Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2006 > December
December 2006
Coffee, coffee, coffee
Drinks: Believe it or not, we are on target to cover 100 spots for our 10,000 coffee shops double issue, in part because new freelancer Parry Gettelman will handle about 25 of them.
Bakerman’s Bakery. 120 E. Seventh St. 476-0060.
Egg, cheese and sausage croissant — done the right way, filling but not greasy. That’s the kind of substantial fare that sets this downtown bakery apart, along with row after row of made-in-house pastries and sandwiches. The brewed decaf is just OK, but one may choose from chalkboards full of other options for drinks in this place, set up for a busy business crowd.
360 Primo. 9829 Great Hills Trail. 795-9292
“I live in this place!” said former American-Statesman writer Ginger Cowles when we entered this Italian-themed food/coffee spot near the Arboretum. One can see why: pizzas and panini, espresso and cappuccino, pastries and imported desserts. The owners have done as much as possible to disguise the shop’s strip-center origins with touches of European class.
Lava Java. 2901 Medical Arts. 495-9299.
For a place located between the University of Texas and St. David’s, and therefore a natural for students and hospital workers, this coffee house — attached to a lunch cafe — gives off a mom-and-pop feel: low ceilings, dark paint, quiet, committed counter service, carefully prepared drinks. Laptoppers hang out, of course, but a comfy chair or sofa waits for the casual drop-by as well.
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The next great Austin eatery
Food: It’s not often that we, by chance, enjoy a meal on the level of a Driskill Grill, Hudson’s on the Bend or Aquarelle. Yet last night we tried Cibo, Will Packwood’s new modern Italian creation on South Congress Avenue (next to Little City).
Stunning.
We shared a meal with Leslie (Outside Magazine, Santa Fe), Sean (Luna, NYC) and Rob (Colorado College), sampling lighter-than-light gnocchi, salty eel, pungent rabbit and the best panna cotta — mantled with cinnamon and raisins — that I’ve ever tasted in Austin. The service was conscientious and the waiter recommended an intricate Barbera to complement our first bottle of reasonably priced Barolo. (Lots of Piedmont wines on the menu.)
The former 1920s club feels a bit spare with abstract paintings on the bare brick walls, and sounds tinny at first, but after the meal started, we noticed hardly at all. Call ahead to estimate the wait for a table, but go.
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Free stuff now!
Giveaways: Just for loyal readers of this blog:
TexArts, the producers of the fully staged production of “Big River” at the Paramount Theatre, will grant a pair of tickets to one of three performances (Jan. 5-6) to the first three readers who use the word “Huck” in e-mails to admin@tex-arts.org.
UnlockAustin.com, which sells $20 Red River Passes that allow no-cover access to Mohawk, Beerland and Emo’s Lounge, plus drink specials at Club DeVille, will choose at random free pass winners after Jan. 3 from readers who send the code word “Rouge” to RedRiverPass@gmail.com. You can e-mail starting — now.
Music: Three recently released classical/serious CDs worth your consideration:
Martin Pearlman & Boston Baroque: “Cherubini Requiem” (Telarc) — The Florentine composer is better known for his operatic music, but this delicate, deeply felt Requiem reveals a whole new dimension to Beethoven’s contemporary.
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: “Neruda Songs” (Nonesuch) — Peter Lieberson composed these fluently imagistic art songs, set to Neruda’s verses for mezz-soprano. His late wife, who died soon after this recording, put them down with James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Various artists: “New Century Series: Vol. 20” (MMC Recordings) — I love this eclectic series, which proves that 21st century music can reflect and expand upon any age, not just the one directly preceeding it. Begins to redefine the idea of serious “contemporary” music.
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‘Beauty’ and the ‘Boys’
TV: The most distinguished literary critic among our friends pronounced the protangonist in “The Line of Beauty,” the miniseries adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s semi-Jamesean novel now on the Logo channel, completely unsympathetic. I find all sorts of fascinating flaws and foibles in the character, a young, handsome gay man seduced by an aesthetic response to the wealthy classes in Thatcher’s England. The series cleaves closely to the book, which won the Booker Prize in 2004.
Movies: Funny Boy Productions, our favorite part-Austin producer of gay films (“Latter Days,” “Adam and Steve”) is wrapping its adaptation of the cult musical “Naked Boys Singing,” which, oddly has never played our fair city.
Produced by Kirkland Tibbels, directed by Troy Christian and Robert Schrock, with music direction by Gerald Sternbach and choreography by Troy Christian, the film stars Andrew Blake Ames, Jason Currie, James Hodges, Joseph Keane, Anthony Manough, Joe Souza, Kevin Stea, Phong Truong, Salvatore Vassallo and original Los Angeles cast member Vincent Zamora.
