The Power of Two - The Indigo Girls at the Minnesota Zoo

7/17/15 The Indigo Girls at the Minnesota Zoo, One Lost Day

I usually combine my reviews of concerts and movies, but I feel like this music review should be a standalone. I saw The Indigo Girls almost two years ago, and it while it seems like yesterday, it has been way too long. This time around they are promoting their new CD, One Lost Day, and as excited as I was to hear the new music, it took me a few listens before I could say I liked it, and now I love it. The Indigo Girls have a great way with lyrical storytelling, songs of the American landscape (new songs like "Texas was Clean", "Fishtails" by Amy Ray and "Findlay, Ohio 1968 by Emily Saliers) as well as relationship songs, usually lost opportunities ("California is Your Girlfriend", "Learned it on Me" by Emily and "Spread the Pain Around" by Amy). I have seen the Indigo Girls at least seven times, maybe more, and I have never been disappointed, except that eventually the concert has to end. There is something about just being at an IG show that brings out a feeling of community, and not being in the minority. It's kind of like a family reunion, I inevitably see someone I know (okay, it's usually the same person I see, but it's still fun), and this time was no different; people spent as much time waving at one another as watching the concert. I have mixed feelings about concerts at the zoo; usually it's a feeling of numbness in my ass from sitting on those ridiculous benches (it's an amphitheater, which was great for the Greeks) but almost every seat has a fabulous view of the stage, and where else do you get to see bats flying around the stage? It was a warm, humid Minnesota night, one which I'll miss when it's -20 in six months. Michelle Malone opened the show with her band, and they were tight; Michelle has toured with the Indigo Girls for years. Michelle has a combination of styles, kind of rocking, but a little flavor of country (she is from Georgia and has played with Kristian Bush of Sugarland). Her new album is Stronger Than You Think and she played a couple songs from that; she has quite a lengthy discography and obviously couldn't play everything, but there are some songs from her older albums that would have been nice to hear. She is an amazing guitarist and ripped it out a couple of times, and I was hoping she would come out and exchange some licks with Emily later.

Michelle Malone

It was around 8:02 when the Indigo Girls took the stage and opened with "Least Complicated" from Swamp Ophelia (one of my favorites), and the hootenanny began. I think they played it very smart by opening with a few old, familiar and much loved songs before dropping in some new ones, usually one by Amy and then one by Emily. I had done my homework by listening to the new CD nonstop in my car, so I was able to sing it out (yes, I was that person whom I mocked from the Billy Joel concert), but I wasn't alone. Of course, I was sitting in front of the five woman who knew nothing, and carried on conversations during the concert, mentioning several times that they didn't know the words. Then GO HOME and drink your chardonnay from the box and let me listen. Good grief. Everyone has their favorite songs and people weren't shy about shouting them out, from "Romeo and Juliet" (Rites of Passage by Mark Knopfler) to "Watershed" to pretty much everything in the catalog. The cool thing about being in such an intimate venue is the performers can usually hear everything you yell at them, and they may even respond, as Amy did when someone yelled out "Romeo and Juliet" and Amy took a break from getting her guitar plugged in to address the yellee by saying (paraphrasing) " I hear you, but I don't even know that one right now, and I don't want you to think I'm ignoring you", and someone else yelled (I think) '"We know it" because Amy said, "I know you do". Anyway, back to the songs. Amy did "Happy in the Sorrow Key" which is a fast paced song that I really love; and then Emily did "Learned it on Me" which is the song you sing to your ex a few years after you break up and aren't so much bitter as reflective. It must be hard for an artist to bring out new material when the fans want the tried and true material, and you have so much of it, so they were both so appreciative when the audience sat and listened to the new stuff; Emily specifically mentioned that after finishing "Findlay, Ohio 1968"; prior to the song, she introduced her dad who was in the audience that night. I was really happy that they did "Yield" from Become You which is another fast paced song from Amy with some pointed lyrics. Emily did "Southern California is your Girlfriend" from One Lost Day and it's really not one of my favorites from the album, but like many of their songs that don't grab me on an album, when done live, I usually grow to like it a little more; Amy then did "Fishtails" which is another one I really like, she definitely sets a mood of kids running around in a Georgia evening in their hoodies, it's not ominous, though. When the chords of "Joking" (Rites of Passage) started, the crowd was even more electrified, on their feet singing. The whole set list can be found here, but they finished the night with "Rise of the Black Messiah" from the new album which is another one of my favorite songs because it is taken from the true story of the Angola Three and a letter that Amy received from one of the men and because it is musically so driving and grabs you; and of course "Closer to Fine" is probably one song they have to do, and that's where Michelle Malone came out to sing with them.

