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March 2009
Third Annual The Invitational at Lions ‘National’ Golf Course
We gathered last Saturday to drink entirely too much beer, play some surprisingly competitive golf (some of us, anyway) on a cherished course of which we had full run and celebrate the game of golf in a style that would make Bacchus and Lee Trevino blush. Check out photos and video from the event below. One can only assume that somewhere, John Daly is clearing his calendar for late March 2010.
Multimedia from The Invitational: Photos | Video
- 1st place (jackets and sword) - Steven “Captain Eagle” Bright and Nick
- 2nd place - The Founders
- 3rd place - Karl and Tommy
- Best dressed (scooter) - Kyle Holden
- Runner up best dressed (special gift card) The Lumber Don
- Honorable mention best dressed (Burt Reynolds belt buckle) - Anthony “The Moose” Lostracco
- Best mustache (scooter) Ian Berryhill
- Runner up mustache (special gift card) - Pat Moran
- Honorable mention mustache (authentic yak bone mustache comb) - Greg Fleming
- Close to the pin (dirty diaper) - Paul Bryant
- Longest drive (wooden gorilla, cursed) - Karl
- First Annual Larry Bird Memorial Mustache Award (signed photo of Larry Bird) - Jim Estes
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Your A-List: Best Disc Golf Course
Not only is Pease Park the most visible disc golf course in the city, it is also the most popular, at least according to voters in the Your A-List poll. With 43 percent of the vote, the park that runs along Lamar Boulevard is this year’s winner for Best Disc Golf Course.
While the park is extremely popular with those who prefer their golf without collared shirts, some wonder if the park and its grass are suffering from overuse by disc golfers, as noted by Pamela LeBlanc in her Fit City column earlier this month.
[From Fit City, 03.09.09]
Today, Pease Park is the scene of the drum-circling, tie-dye-drenched annual Eeyore’s Birthday Party each spring. It’s popular with hikers, picnickers, cyclists and dog walkers. And ever since 1989, a wildly popular 18-hole disc golf course has put unique pressures on the narrow, fragile strip of parkland along North Lamar Boulevard.
On warm weekend afternoons, up to 700 disc golfers converge on Pease, criss-crossing the creek and scrambling off trail as they pitch flying discs into metal baskets. The constant activity along the environmentally sensitive creek corridor, the assessment says, exacerbates the park’s decline. Park activists point to bare ground and tree trunks damaged by errant discs.
While some Austin parks with disc golf alternate between two courses, letting one recover for part of the year while the other is in play, there’s barely enough room for one course at Pease, much less two.
Some fans of the park, including Nokes and Tina Contros, an architect who is involved with the Old Enfield Homeowners Association nearby, suggest it’s time to redesign the course or close it down. At the least, the city could charge disc golfers a greens fee to help pay for park maintenance and repair, they say.
“It’s just not the right use anymore,” Contros says.
But, as LeBlanc noted in a follow-up blog on the topic, not everyone sees the issue the same.
“If we are forced to stay off the course, people will go down there and play what is called object golf. Instead of throwing discs into the basket, you just hit the object. We can bring in our own baskets or we can use a tree or pole,” Kurt Standiford says.
Others receiving votes
- Bartholomew District Park, 21 percent
- Zilker Park, 15 percent
- Mary Moore Searight Metro Park, 11 percent
- Wells Branch Park, 6 percent
- Old Settler’s Park, 5 percent
- Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park, 4 percent
- Texas State University campus, 3 percent
- Slaughter Creek Metro Park, 2 percent
- Our Savior Lutheran Church, < 1 percent
- Moody’s Disc Golf Course in Bastrop, < 1 percent
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Your A-List: Best Kids Menu
Anyone with kids know that finding a place that suits kids and adults can be a daunting task, although Austin does have a nice selection from which to choose. Among the best family friendly options in town is the Waterloo Ice House. The Austin original that got its start on Congress Avenue took home 37 percent of the vote and the crown as the Your A-List winner for best kids menu.
In addition to the relaxed atmosphere and live music by which Waterloo has made its name, the restaurants, which have expanded in number to eight over the past 33 years, offer a great kids menu with junior sized servings of the traditional burgers and chicken tenders along with a few kid-specific items like mac and cheese, mini corndogs and PB&J that are sure to keep the kids busy while the grown ups eat. And, if the kids finish first, they can keep themselves busy coloring. Sounds like a win-win for both the grown-ups and the little Austinites.
Others receiving votes
- Phil’s Icehouse, 12 percent
- Central Market, 10 percent
- Kerbey Lane, 10 percent
- Mama Fu’s, 5 percent
- EZ’s Brick Oven Grille, 4 percent
- Zen, 4 percent
- Whole Foods, 4 percent
- Tres Amigos, 2 percent
- Elsi’s Restaurant, 2 percent
- Freddie’s Place, 2 percent
- Pok-e-Jo’s, 2 percent
- Cafe 1626, 2 percent
- Brentwood Tavern, 1 percent
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SXSW scene: In line for Metallica!
The rumors had bubbled for weeks: Metallica, the metal gods from Northern California, would be playing SXSW. Some saw it as a marketing stunt for the video game “Guitar Hero: Metallica,” which comes out March 28. Others thought that maybe not all of the band members would appear. After days of speculation, the Metallica gear now sits on the stage at Stubb’s, while hundreds of fans lineup outside.
People have wondered whether getting into the show would be akin to a papal vist. How early would you have to line up? Who would get in? Should non-bage holders even bother?
Die-hard Metallica fans Ron Clark of New Jersey, Jeff Holland of Virginia and their buddies — first in line at Stubb’s — left nothing to chance. The group flew down to Austin this morning after getting a deal on last-minute air fare. No SXSW attendees these. They flew to Austin solely to see their metal heroes. It will be the 58th show for Holland and the 128th for Clark, members of Metallica’s fan club, who heard about the show through the fan club Web site and subsequently won a raffle for spots on the band’s guest list along with dozens others in line.
