Melissa and I got out to see Saul Williams tonight at a Black cultural dinner. When Melissa and I have gone out and done really good dates we’ve found pieces of culture that reflect both of our strengths and passions. For instance, movies such as ‘The Matrix’ reflect sides of both of our interests. Well, seeing Saul tonight, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d not seen live poetry done well and performed live before.

What drew us in was a couple of things. For me, it was an interest in a guy who really did something inovative with his last work by releasing it for free, essentially, for a certain period of time. No less than that, he did a hip hop record with an Industrial artist. We also wanted to step into our future daughter’s culture and listen to voices that will speak into her world. Well, what we were met with was a good evening with a thinker. It was really refreshing to interact with thoughtful ideas and to speak University speak for a short time. Saul is definately a thinker and it was really enjoyable to see that.

He’s a huge Post-Modern thinker (that’s a capital P and M). It came through at certain points and it was really obvious, but yet encouraging because where he applied it at reflected an appropriate view of culture; of displaying the sheer injustice of the world and bringing the light of day into those dark areas. Obviously, he fell into the need to reflect upwards at point and for me that is where post-modernism fails. But yet looking at the power structure within the hip hop genre was relaly enlightening. I’m not going to do his argument justice, but thinking through a corporate presence within hiphop and the music business as a hegemony was an interesting angle to take.

It’s also refreshing to look at an artist who needs to fill a void in his own life. He was asked by an audience member at one point what he was listening to and he replied with an answer that I instantly respect; all artists that I find that are quality find they write to fill a gap in what they want to listen to as opposed to what exists. Those gaps tend to be places that are genuinely beautiful. And, honestly, there were moments of poetry that he recited that were just breathtaking.

Good art for me often reflects the Creator. Tonight was an excellent example of that–in the midst of the post modern rehetoric there were glimpses of a God who is passionate. In short, beautiful stuff.

The album, honestly, is not for everyone, but its beauty is growing on me. It’s a stronger album that is getting better with listens.

My friend Randy and I just returned from what will probably be rated as one of the top 2 live performances. Mute Math, an experimental electronic band performed at the Canopy Club in Champaign. I’ve really had only a passing knowledge of Mute Math, at least I thought until I realized how many songs I did know. However, I went primairly based on their reputation as a live band.

There were two openers: The Cinematics and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. The Cinematics, from the looks of it, will be a band to watch. Heavily influenced by U2 in sound and lyrics, they were a formidable opener for Mute Math. I think the singer even had a young Bono look about him; surprisingly they didn’t pander to their influences but instead took that sound and made it their own. The second opener, we were less impressed with. It might have helped to switch the order given that the second band seemed less engaging than the first.

Mute Math came on, finally, after around a 40 minute turnaround for the stage and opened with their most popular song, ‘Typical’. It was a daring move to place that song where they did in their set and spoke to their knowledge of their audience; that dumbing down a set and playing to the popular was not what they were there for–it was for something else entirely.

There were two beautiful facts about the concert; if you were intimately familiar with the songs, they were no where near the form that were on the record. In that respect, Mute Math came off as an accomplished, electronic, Jam Band without the baggage carried by most of that genre. Solo’s were done, improvisation was rampant throughout the songs, and the band really stepped away the from Jam Band stigma by providing a visually stunning performance, almost reminiscent of performance art, to match their equally stunning sound.

The second beautiful part of the concert came from the back story. The band came out of the ashes of Earthsuit whose only mark was that they failed as a band and had a very, very small following. Made up of primarily Christians, Mute Math found their market in the secular marketplace. Ditching the whole CCM stigma, the band has created a unique sound that escapes being pigeoned into a specific genre.

The thing I appreciate about the artistry is that it is done really well. It seems that there is experimental music that is really code for guys that don’t know how to play their instruments and want to just make noise for an evening, but this was experimental music that was something else entirely; well crafted songs, meaningful lyrics and a whole ton of fun visuals.

With regard to the music, there were a few standout performances. Like I said earlier, the band came out and challenged the formula for a typical show by playing their radio hit ‘Typical’ first, followed by the second most radio friendly song on the CD ‘Chaos’; both of which were very well done live. I wondered really where they were going to go from there. Surprisingly it went all the way up. What would happen is that they’d play a song and go into a number of minutes of improvisation. I could go on about the definition given that there was an electronic track to most of the songs and really how could one improv with a set track and a time, but I digress.

