Rock Shows of Note LVIII
After meeting a friend for dinner at the Good Life -- which, I was disappointed to learn, has gotten rid of its former entree menu to fall back on burgers and pizza -- for dinner, I headed over to TT the Bear's for a wonderful indie-rock show. Before I report on the show, let me share some of the history I've learned about TT's. The next time you go, make sure you read the enlarged newspaper clippings hanging on the wall in the pool room.

Originally located on Pearl Street, TT the Bear's opened in May 1973 as a full-service restaurant. It was known for its vegetarian-friendly menu, handicapped-accessible restrooms, and bear decorations. There were bear posters on the wall, bear figurines on display, and a big stuffed bear sitting in a corner stool at the bar. All of this is now gone, although last night, the door woman used a teddy bear rubber stamp to mark hands. TT's then moved, perhaps in the early '80s, to its current location. I'm not sure when they closed the kitchen and stopped being a restaurant, but Chris and I were figuring out where the different seating areas might have been. The kitchen space is still there, even if it's not in operation.

The first band up was Teradactyl, an ethereal pop band from Honolulu. A three piece, the band consists of a lanky guy playing guitar, an absolutely beautiful slim woman playing the keyboards and singing, and a slightly larger man playing guitar and working a box to provide bleeps and beats. The guitars were by turns twee and punctuation oriented and almost psyche washy. I appreciated the skinny guitarist more of the two, as his melodic lines were well performed and he occasionally broke into jagged bursts of guitar chunk. The other guitarist focused more on a dreamy, washy, effects-laden sound, which isn't really my bag. And the singer? Her vocals were extremely clean and controlled, and her voice is much bigger than what you'd expect from her frame. Quite a surprise. The songs with more dancy beats were quite fun, and the last song with ukelele, washy synths, and a breathier singing style -- the almost Poi Dog Pondering-like "Sleepy Eyes" -- was extremely nice. But overall, Teradactyl was a little too restrained for my tastes. I'm listening to their "Prepare for Lift-Off" CD now, and it's slightly better suited for listening than watching. Still, fun.

Next up, the Operators, who have several songs newer that they've only played one or two times. One is an awesome Stereolab-inspired number, with Jen singing in a higher, falsetto-like voice. Quite a departure from their usual sound, and quite impressive. I learned that the song "The Old Man Doesn't Like It" is based on Thor Heyerdahl's book Kontiki -- not the restaurant out by Alewife! -- and that the lyrics are almost entirely plagiarized from the text. Even the line "1, 2, 3 ... 39, 40, 41" is lifted straight from the page, ellipses and everything. The show was also marked by a nice moment in which Paul jumped up and down like a spaz, flopping his hair all around. A solid set.

Second Story Man hails from Louisville, Kentucky, and plays a more straight-forward, tuneful mode of indie-rock than the Operators do, and their set made it quite clear why Emily likes them so. The bands are closely related soundwise. While their songs have slightly more concrete structures, I didn't find them as engaging. That said, I found the four piece engaging enough to pick up their homemade CD, "Compilation Songs for the Road," clad in a handmade, sewn cloth sleeve adorned with an embroidered ribbon closure. Worth getting just as an item. (In fact, the Teradactyl CD is also a nice item, with the CD tucked into a screenprinted paper sack.)

Last up, Seana Carmody. I've seen her play live several times already, and this set was much like the others I've taken in. One difference is that she played with a three piece this go. The band included her boyfriend, who debuted as a lapsed drummer at her Dec. 19 show. He's much better and more confident than he seemed at that show, and the band played many songs I recognized, even though I haven't seriously listened to her work enough yet to be able to sing along, name songs, etc.

A fun night, with lots of friends in attendance. One friend even locked herself out of her apartment, so she crashed at my place. I don't think I've ever hosted a friend before because they got locked out.

The Free-Range Comic Book Project VI
This is an installment of Media Diet's Free-Range Comic Book Project.

Ascension #10 (Image/Top Cow, November 1998). Writer: David Finch. Artists: Brian Ching and David Finch. Location: On the Green Line between Haymarket and Park Street.

For more information on this project, please refer to this Media Diet entry.

Soundtrack: Milky Wimpshake, "Lovers Not Fighters"

Newsletters of Note VII
Fine, it's not really a newsletter. But, like the Leadership Directories Guides, if I had a million dollars, this is the kind of stuff I'd squander my new-found wealth on. The 2003 Entertainment, Media and Advertising Market Research Handbook from Richard K. Miller & Associates Inc. is a 550-page guide to the entertainment, media, and advertising market, looking at time spent using media, the Net's impact on other activities, media conglomerates and consolidation, the top 25 entertainment and media corporations, television programming, satellite radio, music retailing, teenage markets, and other aspects of the industry. I'm getting chills just thinking about it. At $375, it's outside of my impulse purchase range, but if any Media Dieticians want to step up as a patron, I promise you I'll use this only for good. Some day. Some day.

