This past week, the US Mint sold out of the one ounce 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle.  As no bullion coins or fractional sizes were minted this year, it was the only US Platinum coin produced in 2009.

From CoinNews.net:

Released at Noon Eastern on Thursday, December 3, 2009, the Platinum Eagles were limited to a mintage of only 8,000. Over 7,200 of those sold in the first few days, even with a household order limit of 5 pieces in place. The US Mint sold just 4,769 of the one ounce proof coins during all of last year.

Some had theorized that this year’s run would be challenged by the high price of the coin ($1792.00) and the relatively unpopular new design.  However, given the huge demand for precious metals this year for investment (gold, silver, platinum, palladium), it’s hard to be completely surprised that this coin sold out so quickly.

Nope.  2008 the US Mint only sold 4,769 coins.  This year, they sell out early at 8000 coins.

The case for buying platinum right now is fairly strong:

• The relative price of platinum to gold is extremely low, given gold’s huge run up.  A few years ago, platinum cost over 3x an equivalent amount of gold.  At current prices, the two metals are approaching parity.
• Simple investment vehicles in Platinum and Palladium, like ETFs, do exist (they trade in London), but don’t have popular US versions (yet), so investment demand remains weak compared to it’s ETF-rich brethren of gold (GLD) and silver (SLV).
• The automotive industry, which is the largest consumer of platinum and palladium, is extremely depressed.  However, since the demand for fuel efficient cars is growing, the use of these metals in catalytic converters and fuel cells seems to forecast significant future demand when the industry recovers.

That being said, I was surprised when I searched eBay for completed listings for the 2009 Platinum Eagle.  Normally, when there is a sell out at the US Mint, you immediately see panic buying on eBay for huge premiums over the US Mint price.

Here is the query.  What you see is that, as of December 12, the prices range from $1727 to $2050, hardly a premium given the transaction costs of eBay / PayPal which can easily run 8-9%.

As a result, I have to wonder:

• Was the sell out the product of true individual demand for the coin?  Or was this a case of coin dealers speculating on a sell out and premium collectible opportunity?

The problem with the Platinum Eagle series is that it’s unclear how many collectors actually try to build “the complete set” of these expensive coins.  Set building is typically the primary driver for premium values for the silver and gold eagle series.

I’ll be watching the completed auctions closely this coming week.  There are a couple sellers already experimenting with higher prices.  Let’s see if they stick.

At this moment I am on my way to Malmö to participate in the Green Light Days. This event, where green lamps will be lightning up the central parts of Malmö, is taking place on 8-9 December and is focusing on climate change.

The idea behind Green Light is to show that it matters how we act in our daily lives and how we act together if we are to put an end to climate change. The two days has been filled with cultural activities, exhibitions and seminars.

This evening, I will visit Meeting Place Malmö, where you can pick up ideas on how to live a more climate-friendly life or follow the discussions at the COP15 conference, which is held just across the bridge. The Green Light Days will end tonight with musical preformances and speeches at The Palladium in Malmö.

LOS ANGELES — HARD favorites THE BLOODY BEETROOTS will perform live for the first time at The Palladium in Hollywood on Saturday, April 24th, 2010. The Bloody Beetroots will be joined by STEVE AOKI, DESTRUCTO and special guests. Pre-release tickets for this event are currently available at GROOVETICKETS.

So after many years of refusal from Ford to see the benefit of bringing its European vehicles oversees to the states… The Fiesta arrives. As the Carpocalypse ravaged through Detroit Ford found itself still intact in relation to its nearby competitors, but also striving for cheap new product to feed the consumers while it restructured itself. The company found what they needed in the compact Fiesta that had been successful in Europe since the 90’s.

Ford launched a huge Social Media campaign, known as the Fiesta Movement, to promote the vehicles by taking 100 European Fiesta’s stateside and putting them into the hands of a select group of people that for 6 months promoted the cars through use of Twitter, YouTube clips, personal blogs, and many different events and challenges put on by Ford. The final event that I attended was the unveiling of the U.S. Spec Fiesta that would be on sale here in the coming year. The 100 members of the Fiesta Movement were flown in from around the country and the night would also celebrate their time with the car and their achievements.

