500 Days Of Summer Digs Into Real Discontent

Yesterday I used my summer Friday off very wisely. I went to the Angelia Theater to see 500 Days Of Summer, one of the more personal romantic comedys I've ever seen. I say more personal because scene after scene brought back memories of my ill-fated love life in the early 90s.

First, I fell in love with Summer because it tells you straight up it isn't a love story. I'm not ruining anything telling you Tom, the main character, and Summer don't end up together. That's clear after the first words pop up on the screne. What the movie does so well is tell the story of the self inflicted heartbreak 20-something emo-loving sensitive hipster guys (like me - or at least what I'm recovering from now that I'm a maried aging hipster) go through as they project romantic love on the wrong girl at the wrong time. They break our hearts with tiny papercuts over time. But like a dumb dog we keep coming back for another beating. Sounds like a really funny idea for a movie, right? Trust me, it is.
Summer really works because of the performace of Zoey Dechenele. She is the wet dream of any sensitive kid. Hot without trying, funky-dressing, loves The Smiths, just wants to keep it casual, but makes you feel like your the only person in the world. I've been there. And I can remember to this day sitting in the living room of my first apartment after my first kiss with "that girl" knowing she would break my heart. And she did, thank God. Muses like that aren't meant to hold on to. Guys like us are way too insecure to keep them happy. And they're too evil-y whimsical to stay interested in our potential, since that's all we are when we're that young and confused.
I'm digressing. Back to the movie, Summer uses a great couple of clever techniques to keep things interesting. One is not showing the events in chronological order that works much like our memory of relationships past. Also, there's a great split screen scene that shows the events of a party in the perspective of what is expected and what crap reality had in store. Man, that one hit home.
Pepper fantastic music by The Smiths, The Pixies, and the like and you've got a wonderful little movie. It will go in my rotation with High Fidelity of movies that really capture my extended adolecence. It ain't for everyone, but those that feel it will feel it deep in their gut, and laugh along remembering just how much of a pussy they were fondly.


-- Post From My iPhoneq

Help Me Get On The SXSWi Stage

As most of you know, I've been working for a digital marketing agency for a few years now. Over that time, different theories have come and gone between my ears on how to best think about our business. In the past 6 months, I've been doing a lot of thinking around social media (I know, who hasn't), and a couple of things have been sticking. One is that it is evolving into the best way to talk with your consumers. Two, some consumers will inevitably have not-so-nice things to say about your brand, no matter what. Snark is here for the long haul.

What I've experienced with my clients is that as soon as they post something on Facebook, Twitter, or the like, and someone levels a hateful statement, my clients get scared. They start holding back conversation and messaging, because they would rather not see the bad, than to figure out a way to embrace it, and overcome it. That's the wrong approach. And I want to help my fellow interactive marketing brethren arm themselves with ways to overcome their client's fears and objections. That's why I want to speak at SXSWi.

That's where you come in. Until Sept. 4, SXSWi has their panel picking system up so that people can vote for their favorite ideas for speaking engagements. This year, over 2000 have submitted ideas. Clearly, good ideas can be lost in the cracks. I don't want that to happen to mine. So I ask you for 5 min more of your time to:

1. Click on the SXSWi icon above.

2. Set up an account (if you haven't already).

3. Vote for my idea.

4. Give me honest feedback on the page about what you think of this concept.

To anyone that has already done this for me, thank you so much. It means a lot. And if this inspires you to help me out, thank you to you, too.

Here's to chasing dreams.

Lollapaloozin' Saturday

After a fun but wet Friday, I was really ready to take in a full day of what a good festival is all about. I went down around 2 to walk around a little bit before the classic Chicago wet summer heat caught up with me. The first thing that caught my ear was pre-teen Quinn Sullivan on the Kidzapalooza set. He was ripping through some of the best Chicago blues I've ever heard. And when I got close enough to see, there he was, holding the stage with the one-and-only Buddy Guy. After the set, all in attendance literally were bowing to this powerhouse of a performer. I just hope up front there were a bunch of little kiddos to see that who go home and pick up a guitar.