Soundtrack: Greyboy, "The Greyboy Essentials"

Corollary: Academy Awards Fight Song
The Boston Globe's editorial page editor and some schlub of a Harvard Law School student take shots at Michael Moore's Oscars overture in today's paper. The Globe, oh, so tactfully points out that Moore is overweight, and the student claims that Moore is out of step with America and Hollywood, as if Hollywood is in step with America. Better to all march in step, I suppose, and quiet still voices lest others take offense.

Games People Play VIII
Robert Bourque, co-inventor of the Zoltan: the Astrological Wizard coin-op fortune-telling machine, died Saturday. You can learn more about the Zoltan machine in Yesterdayland and Vintage Coin Operated Fortune Tellers, Arcade Games, Digger/Cranes, Gun Games and other Penny Arcade games, pre-1977. Bourque's Zoltan game was the inspiration for the Zoltar fortune-telling machine that played a role in the movie Big.

From the In Box: Academy Awards Fight Song
My memory weeps in fits and starts, and Media Dieticians are there to aid me. I couldn't remember who performed the song from Frida during the Oscars, and I get this in my in box:

Caetano Veloso (Brazilian) and Lila Downs (Mexican), performing "Burn It Blue" from Frida.

I appreciated Gael Garcia Bernal's introduction of that performance, also, for it's well-stated peace advocacy. -- Joe Germuska

It was truly a wonderful performance. Check them out if you haven't listened to them yet!

Academy Awards Fight Song
Sorry for the day's delay, but yesterday got a little busy. Sunday night, I went to the Brattle Theatre with Chris, Scott, and Simone to watch the 75th Academy Awards. They have a big-screen showing of the awards ceremony open to theater members and special guests, including a paid reception before the screening, a silent auction, and other festivities. It was a fun time. I was coattailing because Emily was in Philadelphia with the Operators, and I probably wouldn't have watched the Oscars or gone to an Oscars party, but this was a lot of fun.

Most of the people dressed up for the event, some in tuxedos and evening dresses, even. We were definitely the most under-dressed. But we fit right in on the balcony, where a smaller crowd gathered -- most of the people stayed down on the main floor. My group of friends is prone to heckle and comment on almost anything we go to, and I was a little nervous about how our heckling would be received, but the women in the row ahead of us and the people one row behind seemed to appreciate it, grinning and looking over their shoulders, and occasionally jumping right in with us.

One woman shouted, "Did you just smoke a bowl?" when Matthew McConaughey took the stage, which led us to wonder whether she had just smoked a bowl. Maybe she confused him with Woody Harrelson, but McConaughey was decidedly not bleary eyed. However, the most interesting crowd interaction came during the multiple anti-war commentaries -- and subtle recognition of the conflicts overseas. When Michael Moore was booed at the ceremony for his anti-Bush tirade (which I thought was relatively well stated), the audience in Cambridge cheered.

Many other actors and directors commented on the war, so I'm not quite sure why Moore was made the scapegoat at the ceremony. He was the only nominee-cum-winner who showed solidarity with the other nominees by bringing them up on stage, and it seems odd that writers such as David Hardy are now contending that Moore shouldn't have even won the award.

In any event, the other anti-war statements were rather lackluster. Adrien Brody gave one of the most personal and sensible speeches. That balanced with such inanities as Nicole Kidman's commentary that, "there is a lot of problems in the world and since 9/11 there's been a lot of pain, in terms of families losing people, and now with the war, families losing people." My friend Tony leaned back from the row ahead of us and said, "There weren't any problems before 9/11?"

Other highlights? Peter O'Toole is a grand old man. It was awesome to see Pedro Almodovar win for best original screenplay. I was glad that the Pianist edged Chicago out of a couple of key categories. And one of the musical performances, featuring a Mexican singer, was really awesome. I'm guessing that it was a piece from Frida, but I'm embarrassed that I don't remember who the performers were.

Hooray for Hollywood. Maybe next year I'll make a better effort to see more of the nominated films.

Event-O-Dex XLIV
Lots of midweek mischief to participate in:

Tuesday, March 25: The Operators, Seana Carmody, Second Story Man, and Teradactyl get bullish at TT the Bear's in Cambridge.

Wednesday, March 26: No. 1 Fun Boston Blog Bash at the Cambridgeport Saloon in Cambridge, 8 p.m. Afterwards, I'll be heading over to the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge to see Scrapple, Valerie Forgione, Joe Mazza, and Mi3.

Television-Impaired X
Reuters reports that ReplayTV maker SonicBlue is filing for bankruptcy. How's Tivo doing?

Thanks to Interesting People.

The Free-Range Comic Book Project V
This is an installment of Media Diet's Free-Range Comic Book Project.

Saturday: Akiko #39 (Sirius, May 2000). Writer and artist: Mark Crilley. Location: On a bench inside the Zeitgeist Gallery.



