Sorry...double post.

The end of the American remake of "The Vanishing" is a travesty. It was one of the few times I felt so betrayed and angered by a film that I wanted to do violence upon the filmmaker...who, ironically in this case, was the same director who made the original: George Sluizer. As for "The Killing", I have not seen it, neither the Danish original nor the American version. Whoa there...you should issue "Spoiler Alert" warnings before giving away certain plot elements. There's probably a few people who still haven't seen TDKR yet. The American Cinematheque is having a tribute to the late Ernest Borgnine, who passed away recently. Last night would have been the night we had Ernie around to sign his book "Ernie: The Autobiography" and talk about the two films scheduled: "Emperor of the North Pole" and "The Vikings". Alas, he passed away. But though we had to scrap the book signing plans, the American Cinematheque expanded the tribute to 4 days of Borgnine films; Thursday thru Sunday. So I went to last night's double-bill as originally scheduled: 1. 1973's "Emperor of the North Pole" starring Borgnine, Lee Marvin and Keith Carradine...and the spectacular trains and scenery of Oregon. 2. 1958's "The Vikings" with the Borg, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as the Princess of Wales they lust for. Tonight is an even more He-Man double-feature at the Cinematheque: "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Wild Bunch"!!!

Please do so as soon as you can. I'm not saying Nolan's remake is bad; certainly not in the "Planet of the Apes"-"Total Recall" sense. But the original is better for being first...and for being filmed in Norway and I prefer Stellan Skarsgård's performance to Al Pacino's. There's something about certain European movies that have an atmosphere that doesn't translate when you switch locales to the U.S. Even if it is Alaska. The same problem arose with the Dutch movie "Spoorloos" and the American remake "The Vanishing", with Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland.

^^^ I call it the Hans Zimmer effect. If there is a consistent flaw to Christopher Nolan's recent films, it is an over-reliance on Hans Zimmer's pounding scores to the point that it can drown out the dialogue. Sometimes he needs to go more Alexandre Desplat and less Zimmer. The problem is that Nolan and his soundmixers have heard the dialogue a hundred times; they know it by heart. So it is unnoticeable to them that the score and effects sometimes buries the dialogue, thereby making it difficult for a first-time viewer to understand certain characters. In "The Dark Knight Rises", I understood most of Bane's dialogue, but there was a scene between Gary Oldman and Gordon-Levitt where Oldman's words were mush. Regarding "Inception"...I didn't go in with any preconceived notions or expectations, and I liked it the first time I saw it and the second time...and every subsequent viewing after that. One of the pleasant surprises for me was that, unlike most movies that take a Freudian view on dreams, Nolan went with a Jungian interpretation. Loved the ending that allows you, the viewer, to decide. And what's not to love about the cast, especially the chemistry between Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who prove you don't have to be steroid-inflated goons to be a credible male action star. Brains and brawn. Only Ellen Page is non-essential, meaning any number of actresses coiluld have played her part. But Marion Cotillard was stunning in her mix of scary beauty and slightly deranged menace...there was a creepiness to her character that worked for me. In some respects, I think I like Inception more than any of Nolan's Batman movies. I know that's heresy to many film geeks...but there it is.

They're not bad...particularly if you're stoned. Ok, my schedule got changed at the last minute yesterday, so instead of seeing Alabama Shakes last night at the Henry Fonda Theatre, I went with friends for a classical music evening at the Hollywood Bowl. TONIGHT Aug. 15 I am seeing Alabama Shakes @ the Fox Theatre in Pomona, CA.

Bauhaus rocking the hell out of Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust"! The Flaming Lips w/ Nels Cline performing the Beatles' "I Want You(She's So Heavy)":

Reswati, there are several Spectrums out there...is this the Aussie prog Spectrum or the offshoot of Spacemen 3's Sonic Boom?

I was thinking maybe Jonesey's Triple-necked acoustic was on the fritz, and seeing how there were no other acoustic songs in the setlist, it's probable there were no other acoustic guitars around for backup...Jimmy only brought his electrics. You're right, if they dropped it because they felt it didn't work the first week...MAJOR MAJOR ERROR on their part!

Yeah, what's all this lovey-dovey stuff on the Happy thread?!? Whoever heard of such a thing...it's an outrage! It's refreshing to see a couple as happy as you and yours, slave. Good on ya' for striking gold!