Food: The cabrito at El Terrazo dazzled my dining companions, but left me with too many pats of fat in my mouth. This unassuming spot near La Quinta at Interstate 35 and Oltorf Street is among our regular haunts, but I’ll skip the goat next time.
Theater: Speaking of our hoofed friends, Different Stages, Austin’s most literary community theater troupe, will launch the city’s premiere production of Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia,” a 2002 play about alternative relations with nonhuman mammals, on Jan. 19 at Play Theatre. Call 474-TIXS for information. Can’t believe it took five years for this much-discussed show to show up.
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Trailing Seann William Scott
Movies: If you spied someone who looked comically familiar on the Town Lake Trail during November or December, it was probably Seann William Scott (“American Pie,” “Dukes of Hazzard”).
Yes, the actor who admits to looking like “the frat guy who never left college” was in Austin shooting “Gary the Tennis Coach” and, while he barely scratched the surface of the city’s famous nightlife, he found time to stretch his legs regularly around Town Lake, even getting lost near Barton Springs.
“What blew me a way: Everybody was so nice,” says Scott, who was reminded of his small-town Minnesota roots more than his current domeciles of Los Angeles and New York City. “Austin seems like such a healthy city, with everybody working out. I guess you work hard to play hard.”
While Scott has earned meatier roles recently, he’s comfortable specializing in comedy. “I like it because it’s scary,” he says. “If it doesn’t work, it doesnt work, your career is done and your going back to Home Depot. I don’t know if the audience whose given me a career is ready to cry with me.”
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The logic of Logo
TV: All of a sudden, TiVo is “suggesting” programs from Logo, the gay cable channel that I didn’t even know Time Warner offered.
So far, we’ve sampled the serious, if slow documentary series “In the Life,” some gay cinema, “Jacob and Joshua” (about gay identical twins), and Noah’s Arc (about black gay friends, sort of like “Queer as Folk,” which also runs on Logo).
I hope TW is not just teasing us with a pay channel we won’t purchase with our digital subscription, because this seems to be the first sustained niche gay material in our market. And it’s all very tasteful (which can be good or bad, depending on your point of view).
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Cool Yule, hot radio
Music: Holiday album of the year? Most assertively Bette Midler’s “Cool Yule” (Columbia), which features the Divine One’s still pristine pipes and fluidly layered production qualities. She alternates ultra-smooth ballads with her usual lively brassiness.
Runner up? Manhattan Transfer’s “An A Cappella Christmas” (Rhino), which revives all sorts of long-neglected harmonies, even if it sometimes reminds one of the “Mad TV” sketch about the scatty jazz combo playing the Santa break at the mall.
Music 2: Tired of holiday tunes, we switched to radio on the way back from the Woodlands, where my family met at the home of gracious sister Elizabeth (who displays more than 150 Christmas-related figurines).
If you missed these chart toppers on the radio, you can download MP3s.
Mary J. Blige
Top 10 Most Played Songs on the Radio 2006 (Nielsen sata from Jan. 1 to Dec. 18, 2006)
1: “Be Without You,” Mary J. Blige (395,995 radio plays)
2: “Unwritten,” Natasha Bedingfield (336,276)
3: “Temperature,” Sean Paul (324,555)
4: “Me & U,” Cassie (312,073)
5: “Hips Don’t Lie,” Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (308,903)
6: “Promiscuous,” Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland (292,264)
7: “Bad Day,” Daniel Powter (291,256)
8: “Check On It,” Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug (290,231)
9: “So Sick,” Ne-Yo (277,958)
10: “Over My Head (Cable Car),” the Fray (276,601)
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Reporting on ‘Colbert’
TV: Recall that we reported here first — well, on the TV blog, then in Newsmakers — that “The Colbert Report” was taping a spot at Bikinis Bar & Grill on Interstate 35.
The “No Fact Zone” blog picked up the tip and interviewed manager Jason Landtroop afterwards:
“The shoot revolved around a gentleman named Brett. The theme of their part of the segment is ‘Guy’s Night Out.’ … The film crew followed Brett around all day in a ‘Day In The Life’ type theme, filming him both at home doing the dishes as well as at Bikinis… . At one point, Brett and his group of friends were watching Bikinis Bar & Grill’s two 50-inch plasma-screen televisions. And what were they watching? The Home Shopping Network.”
The segment is aimed for a late January airing.
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Big changes for ‘Big River’
Theater: Just days before opening, Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique are out as director and choreographer, respectively, of TexArts big concert version of “Big River,” the Roger Miller musical based on Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn.”
