The Filtered Excellence: June 27, 2013

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Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are this weeks picks of what to WATCH, what to DO what to TRY what to READ what to LISTEN TO and more:

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WATCH THIS:

This is Martin Bonner. (In theaters, limited) This is a film all about second chances in life. Martin Bonner, played with quiet command by Paul Eenhorn, is in his fifties when leaves the East Coast for Reno, Nevada. Here Martin begins his life anew. He experiments with speed dating and referees soccer games when he is not on the job working to help released prisoners transition to life on the outside. One of these prisoners, Travis Holloway (Richmond Arquette), is being released back into society after serving a twelve year sentence. A surprising bond forms between the two men resulting in an unexpected friendship which generates support and understanding for them both. This is Martin Bonner is a small film full of low-key realism in which the beauty, the significance, and the lasting impact, are experienced in the little details, and are often found in unlikely places. This is an astute and thoughtful film about friendship. Written and directed by Chad Hartigan, “This is Martin Bonner” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013 where it won the Audience Award for Best of NEXT.

How to Make Money Selling Drugs.  Produced by Adrian Grenier and directed by Matthew Cooke. In 1971, Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs. After 40 years and billions of dollars, The US is losing. This film shows who is winning. Watch it in theaters in select cities or on demand nationwide.

Help! Starring The Beatles. Directed by Richard Lester. The Beatles’ 2nd feature film gets the eagerly awaited Blue Ray/DVD treatment. A spoof of spy films and an homage to The Marx Brothers, The Fab Four bounce between London, The Austrian Alps and The Bahamas trying to avoid a religious cult who want one of Ringo’s rings. There’s, of course, a ton of great music including the title track, ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’, ‘Ticket To Ride’ and much more. Also included is a 30 minute documentary on the making of the film, outtakes, trailers and a look at how the film’s restoration process. It’s a light, loose look at the band at the height of Beatlemania. Help! is available now on Amazon, Itunes and all major retail outlets.

Bad 25. The making of Michael Jackson’s 7th album – the follow up to the mega-selling Thriller – is out now on Blue Ray/DVD. Lee was given full access to the Jackson archive – including never-before seen studio footage and live material from the Bad tour – to give a full and comprehensive look at the height of his creative and commercial powers. There’s also interviews with collaborators, contemporaries and admirers to round out this compelling portrait of one of the greatest entertainers of this, or any time. Bad 25 will be available on July 2nd through Amazon, Itunes and through all major retailers.

The 100th Tour de France.  The 2013 Tour will be the 100th Tour de France.  The event  is the single biggest annual sporting event in the world, attended by 15 million people.  Because of the 100th anniversary,this year’s race takes place entirely within France for the first time in a decade with an emphasis on the hills and mountains that dominated the early Tours.  The event starts Saturday Saturday June 29, 2013 and runs through till  July 21, 2013.  NBC Sports Network will be running live coverage throughout the entire race. Live network television coverage of the dramatic mountain stages on will air on NBC.

Dexter. Season 8 premieres Sunday on Showtime. The story of the Bay Harbor Butcher starts its final season. Dexter’s serial killer secret has been found out by his sister Deb, who’s now been dragged into keeping his secret. Nobody is safe as the series wraps up. Does Dexter die? Does he end up in prison? The answers start coming Sunday night on Showtime at 9pm Eastern.

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LISTEN TO THIS

One True Vine by Mavis Staples. The career renaissance of one of music’s all-time great vocalists continues on her 13th studio album. Once again, she teams up with Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy (who also wrote 3 tracks specifically for Staples) to create a song cycle about the mysteries of faith, redemption and ultimately, salvation. What makes it interesting is the path they choose to get there: Tweedy plays all of the instruments throughout with his son Spencer plays drums. Also, the songs they chose to cover come from unusual places. ‘Holy Ghost’, by the indie band Low, becomes a song of wonder rather than doubt. Staples and Tweedy turn Funkadelic’s ‘Can You Get To That’ into a backyard romp. Nick Lowe’s ‘Far Celestial Shores’ is a glimpse into life after leaving this mortal coil. Staples even covers herself remaking The Staples hit ‘I Like The Things About Me’ into a self-expression anthem. In 2011, Mavis Staples won her first Grammy. She may have to get ready to accept another one in 2014. This album is another winner.

