SXSW pictures: Film Fest

Here's some pics I took from the film fest. I finally realized, I just don't take alot of pictures. Enjoy...

Hey! It's Mark Bell...and my finger!


A better shot of Mark


It's Film Threats own ERIC CAMPOS!


The ugliest chick in Austin


Group Photo...we're all totally sober!

RIP Buck Owens

Aw man, Buck Owens died yesterday. I love Buck Owens the man and his music and I was bummed to hear of his passing. In 2002 I visited Buck Owens Crystal Palace in (where else?) Bakersfield, CA. I had always wanted to go there since I was always a Buck Owens fan and while in a radio production class, I decided to do a show on "A Night at the Crystal Palace." You can listen to it Here. It came out pretty good even if my goofy friend Mario sounds rather Muppet-esque.

We had a really great time doing the taping of the show. The Crystal Palace is like a museum made by Buck Owens for Buck Owens. At the time, it was a living tribute because Buck was there. Pictures everywhere, gold records...Memorabilia. The night we went, Buck came out and sang some songs then gave the stage over to country music ingenue, Jessica Andrews. and it was great. It was like seeing a live version of Hee Haw or something. The Crystal Palace is supercool...great food and a nice time out with the family. You should go and pay tribute to the man who created the Bakersfield sound. That is, if you ever find yourself on the streets of Bakersfield.

I'm still sad Buck Owens died but I know the Crystal Palace will live on. You can check it out here. Godspeed, Buck!

Home again home again, jiggedy jig

Wow. Ouch. Wow. That's about all I can muster right now. I had an amazing time but damn am I tired. I basically spent 12 hours a day on cement either walking to a show or theater, standing in line and then watching a concert. Add to that copious amounts of cheap beer, one big meal a day, lazy morings that turn into afternoons in the darkness of a one person hotel room and, I had a BLAST! I think I have a sinus Here's some pics. Kinda crappy, off my camera phone, but I haven't unpacked the *real* camera yet.

How movies should be watched...with beer and popcorn. Minus that ladies head though




The world famous Antone's! Great show by Marah, lame crowd that stood and stared and wouldn't let me get any closer. So I just screamed lysics and "fuck yeah" into their ears until they moved.






Me at Zilker Park. Whaddya mean it doesn't look like a park? You're tripping! Acid flashback! Just kidding. This is a party I went to that was like, the coolest party EVER. It was free to get in (if you knew the password...which I did...sort of) and they had X-Box 360's set up all over. I kicked Mark's ass in boxing! They had old skool video games (caterpillar, ms. pac man, galaga) this big wall with motion detectors so you could play volleyball....free beer....it was neat.





Here's a view of Austin taken after I ate a huge salad at Hooters. It should be noted, I love the restraunt Hooters, but had never went to the one in Austin. I always imagined the "scenery" would be great but it was really disapointing. First off, there was like 5 families in there. Hooters isn't really family dining. It's for drunken, leering, dirty dudes, not 8 year old girls sitting next to daddy as he leers and checks his March madness brackets. Second, although Austin has a huge college, the waitresses were kinda gross. They were like, big hair Texas girls with too much makeup. However as I left, the night shift came in and it looked alot better. My salad was great and I also ordered 10 buffalo wings and the waitress brought me like 30 for the price of 10. Math isn't a pre-req at Hooters. Nothing like 20+ cold buffalo wings at 3 a.m.

Ahoy Mateys!

Lets see...

After hitting SXSW like sailors on shore leave, I took it easy last night. I don't want to point any fingers, but I'm going to imply that Pete is a bad influence. Granted, influencing me to blow off a screening and drink beer isn't tough to do (and the screening ended up being about transgendered women in prison! Bullet: dodged!) I still blame him for it because it's easy and he's now gone.

Yesterday I saw a great movie called GRETCHEN. It's about this "invisible" nerdy girl who keeps falling for these real assholes. My review should be up at film threat soon. After that, I switched hotels. this new one rocks! It's like a studio and it's right by a bunch of clubs that have bands I want to see later in the week. After I checked in, I saw THE CASSIDY KIDS and it was AWESOME! I wrote about the experience on the film threat blog and since I'm on dial-up, linking it could prove tricky. Just go over there and look under blogs.

After THE CASSIDY KIDS, I was planning on attending the party for the film. But then my friend called and said they were at capacity so I said screw it. I went to Whole Foods and got some grub and called it a night. The Whole Foods here is INSANE. It's 3 stories and they just have tons of crap. It's like Costco only healthy.

Today I'm going to go see LOL because I really like the guys involved and I want to see it with a crowd. After that I'm going to haul ass over to the amazing Alamo Drafthouse to see THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE and get some dinner...while I watch the movie. Woo-hoo! Then there's some parties I hope to attend. I tried to upload some photos, but this damn dial-up sucks. I'll try again later...

Day One...

Whew! After getting up at 2:45 and crossing 1/2 the country, I got to Austin, met Pete at the airport, went to the hotel and started drinking. Whee! The cool thing (among many) about SXSW is that there's no pressure like there is at Sundance. I geninely like Eric, Mark and Pete and it's nice to be able to just hang out. We had some beers in the lobby bar then I hung out in the room watching SAVING PRIVATE RYAN while Mark edited stuff for FT. Lemme tell ya, if you want to get geared up to go have fun, don't watch SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

After that (and after some yummy room service) we headed over to the opening night party. It was really cool to see people I haven't seen since last year. I also got to meet Judah Friedlander who is RAD. He played Toby in AMERICAN SPLENDOR. The guy was totally cool but I stupidly didn't get a picture with him. Maybe tonight if I see him. I did get some pictures and here they are:

That's this large bulding in Austin at sundown. My camera phone isn't great so I'll be sure to start bringing my regular camera out.


O.K....this is Kris Williams, the girlfriend of Joe Swanberg who did "LOL." She's super hillarious and super, super cool. She decided we should take a picture and this is the first one. She wasn't satisfied with it so she suggested we move to a brighter spot...in the middle of someones dart game. The people were nice and one of them took this photo:

Worst. Picture. Ever.

So now I'm off to Ironworks for some BBQ and I'll see at least one movie today...not sure what yet.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love you, tomorrow...you're only a day awaaaaay!!

Bright and early (6:25 a.m.) I leave for Austin, Texas for South by Southwest!! I cannot wait! Normally I get nervous and weird before I head out for a long trip, but I'm giddy about going to Austin. The lineup of films is AWESOME and I can't wait to see "The Cassidy Kids," "V for Vendetta," "A Prarie Home Companion," "Heart of Gold" (with Neil Young in attendance!) and a bunch of other stuff. I tried to pick out stuff I really want to see and then I'll fill in the blanks per what Film Threat needs, eating, sleeping and drinking tons of beer.

The other good news is that I got that aforementioned hotel room right downtown and it's all mine Sunday the 12th-the 19th. When I was younger, I couldn't stand to be alone. As I got older eating alone or going to the movies alone was a frightening idea. Now, I love it. I'll be responsible only to myself for 7 whole days and while being responsible (or likely, irresponsible in my case) for only myself I'll be smack dab in the largest music conference in the U.S. and at my favorite film festival.

