Metallica: Bigger than The Beatles, Bono and Dave Matthews
Melissa Ruggieri
September 17, 2008 3:21 PM
With its ninth studio album, “Death Magnetic,” Metallica has become the first band to have five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. That breaks a tie with the Beatles, U2 and the Dave Matthews Band, which all had four number ones.
“Death” was released on Friday, and in only five days, has sold almost 500,000 copies.
The guys, profiled in a recent Rolling Stone interview (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/23089135), are also heading on tour this fall – with Richmond’s Lamb of God one of the chosen support acts. They’ll hit the Verizon Center in D.C. in January.
More info: http://www.verizoncenter.com/events/calendar.php?opts=detail&eid=2738&evtype=special
Concert review: The Cult still has fire
Melissa Ruggieri
September 13, 2008 4:31 PM
By Special Correspondent Hays Davis
It may have been over 20 years since The Cult got their foot in the door of an international audience with the single “She Sells Sanctuary,” but a big crowd at The National made it clear that singer Ian Astbury, guitarist Billy Duffy and their crew had not been forgotten.
After a well-received set from Richmond’s Ki:Theory, who are joining the headliners for a few dates, smoke began filling the room for what was getting close to being a what-the-heck-are-they-doing-back-there wait. Finally the band appeared, with Astbury bundled in a long-sleeved jacket and scarf (maybe the hot tub backstage wasn’t on its game).
The National crowd was way up for everything the band brought out, both new and old. A second guitarist rounded out a five-piece lineup, freeing Duffy to break into more lead work while keeping the sound full. Astbury was in good voice; while he seemed careful not to attempt to hit every protracted high note from their earlier recordings, it’s doubtful that anyone present would have taken him to task over not meeting expectations.
For anyone who felt that The Cult’s latest album, 2007’s “Born Into This,” didn’t quite hit the peaks of their glory days, hearing them play songs like “I Assassin” live may have prodded more than a few to consider giving that album a fresh spin. And if the new stuff sounded better from the stage, old favorites like “Wild Flower” and “Edie (Ciao Baby)” went over doubly well.
When his between-song chatting was intelligible, Astbury took some time to get friendly with the crowd while Duffy switched guitars, at one point gauging their musical interests: “Do you like Black Kids? How about the German band Neu from Stuttgart?” He barely had a chance to catch their response before Duffy struck some new chords and the band moved on.
The audience was twisted tight by the night’s end, with some of the best tunes saved for last, and when “Love Removal Machine” cranked up just before the encores the room blew apart. Here, Duffy stepped out as the guitar hero an earlier generation remembered him to be, and he seemed to genuinely enjoy tearing into the solo that was a highlight of 1987’s “Electric” album.
Practically everyone in attendance held their places for the encores. While “Fire Woman” went over well as expected, all were waiting for the big finish of “She Sells Sanctuary,” and The Cult gave them no less than they’d given 20-plus years before.
Astbury and Duffy would be the first to tell you that their time together over the past couple of decades hasn’t exactly been a long, warm ride into the sunset, but Friday’s show was startling evidence that The Cult may be sparking as much fire on theater stages these days as they ever did in arenas.
New show: “Fringe” is smart, intricate…and somewhat icky
Melissa Ruggieri
September 09, 2008 2:22 AM
Of all the new shows this season, none has as much buzz as “Fringe,” the latest from the mind of “Lost”/ “Alias” guru JJ Abrams.
The show, which debuts tonight at 8 on Fox (an encore airs at 8 p.m. Sunday), is a gooey blend of “The X-Files” and “CSI” – with a little bit of “Lost”’s paranoia and unexplainable sci-fi touches.
You might wonder during the show’s opening sequence why Abrams apparently has some weird fascination with bad things happening on airplanes (see: “Lost” pilot).
But so far, the show’s strongest points are the ones that make all of Abrams shows more than riveting plot twists – it’s the people.
