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R. Hitchcock, Spoon, Hold Steady, American Gangster, Supermice   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Monday, November 05, 2007 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl


Photo by Drake LeLane

ROBYN HITCHCOCK:  Don reviewed Friday's show at Shank Hall, so I'll just add a few notes of my own.  I must mention that Robyn's first stream-of-subconscious speech about when it is appropriate to cry over spilt milk -- e.g., when you are making off with the Holy Grail and milk spills out of it and over a causeway where a long-tailed series- three alien is lurking -- included a mention of Ames, IA (Pate's hometown and a later stop on this tour).  Hitchcock also seemed to be struggling slightly throughout for technical reasons, some of which are mentioned in Don's review, but it also turned out that he didn't have enough of his vocal in his monitor for most of the show.  Such are the pitfalls of opening night.  I can also give you some audio/video of the setlist.  Since Hitchcock dedicated "The Ghost Ship" to Colin Meloy, we can enjoy him joining Meloy's band The Decemberists for a live version of "Lost Madonna of the Wasps."  I think those tech problems may have partially caused RH to momentarily forget the end of "City of Shame," only to remember it during a really countrified "Olé! Tarantula."  I had not seen the video for "Raymond Chandler Evening" until it turned up on the Tube all these years later.  In over 20 years of seeing RH, I can't recall him playing "The Lizard" more than a couple of times. We have vintage video of "Queen Elvis," which (as RH notes) appears on the Eye album, not Queen Elvis.  I agree with Don that the b-side "Alright, Yeah" was a highlight (and one of my favorite latter-day RH tracks).  In the encore, I thought "New York Doll" translated well to a solo performance.  His cover of the Velvet Underground's "Candy Says" was a delightful surprise.  And I just discovered that the UK video for "Adventure Rocketship" is animated.

BEIRUT:  London's Telegraph is quite taken with Zach Condon's use of non-traditional instruments and old European influences, while the NYT spends an evening with Condon, which starts at the Brooklyn Instrument Museum.

NICKEL CREEK played one of its final shows (for now) at DC's 9:30 Club Friday.  You can stream the whole gig from NPR on demand.

SPOON:  Though drummer Jim Eno tells the Orlando Sentinel that the band is comfy with its steady rise in popularity, a writer for The Strand frets that Spoon is suddenly in danger of becoming a household name.  Frontman Brit Daniel has been pleased in the past that his new songs have been compared to Van Morrison, but seems less pleased when compared to BIlly Joel.  The Houston Chronicle actually consulted Pandora's Music Genome Project to scientifically compare Spoon's "The Underdog" with Joel's "Only the Good Die Young."

ROBERT CHRISTGAU:  Rumors of the death of the dean of US rock critics are geatly exaggereated.

THE HOLD STEADY:  MFR truned up a live video of "Lord, I'm Discouraged," one of the new songs the band is trying out on tour.  Craig Finn talked to the Stranger about his favorite lyricists, while HeraldNet talked to guitarist Tad Kubler about a few of his favorites and linked to a post the Leather Canary on the band covering various tunes, including Led Zeppelin's "Hey, Hey What Can I Do."

ART BRUT stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

RAY DAVIES talked to London's Sun about how being shot in New Orleans turned his world on its axis.

DENNIS WILSON was the only Beach Boy who actually surfed.  PopMatters is miffed that his haunting solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, remains out of print.  Tracks from the album do surface from time to time on the ol' HM.

AMY WINEHOUSE should know she's on the wrong track when Pete Doherty thinks he has to defend her.

AMERICAN GANGSTER:  More than one reviewer is calling this film Superfly-meets-Scarface, but it has a more realistic tone than that.  At least, it has as realistic a tone as screenwriter (and family friend) Steven Zaillian could muster for the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tales of mobster Frank Lucas and policeman-agent Richie Roberts.  But that tone makes it no less entertaining.  With this year's proliferation of movies running over 2 1/2 hours, it is nice to finally have one that does not have you checking your watch.  Director Ridley Scott and stars Denzel Wasington and Russell Crowe all bring their "A" games.  Between this pic and 3:10 to Yuma, 2007 marks a comeback year for Crowe, whose recent efforts have faltered at the box office.  This pic may also reinforce the view created by Training Day that Washington plays a better villain than hero, though here he is more Corleone than he is Scarface.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  American Gangster was a killer at the cineplex, opening with 46.3 million with a 15,174 per-screen average on over 3000 screens.  The big theaters here in Chicago were selling out most showings.  That is the second biggest opening ever for an R-rated movie over 2 1/2 hours, the second biggest drama opening in November ever, and the biggest opening for both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.  Jerry Seinfeld's PG-rated Bee Movie opened a big No. 2 with 39.1 million (at 90 minutes, it could be screened many more times than American Gangster).  Whether it can recoup its 150 million budget will depend on whether the next round of family flicks give it competition.  Saw IV plunged a severe 65%, earning only 11 mil.  Dan in Real Life earned 8.1 mil, off an okay 31%.  Rounding out the Top Five is 30 Days of Night, which dropped 42 percent, but which has made 34 million to date on its 30 million budget.  The Game Plan earned 3.9 mil, off 37% - its biggest drop so far, but this has to have been a big moneymaker for the Mouse.  and Joan Cusack's Martian Child opened in seventh with 3.7 mil and is unlikely to recoup its 27 million budget.  Michael Clayton dropped 41% -- likely due to American Gangster -- to make 2.9 mil.  Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? finished in the ninth spot, but has crossed the 50 million mark.  Gone Baby Gone rounds out the Top Ten with 2.4 million.