I'm also stoked to see Marah (and I vow to see them this time), Bob Schneider, Rhett Miller, The Drams and some other stuff I have highlighted. Other highlights include:

Getting to hang with Chris, Mark, Eric and PETE from Film Threat
Seeing my friends Dan Brown and Kelly Williams who live in Austin
Seeing Joe Swanberg and Kris Williams of "LOL" (the movie) fame
Ironworks BBQ
Lonestar Beer everywhere
The Alamo Drafthouse

*Sigh* Can't I just fly out now?

Crap.

2 words: Fuck. Crash.

Oscar Night

I like the Oscars. I do feel art shouldn't be forced to compete, but film is an art form and a business si it's all good. We have people over to watch the show on my huge TV, we have a pool and I always win. Well, I usually win. The only bummer this year is there's no real surprises and no movies I'm really rooting for. I really liked all the Best Picture nominees but there's nothing I'm a total fanboy over. Still, it's fun to watch the show. Here's my picks and in parenthesis are what I want to win if there's a difference:

Best Picture: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Munich)
Best Actor: Phillip Seymore Hoffman (Heath Ledger)
Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney
Best Actress: Felicity Huffman (I don't care, at all)
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz
Best Director: Ang Lee (Steven Spielberg)
Original Screenplay: CRASH (anything but CRASH but specifically SQUID AND THE WHALE)
Adapted Screenplay: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (MUNICH or A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE)
ANIMATED FILM: WALLACE AND GROMMIT: CURSE OF THE WERERABBIT

We do a bunch more in our pool but I'm just hitting the big ones here. Check back to make fun of me for losing!

Talking to you girl, it's like long division YEAH....

I've got quite a few emails and comments (personally) about the Rhett Miller CD I was pursuing and to answer them: It's good. It's very frothy and very sweet and I'm not sure how I feel about all the orchestration, but I like it. Moving on...

This Friday I leave for South by Southwest and I'm literally STOKED. I'm like...all a flutter inside but, in keeping up with my week thus far, I got some shocking, fucked up news. I thought Team Film Threat was staying until St. Patty's Day which is Friday the 17th but I found out Wednesday that they're ALL leaving Monday the 13th. Thus, my hotel situation became dire. I not only needed to find housing for 4 more days, but the pickens are slim....so slim the reservation I made was for a dirt bag hotel on a frontage road 6 miles out of town! Getting a cab at 1 a.m. during the biggest U.S. music festival is laughable and I was already hating it. Then, as if sent from above, I got some great news.

I'm on the yahoo group for Slobberbone, a band I love dearly and who recently broke up. Their new incarnation "The Drams" are going to be at SXSW so I'm excited to see em. Out of nowhere and in my lowest point (having my car just die and getting stuck with 4 days of a hotel bill) some Prince on the Slobberbone yahoo group decided he couldn't go to SXSW and offered up his reservations to a fellow 'Bone fan. I emailed him and WHAMMO! I'm (likely) all set at a hotel right smack dab in the middle of town! And it's like $15 cheaper than what I had! All is well now and I've started making preliminary plans for music and films to see.

it's SO HARD though. It's like doing long division or registering for classes. Like...if I see MARAH here on ____ night, I'll miss Rhett Miller _____ at blank p.m. On and on. Plus there's free parties all day, sleeping, films...ugh. It's quite simply the best problem to have and I can't wait till this time next week!

Lousy Smarch Weather...

Last night I got my flight for SXSW. My mom was cool enough to give me sky miles, but now there's no turning back. Not that I would want to turn back, SXSW is about all I live for. Also last night, I remembered the new Rhett Miller (of the Old 97's) solo album came out and I totally spaced it so I had to get it today. Thus, my day was planned. Wake up, take the neighbors kids to school, come home and do the film threat news, go pick up all the camera equipment I borrowed from school to return tonight (I shot a short over the weekend, more on that later), get the Rhett Miller CD, go to work, leave a lil early so I can drive an hour and 45 mins to class...but resting assured because I'd have new driving music. Piece of cake.

The morning was fine but my 1991 Ford Taurus has bad brakes and the transmission has been slipping. But I took the kids and made it home no problem. Before doing the FT news, I checked my bank account: overdrawn $38.00. D'oh! A drag, but todays payday so not a total wash. So I do the news and head off to get the Rhett Miller CD.

I always buy records at Backdoor Disc but they changed owners recently and I've been less than thrilled with them. Sure enough, they didn't have the CD. Strike 2 against them. So I headed to Santa Rosa to the other Sonoma County indie record store, The Last Record Store. Hoyt who works there says "we had 5 copies, but they're all sold." Crap. Over to Best Buy.

In case you're wondering why I'm pursuing new CD's when I'm $38.00 in the hole the answer is simple. I'm an idiot. So off to Best Buy. After 20 minutes of looking, me and the clerk find a copy. Hoo-fricking-ray! As I head to the register with my Cingular rebate card ($35.00 on it) I see the NETWORK special edition is on sale for $19.00. Score! I grab it and head to the counter. Turns out the total is $34.00 and I really only had $33.00 on the card. Rather than say....put the DVD back, I figure..."hey, why not get a bunch of DVD's and put them on a credit card!?!?" Sooo smart! I'm trying to get out of debt, am $38.00 overdrawn and decide buying MORE than I can afford is the best choice.

At the new release rack, they had a sweet looking WALK THE LINE 2-disc set. Sold. I see there's a "media" box set featuring NETWORK, ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN and DOG DAY AFTERNOON for $48.00. That's a $20.00 savings because all three are new releases and all three are $20+. Sold. Add the Rhett Miller CD and I think the MIDNIGHT COWBOY special editions and I'm up to $120.00! Wheeee!! Me American, love to spendy! Hell, I'm not even sure I got MIDNIGHT COWBOY, but I can't remember. Way to think about what you're buying, dumbass! I jump back in my car to head over a big mountain that I have to go over every day to get to work.

As I said, my car has been iffy and today was no exception, but I figured she would last me until I got back from SXSW. However at the exact midpoint of the mountain, my transmission gave out. It's done. If the repair is more than $300.00...my car is done. So I somehow made it over the mountain and into work (all in first and part of second gear) where Erica took me to St. Helena with her so I could take her car. Now I have to get all the camera stuff out of the car and into her car, drive back through St. Helena to get to Marin. Ugh. And I have no car. But at least I have a bunch of new DVD's and a less credit than I started with.

Oscar Spasms

As a fan of film, I dig the Oscars. In my heart I don't think there should be "competition" in art, but the Oscars are fun. I remember being totally into them as a kid and getting totally pissed when something I liked didn't win. I remember CHARIOTS OF FIRE and GAHNDI beat movies I really, really liked (although I can't remember which ones) and I was furious.

We always have a big Oscar party and we chip in $5 and pick the winners. Whoever gets the most wins the pot. But here's the thing....