Why fly thousands of miles to see a band you’ve seen so many times? Easy, says Holland, who got in line at 1 p.m. Friday. “When they do these special shows, those are the best,” Holland said. “The small venues are just more intimate.”
Clark, who plans to fly back to Clifton, New Jersey, after the show, says he doesn’t even mind wading through hipsterpallooza and a bunch of bands he doesn’t like to see Metallica rock. “If we have to sit through crappy opening bands, that’s alright with us,” Clark said.
The guys expect an hour and a quarter set, but as Holland says, “It’s not the length that matters, it’s the songs that matter to us.”
As for those songs, Clark and Holland, in true hardcore fan fashion, said they hope to hear more of the band’s obscure and older stuff, along with a few tracks from the new album. So, “Damages, Inc., “The Shortest Straw” or “No Remorse” would be just fine with this traveling band of brothers in rock.
At 10 p.m., much of downtown and parts of the city as far away as Hyde Park will all get an earful.
Photo by Chris Garcia/AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Ron Clark of New Jersey on left, unidentified metal head in center and Jeff Holland of Virginia on the right.
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Review: C3’s Rock the Rabbit
While the lineup was somewhat secretive, most everyone knew that they were descending on the venue to see the long-awaited reunion of Jane’s Addiction. And what better place for a gathering of rock’s burlesque bacchanalians than a seedy abandoned grocery store (eerily reminiscent of the set of “Been Caught Stealing”), but with cooler lighting.
After a 17-year hiatus, the band’s original lineup got back together last year at the U.S. NME awards, after bassist Eric Avery decided to sign back on. They’ve played a few shows this year in preparation for a run of shows with Nine Inch Nails, but Thursday night at the Rabbit was the band’s official jumping off point, and from the first sinister notes of “Three Days,” it was obvious the band was razor sharp, those 17 years of rust falling off like so many Dave Navarro shirts over the years.
The crowd, which had been building in anticipation, lingering to the side of the concrete dance floor made slick by spilled booze and seemingly hesitant to pop the cork on the party, finally burst at the seems when the alt sex rock icons who oozed more sensuality than the Bunnies walking the room began attacking a set that featured one big, ballsy hit after another.
Farrell was in his usual form. Donned in white undershirt and neckerchief, he looked like an absinthe-soaked Parisian poet hell-bent on setting the world aflame with his fierce singing and overtly sexual charisma.
Despite his long absence from the band Avery did not miss a beat, synching up with drummer Stephen Perkins to lay down a thunderous groove, the rhythm section mates exchanging smiles and looking thrilled to be back on stage with Navarro and Farrell. As Farrell preened, Navarro shredded his guitar, blazing through one legendary solo after another in a 45-minute set list that felt like a fever dream and included “Standing in the Shower … Thinking,” a rendition of “Ocean Size” that felt like it could be heard atop the UT Tower before, and a high-speed L.A. car chase “Stop!” that ended the set.
Farrell romanced the crowd at one point before “Mountain Song,” saying, “Austin, we’ve been waiting for you. We’ve been dreaming about you.” Indeed they had. They were ready and came out with all guns blazing, and for an hour, a dingy old supermarket was transported back to 1991.
Photos: C3’s Rock the Rabbit party
Image from James Trevenen
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Scene report: The Hold Steady at Found Magazine day show
In a slightly sad bit of production, comedian Andy Kindler, who is often quite funny, took the stage minutes before The Hold Steady to “warm up” the crowd with some jokes. The crowd got heated, but probably not in the intended fashion. One fan threw something at the self-effacing comedian as he stumbled through five awkward minutes before introducing the band.
The band took the stage and frontman Craig Finn immediately had the crowd worked into a frenzy, as the band romped through “Constructive Summer.” Finn, despite his grad school looks, has as much swagger and energy as anyone you will see at SXSW, and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, as the band delivered electric shocks through the sweaty crowd in the forms of “Multitude of Causalities,” “Navy Sheets,” and the set’s highlight, “Sequestered in Memphis,” which had the crowd soul clapping and singing along to the chorus: “Subpoenaed in Texas, sequestered in Memphis.”
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On the streets: Chatting with Annie Clark of St. Vincent
I ran into the amazingly talented Annie Clark (St. Vincent) this afternoon on Seventh Street. Hot on the heels of her widely praised show at Central Presbyterian, Clark was incredibly humble when I told her of the rave reviews I had been hearing since last night. The bill at the church last night, which included Anni Rossi, M. Ward, Department of Eagles and Camera Obscura, was so hot that I thought Twitter was going to melt at one point.
When I told Clark that people had been howling ever since, she — very modestly — said that was “silly.”
Clark’s new album “Actor,” which comes out on 4AD in May, has been called a “mindblower” by the Statesman’s Michael Corcoran, and many expect it will be one of the year’s best.
The lithe woman who knows how to shred said she had just come from seeing the Dirty Projectors at a day show. She cutely said that the Brooklyn-based band, which plays a showcase at 9 p.m. Thursday at Emo’s, totally owned and “ruled it so hard core.” Clark also said she was planning to return to the church tonight to see Grizzly Bear perform at 8:30 p.m. That show will be packed beyond belief, so go early or go somewhere else.
St. Vincent plays again at midnight Friday at Antone’s at the Billions Corporation showcase.
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Review: Andrew Bird at ‘Austin City Limits’
(Wednesday, ‘Austin City Limits’ studio)
Whether he is playing solo, with a drummer or accompanied by a full band, there are things you know you can expect when Chicago’s Andrew Bird takes the stage: enigmatic lyrics, artful whistling and layered loops of sonic strings.
Bird treated a near-capacity crowd at the Austin City Limits studios Wednesday night to a beautiful hour-long set. Looking like the TA in one of your college poetry classes, dressed in shock red pants and a bulky knitted scarf, Bird wasted no time setting his aural landscape, as he plucked and bowed his violin and then set the sounds on a loop while whistling over them and quickly discarding his shoes during a dreamy introduction that gave way to the Russian folksiness of “Why.” His sultry delivery of the lyrics “you’ll get your punishments when you show me your crimes,” had Bird sounding like a man lustily talking the ghost of a former lover into a corner of a darkened bedroom. Indeed, part of the beauty of Bird’s live performance comes from hearing the singer jazzily play with his lyrics, reshaping the songs from his albums.
