Bill Petro

HISTORY OF IRON MAN

I had the opportunity to catch the midnight premier of what is likely to be the initial “summer blockbuster” of the 2008 season. Iron Man has since this debut had the second biggest non-sequel opening day in history, trailing only Spider-Man. Last summer had 14 sequels, this summer only 7. More on the movie itself later. First, this film had not only an interesting debut, but has some interesting high-tech tie-ins.

Debut:

The event in Colorado Springs was sponsored in part by First Showing which is a local promotional company. This event, like other blockbuster previews — for example my article about last year’s Spider-Man III — was what I’d call “event marketing.” It began by having a booth out in front of the theater, with full sized posters, the company’s logo, a couch and chairs in front of a gaming console and TV. The fact that it was cold outside did not discourage the faithful from stopping by.

Before the midnight show began, there were about 40 minutes of pre-show fun. Tests of strength, skill, and armor building ensued. The emcee directed these events, the most interesting was a test of “repulsors-driven flight” on a long board through wickets holding lighted pods. The audience really got into it.

Many in the audience came dressed in Iron Man tee-shirts, some were custom made.

Tie-ins:

During the credits, I noticed that computer graphics were done by Tata Elxsi’s Visual Computing Labs. I used to work for Tata ELXSI some 20 years ago, when they were making one of the world’s most powerful super mini-computers.

But there is a more contemporary high-tech tie-in. Oracle is co-promoting the movie, with a tie-in to the fact that “Marvel Entertainment relies on Oracle to manage growth and provide seamless technology integration.”

Special Effects:

The computer graphics in this movie have defined the new state-of-the-art for film. Like the Transformers movie before it, CG works well for rendering machines. Computers are better at rendering machines than rendering people, which are so much more subtle. Here, it is almost seamless, unlike in the Spider-Man movie.

Movie Review:

Did I like it? Absolutely. I’d give it an A-. This is perhaps the most deeply gratifying film adaptation of a comic book. Many believe that only Batman Returns rivals it. Indeed, it will not have missed the notice of some that there are some similarities between the Marvel Comics hero Iron Man and DC Comics‘ hero Batman. In their secret identities, they are both billionaire industrialists, inventors of creative technologies, and flamboyant playboys. Both characters battle their own personal demons. In the case of Tony Stark (Iron Man), he has battled alcohol addiction, which is ironic, considering the casting of Iron Man.

Robert Downey, Jr. has had a checkered past in Hollywood, battling drug addiction. Nevertheless, this Academy Award nominated actor carries the movie. His sardonic wit, his throwaway lines, and his comic timing make him a flawed and believable industrialist. Initially arrogant and oblivious to the effects of his munitions sales, he comes to repent of his past business failings during the course of the “origin story” part of the film.

I was impressed by his performance and was willing to believe this obsessive personality could become aware of his weaknesses, limitations, and a dawning appreciation of his loyal secretary.

In the role of his dedicated executive assistant Pepper Potts, Gweneth Paltrow lit up the screen. My only complaint is that we did not see her enough in the movie, almost as if she was underutilized. But the chemistry between this Academy Award winner and Downey was palpable, and she was stunning in the role. I could not help but remember her similarly plucky role as Polly Perkins in the movie Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow.

Terrance Howard plays Tony Stark’s best friend and confidant, Lt. Colonel James Rhodes, military liaison to Stark Industries. This Academy Award nominated actor has been getting a lot of notice for his recent roles. I particularly liked him in the recent film August Rush.

Academy Award nominated (notice a pattern here?) actor Jeff Bridges is featured as Obadiah Stane, a bear of a man, as top executive of Stark Industries and right hand man to Tony Stark. He appears as a bear of a man and chews up the screen each time he’s on the screen.

The action was impressive, the interaction between a talented cast, and the plot made this movie work. I’ve frequently compared this to the Spider-Man movies, as it serves as the benchmark of the Marvel Comics movie franchise. Spider-Man has historically been the most popular title of the Marvel universe, in the same way that Superman has been for DC Comics. And while I started reading Spider-Man comics in the early ’60s, and have not been a close follower of Iron Man, I found the later to be more satisfying as a movie experience. Perhaps it is because Spider-Man is about the travails of an adolescent — appropriate to comics’ primary demographic — while Iron Man deals with the problem of a grown man. The writing for this movie covered more sophisticated themes and more stark violence (no pun intended). The comedy worked better too.

