The Casbah is San Diego’s most famous music venue, and over the years it has played host to thousands of groups ranging from Nirvana to Arcade Fire. But on March 4, the act set to grace the club’s hallowed stage won’t be a band or musician at all — it’ll be some guy named Michael Showalter. Continue reading…
Upon hearing that Keith Richards was writing a biography, my first thought was, “Wow, how can he even remember what happened, given his proclivity for illicit drug use and all-around hell raising?†Now, having finished the book, I am even more amazed at the vividness of his recollections. Everything is there that you would expect, including the requisite sex, drugs and rock and roll. But it’s the unexpected things in Life that enrich the reader’s experience and provide a genuine sense of historical context about how the The Rolling Stones thrived in the midst of such a socially volatile time.
Every man dreams of being in Keith Richards’ shoes at one point or another. After all, this man is the archetypal rock star: living a life of excess, denying himself no pleasure, and keeping the world perpetually at his fingertips. In recent years, Richards has become a pop culture caricature — a Hollywood pirate, an old dude who should have croaked years ago, the crazy guy who snorted his father’s ashes. There’s a degree of truth to all of those characterizations, but if Life is any indication, the man is much more than that. Continue reading…
Sundance-honored multimedia artist Brent Green will bring his film Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then to San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts this Sunday.
Green is a self-taught animator whose unusual tales explore the nuances of life, death, and everything in between — even Santa Claus. Gravity is his latest work, and it’s based on the true story of Leonard Wood, a man who built an entire “healing house” for his cancer-stricken wife. For the film, the ever-creative Green constructed a full-scale town in his back yard: “five houses, a handmade working piano, a huge glowing moon, and a giant, wooden, fully functioning God.”
And just as Gravity isn’t your typical film, Sunday night won’t be your typical screening. As an added bonus, Green has put together an all-star band — including Brendan Canty (Fugazi) and Howe Gelb — to play a live soundtrack to the film. Having seen Green perform on multiple occasions, I can say with certainty that the show will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced.
In anticipation of the performance, Green also told us a bit about his influences. Brent Green’s Poetic Memory is below.
As we mentioned last week, this Saturday’s installment of The Rumble at Bar Pink is Echotone-themed.
Echotone is a documentary about the blossoming Austin, TX music scene, and has been described by the AV Club as “beautifully shot, cleverly edited, and suffused with the dark, tenacious humor of the musicians and artists…a timely valentine with purpose.”
In conjunction with the film, Bar Pink patrons and Rumble regulars will be treated to performances by Sunset and White White Lights — two bands featured in the documentary. There will even be a preview of Echotone itself which, if the (below) trailer is any indication, shall be most excellent.
Saturday will also serve as a nice introduction to local up-and-comers Chairs Missing who just released a new EP and are slated to play Sezio’s epic Four Day Weekend event in November. Chairs Missing are stand up guys.
As always, admission to The Rumble is free and delicious Trumer Pils is a mere $3. DJ Tropical Popsicle will man the turntables between sets; we challenge you to say his name five times fast.
In case you haven’t heard, The Rumble is a monthly showcase of local and international indie talent. This month’s event is sponsored by Future Sounds, Indigenous, San Diego: Dialed In, Bedouin Vintage Collective, BMI, M-Theory Records, Reversal Films, Echotone, Trumer Pils, and your friendly neighborhood Owl and Bear.
The trailer for Echotone, as well as MP3s and photos are below.
Now that the horror genre is seven Saw movies deep, it might seem like there’s nothing that could be done to possibly shock fans. The last decade’s foray into torture porn has emphasized the fetishization of suffering over suspense and existential dread, and piled on the gore so thick that no part of the human body has emerged unscathed.
Thanks to the brazen novelty of its premise, The Human Centipede — out today on DVD as an unrated director’s cut — succeeds in not only differentiating itself from the glossy, contemporary crop of Hollywood horror, but manages to wring a surprising amount of humor from its sadistic plot. The independent film centers around a crazed German doctor (Dieter Laser) who kidnaps three people and surgically attaches them via their gastric systems to create the titular creature. There are no subplots to be found here, only the shocking, central story of a crazed doctor and his medical atrocity.
The centipede itself consists of two American tourists (Ashley C. Williams and Ashlynn Yennie) as the middle and rear segments and Akihiro Kitamura’s loudmouthed Japanese businessman at the head. During the film’s dialog-heavy opening sequences, Williams’ and Yennie’s acting is shaky at best, but the two fare better once wide-eyed terror and disgust are the only emotions they’re expected to convey. (This raises the age-old question: is it easier or harder to evoke an audience’s sympathy when your mouth is sewn to another actor’s anus?) Continue reading…