Fran Dorn, head of the acting program at the University of Texas, comes to the rescue as director, while TexArts in-house dance-master, Robin Lewis, will do the choreography honors. For tickets to the Paramount Theatre shows Jan. 5-6, call (866) 4GET-TIX, or go to www.austintheatre.org.
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Sazon, Lambert’s, Capitol Brasserie
Food: I love editing Dale Rice. It means learning the scoop on hot spots before the reading public finds out. That was certainly the case with Sazón, the first of three eateries sampled with Boston friend Carol.
Sazón: Practically empty on the Wednesday before Dale’s review was published, this hidden spot serves superb Tex-Mex and interior Mexican — I had pork tips in red sauce and also loved the chips and salsa. This South Lamar Boulevard restaurant could use some enhanced decor and an advertising budget, but, as Dale wrote in his review, it could easily rate as one of the 10 best Mexican restaurants in town.
Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue: Well, we tried to visit opening week. But even with reservations, the reported wait was more than an hour. On a Thursday. This is a good sign, and a vote of confidence in ranch-raised chef Louis Lambert, whose liberty pie, Lambert’s (site of the current Woodland, which we sampled on opening night) and Jo’s hot coffee have warmed our stomachs — and our souls — for the better part of a decade. We can tell you that the new Lambert’s is handsome and inviting on a winter night. So, next time. With reservations.
Capitol Brasserie: We forget about this fine downtown watering hole and dining favorite. We shared an excellent meal of steak au poivre, steak frite, a cheese/potato concoction and crispy calamari to start. And, of course, we ordered the pommes frites, which weren’t quite as thin and crispy as the last few times. With all the restaurants within two or three blocks, this one is always high on our drop-in list.
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‘High School Musical’ madness
Theater: Here’s your chance: Students and nonunion adult actors can try out for — what else? — “High School Musical” at Zachary Scott Theatre.
Rehearsals for the Disney mega-hit begin Jan. 22; the show previews March 1-3.
Contact Shannon Richey, Zach production coordinator, for an appointment at 476-0594, ext. 242, or shannon@zachscott.com
“HSM” will appear on the Groten Stage (the former bicylce shop where “Plaid Tidings” currently runs).
Meanwhile, read Tommy O’Mally’s XL cover story on Austin High School’s staging of “HMS.”
A different kind of Dreamgirl
Music: Shockingly good for a skinny white tenor boy singing what’s meant for a plus-size black alto woman. Find “Von” on the next edition of “American Idol” if YouTube has anything to do with it. Also, read Tommy O’Malley’s review of “Dreamgirls” in Monday’s American-Statesman.
Into the Woodland
Food: Opening night at Woodland, the low-key place that replaced 7 on South Congress Avenue, appeared to be quite the smash.
The decor — imitation bark, shingles and tree limbs — is fun and informal, putting guests quickly at ease. The staff also comforted fresh arrivals.
As one might guess from a debut, the food and drinks were a bit slow to the tables, but worth the wait. Signature cocktails include an especially minty mojito and a sweetish margaritalike concoction.
The fried oysters were done right — crispy on the outside, soft and salty on the inside — but there weren’t many on the plate (I’ve been spoiled by Ranch 616). My pepper-encrusted hamburger was excellent, almost dripping with flavor.
We met Randy and Suzie Harriman, just back from their long residence in San Miguel, Guanajuato, (they split the year between our two magical cities).
And just to show that I’m a good sport, I’ll run a candid shot of me (bad) with Kip (always good), who spoke of tattoos and things.
Hot blog links
Media: In all modesty, it’s been a good three months for Out & About.
Something about changing jobs three times so far this year has loosened up the subject matter for this blog to include — more or less equally — movies, TV, CDs, DVDs, clubs, parties, restaurants, performing arts, visual arts, music, sports, recreation, books and travel, as originally intended when the blog was inaugurated in May 2005.
Here are some entertainment favorites from October, November and December:
Oct. 11: TiVo thinks I’m Lassie
Oct. 14: Oh, what a night
Oct. 20: Out on West Sixth
Oct. 30: Lost weekend
Nov. 1: Cry baby
Nov. 6: Touching on gay news
Nov. 17: ‘Dreamgirls,’ on screen and off
Nov. 19: Deep into Cambiaso
Nov. 21: Help Wanted: Opera Director
Nov. 27: Scuttles of music
Dec. 1: Cracking the social shell
Dec. 4: Not so young at the symphony
Dec. 18: Down along the river
Down along the river
Travel: Highlights of our latest River Tracing, this time along the San Bernard, the middle sibling between the Brazos and Colorado rivers, which rises near hilly New Ulm and empties — or doesn’t, depending on your story — directly into the Gulf of Mexico near the oceanside village of Sargent Beach:
House of Guys: Like good little Hobbits, Joe and I began our journey from Houston with a hearty breakfast. We hiked across Montrose and River Oaks to the House of Pies, which, in the 1970s, was the hottest after-club spot for the gay community. Some of those guys are still there.