Following “Why,” Bird’s band joined him for the Native American sounding beginning of “Masterswarm” that hit the road and morphed into some kind of gypsy love song. After the jaunty “Fitz and Dizzy Spells,” Bird thanked the crowd for the thrill of being able to play for them at ACL and admitted that he was “coming to like Austin more and more.” (Bird was here just last month at the Paramount Theatre.)
The brief 11-song set was highlighted by the Irish ballad sounds of “Effigy” that mutated into a country epilogue by song’s end and the rollicking “Fake Palindromes.”
Bird closed the set with a little help from the audience, enlisting their aide on the chorus of “Table and Chairs,” which rose like a tribal anthem of angels before turning softly into a gentle lullaby and floating off into the night like so many musical hummingbirds.
Andrew Bird plays a SXSW showcase at Stubb’s Thursday night at 11 p.m. Bird’s show was the second of ACL’s new season, which will air in the fall on KLRU.
Setlist from Andrew Bird @ ACL Studios, 03.18.09
- Intro
- “Why”
- “Masterswarm”
- “Fitz and Dizzy Spells”
- “Effigy”
- “Oh no”
- “Nervous Tic Motion (of the head to the left)”
- “Anonanimal”
- “Mitosis”
- “Natural Disaster”
- “Fake Palindromes”
- Tables and Chairs”
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Your A-List: Best locally produced beer, liquor or wine
Tito Bevridge (real name) may be a geologist by education, but fortunately for us he also has a love of vodka, one that led him to leave the oil and gas, and later the mortgage, world to devote his time to making some of the best vodka on the planet. With 44 percent of the vote, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is this year’s Your A-List winner for best locally produced beer, wine or liquor.
Tito had made a name for himself among his friends by making small batches of flavored vodka as holiday gifts. Once he realized how much people loved what he was putting out, he decided to get into the business whole hog. Self-taught, he fooled with recipes and made his own stern, and eventually opened the first legal distillery in Texas. A labor of love, Tito put countless hours into perfecting his vodka and getting his company up and running. In 1997, Tito cranked out 1,000 cases, a number which has jumped to around a quarter-million now.
It may look like a plain o’l bottle, but that was the idea. He wanted to save costs on fancy packaging and carved bottles and pass the savings on to the consumer in the form of a vodka so smooth, you can drink it straight without a wince. The vodka is made from 100% corn, distilled six times and filtered through activated carbon, making it one of the best tasting vodkas in this or any other country.
What started on a make-shift distillery outside of town has led to a spirits phenomenon, and you can find people drinking Tito’s all over the country now. Thanks to strong grassroots, marketing, a tireless work ethic, an affable persona and, of course, a damn fine vodka, Tito has created quite juggernaut.
Others receiving votes
- Real Ale Brewing, 17 percent
- Live Oak Brewing Co,. 12 percent
- Dripping Springs Vodka, 7 percent
- Independence Brewing Co., 4 percent
- Draught House, 4 percent
- Uncle Billy’s, 4 percent
- Paula’s Texas Orange, 3 percent
- Alamosa wines, 2 percent
- Caprock wines, 1 percent
- Savvy Vodka, 1 percent
- Treaty Oak Rum, <1 percent
- Orf beer, <1 percent
- Write-in: Driftwood Winery Estate
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Your A-List: Best spot to catch a Central Texas sunset?
Others receiving votes
- The Oasis, 28 percent
- Mount Bonnell, 14 percent
- Lake Travis, 6 percent
- Downtown skyscrapers, 4 percent
- Loop 360 scenic overlook, 4 percent
- Hula Hut, 3 percent
- UT Tower, 2 percent
- Zilker Park, 2 percent
- Pennybacker Bridge, 1 percent
- Write-in: Driftwood Winery Estate
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Drink a pint, fight cancer and watch men get shaved, tonight at Mother Eagan’s
Cancer sucks. My family has had a Hatfield and McCoy type feud going with cancer for years and I’m sure you or someone you love has been pushed around too. Several members of my family have been able to fight back and survive with medical advancements and proactive treatment, no doubt aided by previous donations.In the US, more children die of childhood cancer than any other disease. Please make a donation on my behalf to support childhood cancer research. Your donation will save lives.
As you can see, after 3 years I am at full plumage. Now you have a chance to do the right thing and make me go from grizzly to gorgeous, from the cave to the catwalk, etc.
Now is your chance to help a very worthy cause and rid the streets of one less creep. Oh and forward this link to anyone you know that hates cancer and/or beards.
If you want to contribute to The Grizz’s efforts, you can click here. And, if you want to be a part of what promises to be a pretty funny and extremely worth cause, head down to Mother Egan’s tonight at 7 p.m. for the en masse shavings.
Below is a video made by one of the listener’s to The Grizz’s MMA radio show. (For the record, I would definitely be down for participating in this event next year, but I have a feeling the shaving of my two-week growth of beard and almost-balled head would fetch about $20 on the open market.)
Mother Eagan’s Irish Pub
715 W. Sixth St.
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Interview: Seth Rogen
I caught up with “Observe and Report” star Seth Rogen today, the morning after the world premiere of the new comedy written and directed by Jody Hill (“The Foot Fist Way”). The Canadian-born star who has risen to fame as part of Judd Apatow’s comedy clan discussed his new movie, improvising on the set and the upcoming movies “Funny People” and “The Green Hornet.”
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Panel wrap: Jan Harlan discusses Stanley Kubrick
He died 10 years ago this month, but legendary director Stanley Kubrick still draws a ton of interest from film geeks, as evidenced by the relatively-full conference room at the Convention Center Sunday afternoon.