Newcomer Anna Torv is FBI agent Olivia Dunham. Her partner – who is a little more than a work pal – John Scott (Mark Valley), encounters some unfortunate repercussions while investigating the aforementioned plane issue (cue the icky CGI effects).
Olivia – an appealing mixture of steely, Scully-like determination and a wussy romantic – frantically tries to find someone to help John. Her discovery is Walter Bishop, a genius with a few flaws: he’s been institutionalized for 17 years and isn’t the easiest person to work with.
Bishop’s son, Peter, (Joshua Jackson) is recruited as a translator of sorts, and during their investigation, the discovery that a big, evil, multi-billion dollar company might have had something to do with the bizarre events that occurred on the plane.
Last week, Abrams, who is the show’s co-creator, executive producer and writer, along with former “Dawson’s Creek” star Jackson, talked to reporters about what “Fringe” represents and where it might be going.
Jackson said he wasn’t necessarily looking to return to TV, but…
“This project drew me back specifically. The quality of the script, which is now our pilot, and the density of it. And while it was a totally satisfying story unto itself, you could see it was laid in there with potential for a whole world, a whole universe of other stories. And JJ’s ability with the group of people surrounding him to tell these stories well over a long period of time, that was my hope if I ever came back to TV—to be with a group of people who had a track record of being able to keep shows at a high level over a long period of time. I think JJ is the best on TV with that right now…
I try not to live my life as much as possible defining myself against something. I didn’t worry about coming back as that guy from ‘Dawson’s Creek’ – I wasn’t purposely running from that, but I wasn’t looking for television work.”
Abrams talked a bit about how far the writers will push something before it becomes unbelievable:
“When we did the pilot for ‘Lost,’ we had the monster appear at the end of the first act. We did that very consciously because we wanted to say to the audience, we’re jumping the shark now, we’re doing crazy s*** from the beginning, we’re not going to wait.
On ‘Fringe,’ we very consciously did what is in many ways, a preposterous, out there, far-fetched story point in order to say to the audience, this is what you’re going to be getting on the show, it may be more extreme in some cases, less so in others. Some shows will deal with science very much as it exists, but the most part, for me…in the genre of horror and sci-fi, we’re pushing the envelope and going further than you might otherwise.
I think the show will definitely be pushing the envelope, but I don’t think we’re going to be trying to top ourselves every week, because then we’ll just be in a race with ourselves and we won’t be able to win that one…I’d rather be delving into who these people are and what makes them tick than doing something just for shock value.”
Abrams was also asked why he picked Jackson for the pivotal role of Peter:
“I’ve know Josh a little bit from the days of ‘Dawson’s Creek. I was doing ‘Felicity’ so I was in that same universe. I’ve always been a fan, loved his sense of humor and the gravity that I thought he could bring to something as self-operatic as what we were doing on the WB…I felt the same thing with Keri Russell. There are actors where you go, they are really good! They elevate the material and make it better, and all you ever want is actors who will make it better. I always felt that Josh had that ability.”
Jackson then talked about why he wanted the role of Peter, and how his character interacts with his unstable father and the desperate Olivia.
“While there’s a lot of stuff going on with Peter, the fun of playing him boils down to being a translator between Walter, who is brilliant but half-cracked, and Olivia, an intensely no-nonsense character. She’s very much a just-the-facts-ma’m person. You bring this Peter character into that world who has to be the extremely reluctant go-between—that’s an interesting dynamic…That boils down in my mind to a very typical dysfunctional family. You put that dynamic, which is relatable and understandable to everybody, and put it in this fantastically outrageous world of ‘Fringe’— that makes for an interesting day’s work.”
Abrams also noted that over time, a relationship between Peter and Olivia will definitely surface.
Finally, Abrams fielded the inevitable question of how does “Fringe” compare to “Lost” or “Alias”?
“My expectations are sort of irrelevant. I never know what to expect. You can never guess or assume what anyone will think…it’s one of those shows that if I had nothing to do with it and I saw it coming out, I’d want to kill myself, I’d be so miserable, because it’s so the show that I want to watch. That doesn’t mean anyone else will or it’s good or bad, but it’s so the show that I’m excited to shoot.
