Archive for July, 2006
07-26-2006
Clerks 2
Went and saw Kevin Smith’s latest last night with my husband and stepdaughter. I’ve got all of Smith’s movies except Jersey Girl on DVD. The first two I saw were probably his best, “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma.” I’ve got a real personal affinity for Chasing Amy.
Before going to see Clerks 2, I watched the original again last week and it was funnier than I remembered. The conversation between Dante, Randal and the construction worker about whether the contractors working on the Death Star deserved to die is hilarious.
Back to our featured program. In the latest installment, Randal, played by Jeff Anderson, has burned down the Quick Stop by leaving on the coffee machine, and he and Dante (Brian O’Halloran) have gotten equally meaningless jobs at a local Mooby’s fast food restaurant. Dante is about to move to Florida and get married, much to Randal’s dismay, though he pretends to be cavalier about it. Dante of course, has to go through much anguish and self-inflicted torment about whether he actually loves his bride-to-be, and he is obviously really in love with his boss at Mooby’s, played with irreverent glee by Rosario Dawson
Our favorite twosome, Jay and Silent Bob, are back, still leaning against the wall and selling dope, though they have been through rehab and aren’t using their product anymore. Watching Jason Mewes re-enact the scene from “Silence of the Lambs” was absolutely hysterical. Loved the “ABC” dance-along.
Some of Smith’s old pals make an appearance. Ben Affleck is in the film for all of about 1 minute and says one line before leaving with his food. Jason Lee also appears, playing an old high school nemesis of Dante and Randal in a scene that sends Randal and Dante to the go-carts. That scene becomes a wonderful tribute to “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” complete with the right music.
Smith has gotten a little coarser over the years, although thinking about it, having Dante’s ex (spoilers) in the first film have sex with a dead guy is pretty gross. That all happens off-camera. However, this sequel goes a little further than that with Kinky Kelly and the donkey, which Randal wants to give to Dante as a going away present.
I found this latest film to be very enjoyable overall. Smith hasn’t really left his roots. It’s ironic to have a famous Hollywood filmaker making another movie about clerking in a meaningless job and debating the meaning of life, but it seems as if in many ways Smith is still the clerk who used to work at the Quick Stop before shooting Clerks back in 1994.
Smith does leave himself open to charges of homophobia, as the gay jokes fly fast and furiously, much like in the last movie in this universe, “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” However, Smith does seem to have some keen observations on what male friendship can be.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Clerks II is the realism of the characters. Watching the cast onscreen, it is easy to see people you might actually know. Smith has always had an ear for snappy, realistic dialogue, much like another director I like, Joss Whedon. Smith presents Dante and Randal in all their sad glory. You feel for these two in spite of, and maybe because of, their obvious flaws.
Posted by Candace in Movies | 1 Comment »
07-24-2006
Widespread Panic at Winter Park
It’s an indicator of how lacking a concert is when you turn to someone late in the second set and say, “It’s probably a bad thing when the highlight of the show has been the guest artist.”
The days of me catching multiple runs by the same band seem to be coming to a close. With the exception of the Cowboy Junkies, I can’t think of any band I really want to travel to see anymore. While going to multiple shows is fun, the magic for many of them doesn’t seem to be there anymore.
Exhibit A for this is Widespread Panic. Since the great Michael Houser passed away, Widespread has been missing its “Panic” as it were. The band is more inconsistent. Try as he might, George McConnell is too inconsistent a guitarist to really hold down the lead slot for the band.
Widespread brought its late summer tour to Winter Park ski area for two nights this past weekend. Usually, their late summer shows in Colorado came in August; having them so soon after Red Rocks meant my funds were a little more limited, so I could only catch one night of what used to be my favorite band. I think I may have picked the wrong night, going Sunday instead of Saturday.
The setting was beautiful. It seemed a little strange to look up at the familiar hillside and see it devoid of snow. Soon the white will be coming back though, and my season pass will be put to good use. I love skiing at Winter Park. It’s my favorite Front Range area, and second favorite in Colorado to Crested Butte. The best part of Winter Park is Mary Jane of course.
Back to WP at WP. The band took the stage a little after 4 and opened with a strong “Conrad,” which boded well. However, the rest of the set was ho-hum. The song selection was OK, although “Counting Train Cars” can’t be retired from the lineup soon enough for me, and I don’t particularly care for “Tortured Artist.” The energy just seemed lacking.