Map stores: Hoping for some topographical maps of the San Bernard, we stopped by the Key Maps Inc. store (1411 W. Alabama St.), only to be directed to a Hodges Mason Maps (5704 Val Verde St.), tucked away on a dead end near the Galleria. Gold mine! We purchased USGS maps of the San Bernard at 1:100 scale, which practically shows the dust spots on parked cars.
Wallis: For the first time in our lives, Joe and I took Westheimer Road all the way to its end, which eventually leads to this Czech farming town, where we gawked at the pristinely restored Guardian Angel Church.
Joe Starr photos
Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge: Larry Sebesta and the whole staff of this lesser-known refuge treated us like visiting royalty (Larry’s daughter, Courtney, works alongside us at the Statesman). We spent hours on the back roads of this restored coastal prairie. Saw armies of sandhill cranes, a bobbing burrowing owl, every kind of field sparrow, duck and lark, but no prairie chickens — which number fewer than 500 wild and captive-bred.
New Ulm headwaters: After nosing around Eagle Lake, we checked into the Columbus Inn, then zipped up to this tiny burg on a hill, which, at dusk, revealed a tree line (no actual water) where the San Barnard rises.
Schoebel’s: Like many small-town, family-style restaurants, this one comes with an oversized buffet, but we tried more contained dishes, like my sausage-and-kraut German plate. Excellent service, filling eats and reasonable prices in Columbus.
More Bernards: We zig-zagged across the San Bernard watershed today, which begins to pool not too far north of Interstate 10.
We saw the Middle Bernard River, the Little Bernard River, the town of Bernardo and the community of El Bernardo (near Sweeney), the Bernard Grocery and East Bernard.
The river grew stronger as we headed downstream through hardwood breaks to blackland cotton fields.
East Columbia: Since seventh grade, I had wanted to visit the original site of Columbia, one of the first capitals of Texas. We go through West Columbia several times a year on the way to the beach, but its eastern sibling was flooded in the 19th century and now perches on a bank above the Brazos River in well-kept remnants — a log cabin, some lovely mansions, several historical markers — and a vision of early Texas.
Sweeney: Ate at the Dairy Mart, listening to the locals drawl on about the gossip in this town, which has avoided the Greater Houston sprawl so far. Why can’t chains get the lettuce and onions right on hamburgers, like these mom-and-pop joints?
River’s End: After crossing the San Bernard for the last time — and at its widest — we journeyed down a spit of land, past some back-river communities, to a spot where the river meets the Intracoastal Canal. We could not see the actual mouth, but heard the ocean and could have sent a bottle rocket over it. Newspapers had reported that the mouth was silted up, but the fishermen at the canal said that was not so.
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge: An even smaller operation than APC-NRW, this marshy preserve is home to thousands of migrating waterfowl, which one can see during auto tours or on foot. Hearing of alligators, we stayed in the car.
Sargent Beach: I had no idea this community was so extensive. We had doubled back around south to walk to the San Barnard mouth, but hit some rutted roads, so we hiked about four miles along the beach — encountering a small herd of cattle along the way — till we met some surf-fishers who had caught some enormous redfish. They said the San Bernard mouth was way, way off and, anyway, a recent storm had carved a cut in the island, which, at high tide, would keep us from the actual site. Ah well.
Cruising El Campo: We ended the second day of our trip in this curiously bustling town. We were actually looking for a bar, but didn’t know the address, so we drove around with my laptop open until we found a wi-fi signal — we gotta do this more often — located the address, then discovered it’s now a Mexican food restaurant. Which turned out fine: Family place with melt-on-your-lips enchiladas. Then back to Houston along U.S. 59.
Another river traced.
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Globes go global
Movies: Oh, no! Is “Babel” going to be this year’s “Crash”? Has Hollywood fallen so hard for the jagged, socially meaningful, multinarrative form? The Globes nominations, released this morning, would suggest so, since the foreign press draped seven nominations on the globally-set movie.
My vote in the drama category goes to “The Departed,” but my second choice, “United 93,” is not even nominated. I also deeply admire the rigor and subtlety of “The Queen.”
For musicals or comedy, you can’t beat the brashness of “Borat,” but the backlash sympathy for his victims may work against Sacha Baron Cohen. “Dreamgirls,” “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Little Miss Sunshine” would also make my list.