One of the experiments we’re doing on “Fringe” is writing the show so it’s not as overly serialized as ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’ are or were…because I’m so drawn to long-term stories, there will still be the mythology, the evolution of characters, what the pattern means, how they connect to that.”
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MTV Video Music Awards: Now we know…the show CAN get worse
Melissa Ruggieri
September 07, 2008 11:47 PM
Where have all the cool stars gone? Are Lil Wayne, with his hand attached to his crotch, and Miley Cyrus butchering a Bon Jovi song during what was essentially a plug for Rockband 2, what music stardom has come to?
When Pink and Christina Aguilera, stars of five years ago, provide the performance highlights of the night, it doesn’t say much for the magnetism of any newbies.
There was so much to hate during the interminable two-ish hours of the MTV Video Music Awards, starting with Britney Spears’ much-hyped opening of the show.
After a lame pre-taped bit with the unfunnier-by-the-second Jonah Hill, where his many attempts to kiss her were passed off as relaxation techniques, the show cut to a live Britney exiting her dressing room and heading to the stage.
She looked great, to be sure – shapely and healthy. But her visibly nervous rush through her TelePrompTer lines to basically say, “Here we are at the VMAs,” was a waste of everyone’s time.
Of course, when she inexplicably won Best Female Video minutes later for her (luke)warmly received “Gimme More” – and later for Best Pop Video and the, ahem, prestigious Video of the Year (for “Piece of Me”)—her last-minute decision to appear on the show suddenly made sense. Feeling bad after destroying her morale last year, MTV?
<<< Photo: Scott Kirkland <<<
(And for anyone who cares, she thanked pretty much the same people during her first two trips to the podium: God, whom she has apparently found, her “beautiful” family and her “two beautiful boys.”)
While many who watched this 25th installment of the award show probably found host Russell Brand extremely polarizing, I actually give the guy credit for daring to inject political commentary into his breathless and restless bits between presenters. Whether or not that belongs in the goofiest of all music award shows is another story.
But at least the little-known Brit, with his crazy eyes and coif, seemed more excited than most of the gum-chewing, glazed-over Barbie dolls in the crowd (were they passing out packs of Stride at the entrance?).
Some decent moments from this year’s show:
-- Hometown guy Chris Brown picked up one Moonman for Best Male Video (“With You”). Accepting in a white dinner jacket with electric blue tie, the always-smiley Chris Breezy noted from the podium, “Personally, I didn’t think I deserve this award. I thought Weezy was gonna get it.”
<<< Photo: Scott Kirkland <<<
It’s OK, Chris. The less we see of Lil Wayne, the better. But why no performance, when we got two from your girlfriend, Rihanna?
-- The Jonas Brothers made their first VMA appearance on a studio backlot (the show took place at Paramount Studios in Hollywood) that looked an awful lot like “Sesame Street.” Then their dreamy acoustic version of “Love Bug” broke into a full rock spectacle, with the floodgates on the lot being opened for a stampede of fans.
Brand called it a “career-defining” performance. I’ll go with, it was good.
-- Brilliant idea to put Pink on a set where she could throw extras down subway stairs and blow up stuff. Her ferocious take on “So What” was one of two genuinely exciting moments in the show.
-- Ms. Aguilera >>> gets the other nod, not just for squeezing her post-pregnancy bod into black spandex and unleashing a slick, electro-dance “Genie in a Bottle,” but for pretty much saying to last year’s Britney, “THIS is what a well-rehearsed performance looks like, honey.”
Christina’s new song, an ambitious cabaret synth-rocker, sounded great…but why so much lip-synching? She and Pink are the only two people on this bill who can actually belt. What a waste.
Photo: Scott Kirkland >>>
And some forgettable/embarrassing moments:
-- What was up with those VMA “alerts” during commercials? I’d rather watch that painful Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates spot than be distracted by quizzes and updates and all kinds of other nonsense cramming the TV screen. We are officially an ADD nation – we have no patience and can’t stand any suspense. It’s actually rather sad.
