A Counter-Clockwise Direction
Clear skies have returned to Southern California after what felt like an entire year’s worth of rain fell in about a week’s time. There were daily torrential downpours but I would say the most sustained rainfall took place on Saturday night when we traveled on PCH to and from Malibu for Marc Ford’s Fuzz Machine at the Inn. It had slipped my mind that the show also marked rhythm guitarist Elijah Ford’s 19th birthday but we were all reminded during set one as, for the first time with the band, Elijah sang a song he wrote called “After All.” The first half was mostly comprised of new songs written in 2007 with the exception of “Did I Scare You,” a reworked version of the Sinners’ “That’s the Way it Goes.” In playing an hour’s worth of recent material, Marc left his catalog wide open to close the night with older, classic originals. However, It was the birthday celebration that took precedent and to our great delight the Fuzz Machine devoted almost the entire rest of the evening to cover songs from their favorite artists. Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Willie Dixon were among the musicians paid homage to in a second set that also squeezed in another long-lost Ford favorite “Shining Again” and a tasty guest appearance on guitar and vocals from Ryan Bingham. The show started around nine and ended just after midnight, which normally would have left plenty of time to make it back to Santa Monica for some Hot Buttered Rum at Temple Bar but post-show socializing and a slow drive home gobbled up any remaining moments before the witching hour of 2:00 AM struck.
Music delivered on its unspoken promise of a fun and entertaining couple of hours but the same cannot be said for sports, particularly the two Lakers games I saw this weekend. Purple and Gold has now dropped three straight and four of their past five games after falling to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night 112-105 and succumbing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-95 yesterday. Kobe scored 40 in Texas, yet it was the 16 LA turnovers that ended up giving the game to the Mavs. Sunday’s contest was an unconventional affair that included a 15-minute delay due to what was initially determined to be a leaky roof at Staples Center. This conclusion was then amended after soaking wet clothes belonging to a roofing company were discovered on a catwalk high above the floor. Regardless of the human error that resulted in a dripping ceiling, Phil Jackson said the wait hurt his players while LeBron used it as a restful and relaxing break on his way to a monstrous 41-point performance. One consolation through the losses is that they have been to other formidable division contenders. Wear & Tear will be at Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks in hopes to stop the slide as the depleted Lakers prepare to head back out on the road for a critical nine game stretch in hostile markets. Other slightly disappointing news revealed today from guitarist Jimmy Page is that if the recently reformed Led Zeppelin do decide to mount a world tour, it won’t be until September ‘08 at the earliest as Robert Plant has a prior commitment to perform with Alison Krauss through the summer. This statement comes following Robert’s interview at Madison Square Garden Friday night where he, alluding to the rumors, said, “I don’t know what is around the corner.” So count Bonnaroo out for the time being, but fingers are tightly crossed for a Zep tour within the year.
I’ve been a fan of Peter Berg as an actor since seeing Wes Craven’s Shocker in 1990 and after viewing The Kingdom on DVD I’ll say he also holds his own as an interesting and efficient director. Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper star alongside Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the team of FBI agents who travel to Saudi Arabia to investigate a deadly terrorist attack at a US compound. The film shows all sides to the kind of incendiary story that has become frighteningly familiar without losing momentum or focus as a rousing action picture. Thought-provoking and mature, it stands apart from other recent movies if for no other reason than it’s the kind of tale that can unfortunately also be seen during some CNN news reports.
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