Multi-platforming film critic Elvis Mitchell discussed Kubrick with Jan Harlan, Kubrick’s brother-in-law who also served as executive producer on some of the director’s biggest films (“Barry Lyndon,” “The Shining,” “Full Metal Jacket”). Harlan spoke of his enigmatic brother-in-law’s perfectionism and artistic vision and his role in helping some of the best of Kubrick’s best films come to life.
Some snippets from the talk:
- Although “Eyes Wide Shut” was initially panned by many critics, and audiences in small towns in America killed the film, the Japanese audiences loved it. A studio rep. actually told Harlan that Japanese couples actually left the theater holding hands, a show of affection that is generally unheard of.
- Not surprisingly, Kubrick did not enjoy the role of the critic in cinema. He was confounded by the fact that he could spend three years working on a film, only to have some critic see the movie in the morning and then write a review that afternoon. He seemingly had no use for critics, as is the case with many filmmakers and moviegoers.
- In discussing the casting process for “Full Metal Jacket” and Kubrick’s desire, borne from perfectionism, to cast 18 year-olds to play the roles of the young soldiers, Harlan said that they reviewed 2,500 casting tapes to try and find the right seven actors for the main parts before relenting and hiring actors in their twenties. “Like everything, he took it (the casting) incredibly seriously,” said Harlan.
- Kubrick, as has been well documented, hated to travel. So, when the production team needed American tanks to shoot scenes in London for “Full Metal Jacket,” they “rented” three old American tanks from the Belgian army. Apparently the Americans were reluctant to help out the team, holding a slight grudge from “Dr. Strangelove.”
- Kubrick had a brilliant memory and would concurrently play matches of chess against three different people. However, he was a much less skilled table tennis player.
- The director loved sports, and one time, after watching a semi-final between John McEnroe and Boris Becker, Kubrick turned to Harlan, exhilarated and exhausted, and proclaimed to Harlan, “No film could ever be so exciting.”
- Harlan’s biggest regret about “Eyes Wide Shut,” and the film’s biggest problem, was that the film needed two viewings to be fully understood.
- Kubrick turned over the “A.I.” project to Steven Spielberg because he believed the dark fantasy would be done better by Spielberg and be entirely too dark under his own direction.
- With regard to “A.I.,” while Harlan says Kubrick was an “optimist in his daily life,” the director believed that we were “digging our own grave” and that the human race had “no chance of survival.”
- Harlan briefly touched on a fact that I was alerted to by one of my film professors in college and a former colleague of Peter Sellers, ‘Dr. Strangelove” was initially to be made as a straight-ahead drama. The dark comedic elements were added later. My professor in Rome told me that the idea to shift the tone was one he had offered Kubrick at a dinner party … I did not get the chance at the panel to verify the veracity of that claim.
- After 30 years of finding the best in TV, Diane Holloway concludes her broadcast day
- Photos: Diane’s all-time Top 20 shows
- Photos: Diane through the years
- Video: A farewell from Diane
- John Kelso, 27 percent
- Kirk Bohls, 9 percent
- Cedric Golden, 6 percent
- Addie Broyles, 4 percent
- Ben Wear, 4 percent
- Michael Barnes, 2 percent
- W. Gardner Selby, 2 percent
- Chris Garcia, 1 percent
- Andrea Ball, < 1 percent
- Eileen Flynn, < 1 percent
- Marques Harper, < 1 percent
- Peter Mongillo, < 1 percent
- Sarah Lindner, < 1 percent
- Austin Land and Cattle, 18 percent
- Ruth’s Chris, 12 percent
- Texas Land and Cattle, 8 percent
- III Forks, 7 percent
- Fleming’s, 7 percent
- Joe DiMaggio’s, 3 percent
- Truluck’s, 2 percent
- McCormick and Schmick’s, 2 percent
- Backstage, 1 percent
- Finn and Porter, < 1 percent
- Mexican Martini at Cedar Door, 14 percent
- Purple Margarita at Baby A’s, 14 percent
- Cucumber martini at Manuel’s, 9 percent
- Prickly Pear Margarita at Vivo, 6 percent
- Chilango Margarita at El Chile, 4 percent
- Mango Margarita at Hula Hut,3 percent
- Pomegranate Cosmopolitan at Belmont, 2 percent
- Batini at Four Seasons, 2 percent
- Caipirinha at Saba, 2 percent
- Wedding Cake at Brown Bar, 2 percent
- Batini at Lamberts, 1 percent
- Haleakalada at Hula Hut, 1 percent
- City Hall garage, 13 percent
- State garage at Fourth and San Antonio streets, 12 percent
- Teachers Retirement System lot, 12 percent
- Garage at Seventh and Lavaca streets, 9 percent
- Valet parking, 7 percent
- Under Interstate 35, 4 percent
- Austin Convention Center garage, 4 percent
- U.S. Post Office lot, 4 percent
- One American Center garage, 2 percent
- Austin Books & Comics, 15 percent
- Dragon’s Lair, 8 percent
- Half-Price Books, 3 percent
- Bee Cave Comics and Games, 2 percent
- Funny Papers, 1 percent
- Comics and More, < 1 percent
- First Federal, < 1 percent
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Lack of laughs in ‘Splinterheads’
Writer/director Brant Sersen had a festival hit on his hands at SXSW in 2004 with the ridiculous “Blackballed,” a movie that featured the comedic talents of Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Jack McBrayer and others. Unfortunately, Sersen’s cinematic offering this year did not offer the laughs as his previous effort.
In “Splinterheads” (which screened at Alamo Ritz Saturday night), Justin Frost (newcomer Thomas Middleditch) is in a mild state of arrested development. Unable to get his life on track, the young 20-something is stuck in a rut in his sleepy New York town, fiddling with delusions of karate expert gradeur while toiling aimlessly as a yardboy with his friend Wayne Chung — a name that is a decent indicator as to the humor in the film, simple and expected.
Still living at home with his widowed mother, the apron-strings of whom he is afraid to detach himself, Justin is a bit of a manchild, full of whimsy and insecurity. His safe little world is shattered by the appearance of Galaxy (Rachel Taylor), a beautiful con artist and carnival worker who eventually introduces him to a world of mild adventure (in the form of geocaching) and risk-taking.
