The Filtered Excellence: March 27, 2013
Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are 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:
MLB – Opening Day on ESPN. Baseball is back and this year, ESPN will kick off the season with games stretching out over 12 hours. At 1pm, the Cubs will open in Pittsburgh against the revitalized Pirates team lead by MVP Andrew McCutchen. At 3pm on ESPN 2, the Boston Red Sox kick off their World Series title defense in Baltimore against the Orioles. For the traditionalists, the retooled Cincinnati Reds will host the National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals at 4pm. The Colorado Rockies visit the Miami Marlins at 7pm on ESPN 2 and the final game of the night will feature two teams looking to stake their claim to the AL West: The Seattle Mariners – with the recently added Robinson Cano to their lineup visits Anahiem to take on the Angels. Game time will be 10pm on ESPN 2. A full plate of games for baseball junkies!
Saturday Night Live Hosted by Louis CK. America’s favorite comedian returns for a second time to host Saturday Night Live this weekend. Louis CK is back on SNL after killing it on the show in 2012 right after Hurricane Sandy had hit the East Coast. We can only hope for more of Louis as “Lincoln” or any other president. Special musical guest will be Sam Smith. Louis CK hosts SNL this Saturday, March 29th at 11:30 pm Eastern.
Inside Amy Schumer – Season 2 Premiere. The hysterical Amy Schumer is back with a brand new season of her Comedy Central show, Inside Amy Schumer. Get finger blasted with all new Inside Amy Schumer episodes, full of Cinderella fantasies, electric chairs and kittens. Guest stars include Michael Ian Black, Zach Braff, Janeane Garofalo, Colin Quinn and Paul Giamatti. The second season of Inside Amy Schumer begins Tuesday, April 1st at 10:30 pm Eastern on Comedy Central. You can also see Amy Schumer on the road this weekend at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago on Friday, March 28th at 8 pm and Sunday, March 30th at 8 pm at the UB Center for the Arts in Buffalo, New York.
2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. The madness continues. How’s your bracket? The Sweet 16 games are underway. They wrap up on Friday, March 28th. Then this weekend, the Elite 8 face each other.Who will make it into 2014’s Final Four? Elite 8 games happen Saturday, March 29th and Sunday, March 30th on CBS and TBS. Check your local listings.
LISTEN TO THIS:
Dylan’s Gospel by The Brothers And Sisters. After producing hits for Jan & Dean, Johnny Rivers, The Mamas & Papas and spearheading The Monterey International Pop Festival, Lou Adler had the clout to pursue a passion project: Matching the powerful words of Bob Dylan with the gospel-influenced vocalists that sung backup on many of his productions. He called in acclaimed arranged Gene Page (best known for his work with Motown and later for Barry White) to do the charts, and assembled a virtual ‘who’s who’ of L.A.’s top session singers including Merry Clayton (fresh off of doing her powerful duet with Mick Jagger on the Stones classic ‘Gimme Shelter’) and Gloria Jones (who recorded the original – and still the best – version of ‘Tainted Love’) to handle the vocals. Adler named them ‘The Brothers And Sisters Of Los Angeles’ and fueled by food, family plus a spirit of love and community, cut the album in just four days. Released in 1969 on Adler’s Ode Records, Dylan’s Gospel was a favorite among critics and musicians before going out of print. Thanks to Light In The Attic Records, the album will finally get a proper reissue on CD and vinyl. Remastered from the original tapes, the project features remembrances from Adler and Clayon, along with archival photos taken from the sessions. Songs like ‘The Times They A-Changin’, ‘Chimes Of Freedom’, and ‘The Mighty Quinn’ sound absolutely majestic, while ‘All Along The Watchtower’ seems to foreshadow both the promise of Woodstock and the realities of Altamount. A fantastic spin on one of the greatest songwriting catalogs of all-time.
DO THIS:
NEW YORK CITY: The Music Of Paul Simon. Carnegie Hall. March 31. Producer/promoter Michael Dorf’s annual an all-star jam at Carnegie Hall will pay tribute to one of New York’s own, Paul Simon. Featured performers will include Allen Toussaint, Sam Moore, Angelique Kidjo, Bettye LaVette, John Doe of X, Gibby Haynes of Butthole Surfers, Phish’s Mike Gordon, Joe Henry, Madeline Peyroux and a few surprises. These tributes are always loaded with highlights and often takes the music into unexpected places. With this lineup, it shouldn’t be any different. Proceeds from the event go towards music education non-profit organizations.
