U2 360 Pasadena Concert

I remember it like it was yesterday. “What music do you like?”, asked Mike Hahn, as he brushed his too long, skater hair from his face. in my mind, he was one of the coolest kids on the block, because he could do HoHos, and Judo Airs off the neighborhood launch ramp. I wanted to say something impressive, but I also didn’t really know what that was. At the time, my musical world consisted mostly of Petra, Steve Taylor, and Leon Patillo. But I had heard this really cool band recently, that I couldn’t stop listening too. It was like nothing else I had ever heard. They made me, at the ripe old age of 10, want to move to Ireland. “U2,” I replied, to which I received the cool kid stamp of approval. And thus began my life long musical love affair.

Many years later, they are still my favorite band. What I am constantly amazed at, is how good their earliest albums still sound. I listen to Boy and October, and can’t believe that they were able to produce such timeless music, at 18-19 years old. The production, from one perspective may sound dated, but from another, can sound like a lot of current music that eschews high-end studio polish, in favor of very raw, yet atmospheric qualities. They have grown, musically and lyrically, but what they did right from the start was to be as honest as possible about who they are, and what they can do. Later in their career, they have done that more tongue-in-cheek, at times, but they have always been true to themselves.

The Pasadena stop of the U2 360 tour, afforded me my third chance to see them live, and it was every bit as incredible as I had hoped it would be. It was a night I will never forget, as my 6-year old son Luke accompanied me, my beautiful wife Candice, and one of my best-friends (Floodgate’s own Jason Rowe), on a beautiful October night at the Rose Bowl. Jason observed that He had never seen so many people in a good mood, all in the same place. Indeed, everyone was in a good mood, and we we’re all treated to an historic concert event, streamed live to the world, via YouTube.

Another of U2’s consistently amazing feats, is their ability to take some of the most over the top, extravagant stage sets, and make it feel completely intimate. I think, its their passion, and energy that reaches out and grabs you, and really connects on a very human level. You can tell that they believe in the music they are performing. Its a great balance between having a blast, and putting everything they have out there. Its true that Adam and Larry are more reserved, but that serves as a sort of charming reality of this band’s personality. And keeping four different personalities committed to a singular vision, is no small miracle. To be a part of something so large, and not let it affect their friendships is truly inspiring.

Their latest album, No Line on the Horizon, is to me I think, their greatest album since Achtung Baby. And in fact it reminds me of that album in many ways. Not so much sonically, although there are similarities, but in approach, depth, and presence. I have gone back to the seminal Achtung Baby album several times after listening to the new one, and am reminded of what great material is there.

I’m not saying anything new to say what a great time and spirit of worship there was at a U2 concert. Maybe that goes without saying at this point. I think what I took away uniquely at this concert was how much we are all the same. Our tastes, views, and preferences that we think make us so different, all stem from very human and elemental places, that actually connect us together. Our yearnings, our joy, pain, anger, elation, whether we realize it or not, are a part of the way that God made us to function, and tie us to Him, and each other. Its at moments like these, where no one stops to think about worship through the traditional lenses, and contexts that so often filter and restrain us from authentic spiritual experiences. Sacred and secular, us and them dichotomies, lose all meaning, and it comes down to, human/spiritual beings, responding to a very human/spiritual experience. And we all lift our voices in unison, singing “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch, like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.”

Inglourious Basterds

First things first… Many of you aren’t going to agree with the decision to see this movie. That’s a topic for a different day and one i won’t address in this review.

Inglourious Basterds is a magnificent piece of cinema!

Amazing cinematography… acting that’s second to none… artistic in every sense of the word. It’s a complete, no holds barred assault on the senses. Tarantino breaks all the rules and seemingly writes some of his own… just to break those as well. I mean come on.. if memory serves me correctly… there were maybe two scenes in the first 30 minutes of the film… such great dialogue and execution… Tarantino completely sucks you in.