Sunday: Amanda and Gunn #2 (Image, June 1997). Writer and artist: Jimmie Robinson. Location: On the floor outside the Million Year Picnic.



Monday: The Amazing Spider-Man #389 (Marvel, May 1994). Writer: J.M. DeMatteis. Artist: Mark Bagley. Location: On the Green Line between Park Street and Haymarket.

For more information on this project, please refer to this Media Diet entry.

Rock Shows of Note LVII
Building on his short set during a recent Punk Rock Aerobics show at TT the Bear's, Thereminist Jon Bernhardt of Pee Wee Fist and the Lothars has built out an entire show of indie-rock, punk, and new-wave covers. He took the stage at ZuZu's, tucked in between the Middle East, Friday night with an all-star cast of collaborators.

Here's who took the stage with Jon: Chris Connely of Mission of Burma and Consonant; Winston Braman of Fuzzy, Consonant, and the Count-Me-Outs; Hilken Mancini of Fuzzy, the Count-Me-Outs, and Punk Rock Aerobics; Jef Czekaj of the Anchormen, the Tardy, and Plunge into Death; and Paul Coleman of Sinkcharmer and the Operators.

It was an awesome show. Good Cuban pressed sandwich on the menu, ample beer, good friends in abundance, and a wonderful staff, including TD working the door. Oh, the music? I don't always dig the Theremin, but I quite enjoyed it in these small-band settings. Even though Jon used the Theremin to highlight most of the vocal and melodic parts of the songs, including the jokey "I Wanna Be Sedated," which he debuted at TT's, the other performers added a lot to the proceedings. A lot.

Connely continues to impress me. Not only is he an amazing player with an amazing history, but since the return of Mission of Burma and the emergence of Consonant, he's been immensely game to play around with other, younger, local musicians. He's becoming quite the grand old man of Boston rock, and he's not even that old. Right on, Mr. Connely.

The Movie I Watched Last Night LXI
Monkeybone
Since I've gotten cable, I've tried not to just fall into the Big Blue Couch at Church Corner and zone out with whatever movie was currently airing, but this happened Saturday afternoon while I was kind of, but not really waiting for a friend to call. Monkeybone is an embarrassment. Equal parts Beetlejuice and Roger Rabbit, it could have used the help of Tim Burton. Lacking that, it's a relatively shallow story about a man sent Downtown while in a coma. Downtown is a Beetlejuice-like world featuring awkwardly designed fantasy characters -- and the animated Monkeybone, the comic strip creation of our comatose cartoonist hero. After snagging an Exit pass from the devilish Whoopi Goldberg, the cartoon Monkeybone escapes in the hero's stead, embodying Brendan Fraser's comatose body and wreaking havoc in the real world. Fraser's character later escapes, embodying the form of an organ donor, played by the rubbery Chris Kattan. Eventually, Fraser overcomes, and everyone lives happily ever after. This movie is slightly intriguing on several levels. One, the star power deployed is confusing: Goldberg, Bridget Fonda, Rose McGowan as the feline and fine anthropomorphic Kitty, John Turturro as the voice of Monkeybone, and Dave Foley. I'd always pictured this as a Chris Kattan vehicle, but his role is relatively limited. Two, there are several cameos that surprised me. Stephen King shows up in the prison holding Fraser's character after he was caught by Goldberg's Death. He exchanges a funny bit with Edgar Allen Poe. And Austin's own Harry Knowles pops up briefly. The character designs could have been much better, but to be honest, Monkeybone's cartoony possession of Fraser's body has its moments, although the Joker-like Smile-X scheme could have been better handled. A time waster if you need one.

Moulin Rouge!
The couch surfing continued because this came on right after Monkeybone, and I'd just caught the end of this while visiting Rick and Melissa in Austin. It's one of their favorite movies, and while I've had no previous interest in it -- parallel to Chicago -- I thought I'd give it a go. Baz Luhrman does well. His vision of Paris of a timeless, placeless place works well, and the cinematography is relatively interesting. That said, the story waxed and waned with me. It waxed during the ensemble cast portions featuring the acting troupe. And it waned when the evil Duke was involved. As a love story, I don't think this really works behind simple sentimentality, and as a death story, Satine's consumption neither emotes pity or sorrow -- nor weakens her supposed courtesan of a character. I needed either more heart of gold or more vamp. And the music? Feh. The pop-music pastiche didn't really impress me, and I think I might have preferred if Luhrman had worked in whole, modern songs, originally written for this film, than the in-joke top 40 mix tape we're left with. This method resonates well with William Burroughs and Brion Gysin's exhortation to "cut paper cut film cut tape," and I'm curious what the royalties and rights ran, but the soundtrack isn't the strongest part of this movie. Still, worth seeing for the visuals -- and for the curiously short John Leguizamo. Oh! And the absinthe-inspired Green Fairy, played by Kylie Minogue. It's about time someone recast Tinkerbell for the adult set!