’’Grey’s Anatomy’’ will be hard to beat for best TV drama, although ’’Heroes’’ could make a strong showing, since serials “24” and “Lost” have run out of steam. The best drama on television, “Friday Night Lights,” was left in the dark. (Foreign critics!)
’’Ugly Betty” is my hands-down favorite for TV comedy, since “Desperate Housewives” and “The Office” turned inconsistent.
Oh, and Helen Mirren better darn well win something!
Here are this year’s nominations.
MOVIES
Best Picture Drama ’’Babel’’ ’’Bobby’’ ’’The Departed’’ ’’Little Children’’ ’’The Queen’’
Best Picture Musical or Comedy ’’Borat’’ ’’The Devil Wears Prada’’ ’’Dreamgirls’’ ’’Little Miss Sunshine’’ ’’Thank You For Smoking’’
Best Actor Drama Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘‘Blood Diamond’’ Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘‘The Departed’’ Peter O’Toole, ‘‘Venus’’ Will Smith, ‘‘The Pursuit of Happyness’’ Forest Whitaker, ‘‘The Last King of Scotland’’
Best Actress Drama Penélope Cruz, ‘‘Volver’’ Judi Dench, ‘‘Notes on a Scandal’’ Maggie Gyllenhaal, ‘‘Sherrybaby’’ Helen Mirren, ‘‘The Queen’’ Kate Winslet, ‘‘Little Children’’
Best Actor Musical or Comedy Sacha Baron Cohen, ‘‘Borat’’ Johnny Depp, ‘‘Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest’’ Aaron Eckhart, ‘‘Thank You for Smoking’’ Chiwetel Ejiofor, ‘‘Kinky Boots’’ Will Ferrell, ‘‘Stranger Than Fiction’’
Best Actress Musical or Comedy Annette Benning, ‘‘Running With Scissors’’ Toni Collette, ‘‘Little Miss Sunshine’’ Beyonce Knowles, ‘‘Dreamgirls’’ Renee Zellweger, ‘‘Miss Potter’’ Meryl Streep, ‘‘The Devil Wears Prada’’
Best Supporting Actor Ben Affleck, ‘‘Hollywoodland’’ Jack Nicholson, ‘‘The Departed’’ Mark Wahlberg, ‘‘The Departed’’ Brad Pitt, ‘‘Babel’’ Eddie Murphy, ‘‘Dreamgirls’’
Best Supporting Actress Adriana Barraza, ‘‘Babel’’ Rinko Kikuchi, ‘‘Babel’’ Emily Blunt, ‘‘The Devil Wears Prada’’ Cate Blanchett, ‘‘Notes on a Scandal’’ Jennifer Hudson, ‘‘Dreamgirls’’
Best Director Clint Eastwood, ‘‘Flags of our Fathers’’ Clint Eastwood, ‘‘Letters From Iwo Jima’’ Stephen Frears, ‘‘The Queen’’ Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, ‘‘Babel’’ Martin Scorsese, ‘‘The Departed’’
TELEVISION
Best Drama Series ’’24’’ ’’Big Love’’ ’’Grey’s Anatomy’’ ’’Heroes’’ ’’Lost’’
Best Comedy Series ’’Desperate Housewives’’ ’’Entourage’’ ’’The Office’’ ’’Ugly Betty’’ ’’Weeds’’
Best Miniseries or Movie ’’Bleak House’’ ’’Broken Trail’’ ’’Elizabeth I’’ ’’Mrs. Harris’’ ’’Prime Suspect The Final Act’’
Best Actor Drama Series Patrick Dempsey, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’ Michal C. Hall, ‘‘Dexter’’ Hugh Laurie, ‘‘House’’ Bill Paxton, ‘‘Big Love’’ Kiefer Sutherland, ‘‘24’’
Best Actress Drama Series Patricia Arquette, ‘‘Medium’’ Edie Falco, ‘‘The Sopranos’’ Evangeline Lilly, ‘‘Lost’’ Ellen Pompeo, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’ Kyra Sedgwick, ‘‘The Closer’’
Best Actor Comedy Series Zach Braff, ‘‘Scrubs’’ Steve Carell, ‘‘The Office’’ Alec Baldwin, ‘‘30 Rock’’ Jason Lee, ‘‘My Name Is Earl’’ Tony Shalhoub, ‘‘Monk’’
Best Actress Comedy Series Marcia Cross, ‘‘Desperate Housewives’’ America Ferrera, ‘‘Ugly Betty’’ Felicity Huffman, ‘‘Desperate Housewives’’ Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, ‘‘New Adventures of Old Christine’’ Mary Louise Parker, ‘‘Weeds’’
Best Supporting Actor Series, Miniseries or Movie Thomas Haden Church, ‘‘Broken Trail’’ Jeremy Irons, ‘‘Elizabeth I’’ Justin Kirk, ‘‘Weeds’’ Masi Oka, ‘‘Heroes’’ Jeremy Piven, ‘‘Entourage’’
Best Supporting Actress Series, Miniseries or Movie Emily Blunt, ‘‘Gideon’s Daughter’’ Toni Collette, ‘‘Tsunami, The Aftermath’’ Katherine Heigl, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’ Sarah Paulson, ‘‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’’ Elizabeth Perkins, ‘‘Weeds’’
Buckley resigns as opera director
Opera: Richard Buckley will remain as principal conductor of Austin Lyric Opera after he resigns in June as artistic director, a position that he held for four years.
