Real to reel

Local observations from a movie, music buff

Blogger? I hardly know her
Check out some bloggers and cool people I met at Lollapalooza, and see Parker Posey in “Broken English”

By Dan Ochwat

Sometimes, the best part of going to Lollapalooza — or the benefit of a press pass — is who you meet at the three-day festival: bloggers, photographers, artists, even beauticians.

In the press tent, in the photo pit and at after-parties, you have a chance to meet other passionate music heads. Many are like me, pushing bands we like pro bono. So look at this column as sort of a sidebar to the coverage on page six, and check out these fine folks.

Kirstiecat.com
When you go to enough concerts, you’re bound to see the flaming red hair of this photographer moving through the crowd. It seems to me Kirstie Shanley, a.k.a. Kirstiecat, is becoming an indie music fixture. Kirstie shot photos of Lollapalooza for Pitchfork, but what’s more interesting is that she has a blog where she writes about the acts she shoots (www.kirstiecat.com). She also shoots for the magazine Venus Zine, and her flickr account, under the name kirstiecat, compiles all of her incredible band photography. Get familiar with her.

IceCreamMan.com
Strangely enough, eating at the picnic tables put me in touch with another photographer, Timothy Norris (www.timothynorris.com). Straight from California, Tim was shooting for www.IceCreamMan.com. Tim is part of the Ice Cream Man crew, which is essentially a guy who largely goes to music events and passes out free ice cream to artists and fans. At the site, there are music reviews and killer photography of the events. People have the craziest ideas.

earphoria
At an after party at the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Ave., called the ck IN2U Music Lounge, I met Jules Esh, a small girl with a mean podcast that she calls “earphoria.” The Weblink is terribly long, and she admits the best way to hear it is to hop on iTunes and search “earphoria.” I listened to one that celebrated Patty Griffin, my favorite female artist. Julie interviews artists, runs live acoustic sessions with artists and also plays her favorite songs. Her upcoming “lollacast” will bring you live sessions from artists and interviews from acts that played at the festival.

Smallwire
Also at this party, I had an interesting conversation with the drummer of a Chicago band named Smallwire. The band has some association with the local band The 1900’s, and after hearing a few tracks online (www.myspace.com/smallwire), this band seems really promising. Keep an eye out for upcoming shows and an upcoming album that’s expected to be released this year.

Red 7 Salon
Finally, the Hard Rock event afforded me a makeover from the Red 7 Salon, which has two locations (210 W. Kinzie in Chicago and 816 Demptser St. in Evanston). I essentially sat in a chair and had my hair styled from an incredibly nice and affable stylist, but it was done well enough to force me to consider switching salons. After the hair, a cosmetician slapped “guyliner” on me (men’s eyeliner if you couldn’t figure that out). The makeup looked quite good, I have to say, if not a bit too Fall Out Boy, but it was fun for a night.

Before Sunset in the City
In theaters now, but also available on DVD Aug. 21, is a nice little film called “Broken English.” It appeared on HDNet Movies, a high-definition TV channel, in June and is playing at Landmark Theaters now.

Written and directed by Zoe Cassavetes (daughter of filmmaker John Cassavetes), it carries a cool tone, but above all offers a genuine, real-life turn on single life in New York by giving us a lead character who’s lonely and anxiety-ridden and single because, frankly, she’s just not good at relationships.

The film should be seen for the lead performance by Parker Posey, one of my favorite actresses. Posey plays Nora Wilder, a single woman in New York, bouncing around bad relationships and racing against what she feels like is a draining hourglass of marital opportunities. It’s a common theme, particularly the part of parental pressure, but this film has a real down-to-earth quality to it. It’s sad that she’s drinking and pill-popping to fight her problems, but this movie doesn’t mire in that kind of loneliness. This is a girl in a rut, but she still has great friends (her best friend played wonderfully by Drea De Matteo), and she does meet people. This film isn’t heavy handed; it’s nicely constructed.

However, it is an imperfect film, namely when Wilder gets to Paris, where she is chasing a lover. You’re suspending serious belief here. Another problem — the film feels like an amalgam of “Lost in Translation,” (the title “Broken English” alone is almost a ripoff of the Sophia Coppola film, who is a friend of Cassavetes) “Sex in the City” (Posey’s outfits in this are to die for, making Carrie Bradshaw sometimes look boring) and “Before Sunset” (the ending is either a direct steal or an homage to this Richard Linklater classic). Wilder herself is also a bit too Boho New York.

Unoriginality aside, the film won me over. Wilder’s life is a life worth rooting for, and seeing a real relatable character get a fairytale ending is kind of sweet, no matter how unoriginal in the world of cinema.

Hideout Block Party
Definitely leading the concert calendar this month is the Hideout Block Party, Friday 9/7 and Saturday 9/8. Held in the parking lot of this historic Chicago bar, this two-day festival is bringing some top national acts. On Friday, Bloc Party, The Changes and The 1900’s are playing with plenty more acts. On Saturday, check out Andrew Bird, The Frames, Dan Deacon, Art Brut, Mucca Pazza and more.

The other concert I wouldn’t miss is Okkervil River, 9/18 at the Logan Square Auditorium. The Americana band just released its latest album, “The Stage Names,” a fun, literate piece of work that is probably my favorite album of the year. Will Sheff is a novelist in song form.

Also playing around town, and straight from the Pitchfork Music Festival, is Professor Murder, playing Empty Bottle on 8/20 and The Cool Kids playing Schubas 8/22. A very rockin’ girl group 8 Inch Betsy plays Ronny’s on 8/24. On 9/6, hilarious electro-wizards Black Moth Super Rainbow play the Abbey Pub. They open for The Flaming Lips at the Aragon on 9/7. Crazy mixer Dan Deacon plays AV-aerie on 9/8, the same night as his Hideout Block Party show.

Supporting an incredible new album titled “Strawberry Jam,” Animal Collective plays the Vic Theater on 9/10. On 9/12, Jeff Tweedy and Wilco are playing the Jay Pritzker Stage at Millennium Park. That same night, Fleetwood Mac-sounding Midlake play the Metro. Finally, on 9/15, Rilo Kiley plays the Riviera Theatre.

Keep sending me your music or anything else on your mind at danochwat@hotmail.com. I’ve also joined the MySpace army, so give The Real Chicago some love at http://www.myspace.com/danochwat

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