They had the same band from a couple of years ago, Jaron Pearlman on drums, Ben Williams on bass, Carol Isaacs on keyboards, accordion and whistle (not sure if she was here in 2013) and the amazing Lyris Hung on violin. The IG has a knack of find wonderful musicians who seem to get their fans and understand their music. Amy and Emily are no slouches in the musicianship department and Emily does not get the credit she deserves for being an incredible guitarist who can shred it when necessary, but she doesn't overplay and she's not flashy. But what the Indigo Girls are known for is their harmonies and the way their vocals are intertwined, and that is beautifully presented on the new album, and they do it live, but I think sometimes it's hard to really get the sonic clarity live in the mix. 

The Indigo Girls have been making records for almost thirty years, which is pretty astounding when you think about it, and they continue to grow and change while staying true to what is important to them (Honor the Earth as an example); they have grown a fan base that could probably sing every sing at any time. Whenever a crowd sings with them or back to them, they always seem humbled and sincerely thankful for their fans.It's part of what makes me love them. Another thing is, who else would wear animal hats onstage (check the last picture)? You cannot walk away from an Indigo Girls concert feeling anything less than uplifted.

Groucho meets Brando? It's possible with The Godfather, Jaws and The Marx Brothers

It is very rare that I watch five movies and don't get one bad seed. But, there is always a first time. I really enjoyed all five of the movies, and they range from drama to thriller to comedy, from the early years of cinema to the big bad '70s. These movies reaffirmed my faith in the lists I've been using (it's easy to get skeptical after some of the lulus I've seen). Whether you have seen these movies before or are looking for a hidden gem like the Marx Brothers, there's something to watch. 

7/5/15 The Godfather, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1972 #2 AFI, National Film Registry


7/10/15 Godfather, Part II, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, 1974 #32 AFI, National Film Registry

Writing a review for The Godfather films seems kind of redundant since they are two of the best known films in American cinema as noted by their Oscar wins, places on the American Film Institute list for the top 100 films and on the National Film Registry for films of cultural, historical or aesthetic significance. So, what can little ol' me possibly tell you? I have no idea. If you have lived under a rock for the past 43 years, here is a very high level synopsis: the first Godfather movie focuses on the Corleone family headed by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando); Don Corleone is old-fashioned by some standards - he doesn't want to get into the drug trade, he believes very strongly in the traditions of the 'family', but understands that business is business. He is advised by his oldest son, Sonny (James Caan) and his adopted son, Tom (Robert Duvall); his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) is just home from the Second World War (this film is set between 1945-1955) John Cazale plays the middle son, Fredo. If you're a regular reader (all three of you), then you know I cannot stand it when movies go over two hours, so they better be good. Honestly, if a movie is good and sucks me in, then I usually don't even notice the time, a long bad movie is painful and gets noted as such - the reason I am telling you this is because The Godfather is almost three hours long and The Godfather, part II is almost three and a half hours long and I didn't mind one bit. The storytelling is as fluid and fast-paced as Don Corleone is thoughtful and deliberate in his orders to his men. The actors are stellar, and Pacino's performance is even more amazing when you think this is one of his earliest films and the studio didn't want him. The two films show the transformation of Michael from war hero to the leader of the Corleone family and a man who gives orders to kill. The Godfather, part II is almost like two movies in one, and this was the one thing that annoyed me; the movie starts out with Michael and his family, now living in Nevada involved in the casinos, but then the story line changes to Sicily at the end of the 19th century and the Andolini family. We learn that Andolini is the original family name of Vito Corleone; Vito is forced to flee Sicily to escape the local godfather. We see an older Vito, now played by a really young Robert DeNiro and most of this story is in Italian. DeNiro won an Oscar for his role for playing a young Vito (Brando won Best Actor for playing an older Vito). I really did like these two movies so this next comment is an observation, I guess, and that is that there are two main female characters (three if you count Vito's wife, but I don't) Kay, played by Diane Keaton and Connie played by Talia Shire. Both of these characters are one-dimensional, and maybe I'm just negative, but if you were to predict that Diane Keaton would be considered one of the great American actresses based on these performances, I would have said you were on an illegal substance. Talia Shire...I just don't get, I didn't get her in the Rocky franchise and I don't get her here: she's shrill, whiny, and just like an extra thumb (how she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in The Godfather, part II I will never ever know; as it happens Ingrid Bergman won for her role in Murder on the Orient Express). This really is a male-dominated film, but there needed to be some maternal figures, I suppose. Other than that, I have no complaints about either film. The idea of The Godfather is some embedded in the American psyche, with phrases like "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse" without even knowing the origin. Yours truly was in a very adapted, paraphrased version of The Godfather in fourth grade, and I had not even seen the film, I'm not sure that it's appropriate for fourth graders. So, there you go. Set aside a cold weekend in December and watch both movies back to back, you won't regret it. Maybe have a nice spaghetti dinner with some cannoli for dessert.