First Issue by Public Interest Limited. Formed in the summer of 1978, Public Image Limited – John Lydon, guitarist Keith Levene, Jah Wobble on bass, and drummer Jim Walker – aimed to fuse the energy of punk, the deep grooves of dub reggae and elements of underground and experimental music. What they ended up doing was laying the blueprint of what later became to known as post-punk, post-modern and grunge. Despite the fact that their explosive first single ‘Public Image’ hit the Top 10 on the UK charts, Warner Bros refused the release the album in the States on the grounds that it was ‘too uncommercial’. Now, 35 years later, the Seattle-based label Light In The Attic Records is finally giving the album a proper U.S. release. It contains the original album, the non-album B-side, ‘The Cowboy Song’, and an hour-long BBC interview with Lydon. Angry, visceral and pointed, First Issue has not lost none of its confrontational tone. It’s a seminal moment in the post-punk canon.

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DO THIS

Hoboken, New Jersey. Ian Hunter and the Rant Band. Mott the Hoople’s front man Ian Hunter will be playing in Hoboken at Maxwell’s on Tuesday, July 2nd with his group, the Rant Band. Ian will be doing his classics including “All The Young Dudes” plus material from his latest CD, “When I’m President”. The show starts at 8:30.

 

Forth Worth, Texas. Willie’s Picnic. It’s the 40th anniversary concert of Willie’s Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic at the Fort Worth Stockyards. There’s no better way to celebrate Independence Day than with Willie Nelson and Family. Plenty of acts joining Willie at this annual Summer celebration this year, including Ryan Bingham, Kris Kristofferson, David Allan Coe and Leon Russell. Tickets are still available.

 

New York City. Pride 2013. There’s no better year to get out to the biggest Pride celebration in the world. New York City’s Pride March begins at noon on Sunday, June 30th starting at 36th Street and heads down 5th Avenue to Christopher Street in the West Village. One of this year’s grand marshalls is Edie Windsor whose landmark lawsuit against the federal government was instrumental in the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal DOMA.

 

Death @ Le Poisson Rouge 7/1. In 1971, brothers David, Bobby and Dannis Hackney formed the band Death. They quickly made a name for themselves in the Detroit area for their aggressive, high energy shows that was rooted more in Alice Cooper and The Stooges rather then Motown. In 1974, Death attracted the attention of Columbia Records President Clive Davis, who agreed to fund sessions for a full length album. Seven songs were completed when Davis requested the band change its name. David, who came up with the band’s name, was dead set against it and his brothers, albeit reluctantly, agreed not to change the name. Davis withdrew his support and the album was shelved. Death would release one single from those sessions independently, but only 500 copies were pressed. Ironically, the band would break up in 1977, the same year punk, a sound that they helped create, exploded internationally. David Hackney would pass away from lung cancer in 2000 while Dannis and Bobby formed the reggae band Lambsbread. But the legend of Death would not go away. Their single from the aborted sessions became a much sought after item, demanding up to $900 on Ebay. Then in 2009, Drag City Records, using the 1975 master tapes that were stored away in the Hackney family attic, released For The Whole World To See to universal acclaim. This led to new offers for Death to reform and take their rightful place as punk pioneers. They’ll be at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City in support of the album and the new film about the group, A Band Called Death: The Documentary. It’s a still a high octane fueled show, so be prepared to hit the pit hard.

Sandra St. Victor @ BAM Cafe 6/29. Sandra St. Victor is a singer’s singer, the benchmark in which vocalists are trying to reach. She’s also a dynamic songwriter, having written for her group The Family Stand, The Temptations, Chaka Khan, and some dude named Prince. She’ll be at BAM Cafe performing Family Stand songs, killer covers of songs by WAR and Gil Scott-Heron and material from her forthcoming solo album Oya Grooves. Sandra is living overseas now, so anytime to see her perform stateside is a treat. The show is free, so arrive early. Show time is 9pm sharp.

The Editor

The Editor