Going to three shows at least this week: Monday Aug. 13: Grandaddy w/ Earlimart @ the Fonda Theatre...THEY'RE BACK! After several years of hiatus/disbandment, the little band from Modesto is reunited...and it feels so GOOD! Tuesday Aug. 14: Alabama Shakes w/ Michael Kiwanuka @ the Fonda Theatre...after hearing and reading raves about this band for nearly a year, I am finally getting a chance to see for myself how good are Alabama Shakes. Thursday Aug. 16: Big Jay McNeely @ Viva Cantina...one of the greats of the 40s and 50s that were part of the development of rock and roll: http://articles.burbankleader.com/2012-08-11/entertainment/tn-blr-0810-sax-man-behind-deacons-hop-still-puts-on-a-lively-show_1_show-stopper-rock-n-roll-grammy-museum Big Jay McNeely is also the subject of one of the iconic photos of the 20th century...taken by Bob Willoughby.

Wow, how cool is that! Is it a Liverpool specific design or generic 73 tour poster? Wished they had done that for LA...I don't remember seeing any poster exchange offers for the shows here. Was this a Liverpool only offer? Or did they offer posters for tickets on all the dates of the 1973 UK tour? Listening to 8-11-79 Knebworth. Anybody know why Ten Years Gone was dropped from the set?

Hola brspled!

If it's really true, finding out betteremily has left the building. Truly one of my favourite recent members...a good and saucy type; always good for a chuckle or two.

^^^ Aye, there's the rub however...will you really be seeing Mark Knopfler WITH Bob Dylan, or will he just open for him? If there was to be a jam between the two, that would be worth checking out. But it's been my recent experience that Bob has let any collaborative chances fall by the wayside. When he toured with Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell in 1999(alternating headline slots with Van just like your experience with Santana), there was no interaction between any of the acts. Same thing in 2005 when he had Merle Haggard open his Pantages shows. You would have thought Merle and Bob doing a song together would have been a no-brainer. All that aside, by this point it hardly matters. I've got nearly 40 years of both Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen concerts under my belt. Bob I first saw in 1974 with The Band, so I could have never seen another Dylan show in my life and I could die happy. My first time seeing Bruce was when he opened for Blood, Sweat & Tears...or was it Dr. John? Nothing special but I eventually would see plenty of prime Bruce shows in the 70s and 80s and 90s. And that is the difference between my feelings about going to see Bob and Bruce today and Neil Young. Whenever I've seen Dylan and Springsteen in the last 5-7 years, I feel as if their best years are behind them and I always feel kind of ho-hum or disappointed after their recent concerts. Neil Young, however, still rocks my world in concert. I'm never left comparing old Neil to young Neil because Neil always has my attention focused in the here-and-now and the past is never an issue. His voice is still close to what it was back then and he is still capable of melting iron with his guitar. And on every tour, it seems, the setlist is revamped and filled with surprises. If you saw the tour a few years ago when he broke out "Ambulance Blues" for the first time in eons, that was worth the price of admission alone.

^^^ Yes, Bob Dylan's new album has been getting good advance buzz, and being Bob Dylan, I will always give his albums a chance. But the last three times I saw Bob Dylan in concert have been underwhelming at best, with his voice getting progressively worse. The last tour was so bad I almost felt sorry for him. The last concerts I saw where Bob still "had it" were on the Love and Theft tour. By the Modern Life tour, he had moved to keyboards exclusively and his shows suffered from a lack of stage presence...his opening act Merle Haggard stole the show all three times I saw him that year. But it got worse on the Together Through Life tour...his voice is painful to listen to now and there are no surprises in the setlist anymore.

Even more than Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young has always rewarded my life-long fanship by being consistently challenging AND good. Whereas Bob and the Boss have slipped a few notches in the last decade with subpar recent albums and live performances, Neil remains compelling and his voice and playing haven't suffered the ravages of time that have marred Dylan and Springsteen. I never have to think twice about forking over money to see Neil in concert. It's always worth it.

Blame my dad. He loved all those prog bands like ELP, Yes, Jethro Tull, Beaver and Krause...anyone with a propensity for florid classical touches. As for Sexy Dexy, it wasn't so much codpieces, but the way Dexy's flaunted the same kind of hobo-boho vibe as Jethro Tull that put me off...it reminded me of Ian Anderson and that ridiculous raggedy coat. All those fiddles and forced bonhomie...it came off a little too quaint and contrived. It's partly the same reason I don't care too much for Arcade Fire. Alas, I'm still waiting for some help...where's 'Jethro Tull' or some other Tull expert. I've done a search and found out some of the basics of the four bootlegs: they're from 1973 LA Forum, 1971 Anaheim Convention Center, and 1970 Long Beach and Anaheim. Mostly VG to Excellent sound quality according to one Jethro Tull database. But I haven't been able to find out anything about the performance quality. That's what I was hoping some Jethro Tull fan here could tell me.

