Ongoing – Feb. 12

Is Pompeii the most famous doomed city of all time? That’s not something any city aspires to, but due to the abruptness of what happened – the eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiping out the city in one day, that day being August 24, 79 A.D.  – it may be just that. Of course, we’d not have known so much about this – to say nothing of seeing the artifacts from it – if not for an accidental discovery in 1749 and subsequent excavations. Some of those artifacts – from pots and pans to statues, gold bracelets and surgical instruments – are on display at the Museum of Science’s “A Day In Pompeii,” which is up through Feb. 12.
    I took in the exhibit recently.  Like most exhibits of this sort, you need to get our head in the zone. That means ignoring your fellow exhibit trawlers and focus on what you see and feel, time trip as it were. Two things that help: The exhibit has these time-lapse films, one a computer-generated flyover of the city’s buildings, showing marketplaces, homes, courtyards and public baths. The second recreates the volcano’s eruption and how the city was engulfed.
    The most poignant, and haunting images are human. Most of the citizens escaped. Tourists, too, we assume as Pompeii was a destination vacation spot for Roman nobles. But some of the less connected (or maybe less prescient) tried to seek shelter and then, when that didn’t seem to be working, flee, which didn’t work out so well, either They ran then came the wet scalding ash. And there were the slaves. They didn’t have much choice in the matter. They were doomed. So, yes, the exhibit does make you consider the glory days of the Roman Empire, which was glorious for the prosperous, not so much for the underclass. (Sound like anything you know in modern days?)

Monday March 5

On sale Thursday Feb. 9! Meryl Streep and Jonathan Demme have won ‘em, and on Monday March 5 actor Viggo Mortensen (“A Dangerous Method,” “The Road,” “Appaloosa,” “A History of Violence” and “Eastern Promises,” among others) makes his way to Brookline to accept the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s 9^th annual Coolidge Award. Which, not to get all parochial about this, is a pretty big deal, to have internationally acclaimed film people come to our little burg – yes, we live in Coolidge Corner, too – to both be honored and honor the Coolidge for what it’s done over the years to keep indy cinema alive and vital, something even more vital as the age of videotape moved to videodisc and then downloads.

Viggo, who stars in Walter Salles adaptation of Kerouac’s “On the Road” this summer, is going to have a busy day. There’s a TBA film screening at noon followed by a Q/A with the actor ($20). At 6 pm, there’s a VIP reception with Viggo and other special guests (another TBA situation, tickets $250) and at 8, it’s “An Evening with Viggo Mortensen,” meaning an in-depth conversation about his life and career ($50).

Sat. Feb. 11

You know how certain minor details stick in your head for years? Here's one of mine from the punk rock era: Johnny Rotten being photographed in a Pink Floyd t-shirt that had "I HATE" scrawled before Pink Floyd. I got it that Pink Floyd was not remotely punk, and ascended to that rock star peak that punks were trying to tear down, but I loved Pink Floyd - frankly, for its atmospheric textures, its brooding darkness and its continuing look into the nature of madness and isolation. Themes not outside the punk realm at all. Years later, like last year actually, I asked Johnny Rotten (John Lydon, helming the revamped PiL) about it. And he said, no, he didn't hate Pink Floyd then or now, rather liked them, in fact. It was just a t-shirt and an impulse. Now, of course, I or anyone doesn't need Rotten's approval on anything, but I somehow felt relieved. Not everything the Floyd has done is genius and there's the whole Syd Barrett issue which we needn't address here, but for a body of serious-minded art-rock, can any other band hit the mark for so long? Roger Waters keeps it going and scored big with his re-imagined "The Wall" last year. David Gilmour may or may not have a Pink Floyd working at the moment. Probably he's playing Floyd songs under his own name. So, what're you gonna do? 

ongoing

Thank God for Martin Scorsese. Authentic movie magic is a rare event these days, but Scorsese conjures it several times in "Hugo." This is the story of a boy who watches through small windows as other people live their lives. It is about the struggles of creative people, of artists, of failures and renewed victories. It is Martin Scorsese’s life, transferred and transformed into a version of Brian Selznick’s book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret."

Paris during the 1930′s. Hugo Cabret is the son of a clock maker (played well but briefly by Jude Law) who dies in a fire. Hugo’s uncle, a drunk and a clock maker himself, takes him in and teaches Hugo how to maintain the clock at a train station in Paris. When the uncle disappears without a word, Hugo continues to take care of the station’s clocks on his own, all the while living within the walls of the train station.

Scorsese and rock-star cinematographer Robert Richardson take 3D and create artful investigations of the train station, the gear infested walls and the streets of Paris, seen from atop the clock tower. Snowflakes fall into our laps as we watch Hugo walk, chilled to the bone, along the frozen sidewalk. We feel the depth of his home within the walls, as we sweep through narrow passages and up and down ladders. My favorite, though, is simply seeing Hugo watch the train inhabitants through the face of a clock. The clock itself is in the foreground, while Hugo’s watchful face is farther back in the depths of his world, the one nobody knows about. The effect of the 3D in this case is an addition to the storytelling, rather than a slick, though impressive, technique.

ongoing

Leonardo DiCaprio, the preeminent actor of the under-40 generation, is stunning in "J. Edgar," Clint Eastwood’s biopic about the most famous (and important) man in the history of the F.B.I.DiCaprio of course plays the man himself, J. Edgar Hoover, who we follow from his earliest days at the Bureau until the day he dies.  Hoover’s innovations, like bringing fingerprinting and guns to the Bureau, are astonishing from today’s perspective. Armie Hammer inhabits Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s lifeling colleague and lover. Their brutally constricted relationship is one of the more captivating movie love affairs of recent years.