I start out thinking about my Oscar picks and my first instincts are always the best. Then I start over analysing the whole thing. For instance...BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is going to clean up. It's a fact. BUT...I keep hearing this rumbling that CRASH may sneak in there and take a few things. God, I hope not. But still, I start flip flopping in my mind. I know BBM is a better movie and it's become a cultral phenom. Plus, I hate CRASH. But...everyone loves CRASH. Everyone also loved BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. If I had my druthers, I'd vote for MUNICH because it's the best movie of the year. But it doesn't stand a chance. I learned long ago not to vote with your heart, you're sure to lose if you do that.

And so it begins. I have started psyching myself out and will continue to do so throughout the week. Why do I do this to myself? I should just go write my picks down right now and be done with it. But then my mom will copy them and I'll never win. Ugh.

Bob Stinson

It's hard for me to believe that Bob Stinson, founding guitarist of The Replacements, died 10 years ago today. He's probably my all-time favorite guitarist and has long been a hero of mine for the simple fact that he was so talented and also so screwed up he squandered it all. Or did he? He simply was who he was and I love that guy. I've been a big Replacements fan for a long time and it was Bob's insane guitar work that brought me in. Later I got hooked on Westerbergs lyrics, but it was Bob who got me first.

He was a funny, bnoxious, loser, winner, drunk sweetheart and I wish I could've seen him play. In rememberance of one of my true heroes, here's a eulogy delivered at Bob Stinson's funeral. See you at that swingin' party down the line, Bob....

-----------
Here is his eulogy, as delivered by Jim Walsh of the St. Paul Pioneer
Press at his funeral at the McDivitt-Hauge funeral home on February 22,
1995:


_________________________________________________________________________
_

Words fail me, as they have failed most of us over the past few days.
Yesterday, Carleen asked me if I had known Bob very well. I couldn't
rightfully say that I did in the traditional sense of the term. For
that reason, I was a little reticent when Anita asked me to deliver
this eulogy. But like everyone here, and another multitude who aren't,
I know Bob's spirit very well.

And it is a spirit, as I have discovered, that is next to impossible
to hold in a room, pin down on a piece of paper, or capture with a
couple of stories. At first, I didn't have my own words, so I stole
someone else's. This is from "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac:

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to
live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same
time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn,
burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders
across the stars, and in the middle you see the blue center light pop,
and everybody goes, 'Awwwww.'"

That was Bob. That is Bob. And you know what I mean, because we all
have our Bob stories. They're etched in our faces, planted in our
hearts, like seeds we never thought would ever bloom into anything much
more than memory. Of course, now we know better. This week, all the
seeds blossomed into vines, and tangled permanently around our hearts.
This week, we learned a lot about Bob, a lot about ourselves, and just
how much we will miss this fabulous yellow roman candle.

Bob stories. Over the past few days, I've had the privilege of hearing
quite a few told and retold. It was like a wonderful game of dominoes
that elicited as many tears as laughs. Everybody recounting tales about
Bob's wit, his loving gentleness, his sense of humor, his appetite for
life.

And, as a matter of fact, there have been an inordinate amount of
stories about just his appetite.

Anita remembers when Bob was five years old. The family had moved from
Minnesota to San Diego, and Bob and Lonnie made a practice of taking
the 25 cents Anita would give them for the church basket, and buy
cherry pies. Clearly, it was a pattern that would play itself out in
adulthood, or when Dog's Breath, and later the Replacements, started
up, Anita remembers feeding the entire band, and often a slew of their
friends, after they'd practiced at the houses on 36th and Bryant and
22nd and Dupont. Bob would always eat his fair share. With the
Replacements, his penchant for eating fast food in the van earned him
the nickname of Bob "To Go" Stinson. As the rest of the guys would sit
in the restaurant, Bob would go in, get his food, come back and sit
alone in the van until he was ready to eat. Two hours would pass,
sometimes, before he'd dig in. Peter always figured it was because he
liked to eat his food at room temperature.

One of my earliest food memories of Bob is 15 years ago, when the
'Mats were making "Sorry Ma" over at Blackberry Way. Steve Fjelstad and
Peter were in the control room, and had just finished a take, and they
were getting ready to do another. Suddenly, Bob was nowhere to be
found. Then just as suddenly, he was back. Before anyone could say,
"Where's Bob?" he had snuck out of the studio, raced to Burger King
which was a good two blocks away and returned. He set up his Whopper,
fries, and Coke on his amp and was ready to go.

One of the last times I saw him, we sat at a bar and I bought Bob and
Mike Leonard some drinks. Bob caressed the menu, rolled his eyes with
that coy look he'd give you, but he never asked, because that wasn't
his style. He just looked at me out of the corner of those mischievous
winking eyes until I melted, caved in, and bought him a cheeseburger
and fries.

Bob stories. It seems like we've been telling them for most of our
lives, and I have a very good feeling that it is a tradition that will
not end after today. Carleen remembers his love for skipping stones,
fishing, walking around the lakes and by the railroad tracks, and as a
father who loved Joey with the fierce, all-encompassing passion of a
papa bear. Tommy remembers his as a great brother, the two of them
running around the house as kids, flicking the sides of each other's
heads with their fingers until it felt like their ears were going to
fall off.

Chris remembers the day Bob physically grabbed then 12-year-old Tommy,
who was running around with his friends, by the shoulders, and dragged
him into a Dog's Breath practice. Like any good big brother, he talked
the other guys into letting the kid play with the bigger kids. Paul
remembers Bob's special genius, his ability to rail against the stuffed
shirts, the status quo with aplomb. Paul calls it, "creative insanity."

My memory is of him walking, always walking down Hennepin, around the
lakes, down Lyndale, clutching that omnipresent brown bag of his. I
swear I saw him last night around midnight on 22nd and Hennepin I even
did a double take and I wouldn't be surprised if it was him. Last
night. That's when it hit me: the streets of this town are going to be
a lot quieter, and a hell of a lot less fun, without our Spanky roaming
them. Patrolling them.

Bob stories. The ones that probably stick in most of our heads are the
ones that have to do with his guitar. It all started on Christmas in
1969, when Anita bought Bob his first guitar, an acoustic one. He took
to it right away. By then, the family had moved from San Diego to West
Palm Beach, Florida, where Bob played softball, joined Cub Scouts, and
continued a love for the water that had started in California. Anita
remembers the time he took a summer job mowing lawns, and, after a
rainfall, tore up a customer's lawn on a riding mower. Clearly,
landscaping was not his forte.

Around the same time, he learned how to play guitar, and he made some
very good friends through it. When Bob's grandfather died in 1973,
Anita moved the family back to Minnesota, to the house on 36th and
Bryant. Bob was 15 at the time, and the move was rough on him. He found
solace, and learned to express what he couldn't verbalize, through his
music.

For the first couple years after moving to Minneapolis, Bob was
unhappy until he found friends, again with his music. First time Christ
ever saw him, Bob was bumming around the neighborhood on a girl's bike.
He had long hair, like his hero, Steve Howe [of Yes], and was sitting
on the curb smoking a cigarette, sneaking a listen to Christ playing
guitar and drums up in the bedroom. They eventually hooked up, formed
Dog's Breath, and later the Replacements. The rest, as Anita says, "was
destiny."