I then headed down the hill to see Miike Snow. They had on awesome black satin jackets and the lead singer/piano player had the Barry Gibb look down packed. The jacket was even zipped down far enough to show off his forest of chest hair. This is one of those shows that will make me dig into their album a little more when I find some time. Not revolutionary, but solid.

A performance I really didn't expect much out of was Atmosphere. So glad I was wrong. A great mid-day Saturday show. Really high energy, playful with the crowd - clearly not their first rodeo. You can tell it was good since it made me go and order my first Redbull vodka. Somehow I felt I needed to match their energy.

That's when the sun was at it's worst, and chilling out on a couch for a while under the trees with a nice breeze and a cool drink was fantastic. Let me tell you the extra 4x price tag for VIP may sound crazy, but it is worth it at this festival. The elements really never become an issue, weather rain or too much shine.

Off then to Artic Monkeys. My two thoughts were. 1) Not a good idea to take quaaludes before you take the stage to try and impress an audience this size and 2) It must suck to now be in your mid-twenties and know your most influential work was when you were 19. I just don't see this band taking it to the next level. Their first album, "Whatever It Is..." will go down as a classic for this decade, but the band will probably go the way of The Strokes. What a shame.

Next up was Santigold, and my buzz level. I really did more listening than watching of this show, but it did sound like a sweet party. We ventured out of VIP to get some food (the Gyro was an AWESOME choice) and ran into the only bottleneck that made me scared the entire weekend. Luckily on the lane we chose, it went OK. But I'm sure it was scary for some people as the push from each direction happened.

Full belly, check. Two drinks, check. Spot on the North side VIP risers, check. TV On The Radio - GO. Another great show by these guys. It's my third time seeing them in about a year, and they did produce my favorite album of last year, so no surprises there. I do think they have maxed out their current show, though. Tunde has all his moves down packed, but because of the smallness of the area he can play in, it seems turned down a level. It is a very minor complaint though. They got the goods, and deliver.

After TV, the hipster crowed moved in mass towards the other end to check out Animal Collective. I wanted to go, but was just too comfortable in the VIP area. I felt my age. Ben Harper, though, made it a little easier to swallow by playing a fantastic Zeppelin cover of "Good Times". Our little accumulated group had a good time clowning on Harper, who seems to be at every festival every year. We figured he was headed to Green Bay for next week's polka fest as soon as he got off stage. But there is a reason why he's always there. He brings it.

About half way through his set, the North stage crowed still seemed completely deserted. For a moment, I really thought the Yeah Yeah Yeah's last minute Beastie's fill in was going to be a disaster. The best thing about having a feeling like this is when the opposite happens, like it did tonight.

As soon as Ben played his last note, the first notes of YYY's "Runaway" filled the air. With the sun setting, and the crowed filling in, it made for a majestic moment. Then, Karen O came out in full post-apocalyptic western shaman garb. Wholly Shit. Immediately, the entire north lawn knew they were watching a band make the leap. This was no longer a club band with a reputation for funky outfits. This was a band ready to lead a revolution back to the days of Bowie and Mercury. And the band knew it too. Their nod to the Beastie Boys by weaving in the "So What 'Cha Want" chords, and slowing "Maps" down to an acoustic sing-along showed this was not a fluke. These are the moments I come to these fests for. I've only experienced a few "I Was There" moments. I'm completely confident Saturday night will add to the list. Thank you Yeah Yeah Yeah's for saving rock and roll.

Lollapaloozin' Friday

As my socks dry out this morning, it's time to look back on friday at Lollapalooza.

Unfortunately the first word to come to mind is rain. There was a steady downpour through the afternoon. It didn't ruin any of the shows or fun, but it did limit the amount of movent around the fest. I didn't brave the crowds and stayed spoiled under the south stage VIP tent most of the afternoon.