Middleditch, a pretty solid ringer for Seth Meyers, with a tinge of Jonathan Richman, is at his best when he is playing the more high-status comedic character — lampooning Chung and his mother’s ex-boyfriend, a local police sergeant played by the ubiquitous Christopher McDonald. It is the nervous bumbling would-be romancer of Galaxy and the target of her unsavory boyfriend’s wrath, a nice turn by Dean Winters (most recently Tina Fey’s “Beeper King” boyfriend on “30 Rock”), where the character is less believable.
Maybe Middleditch is too old, maybe he is too handsome, but he is just not believable, or very likeable, as the nervous mamma’s boy. Additionally, the entire conceit of a boy meeting a carnie (actually a “splinterhead,” the difference which is unneccesarry to quibble over here) who teaches him how to let go and get on with his life just seems a little too absurd to swallow. It feels like a teen movie stuck between goofy adolescence and 20-something self-discovery, not quite here and not quite there. It’s also hard to see a comedy in a festival setting and see so many intended laugh lines fall flat. The script just seems a little rushed, like jokes that didn’t work were left in instead of reworked or heightened.
The movie does have a certain charm — Middleditch gives a nice, if at times awkward performance and Taylor is serviceable, although far too beautiful to be a believable “splinterhead” — but it struggles too often, forcing the wrong comedic note and losing the audience’s interest with its fairly ridiculous storyline. If a plot line is going to be as cute and absurd as that of “Splinterheads,” it either needs more of an adolescent feel or needs to deliver more laughs.
“Splinterheads” screens again March 17 at The Paramount at 1:30 p.m. and at noon on March 19 at the Alamo South.
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They’ve got the funny, now where’s the money?
Some of the biggest names in online comedy videos (Ricky Van Veem of collegehumor.com, Keith Richman of Break Media), along with “Colbert Report” writer Meredith Scardino, actor B.J. Novak of “The Office” and BOXEE’s Avner Ronen gathered in the cavernous ballroom A at the Austin Convention Center to discuss comedy, and content in general, online.
As one might expect, there was not too terribly much new ground covered here. But such is the case with a nebulous, growing and unpredictable medium.
Richman admits that one of the biggest problems for online content and its producers is the fact that it is still too hard to monetize online content. He claimed that even though some of the videos on his site may get more views than 30-50 digital cable channels, he is still not able to find a way to make the money those channels do.
While people may be watching more and more online content, Van Veem said that a recent study found that Americans average 151 hours of tv watching, so it seems tv is not going away any time soon.
The boon for viewers and the trouble for tv, however, may come from the fact that with the Internet, people can watch what they want and won’t waste time watching shows they don’t like, as they might with TV. According to Novak, this should serve as a bit of a warning for bad content on TV. The good shows will stay on the air, he says, but maybe we will be lucky enough to see the bad stuff go away.
The biggest challenge for producers of online content will continue to come from the struggle to get money and distribution. The good news seems to be that online content is judged and promoted in a democratic way. If people like a video, they will pass it along, and eventually the process of passing along clips will be the new stamp of approval as opposed to the stamp of approval that comes from a late-night talk show host or television producer. Web 2.0 — you be the star, star-maker. As for the salary of said stars and star-makers, we’re still working on that part, it seems. The future holds the answers. As always.
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The art of acting (and life), according to Jeffrey Tambor
Part acting coach, part Buddhist, part life coach, part stand-up comedian, Jeffrey Tambor wowed the participants at his acting workshop this afternoon.
The first half of the two-hour event had the actor and writing coach workshopping a scene with two actors, putting them through paces and exercises to find an emotional honesty and vulnerability. His cajoling and direction helped the two find the purpose of their scene, to, as Tambor put it, “break the glass” to find how who they were and what the scene was about.
His biggest direction was to get the actors to get outside of themselves and not worry about being “overmuch.” As an anecdote, he described Mickey Rourke’s now-famous acceptance speech at the IFC Awards as one of the greatest speeches he had ever seen. That kind of letting go was what Tambor was trying to evince from the actors.
“There’s no honor lost in being excited and emotional and passionate,” Tambor said.
His method was supportive, tender, humorous and fully honest. That honesty, humanity and candor carried over into the question-and-answer portion, as Tambor discussed the role of the artist and finding confidence in your life and work. Tambor touched on the relationship between actors and writers, and how there must be trust and respect from both sides. Creating a play or movie is a malleable process, not anarchy, but cerainly a give-and-take, he said. He also shared his personal battle with worrying and confessed that it was having children that got him outside of himself. In that same vain of generosity, he said that when you are trapped in your own head or being obsessive and neurotic, the best thing you can do is to do something for someone else. The artist must listen to himself, believe in himself, never think to please and always surround himself with people who give him confidence.
Tambor’s humor, grace and honesty undoubtedly left many in the audienced embued with that sense of confidence, fearlessness and self-reliance of which he spoke.
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Your A-List: Best Statesman Columnist
Having worked with Holloway for a couple of years now, I can attest that not only is she a hard worker, and one passionate about television, she is kind, affable, generous and a pretty saucy smart aleck, to boot.
Holloway, who received 42 percent of the vote, began covering television for the Statesman in 1979, and over the past 30 years, has become one of the most trusted and respected voices at the paper, as well as a writer beloved by much of her audience.
For those of you who did not see the farewell package that ran online and in the paper on Tuesday, here are some links of interest regarding our diminutive TV columnist who will be missed dearly and leave behind some very big shoes to fill.
Others receiving votes
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Your A-List: Best Steakhouse
I’m no historian, but you’d be pretty hard pressed to find a restaurant that has been serving up hot food in Austin longer than the Hoffbrau Steakhouse, with 38 percent of the vote, winner of the Your A-List poll for Best Steakhouse.