I hope you're joking around, cause if you're not, then you misconstrued the meaning of my post. When I said the audience might as well be a rumour, I was referring to how SOUNDBOARDS lack audience atmosphere...especially 1973 Soundboards compared to 1975 Soundboards...not that the audience themselves were quiet. I am sure that if you listened to an audience tape of the same show, you would hear the crowd cheering just like any other show. I don't think you really mean to suggest Liverpudlians are 'stick in the muds', do you? On every other stop on the 1973 tour, when Robert said "ah ah" during Black Dog and then held out his mic for the crowd's reply, the audience yelled "ah ah" back. But it sounds like you are saying when Robert did this in Liverpool, you all couldn't be bothered to shout back, instead preferring to just sit there waiting to politely clap at the end of the song. Fortunately I know this is not so...as I am listening to the 1-14-73 Liverpool show again, and while it is faint due to the soundboard, you can just make out the crowd during the songs. One of the highlights of the Liverpool concert is Dazed and Confused. Even though the beginning is missing(the tape starts just as Jimmy starts the jam after the first three verses are over), what remains is worth it. Some very interesting variations during the violin bow solo and in the long jam. The best is at the end. For me, one of my favourite moments of Dazed and Confused has always been the final jam at the end of the song, when Jimmy spaces out on the wah wah. By 1975, it was often the ONLY part of Dazed and Confused I still enjoyed. One of these days(which probably means never) I want to take 50 or so of my favourite endings of Dazed and Confused and link them all together to form one long spaced out jam. Anyway, the 1973 Liverpool Dazed and Confused features one of the better amd unique endings I've ever heard. Jimmy is good as usual, but what is really striking is how Bonzo gets more and more intense. At first, he and Jones are beating out the usual loping bass and tom-tom rhythm used for this part of the song. Then, Bonzo's patterns get more insistent, more crazed, until it sounds like he's about to crash through his drum heads. It's fucking scary and amazing to hear. This all leads to Bonzo's final flurry...a brief solo before the end that makes the one in the film TSRTS sound slow and gentle. It leaves you breathless. Now that I've heard the soundboard, I've got to find out if there's a good audience source for the 73 Liverpool show. That's the one LA Forum show of the 16 Led Zeppelin performed at the venue I have yet to track down. One day...

I am sorry for you, in so far as it sucks to put so much time in a relationship and have it end like that. But hey hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! I'm unhappy as a friend is leaving to study in London in a month. Before that though, she is spending a week in Lebanon. To say I'm a bit worried for her safety is an understatement.

January 14, 1973 Empire Theatre, Liverpool Godfatherecords "One For the M6" from the January 1973 box set. Soundboard starts with "Over the Hills and Far Away"...either they started the tape too late for "Rock and Roll" or that part of the tape was damaged. Has that typical 73 soundboard sound, although so far Jonesey's bass is a little more up in the mix than usual. But the audience might as well be a rumour as you can barely hear them. "Black Dog" is playing right now and you can't even hear the crowd on the "ah ah" bits.

Found a stash of Jethro Tull bootlegs I had forgotten I had. There was a time when I was a big Jethro Tull fan. Loved the "Aqualung" album when it came out in 1971, and loved "Thick As a Brick" even more. Worked my way back through their catalogue from there. The year I started going to concerts, 1972, I saw many great guitarists: Jimmy Page, Mick Taylor and Keith Richards, Steve Howe, Jerry Garcia, David Gilmore, Mick Ronson, Tony Iommi. Martin Barre of Jethro Tull was worthy of that list...only Jimmy and Mick Taylor blew me away more. By 1975 though, with "Bungle in the Jungle" on the radio, my interest in Jethro Tull was fading. The 1975 Forum shows were good, but I didn't care for "Bungle" or the "War Child" album. Subsequent albums never caught my ear. Then, when punk came along, codpieces and flutes seemed fairly ridiculous. Which is also why I never cottoned to Dexy's Midnight Runners. When Jethro Tull stole the inaugural Best Metal Album award from Metallica at the 1988 Grammys, the biggest shock for me was that Jethro Tull was still around making records. Needless to say that by the 2000s, when Will Farrell pulled his hilarious "jazz flute" bit in "Ron Burgandy: Anchorman", JethroTull was a distant memory to me. In fact, it was so distant that it's easy for me to forget that at one time I used to be quite a fan of Jethro Tull. Enough of a fan to buy Jethro Tull bootlegs apparently. I've been in the process of going through my old records and other stuff I've accumulated over the years, most of which I have safely stored away. I haven't made it to my box of Led Zeppelin albums yet, but going through another box, I discovered to my utter amazement and surprise a number of old Jethro Tull vinyl bootlegs. Four to be exact. They are all early-70s vintage. My turntable is on the fritz, so I cannot listen to them at the moment, but I thought maybe the resident Jethro Tull experts here could tell me if what I have are considered worthy Tull boots? The four albums are 1. Supercharged 2. Flute Cake 3. Nothing is Easy 4. My God! (Red coloured vinyl)

^^^ Not the worst...but it suffers in comparison to 7-24-79 and 8-4-79.