The 7th Jammy Awards
May 9th, 2008
OK, so Matisyahu covered the Flaming Lips, Rose Hill Drive and Leslie West raged Mountain’s Mississippi Queen, Sheryl Jones and Booker T did Born Under a Bad Sign (”and that’s fine”), that “smokeshow” Grace Potter got Warren Haynes to take her to the river, Big Head Todd and Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook joined Tea Leaf Green for Pulling Mussles, Chevy Chase is buddies with jamclown Keller Williams, Joan Osborne belted Come Together, Stanton Moore dueled Doug E Fresh, and Page McConnell had the balls to lead jazz heavyweights Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, James Carter, and Roy Hanes through two Phish songs.
Not too shabby, but that’s to be expected from the Jammys, Relix Magazine’s annual Theater at Madison Square Garden get-together that combines surprise collaborations with pleasant scene fluffing. Also, awards.
The only award that really mattered on Wednesday night, though, was Phish’s Lifetime Achievement Jammy (it’s fun to say!) because it was supposed to lure Trey, Mike, Jon, and Page out of rehab, seclusion, or wherever else they’ve been hiding since the 2004 breakup. The rumor mill had been churning hard, and it sort of worked: all four members showed up, sharing the stage for the first time since Coventry — but they didn’t play together.
Instead, Fishman made a joke, Page was sincere, Gordo wore purple pants, and Trey gave one of those heartfelt, halting speeches that have brought many a Phish show to a screeching stop — except this time he sounded more humble, and more final, than ever: “It was an honor to watch you all dance.”
Then they walked off, and it would have been terribly depressing if Trey hadn’t just finished playing with deliciously cheesy yet surprisingly tight Beatles cover band The Fab Faux. Phish or no Phish, sick or sober, Big Red can still — what’s the technical term? — melt faces. Here’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
- Full setlist at Hidden Track
- Photos at reax
- Relix
- Runaway Dinosaur
- Burlington Free Press
The Golem: How He Came Into the World
March 24th, 2007
Before he made this 1920 version, director Paul Wegener, who also stars as the monster, had already adapted the Jewish folk tale about the Golem in 1915 and 1917. Individual moments of this third incarnation are great, but in a decade filled with fantastic movies, they’re somewhat few and far between. You know the story: the Rabbi breathes life into a clay statue to protect the ghetto, but he doesn’t read the fine print, and the Golem exacts a terrible price. 1920 was a long time ago (especially in movie years), and the film is worth appreciating as a museum piece and early horror classic more than something you’d watch for kicks. Some of The Golem prefigures Frankenstein and so forth, but from our vantage, most of it doesn’t feel terribly inspired. For one thing, it’s much too slow, and you could be excused for setting the DVD player to double speed and providing your own soundtrack. I do wish there were more movies with Rabbis who cast spells–and I don’t mean Matisyahu.
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam. Paul Wegener, 1920. ***
After the jump, the entire movie via Google Video. It’s ok for taking a look, but if you’re serious about watching it, you’re much better off with the Kino DVD–it’s a restored version with better intertitles and tints.