Fancy steak joints with their leather booths, white tablecloths and coiffed waitstaff may come and go, but Hoffbrau has become an Austin tradition, serving steaks off their griddle for 75 years. The lemon-butter sauce that comes on the steaks at Hoffbrau may not exactly resemble the flavor of either of said items, but it is certainly refreshing to be able to buy a 17-oz. T-bone dinner (salad, potato, iced tea) for under $20, or about the same price as an appetizer at some of the city’s swankier joints.
Some places survive the test of time by simply offering friendly service and authenticity, which the historic Hoffbrau does as well as any place in town.
Others receiving votes
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‘Twilight’ director Catherine Hardwicke talks about making it in male-dominated Hollywood
Catherine Hardwicke: I’d done this crazy [senior] project … just very hilarious, theatrical and elaborate. … At the end of my presentation, none of the teachers or faculty said anything. Their jaws just dropped, and they just moved on to the next person. About a week later, one of the visiting critics came up and said, “You know what? I’ve been thinking about you, and you shouldn’t be in architecture. Architecture is not going to encourage your kind of creativity. You should find something else.” [Laughs]
When did you know that you wanted to move from production design to telling your own stories and making your own films?
After I had production-designed seven movies, I started thinking, “I wanna do my own stuff.” So, if I had a weekend off, I’d take a screenwriting seminar or an acting class or a directing workshop, and then I would write other screenplays. After working on “The Newton Boys,” Richard (Linklater) gave me the best advice. He said, “If you wanna direct, then direct.” And that was really helpful because that’s what he did for zero money with “Slacker.” He and David O. Russell (“Three Kings”) both encouraged by doing and saying, “You got to do it. If you wanna break through, you just have to do it.” And, in a way, I thought that was good because you earn it that way, through blood, sweat and tears, with nobody helping you.
‘Thirteen’ and ‘Twilight’ deal with young girls coming of age and the perils and enticements therein. What it is about that time of life that intrigues you as a storyteller?
I didn’t start out thinking that I would make a teenage movie and get on a teenage career path. But after “Thirteen,” I realized I do love this age because every possibility is happening for you at that age — you suddenly have breasts, you can kiss a boy, you can smoke, you can drive a car, you can make your own choices.
What is the story behind your decision not to direct ‘New Moon’ (the follow-up to ‘Twilight’)?
If I felt like it was right, if the schedule worked right and the way the studio wanted to do the next one felt right for me, then I wanted to do it. And, if not, I didn’t want to. I’d have had like 10? weeks to prepare the movie. I didn’t think the script was there, and it wasn’t ready. I wanted the second one to be better than the first one. I wanted more time to at least think about it and dream about how to step it up to the next level.
Why do you think female directors have such a hard time getting jobs or keeping momentum? I know that summer movies have been mostly R-rated comedies, action thrillers and superhero movies, but isn’t it shortsighted or sexist for studios to think only men can or want to direct these movies?
I had never thought there was a gender bias so much, but now I know there is. For example, I’ve had really great success lately, why don’t I have my next movie? It’s a more complicated answer than that. … But how do you make lightning strike? How do you have the magic that makes a studio say yes? They have to believe that they’re going to make a profit.
But I have found a bias. Sometimes people have even said it to my face, “Oh, you don’t know how to do action or visual effects.” To me, that’s a pretty sexist thing to say. I’ve actually done stunts in movie and done a lot of active things [in shooting]. The action that you see in “Twilight,” the treetop sequence, the fight sequence at the end of the movie, they’re not in the book …
What are your thoughts on coming down to your home state to receive the Ann Richards Award?
My dad was a cotton farmer and my mom a schoolteacher. This honor and my whole career are way beyond dreams I ever had growing up. It’s beautiful and unbelievable on so many levels. … I get a lot of cool letters from kids and people in small towns in Texas and the Valley, and they say, “You’ve inspired me to be a director.” And that’s really cool.
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Radiohead plays with Miley Cyrus’s achey-breaky heart
Apparently someone forgot to tell the marginally talented bumpkin’ Miley Cyrus that her appeal does not have quite the reach she thinks it does. But I think Radiohead just did.
Yes, a story about Radiohead and Miley Cyrus. That’s not in “The Onion.”
MTV.com is reporting that at last month’s Grammys, Cyrus was dying to meet just one group. Not the Jonas Brothers. Not U2. Definitely not Chris Brown. But Radiohead.
“I’m like, these are the people I really want to meet,” Miley said on the Johnjay & Rich morning radio show on Tuesday. “I’d freak out. They’re my rock gods. These are the only people I would cry over.”
Well, if you’re gonna cry about it …
“[I told my manager], ‘Pull as many strings.’ My manger asked and said, ‘Miley’s really obsessed.’ And they were like, ‘We don’t really do that.’ ”
Even though “they’re the reason I love music,” according to Cyrus, the band wasn’t budging. Making the fantasies of 16 year-old schoolgirls, regardless of how rich and powerful they are, just isn’t their bag, it seems.
“Just to say you don’t really do that — it’s not like I was going to bring my crew. I had already texted all my friends that my life will be complete [if I got to meet them],” Cyrus said.
Just to make clear how badly she wanted to meet Thom Yorke and co., Cyrus repeated her mantra: “This is someone I would cry over.”
And nobody puts Hannah Montana in a corner. Upon reading the snubbed Cyrus’s comments, I fear Radiohead’s fixin’ ta be done for good, by golly. After the, like, total dis, Cyrus proclaimed, “I left ‘cause I was so upset. I wasn’t going to watch. Stinkin’ Radiohead! I’m gonna ruin them, I’m going to tell everyone.”
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Your A-List: Best Cocktail
In an alliterative battle of the M’s, Trudy’s infamous Mexican Martini took down other favorite margaritas and martinis to once again win the honor of Best Cocktail in the Your A-List poll (with 38 percent of the vote). Margaritas ruled the day in Texas for ages, but ever since people realized that taking out all that silly ice would help make the job of getting buzzed a lot easier (nevermind the fact that it tastes better, if made with quality ingredients), the Mexican Martini has become a favorite of many Austinites. And nobody does it better than the folks at Trudy’s, who would ask that you only have two, please.