The night was filled with interviews of the various members of “The Movement,” a live DJ mixing music, meet ups of many different people from online media and Twitter. Awards were given to Fiesta Movement members for different categories such as “Most Creative Video” “Best Photos with Fiesta” and etc. The debut of the new vehicle came with not much uproar as the vehicle was essentially the same and had been seen by most who care on the internet many days earlier.

The debut featured two different versions of the car, a blue 4-door sedan and a green 5-door hatchback, which featured identical styling to its European counterpart except a few chrome bits and dimples on the front bumper. U.S. pricing will start at $13,320 for the “S” sedan. Moving up to the SE trim level brings the total to $14,320. The hatchback is not available in S trim, but can be purchased in SE guise starting at $15,120. The range-topping SEL Sedan and SES Hatchback cost $16,320 and $17,120, respectively. Moving to an automatic transmission adds about $1,000 to the price. Destination is $675.

The 2011 Fiesta features a 1.6-liter DOHC 4-cylinder engine that is estimated at 119 horsepower and 109 pound-feet of torque. This four-banger features Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT), which allows smaller displacement for increased fuel economy without compromising performance.

Ford’s latest four-cylinder offering will be mated to either a five-speed manual transmission — expected to return 29 city, and 38 highway mpg — or the six-speed PowerShift dual-clutch automated manual, which is projected to be rated at 30 city, 38 highway in normal trim (leftlanenews.com)

I believe that Ford is headed in the right direction with this vehicle in terms of its use of social media for promotion and its offering in terms or price, fuel economy, and performance. Moving forward Ford is starting to realize how to use its assets in Europe in order to save costs and to offer decent products to the consumer. I look forward to seeing the European Focus to come to the US soon and the possibility of several other great European cars make it this way (Mondeo please). And if they continue to throw a decent party… I will make sure to show up.

-Nolan

On both Thursday November 19th and Friday November 20th 2009 High on Fire, Converge, Mastodon and Dethklok played at the Hollywood palladium. Although due to the shows “preposterously punctual start time”, as another reporter described it, most people really only saw Mastodon and Dethklok. It’s no matter though because on this night it was really all about Dethklok. You can always go see a band like High on Fire when they inevitably headline their own smaller club tour and Mastodon has a strong following but many of those people already saw them play this past spring. So it was during the opening notes of the Metalocalypse TV show theme when the crowded surged toward the front of the stage and started going nuts pushing, shoving and head banging. Strange that there is all this fanfare for a band that is technically not even real, but when they hit the stage Dethklok gets the same treatment as any other great heavy metal band, and for good reason.
The protocol for Dethklok was similar to their last tour, with a giant projection screen above the band showing an extended version of the cartoon during the set. But one change was made that was definitely for the better; on the last tour the humans on the stage were basically shrouded in darkness and you were meant to focus on the cartoon but this time around the human band was better lit and actually seemed like a part of the show. With people like legendary drummer Gene Hoglan and guitar virtuoso Mike Keneally backing him up, Brendon Small  has nothing to be ashamed of, even if they look nothing like their cartoon counter parts. The projection screen is still much larger and more prominent but at least you could stand on tip toe to see Nathan Explosion’s voice coming out of Brandon Small as he also shredded out Toki and/or Skwisgaar’s parts on guitar. It’s actually not as disconcerting as you might think to see Nathan Explosion’s voice coming out of the very plain looking Small and is extremely entertaining to watch. As far as sound, the band was much tighter than they were the previous tour. It was obvious they have had more time to practice together as a band which made the sound much more full and cohesive.
The set list was a mix of songs from both Dethalbum I and II. Despite the fact that Dethalbum I was the only material they had to work with on their previous tour, apparently no one has tired of “Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle” or “Birthday Dethday” because the older material was the obvious crowd pleaser. People were clearly just not as familiar with the new material though it was well received. As far as the animated sequences go they did not disappoint in being hilarious, uncensored, and mostly unseen before. I say mostly unseen because many of the animated sequences for the older songs were the same ones they showed during the last tour, although I had no problem with getting to see the angry half naked Mermaid in “Murmaider” again. Bringing a cartoon to life is obviously no easy task and Dethklok has really hit its stride in accomplishing that.

