Thursday, August 31, 2006

Nothing But a Good Time?


OK, this camera phone shot doesn't do justice to Poison

Thanks to my good buddy Tim who won free tickets, I went to see Poison and Cinderella on Sunday at Riverfest Amphitheatre. Entertaining show but not without these bands, who were celebrating their 20th anniversary, showing their age.

The night had Cinderella's Tom Keifer apologizing for a shredded voice that was a far cry from the million-volt AC/DCish screech of the early days. The band soldiered on through the hits after opening with a favorite album track of mine, "Bad Seamstress Blues (Falling Apart at the Seams)." The musicianship was on with Keifer and guitarist Jeff LeBar playing tight harmony solos.

The set lacked the energy I remember from seeing the band twice "back in the day" (still two of the loudest concerts I've ever seen). But there were moments, as when Keifer broke out the sax on "Shelter Me" when the band's blues/rock/metal mix clicked. But on songs like "Gypsy Road" and ballad "Don't Know What You Got (Til It's Gone)," the music was strong, but Keifer's voice just seemed a low growl in the mix.

Poison brought the energy that Cinderella lacked. And, like Cinderella, stuck to by-the-number versions of their hits. Sounded good, the stage show was well done...didn't blow me away, but was worth every penny of my free ticket. Of the some 33 concerts I've now seen, this show marked the 4th time seeing Poison, the most of any band. Oh, I was a huge fan in high school...loving the flash and fun and the glam gimmick. Though still called a glam metal band, Poison has really distanced itself from the makeup and looks of its debut, opting now for a more All-American biker/Southern rocking/arena rock look. The music hasn't aged as well as other 80s pop metal that I love. "I Want Action" still sounds stuck in my high school days.

But the band kept moving, although singer Bret Michaels apologized for being a little under the weather and being hobbled by a hurt knee. Only later did I find out that hurt knee was apparently from a bass flung in his direction during a confrontation with Bobby. Bret looks like he's put on a little weight since I saw the band three or four years back. But they group still roamed the stage and played off the receptive crowd.

Despite being regularly maligned by critics, I still contend that hits like "Nothing But a Good Time," "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and, of course, the one that started it all, "Talk Dirty To Me" are escapist, fun musical bubble gum (great taste, no substance). And on Sunday night, the band delivered the goods with blasting solos by CC and the underrated drum work by Rikki.

FAIR AND BALANCED: Oh, and my friend Scott, who accompanied me to the show, offers his own take on the night here.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Hawaii, Part IV: The Adventures of Jon Boy and Lava Girl

Here's the continuing recap of our Hawaiian adventure from earlier this month.

When we last saw our travelers they were up early on Wednesday (8/9) for an island hop to the Big Island, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines. We took the first flight out and got to the island of Hawaii, aka The Big Island, by 8. Picked up our rental Jeep and headed to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, about 21 miles from Hilo. But not before a quick stop at Walmart for snacks.

We checked out the Thurston Lava Tube first. Really cool, thinking that 500 years ago, lava had surged through this cave that was now in the middle of a rain forest. We then made our way down Chain of Craters Road. Our first views of lava rock had us giddy. You see pictures of this stuff all your life, but to see real lava (albeit older lava rock). We drove past several old floes on our way to the end of the road...where in the 1990s, lava had crossed the road, closing it.

We then hiked out part of the way to where new lava is going into the ocean, instantly boiling the water into steam. It was incredible to see...it was making new land. But climbing over the old lava was tough. It was rock, but the shapes and edges were tricky to navigate...and looked liked like an alien landscape. The dried lava alternately looked to me like brownies or crumbled Oreos or some kind of gooey, dried chocolate syrup. Maybe I was just hungry.

After that, we made our way back to the Kilauea Caldera and the Halema'uma'u Crater - a huge crater within the enormous super crater. Makes you feel pretty small. The smell of sulphur was everywhere as were holes in the ground where steam poured out. It was impressive.

We finished our trip around the caldera and headed back to Hilo. It was quite a day. Funny thing about the Hilo airport...part of it, where the gates are, is open air. It has a roof over it but is open on the sides. When flew out of Hilo about 7:30p, headed back "home."