7/11/15 Jaws, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound, 1975, #56 AFI, National Film Registry

I saw Jaws probably twenty-five years ago, maybe longer, and I didn't really like it; actually, I'm not sure how much I watched because I was probably hiding behind a pillow (movie sharks cannot hurt you if they cannot see you behind your pillow). Since Jaws is on the Oscar list as well as the American Film Institute and the National Film Registry, I figured I should re-watch it, just to be fair. And I have to say I really liked it; as other, real film critics have said, there are elements of Alfred Hitchock's style in this Steven Spielberg film, from some of the camera angles to the use of humor to the suspense (I have not brought myself to watch Psycho but perhaps I will now). Aside from the three main characters Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), Quint (Robert Shaw) and Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), the acting is really not so good, so I struggled a little through the first hour, but once the three men are out on the water, hunting the shark, it gets really good. Like the Godfather movies, most people probably know the plot of Jaws: Chief Brody is experiencing his first summer season on Amity Island, and he is tested right away by a hyper-territorial Great White shark who has taken to eating swimmers and summer frolickers. Unfortunately for Chief Brody, the mayor and other citizens are reluctant to close the beach. Brody brings in Matt Hooper, an oceanographer and an expert on sharks, and they team up with Quint, a World War II veteran and professional shark hunter to find the shark.  For me, that is where the movie shines and really got interesting. Even though you sort of know what is going to happen (it's hard to not to have some inkling, especially since this is the 40th anniversary of the movie's release), but it didn't matter, Spielberg does such a great job of setting the viewer up. These three men match wits with the shark, trying to trick it, outsmart it, and even outgun it, and it's just not that straightforward. Of course, you cannot write about Jaws without commenting on the iconic score by John Williams; even if you have not seen the movie, you are probably familiar with the "dun-dun-dun-dun" theme. John Williams is considered a master of scoring movies, and he won one of his many Oscars for the Jaws score. I never thought I would say this, but I would watch Jaws again, maybe skipping the early parts.


7/11/15 Duck Soup, 1933 #60 AFI, National Film Registry

7/11/15 A Night at the Opera, 1935 #85 AFI, National Film Registry

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I have never seen a Marx Brothers movie before; sure, I've seen the clips of Groucho walking around with his cigar and Harpo with his horns, but never a whole movie. What a treat! I can't say I laughed my head off (I'm not known for that anyway; they call me "Buzz" as in Buzzkill) but I did laugh, especially at Harpo. Groucho may be the most famous Marx Brother (there were five who performed), but Harpo, especially in A Night at the Opera, had some of the funniest scenes. Keep in mind, he did it all without saying a word, just a well-timed toot of the horn. I honestly don't know if the various plots are really that important, because to me, they were just the coat rack on which the jokes and gags were hung. Duck Soup for example, is set in the fictional country of Freedonia, soon to be governed by Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho). You might well imagine the hilarity that ensues. Chicolini and Pinky (Chico and Harpo, respectively) are spies for Sylvania, the country that is plotting a war on Freedonia. Firefly is aided by Lt. Bob Roland, his secretary (played by youngest brother Zeppo). Margarat Dumont is Mrs. Teasdale, playing straight man and foil to Firefly. There are jokes, music and silliness as Freedonia engages in battle.

Three of the Marx Brothers return in A Night at the Opera (Zeppo left to pursue a career in engineering), and glutton for punishment, Margaret Dumont returns as well. Groucho is Otis B. Driftwood, Mrs. Claypool's (Dumont) business manager; Driftwood is trying to get Mrs. Claypool to invest in an opera company. Fiorello (Chico) is the manager for a young opera singer, Ricardo Baroni; Tomasso (Harpo) is a friend of Fiorello and Baroni. Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle) is a soprano and falls in love with Baroni. Yes, there are a lot of people and a lot of things going on, and Wikipedia is mildly helpful. I found the exact details really don't matter that much; I just enjoyed the humor. I would like to see more Marx Brothers films, and if you have never seen one, I totally recommend Duck Soup or A Night at the Opera.

Focusing on the National Film Registry and the AFI list with Hitchock and 12 Angry Men

7/1/15 12 Angry Men, 1957, AFI #87, National Film Registry

I've mentioned a couple times here that I don't watch too many movies more than once, but I have watched 12 Angry Men several times and I find something to keep my attention each time. 12 Angry Men was directed by Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Network) and starred several big named actors, or soon to be big name actors including Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden and Jack Klugman. Most of the movie is set in a jury room where the twelve men are deciding the fate of an 18 year old young man; the room is claustrophobic and the heat is overbearing. It seems at first that it's an easy decision - guilty, but juror number 8 (Henry Fonda) wants the men to take more than a cursory glance at the evidence and discuss it before they sentence the defendant to a death sentence. He runs into resistance by the other jurors who want to leave for their evening plans or just get out of the jury room. If you have not seen the movie, I really don't want to give too much away because the way Juror 8 lays out his arguments and just tries to ask probing questions is the best part of the film. Wikipedia refers to it as a film on consensus building, but I also think it's an example of critical thinking, looking beyond the surface of things, challenging the popular opinion. The performances are taut, you really can feel the tension and the heat and smell the cigarette smoke. The men are angry, and it's interesting to hear how fears or prejudices come out. The movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing of an Adapted Screenplay, but lost to Bridge on the River Kwai (another movie I have watched a few times). 12 Angry Men is currently on the AFI list of the best 100 films as well as being added to the National Film Registry.

