Some of us like being abused. It’s what keeps horror movies, rollercoasters and alarmingly spicy foods popular.
A penchant for pain can dictate musical taste as well. On Monday, These New Puritans, a quartet from Southend-On-Sea, England, came to Great Scott to give a taste of the rudeness some fans crave. Too bad the room was barely half full when the whipping finally got under way.
Frontman Jack Barnett wore a jacket of golden scales that accentuated his already birdlike appearance, but he’s no feathered friend: no reassuring smile, no lighthearted banter. Instead, These New Puritans delivered a barely 40-minute set of sharp, shocked songs that mixed unrelenting bitterness with a vague sweetness.
Barnett and bassist Thomas Hein used their heavily accented, nasally congested speak/singing to militantly bark orders. Repetition reigned supreme. Their approach recalled Talking Head David Byrne’s vocal style, but These New Puritans weren’t nearly as playful.
Whether they intended any of this to be funny is anyone’s guess. The singles “Elvis” and “El Papier” were met with the most enthusiasm, the latter a study in contrasts between mumbled confusion and chanted clarity.
In the end, the Puritans’ mix of martial beats and programmed synth chaos was saved by the driving drumming of George Barnett (Jack’s twin brother) and Hein’s relentlessly thick bass lines. Keyboardist Sophie Sleigh-Johnson succeeded at looking beautiful and bored, adding the necessary bit of sexual tension to the band’s aloofness. Indeed, at no point did the foursome seem to seek the approval of the audience. And, somehow, that made These New Puritans more appealing.
Despite an early show of support for Cambridge electro-trainwreck Passion Pit, the room had emptied substantially by the time These New Puritans came on. Perhaps Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos’ wounded wailing had supplied all the abuse the crowd could handle.
THESE NEW PURITANS, with PASSION PIT at Great Scott, Allston, Monday night.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Paul McCartney Back In The (Former) USSR
Paul McCartney [ tickets ]'s June 14 free concert in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, was the biggest ever in the post-Soviet republic, British newspaper The Guardian reported. The historic gig at Kiev's Independence Square was shown on giant screens in five cities across the country--reportedly in an attempt to promote unity in the bitterly divided region; the deep political divisions between the orthodox pro-Russian east and the Catholic pro-European West were further inflamed due to Ukraine's recent application to join NATO.McCartney took the stage in the midst of torrential rain, lighting and thunder, beginning his set with The Beatles' "Drive My Car," followed by a series of Beatles' songs, inevitably including "Back in the USSR." According to The Guardian, McCartney told the crowd, "I've been waiting a long time to say that."
Irish stars honoured at British Film Awards
John Carney, the writer/ director behind 'Once', and 'Atonement' cinematographer Seamus McGarvey were amongst the winners at the British Film Awards.
Carney took the prize for Most Promising Newcomer in the awards designed to honour the British film industry, despite the fact that he is Irish.
Armagh's Seamus McGarvey was one of three winners for 'Atonement', which also took prizes for costume design and production.
In the other categories Helena Bonham-Carter was named best actress for two performances - in 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street' and low-key drama 'Conversations With Other Women'.
Irish citizen Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor for his role as a Texan oil prospector in 'There Will Be Blood'. The performance has already earned him a Golden Globe and he is hotly tipped for Bafta and Oscar glory later this month.
Julie Christie, also a front-runner for Oscar success with 'Away From Her', received the Alexander Walker Special Award for outstanding contribution to film.
Joy Division biopic 'Control' was the surprise winner of the best film award, beating 'Atonement' and 'There Will Be Blood'. It also won best screenplay.
Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood received the best film score award for 'There Will Be Blood'.
Carney took the prize for Most Promising Newcomer in the awards designed to honour the British film industry, despite the fact that he is Irish.
Armagh's Seamus McGarvey was one of three winners for 'Atonement', which also took prizes for costume design and production.
In the other categories Helena Bonham-Carter was named best actress for two performances - in 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street' and low-key drama 'Conversations With Other Women'.
Irish citizen Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor for his role as a Texan oil prospector in 'There Will Be Blood'. The performance has already earned him a Golden Globe and he is hotly tipped for Bafta and Oscar glory later this month.