Mastodon, of course, was nothing to sneer at, brilliantly utilizing Dethklok’s giant screen for their own show and projecting all kinds of trippy images of skulls, horses, and giant swirling spirals behind them. They played basically their entire new album ‘Crack the Skye’ and then for the encore played some of their older material. People watched with nearly reverent awe at their musicianship and sheer heaviness. This was definitely one of the must see concerts of the year this year. But if you missed it you can always go pick up Dethalbum II if you haven’t already and don’t forget to watch season 3 of Metalocalypse on Cartooon Network Sunday nights at 12:30am , they’ve been beefed up to 30 min episodes instead of the 15 min shorties were used to.

Wrote this for The Gauntlet, you can see it posted on the site here:  http://www.thegauntlet.com/concertreviews/3883/162/Dethklok.html

Todos os anos são inaugurados shoppings em Curitiba, um maior que o outro, mas parece que nunca são suficientes, todos os finais de semana são iguais, principalmente quando o clima está ruim.

Sábado, 28/11/09 eu e Claudia resolvemos ir ao Palladium para almoçar e fazer algumas compras. Logo na entrada às 12:40 percebi um pequeno congestionamento, mas decidimos ir em frente, foi rápido, em menos de 10 minutos encontramos uma vaga no G3.

O grande problema foi na saída, quando entramos no elevador, percebemos que algo estava errado, a temperatura estava muito alta, estava aguardando ansiosamente a abertura da porta do elevador, quando a porta se abriu veio a surpresa, a temperatura no estacionamento estava ainda mais alta. Logo visualizei o problema, um extenso congestionamento no G3, segundo os funcionários do shopping, ocasionado pela falha no sistema das cancelas que impossibilitava os carros de saírem, logo perguntei:

Por que não liberam todas as cancelas?

Ele respondeu:

Temos que conferir se todos pagaram o estacionamento.

Que legal, demoramos 30min para conseguir tirar o carro, assistam o vídeo e vejam o drama!

Imagine em Dezembro como será!!!

Poluição sonora, combinado com alta temperatura e ar completamente poluído.

That’s what I love about Christmas – Santa and all the gifts he brings – but if you wanna be your own Santa – let me tell you all the gifts you can buy for yourself. Muah at Palladium in Phoenix as new stock. Take a look at this Christmassy top! Don’t you just love it! Also Muse at KalaGhoda has romantic resort outfits from Red Valentino, Paul & Joe, ReshamM along with bags and shoes by Braccialini. Go ahead spring yourself a shopping surprise on Christmas and be your own Santa! Cool na!

Der Erfolg der Editors in den letzten Jahren zeigt nun auch die Schattenseiten des „Größer werdens“. Vom Indi zum Mainstream, glücklicherweise nicht in musikalischer Sicht, sorgte für einen vorzeitigen Karten Ausverkauf des Kölner E-Werkes. Die Show wurde kurzerhand ins gegenüberliegende Palladium verlegt. In jedem Winkel des „Clubs“ standen sich Security Arbeiter die Füße platt. Die Editors passten ihr Merch dem gehobenen Status an und präsentierten ein Sortiment an Shirts bei dem selbst Iron Maiden sprachlos werden dürften. Wir überlegten uns, ob wir die Show von der oberen seitlich angebrachten „Tribüne“ anschauen sollten, entschieden uns dann jedoch einen Platz in den vorderen Reihen zu suchen. Trotz gut gefüllter Halle ging es recht friedlich zu. Neben Kids befanden sich auch etliche ältere Besucher im Publikum. Ich hätte wirklich nicht gedacht, dass das neue Album dermaßen gut einschlagen und so viele neue Fans ziehen würde. Außerdem war ich auf die Gewichtung des doch recht unterschiedlichen Materials in der Setlist gespannt. Werden wir eine Rock oder eher eine Elektroshow erwarten dürfen?

