53rd St. and Belford Av.

KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD

Worth a look if you're in Portland, looking for vintage. 3611 S.E. Division. 503-505-9475.

Wed-Sun 11-7

Another vintage shop/ warehouse called "House of Vintage".

If you have a month to lose in Portland - it's almost bigger than the city itself - . http://www.houseofvintage.net/

Under the Burnside Bride. Skatepark where Gus Van Sant shot "Paranoid Park". http://www.skateoregon.com/Burnside/Burnside.html

Oregon not Maine

Credit: Marc Leonard

Tomorrow, M and I are leaving until Tuesday for Portland, OR with a girlfriend of ours.

We are all very excited about discovering the city, but for different reasons... the girls because it is a "Gus Van Sant city" and myself because it is very dynamic for its music scene!

... And also for its numerous micro-breweries, vintage shops, west-coast spirit, etc...

We'll keep you updated of our journey over there!

A.C.

Incredible Roger

Last Saturday, I've had the chance to attend Roger Water's The Wall show in Tacoma with some friends.
Even if 2010 is the 30th birthday of the original Pink Floyd show, the use of technology and the way the current wars are represented allow the 2010 version to be actualized and to fit in today's world, reflecting nowadays' society.

Although I really tend to prefer shows in smaller venues, where the musicians are closer to their audience - don't forget that this is actually one of the reasons why The Wall was originally conceived, the band having the impression that playing in big stadiums was distancing them from their fans - Roger Waters and his crew did a great job in bringing the show back to life.

The two hours spent in the Tacoma Dome that night were really breathtaking.

Here are some captures from the show...of course, they don't reflect the magic of the show but at least they give you an impression of how big this tour is.

A.C.

Stuff released: from TERRIBLE to good films

It is December, and as we are in the US, there were films that we had been expecting for a long time that were released this week. I won’t write lines and lines about them all – this time, the critics were right most of the time - but the surprise we had it worth a short article.

The first one we saw was “The tourist”. Of course, we did not expect a Desplechin script or some Prévert dialogue, but we thought that with Angelina (Jolie) and Johnny (Depp), it could be a pretty decent action film. What I didn’t know but realized after only a few minutes was that it was a remake of a French movie called “Anthony Zimmer”, starring Yvan Attal and Sophie Marceau, that was released more than five years ago. Too bad for me, because I watched it a few months ago, and so, I knew exactly what was going to happen. The script was the same and the dialogues were almost identical. However, I thought that as the director was a pretty good one - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck previously did « The lives of others » - and as it was an American production (meaning: a lot of money), it could be impressive. Seriously? The longest 1 hour and 43 minutes of the month! Heavy and slow, not even funny or impressive. Simply… a terrible terrible TERRIBLE film.

Black Swan – starring Nathalie Portman and Vincent Cassel - was a better surprise. Great acting/ editing/actors’ direction/ suspense/ tension. I didn’t find it extraordinary, maybe because the whole “Swan Lake”/ ballet ambiance isn’t really my thing, but still, it is a thriller that works well and that makes you extremely uncomfortable.

Last, but not least. We had the chance to see the Pulitzer price adaptation “Rabbit Hole” this Tuesday, as a Seattle premiere. Starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, it is the story of a couple trying to move on after they’ve lost their four-year-old son – even if it’s painful and uneasy -. Both of the actors are stunning. The realism of the script, of the dialogue, of the pain, is impressive. I could feel their panic, their grief and their sadness. But the strange, disturbing and very shocking thing what not into the film but into the audience. The entire room kept on laughing again and again when there was absolutely nothing to laugh about. After the screening, we went to talk to the person in charge to ask why people would laugh, and even if she said that it might have been because people felt uncomfortable, I am guessing that it is actually a good representation of an average US crowd, which is pretty distressing. People here need to laugh.

MJ.

Comedies & Proverbs: Boyfriends and Girlfriends. Project Rohmer.

