The Wild Reeds at The Satellite

The Wild Reeds. First thought, wow. Second thought, they're too cool.

Leftover Cuties at The Satellite

Leftover Cuties. Well over a year has passed since I last saw Leftover Cuties.  I still love this band.

Comment of the set:  Yeah, I'm Jewish and I'm singing a Christmas song.

Willie Watson at The Satellite

Willie Watson opened the night up at The Satellite.  A set filled with blue grass beauty.

Lovelife at the Bootleg

Lovelife was the residency band at the Bootleg in November.  There are some nice beats with this band.

Wunder Wunder at The Bootleg

Wunder Wunder played at the Bootleg a couple weeks back. Dance. Oh, you'll dance.

Misun at Bootleg

Misun hit the stage at the Bootleg a couple weeks back. They call their music style aquawave. I say it has a nice touch of jazz.

Week of Wonders at The Smell

Weeks of Wonders.  A bit of Caribbean.  A bit of pop.  Put it all together and the result is some catchy tunes.

Comment of the set:  I'm so sorry for being difficult.

Body Parts at The Satellite

Body Parts. Synchronized hand motions with some catchy tunes had the audience enjoying the final minutes of a Monday night.

Comment of the set:  Did you guys work?  Boo!!!

James Supercave at The Satellite

James Supercave.  Smooth, somewhat psychedelic sounds hit the stage of The Satellite -- along with some hipster gentlemen.

Air Life at The Satellite

Air Life.  This was Air Life's first show ever.  Yeah right.  No way.  This band was way too solid for a first show.  The band's sound has a jazz feel to it, which lit up the early Satellite night.  The band asked for folks to come up close to the stage.  The audience responded and stayed close throughout the set due to this band's extraordinary 30 minute set.  

A Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave. In some ways, I found this 12 years of squirming discomfort.  The movie is so graphic I felt the urge to walk out at times.

This movie does grab your attention and is a solid movie.  The imagery of slavery just drives home the point of how evil this was.

I did have a couple problems with the movie.  I wish the movie delved more into the reasoning behind why Solomon was sold into slavery.  Why would his two captors set up such a scheme involving music?  I have a hard time believing that they went around trying to find individuals who played music and then sell them off as slaves.  Were the two hard-up for money?  Were they given an offer they found hard to refuse?  Also, as the boat filled with prisoners was heading south, there was a scene where one slave was given back to his master.  The slave ran as if he was so grateful that he was returning to his master.  Didn't he run away in the first place?  I'd think he'd be scared to death.

  

A Movie Review: Gravity

Gravity. I didn't see this movie in 3D, but I have to believe the opening minutes of this film are just awesome in 3D. Seeing it in simple 2D had me feeling like I was going to fall out of my seat and nosedive right into earth.  This movie deals with how an astronaut attempts to find her way back to earth after a space disaster.  Is this movie Oscar worthy?  My only reason to not put this movie on my list of best movies of the year is the ending.  I swear I expected to hear the theme song from 2001:  A Space Odyssey blast through the auditorium.  That was disappointing.

A Movie Review: Rush

Rush. This movie tells the story of two Formula 1 drivers: James Hunt (an English playboy) and Niki Lauda (an Austrian statistics guy: almost like the modern day Oakland A's management) from the 1970s. The movie delves into their rivalry. Their early individual careers are highlighted, but the movie focuses in on one season when the two are battling for the Formula 1 racing crown.

I am not a race care fan.  I've never watched more than 5 minutes of any car race.  That being said, I did enjoy this movie.  It is a rush.  I loved the interaction between these two individuals.  The very diverse personalities still eventually lead to mutual respect.

Now I did do a Wikipedia search on these two drivers.  They actually lived together when they started out. The movie initially portrays them as bitter rivals who eventually find common interest.  Instead, it was probably more of a Magic Johnson/Isiah Thomas type of situation.  Of course, making them bitter rivals provides a better storyline.