WEAKEND PLANNER’S HALF-ASSED VERSION OF OCTOBERFEST

CALENDAR
Friday, Sept. 30th
4:00pm
Yankees vs. Red Sox @ Fenway (ESPN): The first game of a three-game series between these two rivals, with the Yankees currently holding a tenuous one-game lead. This is a big series indeed—the winning team takes the division, while the loser may not even get in to the playoffs.

8:00pm
Mike Gordon (Phish) & Leo Kottke @ House of Blues on Sunset (18 and over)

8:15pm
Dolly Parton @ Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City

8:30pm
Judge Jackson @ the One and Only Club, St. George, UT (21 and over). This band features our own JJ Garcia on the drums—rock on, brotha!!!

9:00pm Less Than Jake @ the Roxy

Saturday, Oct. 1^st
10:00am
Yankees vs. Red Sox: Game Two of the three-game series.

11:00am-4:00pm
My Dog Loves Central Park County Fair: From its dog runs to its tree-lined trails, Central Park is an urban oasis for nature-starved canines. This annual county fair features booths, exhibits, contests, games and more—but be sure to watch where you step.

12:00pm-5:00pm
Pug Crawl PugParty @ the Hilton, Chicago (720 S Michigan Ave.). This tradition formed from one pug and his owner one year having a catch to now anywhere from 250-500 pugs and their owners gather. This party features a parade, music, food, games, and the dogs can even stay at the hotel—but again, be sure to watch where you step.

12:30pm
USC @ Arizona State (ABC): Boy, does this have all the makings of a showdown. Two of the best offenses in all of football square off. This Pac 10 showdown will be the Trojans’ first real test, as they take on what appears to be a legitimate contender. Of course, I will be pulling for the Sun Devils, because I did go there for a year and a half, and so did my girlfriend. I also hate the Trojans.

7:00
Coheed & Cambria w/ Dredg @ Riviera Theatre, Chicago

8:00pm
Interpol @ Across the Narrows Festival, Richmond Co. Bank Ballpark, Staten Island.

8:15pm
CMT on Tour: Brad Paisley, Sara Evans and Sugarland team up at the Gibson Amphitheatre.

9:00pm
Goapele @ the Roxy: If you haven’t heard about her yet, you’re missing out. She is amazing.

Sunday, Oct 2^nd
11:00am
Yankees vs. Red Sox: This most likely will be the determining game.

8:00pm
The Bravery @ Pop's, Sauget, IL (all ages)

Cold and Smile Empty Soul @ House of Blues, Anaheim

ROY’S RANTS
www.Hollywoodrag.com: The Internet land grab has turned into cyberspace’s version of the Gold Rush, with settlers pitching their tent, hanging up the shingle and selling ad space within weeks. If you want to find out first that Kate Moss is snorting cocaine—and see the pictures—this is your place. This e-tabloid has sprouted up virtually overnight and offers a veritable Drudge Report of gossip, complete with JPEGS they’ve boldly grabbed from other sites. Guess all content’s up for grabs in the digital age, but hey, we’ve known that for years in the record business.

No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (Paramount Home Video): I know you’ve probably just finished TiVo-ing the two-night showing on PBS, but do yourself a favor and get the DVD of one of the best American movies of the year (Israeli flick Walk on Water is the only one that’s better). Concentrating on the period between 1961-65, as Dylan goes from a callow, earnest folkie to a drugged-out egotistical pop star, Martin Scorsese’s documentary (though he reportedly didn’t shoot any of the footage) is as good a chronicle of those now-faraway times as has ever been committed to film. Dylan’s chameleon-like metamorphosis provides the narrative push, interspersed with new interview footage (conducted by manager Jeff Rosen), where his wizened bemusement seems to illustrate his own line, “I was so much older then/I’m younger than that now.”

Weeds (Showtime): Not up to the scathing upper-middle-class satirical wit of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Six Feet Under or even its own network’s Huff, this self-consciously “wacky” take on SoCal suburbia gets points for being the first series to integrate pot culture into its plotlines. Mary-Louise Parker as the widowed soccer mom forced into drug-dealing to support her lifestyle is alternately vulnerable and sexy, while Elizabeth Perkins as her married-but-miserable neighbor who finds out she has cancer, is a scene-stealer. Things kinda muddled along, though, until Justin Kirk’s loser brother-in-law Andy camped out in the living room, bringing his own stoner “Fubar” (“fucked up beyond all relief”) personality to the fore. The trips to score in the black neighborhood offer a unique racial tension, with an underlying desire to break through the racial clichés. Not a transcendent high, but not a buzz kill by any stretch, and perfect for those party games where you take a bong hit every time a character lights up. And while the theme song, “Little Boxes,” by Malvina Reynolds (about those tract houses made of “ticky tacky”) is a little obvious, the music, by the Pixies’ Joey Santiago and noted supervisor Ralph Sall, is generally hip, with Nellie McKay, the Mountain Goats, Sufjan Stevens, the New Pornographers and Floggin’ Molly on the Rykodisc soundtrack.

