Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
The 47th Mill Valley Film Festival will take place Oct 3 – Oct 13, 2024, with screenings at theaters across the North and East Bay.
For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Below is a second preview of the festival (read our first preview of six films), featuring brief looks at an additional four films:
Continue reading “Film Feature: Preview #2 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival”
Honestly, the only reason I put on this track was because it was produced by Tony Visconti, best known as the man behind the majority of David Bowie’s esteemed catalog, as well as the person who helped Marc Bolan tap into his inner swagger. “All The People” is a track in the same family as T Rex- blissful orchestral pop with Daisy the Great’s signature head-swimmy harmonies and just enough of an edge kicking in to hit home the supervision of joy.
I’m really excited to hear the rest of this record, which is great because Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti is out TODAY!
That In the Summers is being widely released today, just at the start of fall, as long summer days become distant memories, is appropriate. The film is a quietly moving, often profound meditation on the passage of time and the peculiar way it seems to move in slow motion for children, whose awakening to the imperfections of their parents can take years. Colombian-American filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s remarkable first feature-length film earned her both the Grand Jury Prize and the dramatic directing award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. More awards are sure to come for this affecting, unforgettable film, which is one of the year’s best.
Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival has existed in Seattle since 1971 and has happened every Labor Day weekend with the exception of 2020-2022 due to Covid restrictions. I’ve been a Seattleite my entire life. I was born the weekend before the festival’s 8th anniversary, also its final year of being a free festival. I grew up attending Bumbershoot with friends and family many times over the years up until September 2, 2001, when I saw David Lee Roth perform at Memorial Stadium. Since then, Bumbershoot has changed hands management a few times, and based on my experience this past weekend, the new changes have been a net positive. Back in 2001, Bumbershoot was a four days long, often oversold, crowded, difficult-to-navigate, bloated event that involved wristbands one needed to collect at the beginning of each day to allow you access to the stadium to see each evening’s headliner in the stadium, which served as the Main Stage. I skipped many a year and many an act due to this ridiculous first come, first serve approach to seeing a headliner at a festival. To me, it defeated the entire purpose of what seeing a fest should be. After all, if buying a ticket didn’t allow you access to the main event, then why would anyone humor that flawed system? Continue reading “Festival Review: Bumbershoot 2024”
As someone who prides themselves on devouring the fringes of music—everything from experimental jazz to art-house drone— Wand’s performance at The Chapel on Sept. 14, 2024, felt like falling into a chasm of sound I didn’t know I needed. Wand, a band that had always flown under my radar, shattered my expectations in a way that only those once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences can. My gateway into their world was Vertigo, their stunning 2024 album. I dove deep into that record, immersing myself in it for weeks before the show. Given the intensity and cohesion of Vertigo, I was excited to hear the band tour the album in its entirety, expecting the live performance to reflect the hypnotic, seamless flow of the record.
Continue reading “Show Review: Wand at The Chapel, 9/14/24: A Vertigo-Induced Spell”
The 47th Mill Valley Film Festival will take place Oct 3 – Oct 13, 2024, with screenings at theaters across the North and East Bay.
For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Below is a preview of the festival, featuring brief looks at six films:
1.) MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE
(USA, 2023. 101 min.)
Writer/Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’s feature debut is an emotional and thoughtfully comical story about family and the debilitating effects of PTSD. The stellar cast is led by Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery) and Natalie Morales (Parks & Rec) and supported by silver screen legends Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. My Dead Friend Zoe was inspired by Hausmann-Stoke’s army experience in Iraq, and he has infused his film with charm, humor, and heartbreak to tell a timely story about the epidemic of suffering among US Military veterans after returning home.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., Oct. 5th, 7:00pm at the CinéArts Sequoia
– Sun., Oct. 6th, 11:30am at the CinéArts Sequoia
Continue reading “Film Feature: Preview #1 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival”
Anyone who thinks Hollywood has no original stories left should immediately go see The Substance. It’s one of the most unique, startling, and unforgettable films you’ll see this year. It also happens to be one of the most insane, visceral, and downright gory pictures in recent memory, so if you’re at all squeamish, this movie isn’t the best choice for your Friday night cinema outing.
Two nights ago, our owner was seeing bôa in Seattle, and I got a text from him saying, “This band opening is definitely Dakincore.” This was the first time I learned that I have my own genre of music. So… what is “Dakincore”? It’s both very feminine and very loud. It’s heavy yet delicate, and it’s great. Sea Lemon is doing something beautiful, and it definitely makes you feel the feelings that good music makes you feel.
“Crystals” is a one-off single that can be enjoyed in all the usual places. Follow Sea Lemon to hear more!
It’s been a while since I’ve been to The Fonda, but it was the same as I remembered it. A cozy little old movie theater turned music venue near the end of the Hollywood Strip where just about every type of music can be heard in a given night. While I’ve been focused a lot more on heavy music for the past year or two, I couldn’t resist when I heard that bôa would be performing.
Continue reading “Show Review: bôa w/Rocket at The Fonda (Hollywood, CA), 09-13-2024”
Good franchise reboots are easy to remember: Batman Begins, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Casino Royale, just to name a few. When a lucrative intellectual property gets tiresome or outdated, it’s common for the owners to seek a fresh take on popular characters to spark a new film or TV series (yes, ultimately to make money). After seven live-action films starting in 2007, with an uneven mixture of fun but mostly embarrassing results, the Transformers franchise is rebooting with Transformers One, an attempt to reset the cinematic dial on Hasbro’s iconic brand with animated pizzazz. Transformers One is the first CG-animated Transformers film, featuring an A-list voice cast and a surprisingly strong emotional core. It sets a fun and exciting tone for the series to build on moving forward. Continue reading “Film Review: “Transformers One””
