Stone's Keyboardist Chuck Leavell at O Street Mansion

Chuck Leavell, keyboardist with the Rolling Stones since 1982 and former member of the Allman Brothers band, will be featured at a benefit tonight, October 15, for the American Forest Foundation (AFF) at the Mansion on O Street, 2020 O Street, NW, Washington, DC. 


Billed as "an intimate evening of music and stories," the event will raise money for the AFF, an organization that works to ensure the sustainability of America’s family forests for present and future generations. Leavell has been a well-known, long-time environmental advocate and has written three books about conservation. Along with Leavell's performance, the benefit will include a silent auction and an award ceremony to honor several members of Congress who are leading the fight against climate change.


One of the great things about this event is that the Mansion only holds about 100 people plus staff, so if you're there, you'll be able to ask Chuck the one question about the Rolling Stones you've always wanted to know. I'm working on mine right now!


For more information, visit Chuck Leavell at the Mansion on O Street.

Jackman and Craig in "A Steady Rain"

Last weekend in New York I saw "A Steady Rain," starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. The show is hottest ticket in New York right now despite the recession and ticket prices hovering  around $100.00, and the run has been sold out. So there's really not a lot of reasons to write about this play since if you don't already have a ticket, you probably won't get one. But I wanted to weigh in on the negative reviews the play's been getting, mostly from critics who seem angry that audiences will actually pay money to see two stars at work in an average vehicle (as if we've never paid money to see a summer Hollywood movie).


The play itself is not great. In it, Craig and Jackman's characters spend 90 minutes onstage relating increasingly sordid and violent events that occurred over the course of one summer. There are some humorous and moving passages, but the writing also veers into sentimental pap, mostly concerning a boy and his puppy. Generally, I steer clear of shows that feature puppies or babies in critical plot points (and plays/movies that use the words "hijinks" or "heartfelt" in their advertising), but author Keith Huff sneaks this one in on us. It's not necessary and comes across as contrived.


Jackman and Craig both do credible jobs as Chicago cops and the production, two chairs on an otherwise empty stage enhanced by an occasional backdrop, works well for this material. It's an intense, increasingly morbid descent into hell for one of the characters, which might not be what James Bond and Wolverine fans had in mind when they bought their tickets. Neither man is a super hero — far from it. Both struggle with moral or immoral decisions, their self-deluding recollections, and the realization of who they are and what they want. Despite a few flaws in the material, I found it a compelling hour and a half. 

Arabian Sights Film Festival

The 14th annual Arabian Sights Film Festival opens in Washington on Friday, October 9 and runs until the 18th. Thirteen films from Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Syria and other countries will be screened at these two locations, both located near metro stops.

Landmark's E Street Cinema

555 11th Street, NW (Metro Center)

National Geographic Society 


Grosvenor Auditorium


1600 M Street, NW (Farragut North)

Two years ago, I saw a very good film from Morocco at this festival, which helped to prepare me for my visit to the country that December.

This year there are a number of comedies on the schedule including "Hassan & Morcos" from Egypt, starring Omar Sharif, "Number One" from Morocco, which looks at changing gender roles, and "Laila's Birthday," set in the occupied territories.

For information, Click Here.

Asian Pacific American Film Festival Opens

The 10th Annual Asian American Film Festival 
opened in town on Thursday and continues until Saturday, October 10. Over those 10 days, DCAPA will be showing 50 features, documentaries and shorts at the Freer Gallery, E Street Cinema, Goethe Institute, and other venues. Children of Invention will be the closing night film for this year's festival. An Official Selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the film has won several Grand Jury awards across the U.S. and will make its Washington, D.C. premier on October 10th, closing the festival. Director and Writer Tze Chun’s previous short film Windowbreaker was an official selection at the 2007 DCAPA Film Festival. Here's the info Asian Pacific American film festival.

U2 at Fedex Field, 9 29 09

Last night was U2's latest stop in DC - this time to do a little musical lobbying in support of their new CD, No Line on the Horizon.

After a Rolling Stones concert a few years ago, I swore I'd never go to another show at Fedex Field - too big, poorly set up, pain to get there, etc. But when I heard I could get in to see U2 for $30.00 (plus a mere $20.00 in additional fees and charges), I decided to take a chance.

We took the metro to the show and then walked the mile to the actual stadium. But it was a nice evening and a pleasant walk, and we were inside within 45 minutes of leaving the house. The opener, Muse, went on at 7:30 and played about 40 minutes. Couldn't tell you what they played since it was a big sonic mess of rhythm and pounding bass notes - the usual stadium sound disaster. But they looked good on huge video screens that wrapped the stage.

