So I had Crazy Heart from Netflix for about a month and finally decided I’d watch it. Here’s my review: It’s The Wrestler, except instead of Mickey Rourke as a washed up wrestler, it stars Jeff Bridges as a washed up country singer. Instead of Rourke trying to reconnect with his young daughter, Bridges tries to find love with a young reporter. And… that’s about it. Bridges was very good, just like Rourke was. The movie was deliberately paced and not a lot happened, just like in The Wrestler. The end actually had a resolution, kind of, unlike The Wrestler, which really didn’t. So, in the end, if you want to make a movie that will win you acclaim and get your lead actor an award, cast an older actor in a role where he has to play a washed up (insert profession here), have him try to create a relationship with a younger woman (lover, daughter, whatever works), have two or three bad things happen, and then end the movie on a note of redemption (but not too strong, just enough to make you feel like maybe there’s a reason he shouldn’t put a bullet through his brain quite yet).

I got a few new CDs over the weekend. A couple albums by Metric (Grow Up and Blow Away, Live it Out), Anchors Aweigh by The Bouncing Souls, Boys and Girls in America by The Hold Steady, and Good Views, Bad News by Broadway Calls. Here are my thoughts: Metric consistently has really cool album art. The Bouncing Souls album is surprisingly punky, where for some reason I was under the impression it was going to be less punky. Yes, I know they’re a punk band. The Hold Steady are a strange band but I like them. I can’t decide if I like this one or Stay Positive better though. Broadway Calls takes me back to a simpler time, when I would listen to poppy punk rock on a sunny day, and I really like it. It also features the catchiest song about Obama’s election that has ever been written, “Election Day,” which effectively takes me back to when we were all swept up in Obama fever and the history that was made when he was elected. That was before he became president and we all went “Meh.” But yeah, “Election Day” has really been stuck in my head for three days now, and I want it out.

Cam and I went to see The Black Keys at the Fillmore last Thursday, and this is what I thought about it: The opening act was called Brian Olive. Which makes you think that it will be a guy named Brian Olive playing an acoustic guitar and singing, or something. Well, we did get Brian Olive, and he did play a guitar and sing, but he also had a backing band of FIVE PEOPLE. So this guy has the nerve to go on tour as a six piece and not even mention the fact that he has a lead guitarist, an acoustic guitarist, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a bass player backing him up. I feel like he should at least go on tour as The Brian Olive Band, or The Brian Olives. There’s just something about guys named Brian, though, I guess. Anyway, they started off okay, but the third song was the slowest, most boring song any band has ever dared play live, and they never really recovered from that. The female backing vocals were annoying, but it did give the girls a chance to shake every instrument that is allowed to be shaken (two kinds of tambourine, maracas, a couple kinds of sticks and rattles), and play a keyboard that you blow into, whatever the hell that was.

Also, for those of you who’ve never been to the Fillmore in Denver, let me describe it as a big empty room with a stage in the front. Technically there are raised portions along the side, and a balcony WAAAAAY back in the back, but if you want to be able to see, you have to stand on the floor, which is great for the seven foot tall monsters that feel like they have to stand in the front of the crowd, but not so great for me. I can never really see at the Fillmore. Every other venue in town has different levels, and since we usually get to concerts early, I can go stand at the front of a level and be able to see over people. Not here. I do not like the Fillmore. On the plus side, there was a girl standing next to me who kept asking everyone who came by for weed, which really amused me. Eventually her friend was able to con some horny guy into giving them some weed. They promptly smoked it and disappeared, leaving the guy behind. Nice.

Anyway, The Black Keys were really good. The band is two people, drums and guitar/vocals. They make an astonishing amount of noise for being two guys, and that guitarist can really shred. It’s deceptively good guitar, as it’s not all technical solos, but goes from ambient to riffs to solos effortlessly. Cam described it as like “water” and I think that’s a good way to put it. It flows all over you. People were swaying and dancing all over. The drummer looks like he’s in excruciating pain the whole time, and looks like a freakishly tall and stretched out version of Christopher Mintz Plasse (McLovin). He also looks like he really hates the drums and is trying to beat them to death with sticks. They rocked through about every song I wanted to hear in a nice long set. The only issue was, strangely, with the new album material. The new album on record is really strong, but it requires more than two people to play live. This causes two problems. First, they have to play the new material in a long “new album” segment, where they bring two other people on stage for a group of new songs. This is the only time they play the new stuff, and as such it keeps it from integrating into the rest of the set. Second, the two other instruments (bass and keyboard) actually take away from their sound. It muddles together and distracts from the guitar and drums. The new songs really lacked the energy that the two-piece songs had, which is a shame, because I really do like the new album. Overall though, it was a solid show, and I got to see my friend Sarai there, which was a nice treat.