Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
So one of the downsides of being off the continent for the last two weeks of May was that I missed sweeps week. Not that it was that big a deal or caused me a moment’s consternation while abroad but it did mean that there was a lot of television to get through when I got back. And sadly, most of the shows I had to catch up on really weren’t worth the wait – disappointments almost all around. Let’s look at them one by one:
Veronica Mars: Okay, I won’t lie – this one hurt. Not only because the show was canceled but because it went out on such a weak note. Critics aren’t wrong when they say that the second season was worse than the first and the third worse than the second, but even so it was always enjoyable and a highlight of my broadcast week. Granted, the Logan/Veronica thing had gone as far as it could – score me as against their pairing if for no other reason than I’m tired of seeing the bad boys get the girl – but when the season’t major plotline wrapped up with about five eps to spare, it was a bad sign. It stumbled through the remainder of the season and the finale, which would end up being the series’ final episode, tried to cram a half-season’s worth of conspiracy into an hour and ended with a whimper. I appreciate that creator Rob Thomas had the sword of Damocles overhead when writing this season, as he has since the show’s first season, but the way it wrapped didn’t offer a strong finale or a cliffhanger leading into next season. Disappointing.
There are those who will call the show’s ending a blessing in disguise – as stated, if you were to plot the quality of the show over the three years, it’s a definite downward trend but that’s little consolation as I face a future of Kristin Bell-free Tuesday nights. I’m going to have to go find a new imaginary girlfriend. The Toronto Star talked to Thomas about the end of the show and possibilities for how it might yet live on.
Heroes: I only picked this one up reluctantly mid-season after being mildly intrigued but mostly put off by the season premiere. My inner fanboy, almost always willing to give anything comic book-y the benefit of the doubt, wasn’t impressed with the self-important, ponderous and embarrassingly melodramatic tone and dismal acting (and let me state for the record that as an Asian-Canadian, I found the character of Hiro utterly mortifying). What it did have going for it was a dense plot that seemed really well-assembled and capable of delivering a satisfying conclusion after a season-long run, and it seemed to be ready to deliver on that promise leading up to the season finale… only to blow it just short of the end zone. Seriously, that was one of the worst, most illogical and cheesetacular hours of television I’ve ever had to sit through. It may be back for a second season but I sure as hell won’t.
24: Well THAT certainly sucked. I can’t decide if the show has gotten a whole lot worse or if it was always this bad and I just didn’t realize it. Bad enough that Jack got a fraction of the screen time he has in the past and when he was front and centre, it was like he was neutered (his takedown of Fayed notwithstanding). Add in the endless interpersonal dramas of CTU staff about whom no one cares, another security breach of CTU (it’s not a working day if they’re not invaded) and… oh who cares. I actually came home with four hours of this season to watch and put off doing so as long as possible, so low were my expectations. And I wasn’t/was disappointed. Whichever registers a greater level of disgust. I mean, how convenient was it that Secretary Heller lived a ten-minute walk along the beach from where Jack fell into the ocean? Never mind, never mind. If there’s any upside to this, it’s that my Monday nights are now blissfully uncommitted to network television again.
How I Met Your Mother: Have to admit, I was surprised by this one – I realize that the fundamental plot of the series demanded that Ted and Robin split up, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon. My only question is will Cobie Smulders be back next season? I don’t imagine they could just write her out so abruptly but then you also don’t want to spend too much time dealing with the whole issue of lingering feelings between them while (presumably) introducing the titular Mother. And I’m obviously thinking WAY too much about a half-hour sitcom.
The Office: So victory to Team Pam. Again, is that it for Karen then? Shame – I was pro-Pam but didn’t mind having Karen around… Anyway – now that that issue is presumably settled, at least for the time being, now what? Actually not too concerned, I have faith that season four will be great. It better be, I don’t have much other television to look forward to. Stylus has a reasonably objective head-to-head of the UK Office vs the US Office though I (obviously) think the American version stands head and shoulders above the original now, largely on the strength of the supporting cast. I will give them Tim over Jim, though.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip: I will admit I’m surprised that NBC opted to bring the show back from mid-season death to finish off it’s full run of episodes (the final one will air next week). Yes, it was the favoured critical whipping boy show from the second week of the season on but I watched throughout and though it was far from great and constantly frustrates for its squandered potential, I still found more to enjoy week to week than not. And goodness knows that it’s still better than most of the dreck that gets put on the air by the networks… I suspect history will look more kindly upon the show than the present but either way, it’s done. I’m just hoping it goes out on a high note.
Battlestar Galactica: Not much to say here since the season ended months ago, save to say that I’m actually glad they’ve announced next season, starting in January (!) will be the final one. The whole “All Along The Watchtower” stunt bascially forces the show into endgame mode so it’s good to know they’ll be pulling out all the stops for the finale. How they’ll sustain it over 20 episodes is beyond me, but then that’s why they’re producing the show and I’m just watching.
