The Filtered Excellence: June 18, 2015
Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Once a week we take a break from comedy to bring you this weeks picks of the best things to watch, the most interesting things to do, great things to try, the best picks to read, our favorite things to listen to and more:
WATCH THIS:
HBO Sunday Night Lineup: True Detective, Ballers, The Brink. HBO summer Sunday night lineup is loaded with a lot of star power and big expectations. After a stunning 1st season, True Detective returns with a new ensemble featuring Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch. Set in California, a bizarre murder pulls together three law enforcement officers and a career criminal in a case involving a vast criminal enterprise and billions of dollars. Ballers is a new half hour comedy series featuring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as a former football great adjusting to life off the field while teaching the next wave of superstars that football is more business than it is sports. The night rounds out with The Brink, a dark comedy series based on, well, the end of the world as we know it. A series of events makes World War III a real possibility and its up to a boozy, womanizing Secretary of State (Tim Robbins), a low level Foreign Service officer (Jack Black) and an ace, but frustrated Navy fighter pilot (Pablo Schreiber) to stop it from happening. HBO always ups the ante with its original series programming and this lineup is destined to have the internet and its viewers buzzing. The HBO Sunday night lineup kicks on June 21st at 9pm Eastern.
You can also go to www.hbo.com or HBO Now for more information.
Rubble Kings. New York City in the 1970s was on the brink of complete fiscal and social collapse. In the midst of this crisis, an alarming rise in street gangs and gang related violence took the city by storm. All out war was all but inevitable until a series of events led the gangs – led by the more politically minded The Ghetto Brothers – were able to forge a peace treaty without the help of law enforcement and social agencies. Instead of fights, stabbings and shootings, energies were now devoted to peaceful block parties and community gatherings. With it, a new sound and culture would emerge that would lay the groundwork for what is now a global phenomenon called hip hop. Director Shan Nicholson With interviews with surviving gang members (including Karate Charlie and Yellow Benji of The Ghetto Brothers, Afrika Bambaataa of The Black Spades, and Felipe Luciano of The Young Lords, among others) former Mayor Ed Koch (in one of last interviews before he passed in 2013), archival footage and animation to help to show and how a small group of individuals forever alerted the cultural landscape. Rubble Kings opens in select theaters this Friday.
You can also go to www.rubblekings.com for more information.
Dope. There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the new film from writer-director Rick Famuyiwa (Talk To Me, Brown Sugar) and for good reason. It’s a refreshing take on two genres that desperately need a jump start: The high school and ‘hood comedy’. Shameik Moore plays Malcolm, a model student who loves 90s hip hop, plays in a punk band and is, by all accounts, a straight up geek. Not exactly the person you want to be in the rough section of Inglewood, Ca. If juggling college applications, academic interviews, SAT’s and avoiding a daily beat down wasn’t enough, he finds himself at an underground hip hop party has encountering drug dealers, cops, and stoners. Famuyima keeps the pace brisk and concise with a script that is beautifully nuanced and doesn’t take any short cuts with the characters. Moore delivers a breakout performance as Malcolm, a young man looking to find peer acceptance while trying to remain true to himself. This is a film that has all of the makings for being the sleeper comedy hit, if not overall, comedy hit of the summer. Dope opens on Friday.
You can go to www.youaredope.com for more info.
LISTEN TO THIS:
Sticky Fingers: The Deluxe Edition. In the wake of the death founding member Brian Jones and a chaotic – and deadly – end of tour show at Altamount, The Rolling Stones spent the better part of 1970 re-grouping as a band and as an organization. As 1971 rolled in, The Stones would re-emerge with their own record label, an expanded musical palette and a better handle on the business affairs. Sticky Fingers captures the band re-inventing itself, adding country (‘Dead Flowers’), horn-driven R&B (‘Bitch’) and jazz (the extended jam section of ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’) to the band’s blues based sound. The deluxe edition adds alternate takes of classic songs (including a nasty version of ‘Brown Sugar’ featuring Eric Clapton on slide and an acoustic version of ‘Wild Horses’), and live tracks from shows at The Roundhouse and Leeds University from 1971 that show why they earned the title ‘The Greatest Rock n Roll Band In The World’. A must have for any rock n roll fan.
Sticky Fingers: The Deluxe Edition is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.
DO THIS:
NEW YORK CITY: Bryant Park Film Festival. Now in its 24th year, The Bryant Park Film Festival has grown from New York’s best kept secret to one of the go to events of the summer. It kicks this Monday night with a screening of Ghostbusters the seminal 1984 comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. Other films scheduled for the festival include Chinatown, Back To The Future, Marathon Man, Footloose, Badlands and much more. Arrive early, bring a blanket and watch a classic film with the New York skyline as a backdrop. All for FREE. The Bryankt Park Film Festival will run each Monday night at dusk from June 22 through August 24th. Go to www.bryantpark.org for a complete schedule and more information.