For example, Iron Man creator and Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee had a cameo appearance in this movie, has he had in the previous Marvel movie adaptations. Keep your eyes open, it’s more amusing than his previous movie appearances.

Here’s a tip if you’re planning on seeing the movie: stay to the end of the credits. Not only will you see something interesting in the credits, but you’ll see something at the end of the credits that will be a treat.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

I’ve have written an article on the innovative use of micro-blogging technology Twitter as it relates to the Academy Awards show at my “Tech Trends” blog. Come by and visit the article here.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood film historian
www.billpetro.com

HISTORY OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL

This week in 1843 saw the publication of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” No other book or story by Dickens or anyone else (except the Bible) has been more enjoyed, criticized, referred to, or more frequently adapted to other media. One of my favorites was catching Patrick Stewart doing his one-man version of the play at the Old Vic Theatre in London. None of Dickens’ other works is more widely recognized or, celebrated within the English-speaking world. Some scholars have even claimed that in publishing A Christmas Carol Dickens single-handedly invented the modern form of the Christmas holiday in England and the United States.

Indeed, the great British thinker G.K. Chesterton noted long ago, with A Christmas Carol Dickens succeeded in transforming Christmas from a sacred festival into a family feast. In so doing, he brought the holiday inside the home and thus made it accessible to ordinary people, who were now able to participate directly in the celebration rather than merely witnessing its performance in church.

Many of our American conceptions of what a “traditional” Christmas is, comes from this time in Victorian history. Indeed, Queen Victoria of England had just married a few years earlier, and her German husband, Prince Albert brought some of his native customs to England (including the Christmas tree), beginning some of the traditions of Victorian Christmas.

In the mid-seventeenth century, the Cromwellian Revolt abolished Christmas as well as the monarchy. However well the monarchy was subsequently “restored,” the traditions of the winter holiday never recovered. But religious prescription was not the only cause of the decline of Christmas. Even by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution, especially in the north, was changing the communities that still tenuously kept the customs of their ancestors.

By the time the Carol was written in 1843, the lavish celebrations of the past were a distant, quaint memory. Some still remembered them, and even before the Carol a few popular books attempted to record the celebrations of the past, such as The Book of Christmas by T.H. Hervey (1837) and The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall by Washington Irving (1820). But social forces beyond simple nostalgia were at work, rekindling the need for winter celebrations.

Dickens was one of the first to show his readers a new way of celebrating the old holiday in their modern lives. His Christmas celebrations of the Carol adapted the twelve-day manorial (Yule) feast to a one-day party any family could hold in their own urban home. Instead of gathering together an entire village, Dickens showed his readers the celebration of Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, with his immediate family and close friends, and also the Cratchit’s “nuclear family”: perfectly happy alone, without the presence of friends or wider family. He showed the urban, industrial English that they could still celebrate Christmas, even though the old manorial twelve-day celebrations were out of their reach. Dickens’ version of the holiday evoked the childhood memories of people who had moved to the cities as adults.

The Cratchit family, although quaint and sentimental to modern readers, was a familiar portrait of the lower-middle class families who originally read the Carol, familiar in fact to Dickens himself, who modeled the Cratchit’s lifestyle on his own childhood experience of when he himself lived in Camden Town. (Dickens’ own father was in and out of Debtors’ Prison.) Dickens demonstrates that even in poverty, the winter holiday can inspire good will and generosity toward one’s neighbors. He shows that the spirit of Christmas was not lost in the race to industrialize, but can live on in our modern world.

The publishing of his book was immensely popular, though in a time of great religious controversy, and its lack of babes, wise men, stars, mangers, and other icons of the Christian nativity inspired a multitude of sermons and pamphlets at that time. Although A Christmas Carol is generally associated with the Christian winter holiday season, for it does contain references to the Christian Jesus; its themes are not exclusive to Christianity and it inspired a tradition for decades in Christmas books and celebrations that appealed to many non-Christians.

Dickens’ preface to the book reads:

I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.
Their faithful Friend and Servant, C.D., December, 1843.

But the punch line to the book, is the very last sentence, which rarely fails to bring a tear to this historian:

It was always said of Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed,
God Bless Us, Every One!