If you thought that I had given up concerning Rohmer’s films, you’re wrong. This week I watched “Boyfriends and Girlfriends” (French title: L’Ami de Mon Amie), produced in 1987 and starring Emmanuelle Chaulet, Sophie Renoir and Anne-Laure Meury – already seen in “The Aviator’s Wife” -. The proverb for this one is “My friends’ friends are my friends” – “Les amis de mes amis sont mes amis”-. It’s about a young woman – Blanche - working in the cultural administration. It is set in the late 80s and she just moved to Cergy-Pontoise. She’s lonely, doesn’t anyone, but eventually meets another woman – younger than her - at the cafeteria for lunch. Her name is Lea. The two decide to meet again and to go to the swimming pool together. Lea has a boyfriend – Fabien - and Blanche falls in love with one of his best friends, a snobbish but handsome man. However, as the time goes through, Blanche realizes that she might be actually in love with Fabien, her friend’s friend…

I won’t tell anything about the ending, because it is quite a lovely film. It is actually the first Rohmer I watch with that much romanticism in it. What was also really interesting is the obstacle that friendship represents in love. For example, people would never (most of the time) date their friend’s ex, even if their feelings are strong and real. It is unconceivable to fall for “a (boy/girl)friend’s friend”. However, it seems absurd, because if two people really like each other, why should a past relationship and a present friendship ruin it? I found the character sincerely mature and honest in this film, and I wish it could be the same in real life, even if I do believe that it is harder than Rohmer wants to make us believe. Ego and jealousy are often a big problem in such cases… The other aspect that I thought was very striking was the set. I’m from Paris and to me – I guess to most Parisians, who happen to be as pretentious as I am - Cergy-Pontoise is a suburban city, but not the most attractive one. It is quite far from the city – compared to Malakoff, Montrouge, Ivry or Montreuil – and doesn’t represent what it represented when Rohmer shot the film. Cergy is presented as a new age, modern, complete, ideal suburban town. Everything you need is there – golf, lakes, tennis, shops – and you don’t need to go to the city anymore! This aspect of the film makes it look like a commercial for the Great Paris and for suburban towns. I found it funny and so retrograde. Still, it is a good, light and entertaining film.

MJ.

The Lady is back on the road

Yesterday the first annual Seattle Folk Festival took place at the Town Hall.
If bands played all day long in this half church-half theatre room, I only came in the evening to attend Alela Diane's set, who was indeed one of the two headliners of the festival along with the Québécois folk band, Le Temps d'Antan.

Being a big fan of Alela Diane's music and having seen her perform many times in Paris - she seems actually better known in France than in the USA - I was really enthusiastic to attend another of her shows, but I was also excited to hear her new material and see her play with her new band, Wild Divine.

Indeed, the graceful young woman just finished recording her third album which should be released towards April, 2011, and on which will be most of the songs performed yesterday by Alela and her band, made of her father on guitar and mandolin, her husband on guitar and two folks from Seattle on bass and drums.

Alela's father, Tom Menig

Again, her show moved me as they always did.
Not only Alela's voice was splendid, but also her performance conveyed a great impression of humility and humanity. Maybe the fact of having members of her family on stage by her sides helps her to feel more comfortable and confident, but I have the impression that she is a very natural and humble person, far from behaving like a diva, which is also one of the reasons why I admire her so much.

I really liked the fact that her role on stage among the band wasn't the only one I was used to: when she doesn't play the guitar, on some songs she plays the keyboard and on others, she doesn't play any instrument, which allows her to show more easily the power in her voice.
If her new material is very different than her previous work because more rock and poppy and less folky - not in a negative way though - her songwriting remains the same: tales of beloved people and places, stories about true and pure feelings.

As usual, I'm being too positive...not for long though!
Yesterday, the sound at the Town Hall was really disappointing.
Indeed, the drums were too loud and bumpy, Alela's mic too loud on some songs and the guitars too low.
Of course the Town Hall gave a mystical dimension to the show, which might have also been the reason why the audience was very quiet and timid, but Alela Diane would have deserved a better treat as far as sound and acoustic, most of all for a premiere in presenting her new songs with Wild Divine.

If I'm seeing this show as a test for the band - test that I've been glad to be attending - I'm really enthusiastic about the album being released and about her tour being "officially" launched because I already can't wait for the next time I will see Alela Diane perform again, whether in France or in the USA, in a real room, where her talent will be as much emphasized as it deserves to be.

A.C.