Buckley, who comes from a distinguished music family, is credited with transforming the sound of the Lyric Opera, especially through 20th-century works such as “Elektra” and “Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk.”
However, he accepted guest conducting gigs around the country, including an ongoing role reviving opera in Cleveland, which served building neither a local audience nor a consistent artistic team. Designs and stage direction, which Buckley oversaw, were routinely dunned by critics.
More details on this move will be reported later in the day.
A feast of Harry Potter
Movies: Six months until the next Harry Potter movie hits the screens. To prepare for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” we watched the four existing movies in the space of one week. A few thoughts:
The screenplays: Harry in jep. That’s about it. He’s famous. He’s in great danger. He faces public sneers and challenges. He wins. It’s a fine formula, which makes for brand loyalty.
The kids: The actors playing the trio at the heart of this series are solid gold. Although Rupert Grint says “bloody hell” too often, he’s growing quickly from a red-headed character actor into a rough-hewn leading man. Emma Watson’s speaks with an exaggerated stage English accent, but she’s an intelligent actor who will enjoy an adult career. The role of Harry is mostly reactive, and Daniel Radcliffe’s face is a glowing of mirror of the action around him. They hired the right performer, who, in interviews, proves to be appropriately articulate.
The adults: Almost every significant British actor of our age has appeared — or will appear — in the Potter series. I can see assembling some kind of family tree, which could be entangled with a “Lord of the Rings” acting tree.
The effects: A new world is found here, thanks to J.K. Rowling’s imaginative reworkings of ancient European tropes on magic and fantasy. On the small screen, the effects don’t elicit “ooo’s” or “ahh’s,” but they are remarkably consistent and clever. And, if the credits are to be believed, it looks like 3 million people contributed to the look.
Nightlife: Any new sightings of Ty Pennington (“Extreme Makeover”) or Seann William Scott (“Gary the Tennis Couch”)? Both are making the rounds of Austin restaurants and clubs. Let me know. Bonus points for pics.
Rocky Mountain highs
Travel: Highlights, in chronological order, of the weekend’s trip to Colorado:
Peak sandwich at Adam’s Mountain Cafe in Manitou Springs: An open-faced affair with the fresh ingredients shaped into a cone, then topped with melted cheese, giving the appearance of the snow-draped mountains outside the window.
Garden of the Gods: On the western fringe of Colorado Springs, this well-conceived park allows for gaping at the red sandstone cathedrals and easy hikes for horses and humans.
Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame: How does Colorado Springs rate so many tourist attractions like this one? It’s a standard affair, but I learned a lot, especially about Bill Pickett, the early African American bull rider who was from Taylor.
College hockey: Tiny Colorado College fields a Division 1 hockey team and fills the World Center in Colorado Springs with heated fans. We watched a nail-biter, as the University of Alaska - Anchorage scraped by CC 5-4 in overtime.
Downtown Boulder: The Rocky Mountain Berkeley is hard to resist, with a lovely creekside park connecting the urban-style campus to the pedestrian-chummy downtown, which is boutique central. It’s an alien place, a bit like Austin in parts, but almost too blissed out.
Soup: Not surprisingly, Coloradans are better than Texans at soup. Case in point: The just-salty-enough, not-too-creamy bacon potato soup at the Boulder Cafe.
Eldorado Canyon: We missed the main entrance to the canyon and instead took an entirely pleasant hike over meadowed hills and frozen streams. I appreciate the warnings everywhere in this part of the country that we share the space with bears and cougars, but should one really be anxious? I guess in Boulder, site of rare mountain lion attacks recently.
Q Club: Scant signs of gay life were spotted during my last two visits to Colorado Springs to visit friend Rob, but this time, a party thronged to this thoroughly friendly strip-mall club.