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

excerpts from Prof. Gerhard Rempel, Lectures in Western Civilization

THE WAR: TV MINISERIES

In January I wrote about my conversation with Ken Burns, award winning producer of The Civil War documentary, about his upcoming miniseries about World War II called simply The War. This presentation took place at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He was at that time previewing his 7-part, 14.5 hour series — that he has been working on for some 6 years — at military academies around the country. I wrote three articles at that time about:

• Questions I asked Ken Burns
• The making of the new documentary
• The content of this series

Now the series is finally going to be shown. It debuts this Sunday, September 23, 2007 on your local PBS station. Already the companion book is on the market, as is the sound track which I have been listening to for the last week, featuring not only a modern piece by Nora Jones called American Anthem, but also music from the 1940 period before, during, and after The War.

This is television worth watching, and I recommend it to you. Check your local television listing.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

DOOBIE BROTHERS AT COLORADO STATE FAIR

The end of the Summer concert season was unusual — there’s something about catching a favorite music group at a State Fair. The Doobie Brothers, who I haven’t seen live since the mid 80’s, appeared here after two warm up groups. They took the stage with 5 people in front and 2 full drum sets: 3 guitars, 1 keyboard, 1 sax. While two full drum sets is unusual, the Doobie Brothers have been doing this for years.

Band History

The Doobie Brothers — who are affectionately known as “The Doobies” in reference to, well, doobies — have had a huge following among people from northern California, like yours truly. They got their start in San Jose, CA, and are often compared to the group Moby Grape, the band through whom the original members Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston were introduced to each other.

In their earlier years they attracted a rough audience, and had a following among some of the Hells Angels groups whom they played for regularly in the Santa Cruz mountains. And band co-founder and leader Patrick Simmons is known for his predilection to Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and many of the songs celebrate rocking down the highway.

Their 1973 album “The Captain and Me” put them firmly on the map with hits like “China Grove” (my favorite, also featured in the movie “Field of Dreams”) and “Long Train Runnin’ “, which a band I was once in performed regularly. But it was their 1974 hit “Black Water” that was their first #1 single.

The next year saw Michael McDonald join the group as singer, keyboardist and songwriter — to replace Tom Johnston who had fallen ill. “Takin’ It to the Streets” and “It Keeps You Runnin’ ” became hits during this period, and later the #1 “What a Fool Believes” earned them a Grammy.

The Concert

Only one member of the original band, from what I could tell, was there — Patrick Simmons. Tom Johnston does tour with them now, but he was not there for this concert. They began with their favorite

• Rockin’ Down The Highway

and the bass, played by Skylark, was deafening, you could feel your clothes shake. Indeed, they played at ear bleeding volume. I used paper towels as ear plugs. By the way, earplugs are always a good idea for live concerts… at least until they play your favorite song. I used to routinely do this with The Who, until they played “Pinball Wizard.”

With the Doobie Brothers, it wasn’t so much sound as it was a “wall of noise” coming at you.

They returned from an extended jam session with the more recognizable

• Jesus is Just Alright

this song was originally done by The Byrds. Here, the evangelist spirit remained, if not the old harmonies.

They did a change up with some instrumental Hawaiian Slack Key guitar by Pat Simmons and guitarist Joe Satriani.

Guy Allison on the keyboard picked up the song from there, followed by the sax, which led into

• Takin’ It To The Street

Oh, how we miss Michael McDonald on vocals.

Pat Simmons, lead singer and guitarist wrote many of their original hits and is the only original member who has been on all their tours and albums. He doesn’t have the presence of Tom Johnston, and has trouble hitting the notes on some of the melodies. Next was

• The Power of the Blues

with lots of jamming by the band. When they all lined up to perform, it seemed like a cross between the Foggy Bottom Boys and ZZ Top.

• Take Me In Your Arms (And Rock Me)

the old Motown hit was next. They could play it wonderfully, but alas could no longer hit all the notes.

• Little Bitty Pretty One

an unusual song for a Doobie concert had Pat Simmons eponymously saying of the open air venue “Something smells good out there.”

• Black Water

came next, that bluegrass harmonic treat which hit #1 in 1975, and here it was nicely done, with Joe Satriani on the fiddle and Pat Simmons on lead vocals. As this was done in Pueblo, Colorado, he added a few lyrics

“Colorado moon won’t you keep on shining
Old Black Water, keep on rolling
Pueblo moon keep on shining on me”

He asked for us to join in on the mellifluous harmonization at the end

“I’d like to hear some funky Dixieland/Pretty mama, come and take me by the hand.”

