There are endless criticisms that can be thrown at U2 but I’ll start this post out by saying that none of those criticisms will come from me. I’m as die hard as die hard gets when it comes to U2. I’ve seen them live a whole bunch of times, maybe 15 to 20 times, and I’ve called them my favorite band since I was about 11, so for roughly 20 years now. One of the advantages of having a brother who’s 10 years older than you is that he points you in the right direction musically at a young age. And he helps make you the coolest kid in your class by getting you a t-shirt from the Joshua Tree tour. (A t-shirt that I still have and can’t seem to part with.)
At any rate it’s pretty basic: I frickin’ love U2.
So obviously I knew going in I’d be biased about U2-3D, the 3D concert film that was released on IMAX screens this past Tuesday. But after having seen the movie I don’t really think you have to be as big a fan as I am to enjoy it. It comes down to this: whatever you think of the band, you can’t deny their ability to put on one of the best damned live shows around. And after seeing this movie you can’t deny that seeing that show in 3D is RAD. The combination made for one of the best concert films I’ve seen.
First, lets talk about the 3D element. I’m not some sort of movie-techno-dork, so I don’t know what they did to fix it, but 3D doesn’t give you a headache anymore. It’s easy and pleasant to watch and within minutes you get used to it and almost forget that it’s unusual. And aside from the usual “point at the camera” sorts of gags, there’s all sorts of stuff the filmmakers did that hadn’t even occurred to me, the best being the use of depth within dissolves and superimpositions. Lets say you’re gonna do a super long dissolve from one image of The Edge to another image of The Edge. Well, the second shot can come in IN FRONT of the first shot, if that makes any sense. It was really well done and I admire the new level (or dimension, as it were) the editor had to think about; a whole new way of layering shots on one another. It also was a really bizarre sensation to feel as though Bono and the boys were standing 2 feet in front of me. I feel like I got a better look at them than I ever have, even in person. And while I might now be more acquainted with Bono’s hairline than I might have liked, I also was proven correct in my assessment (at age 14) that The Edge is and has always been the most attractive member of this band. I loves me some Edge! His guitar, keyboards and back-up singing are the core of the U2 sound, if you ask me.
The movie was shot during 4 performances: 3 different shows in South America and one performance with no audience to get close ups. It was then stitched seamlessly into what plays as one concert. The whole set was kick ass. U2 is a tremendously tight band and they’re always fantastic but it really never stops amazing me that they can still play songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday with the same heart they did 20 years ago. They’re a rather political band, as everyone knows, and the passion shows on stage.
I have no qualms with Bono’s activism; I think we’d be in a better world if more people who had the ability to make a real difference tried in the way he does. I do however recognize that he’s somewhat of a melodramatic dork and that was emphasized in 3D. I was particularly thankful to see that the torture re-enactment didn’t make the cut. That’s embarrassing even when you’re totally hopped up on the adrenaline of seeing them live. And I would say the lack of that adrenaline in the other movie goers was the one negative part of my viewing experience. I was seeing it with a decidedly Canadian crowd so there wasn’t the toe tapping I had hoped for. At times I felt like I was the only one who wanted to cheer and shout and sing along. Hopefully if you see it (because I know you will) it’ll be with a large and enthusiastic crowd. I’d say Friday or Saturday night showings are what you wanna hit.
Here’s the set list for those who are interested:
“Beautiful Day”
“New Year’s Day”
“Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own”
“Love and Peace or Else”
“Sunday Bloody Sunday”
“Bullet the Blue Sky”
“Miss Sarajevo”
“Where the Streets Have No Name”
“One”
First encore
“The Fly”
“With or Without You”
Second encore/End credits
“Yahweh”
This past weekend was a good one – my father came to visit so there was a lot of incentive to get out and sight see. I saw enough of Vancouver that I feel like I got a real handle on the layout of the city and how to get from point A to point B. We even had a sunny day so he got to see the mountains that are such a vital part of the landscape.
Friday night we had dinner at a place called Aurora Bistro and it was absolutely wonderful. There’s a 2 week thing going on right now called Dine Out Vancouver where you can get a fixed price meal at a whole slew of different restaurants around town. Our meal was nothing short of fantastic and I’ll be sure to go back to Aurora before I leave town.
Saturday during the day we put in a solid, if rainy, day of sight seeing. We drove around Stanley Park then went over to the Main St. area where the restaurant from the night before was and went to the used book store my father had been eying. If there’s anything my father is good at, it’s finding the used bookstores wherever he goes. The clerk told us what he thought was the best used bookstore in town so we proceeded to head over to a place called MacLeod’s Books and spent a good 45 minutes browsing. My father bought a few things and then we went to the neighborhood of Kitsilano which has a whole slew of boutiquey type shops and restaurants. We had lunch there. Crepes, yum!
Saturday night was the highlight of the weekend. We went to see a gentleman named James Ehnes perform 2 of Mozart’s Violin Concertos with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He was doing all 5 of them over the course of 2 nights and we caught the 2nd night. He started the night off by playing Mozart’s Rondo in C Major to make the night a bit longer for those of us who were only hearing 2 of the 5 concertos. Now, I don’t see much classical music (okay, I don’t see ANY classical music) but after this concert I am now a fan of live classical music and am tempted to buy some sort of season ticket thing for the LA Phil. This guy was amazing. Not only was he the soloist but he also conducted the orchestra. And by some strange fluke we were sitting front row center. My father bought the tickets and was completely unaware as to where we were sitting until we got there. I could hear the guy breathing we were so close. I immediately developed a fan crush on the guy – he’s my age and just so damned accomplished. And he was wearing black tie and tails. And all the photos of him in the program have him in a black turtleneck. I’m a sucker for artists in black turtlenecks. Exhibit A:
At any rate, it was a fantastic show, the guy is a babe, and there’s nothing more to say about that.