Bonnie Raitt, Souls Alike (Capitol): The nine-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee takes a co-production credit (with Tchad Blake) for the first time on her 18^th album, which chronicles a year in which she lost both her father (Broadway star John Raitt) and mother, while seeing her brother go through a bout with cancer. The single, “I Will Not Be Broken,” is Raitt’s cry of defiance and insistence she won’t let those setbacks keep her down. Loop-driven, modern blues songs like “Crooked Crown” and “Deep Water” hint at new directions while at the same time stressing her ties to the hurricane-beleaguered Delta area, where she took her musical inspiration. Raitt’s keyboardist Jon Cleary, whose home is in New Orleans’ flood-ridden Ninth Ward, contributes “Unnecessarily Mercenary,” a tribute to the region’s rich R&B/soul roots, while “God Was in the Water” addresses the future tragedy with eerie prescience. A long-time fan of the Crescent City’s musical heritage, Bonnie no doubt wishes Katrina had never happened, but her latest assumes a whole new urgency from current events.

LENNY’S TOP NINE MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS TO CATCH UP ON
In case you missed it last week. Chosen by our own Lenny Beer [He is so hip.]
1. KT Tunstall: Irish songstress may be the best new artist going right now; be sure to find out about her before your friends do.
2. Southland: Somewhat Steely Dan, part Wilco and fresh and catchy as can be. This indie release is starting to make some noise on the non-comm and Triple-A level.
3. Six Feet Under soundtrack: Highlighted by the Sia tune that closed the final episode, as well as exclusive tracks from Arcade Fire and Interpol, this eclectic mix is a perfect companion to what will be considered one of the all-time best on the small screen.
4. Coheed & Cambria: It would take up too much space to write the entire title to their latest rock opus. All we can say is, listen and enjoy. This one is awesome. [One of the best albums I have heard all year!!!]
5. Ray Charles, Pure Genius The Complete Atlantic Recordings 1952-59: Thanks to David Dorn and the repackaging team at Warner Special Markets; this seven-CD-plus-DVD box set could be the most complete and well-presented musically retrospective ever.
6. Bloc Party: Saw them at the 94.9 SD show after listening to their album for the past six months. While the label has been unsuccessful to date in breaking them in the U.S. (shame on you, Lyor, Craig and Julie), this band is for real onstage as well as on record, and the cheering crowds support our belief. A must-see and must-hear band.
7. Paul McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard: His new album is surprisingly good and exceptionally catchy. Like a Beatles album, it improves with each listening. And the live show is amazing. [So what he is trying to say is, the more stoned you are, the better it is.]
8. Damian Marley: This musical legacy has taken his reggae heritage and spun it into a modern sound. A must-listen.
9. Morningwood: A band with a female lead singer that's making inroads at Alternative radio. Need I say more? You just gotta check it out to be in the know.

JE-C’S NEW MOVIE RUNDOWN
Into the Blue
Starring: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Dwayne Adway, Scott Caan, Ramon Saunders, Ashley Scott, James Frain and Chris Taloa Synopsis: In the shark-filled waters of the Bahamas, sexy skin-divers Jared and Sam discover millions of dollars' worth of sunken loot from a cargo ship. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones who wanna cash in. Soon, a crew of dangerous criminals swoops in, threatening to take the treasure at any cost.
Thoughts: I think I want to see this movie. I mean, what could be so bad seeing Jessica Alba in a bkini for most of the movie—who cares about the plot.

Serenity
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Chiwetel Ejiofor and David Krumholtz
Synopsis: This big-screen version of the short-lived TV series Firefly is set 500 years in the future and focuses on space captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew, who make a living with petty crime and transporting people throughout space. After they pick up their latest passengers — a doctor and his mentally unstable, telepathic sister — they realize that they're now being hunted by the Alliance, an out-of-control government that's out to bring the rogue sections of the galaxy under control.
Thoughts: Hmm… All the sci-fi geeks are probably lining up as we speak for this one but I’m just not sure. It’s written by Joss Whedon, who has done some pretty cool stuff, including Buffy, Angel and Aliens. I expect some people will love it, and others will hate it, meaning it could become a cult classic.

The Greatest Game Ever Played
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Peter Firth, Elias Koteas, Peyton List and Joshua Flitter
Synopsis: Victor, a villager in a small 19th-century European town, is taken to the underworld to marry a corpse bride. Surprisingly, the afterlife isn't that disagreeable, and it's a lot more exciting than his strict Victorian society. Meanwhile, his live wife-to-be, Victoria.
Thoughts: Well, my father and sister already saw a sneak of this movie and gave it a 7. It’s a Disney movie, so don’t expect plot twists or character development. Those who are bad stay bad, etc., but I still am kind of curious about this one. I’m a sucker for good stories, and this one is a good story, even if it has to do with GOLF, which I hate.
Limited Release:
Capote: Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, this one could be really good, and you know the sad thing is, my father gave me the In Cold Blood book to read awhile back, and I never did. Maybe the movie will make me want to read it.