NEW YORK CITY: Van Morrison, Forest Hills Stadium. Built in 1923, Forest Hills Stadium was the original home of the U.S Open Tennis tournament until the tourney moved to its new home in Flushing, NY. It served as a concert venue for such acts as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and much more. After a multi-million dollar renovation, Forest Hills Stadium has once been become a top flight concert venue, hosting summer shows since 2013. This weekend will feature performances by Van Morrison (who is touring in support of his new album Duets) on Friday; and a killer double bill featuring D’Angelo & The Vanguard and Gary Clark, Jr. on Sunday. The music will be as hot as the weather. Go to www.foresthillsstadium.com for tickets and more information.
NEW YORK CITY: Bryan Adams. Bryan Adams went from scrappy rocker to international superstar with the release of his fourth album, Reckless. At the time, he joined Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen as the only artists to have six songs make the Billboard Hot 100 – including a #1 hit with the song ‘Heaven’. Reckless would become the most successful album of Adams’ career, selling 12 million copies worldwide. Bryan Adams is back on the road to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of his watershed album, which will include a two-night stand at The Beacon Theatre.
NEW YORK CITY: Vernon Reid. Living Colour founder and guitarist Vernon Reid takes a brief break from the band’s tour with Aerosmith to do two sets at the intimate Iridium. Given the recent passings of B.B. King and Ornette Coleman – two artists that Reid has worked with and have highly influenced his work, these shows should have an even more significance. Come out and see on the best guitarists on the planet. Go to www.theiridium.com for tickets and more information.
CHICAGO: Michael Franti & Spearhead. Whether it was with The Beatnigs, Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, or with his current band Spearhead, the music of Michael Franti has always taken a critical, yet compassionate look at life’s highs and lows. Franti & Spearhead will be doing a series of shows at Thalia Hall in support of their new album, All People. Spearhead shows are always communal, so get ready to get involved and have some fun. Go to www.thaliahallchicago.com for tickets and more information.
CHICAGO: The Ravinia Festival. North America’s longest running outdoor music festival kicks off this week. Over 600,00 people come out to see close to 150 acts ranging from classical, jazz, blues and rock. Some of the avinia Festival is the oldest outdoor music festival in North America and is lauded for presenting world-class music. The 3 month season attracts about 600,000 listeners each year and it features up to 150 events that span all genres from classical music to jazz to music theater over each three-month summer season. This weekend will feature The Tedeschi Trucks Band and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. Other acts that will perform during the summer will include Aretha Franklin, Brian Wilson, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga, Sheryl Crow, Santana, Steely Dan, The Steve Miller Band, The Doobie Brothers, Aimee Mann and much more. A great series that offers something for everyone. Go to www.ravinia.org for a complete list of shows, tickets and additional information.
LOS ANGELES: Bell Biv Devoe & Doug E Fresh. Spun off from the highly successful group New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe ushered in the New Jack Swing era with the new party classic, ‘Poison’. Doug E. Fresh is a hip hop pioneer, bringing beatboxing into the pop culture landscape, thanks to such hits as ‘The Show’ and ‘La-Di-Da-Di’ (with Slick Rick). Together they will be turning out Club Nokia in L.A. Guaranteed to be straight up old school fun. Go to www.clubnokia.com for tickets and more information.
LOS ANGELES: Brian Wilson with Rodriguez. Wilson is riding a wave of renewed interest in his work, thanks to the success of the biopic Love & Mercy and his latest album, No Pier Pressure. Joining Wilson will be long time Beach Boy Al Jardine and long time Beach Boys collaborator Blondie Chaplin (who sang lead vocals on the Beach Boys hit, ‘Sail On Sailor’). Opening will be Rodriguez, an outstanding singer-songwriter who came back into the public eye due in large part to the Oscar winning film, ‘Searching For Sugar Man’. A great evening featuring two of rock’s most dynamic composers. Go to www.greektheatrela.com for more information.
LOS ANGELES: Dick Dale. A guitarist of the highest order Dick Dale, ‘The King Of The Surf Guitar’ will be performing at the Whisky. Dale’s influence can be felt on everyone from Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck right down to hard rock/metal gods such as Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Dimebag Darrell. Dale also made his way back into the contemporary pop landscape when his hit ‘Miserlou’ was featured in ‘Pulp Fiction’ and The Black Eyed Peas sampled it for the wildly popular ‘Pump It’. Don’t expect a scaled back performance either: He’s still giving high energy shows even though he just celebrated his 78th birthday. Come out and see a master guitarist at work. Go to www.dickdale.com for tickets and more information.
Want more excellence? Read last week’s The Filtered Excellence and visit The Interrobang Recommmends
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