Eastwood and DiCaprio have created a man who we can appreciate, even respect, all the while maintaining an appropriate level of disgust. Writer Dustin Lance Black and Eastwood want us to see that what he did for the F.B.I. was both amazing and terrible. They succeed. The way DiCaprio plays him, it makes me think vaguely of Gary Oldman as Beethoven in Immortal Beloved. He is the wretched, driven man with genius and grave flaws, loved and hated with equal fervor. The kind of man who makes for a great story.

DiCaprio disappears underneath thick makeup, a gravely, subtle accent and a moderate stoop that all but obliterates the pretty boy from Titanic. Leo is far beyond the other under-40 actors in Hollywood, largely because he has no fear, but even more so because he seems to be insatiably interested in interesting characters.

Saturdays

First, there is the smell.Familiar. Intoxicating. Some say ED-preventing.Then, just when you can barely take anymore, a smiling head pops through the door - “Anybody want some chocolate?”
 
Welcome to two-and-a-half hours of educational heaven, aka the Taste of Chocolate Workshop.
 
Run by the folks who have been bringing the legendary Mystery Café to Boston and beyond for years and hosted in the Elephant and Castle Pub in Downtown Boston (the same site as one of the most popular Mystery Café dinners), the Workshop tells you perhaps more than you ever wanted to know about chocolate (pretty much right down to the molecular level) and then lets you get into it up to your wrists (at least) through a hands-on truffle-making party.

 Wed. Feb. 33

Words I never thought I'd be writing in 2011: The  Del Fuegos playied two reunion dates at the Paradise Friday in June and there they are again Wednesday Feb. 22 . But they are. All four original members, who once looked like they did in this photo. Well, Ok, the Fueogs were initially a trio, had a drummer before Woody Giessmann (Steve Morrell), but Woody's the guy we know and Woody's the guy whose Right Turn addiction recovery center is benefiting from this show. The Del Fuegos - known for “Don’t Run Wild,” “Backseat Nothing,” and “I Still Want You” - were in the forefront of the roots-rock/garage scene in Boston during the '80s. I first saw 'em at a private house party, then all over town at Rat, the Inn-Square Men's Bar, the Channel, Jonathan Swift's, the Orpheum. That latter gig was when the Del Fuegos - who recorded for the prestigious L.A.-based punk/roots label Slash - had hit the pinnacle. But the brothers Zanes - lead singer-guitarist-writer Dan and younger bro Warren - were at odds and Warren split. Adam Roth came in for Warren; Joe Donnelly took over Woody's seat. Warren and bassist Tom Lloyd tried to keep it together, but the moment had passed. The band folded. End of story? Hardly.

No second acts in Amercian lives? Uh-uh. After disbanding in the late 1980s, the various members of the Del Fuegos have gone on to do some pretty cool things. 

 ongoing 

   As Apple launched its iPad 2 in San Francisco, Blue Man Group unveiled its GiPad in Boston. Let’s hope Steve Jobs is not in litigation mode, or at least has developed a sense of humor.
    We were at press preview of the new show in early March. At the start, three GiPads – eight-by-five-foot electronic screens that resemble iPads – descended from the rafters at the Charles Playhouse, The three black-clad men in cobalt blue body-paint and skullcaps looked at them with curiosity.  
    Blue Man Group – which has been up at the Charles since 1995 - presented a 45-minute press performance, showcasing new or retooled material in their 105-minute show.
    The gigantic faux iPads made perfect sense. Blue Man Group has always done a lot with technology and communication. We live in an age of information overload and are awash in smart phones, tablets and apps. And so now are the Men.
   After the GiPads were lowered, the quizzical Blue Men touched the screens. A GiPad announced it would “do for reading what texting has done for driving.” It was time for “Synopsize Me!” (or “Twit Lit”) with Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Twain and Melville  rendered in Twitter-ese.
    “Moby-Dick” in `140 characters: “Where is that damn whale? Here whaley whaley! There he is! I think I've got him! Actually, no I don't That's off: He's coming towards the ship! I've got a bad feeling about”
     There was also on-screen give and take about texting and face-to-face communication. “Don’t you ever want to have a real conversation?” read one screen. “What do you mean by ‘real’?” read another. And, of course, there was yet another of modern life’s major online distractions, the cute cat video.