Als erstes standen Wintersleep auf der Bühne. Die Band konnte mich nicht begeistern und ging irgendwie an mir vorbei. Im groben im Indirock angesiedelt, jedoch für meinen Geschmack zu langweilig. Ohrenbetäubend klang ein schrecklich aufgedrehter Bass, der trotz Gehörschutz fast unerträglich war. Dieser Zustand sollte leider bis Ende des Abends anhalten.

Etwas spannender präsentierten sich die Maccabees, welche bekannter zu sein schienen, denn es wurden den Musikern Handtücher und Drinks gereicht. Der Sänger hatte wirklich Feuer im Arsch und präsentierte ein Stimmliches Volumen, das von The Pogues über Morrisey bis hin zu den Editors reichte. Die Band unterstrich diese Vorgabe auf hohem Niveau, dennoch hatte ihre Musik am Ende nicht den nötigen Kick um mich zu einem CD Kauf zu animieren.

Für die Editors wurde nun das komplette Brett in Sachen Beleuchtung aufgefahren.
Das Set der Briten wurde mit dem Song “In this Light and on this evening” begonnen. Hinter dem Drumset war eine riesige Lichtwand positioniert, die besetzt mit vielen kleinen Spots für atemberaubende Stimmungen sorgte.
Weiter ging es mit „An end has a start“. Die Band zeigte sich spielfreudiger und Sänger Smith um einiges weniger verpeilt als noch vor zwei Jahren. Besonders der Basser sprang ständig umher. Der Gitarist, welcher sein Topteil mit Actionfiguren schmückte, bediente abwechselnd seinen Sechseiter und die Keyboards in den Songs der neuen Platte. Smith turnte zwischen Piano, Keyboard und Gitarre umher. Von der ersten Sekunde an hatten Editors ihre Fans im Griff und die Textzeilen wurden nicht selten aus über 5000 Kehlen mitgesungen. Es folgte Hit um Hit und zwei Stunden später wurden die besten Songs aus drei Alben zum besten gegeben. Nein, „Munich“ und „Papillon“ fehlten noch, welche sich dann jedoch in den zahlreichen Zugaben einordneten.

Auch wenn mir die Location viel zu groß war, kam dennoch genug Stimmung auf.
In kleineren Gefilden werden wir die Editors in den nächsten Jahren wohl auch nicht mehr erleben dürfen…

Durchde

Draußen, direkt  gegenüber dem Palladium, treffen sich lustig kostümierte Personen und setzen sich rein optisch gar nicht von den Besuchern des Editors-Konzerts ab.  Bei diesem illustren Grüppchen vor dem Eingang  des E-Werks gegenüber handelt es sich allerdings nicht um Jecken, die seit dem Vortag traditionell die närrische Zeit in Köln beginnen, sondern um Fans der Gruppe Europe. Die hatten mal in den 80er einen Haufen Haare auf dem Kopf  und ihren einzigen Hit mit „The Final Countdown“ und zum Glück ist uns  – bei aller sonst üblichen Ausschlachterei sämtlicher Genres -  ein Hair-Metal-Revival bisher erspart geblieben (oder war das schon bei The Darkness?)

Die Editors haben sich hingegen auf Post Punk und aktuell den Wave-Sound dieses in den 00ern viel zu oft zitierten Jahrzehnts spezialisiert. Genau wie Interpol waren sie zur Hochzeit von Joy Divison, The Cure und New Order gerade mal im Kindergarten und schaffen so keinerlei Authentizität, aber ihre eigene Interpretation des kalten Düstersounds der Thatcher-Ära. Wo Interpol durchaus ihre eigene Note einbringen, galten die Editors schon recht früh als Kopisten der New Yorker, die wiederum wohl den Ian-Curtis-Ähnlichkeitswettbewerb gewinnen würden.