So looking ahead to September, my TV sched seems awfully light. Maybe season five of The Wire will have started up by then? I’m a little into season three on the DVDs and fear what’ll become of me when I’m done those, presumably before season four comes available. I’ll have to leave the house or something. Egads.
What, you want some music content? Okay – This past Saturday was supposed to mark Richard Lloyd’s final show with Television in New York City’s Central Park. Unfortunately, he missed the show on account of being hospitalized for almost a month with pneumonia. Brooklynvegan and his commenters have reports back from the show which went on with Verlaine collaborator Jimmy Ripp covering guitar duties. Obviously best wishes to Lloyd on his return to good health but I wonder if this is how he’ll be willing to close the book on Television or will he want a proper farewell gig once he’s feeling up to it? Either way, it makes their show in Toronto last June feel that much more special.
Monday, June 18th, 2007
So much for my quiet weekend. After Friday night’s late night out at Tiger Bar, I was back there again Saturday for an impromptu, intimate show from Tokyo Police Club. While it wasn’t the Rolling Stones at the Horseshoe, it definitely qualified as “an event” for a band whose star has risen considerably in the past year, with them having appeared on Letterman in April and working the UK and US festival circuits this Summer.
I’d seen the band a few times in 2006 and while my initial impressions weren’t all that positive, I was pleased to see their live show improve by leaps and bounds the next couple times I caught them. So with eight months or so passed since the last time out, it was mathematically conceivable that they were now the best live band on the planet. This turned out to not be the case, but they put on a pretty damn good show regardless.
Though they’re now selling out much larger rooms, I think it was evident that the band still thrives best in a small, hot, sweaty club (though you can probably say that about most bands) and if the Tiger Bar was anything on Saturday, it was small (capacity maybe 100 people, probably not), hot and sweaty. Energetic, enthusiastic and displaying a focus that wasn’t there a year ago, Tokyo Police Club turned out a short but dense set that was backloaded with A Lesson In Crime. Most of the set featured new material and it sounded impressive – managing to balance the dreaded but necessary maturity that comes with experience with the youthful vim and exuberance that gets the kids dancing.
Considering that the band has made it as far as they have on the strength of one EP that clocks in at under 20 minutes and a couple singles on top of that, I’m very interested to see where their debut full-length – still unscheduled as far as I know but surely not that far off – takes them. I’m also interested to contrast their next Toronto date with this one – that’s on September 9 at Virgin Festival. Obviously it’ll be a different world but I want to see how they work an exponentially larger stage and crowd.
Photos: Tokyo Police Club @ The Tiger Bar – June 16, 2007
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “The Nature Of The Experiment”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Citizens Of Tomorrow”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Cheer It On (Trey Told Em Remix)”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Nature Of The Experiment” (YouTube)
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Cheer It On (version 1)” (YouTube)
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Cheer It On (version 2)” (YouTube)
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Your English Is Good” (YouTube)
MySpace: Tokyo Police Club
The New York Times considers the musical enigma known as Ryan Adams. The man releases his first album of 2007 Easy Tiger
on June 26 and plays the Enwave Theatre in Toronto on June 22.
Chart discusses Five Roses with Miracle Fortress’ Graham Van Pelt. Miracle Fortress are at the Whipper Snapper Gallery on Saturday – and don’t forget I’ve giving away Miracle Fortress vinyl just down below there.
Hard To Find A Friend has posted an interview with Centro-Matic’s Will Johnson. Glorious Noise also posted an interview/video session with the man last month that I don’t think I’ve linked.
So since my invite to the MMVAs must have gotten lost in the mail, I spent yesterday afternoon at the Bloor catching The Lives Of Others. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film this year, it’s set in 1984’s East Germany and follows the surveillance of a couple – a playwright and actress – by the state police. Though long and slow, there’s not a single wasted moment and I found it riveting. It operates as both a thriller and character study and where one falters – in particular, the quiet emptiness of the Stasi captain’s life contrasted with the richness of the artists’ is obvious and overstated – the other picks up the slack and more than compensates. Though the East German politics are fundamental to the film, it’s not a film about the politics – just the flawed people who live and work within the system. And even removed from time and place, you can easily imagine the same story occurring in the west. That said, while I didn’t visit any of the former GDR while in Europe, I did visit some of the cities formerly behind the Iron Curtain and seeing a recreation of how life was before it fell was extra fascinating. The DVD is out in North America on August 21 but if it’s running at a rep theatre near you between now and then, catch it. It’s excellent.
Trailer: The Lives Of Others
Also accomplished this weekend – a cull of the promo pile. Basically I went through everything I’ve got and hit up the respective MySpaces for each band and gave a listen to a song or two. More if it intrigued, less if it repulsed. Then they went into two piles – one for further listening and possible/probable writeup, one for gifts to people I don’t really like. Want to guess which is larger? But I now have a stack of stuff that I have some confidence that I can pull something out of randomly and (hopefully) enjoy listening to. Or that’s the theory, anyways.