Fri. March 9

Saw Doctors, who play the House of Blues Friday March 9, are nothing if not Ireland's folk-rock-Celtic feelgood band of the era. "We didn’t start out and say ‘Let’s make a band that makes people feel good when they leave’ the show,’’ says Saw Doctors guitarist Leo Moran. “I think we’re just lucky. Not all of our lyrics are completely upbeat, but the way we deliver them seem to be upbeat. They’re a strange mixture of light and dark.” They broke through in Ireland back in the late 1980s, with people singing along boisterously to a breakup song “I Useta Lover.” They’ve toured the US steadily over the years – five times in 2006 -and have built a strong base here.
     The quartet’s latest studio album is called “The Cure.” If that’s the case, what’s the disease? “I suppose the answer to that a bit of music is what you need now in then to get in a positive state of mind,” says Moran, on the phone from Galway.  “There are little diseases on the album about relationships and in the way the country’s changing around us … little things you’re being philosophical about.” Indeed, the new album starts with “Out for a Smoke,” where singer-guitarist Davy Carton finds “The darkest clouds were on to me."

 Wed. March 14 - Fri. March 16

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Here's the backstory of it all. It's a St. Paddy's Day tradition: Dropkick Murphys play to packed houses on Lansdowne Street, once at Avalon now House of Blues, this year Wednesday March 14 - Friday March 16..  Maybe a dozen or so years ago, there was some skepticism about Dropkick Murphys. Ok, hometown Celtic/punk modeled on the Pogues, but concerning issues not of England or Ireland, but the local environs. Could work. But, derivative, you know. Well, any thoughts like that have been blown away partially because the Murphys have become huge locally and internationally and they so credit the Pogues. For their part, the Pogues return the favor by saying the Murphys constant name-dropping helped revive their band and helped them develop a new audience. Also: the Murphys are more of a punk band with a Celtic flavor and the Pogues tip the scales the other way. Plus the Pogues Shane MacGowan has sung with the Murphys on a record.

 I did an interview with Ken Casey for the Boston Phoenix and amended and added to it here. Review of 2010's show for the Herald: If Dennis Lehane has a rock ‘n’ roll equivalent, it’s Dropkick Murphys. And just as Lehane, author of “Mystic River” and “The Given Day.” deserves his props. Has there ever been a more parochial rock entity? Fronted by singer Al Barr and singer-bassist Ken Casey, the septet comes across both as an Irish-flavored Ramones and a more sledgehammer-like Pogues. They are, at the core, a punk band, one steeped in the sound and values of the late-‘70s, with fist-pumpers like “Do or Die” and “Time to Go.” But they’re a punk band that makes room for Scruffy Wallace’s bagpipes and tin whistle; Jeff DaRosa’s mandolin and Tim Brennan’s accordion. They’re a punk band that dedicates a touching ballad, “Forever,” to their families. And, if you listen close enough, you’ll find them staunchly pro-union.

 Thurs. March 15

 In 2010, Chris and Rich Robinson, the oft-battling brothers and co-leaders of the Black Crowes, had a bright idea. "We’d been touring for five or six solid years," said Rich Robinson, on the phone from a studio in Woodstock, NY, "and we decided instead of constantly touring and getting to the point where we can’t stand each other and want to split up, let’s take a break for an indefinite amount of time. And then when we feel like we want to get back together, we’ll do it."

All those brotherly rock ‘n’ roll spats? "I think they were inevitable, a part of the process," Robinson said. The Crowes went out with a bang, with last year’s "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys" tour. Lead singer Chris then put together the Chris Robinson Brotherhood and opened up for the J. Geils Band this summer. Guitarist-Rich, 42, just released his second solo disc, "Through a Crooked Sun," and plays T.T. the Bear’s Place Thursday March 15 with his trio.

Robinson feels much better about this tour than he did in 2004, when he first undertook a solo jaunt. He was just getting his chops together as a lead singer. And at that point, it seemed the Black Crowes, which disbanded in 2002, were dead and gone.

"The first tour, I felt more frantic," Robinson said. "With the band split up, I didn’t know where my place was in the universe. I tried all these things and nothing was working. It was stressful. I feel like this time around I’m much calmer and more prepared. The band is excited and I’m excited, but it’s a much more mellow, cooler vibe."

Fri. March 30

Big noise in a tiny package.That’s the quick-hit take on singer-guitarist Ritzy Bryan and the Joy Formidable, the Wales-formed, London-based trio she fronts. The group nearly sold out Brighton Music Hall last year, returned to the Garden to open for the Foo Fighters and is back in our midst Friday March 30 at the Paradise. Their album was in my 2011 Top Ten, as submitted to the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll.

The following is drawn from a Herald review I wrote.

The band’s name? It’s not ironic. Sure, at the nearly soldout Brighton Music Hall Tuesday, there was sonic turmoil and some gnarly sounds, but the pleasure principle was stoked throughout the 65-minute set. It wasn’t confectious pop, by any means. No one will confuse Bryan with the many chirpy, dance-pop Brit gals hitting our shores these days. She was certainly effervescent, bantering with the crowd and her band mates, chatting up the charity for the homeless the band supports. But the Joy Formidable gets inspiration from the shoegazer bands of the early-‘90s such as Slowdive, Ride, Lush and Swervedriver. That means the sound is something of a melodic cacophony, with the singer not concerned with conveying a specific message.