-- <<< Katy Perry, LL Cool J, Lupe Fiasco and the Ting Tings sure got the big middle finger from MTV.
Perry singing “Like a Virgin” into a commercial break was a cute novelty moment, but then MTV proved how little they care about any of these artists (and most of these were some of the more viable ones on the performance roster) by giving them the unenviable 20-second slot on returns from commercials.
Perry has the biggest chick song of the summer with “I Kissed a Girl,” but you only heard the last verse. Same deal for all of the others. The only slight upside was watching Travis Barker pound his drum kit behind them, especially for LL Cool J.
-- Michael Phelps: Love ya, dude, and those eight medals are an awesome accomplishment. But I am SO not looking forward to “SNL” this week, given that you’re completely devoid of any natural talent for timing or TelePrompTer reading.
-- What was that weird ongoing dialogue about promise rings?
Brand made a crude joke about the Jonas Brothers wearing them, then Jordin Sparks, while introducing T.I., basically said that anyone who DOESN’T wear a promise ring is a “slut,” then Brand apologized for his earlier crack about the Jonas Brothers and THEN, on the post-show, gossip maven Perez Hilton stated that he didn’t think it was cool of Brand to make fun of the JBs, especially since Brand has been a tabloid target in the U.K. for his own sex addiction.
Oy. Where’s David Duchovny to clear all of this up?
Anyway, since this show was ostensibly about honoring videos, here is the list of this year’s winners:
http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2008/winners.jhtml
Getting the best hotel room
Melissa Ruggieri
September 07, 2008 12:54 AM
Depending upon my mood and level of exhaustion when I arrive at a hotel, my reaction to a cruddy room falls anywhere between shut-up-and-take-it and I’m sorry, do I maintain a silver Marriott card so you can stick me in the equivalent of a dorm room and charge $250 for it?
In Las Vegas, where I travel most often, slipping the clerk a $20 (or even a $10, depending upon the hotel) will usually net you a slight upgrade—maybe a corner room or one with a view of The Strip if you contort your body at just the right angle.
In other cities, such as New York or Philly, I’ve complained about my room maybe four out of 10 times and yes, I am always as pleasant as I can muster. At some point, you just know when a front desk clerk has stuck you in a dank room with a view of the parking garage wall just because he couldn’t be bothered to type a few extra keystrokes but, frankly, as annoyng as that is, I realize that being surly isn’t going to get me anywhere.
Recently, a friend and I visited Philly and stayed at the downtown Marriott Courtyard. The woman at the front desk was curt and distracted, and when we schlepped upstairs to find our room next to the elevator, the size of my laundry room and, yes, with a view of the parking garage wall, I immediately called downstairs to ask if there might be something else available. How interesting that this new person on the phone apologized for putting us in such sub-par accomodations and within minutes, we were relocated to a room twice the size with a view of Philly’s gorgeous City Hall building.
Hey, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Besides, you’re paying for it, so why not try to get the best for your dollar?
Check out this great New York Times story for some more tips:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/travel/31heads.html?ref=travel
“Entourage”: The boys are back in town…eventually
Melissa Ruggieri
September 05, 2008 3:08 AM
Last we saw the “Entourage” boys, they were weathering the scathing reaction to Vincent Chase’s pet project, “Medellin,” at the Cannes Film Festival.
What could be worse than a booing audience?
An even more vicious dissection of the film by Richard Roeper, who eviscerates the movie on his TV show (which now no longer exists – but who knew that when this was filmed?) by saying it’s “overacted, under-directed…and a good bet for the top 10 worst of the year.”
Season five of “Entourage” (Sunday, 10 p.m. on HBO) begins with its usual caustic tone – this time, it’s the mean critics who know nothing…except when a movie that went straight to video is, indeed, a piece of garbage.