In our next installment, exhaustion sets in but we finally see the "Lost" beach.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Hawaii, Part III: Jon, Susan and the 99 Steps of Death


The moon rises over Waikiki Beach, with Diamond Head Crater visible at right.

And now, back to the gripping review of my anniversary trip to Hawaii with Susan.

Tuesday, we got up and headed to the beach. Spent about an hour-and-a-half out on crowded Waikiki Beach. It was almost too crowded. But the water was nice and clear. It was sunny and beautiful weather. The water was shallow compared to Orange Beach, Ala. (where we went last year on vacation). There was some surfing going on, but the waves weren't huge.

After a short nap, it was another bus trip east of Waikiki (or "Diamond Head") to the so-named volcanic crater. We hike up the side, through the tunnel, up the 99-Steps-of-Death (the stairs seemed to go almost straight up...might as well have been a ladder), through another tunnel, then up the spiral stairs to the top for some spectacular views. The crater got its name after early British explorers mistook the volcanic crystals they found there for diamonds. Part of the craters inside is still used as a military facility (the crater rim was a home to a fire control station for early island defenses). The bunkers in the crater were used as a filming location for Jonworld TV favorite "Lost." This trip offered us several chances to visit filming locations for the show.

That evening, we went out to eat along the beach. Having a burger and drinks on the deck at Duke's Canoe Club, then heading down to Mai Tai Bar in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. We had a mai tais there...perhaps the strongest drink I have ever tasted. We also got to enjoy the luau entertainment going on next door. Nothing like hula dancing and juggling fire.

Then it was to bed early for the next day's island hop to the Big Island for a visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Monday, August 21, 2006

No Business Like Show Business...

Saw this story in the NY Times about changing times in the movie business and it reminded me of a book I just finished. In The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood, Edward Jay Epstein writes about the trend in movies toward developing franchises with scads of licensed products that make a lot of money for everyone through toys, video games, clothes, DVDs, etc.

The NY Times points to former Universal executive Stacey Snider, who presided over the studio during the Peter Jackson King Kong remake. The movie, as the article says, was considered a disappointment despite making $547 million worldwide. Snider left her job not too long ago and is now at DreamWorks, working on far fewer movies.

Says Snider:
“It’s not like I view this as a private, artistic enterprise. I certainly felt the pressure. I felt the uncertainty. It galvanized the angst. We went from making movies to making product and content. I didn’t want to make franchises. I wanted to make movies.”
Epstein's book goes on to note that the trend in movies is to appeal to pre-teen and teen-age boys, the most reliable moviegoers. Thus the slate of comic book movies and action flicks with little dialogue, which also easily translate overseas.

His hypothesis makes sense and on one hand, the young at heart in me loves to see all the comic book flicks. But hopefully there will always be a place for more serious and more challenging movies.

Caught on Film: A Growing Unease in Hollywood [NY Times]

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Hawaii: Part Deux, Getting Ewa and Diamondhead


Manoa Falls

So when we last joined our intrepid Hawaiian travelers, Jon and Susan, they had succumbed to the evil jet lag - falling asleep at 5p on Day 1 of a week vacation. The converse of that is that you're wide awake at 3a.

Day 1 took us to Aloha Stadium, once we figured out which bus would take us ewa (or "west" in Hawaiian) to the stadium, site of the NFL's annual Pro Bowl. Three days a week, merchants set up in the parking lot to sell cheap Hawaiian souvenirs (8 T-shirts for $20; 5 refrigerator magnets for $8) at the Aloha Swap Meet. There's also a layer of garage sale stuff, which we stayed away from. After spending money there, we rested before heading on a hike on the northside of Honolulu. In a rainforested valley at the end of a residential neighborhood is the beautiful Manoa Falls.

And we found they call it a rainforest because it rains, regularly. We got soaked. But the hike was fairly easy for us and just amazing in the scenery we found along the way. The falls we an early trip highlight. We hiked with a guy from SC who was in the Naval Academy and in Hawaii for some Navy stuff.