“By the hand, take me by the hand/Pretty momma, come and dance with your daddy all night long”

while Skylark led us on

“Honky tonk, Honky tonk/Honky tonk, with you all night long”

They left the stage at the end of the show, to be followed by the requisite encore

The song that everyone was waiting for, including yours faithfully came next after a long, electric instrumental

• China Grove

that song about a town in Texas that mentions the samurai sword — Japanese, not Chinese, but no matter. Finally came

• Listen To The Music

beautifully done, with very nice harmonies indeed.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

DIANA KRALL AT RED ROCKS IN DENVER

I discovered this singer several years ago while traveling through Canada when my wife played me her CD. I asked her “Who is this fabulous old black singer? She sounds like Ella Fitzgerald.” When she showed me the CD cover, I was stunned. Diana Krall is a 41 year old rather striking blond chanteuse from Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. But it’s her voice that is the most outstanding reason to go see her. This was her first performance at Red Rocks in Denver.

But the show started with a 45 minute set by Chris Botti. This gifted trumpeter set up the evening quite dramatically. He began with a stirring rendition of

• Ave Maria

as unexpected as it was beautiful. He began only with a piano accompaniment, but then he was joined at the end with drums.

• When I Fall in Love

added guitar, electric bass and drums. Even on this second song you could tell you were going to get your money’s worth. He’s an outstanding instrumentalist. Having played trumpet myself several centuries ago, I could appreciate both his lightning fast valve action as well as his staccato tongue work.

He introduced his pianist Peter Martin from New Orleans, who joined him on his next song, taken from the legendary Miles Davis hit album “Kind of Blue” which was a series of 5 chord changes but no lyric thread. Chris introduced it by saying that he himself grew up in the Jazz capital of the world — Corvallis, Oregon. But he was asked to give the talk when Miles Davis was inducted into Jazz Hall of Fame, as the natural choice, being the palest trumpeter they could find. Obligatory story: I caught Miles Davis some 35 years ago when he was performing in the renowned Berkeley Jazz Festival, as it was held at the Greek Theater. Along with Ike and Tina Turner, it was jazz on steroids.

• Flamingo Sketches

with a mute in his horn, and a 20 second sustain, it don’t get no better.

Chris then introduced Mark Whitfield on the fire engine red guitar, and they played a duet.

The next song was originally done by Jeff Buckley, which Chris told us was recording in the studio next to the one he first recorded in. But Buckley died before finishing a second album, a great loss. Chris then played this song

• Hallelujah

The Red Rocks amphitheater is an open air venue, with only the stage covered. At this point in the evening, the rain began to fall. While they were playing

• A Thousand Kisses Deep

the guitarist played a riff of “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and the rest of the band jammed. This guitarists was so fast, he could play an answering echo to his own riff. He then introduced the next solo

• Isn’t She Lovely

James Genus on bass was introduced as was Billy Kilson on drums. Chris then introduced the next song, from his favorite movie about a boy growing up in Italy. As the pianist began the theme from “The Godfather” Chris corrected him and said this was the love theme from

• Cinema Paradiso

Following on that theme, he introduced his upcoming album Italia, coming in September of music inspired the the couple of years he spent living in Italy as a child. He will have songs featuring Andrea Bocelli and Dean Martin. “And Dean Martin still sounds fabulous!”

• Indian Summer

sounded incredible, especially the second verse, which he did with the mute in that was so sassy. The song was quite kinetic and energetic with an extended drum solo. Man, could he slap hide! And his cymbal work was sizzling syncopation.

His part of the show ended, followed by a rather long 30 minute interval.

Diana Krall took the stage, took a bow and began by saying “I am from British Columbia, I appreciate the elements” as the rain continued.

She’s taken a six month break as she’s recently had twins, with her husband Declan MacManus, who probably know better by his stage name Elvis Costello. She is currently in the midst of a 3 month tour of the U.S. in support of her album From This Moment On, her tenth album.

She began accompanied by only an upright bass, guitar, and drums. She launched into a Peggy Lee song

• I Love Being Here With You

with each instrumentalist getting a solo in this mostly instrumental piece.

As the rain came down even harder she did a long intro to

• Stormy Weather

but she actually turned it into the Cole Parther favorite she intended to play

• Let’s Fall in Love

but her guitarist, during his particular solo, could not resist playing “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head.”

She introduced her band: Anthony Wilson on guitar, Jeff Hamilton on Drums, and Robert Hurst on upright bass. She told us that she was going to do a Nat King Cole hit, but teased us with the opening strains of Sesame Street.