Not a single performer in this film was a disappointment… that being said… one actor who stood out is Christopher Waltz. And that’s no small accomplishment with such a stand out cast. Superb execution of language after language… Impeccable delivery and timing… I wouldn’t be surprised if an Oscar was in this mans future.

Amongst the great cinematography and superb acting stands some intricately woven together story lines that carry the viewer through the movie. Taking some twist and turns along the way and travel only vaguely close to following actual WWII history… but truly amazing!

I definitely found myself wanting more at the end of the movie. Inglourious Basterds is… in this mans opinion… a solid work of art that deserves an open mind. Don’t miss it!

Rachael Getting Married

One of life’s little pleasures for me, is having a Netflix account. My wonderful wife manages this, and being that we have very similar cinematic tastes, this works out well. Sometimes however, as we parse through the series of red-envelopes, stashed away in our little “Netflix drawer,” attempting to answer the question, what will we consume, and be consumed by for the next 2 hours, we come upon a movie that I may not be thrilled about. Such was the case of “Rachael Getting Married.” A chick flick. Or at least so I thought, based mostly by the title, and lead actress, Anne Hathaway, the one in all those princess movies.

But alas, I was quite wrong. I was unprepared for this story, told in a slightly off kilter, yet very natural and refreshing way. As the story begins, we find the characters converging upon a bustling home, filled with friends and relatives preparing for the soon coming wedding. This wedding, is beautiful. Not the kind of beautiful that can be bought, with the perfectly coordinated decorations, and the best caterer in town, though. It is beautiful, because it is so eclectic. There are so many cultures and traditions represented, it becomes a beautiful tapestry of human life and experience. You feel that you want to be there, and very quickly, hanging out with these people. You get sucked right in. The groom’s mother make’s the statement at the rehearsal dinner, that “This is what heaven will be like, and we are glad to practice it now.” It’s a beautiful sentiment, and it resonates with overall mood of the film.

At the center of this story is Rachael, the bride’s family. Kym (Hathaway) is the younger sister, freshly back from rehab. She’s used to getting all the attention, which doesn’t play well when you’re not the bride. What is so engrossing, is to see this family celebrate, grieve, fight, and somewhat resolve, all throughout the festivities. These emotionally packed scenes, tracing through very difficult family history, do not derail the big event at all. They seem to be a necessary part of the celebration. There are many unpleasant issues, and difficulties for this family, but as they deal with them, in very natural ways, the catharsis makes the celebration that much more full and vibrant.

This speaks to an idea that seems to be rattling around in my brain lately. It is that perhaps, in some way, pain is a natural component of beauty? I have disliked, for a long time, the notion that you need “bad times” to appreciate the good. But as re-evaluate that a bit more, I wonder if there is not something going on a bit more, under the surface of that idea. I wonder, if Man had not strayed from God’s original plan, and left that infernal fruit on the tree, what would our lives really be like. Would childbirth not produce pain? Would we literally have to do almost nothing to harvest our food and produce our shelter? I believe that we now have knowledge (of good and evil) without a complete wisdom as God does. We see and experience pain, but without omnipotence, we can’t see the whole picture, and we miss the point a lot of the time. We do not see the necessity of the pain and labor, as a part of a larger picture of beauty. We sometimes catch a glimpse of this, in the satisfaction after a hard days labor, a physical challenge completed, a relationship mended, etc. It is difficult however, to often see that perhaps pain is an integral component to beauty. I think of some of the flavors that captivate my palette. Dark chocolate, dry red wine, single malt scotch, sushi, etc. These things require a little more of you to enjoy them, then say, Mountain Dew and a Snickers Bar (Which I also enjoy, thank you very much!). The prior flavors tell you a story, where they have been, what they are made of. The later produces a sugary sweet rush of instant gratification, with no real lasting reward. Often a dash of bitterness, intensifies the sweetness, making it more robust and satisfying. I think this is true of many things in life.