Throughout his life, the guitar was Bob's main mode of expression. And
even though he will be remembered most as founder of the Replacements,
the fact is, he got just as much joy playing in Static Taxi, as the
collage attests, the Bleeding Hearts, and the numerous other bands he
played with over the past few years. He brought the same
no-holds-barred approach to all o fit. He did not play for fame or
wealth. He played simply because, as he once said, "I have a gas
playing the guitar."

That was abundantly clear, just from watching or listening to him. He
became an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of guitarists out there,
but there never has been and never will be another guitar player like
this one.

I'm sorry to have to bring everybody down ever more, but I have to
report that I saw the Eagles last night. Bob was there, too during
"Rocky Mountain Way." But I'm here today to say that there are
countless quote musicians out there like the ilk of the Eagles rich,
famous, practiced, accomplished, clean, stylish who don't, in the
entire membership or body of work, have the artistry, abandon,
instinct, ability, guts, humor, or feel that Smokin' Bob Stinson had in
his little finger.

There are a million Eagles out there, but there was only one Bob
Stinson.

More than any guitar player I have ever seen or heard, Bob had an
uncanny ability to actually fuse his personality with his guitar, and
express himself through it. His leads made you actually crawl inside
him they were funny, intense, sad, and joyful, all at once.

Chris talks about when the 'Mats would do "Rock Around the Clock" at
100 miles an hour, and about how much he loves it when the lead came,
and Bob would, unfailingly, nail t to the floor. There are countless
other such moments you could name: the other worldly magic "Go" and
"Johnny's Gonna Die," the manic force of "Dose Of Thunder," the goofy
insanity of "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out," the barely controlled chaos
of "Customer," and on and on and on.

Along with his playing, of course, there was Bob's special panache he
rough to the stage. I remember that magnificent face, scrunched up like
he had a secret. I remember his falsetto on "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,
Yeah" and "Little G.T.O." I remember him ripped off a lead he'd be
particularly proud of, flicking his wrist like "waiter, my check," then
patting himself on the back, all in one motion.

And, of course, there was the wardrobe. The gorgeous, and always
tasteful, dresses. The Hefty garbage bags. The overalls. The Prince
"1999" t-shirt. The little jean jacket. The genie get-up that prompted
Chris to start calling him "Sim Salabim." One night at Duffy's, my big
brother and I rolled a garbage can up on stage. It came to rest
perfectly, next to Paul. Bob pulled it back by the drum riser and
climbed in it as the band spun into "Rattlesnake" or something.

Halfway through, the thing tipped over in slow motion, and Bob and the
entire contents beer bottles, food wrappers, everything- spilled out
all over the stage. I remember being worried about Bob for a second,
but he kept playing, never missed a beat, and popped up, indestructible
as ever. And when he did, we all saw that he'd lost his skirt and that
he was buck naked underneath.

To this day, I have never laughed harder or had a single moment so
fill me with the pure wonder and liberational power of rock n' roll.
That power was evident off stage as well. Paul talks about the last
time he saw Bob. They were both walking on the same block, at different
ends of the street, and they met in the middle. They hadn't seen each
other in a while, but they talked about guitars, music, and Tommy like
no time at all had passed.

Others have said the same thing. Bob was one of those guys you had an
ongoing conversation with. It always seemed like you picked up where
you left off with him, even though you weren't even quite sure if he
remembered you, or if you had mattered to him. But then he'd amaze you
with some remembrance, or a lost nugget that he wanted to tell you that
he'd filed away in that wonderful spin art mind of his.

Slim remember Bob as a teacher; the most uncompetitive, giving
musician he's ever met. Lori Barbero remembers the last time she saw
Bob. He was tugging on her shirt at the Uptown, urgently, peskily,
until she finally turned around and gave him a hug. He didn't want
anything else. That was all. That's all he wanted to give, and to get.
A hug. In some of their last encounters with Bob, Peter and Jim Boquist
had similar experiences: After a typically all-over-the-map Bob
conversation, he surprised them both with a hasty, out-of-the-blue,
"Love ya, man."

Yesterday, Anita got a letter from one of Bob's many fans. "I'm not
sure guys like Bob know what they mean to people who love their music,"
he wrote. "For me, Bob's guitar playing always made me feel like I
should keep moving in life, no matter how much the odds seemed stacked
against me. I grew up with Bob as one of my heroes. He will always be
one of my heroes, somebody I'll tell my kids about someday."

I think that pretty much sums it up for all of us. Late Monday night
as I was gathering my thoughts to write this, my little brother called
me up on the phone, and he was sobbing. He articulated some things that
I had been feeling; that Bob's death was more than the passing of a
tremendous musician, a wonderful father, son, brother, friend, husband,
grandson, or uncle. He said that a little bit of all of us had died
with him.

I suppose that's what people say whenever someone dies, but everyone
here knows exactly how true it is. The weird thing of it is, my little
brother had never even seen Bob play. Still, he felt it. He felt the
connection. He felt the spirit. He felt the loss.

And at the end of the day, that may have been Bob's greatest
contribution: through his guitar, through his magnanimous good nature,
he made people feel like they were his closest friend. Better yet, he
made us feel like we were in on that secret little joke that hid behind
his omnipresent grin.

There are people in this room that I haven't seen, or seen together,
for a very long time. Leave it to Bob to get us all together for one
more swingin' party. HE would've thought the suits and ties and pomp
and circumstance were silly, he would have wondered where the beer was,
and he would have been embarrassed by all the attention and the tears.
And what his passing means I can't begin to explain, but as Robert
Frost said: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about
life: It goes on."

And Bob goes on. On the phone the other night, through his tears, my
little brother told me that his band played "Sixteen Blue" at the
Cabooze last week, and that when he went to Slim's gig Saturday night
at the 400 Bar, Slim played one of his newer songs, "Big Star Big," and
sang, "I wanna be a big star like Bob Stinson." At this, my little
brother and I were both getting pretty choked up, so we started to say
goodbye. As we were about to hang up, I heard myself say something that
I haven't said to him in a very long time:

"Love ya, man."

In the past few days, you've probably said something like that to
someone you haven't said that to in a very long time. Rock n' roll
doesn't always lend itself to such blatant sentimentality, but this
week we have all been provided with a chance to get a little closer to
each other, and a lot of unspoken feelings have been spoken. WE have
been reminded that people are precious, that the bonds that we have
made through this slippery thing called rock music are not dismissible,
or intangible, or imaginary, or Other. They are real. For that, for all
of that and so much more, we have Bob to thank.

So thank you, Bob. Thank you for bringing us, all of us, together not
just for a day, today, but for yesterday, all the yesterdays, and
tomorrow. Thank you for touching us, for linking us, for helping us to
recognize all the phony bullshit, all the stuff that doesn't matter,
that the world throws our way. Thank you for cutting through the crap,
always. Thank you for making us feel like we were part of something,
like it was us against the world, and you were the third base coach,
wildly waving us all in. Jumping up and down. In a dress.

Most of all, thank you for allowing us to glimpse, ever so briefly,
your irrepressible, childlike spirit. Thank you for allowing us,
forcing us, to acknowledge the very natural connection between
hopelessness and happiness. Thank you for this glorious gift. Thank
you, you fabulous yellow roman candle, for lighting our fuse. May it
never burn out.


