Still the best: Beck (Jeff, that is)

A review of the music video Jeff Beck performing this week... Live at Ronnie Scott’s

(available now on Blu-Ray and DVD)

UPDATE: Read this NYTimes article ... they must andythemovieman followers...

From our contributor GROOVEKING – The Music Man

I first saw Jeff Beck live in concert in the Tucson (Arizona) Civic Center – it was 1971. He’s been around that long and, apparently, so have I.

In 1965, when the flibbertigibbet Eric Clapton bolted from The Yardbirds, Beck replaced him. In 1966, they released an album entitled Roger The Engineer with guest guitarist Jimmy Page. In one band??? Over the years, I have been torn between these three guys as to who is the best living Rock ‘n Roll guitarist, having seen them all live and listened to most of their work. As I go back ‘n forth, it has remained an open question . . . until I watched this concert.

Recorded in 1080i High Definition Widescreen 16X9 (1.78:1) with a DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack, it looks and sounds as good as it gets. State of the Art. The nightclub setting and stage lighting give the tape a luscious colorful hue and the audio production was perfectly executed (especially due to the superb work of Engineer Alan Branch – not Roger). If you have a home theater system sportin’ big audio, this disc is a must have. Recorded in 2007 over several nights in the famous London Soho nightclub “Ronnie Scott’s” and then edited down to 191 minutes of material, you can hear people clapping behind you when listened to in 7.1 surround. Am I really 30 feet from the stage? The audience is full of London Rock ‘n Roll notables (Oh look, there’s Robert Plant. And two tables over, right there in the center, is that really the Jimmy Page?) It’s a small wonder that it was the hottest ticket in town during the week of these shows.

Beck’s four-piece band is killer, combining experience with youthful exuberance. They tightly navigate their way through Beck’s rock/jazz/blues fusion material. On drums is Vinnie Colaiuta (of Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock and Sting fame), with Londoner Jason Rebello on keyboards (Sting again) and Australian bass phenom Tal Wilkenfeld. If you are unfamiliar with the 21-year old Wilkenfeld, she is a mesmerizing performer. Beck showers her with adoration all concert long and for good reason. Apart from very accomplished playing, her stage persona creates a camera magnet (frame count second only to His Majesty). See for yourself at talwilkenfeld.com. Guest vocalists Joss Stone (one song) and Imogen Heap (two songs) are exceptional. The best five-piece ensemble of the concert is the encore performance of Rollin’ and Tumblin’ with Heap. But the absolute star of the show is, of course, Jeff Beck.

I played guitar professionally for 10 years and then spent another 10 in production and I DO NOT KNOW HOW HE MAKES THOSE SOUNDS! I do know it’s not with pedals and electronic devices; it’s with his fingers, his Stratocaster, and his Marshall stack. He doesn’t even use a pick, for God’s sake. Fingers pickin’ and strumin’ on strings, pick-ups talkin’ to amp. Camera shots abound of fans in the audience (many pro musicians, for sure) going, “Wah? Huh?” He was using a bottleneck slide way up ahead of the neck on top of the pick-ups (where movements of about 1/32 of an inch equals a full note) without missing a note (literally). The late Les Paul, inventor of the guitar cutaway (that radical indent in the body up top of the neck that allows your hand to get way up there) is smiling somewhere because Jeff Beck’s hand lives in the cutaway. But when that hand comes running down the lower end of the neck, hold on to your seat. Heavy, heavier, heaviest . . . tasty, tastier, tastiest. There is nobody that compares or that I would rather listen to.

In fact, there was an encore guest appearance by Eric Clapton (what a treat for two songs). They traded licks. No contest. Not even close.

Content

Audio

Video

Poor Show, Great Movie

Submitted by AMM contributor Grooveking

RIFF TRAX showing of “Plan 9 from Outer Space”

9/2/09, selected theaters

Let me first admit this: I don’t know shit about this stuff.

I went to this show for a strong dose of comedy (no disappointment there). But I really had no idea what to expect of this special showing on September 2^nd. This whole show was produced by an out fit called Fathom Events, which is a division of NCM (National Cine Media). They produce Internet TV programs, Cinema Media Events, In-theater advertising. Wha? For this event, they hired the talent, booked the venue (Nashville’s Belcourt Theater), produced and recorded the show, and then arranged for it to be shown two weeks later in some 400+ movie theaters on the same date. I did the quick math: there were about 100 viewers at my theater, meaning maybe 40,000 viewers nationwide (although it was probably not close to that many). With the $10.00 ticket, that’s a $400,000 gross. Splitting 50/50 with the theaters, I figure Fathom got about $200K, probably much less. Now I’m beginning to understand why it was so bad.

Now let me say this: I do know some things about some shit.

I spent more than 15 years in my (younger) life in the entertainment industry. Like everyone else, I began as a musician. It didn’t take me very long to realize that wasn’t my strength, so I moved over to the business side and became very successful as a booking agent, an artist manager, a concert promoter and a big nightclub owner. I even traveled as a Production Manager for a 26-city US tour of two RCA Records recording acts. I think I have the creds to evaluate this show. Not only was I disappointed in the technical quality of the Fathom recording of this event, but I believe that the staging and the talent acquisition fell way short. It was advertised as an HD recording, yet the colors were washed and the clarity didn’t match what one is used to seeing up on the big screen. Unbelievably, there were even three total drop outs during the show (the screen went to black with no audio for 5-6 seconds). It reminded me of when I was a kid watching a film strip in the classroom – sans the melting film sequence. The staging was very average and the lighting subpar, as though we were watching a high school talent show in the auditorium. And that provides me with the perfect segue into talking about the talent. In fact, let’s not use that word at all. Let me rephrase: the perfect segue into talking about the performers. No, the entertainers. No, the acts. No, the hacks. Yeah - that’s it, the hacks.

