Oh man, it had been a while since I had seen "Persona"...that is still one weird and intense flick. For some reason, it wasn't the way I remembered it, either...there were whole sections I had forgotten about. "Wild Strawberries" is more of a crowd-pleaser...or at least as crowd-pleasing as Bergman gets. It's less austere and cold than "Persona". My Top 5 favourite Bergman movies are still "Seventh Seal", "Cries and Whispers", "Fanny and Alexander", "Autumn Sonata" and "The Magic Flute".

My movie binge of the past month or so continues...here's tonight's date, an Ingmar Bergman double-bill:

I've been in a movie-going phase lately, but I'll finally be seeing my first concerts since the great Wilco shows of January. Sat. March 10: Reverend Horton Heat, Wanda Jackson, Supersuckers and more @ the Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana...a Rockabilly Festival. Tuesday March 20: of Montreal and Deerhoof @ the Wiltern Theatre, LA...my favourite band from Athens, GA.

Another clear night with the full moon shining bright...time for some more Moon Songs:

+ 100!!! Oh YEAH! Susan Dey(Laurie Partridge) was groovy! Back to the Monkees...here's one of my favourite bits from "Head", where they address the "manufactured" tag: Another great scene from "Head"...Davy Jones meets Frank Zappa:

Topped off dinner with some tiramisu...let the food coma begin. Ahhh...where to begin with Mr. Chuck E. Weiss? Chuck E. Weiss is an LA legend; one of those guys like Rodney Bingenheimer or Bob Forrest who seemingly was everywhere and knew everyone and yet never achieved the fame and fortune they should have. Although Chuck E's considered a Los Angeles institution, he is from Denver and got his start there, meeting blues great Ligtning Hopkins at Ebbett's Field. From there, he met and played with a whole lotta greats: Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Howlin' Wolf, Tom Waits. He moved to LA in the late 70s. In fact, not only did Rickie sing a song about Chuck, but Tom Waits references him several times throughout his albums "Nighthawks at the Diner" and "Small Change". It was rumoured Rickie and Chuck had a fling, but it was really Tom Waits and her that had a romance. Of course, it was almost too perfect that all three of them lived at the late, great Tropicana Hotel...what the Chelsea is to New York, the Tropicana is to LA. The Chateau Marmont is too expensive and the Continental Hyatt too "touristy" and part of a national chain. In LA, he played regular Monday night gigs at the Central club on Sunset, across the street from Tower Records and the Whisky. When the Central closed, he played his gigs at the Gorky's in Hollywood, mere blocks from the Pantages Theatre. Later, he and Johnny Depp re-opened the Central, renaming it the Viper Room. Chuck E. would usually play solo or with his band The Goddamn Liars. He's released a few albums and appeared on compilations. "Extremely Cool" from 1999 is probably his most widely known. Anyway...now you know that Chuck E. is a real person.

Yes, slave, that's the place she is referring to in "Chuck E.'s in Love"...who, by the way, used to play regularly up the street in the 90s at the Cahuenga Gorky's. Chuck E. that is, not Ricki. What a great late-nite place Gorky's...both the downtown LA and Hollywood locations. They mostly have musicals from Broadway, but every now and then, a band will play there. Here's the latest schedule: http://www.broadwayla.org/production/ Ok, what made me happy today? Just finished a late dinner of sausages and peppers and pasta at a place called Enzo's, with Frank Sinatra playing in the background.

WTF! No wonder people in the South are more religious than elsewhere...that looks like something out of the Book of Revelations. Or a disaster movie. We were supposed to get some rain yesterday but it never materialized. So far, March has come in like a lamb.

^^^Point of reference: This is the Led Zeppelin Live section. It is for discussing Led Zeppelin concerts. You want to discuss Rolling Stones, that's what the Random or Other Bands/Other Music sections are for. I suggest the Rolling Stones thread or the What Are You Listening to Now? thread.

There's a big old moon in the sky right now shining bright...which inspired me to pull out my Moon Duo album "Mazes", one of my favourite albums of 2011. From San Francisco, Moon Duo is Sanae Yamada and Erik Ripley Johnson from the Wooden Shjips. Very good late-night listening. If you remember a British band called Loop, this is something similar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flHaERb_MWE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

^^^Nice pick. I take it "Take Shelter" is finally out on DVD? I saw this when it came out last September, but I think LA and New York were the only places it got a decent theatrical release. A very strange yet interesting film...definitely not a mainstream crowd-pleaser-type movie. Michael Shannon is one of those character actors you always see in films and recognize the face but can never remember his name. Nice to see him finally get a big, meaty lead role. He is astounding in this. Of course, he got ignored by the Academy and the Golden Globes.

As you can see from the above post, I chose "Spamalot". Actually, I had seen "Spamalot" before, when it arrived at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2009. This time, I was just waiting to see if someone I knew could come up with comps for either Swan Lake or Spamalot. When the freebies for Spamalot came thru, the decision was made for me, so-to-speak. Don't worry, ebk, the Pantages is still as lovely as you remember it. I've seen at least 100 shows here...everything from Talking Heads to Wicked to Bob Dylan to Riverdance to Bruce Springsteen to The Lion King to the Cure. Not even the Guns n Roses show in 1991 could sully the place.

