Due to the popular demand of my fans, this blog is in the process of being resurrected. Expect A Real Rival (v2.0) to be even more awesomer than v1.0.
Expect surprises like special guest authors, weekly polls, and just all around coolness. Cache. Yeah.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Review of I'm Not There Concert (Beacon Theatre, 11/8/07)
Last night's show at the Beacon was an odd experience all around. For a movie that probably doesn't have an enormous audience (e.g., the movie is opening in NYC at one of the smaller filmhouses), and for a soundtrack with a lot of bands that aren't exactly mainstream, this show sort of flew under the radar. And so it was, when the lights went down, and half the theatre (if not more) was empty. Literally empty seats. An echo in the theater. Completely bizarre.
Todd Haynes was there to speak a bit about the movie. As was Heath Ledger to introduce a couple of the bands. But as the night wore on, and band after band came out, I was struck by the seemingly haphazard way with which this was all put together. Not that pulling off a show for 15 bands could possibly be easy. But acts didnt know what microphone to go to. Some performers needed to hold sheets of paper with the lyrics to get through songs and kept getting lost (I know this is Dylan, and the songs are long, but really??). The sound mixes were (predictably) off for many of the songs -- it took a good 30 seconds into many of the songs for the vocal levels to be adjusted properly. Some songs, like All Along the Watchtower, you couldnt hear the vocals at all until the 3rd verse.
And then, when all was said and done, most of the evening was a pretty faithful reproduction of the soundtrack album but without the best bands from the album. I feel like this is a pretty negative review, but I have to admit that there was never a real flow to the evening. Too many different styles and breaks between songs to get bands set up. There was never any real juice. Except for two parts (and I will get there).
Calexico did a good job -- they were out there for the first few songs as a backing band (e.g, Joe Henry took the lead vocals on Senor) but it was a pretty sleepy afair. Yo La Tengo did I Wanna Be Your Lover and 4th Time Around and were solid but not spectacular (and no one is a bigger fan of theirs than me). The two members of Gomez did a really nice job with Don't Think Twice. The Million Dollar Bashers with Lee Ranaldo and J Mascis were also quite good. The several performances by John Doe, Joe Henry, Mark Lanegan and Dan Hicks were just not that inspiring or interesting. Al Kooper was fine. Cat Power never showed up. Neither did Michelle Shocked or Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova.
But the real highlights of the night were, without a doubt, not even close, Jim James/MMJ and The Roots. Jim James stole the first half of the show with Goin to Acapulco – he hit every note and everyone’s jaw hit the floor (Calexico backed him up). It was even more sublime in person than it is on the album. Simply beautiful. Then, later in the night, MMJ came out and played Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You and rocked it out. They made the song their own while staying true to it. And it was spine-tinglingly good. I gained a whole new level of respect for MMJ last night. I had been lukewarm on them until that point. The first standing ovation of the night.
But then, there was The Roots. They would have made Bob Dylan proud. And they made everyone else look like amateurs. They came out and played/sang Masters of War to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner – breathtaking and frankly, awe-inspiring. Then they segued directly into a Masters of War (or what remained of it) in a machine gun like intensity rock out. ?uestlove beat the crap out of his drumkit and the guy on tuba was running up and down the aisles. And the guitarist blew me away – held up his guitar like he was firing a machine gun and sprayed the crowd with notes. They played with a fire and an intensity that the night lacked. And they saved the show. The 2nd standing ovation of the night -- and the only one where everyone stood. The Roots were what we were all waiting for.
In all, to be fair, a trainwreck of a night, but a fun trainwreck for most of the night. I am glad I went. All hail MMJ and The Roots.
Todd Haynes was there to speak a bit about the movie. As was Heath Ledger to introduce a couple of the bands. But as the night wore on, and band after band came out, I was struck by the seemingly haphazard way with which this was all put together. Not that pulling off a show for 15 bands could possibly be easy. But acts didnt know what microphone to go to. Some performers needed to hold sheets of paper with the lyrics to get through songs and kept getting lost (I know this is Dylan, and the songs are long, but really??). The sound mixes were (predictably) off for many of the songs -- it took a good 30 seconds into many of the songs for the vocal levels to be adjusted properly. Some songs, like All Along the Watchtower, you couldnt hear the vocals at all until the 3rd verse.
And then, when all was said and done, most of the evening was a pretty faithful reproduction of the soundtrack album but without the best bands from the album. I feel like this is a pretty negative review, but I have to admit that there was never a real flow to the evening. Too many different styles and breaks between songs to get bands set up. There was never any real juice. Except for two parts (and I will get there).
Calexico did a good job -- they were out there for the first few songs as a backing band (e.g, Joe Henry took the lead vocals on Senor) but it was a pretty sleepy afair. Yo La Tengo did I Wanna Be Your Lover and 4th Time Around and were solid but not spectacular (and no one is a bigger fan of theirs than me). The two members of Gomez did a really nice job with Don't Think Twice. The Million Dollar Bashers with Lee Ranaldo and J Mascis were also quite good. The several performances by John Doe, Joe Henry, Mark Lanegan and Dan Hicks were just not that inspiring or interesting. Al Kooper was fine. Cat Power never showed up. Neither did Michelle Shocked or Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova.
But the real highlights of the night were, without a doubt, not even close, Jim James/MMJ and The Roots. Jim James stole the first half of the show with Goin to Acapulco – he hit every note and everyone’s jaw hit the floor (Calexico backed him up). It was even more sublime in person than it is on the album. Simply beautiful. Then, later in the night, MMJ came out and played Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You and rocked it out. They made the song their own while staying true to it. And it was spine-tinglingly good. I gained a whole new level of respect for MMJ last night. I had been lukewarm on them until that point. The first standing ovation of the night.
But then, there was The Roots. They would have made Bob Dylan proud. And they made everyone else look like amateurs. They came out and played/sang Masters of War to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner – breathtaking and frankly, awe-inspiring. Then they segued directly into a Masters of War (or what remained of it) in a machine gun like intensity rock out. ?uestlove beat the crap out of his drumkit and the guy on tuba was running up and down the aisles. And the guitarist blew me away – held up his guitar like he was firing a machine gun and sprayed the crowd with notes. They played with a fire and an intensity that the night lacked. And they saved the show. The 2nd standing ovation of the night -- and the only one where everyone stood. The Roots were what we were all waiting for.
In all, to be fair, a trainwreck of a night, but a fun trainwreck for most of the night. I am glad I went. All hail MMJ and The Roots.
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