Our seats were in the upper deck but the stage was so enormous it made us feel like we were much closer than we actually were. U2 came onstage around 9:00 and played for about 2 hours or so altogether. I can 't believe I hadn't seen these guys since 1983 when "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was just taking off and they weren't even headlining big shows yet. I've always thought they were a great band even if I didn't like some of their mid-1990s material. There's a grandeur and power to their music that you rarely find - even in 1983 I knew this band was really special. I got swept away by that same feeling last night when they launched into "Where the Streets Have No Name." What a great moment!

Unfortunately for me, I'm not that familiar with the new album and, honestly, I don't think it's as good as their previous two. But like the Stones and Bowie and Springsteen, who all have amazing back catalogs, they played a number of songs from the new CD since that's what they are promoting on this tour. If anything, the show just made me wish I had seen them more in the late 1980s and early 2000s after they had released Joshua Tree or Atomic Bomb or Rattle and Hum.

But sitting up there at the top of Fedex Field I couldn't help but marvel at those four guys who've had a brilliant 30 year career without jerking from trend to trend or dragging backup players along with them on the road. Just four guys playing rock and roll - which is sometimes way more than enough.

Here's the set list:

Breathe

Magnificent

Get on Your Boots

Mysterious Ways

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Elevation

Your Blue Room

Beautiful Day

New Year's Day

Stuck In A Moment

Unforgettable Fire

City of Blinding Lights

Vertigo

I'll Go Crazy - Remix

Sunday Bloody Sunday

MLK

Walk On

One

Where The Streets Have No Name

Ultraviolet

With or Without You

Moment of Surrender

Fall Film Festivals, part 1

At a quick glance, it seems like Washington, D.C. has more and more film festivals every year. But what's really happened is that any time a theater or interest group strings together three films from the same region or about the same subject, they label it a "festival" and market it that way. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. "Festival" has merely joined "exclusive," "sale," and "VIP" on the list of misused and overused English words.

That said, we still have quite a few exciting and worthwhile film festivals to choose from in and around the District. For the next few posts, I'm going to highlight a few festivals that I've attended and recommend.

Right now, AFI in Silver Spring is hosting their annual Latin American Film Festival, which runs until October 12. This year, they're showing 30 films from Latin American countries, Spain, and Portugal, and they're doing something new – they're taking a few films on the road to Baltimore, Frederick, and Easton. Pretty cool idea. A lot of these films have won awards and are definitely worth your time, so check out the program guide online to find something that suits your interests.

AFI offers festival passes and combo discounts if you plan to see 6 or more films. And every Thursday and Friday evening during the festival, they're having a Happy Hour with complimentary snacks courtesy of local restaurants, Latin American drink specials, and music from 5:30 to 7:00.

30 films! Now that's a festival.

http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/2009/v6i4/latin09.aspx

Fall is here, Batter up!

Ahhh . . . fall has arrived and all is well with the world. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but things sure seem a lot better when the air is crisp, the sky is blue, and town is buzzing with art and music and occasional teabag protester. Around the city, theaters have kicked off their new seasons, movie companies are beginning to release their best films, musicians of all sorts are coming to town, football season has begun (for those of you into that), and baseball . . . well this year baseball has not been so very good to us in the District. But we have something coming our way to remedy that.

On October 2 and 3, the Library of Congress will be hosting a two-day symposium, "Baseball Americana," featuring Hall of Fame player Ernie Banks, all-star pitcher, broadcaster, and manager Larry Dierker, baseball language expert Paul Dickson, and Negro Leagues pitcher Mamie "Peanut" Johnson. The event is sponsored by the American Folklife Center and coordinated with the publication of the Library’s new book, "Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress." 

On Friday, Oct. 2, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. "Baseball Americana" will begin with an exhibition of the Library’s baseball treasures. Library of Congress curators will display and discuss items from the collections, including rare and historically significant baseball cards, photographs, and sheet music. Baseball expert and professional appraiser Frank Ceresi will give a presentation on baseball memorabilia and evaluate memorabilia brought in by audience members. This will be held in room LJ 119, first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street , S.E, Washington, D.C. 

At 7 p.m. they will have a screening of memorable baseball clips from the Library’s film and television collections. The screening will be held in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C.

On Saturday, Oct. 3, at 9 a.m., a series of presentations will examine baseball from a number of perspectives. Speakers will include former players, others who make their living through the game (including a stadium organist and a head groundskeeper), and experts on baseball cuisine, the language of baseball and baseball memorabilia. The last session of the symposium will be an extended interview with Ernie Banks, a two-time National League MVP and 11-time All Star, got his start in the Negro Leagues and was the first African American player hired by the Chicago Cubs. 

Admission to all of these events is free, but advance registration is required. To register, go to www.loc.gov/folklife/Symposia/Baseball/registration.php.  For more information, go to http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2009/09-168.html.