Had a fantastic weekend...topped by one of the happiest and most splendid Sundays in some time. Weather of course was beautiful...sunny and blue skies and in the 70s. Got up around 7am to hit the Record swap...got some groovy Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones boots. Saw the new Led Zeppelin II multitracks 4-disc set, but felt guilty and conflicted about getting it. Live concerts are one thing, but stolen studio tapes are another. After spending about an hour at the swap, had breakfast at Figaro Cafe(brioche french toast and orange juice), then went to Westwood Village to the Hammer Museum. Every month they have a free family screening, where they show a family-friendly movie on a Sunday at 11am. Yesterday they were showing a version of "Alice in Wonderland" I had never seen: a 1972 British live-action adaptation with Peter Sellars, Dudley Moore, Ralph Richardson, Michael Crawford and many other Brits of that period. Very quirky and fun. The movie was over around 12:30pm, so I took a stroll through the Alina Szapocznikow and Antony Hegarty(of Antony and the Johnsons fame) exhibits. Then, made a quick stop at the Hollywood Farmer's Market before going home and watching the rest of the LA Lakers vs. Miami Heat game. LAKERS WIN!!! After the game, it was around 3pm, so I went for a hike up Bronson Canyon for an hour. Then back home, showered and dressed to meet a friend for dinner at Chan Dara Thai restaurant before taking her to see "Spamalot" at the Pantages Theatre at 6:30pm...the final performance of the run. Someone hooked me up with freebies (working part-time, "free" is my favourite word). Laughed our sides silly...laughter is the best medicine...and afterwards, again thanks to the benevolence of my friend, was able to drop in the closing night party. The rest of the night is a blur...probably tucked in around 3am. Exhausted but happy. A solid six hours sleep and I was up at 9am today, refreshed and invigorated for the week. The only quibbles I had about the day was I missed a phone call from a friend, and I'm having computer problems which is preventing me from updating my 1977 thread.

^^^Good for you Kiwi! I'm glad you were able to take a break from your studies and take in a ballet with your mum. I'm going to try and see "Swan Lake" this weekend myself...either that or Monty Python's "Spamalot" musical at the Pantages.

It was a Martin Scorsese film and you didn't know about it until now? I know you're busy with your radio duties and all, but I would think to someone who sees a lot of films like yourself, news of a new Scorsese movie would cut thru the clutter.

Unlike some recent deaths, THIS was a complete surprise to me, as Davy Jones seemed so perpetually youthful. You never thought of him as "old" or "aging". He was always Davy...that cute, tiny, cheeky, scamp of The Monkees. Michael Nesmith was always my favourite Monkee(something about his wool cap and his bemused nature), but they all were fun to watch. The Monkees was a show I enjoyed with relish and with no compunction about its "manufactured origins" and supposed affront to true rock fans ideals about authenticity. The show was fun and zany and quite groundbreaking and influential in its way. In fact, for all the impact that '60s films like "2001", "Easy Rider", "The Graduate", "Bullitt", and "Bonnie and Clyde" had on the pop-culture landscape, it is "A Hard Day's Night" and "The Monkees" that probably had the strongest and most lasting influence. As much as I loved the TV show, though, the clincher was the Bob Rafelson-Jack Nicholson drug-fueled phantasmagoria on The Monkees, "Head". Made in 1968, I didn't get a chance to see it until the late-70s. What a trip! A surrealistic exploration and explosion of the Monkees myth, it is something you have to see at least once in your life. Whether you see it stoned or not is up to you...I've seen it both stoned and sober and enjoyed it just as much either way. Look for the amazing amount of hip counter-culture cameos in the film. And fans of Michael Mann's "Heat" will recognize the bridge in the opening scene. Anyway, this movie encouraged me to reevaluate the Monkees place and relevance in Sixties pop culture...and they had some pretty good tunes, too. Let me put it this way...nowadays I find myself listening to the Monkees more often than Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Santana and the rest of those deadly earnest San Francisco bands that scoffed at "fake" bands like the Monkees. Anyway...it was a sad shock hearing about Davy's passing. May he rest in peace.

Got up early and took advantage of the beautiful morning by hiking up to Dante's View in Griffith Park. No pictures as I left my phone and all electronic gadgetry behind. Just me and the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.

Are you actually seeing this in the theatre in 3D or watching at home? Most of the recent 3D films have been poppycock, but "Hugo" is one of the few that warrants seeing it in 3D...Wim Wenders' "Pina" is another. Not saying "Hugo" was my favourite film of the year, but it was the best of the 9 nominated films for the Oscars.

The ones I saw, natch! 6.21, 23, 25-27. In my mind's eye they were all FANTASTIC!!! A savage and epic rampage of white light and white heat. This wasn't some prissy shit like Kansas or Styx. Achilles Last Stand was brutal, raw, yet still full of grace and beauty. It was Punk-Prog decades before it was even a genre. It's instructive to note that ALS live was around 9 minutes; almost 2 minutes faster than the album version; it's as if the band was shot out of a cannon following the longueur of the solo section of the concert. ALS was our reward for enduring the drum and guitar/noise solos. In hindsight, as I listen to the bootlegs, you can hear slight differences in performance quality, so I tend to favour the 6.21 or 6.23 for my listening pleasure. But in my memory, every single one of those 5 Achilles Last Stand performances was true Hammer of the Gods AWESOME!!!

^^^Enjoy the steak! Ruth's Chris is one of the best steakhouses around.

^^^Congrats on 20 years marriage! What'd you get her...china or platinum? You're the second person from back east that has mentioned going to Ruth's Chris steakhouse this past week...I didn't know they had branched out from Beverly Hills/LA. Bon appetite.

Just goes to show "different strokes for different folks"...as "Drive" was one of my favourites of the year. Gosling's understated performance was right for the character...and the whole vibe of the film reminded me of many of those car-centric existentialist films of the early-70s...or "The Mechanic". And Albert Brooks! What a surprise he was...I'm so used to his neurotic-comedic persona, it took me a while to figure out it was him in that part. Lastly, "Drive" made very good use of Los Angeles...it didn't use the same tired old "touristy" locations many films rely on. Give it a while, Jahfin, then watch it again. It might grow on you by then.