Seit dem Durchbruch-Album „An end has a start“ haben sich die Editors auch aus der eh nie gerne gesehen Feuilleton-Ecke verabschiedet und stampfen mit mächtig Pomp-Sound in die große Hallen jen- als auch diesseits de Ärmelkanals. Ob die das eigentlich verdient haben? Genau aus dem Grund und wegen der Auflösung der Frage stehe ich mir hier im hässlichen Palladium schon seit einiger die Beine in den Bauch, denn bevor der Hauptact überhaupt erscheint, betreten die schüchtern wirkenden Kanadier von Wintersleep die Bühne. Wie die eigentlich in den 1,2-Step-Post-Punk-Kontext der anderen Bands passen, ist dann relativ fragwürdig, statt sklavisch kopiertem Post-Punk-Sound haben die Jungs nämlich auch Folk im Angebot und fragil wirkende Songs, die perfekt zu der herbstlichen Jahreszeit passen. Gerade durch das zurückhaltende Auftreten durfte diese Band eher in Erinnerung bleiben als die Maccabees, wo es natürlich mal wieder ein Wiedersehen mit Skinny Fit Jeans, blöden 80er Frisuren und merkwürdigem  Gehopse auf und auch vor der Bühne gibt. Den kleinen gestylten Mädels mit den Pünktchen-Kleidern und den Playmobilfrisuren gefällt es aber dann hörbar und die Jungs wippen auch immer mit einem Bierbecher in der Hand  mit.

Bevor man gerade noch innerlich aufzählt, nach welchen von den  ca. 34846 artverwandten UK-Bands die Maccabees klingen und welche LP von Papi deren All-Time-Favorit ist,  kommen unter großen Gekreische die Editors auf die Bühne, um gleich mal nach allen Regeln der Kunst das eigentlich sehr atmosphärische „In this light and on this evening“ zu versemmeln. Sänger Tom Smith trifft kaum einen Ton richtig und klingt wie Kermit während einem üblen Hangover. Wohl dem, der genügend Hits im Angebot hat, um diesen Fehlstart auszubügeln. So kommt direkt die Hymne “ An end has a start“ zum Einsatz und lässt einen begeistert mitzucken, dazu gibt es im Hintergrund die mittlerweile übliche Lightshow, die allerdings nur aus wechselnden Farben und unscharfen Mustern besteht. Bei den Uptempo-Nummern vom ersten und zweiten Album vollführt Smith auf der Bühne einen merkwürdigen Ausdruckstanz, der in seiner Theatralik erst lustig, mit zunehmender Dauer aber äußerst nervig wirkt und die seit jeher platten Lyrics gefährlich in Richtung Parodie abgleiten lässt. Die Masse stört es nicht, wirkt aber gerade beim langsamen Pathos vom neuen Album nahezu eingeschläfert.

Gerade hier kommt der Moment, an dem man sich fragt, ob die Editors an den Punkt gelangen durften, wo Interpol zurecht stehen. Wo keine Lichtblitze zucken oder der Tanzbeat einsetzt, wirken die Editors auf einmal erschreckend unauthentisch und substanzlos. Eine dunkle, charismatische Aura wie sie Ian Curtis oder Tom Banks umgab oder umgibt, kann Smith nicht vorweisen, und so gibt es statt beklemmendem Kammerstück nur durchschnittliche Kleinstkunst für die Biedermänner und -frauen unter den sogenannten Indie-Hörern, die wohl auch bei dem in Plastinin eingelegten Konsensquark von  Linkin Park Gänsehaut bekommen. Jeder Ton wird  zudem mit ordentlich Hall aufgeblasen und jeder Vokal so lange in die Länge gedehnt, bis man Thees Uhlmann von Tomte irgendwo als Souffleur vermutet.