_________________________________________________________________________
_

We miss you, Bob.

Welcome to the Blog, Bloggy McBlogenstein

Over at Film Threat we gots BLOG FEVAH...and the only cure, as you may have guessed, is MORE BLOGS!! So Mark has added links to all us FT writers blogs and other blogs as well so I'm expecting a lil more traffic over here. But, we'll see.

If you're new to my blog....hi. Hope you feel like hanging around. Go to Petaluma Filmsand check out my projects and feel free to buy some cool crap in my merch section. If you've been here awhile, the same goes for you.

Also, sorry for the lack of updates, but nothing much is new. We just got Comcast digital cable with ON-DEMAND so that's basically what I've been doing for the past few days. More on that later...(hint: God is definitely a man!)

Over on Pete's Blog, he started a funny little internet game and tagged me to play along. I usually can't do these things because I end up beating myself up over what should be in, what I put in and changed my mind about, what I'm (evidently) full of shit about, etc. But I played anyway. At the end, I'll pass the buck and probably to the 3-4 people who read this blog and comment so...you people have been warned.

Four Jobs I've Had:
Shoe Salesman
Pizza (and beer!) Delivery
Film Courier
Nanny

Four Concerts I've Never Seen but would like to have:
1. The Replacements...preferably on the "Let it Be" or "Hootenanny" tour
2. The Beatles at Candlestick Park
3. The Who at the Cow Palace (When Keith Moon passed out and they had an open audition for a drummer to play the rest of the set)
4. Slobberbone's last show

Four People I'd like to meet:
Jeff Tweedy
Stanley Kubrick
Sarah Silverman
Michael Savage (I'd love to smash his face in)

Four Movies I have Memorized + a few:
Say Anything (chicks dig me)
Kicking and Screaming (Baumbach, not Ferrel)
That Thing You Do!
Ghostbusters
Reality Bites
The Apartment
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Mallrats

Jesus....I have an odd affection for girlie movies...

Four Sites I go to everyday(too lazy to link em):
Film Threat
Moviecitynews.com
myspace
wilcoweb.net

Four TV Shows that were cancelled because because I liked them:
Twin Peaks
Northern Exposure
Six Feet Under
Love Monkey...oh, wait...


Four Places I want to visit before I die:
Chicago
New York City (during baseball or football season preferably)
Memphis/Nashville
Paris, TX (just kidding, France)

Four People I'm now tagging

Neil Harvey (he may be a closeted genius)
Mary Colleen (she reads my blog and is usually pretty funny...usually)
Trent (because he won't do it)
Erica (because she's about to have a whole lotta free time)

Weird Sunday Night

Really, really weird in fact. here's what happened...

I had a class all weekend long. 9-6...Saturday and Sunday. Brutal. However, I didn't have to work today so that was nice. As such, I wanted to finally watch BUBBLE and decided to get some beer to enjoy with the film. I walked down to 7-11 and got some liquid refreshment and some snacks. As I started walking back home (a mere 3 blocks) I crossed the street into a gas station. Sitting there in the middle of the parking lot was this teeny, tiny BMX bike. It was like, 2 and 1/2 feet tall. I looked around and saw no one so I started wheeling it around, checking it out. It had 2 flat tires.

I heard someone across the street and looked up to see this cracked out looking dude in a Cosby sweater. He's just staring at me. I go, "Hey man, is this your bike?" He looks at me and doesn't say anything. Finally he kind of shrugs and says "No." Then he starts to walk away and looks up in a tree next to him, stops and says, "is this your clock?" There was a white clock just sitting in this tree. I say, "nope....not my clock." At that point, I was waiting for David Lynch to cue the dancing midget. Since it didn't come, I started walking home.

It's been super nice here weather wise and last night was no exception. So I decided to sit in the small park next to the church half a block from my house and drink a beer in the cool evening. I sat down at one bench then realized I was facing oncoming traffic and with my luck of late, I was sure a cop would stop and harrass me. So I moved. As I sat there chilling out, I see a guy walking a dog down the street. As he gets closer, I realize he's blind. He walks by where I'm sitting and I immediately wonder if he can sense me there and whether or not I should say hello or something. I admit to feeling awkward around the blind. I mean, is it rude not to say hi or will saying hi scare the living shit out of them because they didn't see you sitting there. He walked away so I just let it go. Then a minute later, he came back.

Again, I didn't want to scare him but as I watched him, his cane got tangled in his dog's leash. He like....stopped, the dog kept going and snagged his cane. Then they did this crazy dance and the dog was like "dude, help me help you. It was sad...yet admittedly comical. I waited for him to get untangled and finally, quietly said "Hi." He said Hi back and asked for directions. I gave them to him and went back to my beer.

Sure enough 5 minutes later a cop pulled up and interrogated me. I told him my wife and I had got into an argument (not entirely untrue) and I just needed to get out of the house for a while. He was extremely nice and commended me for leaving an angry situation. He then made me throw away my beer. I should note here that this happened a scant 10 feet from where I got my ticket for riding a bike without a headlight a few months back. Anyway, he was cool and didn't write me up. I went home and put on BUBBLE...watched 20 mins of it and woke up at 4 a.m.

Jeff Tweedy at the Fillmore, Part deux

Last nights show was pretty much superior to Wednesday nights show. I mean, I loved em both, but last night was just....better. For starters, Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche is one of the most amazing musicians I've ever seen. Notice I said musician, not "drummer." The guy is on another level. Another planet. His set was him on an interesting drum kit playing to some loops. Then he got creative. He would pull this surgical tubing through his snare (I think) and capture the sound, then loop it. He did that with several unique sounding objects. About 1/2 way through his set he jumped up and opened like....25 little boxes behind his kit. Inside the boxes were crickets that started chirping when they saw the light. He used that as a backdrop for some really cool Asian influenced drumming. All in all, it was mesmerizing. Then out came Jeff...



I won't post his whole set list because most people have no clue what I'm talking about with 3/4's of those songs. Highlights were...."She's a Jar" (which he played second, such a great, great song), "Black Eye (an Uncle Tupelo classic everyone loves but I never really dug...until last night), "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" (which is a cool song on album, but played acoustically is hardly recognizable....I think it's better), "How to Fight Loneliness" followed by "Someday Soon," "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" (again, when played solo acoustic, you really see how basic, yet stunning it is), "California Stars" (amazing! It was my wife and I's first dance song at our wedding so I called her and let her hear it) and "GUN!" "Gun" for me is a song that when I hear it, I'm immediately transported to a place in my life. Strangely, I love "Gun" yet it marked one of the crappiest times in my life. I was living 20 miles away from Petaluma and waking up everyday at 3:30 a.m. to get there for a job at UPS. I was in a relationship that was failing faster than Steve Martin's career and living in a tiny room with friends I never got to see. Yet "Gun" and moreso, Uncle Tupleo's "Still Feel Gone" kept me going every morning.