• I’ll String Along With You

and ended it with a few strains from the Nat King Cole song “Mona Lisa.”

• Do I Love You, Indeed I Do

came next, but was brought up short by a cloud burst. She took a break “to move the furniture.” She had been wiping off the keyboard and her piano, but was on the edge of where the canopy covered the stage. She took the opportunity to chat with the audience saying, “Now you get to see what I look like before I come on stage. Living on Vancouver Island, we get rain about 300 days a year. If it hasn’t rained for a while, I get anxious in a Woody Allen kind of way. You probably heard that I had twins… last week. And now I’ve been living on a bus for weeks eating food. Now I’m ready to record my children’s album ‘If You’re Happy And you Know It Clap You Hands’.”

She went on to play many more songs, including the standards you’d expect. Though she had to wipe her piano and nose a number of times, her deep, throaty, confident phrasing reminded me of a young Barbara Streisand. She can hold a phrase longer than you’d expect, but still make it work. It was magic.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

“1964″ BEATLES TRIBUTE AT RED ROCKS IN DENVER

It was 43 years ago today
Sgt Pepper taught the band to play
They’ve been going in and out of style
But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile

Indeed, 43 years ago today, on August 26, 1964 the Beatles performed a concert at Red Rocks, a beautiful natural amphitheater above Denver. Last night, a Beatles tribute band named “1964″ performed at Red Rocks. This tribute band looks like, sounds like, moves like, and sings like the Beatles. They used authentic costumes and instruments.

I’ve seen a number of Beatles tribute bands over the decades but this was by far the best. In fact, back in 1964, my brother, sister and cousin did a Beatles “karaoke” at the school talent show. Of course, we won! I played Paul, left handed to be sure.

This band is unique though in that they confine their repertoire to music of the early Beatles rather than the entire canon. While this limits them to pre-Sgt. Pepper music, it allows them to play some often neglected tunes that other cover bands don’t do. The evening took me back to that night on February 9, 1964, as we sat in front of the TV and watched Ed Sullivan introduce us to The Beatles.

The Look

The band even mimicked the stance. John had the wide horse stance with the tapping left foot, Paul hand the trademark head bobble, George the stiff stance with one knee out, and Ringo had the head nod and occasional tilt. They even did the signature deep bow after each song. By the way, for a mop top tribute of a different kind, catch the movie “That Thing You Do” where Tom Hanks, the band’s manager instructs the boys to bow.

The Sound

Their songs were practically pitch perfect, a close approximation to the Beatles studio work. Ironically, they played better than the Beatles played during their live performances, when they could rarely hear themselves sing above the screaming fans. Indeed, a few years ago, when I caught Paul McCartney at the Denver Pepsi Center in his first concert back in Denver since then, he mentioned that his last time in the area was when they performed at Red Rocks. “But we could barely finish a half hour set… because we couldn’t breath!” Indeed, Denver is a mile high, but Red Rocks is even higher, at an elevation of 6,200 feet.

This band, “1964” did a two hour set, including break. Compare this to the original show, with warm up by the Righteous Brothers and Jackie de Shannon, with the Beatles playing for about 25 minutes. This band has been doing this for 23 years, 7 times at Carnegie Hall and at other original Beatles venues, plus Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have their CD. They originally played Red Rocks 3 years ago in 2004 on the 4oth anniversary of the Beatles’ original concert here. “John” is performed by Mark Benson, “Paul” by Gary Grimes (he even has the arched eyebrows correct), “George” by Tom Work, and “Ringo” by Terry Manfred.

The Voices

Their singing was outstanding, and their speaking accents were good, but I did catch a few non-Liverpudlian pronounced words from Paul. John did the kind of light hearted banter you’d expect, and it was spot on.

The Songs

They started their set with one of their biggest early hits

• I Want To Hold Your Hand

which was a hit not only in the UK and US, but in Germany as well, as the band recorded it in German too.

• Please Please Me

followed that, another #1 for the band in 1963, with curiously and to fans’ consternation, was not on the recent compendium of Beatles #1 hits called, ironically, “The Beatles 1.”

• From Me to You

was their next tune followed by

• Thank You Girl

a song rarely covered by a tribute band.

Next, we heard George on

• Do You Want to Know a Secret

which was a #2 Billboard hit for him

• All My Loving

by Paul was spot on.