Sunday, June 17th, 2007
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the years I’ve been running this site, it’s that you – the readers – love the vinyl. And the shoegaze. And the classic pop.
Which is why I’m happy to be offering up, courtesy of Secret City Records, two shiny black slabs of vinyl from Montreal’s Miracle Fortress, who will be in town at the Whipper Snapper Gallery this Saturday evening. These are the 12″ singles for “Have You Seen In Your Dreams”, taken from his/their (I hate dealing with pronouns for one-man bands) beautiful new record Five Roses. Besides the title track, it’s b-sided by a cover of John Cale’s “Hanky Panky Nohow”.
To enter, leave me a comment below describing to me the last dream you had. Feel free to change names to protect the innocent – lord knows I would have to – and if you need to lie to make your subconscious seem like a more interesting place, so be it. You won’t be judged on the quality of your fantasy life, however, winners will be selected randomly. This is just the price of admission. The contest is open to residents of North America only – sorry to those abroad – and will close at midnight, June 21. And be sure to use your correct email address or a reasonably lifelike facsimile so that I can contact you should you win.
MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Have You Seen In Your Dreams”
Sunday, June 17th, 2007
So yes, it’s Sunday and again, no Sunday Cleaning. Haven’t run one since April, I know. Fact is, I haven’t really done so much as look at the guilt pile (aka my promos) in about that long – simply too much else to deal with what with work, travel, festivals, etc. But that’s all done with for the time being and I am in the middle of sorting through everything and will hopefully be back to offering up ill-thought out capsule reviews of random records before long. But in the meantime, I’ll keep giving stuff away.
Next up in the contest queue – two pairs of passes to see purveyors of Anglophilic rock from deep in the heart of Texas, Dallas’ The Hourly Radio. They’re at the Mod Club this Thursday evening with Los Angeles’ glamtronic Shiny Toy Guns and Portland’s Stars Of Track & Field. If ever there was a lineup made to take advantage of the Mod Club’s over the top lighting system, this is it.
To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I Want To See The Hourly Radio” in the subject line and your full name in the body. This contest will wrap at midnight, June 18.
MP3: The Hourly Radio – “Deaf Ears”
MP3: The Hourly Radio – “Say Something” (James cover)
Video: The Hourly Radio – “Deaf Ears” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Hourly Radio
Saturday, June 16th, 2007
Earlier this week, I was totally excited about having a solid week and a half off from showgoing. I figured I’d catch up some reading, watch some TV, do some laundry, just kick back and relax. And that’s what I did for a few days… but then I started getting bored. Which is why I ended up back in the saddle, so to speak, to see We’re Marching On at the Tiger Bar last night.
I’d seen them back in March but in hindsight, neither of us were probably at our best. I was sick and burnt out from SxSW a few days before and they were playing their first show in over seven months but in the interim, they’ve toured relentlessly and I’ve gotten some sleep and I think it’s done us both a world of good. While I stand by my initial description of “garage-fi, ADD prog-pop built on a foundation of wickedly melodic keyboard riffs, dance-inducing drumming and colour-outside-the-lines arrangements”, I’m happy to say that for whatever reason, it all came across much more favourably this time.
They were definitely tighter than last time, the general chaos of that show replaced with a more focused, deliberate chaos this time around, equipment niggles notwithstanding. Though the occasion was ostensibly a CD (re)release party for their Argh! Umph! Ahhh! EP, they opted only to play a couple tracks from the record instead trotting out new material for the bulk of the set. Or at least I think it was new – I make no claims to be intimately acquainted with their repertoire – or maybe it was old. The audience was no help in gauging familiarity, enthused if not a bit rowdy, they cheered like crazy at everything. A good show, definitely an enjoyable night out and maybe proof that you do, on occasion, get a second chance to make a first impression.
eye talked to the band before their NxNE show at the Mod Club last weekend.
Photos: We’re Marching On @ The Tiger Bar – June 15, 2007
MP3: We’re Marching On – “1800s”
And I’ll be back at the Tiger Bar tonight – Tokyo Police Club announced a super-intimate show at said hole in wall this evening. Cover is $5 at the door, enter in from the back alley behind the College St Diner. The place holds maybe 100 people so if you’re gonna go, go early (doors at 10).
The New York Daily News chats with Ramesh Srivastava of Voxtrot. I’m not sure if there’s still space available for their Beautiful Noise taping at the Berkeley Church on the 20th – email audience200@gmail.com with “Voxtrot” in the subject line to find out – but also note that it’s a double-header. They’re also filming an episode for Grace Potter & The Nocturnals that evening. Let’s play two!
The Guardian solicits writeups of “overrated albums” from various indie rolk folks, giving Eddie Argos of Art Brut the opportunity to prove he’s an idiot.
Christian Bale’s got a new wardrobe for The Dark Knight and Entertainment Weekly has the first pics. Via Newsarama.
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