[Theater] According to publicists for Park City's Egyptian Theatre Company, the current production of Cabarethas apparently served a valuable Knucklehead Identification function.
Reportedly, a woman in Park City was disturbed by promotional materials displayed at the Main Street theater for the well-known musical--because they feature the swastika. Those unfamiliar with Cabaret should be aware that the play is set in Weimar-era Germany, just as the Nazi Party is coming to power while many of the characters attempt to pretend that it has no impact on their freewheeling lives; the play is hardly Springtime for Hitler. Park City police were brought into the dispute when the theater refused to remove the "offending" materials, but took no action.
I'm not quite sure how to top the basic facts. What other examples of gross artistic-point-missing would compare? And over and above that, what has contributed to the mass infantilization of Americans that we insist anything that might possibly ruffle feathers must be hidden from view? You do not have a Constitutionally-protected right not to be offended. (Scott Renshaw)
[Film Fest Gossip]City Weekly received a hot, unverifiable-but-so-what tip just moments ago that a certain columnist for a Salt Lake daily newspaper was spotted at Sundance media-credentials headquarters in Park City throwing a virtual diva shit-fit because--oh, the humanity!--he couldn't yet pick up his bag of free swag! How is this journalist supposed to do his job without his New Line/Heineken bottle opener? Or his Fox Searchlight hand cream? This is unacceptable! Heads will roll! (Bill Frost)
[Film Fest] Park City is a stupid place for a world-class film festival.
Allow me to clarify that: Park City is a beautiful place. But it is at high altitude. It is January. It is approximately 8 degrees. It is snowing. The road conditions suck. And there will be thousands more people than the city was designed to support crowding those roads.
But here we all are, hoping that the quality of the films and the cinephile camaraderie make it all worthwhile. For a journalist, that could mean a dodgy first day, as the press screenings for the competition films generally don’t precede the first public screening. We get a shot at less buzzed-about entries, like the Spectrum category documentary The Linguists. It follows social scientists David Harrison and Gregory Anderson as they attempt to document the world’s dying languages: the native Siberian tongue Chulym; Native American Indian languages with speakers remaining in the single digits. At just 64 minutes, it doesn’t quite have enough time to develop its main characters, but their enthusiasm for their mission – including discovering a counting system improbably based on 20 and 12 simultaneously – helps carry the narrative.
And after all, isn’t the new and improbable what we’re all here plowing through the snow to discover? (Scott Renshaw)
[Fest Music]Anvil, the Toronto metal band that should taken over the world, is playing a night show at the Star Bar Jan. 21. Action starts at 8 p.m., but I'd get there early if I were you. I'd like to see Anvil battle Maroon 5 in the middle of Main Street. Come on! Let's see how well your action-hero moves play out in real time, Levine.
[Music] If you've never been to, or perhaps never even heard of, the Star Bar you're not alone. The Park City private club typically only opens on special occasions, namely during Sundance when the below-ground venue transforms into an intimate stomping grounds for filmmakers, publicists, composers and yes, killer bands. Credential holders are invited to attend the afternoon/early evening Music Cafe shows which allows a lucky few to catch acts like Silversun Pickups and The Bird & The Bee up close and personal. At night, the Star Bar takes down the semi-velvet rope for several concerts open to the public. This year's lineup is as follows:
Thursday, Jan. 17 Slamdance Opening Party M1 of Dead Prez Umi of P.O.W. DJ Joro Boro Emcee Sick of Pseudo Slang Uprok DJs
Friday, Jan. 18 Sub Pop Showcase Kelley Stoltz The Helio Sequence Daniel Martin Moore
Saturday, Jan. 19 Private Party
Sunday, Jan. 20 Rabbit & The Moon
Tuesday, Jan. 22 Butch Walker Will Bailey Dusty Rhodes & The River Band
Wednesday , Jan. 23 Tim Williams Everest Dirty Sweet
Friday, Jan 25 The Ruby Release (formerly Johnny Walker’s Dead Horses) Oliver Future Roman Numerals
[Music] Maybe someday, we'll get Juliette Lewis and her band The Licks to play a proper Salt Lake City show--maybe. Months ago, she was scheduled to open for Chris Cornell at The Depot, so we of course had to talk to her. Cornell then cancelled, leaving us with only Juliette ink.
The Licks returned later in the summer--but to Orem, opening for (of all bands) Muse. Juliette Lewis in Utah County ... the mind wobbles.
Tonight, Juliette & The Licks are back in the U-T-A-H again--this time, at Park City's Suede. PC is where I became a Licks convert a couple of years ago, witnessing the band rip through a hot set at Harry O's during the Sundance Film Festival. The crowd didn't give a shit; they were just there to be seen, which annoyed headliners Kings of Leon to no end. Lewis was unfazed. She's used to Sundance dickheads.
Here's a live clip of The Licks playing "Hot Kiss" from the new Four on the Floor album--not all actors attempting rock & roll are posers; Lewis is the real deal:
[Theater] According to publicists for Park City's Egyptian Theatre Company, the current production of Cabaret has apparently served a valuable Knucklehead Identification function.