Jeff also came out with Glenn and played a great mini-set. Those 2 are great together. And, as much as I love JT, something's going on between them. If he comes out in 10 years and says he and Glenn have been Brokebacking it, you heard it here first. All kidding aside, they just seem to genuinely enjoy each other's company musically and otherwise. During "Heavy Metal Drummer" Jeff kept trying to get Glenn to twirl his sticks and he wouldn't do it....until Jeff looked away. then he'd do it and everyone would go crazy. Classic. Then Jeff made my month complete by stepping to the edge of the stage and playing "New Madrid" acapella without a PA. It. Was. Amazing.

I guess I can get on with my life now, but a not-so-mysterious package just arrived that may preclude that. Pictures to follow.

Jeff Tweedy at the Fillmore....Night One

As was to be expected, last night was amazing. I have to say too....best crowd I've seen at a show in a long time. There was virtually NO talking and if people started yammering, they got shooshed. Way to go San Francisco! I put some pics above of the upstairs room at the Fillmore. It's so cool there. Just hundreds of posters from the olden, golden days of rock. Seeing posters for shows that cost $5 and had like.....The Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Chuck Berry and (usually) Wavy Gravy on em...wow. Can you imagine? The music bizz is so whacked out now a show comparable to that would be like, 10 bands for $100 at an outdoor place where you can't see shit.

Anyway, enough waxing on....here's the set list....I cribbed it off viachicago.org, the super Wilco fansite:

Sunken Treasure
Remember The Mountain Bed
Muzzle of Bees
(Was I) In Your Dreams
Bob Dylan's 49th Beard
Please Tell My Brother
*Amoeba Records story*
Theologians
The Ruling Class
Summerteeth
Pieholden Suite
new song-Is That The Thanks I Get?
IATTBYH
I Can't Keep From Talking
Passenger Side
--------------------------------------------
Airline to Heaven (w/Nels Cline on dobro)
At My Window Sad and Lonely (w/Nels)
A Shot in the Arm
---------------------------------------------
Far, Far Away (w/Glenn Kotche on drums)
Laminated Cat/Not For The Season (w/Glenn)
Heavy Metal Drummer (w/Glenn)
I'm The Man Who Loves You (w/Glenn)
In A Future Age (w/Nels and Glenn)
*happy birthday to Matt (the guitar tech)*
War on War (w/Nels and Glenn)
Acuff-Rose (performed at the edge of the stage, without the PA system)
-------------
That last one was amazing. It was so quiet Jeff sang the whole song and when he was done, the place just erupted. Jeff told some great stories, was funny and engaging. Nels Cline opened (I missed him as I wolfed down some $12 nachos and a $3 coke upstairs) and then he came out and played some songs. Glenn Kotche also played and Jeff seemed alot more comfy having him onstage. All in all, a great night. I was going to take some pix of the man onstage, but they would've looked crappy. I can't wait for tonight!

Jeff Tweedy Or...How I stopped Worrying and Learned How To Die

YES!!! I just got a Wilco reference AND a Kubrick AND a Peter Sellers reference all in one headline! I rock! I'm downright GIDDY cuz Jeff Tweedy comes to town tomorrow and Thursday for TWO SOLD OUT SHOWS AT THE FILLMORE!!! I could not be more excited. I saw him solo a few years back and it was just awesome and reports from this solo tour have been nothing short of glowing. I am bummed I have to duck out of my screenwriting class early tomorrow, but it's Jeff FUCKING Tweedy! Since Billy Wilder died, Tweedy is my only living idol...and Paul Westerberg...and maybe Cameron Crowe. But still. Tomorrow. And Thursday. Jeff tweedy at the Fillmore for 2 sold out shows. OOoooh! I'll even get a kick-ass free poster of the show! Woo-hoo!

Story in progress.......

Funny Monday Stuff...

Happy Monday everyone! Here are 2 things to brighten your day...



1. While at Sundance, me and the boys decided that Steve Martin must be stopped. Thus, I created an "Open Letter to Steve Martin" over on the Film Threat blogs located here. I think it's funny anyway.

2. Last year, Eric from Film Threat got a DVD of the "Found Footage Film Festival." It's all these insane videos that people have found at thrift stores, in basements and on old VHS tapes. They put em all together and then the films tour the country. Well, our favorite is "Jack Rebney, the Angry Man" and boy, is he PISSED. Eric gave me a DVD of the whole fest, but his part is still the best....even better than the Wendy's new employees rap or the Mr. T love yourself video.

I google searched Jack Rebney and found the video online and you simply have to watch it. It's NOT SAFE FOR WORK....it's about 90% swearing. It's the outtakes of Mr. Rebney trying to make an RV infomercial. Watch it here. You won't be sorry.

But I'm trying to be supportive!

So since my usual routine of getting off work and going immediately to Dempseys has been temporarily derailed, I had to find some other things to waste my money on. I was looking forward all week to buying Steven Soderbergh's movie BUBBLE because I really dig him and it's the movie that they're releasing on DVD, in theaters and on PPV, all at once. It's an interesting idea and I support new ways of getting small movies to the people. So on my way to work I stopped at Best Buy, no BUBBLE. The doofus there said it doesn't come out until next month which is BS because you can buy it on Best Buy's website now.

After work I went to a local retailer...Backdoor Music (formerly much cooler and formerly Backdoor Disc and Tape) and my buddy there said that they were supposed to have it, but that the shipment is all screwed up on their (the distribution) end. Fine. F-it. I'll rent it. Incidentally, I did pick up Rockpile's (Jim Edmunds and Nick Lowe) only album, a KILLER retrospective CD of "The Animals" and the new "Cat Power" album, THE GREATEST. Gotta spend that money! Might burn a hole in my pocket.

So I headed into town and to Hollywood video. Long story short, no BUBBLE! What the hell?? How can you spend tons of cash on this distribution model, PR, news shows and then totally shank the release??? I hate shit like that. I ended up renting MILLIONS (FINALLY! And it's amazing!!), RED EYE (excellent!! Great suspense and one of the most economical, taut and solid scripts I've seen in a long time. And Rachel McAdams is amazing) and THUMBSUCKER which I will watch tomorrow. But dammit, I really want to see BUBBLE!! Why they gotta burst mine?

Freaky House

A while back I stole my friends idea to try and take a picture every day. Well, I've been sort of good about it, but haven't really got anything worth sharing. But today I remembered this freaky old mental hospital that's about a block and a half from the school I work at so I grabbed a quick photo. I'll try and take a better one some other time, but I like the smudgy look. Reminds me of that scene in THE SIXTH SENSE where Toni Collette is looking at pictures on the wall of her son and notices every one has some weird little flash of light in it.

This house is super freaky looking.....way too cool.

Oh, Winona

I am an unabashed fan of Winona Ryder. Part of it comes from the fact that we went to Junior High and High School together, although I vaguely remember seeing her there. Maybe once...maybe. She started taking off as an actress as we entered High School, and I remember being totally amazed that someone from our podunk town could rise to be involved in movies. It all seemed like an impossible journey to me. As I started reading interviews with her, I realized that we both loved THE REPLACEMENTS (the band, not the Keanu Reeves movie).