Others receiving votes
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Your A-List: Best Place to Park Downtown
People who complain about parking at night in downtown Austin have apparently never lived in bigger cities with much more density and little street parking. We’re lucky here because unless you’re lazy, rich or in a hurry there is never a real need to pay to park. We have ample street parking, and if you loop around a bit, and headed a few blocks away from the maddening crowd, chances are you’ll find a spot eventually. Apparently you all recognize that, hence the reason street parking received 35 percent of the votes to win the Your A-List poll for Best Place to Park Downtown.
Others receiving votes
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Your A-List: Best Comics Store
You don’t have to be a comics nerd to recognize that Capstone Comics is doing a good job of keeping Austin entertained, as evidenced by their second consecutive win in the Your A-List poll.
Whether you’re looking for Marvel, DC, Image, Capstone, which got 69 percent of the votes, has it all. And not just the new stuff. Capstone, located on Parmer Lane, has a nice collection of Silver Age comics, in addition to more recent stuff such as bobbleheads, posters and apparel.
The store also features a nice back-issue selection, and they care about their graphic novels, as all new issues come bagged and boarded. And apparently, despite these tough economic times, Capstone is doing something right to stay afloat, as you can even spot the occasional Capstone TV commercial.
Capstone Comics [site] 2121 W. Parmer Lane, Suite 107 339-4251
Others receiving votes
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Twitter is obnoxious and so can u
“OMG, I am soooo miserable before my morning coffee.”
“This line at the grocery store is like whatevs … “
Ah, it seems like it was just yesterday that we were at SXSW 2007, marveling at the absurdity and inanity of Twitter over free cocktails at some party sponsored by some obnoxious company that is now probably broke.
Flash-forward to present day, and the Twitterverse is alive and “well,” and seems to be trafficked by everyone from your mom to news anchors to congressmen bored (and feeling snarky) during President Obama’s address to the nation last week.
Apparently, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) sent the following Tweet during the speech: “Aggie basketball game is about to start on espn2 for those of you that [sic] aren’t going to bother watching pelosi smirk for the next hour.”
Oh, snap! Hey, I’m a smartass and have a smartphone. Maybe I can be a congressman. Or my 12 year-old cousin (which I don’t have). For a more detailed look at the obnoxious world of “social media,” we now turn to Jon Stewart.
Jon Stewart: “Why has Twitter suddenly become such a big deal among legislators and the media elite?”
Samantha Bee: “Because it’s awesome. Twitter offers real-time access to some of our most important leaders and newspeople’s [sic] least important thoughts … 140 characters at a time.I It’s no wonder young people love it … according to reports about young people by middle-aged people.”
Watch the entire hilarious segment for yourself.
For the record, I have a Twitter account through the Statesman but only use it during festivals and such, cause I get paid to, ya heard! And, yes, I am a hypocrite, because I do update my Facebook status almost daily (but not quite).
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Jimmy Fallon wades into the late night television waters
Letterman and O’Brien both revolutionized the position of late night talk show host with their own brands of absurdist humor and rapport with guests. With Letterman long since moved to CBS and O’Brien moving to Los Angeles to take Jay Leno’s place, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Fallon has found himself in the catbird’s seat.
Most remember the boyish Fallon as an over-laugher on “SNL” who could never keep a straight face in sketches, so it was somewhat curious that he landed one of the sweetest gigs in television. Of course, Letterman arrived to NBC as an unknown (outside of the few who had seen his short-lived NBC morning show) from the Midwest (by way of a brief stint in L.A.) in 1982, and O’Brien had worked behind the scenes as a writer on “SNL,” so Fallon does bring with him as much bona fides as those two. Yet with that prior recognition come people’s previously held opinions of the guy. Fallon’s charge will be to keep viewers who thought he was cute and charming on “SNL,” while trying to convince those who are lukewarm on the guy to give him a new shot.
Fallon’s show opened with a segment featuring him preparing for his show in his new dressing room, while O’Brien slowly and sullenly removed the remaining personal effects from the space that was his for 16 years. The back-and-forth between the new kid in town and the old veteran mostly highlighted O’Brien’s self-effacing wit, but was a nice touch on both men’s part to recognize Conan’s importance and Fallon’s reverence. The best line, maybe of the entire show, came when Fallon asked Conan if he’d be moving into Jay Leno’s old dressing room in L.A., to which Conan sheepishly (with a tinge of faux anger) responded, “Jay isn’t leaving” — a line that perfectly encapsulated the feelings of many O’Brien devotees (and possible the host himself) who thought the tall redhead got the shaft by moving to L.A. only to find Leno still maintaining a spot on NBC’s late night roster as a lead-in.
(Thanks to the power of Hulu, you can watch the entire episode of Fallon’s first show here.)
The title sequence for the show was a high-speed drive through downtown New York City with flashing neon lights and quick edits that had the feel of a hyperactive “SNL” open. Fallon walked out to the center of the highly polished wood stage of his classy and intimate set and acknowledged The Roots. As a sign that this show would definitely try to appeal to a different generation than Conan’s, the legendary hip-hop band from Philadelphia will be Fallon’s house band. On a somewhat sad note for Roots fans, NBC has apparently refused to pay royalties for their original songs, so the band is writing 200 new pieces of music to use as bumper/bed music, or as drummer ?uestlove calls them, “sandwich music.” So, while we won’t be treated to anything from “Things Fall Apart” or “Game Theory,” we will be treated to some of the more funked out music late night television has seen.
The monologue opened with Fallon saying that he woke up to a snowy morning in New York and had hoped for a snow day. While he obviously had a case of the jitters, probably compounded by unruly audience members shouting out during his jokes, Fallon made it through his first monologue unscathed and, surprisingly, without cracking at his own jokes. After a news-literate joke about Rush Limbaugh calling him to say he wish he failed, Fallon’s first big joke of the monologue went a little something like this: “President Obama wants to bring troops home from Iraq in 18 months, when the troops found out, they said, ‘Thank you, but the economy is better over here.’” And we’re off. Not a hysterical line, but delivered at a nice pace and with a wry grin, not as hackneyed as Leno or as playfully jaded as Letterman.
