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11/30/2005
5… 4… 3…
I haven’t hear a peep from anyone with any grand New Year’s Eve ideas. We had
considering going to Mai Kai Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, but the cost is a bit
high. Unless there’s something spec-damn-tacular and affordable, we’re not
venturing north ‘cause we can’t take the cold even in Hotlanta, but there’s
gotta be something going on in the South. Help!
OBIT
Got this from degenerate GT, care of degenerate SG:
END OF AN ERA: For those who haven't dined at Trader Vic's in Chicago at the
Palmer House Hilton -- you better hurry. The legendary Polynesian-themed eatery
is serving its last Singapore Sling and closing its doors forever New Year's
Eve. In its heyday, the restaurant was a favorite watering hole frequented by
honeymooning newlyweds and Hollywood stars alike. The Chicago outpost of the
worldwide chain of South Seas Island eateries -- famed for inventing the mai-tai
cocktail -- opened in 1957.
FILM FLAM
I caught a preview of Mrs. Henderson Presents last week, a British film
featuring Judy Dench as the upperclass, genteel widow, Mrs. Henderson. She buys
a theater between the two wars (that's WWI and II for you kids, not Desert Storm
and Desert Storm II, The American Empire Strikes Back) and hires Vivian Van
Damm, played by Bob Hoskins, to run the place. Soon they find the traditional
fare isn't brining in the crowds so they add a bit of skin. OK, more than a bit
- all of it. Before there was burlesque there were tableauxs, nude women posing
as paintings, sculptures and other titilating backdrops while clothed people
danced and sang around them. As passe as that sounds in the era of full nude
stripping and internet porn, it was controversial in it's day. It's really the
relationship and interactions between Judy Dench and Bob Hoskins that keep your
attention, despite WWII coming on with the blitz raining fire and chaos around
the theater. It has a distinctly British "keep a stiff upper lip" quality about
it and is very moving.
It would have been even more moving had not the soundtrack from the neighboring
theater begun oozing through the doors halfway through the film. During the most
heartwrenching sequence one of the main characters is killed, to the tune of
Kool & the Gang's Celebrate, thanks to insufficient soundproofing at Phipp's.
The film comes out in December and it's worth seeing, though you'll probably
have to find an art house theater in which to enjoy it.
Last night we saw a preview of First Decent, a snowboarding documentary that
reminded me of those Endless Summer documentaries from the 60’s more than clip
shows on ESPN or the X-Games. It does a nice job of providing a retrospective of
the sport’s history and development, but the adventure the boarders go on in
Alaska in the present day is a bit weak. You can catch better clip shows on
FuelTV just about any day of the week. But it was nice on the big screen (SW
said it would’ve been even better on IMAX) and there were a couple of absolutely
breathtaking and/or gripping moments. Not bad, but probably not worth paying for
unless you’re really into the sport.
EAR PLUGS
Crap. I’ve been a Drive By Truckers fan for longer than I care to remember, so I
hate to say it - the DBT show at The Tabernacle this past Saturday was just not
any fun. I’ve grumbled about the sound quality at The Tabernacle before (last
DBT show, for example.) Standing in the middle of the room on the floor level,
the vocals are indiscernible and the three guitar attack turns into so much
white noise. But it wasn’t just the sound system turning their tunes into mush.
The guys picked too many tunes from their collection that had a similar sound in
the first place. Halfway through the show I was honestly bored. I tried to join
other degenerates in the downstairs nicotine junky lounge but the room was so
dense with smoke my eyes burned. My clothes reeked the next day from just
standing in there for a few minutes. It was obvious the other degenerates would
rather smoke than watch the show and pretty soon I got tired of paying too much
for beer in a cold venue with lousy sound and no place to sit, save a rare seat
in the balcony where the sound quality is better but so loud you couldn’t hear
yourself scream. Yeah, I’m getting old, but I still like it loud - as long as
it’s loud and clear. When the nicotine junkies didn’t return I swam through the
smog downstairs and found I wasn’t the only one who’d had enough. We were home
in front of the TV by midnight, with no regrets for having left early.
That said, I got this review from degenerate SG:
It picked up a bit towards the end, but they seemed like they had a little too
much access to intoxicants pre-show...
Could have been better, but fun overall.
seems to me Jason Isdell is one of the stronger members of the band these days.
We also got this in response to last episode, from degenerate SK:
Nice commentary about karaoke, but is it karaoke with a live backing band?
They didn't call it that 2 years ago at the Cash show at Lenny's.
Nice commentary about Fall, too. Thin(ner?) guys like me shed heat rapidly;
faster when it's damp. I can bundle up for a calm, sunny day at 25. A dismal,
damp day at 45 sucks all the heat out of me.
Said Fall excuse + inertia has kept me away from many shows for the past few
months. I did make it to Luigi's CD release at the EARL 10/28. Excellent show!
Good crowd, but not so large that there wasn't room to dance. They bought the
crowd a round of shots. It was totally unnecessary (I was going to buy the CD
anyway) and contraindicated for a restrained beer drinker with miles to go. I
had been discussing Neil Young with musician friends earlier that evening.
Imagine my joy when Luigi + a guest guitarist came out for encore and mounted a
3-axe assault with "Cinnamon Girl."
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