Sunday the sun was shining! It was great to be able to get out and leave the umbrella at home. We drove up to North Vancouver and wandered around and enjoyed the view at Lonsdale Quay where we also had some lunch. On the way back into downtown we stopped off in Stanley Park again to see the view from Prospect Point while the sun was out and the mountains were visible. Then we walked around downtown and took in some more of the sights like Canada Place, Gastown, and the Vancouver Public Library.
I’m putting pictures up on my Flickr page pretty frequently so check it when you have a chance.
All in all a great weekend, and it feels nice to have a lay of the land so I can get around without being too afraid of getting lost. So who’s coming to visit next?
Filed under: Randomness
I’ve gathered up a few links and other tidbits and thought I’d share:
The Library of Congress has started putting its photographs up on Flickr. What fun! You can spend hours perusing. The photos aren’t tagged, so tag away and help out your fellow man while you browse.
Charlie Bartlett, the movie I worked on last year, is finally coming out. The release date is February 22nd, and I expect every last one of you to go see it opening weekend.
I’m a fan of the band Mates of State, a great band made up a married couple. They’re blogging about being married and having kids while on the road. The blog is called Band on the Diaper Run and it’s fun. They just had baby #2, another girl.
Speaking of kids, within the last 6 weeks 4 couples I know have welcomed a total of 5 babies into the world. That’s a whole lotta baby! Perhaps they could all do with the coolest baby shirt in the world.
So far things are going well here in Vancouver. I’ve been keeping busy at work where things are chugging along nicely and I’ve settled into the condo where I’m staying. The photo above is of my view from the 28th floor, if you click on it you’ll see a bigger version. I’m enjoying some actual city living – how exotic to use an elevator every day.
Friday night I went to dinner with a couple of my co-workers and we had a very nice meal at a place in Yaletown called Shiru Bay. The general concept is Japanese tapas, which I think is quite funny. I know we’ve all been clamoring for Japanese food served up Spanish style. At any rate, the food was fantastic and we all got to have a few drinks together which was nice.
Saturday I found my way to Granville Island which is an area of Vancouver that is mostly occupied by artists’ workshops and storefronts as well as the big Granville Island Public Market. The most exciting part of going to Granville Island is getting there. You can drive if you want to, but why would you drive if you can take a tiny ferry? These things are great – they fit about 15 people (although I was the lone passenger in both directions) and chug right across the water in about 10 minutes. I’m a sucker for fun modes of transportation, so I got a kick out of it. I took the blue one in this photo, which also gives you a good idea of what the weather has been like here. Although usually there’s more rain.
The highlight of the island is without a doubt the Public Market which reminded me very much of 2 LA spots: the Farmer’s Market at Fairfax & 3rd and Grand Central Market downtown. It’s an amazing place to do your grocery shopping or to just get a bite to eat and watch the crowds. Check out the berries:
And I had a delicious salmon burger, my first salmon since I’ve been in Canada and certainly not my last.
Sunday I had lunch with some friends of a friend from LA. They took me to a Chinese noodle place called Sha-Lin where you can watch them make the noodles while you wait for your food. It was really yummy. We spotted someone getting the pan fried dumplings while we were waiting for a table and couldn’t resist ordering them. Because the smallest order came with 12 huge dumplings, we ended up with lots of left overs but oh my were they delicious. Who can argue with dough, meat and a frying pan? Not me.
Good thing there’s a gym in my building – it seems I’m going to be doing a whole lot of eating out while I’m here…
Next weekend my father will be in town for a visit, so I’ll have someone to do touristy stuff with. I’ll have to decide what sorts of museums to check out – my fear is that most of them are filled with totem poles and other sorts of First Nations art. I can enjoy a totem pole as much as the next person, but really I prefer my art more Euro. At any rate, we’ve already got tickets to the symphony (how fancy!), and I’m expecting yet another fun filled weekend.
It’s funny how quickly I get obsessed every 4 years with the presidential election. Last night I found myself responding rather emotionally to the results of the New Hampshire primary. I have no doubt that having grown up in New Hampshire plays a huge roll in it; while the rest of the country seems to think it’s rather silly and absurd that a state that size has so much say I find a real sense of pride in it.
So while I was disappointed in Obama’s 2nd place finish, I was really pleased to see the massive turn out, especially for the Democrats. According to the New York Times numbers, with 99% of the votes counted 112,238 votes were cast for Clinton (39.0%) and 104,757 for Obama (35.4%). To give you some perspective, 88,447 votes were cast for McCain who won pretty handily with 37.5% of the Republican vote. It says something when the guy who came in 2nd for the Democrats gets 16,310 more votes that the first place guy for the Republicans.
There’s lots of talk about Hillary’s tearful moment on the campaign trail. It’s bringing up all sorts of questions about gender and what sort of roll it plays in politics. There have been a couple of great opinion pieces in the the NY Times over the past couple of days. Gloria Steinem wrote in favor of Hillary – you can read it here – and Maureen Dowd responded with another take on things. Both articles are well worth reading.
So now it’s on to Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina and then Feb. 5th, what people are calling Super Duper Tuesday. Californians, that’s when you (and half of the rest of the country) vote! If for some inexplicable reason you are not registered to vote, you have until January 22nd to do so. Here’s a link that has any and all information you need to make that happen.
