Michael Jackson’s This Is It (2009, directed by Kenny Ortega, 112 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC For Michael Jackson, dropping dead last June was just the capper to the worst decade of his long career. His last album dropped in 2001 and was the first of his solo records to be perceived as a failure since Off The Wall sent his career into the stratosphere in 1979. His interview with Martin Bashir in 2003 (broadcast on ABC as Living With Michael Jackson) seemed like a perverse attempt to grab the public’s attention, if not with his music then […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Pearl Jam At The Spectrum
[Photos by FELICIA PERRETTI] BY ADAM BONANNI Pearl Jam know they had their work cut out for them: to send the Spectrum beyond the clouds and somewhere over the rainbow to reunite with Veterans Stadium in that great arena final resting place in the sky. “We’re not the cleanup crew” Eddie Vedder exclaimed between songs Tuesday night at said Spectrum, alluding to the fact that Springsteen closed out his series with a four-hour banger the other week. Not to be outdone,Vedder made a bold claim: “By Saturday night, we’re gonna try to play every song we know…and that may include […]
THE EARLY WORD: Walk The Line
PREVIOUSLY: The crowd, all demonstrably fans of thick frames and cardigans, swayed and lost themselves in what felt like a new New Wave manifesto for the ears. Politely thanking their fans for showing up and being “awesome,” Berman took the time to gush about his affections for Philly’s one and only R-5, recalling all the shows he attended as a teen prior to his days of indie stardom. “Young Adult Friction,” recently released as the band’s second video via music blogs and myspace, got showgoers rocking out like Ian Curtis rose from the dead. Lyrically alluring and audibly contagious, the […]
ROKY ERICKSON: I Walked With A Zombie
WIKIPEDIA: Roky Erickson (born Roger Kynard Erickson on July 15, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, harmonica player and guitarist from Texas. He was a founding member of the 13th Floor Elevators and pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre.[1] The Elevators were vocal proponents of mescaline (peyote), LSD, and marijuana use, and were subject to extra attention from police. In 1969, Erickson was arrested for possession of one marijuana joint in Austin. Facing a ten-year prison term, Erickson pled not guilty by reason of insanity. He was first sent to the Austin State Hospital. After several escapes, he was sent […]
RAWK TAWK: Q&A With Alec Ounsworth
[Photo by MICHAEL T. REGAN] Alec Ounsworth will perform tonight at the TLA, opening for Dr. Dog, in support of his just-released solo album Mo Beauty. We spoke with Alec about New Orleans, drugs, South Philly, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the ambiguous status of Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah. PHAWKER: Where are you living these days? ALEC OUNSWORTH: In Pennsylvania. PHAWKER: Oh OK, you’re still in Philly? ALEC OUNSWORTH: Yeah, I’ve always been there, yeah. PHAWKER: Where does New Orleans figure into this? ALEC OUNSWORTH: It is south of Philadelphia. I’m kidding. You mean how did that […]
MAILBAG: “Leonard Cohen Is Not A ‘Great Man'”
DEAR PHAWKER: Leonard Cohen is not a great man. He appears to have committed criminal tax fraud that I reported to the IRS, probably perjured himself in Phil Spector’s grand jury, defrauded me of millions, and seems to think it’s acceptable to lie in every courtroom he shows up in. There is nothing great about a calculated fraud liar. I am praying that Phil Spector nails him on his probable perjury and I personally will be litigating my own situation against him in the not too distant future. While journalists may be awed by a man who also appears to […]
TONITE: Let It Be
LET IT BE (1970, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 81 minutes, U.K.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC With their own edition of Rock Band and their recent CD reissues climbing the charts, The Beatles are in the middle of yet another victory lap for the band the continues its iron-clad hold on the pop consciousness. In true counter-programming The Secret Cinema is presenting a rare screening tonight of the film The Beatles never wanted you to see, a myth-busting profile of the group as they helplessly watch their magic dissipate. If you’re a Beatles lover (the least elite of groups) it […]
TONITE: New Ceremony For Old Skin
I’M YOUR FAN: Leonard Cohen on bended knee, Academy of Music, 5/12/09 [Photo by MICHAEL T. REGAN] NOTICE: Leonard Cohen’s October 22nd concert has been moved from the originally scheduled Wachovia Spectrum to the more intimate Tower Theater. Tower Theater offers fans a special opportunity to get up close and experience Leonard Cohen in a more personal setting, while enjoying the emotive and superbly crafted concert engagement that the acclaimed singer/songwriter/poet has been performing in venues of all sizes worldwide this year. All tickets will be honored with a comparable seat. Fans simply need to bring their Wachovia Spectrum tickets to […]
SHERIFF: Charges Pending In Balloon Boy Saga
ASSOCIATED PRESS: The sheriff of Larimer County, Colo., said late Saturday that charges will be filed in the case of the 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage for five hours while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying-saucer-like helium balloon. The boy’s father, Richard Heene, met with sheriff’s officials earlier in the day amid lingering questions about whether he perpetrated a hoax. Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden didn’t say Saturday night what the charges would be, but he did say the parents, Richard and his wife, Mayumi Heene, aren’t under arrest. […]
CONCERT REVIEW: The Boss At The Spectrum
BY ADAM BONANNI “How does he do it?” was the question that lingered in my mind up to The Boss’s appearance at the Spectrum Wednesday night. Over 30 years of touring, and I couldn’t imagine him mustering up the same kind of energy rushing through me as I headed down Broad St. to see him with the rip-roarin E Street Band for the very first time! Which only proves the shortcomings of my imagination, because the guy put out like a man half his age. Taking the stage with the ground-shaking opener “Thundercrack,” Springsteen was smiling ear to ear, eyes […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
[CLICK TO ENLARGE] FRESH AIR While most record companies of the 1940s and 1950s made money in one genre, Cincinnati-based King Records spread the love to R & B, rockabilly, bluegrass, western swing and country. Jon Hartley Fox tells the story in his new book King of the Queen City. Combining archival research with contemporary interviews, Fox describes the company by focusing on the people who made up the culture, including executives Sydney Nathan, Henry Glover and Ralph Bass, as well as artists like Red Foxx, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and James Brown. A Dayton resident now based in California, Fox […]