Zurück von diesem Abend bleibt gerade mal kühl kalkulierte Routine und die Sehnsucht nach einer neuen, aufregenden und innovativen Band, die alles wieder auf Normalität zurecht rückt. So schlecht können die 00er-Jahre einfach nicht gewesen sein, dass Muse mit ihrem Billig-Pomp rein von der Größe ihrer Konzerte her schon auf den Spuren der Rolling Stones und U2 wandeln und die Editors dergestalt ein Genre verhunzen, welches gewiss nicht für seichte Abend-Unterhaltung stand. Tanzen und Haltung zeigen konnten schließlich auch New Order schon.

Setlist:

• In this light and on this evening
• Bullets
• You don’t know love
• Bones
• The Racing Rats
• The Boxer
• AllSparks
• Escape the nest
• Like treasure
• The big exit
• Eat raw meat = blood drool
• Open your arms
• You are fading
• Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors
• Bricks and Mortar
• Walk the fleet road
• Munich
• Papillon
• Fingers in the Factories

Zuschauer: ca. 4000

So I haven’t been keeping up with my blog lately due to stressful amounts of work to do. Besides the fact that I’m worried I won’t finish everything I want to accomplish I’m starting a new etching today. I haven’t done much etching this semester, so I’m glad for a change of pace. My composition is a Bear fight 10 unarmed midgets. This image came from a long table discussion I had with my roommates at lunch about this scenario of midgets fighting a bear. Personally I voted for the grizzly as the winner but there was a mixed  conclusion about the winner in the end of the talk.

This drawing will be transferred onto a zinc plate with hard ground.

Also I deicided to go with the collage option for my final photo project. I am going to use cyanotype, kallitype, and palladium printing on Masa paper and fabric. More details on that later. I got over my palladium problems too, namely it was the paper that sucked not me. Brian couldn’t remember the watercolor paper he gave me for the palladium but it was the best material. The masa paper also works well so I’ll be sticking to it for the project.

Muah Store, Palladium

Yes. That’s what we were! Trudging along the foot hills of Pali Hill scouting for a party outfit in the spate of boutiques in the unending bylanes of Bandra. We talked, we laughed, we got lost and then we found our way back. It was truly a girly hour. The shopping spree that finally was completed at Just Phat (What a discovery this store is!) was followed by some mouth watering and tongue tingling Bharleli Mirchi at Mumbai Times Cafe at the Magnet Mall. Aaah! This is what I call a day well spent. You know shopping with your girl friends is an experience that matches no other. You can talk about everything under the sun. You can be your girly self and not be judged. You can talk about how much weight you lost or have put on or need to lose and they will still be by your side listening to you – being there. We girls are so sweet aren’t we! So yeah! I did find my self a hot hot hot jumpsuit from Just Phat yesterday – thanks to the store manager and her mood she gave me a Rs 1000/- off (boy I was thrilled) for I had tried a jumpsuit before that at Muah at Palladium (By the way they have cute stuff. I did pick up a party top! Love the colors very girly and pretty. They are getting new stock this weekend for Winter do visit. Awesome sales staff too) and then one at Drama Queen but nothing quite worked for me. This is lovely. This is it. A slim-fit ankle length denim jumpsuit – I finally found what I really wanted ! Thankyou to the gods of shopping.

They’re the Palladium Oshawa boot. You can find them here.

Se você busca um ótimo hotel no Rio de Janeiro e não quer encarar as tarifas do Hotel Fasano, experimente o Hotel Palladium, no Leblon. Esse hotel moderno e confortável fica a duas quadras da praia do Leblon, na melhor região do bairro, próximo a ótimos restaurantes e bares.

R. Gen. Artigas, 200
Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22441-140
(0xx)21 3171-7400

Peter Brook adatta a teatro “Love is my sin”, bella verità sussurrata da Shakespeare. In scena al Palladium dal 5 all’8 Novembre.

