Volver, Pan's Labyrinth & Self Help Graphics in East LA

I've been catching up on movies I haven't seen yet and authors I should be reading or rereading. What does that translate to? In the last week I've seen Pan's Labyrinth & Volver--I'm surprised I liked Pan's Labyrinth as much as I did but the fascism-fairy tale combination was appealing (and much more satisfying that The Devil's Backbone). I wanted to like Volver more but hated the musical score and some of the dramarama plot even though Penelope Cruz was just spectacularly beautiful and alluring--the scene where she lipsynches a flamenco song is heartbreaking. I also watched the intriguing Passion in the Desert again, which is based on a novella by Honore de Balzac....which I haven't read....yet.

So when friends invited me to Self Help Graphics for a tribute to famed Mexican novelist Juan Rulfo I couldn't say no--I hadn't been back there in over a year. One, I'm happy that this place is back on track after being shut down and plagued by problems. Their annual day of the dead ceremony is fantastic and the space is truly for the community.

But back to the show. The night was a mix of community theatre and readings from Rulfo's classics Pedro Paramo and El Llano en Llamas as well as music featuring Esteban Leon (who does a mean show of Chava Flores songs) the gentle Tomas Cadena and son jarocho virtuoso Hector Marquez. It was a good effort and the show could be finetuned for greater impact on the audience.

For more info in Self Help Graphics, check out http://www.selfhelpgraphics.com.

-anji gaspar-milanovic

A weekend in Big Bear

What happens when you go to Big Bear, there's no snow and you don't ski? You drink! and eat! and visit the carved bear collection on the main drag.

Patty Griffin @ Hotel Cafe

February 13, 2007

Hotel Cafe, Hollywood

My friend Melinda convinced me that we absolutely had to go to Hotel Cafe to see Patty Griffin, even though we didn't have tickets and it had been sold out for weeks. So we got there and yep, very slim chance. We waited outside the door and as more and more people showed up, including actress Jill Hennesey and director Cameron Crowe, we figured it was worth it to stay since we were at the head of the line. Plus it's Patty Griffin, so the crowd is fairly laid back. About 15 minutes into the show, we got the green light to go on in.

Patty's set was short and gorgeous. I had never heard her before--Melinda was the expert fan. Griffin had the full house eating out of her hand--what a voice! My personal favorite of the night was "Heavenly Day," a love song she said she wrote for her dog. To me it's reminiscent of Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" for it's lyrical simplicity and poignancy. Her new album is out and I've been playing it non-stop. Sometimes I get into a rut of sorts where I'm not exploring new sounds as much as I should, so it's always cool when someone gives you a nudge and shares one of their passions with you. And when it's someone with a voice like Patty's, even better.

The Nightwatchman @ Hotel Cafe in Hollywood

Tom Morello's Nightwatchman reigned over Hotel Cafe and gave me something to look forward to on Tuesday nights. While Zack de la Rocha has been working with Santa Ana's premier son jarocho band Son del Centro from Centro Cultural de Mexico, Tom has been finetuning his acoustic folk alter ego The Nightwatchman at Hotel Cafe. His sound is somewhere between Johnny Cash and Nick Cave with lyrics that pack the punch of RATM but without the hysterics--I'm looking forward to the album release in April.

The Nightwatchman's residency at Hotel Cafe ended on February 6 with Ben Harper as the main attraction--a night I didn't bother going to because friends said it was already nuts at the door with too many on the guest list for what was supposed to be a benefit. All I can say is, I hope they charged em and that the money went to Axis of Justic and Food Not Bombs!

All Star jams featuring the likes of Wayne Kramer from MC5, Jill Sobule, Sen Dog, poet Jerry Quickly, Shooter Jennings and actor Breckin Meyer on drums.

On January 23, Tom kicked off the night with songs from his upcoming album, including "House Gone Up In Flames", "Union Song" (which I love), and "Midnight in the City of Destruction". Queen V rocked the house with her fiery version of "Big Balls" and poet Jerry Quickly nearly broke my heart reciting his poetry. I would love to see him headline a night at Hotel Cafe. The All Star Jam included a rousing tribute to Peter Framption with "Show Me The Way". Later that night Sen Dog and Jerry Quickly made everyone nuts with their cover of "It's Tricky" and ended the night with "How I Could Just Kill a Man"

The next week Jill Sobule and MC5's Wayne Kramer got together with Shooter Jennings and the rest of the band for "I Will Survive". But it was ending the night with "Kick out the Jams" and "Paradise City" that reminded me just why I come to Hotel Cafe in the first place. Val Kilmer was sitting up front and we all wondered if the night would end with some Doors covers. Didn't happen, and that's ok.

Now that we've heard that Christ Cornell is leaving Audioslave and that Rage Against the Machine will reunite for one show only at Coachella, one wonders what will happen next. I'll tell you my personal wish: after seeing Manu Chao live in San Diego last summer, I would love to see him and Tom perform together. What a trip that would be!!