Books: Read “Tempest-Tost” while transported between Colorado and Texas. The first novel in Robertson Davies’ gently comic “Salterton Trilogy” concerns an amateur production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” staged in a provincial Canadian cathedral town. Glad we spent time in Ontario this past summer, so I could visualize the characters and the settings. Davies doesn’t hold a candle to his 19th-century English predecessors, but a couple of broad smiles meet each pleasant page and, every once in a while, a hearty laugh.
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Don’t drink too deeply from this ‘Fountain’
Movies: “The Fountain” is too many movies — and not enough.
It deals in time travel and spectacular nebulae, but it’s not strictly science fiction.
In several sequences, conquistadors battle Mayans — shades of “Apocalypto” — but it’s not a costume epic.
It combines contemporary medicine and romance in a race to cure the protagonist’s (Hugh Jackman) wife (Rachel Weisz), but it’s neither a thriller nor a moving love story.
Director Darren Aronofsky appears to want us to meditate on the near-Buddhist principles — life and death are so intertwined they represent eternal life — and also on the power of fiction (the early segments may be products of Weisz’s character’s imagination; those involving the old Tree of Life in a bubble may be Jackman’s character’s creative completion of her book).
It’s gorgeous. And, contrary to previous reports, it’s intelligible. But is it as profound as Aronofsky clearly wishes it to be? Can’t really say. I was on the wrong drugs (well, really, just vitamins and heart medicine). Still, I smell a cult developing around it.
Music: A couple of CDs to recommend:
Guy Clark: “Workbench Songs” (Dualtone) — As Michael Corcoran pointed out in his definitive profile of Clark earlier this year, this 35-year veteran of Texas/Nashville music is “deeply honest.” Yeah, you can almost hear the skipped heartbeats and smell the aftershave in songs that make absolute poetic sense.
The Lemurs: Self-titled (Ramble Lane) — Various elements fight for attention in this Austin fivesome’s debut, but I’m most attracted to their strong pop instincts and their attention to details revived from the international music scene circa 1980. Really must see them live.
Food: I’ve visited a bunch of spots for the XL “10,000 Coffee Shops” issue but haven’t updated my samplings on this blog. Promise to do so soon. Still taking recommendations.
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Celebrities throng downtown
Nightlife: Austin’s Warehouse District was clearly the place to hang loose with celebrities on Monday. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe and golf pro Justin Leonard dined together at the buzzy Belmont, as did animator Mike Judge with a different group.
Drew
Justin
Sometime Austinite and actor Luke Wilson and forlorn comic Andy Dick split time between the Red Fez and Lucky Lounge. Did they all wander over from Sandra Bullock’s nearby new eatery Bess?
Luke
Not so young at the symphony
Music: When Peter Bay cordially welcomed the young people in attendance at Austin Symphony Orchestra’s Saturday concert, he was rather like a clergyman speaking to a decimated congregation bolstered by a few new believers. Although the bill was constructed to appeal to younger tastes and tickets were made available to teens, dozens of empty seats pocked Bass Concert Hall.
Now, we know from symphony leaders that ticket sales are robust and subscriptions are up, so why can’t the orchestra fill those seats? Surely it’s not because subscribers have already left for the holidays. Empty seats are an Austin mystery that never ceases to confound me because the orchestra improves with every passing year and remains one of the healthiest, financially, of its class.
A novelty, Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” commenced the evening. Borrowing a theme from Purcell, the composer contributed this score to a 1946 educational film. It not only illustrates standard structural components, such as variations and fugue, but also gives every section of the orchestra a chance to define its sound. As a regular attendee might predict, the finely wrought woodwinds came off best, followed by expressive violas, sweet violins, hearty cellos, prickly percussion and, near the end, some bold contributions from the brass.
Anton Nel, Austin’s most distinguished classical soloist, lent his hands — and humor — to Dohnányi’s “Variations on a Nursery Song,” a piano-and-orchestra version of the alphabet tune. Wry at first, serious later on, Nel teased out the full potential from the keyboards, from music-box tinkling to profound-sounding arpeggios.
As part of ASO’s program to play all nine Beethoven symphonies, No. 2 polished off the evening. Although grand and even comical at times, this is not a symphony in much demand because it introduces no compelling dramas. It does trace Beethoven’s musical campaign from the clean, clear classical balancing act in the first movement to the rhythmically and dynamically near-Romantic eruptions of the final movement.
Bay assured that these developmental distinctions were honored, but No. 2 clearly did not raise his temperature nor that of his ensemble.
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Fun Fun Fun at Fun Fun Fun
Music: “Michael’s gonna be in the mosh pit!” giggled Chris Garcia with glee. “Can’t you see him rocking out?”
