September: In Pictures

Retrobuzz Concert Review: Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace
9/19/05 Detroit, MI
Royal Oak Music Theatre
by DAMORE

Many long-time Our Lady Peace (OLP) fans became concerned that the departure of founding guitarist Mike Turner signaled the end of great run for a great band. They figured they would quickly fade into irrelevancy w/ their next release. Some were even more concerned that the band’s new sound on 2002’s Gravity, while selling quite well, was the end of the band as they knew it.

2005’s Healthy in Spiritual Times completely dispels that idea by coming back w/ some of their strongest material thus far. It’s a welcomed combination of the classic OLP aggressive, moody, & melodic rock tempered w/ some of the mainstream/hope-filled sound from Gravity. The result: a great rock record that translates even better in the flesh than on wax.

OLP got the crowd into it early on w/ starting things off w/ mid-tempo rocker ‘Picture’ off the new LP. That lead into 1994’s radio hit ‘Starseed’ for which the sold-out crowd showed their energy for by waving arms in the air & crowd surfing. The middle of the set saw OLP move into the core of HIPT w/ the anti-Bush “Wipe That Smile Off Your Face” & the anti-American political/social sentiment of “Where Are You” paired back-to-back. Singer Raine Maida proved that out when he uttered “this is a song about a guy I know”, & “this is for a Lady—I’ll explain in a minute...” Toward the end Maida then said “Laura Bush: Tell your husband to wipe that smile off his face!” He must have hit the right nerve because the cheers for those statements garnered more cheers than some songs up to that point.

“Clumsy” featured Maida solo on acoustic guitar through the first verse, joined by the full band & the crowd on the first chorus. This was probably the high-point of the set for most in the crowd. The set closed w/ the classic “Naveed”, which almost sent most over the edge of bliss.

No surprise the encore was full of hits like “4AM”, “Somewhere Out There” & the closer, “Superman’s Dead”. Showing ever the musician turned politician, Maida threw out a reference to the 3 year struggle to make the album, & how music is a miracle—so much so that it can even “make you forget about George Bush for awhile.” Prior to the finale, Maida excited the crowd w/ “We need to be back in Detroit real soon!” By the end the audience seemed totally drained yet wanting more at the same time.

Having seen them in the large arena settings previously, OLP truly hit their stride & connect best w/ the audience during these club tours. Their show & stage presence are made for the smaller venues. Time will tell whether the new material will be the favorite songs played in future shows, but if this show was any indication, my guess is yes, a few definitely will. Whether you’re a casual fan or a die-hard, if you haven’t picked-up HIPT yet, seeing them play it live will make you excited to go out & buy it.

Set List: Picture / Starseed / Innocent / Angels/Losing/Sleep / Wipe That Smile Off Your Face / Where Are You / Clumsy (w/ Maida solo acoustic intro) / Love and Trust / Boy / Will The Future Blame Us? / Naveed

Encore: 4AM / In Repair / Somewhere Out There / Superman's Dead

They Shoot Ducks, Don't They?

In what is quite certainly the worst disaster relief initiative since Von Dutch pimped Tsunami Relief t-shirts, Fox Searchlight Pictures is trying to leverage Hurricane Katrina buzz to get people out to the movies this weekend to see "Roll Bounce." Apparently, they only just now realized that audiences aren't exactly foaming at the mouth to see Bow Wow and Charlie Murphy together again for the first time. So, in an effort to drum up awareness on the release, more than one PR flack sent your Uncle Grambo the following email this AM:

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FROM: [REDACTED]
TO: markdgraham@yahoo.com
Subject: Help the Survivors of Hurricane Katrina BOUNCE back!

HELP THE SURVIVORS OF HURRICANE KATRINA BOUNCE BACK!

SEE "ROLL BOUNCE"
September 23, 24, 25!

10 percent of Fox Searchlight's opening weekend box office proceeds for the film's September 23 U.S. release will be donated to the Operation USA for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief!

Have fun and help make a difference!

For more information or to donate directly go to www.opusa.org

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Um, not that I wanna pull a Kanye or anything here, but the ad wizards who came up with this one should permanently be put out to pasture. Have you ever seen anything so insensitive? On principle, I'm not against corporations using PR channels to promote their contributions to charitable relief efforts. Howevs, I have to believe that there are better ways for Fox Searchlight to throw some dollars at the Katrina catastrophe than encouraging Americans to go see a movie about the hijinks of young black rollerskaters in the 1970s.

ESPECIALLY when you consider that, in order for this "promotion" to get out into the marketplace, some executive at Fox Searchlight must have actually APPROVED this idea. Which ALSO means that there had to have been multiple brainstorming sessions in which the MBAs on Pico Boulevard honed in on the best possible way for them to exploit the tragedy to get butts in seats this weekend help the people of New Orleans. Scary, yet somehow not surprising in the least. No wonder Hollywood is going down the toilet.

RELATED: Least important headline evs? Marshall Field's Name Change Upsets Some. Just "some"? Now THAT'S what I call journalism, y'all. The article quotes Tracy Kepler, a 37-year old Chicago based attorney, as saying "Everybody is outraged. I e-mailed my girlfriend who lives in Colorado and she had a conference call with her parents who now live in Omaha and her sister who's in Shreveport (Louisiana), and they're all commiserating about it." Commiserate THIS! Allz I know is that somebody better get Clinton and George Herbert "Don't Call Me Herschel" Walker Bush on the BatPhone, STAT — now we gots ourselves a real problem to fix!