Leaving the Arizona Memorial.

Day 2 started early so we could get in line at Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial. Huge line. Waited about an hour and 20 minutes to get our ticket; then had another hour to wait before our tour. At least that part could be spent in the museum, where the crowd was elbow to elbow. Then a movie, then the short boat trip to the iconic memorial of the surprise attack that brought the US into World War II. It was powerful to be there in person. To see the oil still leaking up to the water's surface from the ship. Some of the stories about the Arizona were particularly poignant - the ship band that lost a Battle of the Bands just hours before they were all killed when the battleship sunk.

We took the bus back east (or "Diamond Head" as the locals call it for the direction of the so-named crater) and stopped in Chinatown. Susan said it's not near as crowded or interesting as NYC's Chinatown. It was kind of a sleepy afternoon. We stopped at Legend Sea Food for our first experience with dim sum. Fortunately, we were seated next to the only other American in the place...a guy from Idaho and his mother. He was a former island resident and knew all about dim sum and helped us navigate the different dishes (although he was wrong about the chicken feet...those were just not good).

After eating, we walked around the little shops for an hour or so and bought some trinkets before catching the bus back to Waikiki.

Returning to Waikiki, we stopped at a McDonald's for a quick snack, hoping to save some money. Got a 10-chicken nugget meal and shared a large Diet Coke...$12, which is considerably more you'd pay in central Arkansas. But every meal did come with a bowl of fresh pineapple, which is something you don't get in central Arkansas.

NOTE: Earlier I had written about doing Diamond Head after Pearl Harbor. I had my days mixed up. We hiked Diamond Head the next day.

In the next installment, we tackle Diamond Head and travel to the Big Island and Volcanoes National Park.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Hello. Hawaii Doin'?


Waikiki Beach as seen from Diamond Head Crater

This thing still on? So I'm back from our one week, 10th wedding anniversary trip to the 50th state plus one week (took that long to get reacclimated back to Arkansas, I guess). Had a great time in Hawaii, though the trip was exhausting, even before we left. Taking a cue from Scott and his recent travelblog, I'll recount some of the highlights and lowlights from the trip.

Then we'll get back to our regular schedule...a new fall TV season, school starts, football kicks off (thank goodness) and life gets back to its hectic routine.

Trip Part I

Scheduled to fly out of Little Rock about 7:40a on Aug. 5. Clock set for 4ish. Get a call at 3a. Flight is cancelled (!!!!??!) and we are automatically rebooked on a new flight the next day. Susan calls airline and manages to get us on an earlier flight - now we gotta get going. We make it and fly out about 6:25a to Chicago...then a 9 hour plane ride to Honolulu, watching old episodes of Fraiser, some pretty decent soccer movie and other such stuff. We arrive about 12:30p (thanks to time zone changes). Get there earlier than we originally had scheduled. :)

Got to the hotel and got checked in. Then walked around a bit, checking the beach and getting a long overdue meal. Then, about 5p local time, we discover what jet lag feels like and crash.

In Part II, we see a swap meet, a gorgeous waterfall and Pearl Harbor.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Aloha


Off on a dream trip to Hawaii. Be back in a week.

Happy Late Birthday MTV...I miss you...

MTV ("Music" Television)...and I am depressed to see what you have "grown" into...but then again, maybe it is I who has grown? (I want my VH1 Classic?!?!)

So cruel, my former love...says a MTV spokesman on why the channel isn't dwelling on its history:
"MTV has a 25-year heritage of looking forward, rather than back," spokeswoman Marnie Black wrote in an e-mail. "We made the decision when MTV was founded to always stay young and evolve with our audience. To do that, it has been important to serve our audience at that moment, not our audience of yesterday."

Ouch.

Slate writer Troy Patterson reflects on MTV's first day, on Aug. 1, 25 years ago - an anniversary the channel is barely acknowledging. That's long before Headbangers Ball or TRL or the Real World or Beavis or Butthead or whatever they show now that is seldom music.