There were chaotic moments in the set where members would get up from their chairs and look around and decide what to play next to keep the rhythm going mixed with wonderfully worshipful moments that were quiet like the song ‘You are mine’. Another favorite for me was ‘Plan B’ off of their ep released a couple of years ago.

The encore was a very dynamic version of ‘Reset’. Randy commented that they were the only band that could pull off an instrumental as an encore. It seemed to also be a statement on their art; at the end of a few minutes of various drumming on pretty much anything on the stage with the guitarist droning by picking up his effects board and twisting knobs, they essentially wrecked their set by busting up pretty much everything. Looking past the typical rock star bravado, I think it was an interesting statement on their art. Art is less about the technology and more about the message. Destroy the tools and the end product remains and is more important. What a strong statement in our world where artists are produced and sold like produce at the grocery store.

In short, it was the best concert I’ve ever seen put on by a perfect band; there was electronics, well crafted songs, and wonderful performance art that left me thinking as the ringing in my ears died down.

The flickr gallery is up now too.

O.k., I just finished two books and saw a movie this weekend (my count goes up to 4 books for the year…31 left! )

For the books -

“Breakpoint” Richard Clarke – He can write a heck of non-fiction novel, specifically I thought ‘Against all enimies’ was ridiculously good.  He can’t write his way out of a paper sack for a fiction book.  It seemed like the majority of the book was long speeches about various technology and how people were going to be using it. 

The premise of the book is that it’s 2012 and we’ve just had a cyber-terrorist attack launched against the US.  It’s plausible, the technology descriptions were right, the plot was horrid.  The characters seemed like they were tossed in as filler and that they were secondary to really long speeches. Did I say they were long?  They were awkwardly placed too.  In one scene, a character asks about a what a ‘packet’ is – they should have known.  I can’t imagine that a conversation like that occurs in a technical briefing during the middle of a crisis. For all my luck, Richard Clarke is going to read this review; for what’s it’s worth I appreciate the care that went into the technology, but the plot was weak.

Oh yeah, the villians were Christians who were upset and the continued Chinese persecution of Christians.  Boo on that point as well.

“Parenting in the Pew” Robbie Castleman – On the other end of things, I adored this book.  It’s a how-to in getting your children interested in church and I would highly recommend it.  It is as useful to us now as ‘True Love…in a world of false hope’ was when we were dating.  It couldn’t have come at a better time either because Aidan is coming into the first part of the worship service. The advice is good and useful for anyone who wants to train their children in how to worship.  It also really made me rethink how to explain things to Aidan, and turned an experience I was dreading to one that really enhances the experience while Aidan is there. I really appreciate the pragmatic nature of her advice.  It’s just simply a good book

Finally, just got back from ‘300′.  It’s simply mindless entertainment.  It’s better to see with a group, there’s almost no basis in reality or in history and there is absolutly no visible plot, but that’s not really why you’re there.  There were a few places that plot kind of eeked it’s way on screen and it was problematic.  At one point a Spartan sees his son die in battle (way too long of a scene) and gets upset and says that he only had one regret – not telling his son that he loved him.  The execution of the scene was incredibly lame and unrealistic and out of place for a culture that valued the warrior mind. 

It was *alot* of fighting and too much nudity.  The later of which will ultimately doom the movie to the 5 dollar bin at walmart in 8 or so years. It’s a shame because it’s one of the movie visually stunning movies that I’ve seen in a while.  It’s also an R rated movie that firmly deserves it’s rating.

Overall, it’s a fun movie (similar to Vin Diesel’s xXx flick from a few years ago in terms of action), it’s a stunning movie (the whole green/blue screen thing made Frank Miller’s unique look translate well to the big screen), and I would definately see it in the theater.  However, the really ridiculous nudity at points in the film make it not for everyone.

Oh, did I mention it ripped off Gladiator and Braveheart at points in the story?  Yes, there were a couple of scenes that made me totally think of those two movies. What didn’t help was Leonides accent was strongly scottish and when he talked of being ‘free men’ I expected him to yell out ‘we fight for scotland!’

p.s. A real description of the battle, which would make for a good movie in it’s own right, is here on wikipedia.

This month’s issue of Coram Deo (link coming) has my review of the Autobahn music festival in Ohio, but for those of you curious what I look/sound like you can see the chronicle of our trip here.

have a phun friday!

I have to say I have a new favorite TV program.  Yup.  Heroes. 

It’s just ridiculously good.  The acting is a little over the top, but yet it’s very much comic book like in feel.  I like the post modern sort of narrative that they are giving it.  I just wish it was longer than an hour .