But Vince’s plummet from Aqua Man to Nowhere Man turns out to be exactly the kind of emotional curveball the show needed. So much of last season suffered from the gang’s complacent pomposity, and by humbling Vince and, by default, eager manager Eric, it stimulates a hunger in these guys that they had lost when success seemed so easy.
While E mopes and Johnny Drama ties himself to his laptop Web cam to stay in constant co-dependent contact with the French girl (Jacqueline) we think he hooked up with in Cannes (who can remember?), Vince is distracting himself from his first failure in the only way he knows how – by scoring chicks. Lots of them. On a remote Mexican island where he can look like Chewbacca in cutoffs and drink the days away with Turtle and the bevy of half-dressed women who probably couldn’t even spell “Medellin.”
Some things never change – and in the case of Ari Gold, that’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.
As usual, Ari, in his constant blur of spastic motion, is obnoxious, belligerent and hilariously abusive with his verbal torpedoes. Yeah, his eye is only on the final box office tallies, but, in his own oily way, he cares about Vince, and his first mission – with E – is to bring the boy back to land.
Vince, initially, is reluctant, choosing instead to tip back another bottle of tequila. But a tease from a major director for a major part in a major movie lures him back – and gets him to shave that awful face rug.
These spoiled guys aren’t used to living in, as Ari yells, “this post-‘Medellin’ world,’ and Vince quickly learns that having the football yanked away at the last second is something that will probably happen frequently.
By episode two, a chastened Vinny turns out to be quite an appealing one. When Ari bluntly tells him that he’s a great movie star, rather than a great actor, it’s a fine moment of, well, acting, from Adrian Grenier, whose wounded puppy reaction turns to I’ll-show-‘em’all defiance in a matter of seconds.
Now, Vince’s ambition is ignited, and even though he’s “in movie jail” – a Ralph Macchio whose career is on ice after one misstep – he’s at least realized that he has to make an effort to redeem himself.
So much of the fun of “Entourage” is its mimicking of Hollywood and in that regard, it’s as sharp as the first three seasons. Johnny’s dopey machismo is demonstrated with his usual bluster (his breakdown after not being able to reach Frenchie on the Web cam is especially amusing), and Turtle’s New-York-for-evuh loyalty to his crew reminds us of the steely bond among this quartet.
The show is also up to its usual standards on the cameo end, with show creator Mark Wahlberg making an appearance in the second episode, along with Tony Bennett playing himself, and Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas as a couple of hick wannabe screenwriters whom E wants to represent.
With Fran Drescher, Kevin Pollack and Jeffrey Tambor scheduled to appear during this 12-episode run, this season is already superior to the last one.
Just keep giving us lots of Ari.
Britney’s back for the VMAs
Melissa Ruggieri
September 04, 2008 6:30 PM
Well, at least she’s smart enough to refrain from performing—or so we think.
Britney Spears will open Sunday’s 25th annual MTV Video Music Awards, and producers say it will be something “fun and exciting,” which is how we know it won’t be a performance.
If you have a TV set, surely you remember last year’s VMA debacle, <<< which was billed as Britney’s big comeback, but turned into a sad, embarrassing train wreck of horrible lip-synching and stilted dancing.
“MTV has long played an important role in my career,” she said in a statement. “How can I not be there to kick off their 25th VMAs? I’m excited to open the entire show, to say hi to my fans and to be nominated.”
Britney is up for three awards for her single, “Piece of Me”—Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year.
The show airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on MTV. For more griping from me about what the show has turned into, click here: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainment/music.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-09-04-0029.html
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“Prison Break” returns—and it’s good!
Melissa Ruggieri
September 01, 2008 3:00 AM
Somewhere around the fourth ridiculous death match in that dirt yard of the Panamanian jail, I gave up on “Prison Break” last season.
Among the endless sweating, a convoluted plot line that made the first two seasons look sensible and Sara’s head in a box (ahem), it became too laborious to follow.
Besides, I had “The Big Bang Theory” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” tapped for TiVo on Monday nights.