NEW YORK CITY: Tout Truffaut at The Film Forum. Francois Truffaut kicked off The French New Wave Movement of the 1950’s and 60s, which in turn, played a huge role on how American films were made in the late 60’s through the 1970s. Starting on March 28th, The Film Forum will have a full on retrospective of his work behind the camera and as an actor. The films will include 400 Blows, Jules And Jim, Breathless (which he wrote and Jean-Luc Godard directed), Fahrenheit 451, Day For Night, The Man Who Loved Women, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and much more. This is a must see series of fans of classic 70s films – and film in general. A loving salute to one of the greatest directors of all-time. Tout Truffaut will run at the Film Forum from March 28th through April 17th.
NEW YORK CITY: Only Lovers Left Alive Preview Screening And Party at Sunshine Cinema 4/1. Jim Jarmusch’s latest film – about vampires who live and love in Detroit and Tangier – will have a special preview screening at New York’s Sunshine Cinema before opening in NY and L.A. on April 11th. Following the screening, there will be live performances at Santo’s Party House featuring bands on the soundtrack including Jarmusch’s band Squrl. The $35 ticket price covers both the screening and the concert. Attendees are also encouraged to wear sunglasses and dress gloves. A Jim Jarmusch film is always an event and this has the makings of being epic.
NEW YORK CITY: First Time Festival April 3-7. This latest edition of this unique and acclaimed film festival will feature a competition of debut films by new directors, advance screenings of upcoming films by first time directors and panel discussions ranging from securing an agent, funding your passion project, selling your film and film scoring. In addition, the first films of the top directors working today will also be screened by a Q&A with the directors and cinematogphers. Directors scheduled to appear include Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Moore, Albert Maysles, James Toback, Jennie Livingston, Kelly Reichardt, Fred Elmes and Julie Taymor, who will also be awarded the John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema. It is one of the few, if not the only, film festival that champions the next wave of directors while honoring the debut works of the best in the game. Also a rare chance to meet some of the finest cinema has to offer – all in an intimate setting. The First Time Festival runs April 3rd through the 7th.
WASHINGTON D.C.: American Cool at The National Portrait Gallery through September 7th. What is ‘cool’ has always been a subject of debate and has changed through the years. Or has it? For ‘American Cool’, The National Portrait Gallery has assembled an array of images covering several generations that attempts to answer that question. The exhibit covers everyone from Cagney to Cobain, Ali to Jay Z, Mitchum to Depp, Garbo to Dunaway, Mae West to Madonna, Buster Keaton to Bill Murray and all points in between. The images used also embody cool: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Annie Leibovitz, from Richard Avedon, Herman Leonard, Diane Arbus and Mark Seliger, just to name a few. Everyone interested in the arts should make a trip to the National Portrait Gallery. With this exhibit, it becomes all the more cooler. Free admission too. American Cool will be at The National Portrait Gallery through September 7th.
NEW YORK CITY. The Roseland Ballroom Final Shows. The historic Roseland Ballroom is closing after 95 years of entertainment. Originally opened in New York City in 1919 on 51st and Broadway and then at its current location on 52nd Street since 1958, the Roseland Ballroom has been host to the biggest names in show business including Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, the Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Bob Dylan. The final shows begin Friday, March 28th at 8 pm with a series of Lady Gaga concerts. The Gaga shows run March 28, 30, 31 and April 2, 4, 6 and 7.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. Tig Notaro Presents Krullapalooza. Comedian Tig Notaro is starting an annual comedy festival in memory of actress Suzanne Krull. Tig headlines a night of comedy that includes Zach Galifianakis, Reggie Watts and Patton Oswalt. The event will benefit Survivors Truths and its TransYouth Speak project which is a reach out program for transgender young people. Tig Notaro Presents Krullapalooza happens Tuesday, April 1st at 8 pm at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles.
NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS. Bill Cosby: Far From Finished. The comedy icon Bill Cosby is “Far From Finished” and he’s proving it Saturday, March 29th with 2 shows at North Central College’s Pfeiffer Hall. The tour supports his “Far From Finished” video special, his first concert special in 30 years. TV’s favorite dad will be bringing his unique perspective on life to North Central College on Saturday, with his first show at 2 pm and then second at 8 pm. Both shows are sold out, so look for tickets online.
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