• This Boy

sung by John was quite moving. It was featured in their first movie, “A Hard Day’s Night” as an instrumental by the name “Ringo’s Theme”, but here, John even had the facial expressions down right. He had the sideburns, the hair combed to the side, even had his eyebrows go up in the center.

Next, Paul told us that Ringo had mentioned to him that he wanted to sing the next song in the worst way, and that was exactly how he was going to do it. Ringo wondered aloud, “Was that a left handed complement?” He then sang what was previously a #1 country hit for Buck Owens

• Act Naturally

This was followed by a song the Beatles never performed live

• Eight Days a Week

Then came

• A Hard Day’s Night

whose title came from a remark made by Ringo Starr. And in this rendition on stage, we got lots of cowbell.

• It’s Only Love

with John’s effortless phrasing and George’s brassy lead guitar.

• And I Love Her

with Paul singing to a cha-cha beat. He was dead on and even did Paul’s upturned chin.

• Nowhere Man

was next, sung by John, who wrote almost all of it, somewhat autobiographically.

• Can’t Buy Me Love

followed, another moving #1 tune, written while the Beatles were staying in the George V hotel in Paris.

Next, John asked the audience for the next song to stand up and sing along — as if he could stop them.

• Twist and Shout

though not written by the Beatles became a huge hit for them, and for Ferris Bueller on his day off.

The band took a break, during which strangely off-putting “ballpark organ” versions of Beatles music was played.

Mercifully, this was a short break, and they resumed with Paul saying “one-two-three-FAH”

• I Saw Her Standing There

Then George did the classic Chuck Berry tune

• Roll Over Beethoven

• Ticket to Ride

came next, from the movie Help! though Paul had a hard time hitting “my baby don’t care” at the end.

One of the most beautiful and archly autobiographical songs from Rubber Soul by John followed

• In My Life

The original had a baroque-styled piano instrumental bridge by their producer George Martin.

• And Your Bird Can Sing

from Revolver took me back to watching the Beatles cartoon show on Saturday mornings. During this song, we noticed that John seemed to have a budding double chin like Paul’s, but who doesn’t? This was followed by George singing

• Taxman

from Revolver, actually written by George after he discovered how much he was paying in taxes.

• Paperback Writer

which I recall was knocked off the #1 spot by Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night.” It please my mother at the time, but not me. This song, at least, has a lovely 4-part harmony.

• Rain

the B-side to the Paperback Writer single followed. Ironically, I saw one of the early tribute bands who took this title as their name perform in Disneyland in 1980. The Beatles never performed this in concert. This was the Beatles first tune with backward vocals.

• Yellow Submarine

was a huge hit in 1966 and served as the theme for the 1968 animated movie. I recall asking my father to attend with us. He didn’t like it. The song went to #1 with Ringo on lead. During this concert, we were encouraged to supply the sound of the submarine during the bridge. “Surface, surface.”

• Help!

another #1 hit followed. The film, by the same name, starts this song with a James Bond intro.

• Day Tripper

was one of the first hits to begin with guitar feedback and a wicked riff. And some conflicting reports by the Beatles themselves suggest that this is the first overt reference to LSD in one of their songs.

• She Loves You

a huge crowd pleaser had everyone on their feet. Though it was written in 1963 it set a record as one of the five Beatles hits that held the top five postions on the American charts. Like “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand) it too was recorded in German as Sie Liebt Dich.

The band left the stage, with few leaving. As anticipated, they took the stage after dimmed lights with their encore.

Ringo then did

• I Wanna Be Your Man

though not one of the more memorable songs, nor deep in terms of lyrics, it has lots of energy and allowed the band a bit of jamming.

This was followed by a reminder that we had Some Fun Tonight with

• Long Tall Sally

an ironic song to be sure. The song was originally done by Little Richard, whom the Beatles used to open for in their early days in both Liverpool and Hamburg. Paul sings this a whole step higher than the original.

As I left the amphitheater, I realized what a good time I had had. This band was bringing back rich memories. When I had applied to history graduate school, I was told “there’s no future in history” but there certainly is a future for nostalgia.

This band sings the soundtrack of my youth.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

Movie Review: Hairspray

Kenetic! That word alone captures the energy of this movie. This is easily the most enjoyable film of the summer (so far) that starts the viewer with a grin and the ends with applause. It is tempting to say this is the best movie musical since Grease. Sure, other musicals have been good (Moulin Rouge) even Academy Award winning (Chicago) but none of them were so exciting, so electric. This movie worked!