Chris is the younger brother I already have. (Both my male siblings, now in their 40s, still enjoy a gentle, annoying tease at my expense. One is named Chris.)
The subject of El Garcia’s ribbing was my attendance at the Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo Park. True, I gravitated more to the indie rock and dance music stages, but I appreciated gargle-growl of Negative Approach’s John Brannon and the electric flailing of the Circle Jerks’ Keith Morris on the punk stage. My favorite color note — organizers played almost the entire soundtrack of “Mary Poppins” before the Jerks appeared.
Keith Morris, courtesy of www.scorerocks.com
The theatrically sexy Peaches warmed up the indie stage, but Britt Daniels’ Spoon appeared too intellectual, either that or the chill started to take its toll, because the crowd dispersed pretty early. (Give me the cold any day over the murderous heat of other outdoor festivals. Promoter Graham Williams says he’s shooting for mid-November next year.)
Peaches, courtesy of www.froggydelight.com
Not many people danced inside the dance-music tent, perhaps because the space felt confined and the all-important video screen was set too low. I swayed. Still, DJ Mel and Prefuse kept my ears hypnotized.
It looks like the Duke of Austin, aka Richard Chalmers, will be a recurring character in this blog (see previous post). I ran into him 3 times during my short three hours at the fest. I don’t know how much of his story to take at face value, but he’s got to be the friendliest stranger I’ve met in months. His energy could light up Red River and Sixth Street, too.
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Cracking the social shell
Nightlife: I’ll share a secret with you: I’m a painfully shy introvert.
Those who have witnessed my animated gabbing at parties, or my pontificating as a public speaker or in the classroom, or delivering commentary directly into the camera of a local television show might have guessed that all that confidence masks a insecure kid whose mother forced him to ask strangers the time — even though she owned a watch — so he would learn to approach people he didn’t know.
Not cool for an entertainment editor in one of the most social cities in the world, huh? So when I go out alone, it’s an act of faith. Will I stand off to the side, engaging no one, or will the gods of sociability intervene?
Last night, the gods were kind. The evening held in store one gallery, four clubs, several bands and a lot of cheery company.
It started at Volitant Gallery, where Mayor Will and other dignitaries saluted the return — not always assured — of First Night, a no-alcohol New Year’s Eve arts festival downtown. (Curiously, the reception served gallons of wine.) We heard singers, saw dancers and listened to a poem by poet Tony Jackson.
Tony Jackson
Some wore goofy costumes.
The Big Cheese
Glamour gals insinuated invitations to write love notes into our hands.
Unknown behind the shades
We finally met Sean Gaulager, PR director for the much-improved (more focused and newsy) Cantanker magazine, and now part of the Volitant’s young staff. We dug into the Texas Commission on the Arts debate (I took the part of the jaded journalist who had covered government funding of the arts for decades). Sean, whether on the warehouse artist co-op front or in a commercial gallery like Volitant is becoming an essential force in the community.
We braved the slicing cold to visit Red 7 club — empty on an early Thursday evening — where we sought out new owner Jared Cannon, formerly of the noble Tillery Street experience. He’s building strong followings on Friday and Saturday nights and even bringing in the former DJ from Ohm’s (a previous incarnation for the Seventh Street club).
Jared Cannon
Then we talked our way into the VIP launch pre-party for The Onion weekly newspaper at Emo’s Lounge. We spent the most time with Paramount imagineer Casey Kleam and friend Paul, who pierces bodies on Sixth Street.
We also met Sean Mills, the president of The Onion empire, based in Madison, Wisc., who, of course, said Austin was always on their list for an expansion edition. There’s not much strictly local copy in the local version — mostly listings — but some of the savvy-smart writers live here.
Sean Mills
We then wandered over to the public launch party at Emo’s, particularly to hear the Lemurs, but also a sharp lineup of other Austin bands. Not long into the show, I was snatched up by a young man dubbed “The Duke of of Austin,” an extrovert who played my natural introversion like an electric guitar.
The Duke
All of a sudden we were at Antone’s for the Damesviolet CD release party. I met about a thousand of the Duke’s friends and heard a fine U2-sounding band before excusing myself for the night. I thank the Caseys, Jareds and Dukes of the world for making sure my evenings are not spent holding up a column in some dark club. (We’ll write up the DV CD later.)
Damesviolet
Tonight, it’s off to the Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo Park, for, at this hour, let’s see, I can still catch Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Dj Mel, Prefuse, Circle jerks, Negative Approach, Riverboat Gamblers, Spoon, Peaches and the Black Angels on three stages.