While everyone else was into MC Hammer or INXS, it was a rarity to find someone who liked the greatest rock and roll band of all time as much as I did, alas...she was gone. As time rolls on I've also discovered that she likes Wilco almost as much as me. For instance, this was taken from an appearance on Conan O'Brien a while back:

Conan: People that can sing, I envy them - and I really can. I can't but I just always think that's the greatest, in a way, the coolest gift.

Winona: It is. I mean, you know Jeff Tweedy, I think he has one of the best voices I have ever heard.

Conan: Well, you bring it up, Wilco is on the show. And you are huge fan of Wilco?

Winona: I'm the most enormous fan of Wilco ever.
*SIGH* My heart just skipped 2 beats.

So I admit I have a bias about her, but I still think she's an outstanding actress. I just don't understand why she gets treated so unfairly because she dates rock stars and got in trouble for stealing. Who the hell cares!? People simply cannot get past these things and they are totally overlooking a really solid actress. People have such a hard-on for Angelina Jolie that they totally overlooked Winona in GIRL INTERRUPTED. Winona carried that movie but Jolie got to be intense and freak out so she got all the attention. That role could not have been done without Winona playing the foil. Plus, she's received 2 Golden Globe noms for "Little Women" and "The Age of Innocence," 2 Oscar nominations for the same AND has worked with almost ALL the best living directors such as Scorsese, Coppola, Jarmusch, Linklater, Burton and Woody Allen. Yet google search her and f-ing "arrested for shoplifting" is the all over the page!

Not only all that, but she's a good person. When Polly Klass was kidnapped and murdered here in Petaluma, Winona came home to help. She didn't do big photo ops, she just wanted to help. She even donated reward money. A few years back my good friend Andy Levine made an awesome movie called THE DAY MY GOD DIED (http://www.thedaymygoddied.com/) about child prostitution in Bombay. Winona narrated it because she believed in the material. Yet we don't hear about that stuff. All we hear are snarky jokes.

I'm only writing about this because I just finished a review of her newest movie THE DARWIN AWARDS Yet again, people are dissing the movie (fine. I loved it, but it is kind of silly) and moreso, bagging on Winona. People want so desperately to see her fail and I just don't get it. Can't we move on and let her be an actress again? When is this prison of judgement going to let her out on paraole? What does she have to do to earn peoples forgiveness???

I'm hoping the picture below will be a step in that direction. It's a still from Richard Linlaters A SCANNER DARKLY and it looks RAD!!! Go Winona! Don't let the assholes get you down!!!

Gimmie some credit

After the admittedly fuzzy details of Saturday, I called the peeps I was with (and the people I drunk dialed after being 86-ed) to try and piece the night together. According to sources.....I was in the show an hour and 20 minutes tops. Probably closer to an hour. Afterwards (and during phone calls) I had the same story as I remembered it Sunday. I felt I had been overcharged, asked about it, got rebuffed...starting being an a-hole about it, got booted. Sometimes I'll dream things that happened when they really didn't so at least my story stacks up for myself.

I did discover that I didn't just "knock down" the podium outside the club, I destroyed it. As soon as Jed mentioned that, I remember clotheslining it on my way by. So, I'm fairly certain they're trying to charge me for that. However I can't imagine a cheesy wooden podium costs $160.00. If so, I want a receipt.

Plus, my credit card charge was one lump sum of $231.00. That means after I left, they threw extra money on there for whatever reason. There wasn't one charge for $71.00 and then another for $160.00.

All in all I now feel bad for my behavior. I always kind of did. I support that club because they aren't owned and operated by Clear Channel, then I go and wreak havoc. BUUUUUT.....seeing now that they tried to add a charge without my consent makes me think they're shady and that I was in fact right the first time when I thought I was getting overcharged. Anyway...the credit card co is working on it and I'll be sure to let you all know how it comes out as I'm sure it's keeping you awake at night.

Saturday Disaster: UPDATE

So upon the advice of my mom, wife and Cossacks, I called my credit card company to make sure I wasn't getting raked over the coals. When I got through to an operator I gave a truncated version of what happenned. Basically that I felt I had been overcharged, complained to them and then was removed from the premisis without signing anything. The operator looked up my charges and....

$231.00!!!!! Those assholes!! I can't believe this. I mean, they should've known I'd look after the charge, especially after the way the situation went down. But to go out an just slap an extra $160.00 on there is ridiculous. As if I wouldn't notice. The credit card company was really nice and they said they're going to call and find out what the deal is and then call me back.

Story in progress.....

The Rookie

I'm 34 years old and I got thrown out of a concert last night. I definitely feel stupid today, but not as bad as I thought I would when I went to sleep. Here's what happened...

Me and some friends were going to go see Marah. I was PSYCHED! Around 5:30, I went down to Dempseys for dinner and some beers. I had 3 beers in like, an hour and 45 minutes. And dinner. Yet still, I felt kind of loopy. Probably due to a screwy sleep schedule and general exhaustion. But rather than tone it down I, like always, decided to try and power through. I came home to wait for my ride and had 2 more beers over an hour. We drove down to the City (San Francisco) and went to the show. I drank a beer and a half on the walk up to the show. For those of you counting (and for my personal recollectioning) that's 6 beers with food over 3 hours. Still, I admit I was feeling weird and kind of wasted.

Before I left for the show I took out $100 for the show because we didn't have tickets. We got to the show and I bought 2 tickets ($24.00) and I bought everyone a round of drinks with the cash. 2 white russians, a red bull/vodka and a beer for me. I also got another beer or maybe 2 after that with the cash. I remember feeling goofy and like I was being annoying. I'm sure I was, I don't dispute that. However, I'm ALWAYS kind and considerate to bartenders. I don't want to be that annoying a-hole you remember that night when you go to sleep. I'm polite and I tip well. So after beer #2, I decided that I should get a red bull because I was feeling off. I've recently started a Diet Rockstar addiction and it usually sets me straight. So, I ordered a red bull and another vodka red bull for my friend. I then gave them a credit card and asked if they could run me a tab. Those 2 drinks went on that tab. What happenned next is fuzzy.

I was watching the show, but I was feeling weird. I also wasn't digging it all that much. I got another beer or maybe 2. I decided to close my tab and go outside to get some fresh air. I get my tab and it's $71.00! What the hell? I paid cash for the first half of the night and at BEST I had one mixed drink, 1 red bull and (for the sake of argument) 4 beers on the tab I was running. I tell the bartender I don't see how I could have put $71.00 on the tab and she gets all bitchy. I say, "calm down, I just want to see what I ordered" because the tab just said $71.00. No itemized list or anything. I understand she was super busy and didn't want to deal with a drunk "jerk," but c'mon. I wasn't asking for the world. Even if there were six drinks on there, it couldn't possibly be that expensive.

