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Archive: November, 2008
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| John Darnielle and Kaki King |
| Photo from the Flickr page of Thomas J. Hartnett |
John Darnielle Resplendent
Last time The Mountain Goats played Philly, John Darnielle was sick and tired, and the show suffered. This time he apologized for that time and rocked the house. Even when it was just him strumming the hell out of the acoustic. He did a few songs which Kaki King (the two just released a collaboration called Black Pear Tree), and did almost all of it with bassist Peter Hughes and drummer John Wurster. The set was long, loud and spectacular. I've seen the Mountain Goats a lot of times (starting with 1996 at the Khyber) and this might've been the most fun.
[Click on the pic to see more photos by Thomas J. Hartnett, who took lots of great shots of the show.]
Wow, thanks for the shout-out/plug on the photos. Great write-up of the show; it was indeed spectacular (and loud - this was the first tMG tour where I felt compelled to bring earplugs). I'm slightly jealous that you've been seeing them since 1996 - my first time was 2000 at the Khyber. I've now seen them 26 times, and while I wouldn't necessarily say that this particular show was the absolute most fun, it definitely ranks pretty high on the list.
Think you can become the president of the United States by hopping on piggies and collecting flag pins? Yes, you can!
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Play it here. Big thanks to Dominic Mercier of The 1-Upper fame, who also told me the trick to getting past the Bridge to Nowhere on level 2.
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| Role Models director David Wain (center) with stars Paul Rudd (left) and Seann William Scott (right) |
| Courtesy of Universal Pictures |
David Wain, formerly of MTV's stellar sketch comedy show The State and director of Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten, sat down with City Paper's Campbell States to discuss his most recent movie, Role Models. In the film, Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott plays shillers of a Red Bull-like energy drink who end up mentoring two kids (Bobb'e J. Thompson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka Superbad's McLovin). Check out Drew Lazor's review of the film here. Role Models opens in area theaters tomorrow.
City Paper: Why all the movies about kids?
David Wain: I was a kid once, for about 10 years. I had that experience myself. To answer that question seriously, I feel too young to talk about any other period with any objectivity.
CP: Did you talk to Big Brothers/Big Sisters for the movie?
DW: Enough that we couldn't call [Role Models' fictional Sturdy Wings foundation] the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. I did some research on them and some other mentor programs. My dad was a mentor.
CP: What about Red Bull?
DW: No, we didn't do any research for that. I figure the world of energy drinks is about the same anywhere.
CP: You have an interesting mix of younger and older actors in large ensemble casts. How do you cast your movies?
DW: I try to find the best and funniest people in the world to do this. And also who's right for the character. It's a bonus to work with people I've known for the years.
CP: This film is a lot tighter than Wet Hot American Summer. What has changed for you since then?
DW: It's a different kind of movie, designed to be a more straightforward mainstream comedy. But anything I do is a reflection of my mindset at the time. If I made Wet Hot American Summer now, it would be different. I can't say how.
CP: What's your favorite part of Role Models?
DW: I like the ending when they do the live action role-play and dress up like Kiss.
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| Wain as Starchild Paul Stanley |
| davidwain.com |
CP: Have you ever participated in one of those medieval tournaments [Mintz-Plasse's character is a dedicated LARPer]?
DW: I've gone to them. I can't say I've fully participated in them.
CP: Where'd you find out about them?
DW: On the Internet.
CP: Are you a Kiss fan? Did they influence you as a performer?
DW: I've been a Kiss fan all my life. They do somewhat relate to, like I said in the movie, four Jewish guys who decided they needed a better way to get girls so they created this whole thing. I loved them as a kid. I enjoy hearing about their attitude about things. They're brazenly misogynist. Life's not a dress rehearsal.
CP: What were you like as a kid?
DW: I was pretty awkward and weird, but nice. Definitely the class clown, to some degree.
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| Photos | Dianca Potts (click to enlarge) |
Tolerable with eerie vocalizations, opener Gang Gang Dance’s set proved passionate, but it seemed to be the sort of performance that called for acquired taste — at least judging by the general lack of enthusiasm from the Electric Factory crowd. As soon as their lengthy stand came to a close, a flood of roadies immediately began prepping the stage for Polyvinyl's most flamboyant act.
Sporting matching faux-muscled Superman costumes, of Montreal materialized onstage, backed by projections of abstracted shapes, colors and artsy film shorts of the band and faceless, swordless fencers. They were also accompanied by a gang of costumed golden buddhas. (Lead sing er Kevin Barnes would later sprawl in the arms of his silent deities.) Tracks like "Gallery Piece" and "Women's Studies Victims" (from this year’s Skeletal Lamping), along with older songs — Satanic Panic in the Attic's "Disconnect the Dots" and Hissing Fauna's monumentally danceable "Gronlandic Edit" — were enhanced by a revolving, diorama-like stage that transformed as the Georgia boys ran down their set list. Scenery jumped from a saloon featuring a piano player with a scantily clad woman sprawled across the top of his upright to Barnes' take on Catholicism, with the frontman seated on a golden throne dressed like the Pope, a group of devoted nuns crowded near his feet.
of Montreal really runs with such provocative eye candy — but they're still a thrill for the ears. Don't be fooled by the generally lackluster critical reception of their latest record. Both fantastic and bizarre, their H'ween extravaganza stunned and pleased. There's no other way around it.
Live onstage in Santiago, Chile: Stipe and Co. get the good news, then play "I Believe." (via Huffington Post)
Yahtzee!
Alright, let's clear the air ... I love Yahtzee! If there was one game to sustain my sanity were I to be shipwrecked, it would be rolling multiple dice and screaming that word after landing five of a kind. But I've got say that Zilch gives Yahtzee a run for its money, mostly because it involves taking more risks. The premise is similar, but the scoring is slightly different and you need to bank your points. Each round, you need to bank 300 points for any to count toward your total, but you can keep rolling to see if you can get more. There's the risk, though. If you don't land any scoring dice, you get zilch and lose all of your points for that round. Get zilch three times in a row, and it knocks 500 off of your accumulated total. The total you need to reach to win depends on your difficulty setting, but the middle of the road is 10,000. It's a bit tricky, but the game's got a good tutorial to get you up and running.
I only played against the computer, but you can play online or against a friend sitting next to you. It's supposed to be completely random, but it looks to me like the computer gets some lucky bounces.
Check out Zilch here.
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Spotted in the bathroom at Pub on Passyunk East (1501 E. Passyunk Ave.).
Dark Horse and the Carousels on MySpace.
These are the same guys who robbed a Halloween party this year of a bunch of DJ equipment. Real classy guys.
Fuck you Dave
So these guys rob a Halloween party of equipment and you tell me Fuck you? Shows how much class you have too.
AWESOME! I LIKE THIS !
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