Before welcoming his first guest, Fallon did a bit from his desk called “Target Demographic,” in which he explained that executives were trying to target blonde housewives. After pointing out a row of said fair-headed ladies planted in the audience, there was a taped “research department film” segment that employed voiceover from Fallon’s emcee while lampooning blonde housewife stereotypes. (Eg. “They purchase expensive items like minivans, but also everyday items like yogurt, Williams-Sonoma flatware, personalized checks and discreet dolphin tattoos that say I’m two chardonnays away from ruining your wedding”)
From the graphic, it appears this “Target Demographic” segment may be a recurring bit in which he lampoons various stereotypes. I don’t have very high hopes. After a break, Fallon introduced the show’s first “game,” leading me to believe these “game show-style games” will be a regular segment. On the opening night, the game in question was “Lick it for $10,” in which studio members come on stage to lick household items, office supplies, etc. for $10. It was as lame as it sounds. Hopefully the games improved.
After the first two bits, the show was feeling a bit like a rehashed “SNL” episode, and that was only enhanced when Fallon’s first guest, Robert DeNiro, graced the stage. The two had scripted a bit wherein Fallon would ask DeNiro simple questions that required one-word answers, thus lampooning DeNiro’s propensity for reticence and brevity. Stumbling through this, Fallon then digressed to some weird DeNiro genuflecting and suffered a horrible bout of forehead flop sweat and nerves that left him resembling Chris Farley from the old “Chris Farley Show” segment on “SNL.” Following the awkward interview, there was a brief sketch in which Fallon and DeNiro did a scene from a never-released film they did together. It had something to do with space and the humor was supposed to come from the idea that Fallon could land a role in a movie with DeNiro, who would presumably never deign to lower himself to such levels. Unfortunately, the irony that art was imitating life was a bit too discomfiting to endure.
Things picked up considerably when second guest Justin Timberlake came out. The magnetic Timberlake showed great ease in helping Fallon to generate laughs with hilarious send-ups of John Mayer and Michael McDonald, of whom J.T. did a spot-on imitation with an impromptu beer commercial parody as The Roots bust out McDonald’s “I Keep Forgetting (We’re Not In Love Anymore.)” Definitely the highlight of the night (though DeNiro looked like he’d pay $50,000 for someone to drag him off the set). Maybe Fallon should see if his NBC bosses will pay Timberlake, with whom the host has a great chemistry dating back to “SNL,” $20 million a season to be his sidekick. The actual performing musical guest was Van Morrison, a nice (and obviously personal) get who played “Sweet Thing.”
Fallon may never be as acerbic or as quick as Letterman. He may never play brainy and disarming as well as O’Brien has all these years. But I think he will eventually find his voice and a level of comfort that can hopefully temper his overly eager-to-please schoolboy persona. The strikes against Fallon seem to be that he is a little too cute, a little too safe, a little too been-there-done-that.
Unlike O’Brien, who was able to capture the imaginations of college-aged kids and 20-somethings with his brand of Dada-esque humor, the affable Fallon is having to present himself to young people who have already been segmented and distracted by 1,000 different memes. They have seen all the Internet videos, read all the snarky blogs. Hell, most of them have created their own entertainment content online. There is nothing new under the sun. Fallon’s challenge will not be to re-invent the wheel or himself, but to make people feel comfortable enough with him that they are willing to spend an hour with him each night as they wind down their evenings. His role will be to make the familiar comforting and not boring, and if he can get people to let down their guard, they just may find his style is a welcome addition to the late night landscape.
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Objets de garage
2200 S. Lamar Blvd (Behind Strut) [map]
512.351.5934
Hours
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m.
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Sarah Silverman and team fighting budget cuts, threatening holdout
Sarah Silverman’s Jewish. And farts are funny. And irony is just so ironic. After watching an episode or two of “The Sarah Silverman Program,” those are my main takeaways. While I may not be a fan, there are certainly thousands who enjoy the comic’s sketch show, but that may all soon come to an end.
Reuters is reporting that “the economic downturn is jeopardizing [the show] one of Comedy Central’s signature series.”
Apparently Comedy Central came to Silverman and her executive producers and told her that the show’s budget will be cut by more than 20 percent for the upcoming season, the series’ third.
[from Reuters]
At the center of the holdup is the proposed budget for Season 3. Citing cuts imposed on the network by parent company MTV Networks, Comedy Central had proposed that the trio bring back the Writers Guild of America Award-nominated show at about $850,000 an episode, sources said, down from the $1.1 million an episode for the show’s second season. In broadcast, single-camera comedies are produced for about $1.5 million-$2 million an episode, and the budget for any series normally climbs from year to year. “Sarah Silverman” is a single-camera comedy that also features animated sequences and musical numbers. The contracting ad market is hitting networks hard. MTV Networks’ parent Viacom in December laid off 7% of its work force, though Comedy Central largely was spared because it had been through the ringer following the 2003 acquisition of Time Warner’s 50% ownership in the network and had little left to cut. Amid the economic woes, ABC Studios and 20th TV asked all of their showrunners to cut 2% of their series budgets. Concerned they won’t be able to maintain the integrity of the show at the discounted price, Silverman, on behalf of the three executive producers, informed the network late last week that they can’t proceed with a third season. The move reportedly sent shock waves through Comedy Central’s executive offices, with top brass jumping into action to find a budget compromise that would keep the flagship live-action series on the air. As of Friday night, the situation remained at a standstill. Both sides continued their back-and-forth during the weekend. A resolution is expected as early as Monday, and people familiar with the situation were optimistic that the two sides would agree on financial terms to bring back the show.
They don’t feel they can maintain the “integrity” of the show if the budget is cut so drastically? That’s cute. Kinda like Silverman’s show. Kind of.
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