, but I told them what needed to happen. (See, I’ve always been an editor.) And then I wrote the final installment.
(Turns out this story is slightly embarrassing.)
Anyway, that was the first time I have a specific memory of plotting and writing a story. Probably I wrote some kinds of stories before that. But the Narnia sequels are what I always remember as my first foray into fiction, and almost certainly the first of which a copy still remains.
Anyway, the preview looks pretty good for the first movie. (Are they really going to make a movie of each book?!?) I really hope they don’t screw these up. It would be much harder for me to make movies of my own than it was to make those books in fourth grade.
It’s funny because in the two-plus years since book 5 was released (and of course I read it all that very day) I have tended to rate it at the bottom of my favorites list – maybe just ahead of the second. But it’s good to be reminded that even if it is one of the weaker plotlines, it’s still just so good.
Among the many things that stood out to me upon reading it a second time was something I had noticed from the first reading, but I had forgotten – the way Harry suddenly has become insufferably obnoxious. This is a compliment. Rowling paints him as an actual teenager – he’s smart but acts stupidly out of rash certainty, he flies off the handle without reason, and he’s entirely self-absorbed. It’s tough to read at times, but how I admire how well crafted he is as a character. Can’t wait for Friday night.
But much as I love Harry Potter, I’ve recently seen a couple previews for a movie based on some “children’s literature” that I think I like even more. Well, maybe not. In fact it’s been years since I’ve read CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, but those books are incredibly special to me. I think my mom read them to me, first. And I know I read them again in fourth grade and at least the first few again in high school, when I was working on a longer CS Lewis project.
It’s more than that they were just great stories, more than that they have meaning far beyond the grasp of any of the kids who mainly read the books. It’s because Narnia started me off as a writer.
In fourth grade we had an assignment to make books. Now, it was probably as much about the actual making and binding of the book as it was what we chose to write or draw inside, but I was quite enchanted with the idea. I decided to write a sequel to the existing books of Narnia. But I had too much I wanted to write. I was not to be deterred. I found three other people in the class and delegated to them basic ideas I had for stories. I didn’t write the stories for them, but I told them what needed to happen. (See, I’ve always been an editor.) And then I wrote the final installment.
(Turns out this story is slightly embarrassing.)
Anyway, that was the first time I have a specific memory of plotting and writing a story. Probably I wrote some kinds of stories before that. But the Narnia sequels are what I always remember as my first foray into fiction, and almost certainly the first of which a copy still remains.
Anyway, the preview looks pretty good for the first movie. (Are they really going to make a movie of each book?!?) I really hope they don’t screw these up. It would be much harder for me to make movies of my own than it was to make those books in fourth grade.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
War of the Worlds
Among many other highly enjoyable activities on what was really an excellent 4th of July weekend, on Sunday afternoon Jen, Robert, and I took in a matinee of War of the Worlds. I liked it quite a lot actually, just as I suspected I would and in precisely the same way. It was a quintessential Spielberg summer popcorn flick. The man can really make a good summer thrill experience. And, as with this one, sometimes the ending is a bit of a letdown, but in a lot of ways that just speaks to how good what came before it was. The ending here wasn’t that bad, indeed it could have been vastly and very easily improved if things were just even slightly less perfect.
As much as my eyes have begun to get sore this summer from constantly rolling at Tom Cruise’s growing insanity and his “relationship” with Katie Holmes, I find that I like him more and more as an actor. Collateral had a lot of problems, but Tom was convincing. And he’s still the best thing about Magnolia. In this movie, I’ll admit, it was more than a little amusing to see him working at the docks, but after that he inhabited his character quite well. Maybe it’s not such a stretch for him to play a wholly self-involved adult, and maybe his recent shenanigans (love that word!) make it easier to see him as unstable and not as Ethan Hunt. Whatever. He was good for me. Dakota Fanning, though I find her vaguely creepy in interviews, actually seemed like a kid. So that was good.
I actually don’t generally think or talk much about the political background of movies, but there were a number of scenes in WotW that seemed designed to remind the audience of September 11. And there were a few explicit references as well, as various characters wondered if we were being attacked by terrorists. The one that stands out most in my mind is the aftermath of the first alien tripod thing rising from the ground in front of Tom. The crowd is running away terrified and fully aware that their lives are in jeopardy, and yet cannot resist the urge to look behind them as they run, to see this unimaginable sight. I saw many pictures and videos of people doing the exact same thing – running through the ash and haze, but looking over their shoulders – on 9/11. There were also several scenes with bulletin boards of missing people and their photos, which were very reminiscent for me. None of this seemed exploitative to me, though. In fact, this movie acknowledged more than just about any other that I’ve seen since 9/11 the collective anxiety we mostly all still carry. Spielberg exploits that lingering fear to great effect in setting up this movie. In a lot of action thriller type movies, I spend a great deal of time actually thinking about the craft or the CGI, something outside of the story. That wasn’t true in watching WotW. Only in reflection does it occur to me that the CGI was among the best I’ve seen – and part of why I know that is because I hardly ever noticed it as CGI. So, instead of thinking, “Huh, those tripod things look really good,” I was thinking, “Jesus, this is terrifying.” Which pretty much made it worth my $6.50.
As much as my eyes have begun to get sore this summer from constantly rolling at Tom Cruise’s growing insanity and his “relationship” with Katie Holmes, I find that I like him more and more as an actor. Collateral had a lot of problems, but Tom was convincing. And he’s still the best thing about Magnolia. In this movie, I’ll admit, it was more than a little amusing to see him working at the docks, but after that he inhabited his character quite well. Maybe it’s not such a stretch for him to play a wholly self-involved adult, and maybe his recent shenanigans (love that word!) make it easier to see him as unstable and not as Ethan Hunt. Whatever. He was good for me. Dakota Fanning, though I find her vaguely creepy in interviews, actually seemed like a kid. So that was good.
I actually don’t generally think or talk much about the political background of movies, but there were a number of scenes in WotW that seemed designed to remind the audience of September 11. And there were a few explicit references as well, as various characters wondered if we were being attacked by terrorists. The one that stands out most in my mind is the aftermath of the first alien tripod thing rising from the ground in front of Tom. The crowd is running away terrified and fully aware that their lives are in jeopardy, and yet cannot resist the urge to look behind them as they run, to see this unimaginable sight. I saw many pictures and videos of people doing the exact same thing – running through the ash and haze, but looking over their shoulders – on 9/11. There were also several scenes with bulletin boards of missing people and their photos, which were very reminiscent for me. None of this seemed exploitative to me, though. In fact, this movie acknowledged more than just about any other that I’ve seen since 9/11 the collective anxiety we mostly all still carry. Spielberg exploits that lingering fear to great effect in setting up this movie. In a lot of action thriller type movies, I spend a great deal of time actually thinking about the craft or the CGI, something outside of the story. That wasn’t true in watching WotW. Only in reflection does it occur to me that the CGI was among the best I’ve seen – and part of why I know that is because I hardly ever noticed it as CGI. So, instead of thinking, “Huh, those tripod things look really good,” I was thinking, “Jesus, this is terrifying.” Which pretty much made it worth my $6.50.
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