7/2/15 Tangled, nominated for Best Song, 2010
7/4/15 The Princess and the Frog, nominated Best Animated Film, Best Original Song, 2008

Tangled is an animated version of the Rapunzel fairy tale; it may be an exact version, I don't know, it's not one of the fairy tales with which I am most familiar, and I wasn't very enthralled. Honestly, I was bored. I feel kind of bad for saying that, as I love to find movies that are great for kids, especially girls. Rapunzel is a strong character, and she eventually becomes independent from her mother (who really isn't her mother), but meh, I would skip it. Unlike The Princess and the Frog which worked on several different levels: the music, by Randy Newman, provides a great taste of the New Orleans sound; the peripheral characters add humor; and a poignant, but not overly sappy storyline. The Princess and the Frog is set in 1920s New Orleans, and Tiana is a young girl who aspires to open the restaurant her father had always wanted. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the money to buy the building, and as Mardi Gras is set to unfold, there's a little voodoo and magic going on, and Tiana is turned into a frog. Prince Naveen, a visiting dignitary also falls under the spell of Dr. Facilier, a witch doctor, and he is turned into a frog as well. Tiana and Prince Naveen set off on their quest to undo the spell, and that's where they meet some great bayou characters, including Louis, an alligator and Ray, a Cajun firefly. If you have to pick, and of course you don't, I would pick The Princess and the Frog because it's a better, more interesting story; a fabulous soundtrack, and I liked Tiana as a role model for girls (willing to work hard to make her dream come true, but also ready to take a risk, like going through the bayou as a frog).


7/3/15 North by Northwest, 1959 #55 AFI, National Film Registry

7/4/15 Rear Window 1954 #42 AFI, National Film Registry

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why Alfred Hitchcock never won a Best Director Oscar? Or how only one of his films Rebecca (a favorite book and film) won for Best Picture? I think this is a valid question because when you look at the list of the Best 100 Films by the American Film Institute, there are only four directors on the list with four or more films, and three are deceased: Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, and Hitchcock; Steven Spielberg is the only director with five films on the list. So again, I ask, how is that Hitchcock never won a Best Director Oscar? Ok, well, it's not going to happen now, but it's something to think about. North by Northwest reminded me a little of Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much with James Stewart and Doris Day, with mistaken identity, a dashing leading man and a beautiful leading lady; in North by Northwest that would be Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. In North by Northwest, Cary Grant is mistaken for a spy/man of intrigue and is targeted by James Mason (I can never listen to James Mason without thinking of Eddie Izzard doing James Mason as God). The movie is often identified by the great clip of Grant trying to outrun a very low flying plane. He also climbs Mount Rushmore. I really enjoyed the story and the suspense, and Grant as Roger Thornhill is so very dashing, and you think he is out of his depth, but he manages to hold his own against Mason and Martin Landau. The pacing of the movie and the action kept me interested, and I would watch it again and totally recommend it.

Can you guess what's coming next? Rear Window is another Hitchcock film that is cited as one of the greatest films ever made (obviously, it's #42 on the list), and in comparison to North by Northwest which takes you from New York City, to a sleeper car, to Chicago to South Dakota, you may experience a bit of claustrophobia but then you get to breath the fresh air of the Great Plains, Rear Window made me feel closed in and you only (or primarily) get the perspective of wheelchair-bound L.B. "Jeff" Jeffers (James Stewart). Jeffers is an internationally known photographer who is stuck in his apartment during a New York City heatwave, where he is tended to by his nurse Stella (played by Thelma Ritter) and his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). Jeffers has very little to do but look out his apartment window and look into the lives of his neighbors; he gives them all names and makes up stories to go with what he sees, until one day, his story-telling takes a turn into reality. I think the technique to limit what the audience sees and hears to what the main character sees and hears is very interesting and a novel idea, but it was also frustrating (and as I write this, I'm thinking, perhaps that was the intention...). I just couldn't get into it, and as for the suspense, I didn't find it as suspenseful as The Man Who Knew Too Much. I have found, and previously commented, that Hitchcock often has strong women characters, but I don't think that Lisa would rate up there in the top five (I love Grace Kelly and she was wonderful when she was paired with Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, but she was wasted here).