Before I know it, she signals some short hairy douche bag to "deal" with me. I hate guys like this guy. They keep them around because they love situations like this one. They simply cannot wait to make a scene. Yet, and I was admittedly drunk, I just wanted to see what I was charged for. Well this walking short guy complex gets all up in my face and starts saying stuff like "you gotta a problem? You talk to ME...I settle problems around here!" or "don't give my girls any shit, I give out the shit around here." It was like a bad movie. Those of you that know me know I can be obnoxious, but I'm rarely confrontational...anymore. So this guy is literally in my face and I'm being cool as a cucumber. I just keep explaining, "look, I started a tab a half hour ago and it's up to $70.00. It doesn't make sense and I just want to see what's on the tab." That's all I kept saying even as he kept trying to bait me into a fight. Finally he goes, "you cheap fuck, you need to leave...NOW" Fine, I say. But I'm not signing that tab. He grabs me by the arm and throws me out. I'm still not sure if I got charged or not and I have a big ole bruise on my arm today.

So out I go into the drizzly San Francisco night. My friends had missed this whole thing so I had to wait for them. The door guy made me wait down the block too....a-hole. I was so mad, I couldn't be embarrassed...and it was embarrassing. I still don't feel embarrassed today, just confused. So my friends finally came out and I told them what happened. Then, as we walked past the front of the club to the car, I knocked over the big podium that was out front. Veddy mature. But it felt good. The worst part is, I'm not going to be drinking at all until March....my gut, my pocketbook and my mental state need a break. Last night was my big hurrah, yet it was more like a big horrific.

A Little Bit Ironic? Yeah, I really do think.

Usually when I go to Sundance, I miss all the big winners. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for big name actors and big name directors showing up to their films. It's the only chance I get to be close to those who inspire me. Sad but true. As such, I usually only see the PREMIERE catagory which is films that already have exhibition. They are rarely great. All last week I thought about how I always see movies that aren't indie. They're films with huge actors and newbie, maybe someday, great directors.

Well, this year I saw a lil bit of everything for better or for worse. The only premeires I saw were DARWIN AWARDS, A GUIDE TO KNOWING YOUR SAINTS (both RAD!) and THE NIGHT LISTENER (stupid). I saw alot of the in between and hated most of it. Then I see that 2 docs I thought were trite and far, far away from thought provoking WON something! Maybe I was way too tired and maybe (and most likely) I was SICK AND TIRED of seeing doc's about illegal immigrants.....

Firstly, DeNADIE won the World Documentary Audience Award. Do people feel so bad about themselves they have to vote this rinky dink, poorly made film a winner?? It's about Honduran refugees braving Mexico to get to the U.S. Their plight is truly admirable and the things they face are horrific...but this is not a good film. The stats they put up seem like freaky, overdramatic left wing stats that could easily be proven false and the main characters never fully explain why they need to leave so bad. This films is so impartial, I felt the main people they were documenting should've stayed home! Ugh. Hats off though (seriously) for these super indie people telling their story. As a film though, no way.

Second...
"In the Pit," an utterly forgettable film about people building a freeway overpass in Mexico City won World Cinema Jury Prize Documentary. Whaaaat?? Lame movie. Great topic, great ideas.....not a movie though, See my review: here.

Again, I'm not a heartless bastard and I feel for these people...but these doc's sucked.

Then, I see that 2 of my festival faves "A Guide to Knowing Your Saints" and "Quinceanera." won big time!! I think Quinceanera is going to be a minor league HIT and that feels nice to not only see it, but give it support.

My point is thus...
I usually see stuff that is either not seen again or you gotta search for it. This year, I saw stuff that won....for better or worse. I've also been reading reviews of "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" that are negative. Actually, I've read they were negative, I haven't read em. BUT....it's a great movie. The kind that needs Sundance creds to get people to see it. I guess in all it was a good Sundance, I was just too tired to appreciate it.

Back Home

Whew. As you may have guessed from my many audio blog entires, that was quite a week. I think I saw 24 films in 7 days. Sadly, I only went to ONE party, only hit Main Street once (maybe twice) and I got no swag except for some CD's I'll be exchanging locally and a t-shirt that I have no idea what it says or means.

I also saw mostly crappy movies. The main aesthetic for this years festival seemed to be long takes of naturalistic shots. ZZZZzzzzzz. Even though you can take long shots that you think are pretty, doesn't mean you should take long shots you thin are pretty. Most of these people seem to love Terrence Malick or David Gordon Green yet they seem to forget those guys incorporate actualy storylines into their films. On the other hand, I'm thinking of making a film that captures things in life known to be slow. Mollasses trickling down a fence pole in January, snails crossing grass, paint drying...water boiling. Hell, I saw 3-4 movies that has less plot than that in the last week! I'll get in next year for sure.

I did have fun though. I really enjoy hanging out with the Film Threat guys. We all get along really well and that makes things fun. I think we all got run ragged and I suspect next year we'll have some more writers or cover less films. Part of the fun of Sundance is being social and partying and we hardly did any of that. SXSW should be a treat for working so hard last week.

I'm also a total woosy and get really tired easily. I used to be able to drink and party the night away and get up the next day with all kinds of pep. Now...no way. I was so tired I slept 4 hours yesterday and then slept 12 hours last night. It's all good though because in 5 hours, I'm off to see MARAH.!!

The longest 3 days ever

I've seen something like 9 films in three days and nothing that's really blown me away. Luckily I haven't seen anything as crappy as the first film I saw, but I'd sure like to see something that kicks ass. I have 3 screenings today as well so here's hoping something good crosses my field of vision.

I got to sleep in yesterday and today so that's cool....I was feeling pretty ragged. I'm not sure how I'm liking this whole press thing, to be honest. I LOVE FT and all these guys and it's fun being able to hang with them more while I'm here. But the last few years, as a volunteer, I would just go see whatever I wanted and if they needed a review, I'd do one. I also got to go out at night. I haven't even walked the madness of Main Street yet. Hopefully the reigns will loosen later in the week. We're all itching to party.

Today I'm going to a private party with Todd Snider! Should be awesome! It's at an art gallery on Main Street. I'm also going to try and take that time to get some decent photos rolling.

On a roll...

Here's some more photos for your viewing pleasure.

This "Brokeback Bedroom" as you can see by the note on the door placed by illustrious prankster Chris Gore. Last night he put bubble wrap over our toilet. Har de har.



You can see the bunkbeds in the background. Sooo hot.

Here's me and the rad Mark Bell:



I'm off to CROSSING ARIZONA!

Oh yeah!

It snowed today! It's such cool snow...it's like little cotton puffs falling all over the place. It doesn't even make you sopping wet either...just floats off you. Here's a crappy photo to prove it:



I want to start using my regular digital camera, but the port here is messed up so I can't access the net trhough my mac. All my reviews are on there too so hopefully we'll get it worked out.

Urgh.

Me tired...as was evidenced by the last audio blog. Here's me on the bus this morning after posting that:



I saw FRIENDS WITH MONEY at 8:30 a.m. and it was O.K. It had Jennifer Aniston (in a sexy french maid outfit), Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack. It was a chick flick and I'm not sure what the message was...but it was O.K. Last night I also saw WIDE AWAKE which was so-so. It was about a guy who can't sleep...it was a doc. Actually, it kind of sucked. Then I saw a adoc on eating disorders called THIN. It was really, really awesome and is going to be on HBO in the fall.

I just saw OPEN WINDOW and it was o.k. as well. Nothing special. Next I'm seeing a doc on illegal immigration so that should be interesting. No rest for the weary!