I sonetti di Shakespeare sono cosa intima, delicata. Capita spesso di incontrare chi non ama i lunghi drammi e gli intrecci di un autore indubbiamente geniale. Ma succede anche di vedere che quel dissenso si sciolga, si rapprenda, quando si parla dei sonetti. 154 componimenti scritti a partire dalla fine del Cinquecento, ma pubblicati solo nel 1609. I primi 126 vanno a un giovane uomo, gli altri sono dedicati alla famosa Dark Lady.

E questi ultimi andrebbero letti da ogni donna provvista o assolutamente priva di senno. Da ogni donna che tale si sente. Che sa che la bellezza va custodita, anche se il tempo fugge. E quindi ci si deve preparare alla forma squisita che abbandona, al patto con la natura che decade, al durare solo il lasso di una vita. “Love is my sin” è il sonetto 142.

Gli altri titoli rimandano all’improvviso amore che cattura, alla passione tra nera sorte e fortuna, allo spazio che il volto dell’amata occupa nei pensieri. Tutte cose, insomma, di cui non si può parlare. Che vanno vissute, fino a farsi scaldare gli organi, quasi vicini all’ustione. Tutte cose di cui si può scrivere e che vanno lette. Per curarsi, per sanarsi.

Per quella cosa che ci fa star bene, quella condivisione tra umani lontani anche cento anni in termini temporali. I fulcri tematici roventi vanno dalla morte all’amicizia, passando per quella cosa che è peccato, quella cosa che fa ardere, sbagliare, bruciare, tornare sui propri passi, saltare nel vuoto. Peccaminoso, peccaminoso amore.

Shakespeare ha lasciato memoria di questo dolore piacevolissimo, e dunque non muore solitaria la sua gloria. La riprende in mano Peter Brook. E li trasforma in un discorso lirico da palcoscenico, un groviglio di serpenti quali la gelosia, le colpe, i calcoli, la rabbia, la passione. Brook rovescia il nido di serpi davanti al pubblico che dal 5 all’8 Novembre alle ore 20.30 sarà al Teatro Palladium. Lo spettacolo è inserito nel ricco calendario del Romaeuropa Festival. Natasha Parry e Michael Pennington sono interpreti validi, degni. Le musiche sono interpretate da Franck Krawczyk e sono i componimenti delicati e strutturati, le pagine clavicembalistiche di Louis Couperin.

La scena è essenziale, le scelte di regia vogliono elevare la forza poetica dei Sonetti. “Bisognava far emergere una tensione drammatica – spiega Brook: come guida ho seguito le domande che suppongono il rapporto tra due persone.” C’è molto da esplorare in questo tema duale, nell’amore che include anche la separazione. La tranquillità primigena, la vampata d’avvio, l’ira, il possesso, la gelosia, le attenzioni, l’infedeltà. Poi? La morte? La fine? Pare che l’amore vinca. Su tutti i peccaminosi, eternabili fronti.

“Love is my sin”
Regia di Peter Brook
Dal 5 all’8 Novembre
Ore 20.30, Prima Nazionale Palladium
Sito: romaeuropa.net

Bob Dylan at the Hollywood Palladium Oct. 15, 2009 Jim Piccirillo

THE GOOD:

Bob’s black bolero suit and hat. The band’s matching grey suits. Killer band. (The same one he has used for about the last ten years) with the addition of Charlie Sexton on guitar. Sexton is a great guitar player and a good match for Dylan’s material (although he was buried in the mix all night). It is hard to criticize a genius. Dylan’s catalogue is mind boggling… which makes you wonder about some of his song choices.