THE McCARTNEYS' divorce dispute gets ever nastier.  Sir Paul is applying for full custody of his four-year-old daughter Beatrice after estranged wife Heather's astonishing TV rants, according to the uber-reliable News of the World.  Of course, with Heather Mills blaming "jealous" Stella McCartney for her split from the former Beatle, and reportedly re-airing allegations that Paul hit his late wife Linda once or twice, the story sounds plausible.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA confirmed the already widely-reported observation that she is expecting a baby.

CATE BLANCHETT revealed during a glamorous red carpet appearance in Sydney last night that she is expecting her third child.

BRITNEY SPEARS:  The LAPD is conducting an investigation into a traffic mishap Friday, when Spears reportedly ran over an L.A. County Sheriff deputy's foot.  Financial papers unsealed in the ongoing custody battle between Spears and Fed-Ex show that the  pop tart spends about 102K monthly on entertainment, gifts and vacations, while giving 500 bucks to her own charity. Spears is also said to have a crush on ex-friend of the French Hotel, sextape starlet, reality TV starlet and now Playboy model Kim Kardashian

LINDSAY LOHAN looks like she visited the trout pout shop.  Pucker up, buttercup.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  Holmes ran the New York City Marathon on Sunday, because you really have to be in shape if you're planning to outrun Cruise.

VANESSA HUDGENS:  The High School Musical starlet's nude photo scandal must be officially over -- she is set to sign on to a HSM3 movie for a "substantial increase" in pay.

SHIA LeBOUF, who starred in Disturbia and Transformers and co-stars in the next Indiana Jones movie, was busted for misdemeanor criminal trespassing at a Walgreen's drugstore on Michigan Ave. in Chicago.

BRADGELINA:  Jolie said she felt a bit shy about her computer-animated nudity in the upcoming movie version of Beowulf.  Which is either unbelievable, or makes her acting in her sex scene with Antonio Banderas from Original Sin all the more impressive.  Yes, that second link is nsfw.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS:  The Times of London names the kingdom as the hub of world terror, which supplies the cash and the killers.  Which makes it all the more appropriate that the Brits played the Imperial March when King Abdullah met the Queen.

PAKISTAN:  As you probably know, Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized emergency powers, rounded up leading opposition figures and said Sunday that parliamentary elections could be delayed for as long as a year. The suspension of the constitution comes just days before Pakistan's Supreme Court was to rule on the constitutionality of Musharraf's recent presidential reelection victory.  Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has reportedly been sacked and is being confined to the Supreme Court with ten other judges.  Musharraf attempted to remove Chaudhry during the spring of 2007.  Security forces rounded up opposition leaders and rights activists, though the Western media does not note that some -- like Imran Khan and former intell chief Hamid Gul -- .have known Islamist ties.  Musharraf promulgated two Ordinances barring print and electronic media from publishing or broadcasting statements that abet terrorist activities or terrorism.  Discussions of current court cases and criticism of the Head of State and members of the armed forces are also prohibited.  Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto said on Sunday that declaring emergency rule would only encourage extremists and give them "a new lease of life."  The Bush Admin. called the declaration of a state of emergency a "sharp setback" for democracy and urged a swift return to a civilian government.

IRAQ:  More than 3000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the past three months as sectarian violence has dropped.  A "significant" fall in US air raids has been recorded over the past few weeks.  The Islamic Army in Iraq -- one of the largest and most influential Sunni insurgent groups -- has issued yet another stinging condemnation of al-Qaeda's network.  On Friday, Sunni officials from Anbar province laid out what they want now from the US: money to rebuild its battle-damaged cities, help expanding its police force by a third and private U.S. investment in its oil reserves.  They also discussed the lingering problem that is hampering efforts to build on the gains there -- limited support for the predominantly Sunni region from the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.   Turkish soldiers who were held as hostages by separatist Kurds in northern Iraq have been set free.  Michael Yon was interviewed on CNN on the recent progress in Iraq.

SUPERMICE -- with incredible stamina, enviable metabolism, a longer life expectancy and the ability to breed for three times as long as a standard mouse -- have been created by scientists.  We can only imagine what Andy Kaufman would say.

POLLY, a five-year-old chocolate labrador, was saved, ironically, by a CAT scan.  3D pic at the link.

A 7ft 9in CROCODILE was jailed overnight in northern Australia after it menaced local fishermen.

TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS:  Three macaque monkeys were abducted from Monkey Island, MO on Friday.

A RAMPAGING POSSUM caused thousands of dollars in damage and destroyed valuable historical artefacts at a museum in New South Wales.

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