Pulling a ship over a mountain

Re: Aquaman. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Being able to talk to fish is not a superpower. So Aquaman can order bluegills to do his bidding. Please tell me when in the world that is a useful skill? And don’t pull that crap from the old Justice League cartoon in which he orders a swordfish to cut a hole in a submarine. Real fish don’t have skulls capable of breaking through reinforced steel. Aquaman can’t even get chicks with his lame superpower. “Hey baby, watch me swim” just doesn’t work. I mean, Hawkman’s only skill is his ability to fly but that might at least help him get laid if the beak doesn’t get in the way.



Just got back from The Swell Season show and it has quickly earned its place amongst one of my favorite concerts ever. Of course, Glen Hansard and The Frames make up a significant portion of my Top Ten in terms of concerts and tonight was no exception. First, I should probably describe who The Swell Season actually is. It’s not The Frames and it’s not Glen and Marketa Irglova (the two who won the Oscar for best song for what I just posted). It’s really The Frames playing slightly acoustic with Marketa on piano. I’m pretty sure for legal reasons this has to be referred to as a different band hence The Swell Season.

The show started with Glen taking the stage and standing on the edge and singing Say It To Me Now unamplified. That is an insanely daring way to start a show at a place as big as the Uptown. I’ve seen people do it before but it is typically at the end of a great set when you know that you will be able to get people to be quiet. To do it at the start, when you still have a bunch of drunks who don’t know how to act in a concert mulling about, is a rather daring move. It is also just an amazing moment.

They then played through pretty much the entire soundtrack to the movie Once, along with some Glen and Marketa songs that didn’t make the movie. She even sang a new song that was just stunning. I’m going to download the concert just to get a copy of that song. Glen was his usual joyful self on stage; telling stories and enjoying every single moment. He even talked about what it is like after winning the Oscar and how part of him kind of wishes that he could go back to what it was like before. He has spent 17 years with The Frames fighting for every gig and acclaim and now he is successful and trying to figure out how to deal with it. Luckily he is dealing with it by just being Glen; singing his heart out, playing great music and just making every person in the audience happy.

If that is the one thing I can say about his live shows is that you never leave a place feeling more joyous than when you see The Frames (in any name) perform. You leave feeling alive and wanting to experience the entire world. You can’t hear songs like Fitzcarraldo or Star, Star and not want to take on all comers. They truly are my favorite band in the world and have been for the past couple of years.

Someone asked me recently how I was reacting to the fact that my favorite band was now popular. How they can now sell out a theater when before I was one of maybe a couple of hundred people in a club watching them play. While I missed being able to stand next to the stage tonight I have nothing but great respect for Glen and Marketa and all the rest. They are the best musical story I have seen in ages. They have become popular and sold an unbelievable amount of records without changing a single aspect of who they are. It’s the same music and the same personas with no corporate tinkering. They’ve become successful while making art. It’s a wonder of the modern world.