This band was built to play the blues and they definitely rock on the up tempo numbers, especially the newer stuff like Thunder on the Mountain. Highlights included Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum, Highway 61 Revisited and my favorite Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll go mine)

Here is the complete set list from last night. http://www.bobdylan.com/#/tour/2009-10-15-hollywood-palladium

Dylan’s voice has grown in to a gruff shout on most songs, very hoarse on others, and at times right in the pocket. This also would describe the show.. very uneven. Sometimes it clicked and sometimes the band seemed to be searching where to come back in after a solo. Dylan is a hard guy to follow and I would imagine to be in a band with. Dylan, in the best setting, is hard to understand and even the songs that most of the audience knows by heart is difficult to sing along with due to Dylan’s odd phrasing. In the end the packed house left satisfied after encores of Like A Rolling Stone and All Along the Watchtower. Not great versions of either, but hey, he wrote them so he can play them how he wishes!

My son, who is a real Dylan fan, went with me. He liked the show, and seemed genuinely excited to see one of his idols. This, for me, wasn’t one of the best live shows I have seen lately but I still think Dylan has a lot of good records left in him. In all, I still enjoyed the evening. Seeing a legend, with my teenage son, on a muggy Thursday night at a packed club in Hollywood… not too shabby!

THE BAD:

Dylan doesn’t play (much) guitar anymore. Most of the night he stands behind a small Korg keyboard and just chords along to all the songs. It almost sounds like a circus organ. He never takes center stage (Charlie Sexton has that honor) and when he does step out from behind the keyboard, it is to sing or play harmonica on a mic setup on side of stage. This has been his setup for a few years….(when I saw him a couple of years ago, he did the same thing but teased the audience with about 10 guitars set up in a circle behind him.. and never picked up one!) He did play electric on a couple of songs.. but you find your self wishing he would just once pick up an acoustic and play a few. He never speaks to the audience except to introduce the band at the end. If you listen to his show on Sirius or XM.. you know that he is a very humorous guy. It would be nice to see a little of his personality come through. An odd opening choice was George Thorogood and the Destroyers. George looked great, played his 3 hits to perfection.. but seemed a little outof place. He did mention that this was a dream come true for him to share the stage with Dylan. I am sure he never saw or spoke to Dylan the entire night!

THE UGLY: Even after a several million dollar revamp, the World Famous Hollywood Palladium is still a dump. Tickets were standing room only.. no seats.. this really sucked. The lobby looked like a MASH ward with people lying and sitting everywhere trying to get a break from hours of standing. The Palladium is a large, circular ballroom with very poor acoustics. The sound from most vantage points was horrendous. I could see the very good drummer playing his cymbals but I never heard them. I would get traces of Charlie Sexton’s tasty guitar licks but for most of the night he was buried in the mix as well. I have seen Dylan in a variety of venues, of all sizes and shapes. The Palladium holds 4000 people.. and it was jammed to the gils.. there was not a nook or cranny not taken and the fire marshals were moving people behind the tape lines.

I will save my money next time or at least be sure the venue is a small theatre, with good acoustics and nice padded seats!

THE SCENE:

Any time an artist of Dylan’s stature and caliber plays you can bet the audience comes out in droves… and they did.. the Palladium was packed with 4,000. People standing. We could not even get close on the floor (Imagine a House of Blues concert multiplied 4xtimes over!)

The circular balconies make for interesting viewing, but horrible acoustics. We started out up there but ended up on the main level (right under an air conditioning vent!) with decent sight lines. The crowd was all ages.. from teens (my son) to a lot of folks my age and way older! I had some good conversations with some old timers about all the concerts we have seen, and had a good time watching the crazy dancers on the outer fringes (yes , people dance at Dylan shows.. a lot like the Grateful Dead!). A lot of old stoners in the crowd, couples that look like your parents out on a date, and a good mix of glamorous hollywood people just looking for a good party.

I must say that the although the Palladium still smells like stale beer, the bathrooms have gone thru a major renovation and are very nice, and they have numerous bars in all corners and the lines were never long in spite of the number of people. They are very organized and setup to move people through… so not a complete dive by any stretch.

Here is the LA times review from the night before (he must have been in one of the few seats made available in the house!)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/10/live-review-bob-dylan-at-the- hollywood-palladium.html