The evening’s host was introduced as the “Queen of the Internet,” leading me to think, “Yeah, man – Alright!” Out on stage strolls Veronica Belmont, whose claim to fame is her internet TV program “Tekzilla” on Revision3. Wha? She is cute (like that’s a difficult requirement for a casting department to meet, right?) but totally devoid of anything closely resembling stage presence. All night long, she (gulp) read her lines from a crumpled paper pad. Was this dress rehearsal? Did any one tell her it was being recorded? Did Fathom even hire a Director and, if so, was he backstage eating a sandwich? Belmont introduces a “special” musical guest, Jonathan Coulton. The Brooklyn native is a singer/songwriter (okay, I’ll give him the songwriter part) who writes a blog as well some slightly humorous songs). He walks up to the microphone and yells, “Hello, America!” Wha? Settle down, little fella. This isn’t LIVE AID. It was all downhill from there. Summary: Very average guitarist with a voice to match. We’re talking Monday night open-mic level of quality here. Hard to believe this is who Fathom came up with. Please tell me he’s the son or brother of someone deep within the Fathom chain of command. Then it would at least add up. And let’s not forget the guy (didn’t catc h his name) who started the show by drawing raffle tickets (“Collect your gifts on our website”) and hawking products (ahhh, the “In-theater advertising” part). God, I hate that. I paid $10.00 to get in. No ads, please. Rounding out this All Star line-up was Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka (another household name) who actually produced a couple of rather clever mock commercials. Lowtax gets a C-, while Belmont and Coulton need to be held back and repeat First Grade. The other guy should have been left on the cutting room floor, or has this cliché now become “deleted into ether limbo”? In any event, get him out of there. For all I know, he’s the president of Fathom Events. Apart from the headlining movie, this show was consistently short of a professional presentation. Ah, yes . . . the movie:

In the end, we all laughed ourselves into tears.

They should have just shown the movie. Ed Wood’s classic stinker, “Plan 9 from Outer Space” is funny enough by itself these days, what with the pie-plates-on-a-string flying saucers and Vampira’s 18-inch fingernails on top of her 14-inch waist to Bela Lugosi (oh poor, dear Bela Lugosi) in his final role. What a way to end a noted career. He died during filming, and Wood substituted a replacement for the balance of the film who kept walking in and out of scenes in that iconic Lugosi posture of the cape over the arm covering the face. However, this version of Plan 9 was greatly enhanced by the reunion of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 trio of Mike Nelson, Tom Servo (Kevin Murphy) and Crow T. Robot (Bill Corbett) and their uproarious interjections. You may recall years ago when they were a TV rerun staple, with their three silhouettes in the front row of a very bad movie, wise-cracking throughout. I loved them then, and they were even better this time. Most memorable comedic comment of the night: regarding cast member Tor Johnson, who played the part of a 400-pound Zombie, “Tor received his name from his mother in remembrance of what happened to her during his birth.” Honestly, I had to remove my glasses to dry my eyes at least a dozen times. People in the theater were laughing so hard they were snorting out their noses and losing their breath which led to choking and coughing which led to maybe calling for an usher – you know what I mean?

After looking at the RIFF TRAX website, I was not surprised to learn that these guys have several DVDs of their shtick available and I may just get some. They are hilarious. It’s really too bad that the Fathom Events folks feel the need to package them with such crap to fill up two hours. Certainly they can figure out a better way and then really be able to shout out “HELLO, AMERICA!”

(500) Days of Summer

By Doug Carasso, our first AMM Contributor.

Jul 2009, Marc Webb, 95 mins

(500) Days of Summer is 95 minutes of movie heaven. Can you remember the last time you went to a film that was charming, funny, unpredictable, and fresh? Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who bears an eerie resemblance to the late Heath Ledger (could he be the next Joker?), and Zooey Daschenel, who previously charmed Will Ferrel’s Elf and here plays the breezy Summer, make an engaging pair, with an uncanny chemistry between them that one rarely encounters. They could be the next generation’s Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

The story concerns the ups, downs, sideways, and other directions in the relationship of this 20-something couple, at work, with friends, at play, in love, or not. The film is at times experimental, using camera techniques such as split screens and striking cinematography devices that, in a lesser film, would appear a failed attempt at making up for what is lacking elsewhere. Here, these methods spring naturally from the spontaneously evolving storyline and lend to the texture of the plot.

500 Days is a great date movie. It makes you feel good about not only the characters in the film, but also whomever you’re with watching the film. Take a peek during the film, and you will likely see a broad smile on the face of your movie-going companion(s).

What is it about this film that inspires such joy, such good will toward it? First, is the script – smart, funny, with unpredictable turns, and even an inspired and infectious musical number included. Then, perhaps most of all, there are the lead performers. Gordon-Levitt, whom most of us remember as a much younger actor, such as in 10 Things I Hate About You, is so winning that it makes you wonder what he or Hollywood have against each other that he has been kept from us in any prominent movie for so long. Deschanel also has a natural and irresistible charm. Together, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel have that rare ability to make their every action not only interesting, but also matter.

By all means, see (500) Days of Summer. You’ll be glad you did.

Doug is a top Orange County Lawyer and a member of the Callahan and Blaine legal team.