So, this is all to say that I really enjoyed this movie. It has stayed with me. It feels like I actually attended this event and have fond memories of it. Technically, and creatively, it was also very engaging. Much of it was shot handheld, giving it a very intimate, and almost documentary feel. The entire score is comprised of music being played by musicians whose characters are there at the house over the weekend rehearsing and playing for the wedding. It was all recorded live, simultaneously with the actors and their dialog. This movie is what I would call a “Slice of Life” movie. You drop in on the characters for a few days of their lives. We witness a momentous event, but nothing outside the scope of ordinary life. And then it is over. But through these ordinary events, we are able to examine some of the deep truths of life.

Kings

What would a modern-day, North American, big-city monarchy look like? And how would that storyline take shape if it were loosely based on the classic biblical story of David and Goliath? Michael Green (NBC’s “Heroes”) is attempting to answer that question with his new series “Kings”.

I have admired actor Ian McShane for years (HBO’s “Deadwood”), and was very pleased to see that he is playing the lead role of King Silas. I don’t feel like actors get any better than McShane. He’s one actor who literally changes the way writers craft their lines. He is believable, mysterious, and riveting.

There is David (actor Chris Egan) who will challenge King Silas’ claim to the throne. There is the King’s other son (the Jonathan figure), whose character was a little light for me, and actually felt more like the prodigal son, than the Jonathan of Scripture.

Interestingly, when I watched “Kings”, I had no idea that it was supposed to be biblically-based. The entire two hours, I kept thinking, “That kinda happened in the Bible”, or “That guy reminds me of the prophet Nathan.” It was a day later when a Facebook friend told me that it’s based on the story of David and Goliath.

Finally, I feel like there needs to be a conversation that discusses the role Michael Green is playing in presenting God to the modern culture, using media to do so. You can’t possibly miss the overtures to Christ and redemption in “Heroes”, and it looks like “Kings” will be very similar.

But that’s for another post.

Check out “Kings” for yourself, Sunday nights on NBC.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Wow!

Let me say that again, WOW!!!

I had no idea what to expect when walking into the theater to watch “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. Well, other than there is a baby born old who turns young. I was very excited to see a new film from David Fincher (Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Zodiac) who has directed a few movies i consider to be among my favorites.

To say the least, i was definitely NOT disappointed. I would easily count this movie in one of my all-time favorite films. A great balance of story and cinematography. I smiled, laughed and cried(don’t tell anyone). It is absolutely amazing and i whole-heatedly recommend seeing it!

Once

Just when I was beginning to become abnormally bored with many of the films that have recently crossed my path, along came a little peace of artistic magic to strengthen my belief in the art-form of film.

The story revolves around a street performer(Glen Hansard) singing and playing guitar on a Dublin street who attracts the attention of a young Czech migrant (Marketa Irglova), herself a pianist, singer and lyricist. They begin spending time with one another under the unifying factor of song writing and begin to be drawn toward one another in the wake of broken relationships. Their collaboration leads to the recording of a demo album with a “tossed together” band of musicians, as their relationship grows in unexpected ways.

One of the greatest things about this film is the way it was shot. It is obvious that “Once” was not shot on a high-dollar budget. They make use of “gorilla-style” filming techniques and according to the “making of” features, didn’t bother getting permits for a great deal of their shoots. They really show what happens when the term “indie” film making is taken seriously and not used as a trendy catch-phrase. That being the case, the filmmakers needed to rely on the music, actors and storyline… none of which are lacking.

“Once” reminds us that small can be beautiful and that the simplest of storylines can get a grip on us, at our core, and takes us to new levels of connection. “Once” is a movie you definitely don’t want to miss.

Rock & Roll Is Not Dead

My Morning Jacket Concert – Berkley, CA 09/19/08

It was shaping up to be a wet, drizzly night, as people continued to pour into Berkely’s Greek Theatre open-air venue. Not even the wet weather seemed to deter this eclectic crowd of people, determined to have a good time, and see a great performance. The gentleman from Atlanta in front of me, with his teenage son, informed me that while he was in California for a bat mitzvah, he learned that MMJ was playing and left the temple early to catch the show. He had seen them in his home state and said that indeed they were one of the hottest live shows around. He was right.