The characters were classic and endearing.

• Nikki Blonsky plays the pleasantly plump heroine Tracy Turnblad who captures our hearts with her opening song “Good Morning, Baltimore.”
• Christopher Walken was a jewel, as Tracy’s father who is delightful in his scenes with other characters.
• Michelle Pfeiffer plays Velma Von Tussle, the TV station manager, faded beauty queen and mother of an aspiring “Hairspray Queen.”
• Jerry Stiller (yes, father of Ben) who played Wilbur Turnblad in the original movie appears in this one as Mr. Pinky.
• James Marsden as the eponymous Corny Collins, the handsome host of the local teen dance show, pure white bread but an interest in making the show more integrated. He shows us that there is life after being an X-man (Cyclops).
• Zac Efron plays Link Larking, the show’s hunk-o-rama and the love interest of Tracy. He’s also the heartthrob in Disney’s “High School Musical.”
• Queen Latifah was big, blond, and beautiful. She consumed every scene she was in, both in terms of her presence and her voice. She can rock, she can do gospel. When she cut loose, it was like Aretha Franklin in the “Blues Brothers.”
• John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mother, was the big surprise. He dressed in drag and a fat suit and many wondered if it would work. It did. He effected a Baltimore accent — where they make “on” a two syllable word — and it was delightful to see him dance with both daughter and husband.

You were waiting to see if he would make a “tip of the hat” to any of his iconic movies. Would it be “Saturday Night Fever,” “Urban Cowboy,” or “Grease?” No, it was “Pulp Fiction” where he dances with two fingers dragged across his face. Everyone in the audience caught it.

Often throughout the movie one is reminded of other movie musicals. For example, the “dancing in the street” scene in Hairspray hearkens back to one of the scene in “The Blues Brothers” but it’s done better here. One of the conflicts set up in this movie is between the “nice” white dancers who appear daily on the TV dance show, and the black dancers who are showcased only once a month on Motormouth Maybelle’s (Latifah) hosted “Negro Day”. The dancing by the blacks, led by Maybelle’s son (Elijah Kelley) is so vigorous that one is reminded of the virile Sharks street dance in “West Side Story”. The final dance-off scene at the end was like “Hand Jive” in Grease, but was so much better that it blew away the competition. The black “girl group” showed us what “Dreamgirls” should have been, but never achieved.

This movie is based on the 1988 John Waters film, which was turned into a Broadway musical in 2002. Waters has a cameo as a flasher in the current film. Though set in Baltimore, it was actually filmed in Toronto.

60s nostalgia is currently in full bloom not only because it’s the 40th anniversary of “The Summer of Love” but also with such new hit series like AMC TV’s “Mad Men” about 1960’s Madison Avenue advertising men. But by trimming some of the issues from the original movie/show, Hairspray managed to get out with a PG rating. The 60’s of this movie is not the 60’s we usually refer to — this is before the Beatles, before the death of JFK, before drugs and free love. This was an era when kids talked about cooties and teens were most concerned about the latest dance, their image, their hair, and their hairspray.

And it works.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

Perhaps the saddest book I’ve ever read, the first “new” J.R.R. Tolkien book in 30 years is “…long and sad in the telling, as are all tales of Middle Earth.” While it is beautiful in its composition and deep in its scope, it contains in it at all times a sense of “doom” that seems inescapable, and yet this doom is clearly within the scope of the freewill of the characters. A tragedy beyond anything Shakespeare ever wrote, one cannot shake a sense of Hamlet.

One must appreciate the tone and theme of Tolkien’s previously published Silmarillion to fully enjoy this book, though this book’s scope is more limited both in terms of time and people. Nevertheless, there is a lot to take in and most of Beleriand is used as the canvas for this portrait. For that reason, the reader will find that the map is a bit more abbreviated than that in the Silmarillion. While this is the most recent of Tolkien’s posthumous works, it was one of the first he set his hand to, starting back in 1918 and working off-and-on, for years, as he did with the larger Silmarillion. But it was his trilogy The Lord of The Rings from which he got his fame.

The nature and effect of evil is a major theme, both in terms of evil personified in Morgoth (to whom Sauron was but a servant), as well as the effects of pride and hubris in the protagonists. The ending had a more than one crescendo, and moved me to tears. Only the Silmarillion has done this to me before, as one finally realizes the tragic and poignant fate of the Elves, the Firstborn of Middle Earth.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood Tolkien fanatic
www.billpetro.com

SPIDER-MAN

There is something about being first in line for the midnight showing of the premier of a summer blockbuster, not to mention that I was probably the oldest person in the theater.