But, having seen tonight’s two-hour season four premiere of Fox’s “Prison Break,” I’ve gotta say…they’ve hooked me,
The Sona prison is history (burned to the ground by the derelicts running the joint), so our tortured hero, Michael Scofield, is finally roaming around like a real person, first in L.A., then Chicago (which is still really L.A.).
Michael (Wentworth Miller) looks older, tired, beefier – and why wouldn’t he after living in that slum of a prison? No way anyone got any rest in that place. Plus, the evil Company, the mysterious group who kidnapped Linc’s son, LJ, has supposedly beheaded his beloved Sara Tandcredi, so Michael is now fueled solely by revenge.
Oh, let’s just get this out of the way, since it really isn’t a spoiler for anyone with a computer or access to a magazine or eyes to see the picture next to this review: The head in the box last season? Not Sara. Linc’s excuse for incorrectly informing his brother that the love of his life was a headless corpse (“Uhhhh….it was dark in the room and I didn’t want to get grossed out and touch the head,” is basically how it goes) is laughable and almost Bobby Ewing quality.
But, whatever. Sarah Wayne Callies, the actress who plays Sara, apparently made nice with the producers over her contract (the reason she was written out of the show last year) and Michael can make goo goo eyes at her again. Except, strangely, when the two are finally reunited, there isn’t much of an emotional payoff.
Perhaps you’ve also heard that some major/recurring characters get whacked in these return episodes. Tis true.
One is disposed of so quickly, it actually is briefly shocking, while the other two meet the kind of demise we’re better off not knowing details about. Let’s just say that Alex Mahone (William Fichtner) has new reasons to pop pills – and understandably so.
The source of the killings is The Company’s creepy/quiet henchman, Wyatt, who is determined to find Michael, Linc and Sara; the official “story” is that they’ve been sent to a Supermax prison, but c’mon, like these icy murderers are going to fall for that? Michael even endures the excruciating removal of his full body tattoo (and without a sedative—he’s such a man!) to make himself less conspicuous. Again, as if that makes hiding from People Who Know Everything any easier?
It appears that the thrust of this season will focus on Michael, Linc, Alex and, believe it or not, the ever-grubby Bellick, working with Homeland Security (the always welcome Michael Rappaport joins the cast as a government agent who is an ally for the gang) to bring down The Company.
Also in the mix, of course, is T-Bag, who is separated from the group, but in possession of an item that is crucial to Michael’s crew. A scene with one of TV’s oiliest, yet somehow likeable creeps, as he sits sucking on sunflower seeds is grotesque in so many ways. But the kicker of the night is when T-Bag is asked, “What? You eat some bad Mexican?”
You’ll never look at a taco the same way again.
LL—later than you might think
Melissa Ruggieri
August 28, 2008 7:51 PM
If you’re hitting Saturday’s LL Cool J concert at Brown’s Island, don’t expect the big man to show up before sundown.
Though gates open at 5 p.m. – and a DJ is scheduled to do DJ things until 5:30 p.m. – LL isn’t expected on stage until around 9 p.m.
In the ensuing three and a half hours, you’ll be treated to an array of local singers, comedians and a dance talent contest.
Tickets for the event are still available through Ticketmaster for $25.
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Phelps and Lil Wayne do SNL…will it run late?
Melissa Ruggieri
August 27, 2008 7:48 PM
Will it start late or run late? That’s what I’m wondering with the news that this season’s “Saturday Night Live” premiere will star Olympic god Michael Phelps as host and the I-do-things-on-my-own-time Lil Wayne.
The pairing makes sense, as Phelps often spoke of his affinity for the frequently arrested, never on time, mega-selling rapper. Apparently, Wayne’s ‘I’m Me” fired up Phelps before his races.
The Sept. 13 show will be the first of four live “SNL”’s in a row, and the show will air seven new episodes prior to the presidential election. Given Fred Armisen’s tepid impersonation of Barack Obama, is anyone really excited about this?
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