Thanks to that desert bullshit Cochella, we got us some gigs this past week that we normally would not be seeing till later in the year (or next, or not at all, who the fuck knows) Anyway, let's get into it:
THE VERVE: I was originally very hesitant about this reunion. It initially felt cheap to me and a sign that Dickie realized his solo stuff was flaccid and was gonna go for the quick buck. Then they did interviews, which felt sincere and actually happy to be together, they released a "jam" which sounded good, and then they played some gigs in the UK, which got some rave reviews. Also, they looked really good too (important). The question was, was Dickie cashing it in or did he finally realize where his bread was buttered. Well, we got the chance to judge for ourselves on Monday when we went to the Theatre at MSG (where will be seeing the Bad Seeds come October).
I am happy to report that Dickie, like the remaining Durans 5 or so years ago, realized the strength was in the numbers, and got these guys back for one simple reason: without each other there's just no magic. Cerati is one example where going solo was better than the band, but Dickie is the opposite example. He needs these guys, they need him and the chemistry is a thing of beauty. It was like nothing ever changed and they were better than when Danny I saw them 10 years ago at Irving. They busted out the older songs, because Danny was there, and they played two new songs which felt fresh and relevant and worthy of the Verve, especially the last song, which Jenni and Skott was dead right about. Amazing. Easily, the first Gig Of The Year. Bring on the album, bring on more shows and let these guys take the place in history they deserve.
GOLDFRAPP: The next night, we went further uptown to the Beacon to check out the Frapp. I was very interested in this gig, mostly to see how they were going to pull off the folk/acoustic new album in contrast with the electro glam dance of the previous one. The venue was right for this kind of thing. The solution to this was very simple. Get a band and perform. 7 people onstage playing songs. Smart. The new stuff felt very strong live and despite Ms Frapps complaints about her "cold", she sounded fierce. Though I have to tell you, she scares me. Shes a bit intense and almost killed her monitor guy a few times. I fear for that dude. Anyway, their Wicker Man hippy shit looked and sounded great but damn did the crowd explode when the older dancey shit was played. She always has good musicians, but the additional ones really added a lot and they did a super job. However, where does she go from here?
This week was also a good time to check out some movies...
IRON MAN is quite possibly my favourite Marvel character based movie that's not a sequel. It's a really good movie made tons better than it should be thanks to the great cast who are game for this kind of movie. Downey becomes the next Depp with this one. He deserves every accolade he gets for this because he totally owns this character in a way similar to Mr. Bale over in the DCU. They wisely avoid all the pitfalls that have befallen similar projects and I gotta give the credit to Favs for directing the shit out of this. It's fun, smart and very exciting. Just enough character stuff and they don't overdo the CGI action sequences ala TRANSFORMERS. I kept saying that after the amazing marketing job that the only thing that could hurt this movie was the movie itself. Instead, the opposite, the movie justifies the hype. Look, it's not the classic BATMAN BEGINS is, but it's a lotta fun and fucking entertaining.
REDBELT is the new Mamet movie with the greatest actor on the planet Chiwetel Ejifor doing MMA and trying to keep it real for the real martial artists around the world. On paper, sick awesome mogpac friendly awesomeness. On screen, pretentious wacktitude saved only by the greatest actor on the planet being in it. Tim Allen? Come on. Ricky Jay, what the fuck. Danny and I saw this for free after eating Oysters and lobster rolls and watching the SPIRIT trailer, but even that awesomeness couldn't save this from being the dull. It's like Mamet wrote a cool movie for 2 acts and then had no idea how to wrap it up. Basically its Mamet using MMA to comment on his thoughts about the movie business. It's bullshit and his way of saying FUCK YOU HOLLYWOOD WHORES I KEEP IT REAL. Great. Except the movie falls apart.
Anyway, the weekend was spent going to cool aunt's (yes, bringing her to Duran again this month) surprise 60th Bday which was a a good excuse to see the little folks and tell the engagement story a few times and then it was my folks 41st Anniversary this week so we rocked the Ruths Cris. Hadn't been there since Kidd bday ages ago. Tasty shit.
GTA4 is occupying so much time, I think I crashed the new Xbox. Really. It keeps freezing. Shit. This game is the one though. It's amazing. It's got the Russians. What more can we ask for.
And now I am downloading yet another new NIN album. This guy. Geez! So far, it's actually pretty good!
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