We walked in to the dramatic sounds of Gaslight Anthem. They had a good sized crowd considering the heavens were open, and they gave all they have. It will be interesting to see if they can step it up a level with their next album. They also gave a shout out to the Lolla crew saying the fest was so well organized and everyone is so friendly. They clearly were excited to be here, and showed it.

After Gaslight, the rain went to another level, so we spent the next 2 hours drinking, socalizing, and listening to Heatless Bastards and Sound Tribe Sector Nine from afar. The Bastards bluesy rock was appropriate for the weather, but STS9 was blah.

By 5, we had a good enough buzz that the rain could be ignored. So we ventured to the north side for the first time. It was well worth it. If a band was ever made to stop the rain, it is Fleet Foxes. Their sunny harmonies seemed to will the rain away. While they were on, we took advantage of the premium passes to get on the stage for The Decemberists. Good call by us.

Colin and the band killed it, playing straight through their new prog rock cocept album The Hazards Of Love. The highlight was The Wanting Comes In Waves, with Shara Worden stepping out in front of the stage. Wow! Her pipes are amazing, and as she scorched out "This is how I am RE-PAID!" the crowed spontaniously erupted. Easily the musical highlight of the day.
If there is a downside to being on the side of the stage, it's the fact you are with a lot of people who aren't real fans. It's just people with connections. Nothing spells that out more than the guy behind me that asked me if Wanting was on The Decemberists new album. He may not have been a fan when he got on the stage, but he left one at least.
After Decemberists, we hustled back to the south side for Of Montreal. My one regret of the day was not getting to their stage early enough to be up close. They put on an amazing show, including strange all red dancing people, a feather blowing gun, and a kick ass cover of Bowie's Moonage Daydream. Freak out indeed. From afar it was cool. I'm sure up close it was epic.

By the time Depeche took the headlining stage, the weather cleared, and the crowed filled in the south lawn. It wasn't as packed as last year for Rage, but I'm sure Kings Of Leon sucked most of the kids to their set. Depeche was a solid 8, but not over-the-top great. Clearly the die hard fans up close had a great time. But the gap between the crowed and the VIP area didn't translate too well. A big factor was the choice to show the main screen graphics on the two side screens instead of shots of the band. It was hard to connect with them from a distance. But that didn't stop me and a few other DM lovers from dancing and wailing to the classics. Everything IS alright tonight.



-- Post From My iPhone

Can't Miss Shows At Lollapalooza

At last year's Lollapalooza, I was on fire, consistantly picking the best performances time and time again. Now, the big event is only days away, and to prepare, I've decided to predict the must-see shows of this year's Lollapalooza. It's a gift.

#1 Of Montreal - So I heard that at a show last year the lead singer came out riding a horse. I've see the pictures that prove it. I'm not expecting the same thing this weekend, but I do plan on being amazed. Since I never got to see David Bowie in full Ziggy Stardust mode, I'll take these guys for an adequate substatute.

#2 - Depeche Mode - I've seen them a handful of times, and they only disappointed me once when Dave Gahan was just out of rehab. He clearly was too vulnerable. But since then, he's KILLED it the past two tours. He will have the whole south stage crowd eating out of his hand.

#3 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - With a bullet. As soon as they were added to the fest, I started to get giddy. Such a pleasent surprise after the Beasties had to step down. I think Karyn O is ready to step up to be one of the great front women ever, their album Its Blitz is one of the best from this year, and they were meant to play in the dark. Skip Tool, head to the North stage for this apocolyptic dance party.

#4 - Animal Collective - I hope to have a great buzz going for this set, cause songs like My Girls and Summertime Clothes were made to be heard slightly drunk. I'm not expecting amazing visuals, but I do expect my ears to be happy.

#5 - TV On The Radio - I've seen them a couple times in the past year. I feel like they have just been preludes to this show. The crowed knows just how good they are, an I'm ready to watch them explode. A Method is sways a highlight with it's percussive energy.

So there you have it. I'm sure I'll walk away with a couple of other favorite performances (I'm looking at you Dan Deacon) but these are all can't miss. Trust me.


-- Post From My iPhone