As if rewarded for our faithfulness in waiting through the heavy mist, the sky opened up to a beautiful bay area night, moments before the first notes of “Evil Urges” rang out to an excited audience. No opening band was needed. Just MMJ doing a ton of music. 27 songs in all.

As the fog rolled in, it enveloped the crowd, so that we all seemed to be one with the band, and their dry ice and lighting spectacle.There was little banter from the stage, but there was a definite connection through the music, as Jim James and company went all out, dancing spastically, jumping around, and shaking their long hair, without regard to perceived coolness.

They were very tight in their playing, and playful in their arrangements and soloing. There was a great balance between all-out rockers, mid-tempo, and their mellow songs, where guitarist Carl Broemel, sat down at the pedal steel and took us back to an era before super-slick production stripped away the wonderful organic tones of the instruments themselves.

I am always hesitant to see one of my favorite bands in person for the first time. Worried that somehow, they will disappoint and leave a bad taste for their music in my mouth. This was definitely not the case with this show. Quite the opposite. It will be a beautiful memory of a wonderful night of great music and great friends.

Echo Church Media Conference 2008

Here we are at day three of the 2008 Echo Church Media Conference in Dallas, Texas.

This is the first year that this event has been put on. And even though this first year of the conference might be considered “smaller” then other conferences around the country, it is BY FAR one of the best if not THE BEST conference i have attended.

The team behind Echo really has their act together. Typically at conferences there is a disconnect between exhibitors and attendees due to placement of the exhibitors in some out of the way venue labeled “exhibitor tent” and many attendees never make it by and miss out on great resources. The team here at Echo coordinated everything so that the only way into the keynote sessions was to pass through the exhibitors area. It allowed us so many more opportunities to connect with Pastors, church leaders, and media creators than ever before. It was amazing just listening to the stories these individuals. All the successes, hurts and questions were just awesome. It really fostered a real sense of us all being in this “thing” together.

Echo also excelled in their pre-conference labs, great breakout and keynote sessions. Tons of relevant discussions on the use of media and computers in the church and ministry in general. I couldn’t believe the amazing list of Keynote speakers… one after the other. Names like Donald Miller, Brad Abare, Matthew Paul Turner and Mark Batterson, to name a few. I can’t tell you when the last time was that i felt so encouraged as to the role of story and arts in the body of Christ.

One final thing i would be remiss in not mentioning is the FOOD. I have never been to a conference where the food has just been so amazing! I mean come on, the quality of food at the conference is something that can impact your entire mood… this guys now it and hit the mark.

So, as we get closer to the end of the conference, i can only hope the Echo team knows how amazing they have done and feel encouraged at the success of the conference… encouraged enough to do it again next year and for many years to come, i hope.

If you missed it this year, don’t make the same mistake next year. Do yourself a favor and keep checking back at http://www.echoconference.com and pray they do it all again next year!

The Dark Knight

So… after months and months of waiting the time finally arrived. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t continue reading this post.

The Dark Knight far exceeded my expectations!

Heather Ledger was beyond amazing… it is such a tragedy to think he will no long be exercising his craft and sharing with the rest of us.

I think the only thing I could have done without was the cheese death-metal voice that Christian Bale used when he was the Batman.

I am really glad they incorporated Harvey Dent’s transformation in to Two Face.

As usual, they run Batman through internal conflict and make you question if he will come out on top and “be the hero Gotham needs”. At this point I think they could go on forever making batman movies and i’d go see everyone… haha.

Hellboy II

Just saw Hellboy 2 last night. I’d have to say i am a fan!

Sure, it was your typical, corny at times, comic book movie… but i liked it. Guillermo Del Torro is an absolutely amazing director and in my opinion this is one to add to his list of visually stunning films.

One of my favorite things about the Hellboy story line is the idea that where we were born and our life circumstances don’t determine who we are and what we become. We have a choice, we have free will. Even if you are a demon… haha!

Go see it!

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