MTV was already a year old when it came to Malvern around 1982ish. A fifth grader just gingerly dipping my toe into popular music, I didn't recognize much. I think my earliest memory of recognizing a song I liked on MTV was seeing trenchcoated Hall and Oates singing "Private Eyes."

Then came Duran Duran, then hair metal, Metallica... and my magical mystery tour was well underway.

Present at the Creation [Slate]
The Ever Changing Youth of MTV: Now 25, Going on 11 [NY Times]
Yo! MTV's 25, But Don't Make a Fuss About It [Cox News via Middletown Journal]
Do You Still Want Your MTV? [Beacon Journal]

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Welcome Back, TMQ

Ahhh, one of the sure signs football season will soon be upon us: the return of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback column by the tastefully named Gregg Easterbrook. I've been following this column for several years, through several homes. It's back on ESPN.com and if you like pro football...heck, if you just like football of any kind, I highly recommend this weekly roundup of pro football, cheerbabes and insightful commentary on everything from decrying the "pass wackiness" of the current NFL to finding plot holes in science fiction movies.

Easterbrook is not your typical football guy. He's an author and a contributing editor to The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly and The Washington Monthly, not to mention a visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Offseason Highs and Lows [ESPN.com]

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

For Those About to Rock: Where Are You???

Good essay by All Music Guide writer Thom Jurek. Of course, I agree with it. Jurek bemoans the downer that mainstream rock has become these days.
"Rock & roll, that great music that celebrated freedom and exhilaration, has become repressively dour. The bright and wild colors of rock & roll have faded to a shade of dark gray."
He traces the lineage - and some rock snobs may scoff - from Elvis and Chuck Berry to the 80s goodtime hair metal of Poison and Cinderella as well as urban R&B from Prince.

But he points to a turn in the late 80s with Guns 'n' Roses and Metallica (probably my favorite band along side The Beatles) taking things darker and more personal. Then came grunge. Alice in Chains' opus "Dirt" was "making bleak, angry pessimism and nihilism accessible and salable to young people."

Writes Jurek:
"One has to wonder if everything in rock does indeed cycle repeatedly, or if this time out the music merely collapses from the sheer exhaustion of expressing pain and other negative emotions ad nauseam. Let's hope so. In the meantime, pull out those Cinderella CDs and listen to Whitesnake's recent Gold double disc. Or better yet, pull out the Beastie Boys and Warrant, then go back to Chuck, Little Richard, Carl, Elvis, and Eddie, dig in, take off your shoes, and raise a toast to living for its own sake and listen to those two generations talk to each other with laughter."

Now I've been arguing musical tastes with my friends for years, who loved to diss me for liking Duran Duran in junior high and Poison in high school. But I love Metallica, GnR and AIC as well. Sometimes I wanna rock, sometimes my head feels like a hole.

But I do miss the good time rock that I think is missing these days. There is no Van Halen. The only hedonism I really hear in music belongs to hip-hop.

Let the good times roll...

Is Rock and Roll Really Dying? A Case Against Dourist Rockism [All Music Guide]

Earlier...
For Those About to Rock, I Look Down On You [Jonworld]
For Those About to Rock... [Jonworld]

Bad News Razorbacks

Still trying to make sense of the whole Darren McFadden thing when we get news that a car accident claimed the life of "The Voice of the Razorbacks" Paul Eells. So many of my favorite Razorbacks sports memories are narrated by Eells...whether it was "Touchdown Arkansas!" or his trademark "Oh my!"... very sad news. Growing up in Malvern, in the days before the cable TV explosion...when the Hogs were lucky to have one or two televised football games a year, Eells was the man.

During my years in Arkansas media and working in communications around these parts, I got to meet Eells a couple of times. The reputation as the "nicest guy" was true.

Now maybe McFadden will learn from his own mistakes and give us some new Razorbacks memories in the seasons to come. But those memories will have a different "voice" when I hear them on the radio.

Arkansas' Nutt: We'll Move On After McFadden's Injury [AP via Sporting News]
Voice of the Razorbacks Dies in Car Accident [KATV]
The Nicest Guy I Ever Knew In Sports Reporting Has Died [Arkansas Times]