The Experience: A young friend of mine insured our place at the front of the line by camping out since Monday for the Friday 12:01 AM premier. You’ve heard of people who bring a tent and a sleeping bag — this young man built a Spider-Man Den, a veritable “Spidey Suite” in the portico in front of the theater, including posters, a couch, chairs, coffee table, rug, TV, game consoles, a projection screen, and a DVD player where they watched Spider-Man 1 and 2.

It helped that he’s been doing movie camp outs for 5 years and knows the General Manager and mall owner. He even had sponsors: Lowe’s supplied the lumber, Chipotle’s brought burritos daily, Sideshow Collectibles provided giveaway cards for everyone in the theater(s). This movie complex has gone digital, meaning they don’t need multiple expensive film prints, but the movie is played off a hard disk. Seven theaters showed the movie after midnight. Before the movie we were treated to previews of other upcoming summer blockbusters: Shrek-III, Pirates-3, Harry Potter-5, and Fantastic Four-2.

We had gotten in to the theater for first showing 2.5 hours before the film rolled. Trivia contests, feats of Spider Strength, and Sony Pictures giveaways ensued. Oh, how it took me back to my youth when I collected comic books for 22 years. I sold my entire collection to buy my then fiancée an engagement ring. I went cold turkey, but I can still remember.

History: I started reading and collecting comic books in 1961, both DC and Marvel comics. Spider-Man first appeared in August 1962 in Amazing Fantasy #15. The story line for the first two movies was taken from the comic book characters and timeline during the 1960’s and 70’s, but Spider-Man 3 uses a villain, Venom, who first appeared in 1988.

Spider-Man has become the flagship comic for Marvel, in the same way as Superman for the DC line. But Marvel had its finger on the pulse of 60’s teens – the major comic buying demographic – in a way that took DC longer to catch on to. Spider-Man was the story of shy though bright high school teen Peter Parker who was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained surprising spider-like powers. But unlike the more straight-arrow Superman or other DC comic heroes of the 60’s, Marvel in general and Spider-Man in particular dealt with teen angst, psychological conflict, and moral ambiguities. This character, initially developed by artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee (who has had cameos in all the Spider-Man movies) connected with youth during a turbulent era and a difficult age. Peter had classmate and girlfriend problems, employment challenges, and unresolved guilt over his uncle’s death. Yet his free-style fighting style and wise-cracks during combat with villains helped him cope. Spider-Man became more than a cult hero – at one time he had four regular monthly comic books in publication.

Movie review: Without telling you the plot of the movie, I will say that I found this third movie quite enjoyable and satisfying, from the fabulous special effects — at $250-300M this is one of the more expensive, if not the most expensive movie in history — to some standout performances. I am a bit kinder with my review than the critics. I’d give this movie a “B” primarily for the performances rather than either the writing, dialog or pacing. Some of the standouts include Tony and Emmy award winning actress Rosemary Harris as Peter’s Aunt May, who I met in London a few years ago. She has a remarkable presence in person as well as on the screen.

Thomas Haden Church (Oscar nomination in Sideways) played Sandman, who while not as threatening as Doctor Octopus, portrayed a tortured misunderstood criminal. Even James Franco — who looks like James Dean and played him in a TV movie — as the tormented Harry Osborn, turned in a less one dimensional performance than he did in Spider-Man 2. Tobey Maguire got to stretch in several directions, both physically and emotionally, as he portrayed a more aggressive side of his personality. J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson chews up every screen he’s in. Topher Grace, who you know as the lead in “That ’70s Show” was a bit too unctuous for my taste, and Kirsten Dunst, who I have loved in other roles seems miscast as Mary Jane Watson. In the comic book MJ is a saucy, sexy persona and not a whiner — though her hair color looks better in this movie than in the previous ones.

Speaking of hair, a natural redhead appeared as the blond Gwen Stacey, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron Howard and last seen in the movie Lady in the Water. She makes a striking appearance in this movie, though in the comics, she was Peter Parker’s second girlfriend and MJ Watson was his third.

Did you know: For the last 22 years I’ve been signing my articles “Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian.” I got it from the very earliest days of the comic book, when Peter Parker called himself “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Fan
www.billpetro.com