Part of this may come from the dual lead guitarists. This summer, longtime Panic producer John Keane joined the band and has shared lead guitar duties with McConnell. All sorts of rumors have been percolating this summer. The latest one says McConnell has carpal tunnel syndrome and will be leaving the band later this year, to be replaced with longtime Panic guitar tech Sam Holt.
If this turns out to be true, it will certainly be a jolt for the band; I’ve felt Sam should be the replacement for Mikey ever since I saw him play in the second set of the second night of the Fiddler’s Green shows in 2002, right after Mikey died.
Until it is official, it will remain in the speculatory world. However, whether or not the rumors are true, having Keane onstage proves a distraction for McConnell. McConnell is already competing with the ghost of Houser; having a second lead guitarist competing for a small amount of musical space can’t be good for his confidence or his playing.
“Heroes” and “Bayou Lena” sent me towards the concessions to get some food and energy so I wouldn’t nod off. Even “Jack” failed to sparkle. It seemed as if the band was tired. Perhaps the altitude was affecting them, although if that was the case it should have done so more on Saturday, which by all accounts in the taper section was a stronger set. Set 1 ended with an upbeat “Walkin.”
Given how lackluster set 1 was, set 2 could only go up. The threatening skies never broke during setbreak, and the sun peaked out again during the opening “Papa Legba.” “Papa Johnny Road” was solid, and George finally got a chance to shine with a very nice solo on “Party at Your Mama’s House.” The last two songs into drums, “Contentment Blues” and “Imitation Leather Shoes,” were both pretty good.
Drums lasted far too long for my tastes. While I prefer the drum solos of Panic to anything the Dead ever did, I still think 15 minutes of drums is TOO MUCH DRUMS! Normally, a “Me and the Devil” out of drums would have me hopping, but again it seemed subdued, as did the following “None of Us are Free.”
Panic finally got a well-needed jolt of lightning when Jerry Joseph came out and rocked into “Road to Damascus.” Before second set had started, we had been talking about the possibility of Jerry coming out for second set and what he might play, and I turned to Harrison and said, “I’m hoping for a Road to Damascus.” Jerry didn’t disappoint, and Panic finally lit up like they are capable of, as they did on the closing “Chainsaw City.”
First encore was “Don’t be Denied.” While Panic has made a very concerted effort to put George front and center as the guitarist (case in point: releasing three live CDs with George and none with Mikey during the hiatus in 2004), it was clear during “Denied” that Mikey’s spirit hovers over the band and they haven’t quite come to terms with the direction they want to take post-Mikey. When JB sang, “Pretty soon I met a friend, who played guitar, We’d sit on the steps at school, and dream of being stars, We started a band, played all night,” a roar went up from the crowd. Mikey stickers and pictures were in strong evidence throughout the crowd. While George is a capable guitarist, he is not a good fit for Panic, and it might time for them to go in a new direction again.
The show closed with a relatively low energy version of “Traveling Light.”
While it was good to get out to such a beautiful location and see lots of good friends who I’ve met over the years at Panic shows, the music just wasn’t there. Here’s hoping that a rest in August will bring them out firing on all cylinders in the fall, and perhaps the guitarist situation will resolve itself.
Posted by Candace in Music | No Comments »
07-21-2006
Andy moves on
Well, Andy Roddick has been having a tough year. He lost in the 4th round in the Australian, the first round of the French, and the third round of Wimbledon. Losing at Wimbledon was a particularly painful one for him, as he made the finals the last two years before losing to Federer and had Fed on the ropes before the rain delay.
However, Roddick has now hired my all-time favorite player, Jimmy Connors, as his coach. His initial work with Connors may have paid some dividends, as Andy avenged himself today against Giles Muller, who knocked him out in the first round of the U.S. Open last year, precipitating Andy’s slide.
Here’s hoping Andy is back on track.
Posted by Candace in Tennis | No Comments »
07-21-2006
Welcome to my site!!!
Well, after several fits and starts, I’ve decided to get a blog going on the ‘Net. I have no idea yet how often I’ll be posting on this, but I’m hoping to get it going a few times a week. There’s so much going on to write about. Music, sports, writing itself.
So glad you could pop by. Please bookmark this site and check it frequently!!!
Merry met!
Posted by Candace in Welcome | No Comments »