Versions by AU

Now I will be the first to admit that I am wary of the CDs that get sent to the office; so it was with heavy hands that I picked up Versions – EP by AU and I am happy to say that I have hope again! Every song is layered beautifully and eloquently within the tracks. The genres range from rock to electronica to jazz to almost everything and yet it still manages to sound coherent; a rare feat among the experimental band nowadays. My copy is already worn out because of hitting “repeat” so much and turning up the volume to get every sound. Do your ears a favor and pick it up; an eargasm a day, they say…

The Book of Eli

It is true that no one can truly predict the future, but filmmakers try their hardest to make it seem entertaining. According to The Book of Eli, there are many things that can be expected and for the rest of the review, I will name them off: the only color in the future will be Sepia; everyone will be wearing Ray Bans and Aviators; while the future looks bleak, Mila Kunis will still be wearing the only pair of skinny jeans; apparently only white people, omit one black man, will survive; Malcolm McDowell will still be there and talking; and the holiest man in the future will kill many people while others die in the name of someone else’s faith.

Pawns of Comedy @ The Blue Room

15 January 2010

Words – Conor Rowell

Photos – Hannah Booth

As I walked out of my own personal hell, which is better known as the Blue Room Theatre’s staircase, I was struck by the realization that I just got an epiphany from Rorshach of Watchmen; in that theatre I had just exited, I saw the true face of Chico and it was that of a heckler.

The bay area comedy troupe the Pawns of Comedy swung by the Blue Room to bring some much-needed humor to the hapless crowd. To start the night off with a nervous twitch, two local comics got their 5 minutes of awkward glory. I’d mention their names but for this review, they’d rather be nameless. Their sets were filled with silence and chuckles and even a “Boo!” or two.

After the local boys, the Pawns came out, starting with the MC of the night, Joey Divine. He looked like “Harry Potter with a drinking problem,” and had enough obscure references to tame any Family Guy fan. Speaking of taming, it was about this time that the kindly old lady in the front row began her heckling, which would last throughout the entire night; the interesting part was to see how all the different comedians handled her.

Next up was the “surreal” comic Ben Feldman who brought his good material along with his New York attitude. The epitome of marriage, whiteness and starting his own fight club were broached but the highlight was hearing an amazing Andy Rooney impression. “Have you ever been walking down the street and noticed your laces were untied? What is that about” Feldman asks in a high-pitch 60 Minutes-type whine. Alas the heckling starts again; first from the old lady but soon others were jumping in as well. Feldman handled his own throwing some much-needed low blows.

The next, and best, comedian was the Napoleon Dynamite of the Pawns, Brandon Lynch. “I am the king of awkward situations.” Lynch proclaimed, as his comedy was based not so much on jokes, but on reactionary interactions with the buzzed crowd. Nearly getting pummeled by a man sitting in the aisle, Lynch took the loud, heckling crowd and turned the joke on them.

Last up was the infamous DNA. Billed as the headliner, DNA immensely froze up at the sight of the unruly crowd. “This is my nightmare.” He nervously stated. The night ended with everyone knowing that the city’s true face prevailed.

Joybook, My Dads, Atheorum, Chorus of Lions @ Café Coda

14 January 2010

I was regretfully not in Chico to ring in the new year, so I decided to be as nostalgic as I could: Café Coda. Luckily, the classiness of Chico had not changed; the art, the music, the man selling “Purple Kush” out of his van and the blond lovely dry-heaving in the parking lot: classy. So it was in this spirit, dressed in my tight flannel and even tighter jeans that I attended the first true indie billing at the dark and always illustrious Café Coda.

The first band up was Chico’s own Chorus of Lions. The band was suffering from a lack of drummer, but they seemed to try and channel their inner-Grizzly Bear; the lovable hipsters belted enough “oohs” and “awes” woven within their almost undistinguishable lyrics to make any teenage wallflower swoon. Despite their valiant efforts, Chorus of Lions at best seemed like Belle & Sebastian without all the bells and whistles; it was nice and interesting to watch and listen to, but that was all.

After the could-be-better Chico band, Santa Rosa native Atheorem lit up the stage. Their eerie instrumentals seemed to cast a deafening tranquility over the surprisingly sparse crowd. After playing for a straight 20 minutes, one member of the audience asked, “Who are you guys?” Not that a name mattered of course, but Atheorem left everybody with a nice tranced-out vibe.

After coming down from a deafness-inspired high, Portland’s My Dads followed in the same vain as the previous rockers, but added a whole other volume of depth to that sound, that was after their 14-minute tuning session though. Despite my nitpicking, My Dads had the crowd bobbing their heads as if they were desperately searching for apples of humid coffee shop oxygen.

To cap off this wonderfully indie evening, Joybook took the stage and shot a musical espresso into the ears of the somber crowd. They were perfect; the keyboards, Erin Lizardo’s hauntingly beautiful voice and the eloquent lyrics. The sound system, on the other hand, was not so perfect. Café Coda’s legendary electrical system proved again that it must have enormous feedback during its best shows. But Joybook persevered and left everyone wanting more.

In the end, it was a hypnotic show that left me wondering when the Batman villain with the black and white swirling plate to order me to take over the world or kill Robin.

Best Film of ‘09: Funny People

There is only one film I can think of that could sum up the social awkwardness and political sadness that was 2009: Funny People. Far from being just a cheap laugh, Funny People presented moments of hilarity and sorrow that could only make us cry. Adam Sandler gives an unforgettable performance as basically himself as his comes to terms with his own mortality. It’s rare to find such great humor and sadness in one film; Funny People exhibits what life truly is and what we ignored while reading Shakespeare in 9^th grade English: life is a series of comedies and tragedies.

Honorable Mentions: Inglourious Basterds, Whatever Works, The Hangover