Julie Christie, also a front-runner for Oscar success with 'Away From Her', received the Alexander Walker Special Award for outstanding contribution to film.
Joy Division biopic 'Control' was the surprise winner of the best film award, beating 'Atonement' and 'There Will Be Blood'. It also won best screenplay.
Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood received the best film score award for 'There Will Be Blood'.
Coldplay Delay Start Of U.S. Tour
On the eve of releasing their new album 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends' this weekend, Coldplay have been forced to delay the start of their U.S. tour due to "production delays."
The band were to have commenced their tour on June 29 in Philedelphia but have been forced to push it back to July 14 in Los Angeles, with tickets for the cancelled shows valid for the new ones or refundable from place of purchase.
The band posted a statement on their website:
"We're very sorry, but unfortunately Coldplay have had to move the dates of some of the previously-announced US shows. The band have experienced some production delays which mean that the show simply won't be ready for June 29. It's very frustrating but they promise you a show worthy of your patience and understanding when they start in mid-July."
For Coldplay's revised itinery click here.
NEXT: Judge: 50 Cent Can't Sell Property
Photo courtesy of Capitol.
Hulk, Shyamalan seek second chance
This weekend's lineup at the US box office might well be called a showdown between two Hollywood second-chances - a remake of a superhero flop and a new film from an acclaimed director whose last movie bombed.
But if early reviews are any indication, the hands-down favorite to dominate megaplexes heading into the seventh week of the lucrative summer movie season is The Incredible Hulk, a revival of the oversized green brute Marvel Studios first brought to theaters in 2003.
Critics say the new version, emphasizing action over introspection, is markedly superior to the brooding Hulk forerunner that got off to a strong commercial start but quickly fizzled as comic book fans found it lacking.
Reviews are less than kind to the only other wide release this coming weekend, The Happening, the first offering from filmmaker M Night Shyamalan since his Lady in the Water drew critical sneers and sputtered at box offices in 2006.
Still, industry watchers say Shyamalan, whose 1999 sleeper hit The Sixth Sense made him a filmmaking sensation, will likely give the Hulk a run for his money with his latest thriller about the outbreak of a mysterious plague.
"There's a lot of interest in this weekend because these two films have a lot to prove for very different reasons," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking service Media By Numbers.
Much is at stake for Marvel, which is seeking to build on the recent blockbuster success of Iron Man with what it calls a "re-boot" of another one of its most popular superhero characters, the Hulk.
BIG BUCKS AT STAKE
The movie is believed to have cost upward of $US150 million to make with a marketing budget approaching $US100 million. And the focus has been "differentiating this film from the first," said Adam Fogelson, Universal's head of marketing.
"It was about knowing ... that there would be many eyebrows raised and many questions asked about why you would make a sequel to a movie that many people didn't like," he said.
Like the original directed by Ang Lee, the new incarnation from French filmmaker Louis Leterrier mixes a computer-animated Hulk with real actors playing other characters.
Edward Norton stars as the former scientist Bruce Banner who turns into the green man-beast whenever he loses his temper.
Critics say the new film stays truer to the comic book character and to the 1970s hit TV series it spawned, favoring adventure over psychological conflict.
Hulk marks only the second fully self-financed production from Marvel Studios, which paid General Electric Co's Universal Pictures a fee to market and distribute the film. Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released Iron Man for Marvel.
The first Hulk, a Marvel co-production with Universal, grossed a hefty $US62 million domestically its first weekend but dropped off quickly after that.
Dergarabedian said the remake should top the original, making it likely to beat The Happening, from News Corp's 20th Century Fox, as the No. 1 film this weekend.
Shyamalan's five previous wide-release films grossed opening weekend tallies ranging from $18 million for "Lady in the Water" two years ago to $US60 million for Signs in 2002.
But Happening is his first to receive an R-rating in the United States, which limits admissions to moviegoers 17 and older unless accompanied by an adult.
Still, Dergarabedian said no one should count Shyamalan out, given the curiosity that usually accompanies his work.
See Also
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)