1) Good Will Hunting
2) Forest Gump
3) Miracle
4) Saving Private Ryan
5) Pulp Fiction
6) Gangs of New York
7) Black Hawk Down
8) The Pianist
9) V for Vendetta
10) The Illusionist
11) Gladiator
12) Remember the Titans
13) Hotel Rwanda
14) Fight Club
15) The Departed
16) Shawshank Redemption
17) Garden State
18) The Prestige
19) Boondocks Saints
20) Oceans Eleven
21) The Patriot
22) The Usual Suspects
23) American Beauty
24) The Matrix
25) The Manchurian Candidate
26) Braveheart
27) Independence Day
28) Munich
29) Blow
30) Schindler's List
31) Training Day
32) Se7en
33) The Sum of All Fears
34) Last of the Mahicans
35) Wedding Crashers
36) 300
37) The Last King of Scotland-
38) The Sandlot
39) Once Upon A Time in Mexico
40) The Siege
41) Anchorman
42) The Pursuit of Happyness
43) Donnie Darko
44) Thirteen Days
45) Rudy
46) Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
47) Gandhi
48) Old School
49) Sin City
50) Slapshot
Honorable Mention: Troy, The Jackal, The Fugitive, A Few Good Men, Downfall, Jerry Maguire, American History X, Toy Story, and Inside Man
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, August 8, 2008
Concert Review: Dave Matthews Band 7/11/08 Cruzan
On the eleventh and twelfth of July Dave Matthews Band displayed why they could be named the greatest live show to be playing these days. The sounds that occupied the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach not only pleased your ears but your soul. With a new personal including guitar guru and close friend of the band Tim Reynolds adding echoing compliments to the band’s melodies and what one concertgoer exclaimed “the sting” the band has been missing the past few tours. Reynolds who played with the band on its album Before the Crowded Streets, has become the fan favorite of the tour so far. His abilities have erased almost all memories of Butch Taylor, the Band’s touring keyboardist who is not playing with the Band for the first time since 1998.
Trumpet player Rashawn Ross and Saxophonist Jeff Coffin were simply phenomenal whenever called upon belting out riffs that will get stuck in your head for days. Coffin, the regular saxophonist from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is no stranger to Dave Matthews and his band, regularly sitting in with the band to create some memorable moment such as epic half hour long renditions of #41 and though not as long great performances of Lie in Our Graves and Jimi Thing. But this weekend Coffin was filling in for DMB’s regular sax player Leori Moore who is ailing from an ATV accident that will sideline him for the rest of the summer tour. Lets be clear, Coffin was no fill in well but rather a perfect fit within the band’s unique horn section. He not only covered all of Moore’s former parts and solos but rather went above and beyond anything that Moore has ever done in a live performance that I have seen. Coffin not only had musical chemistry with the other performers but also stage chemistry, interacting with Reynolds, Matthews, and Beauford throughout the night, something that Moore never does. Ross, who has been playing trumpet with DMB since the winter 2005 tour has been outstanding since his debut increasing his load with the band steadily. Ross along with Coffin creates a completely unique sound that I have never heard at any of the other seven DMB shows that I have attended. Coffin throughout the weekend seems to have worn out Ross into submission. Coffin’s talent has raised Rashawn’s performance to the point where it can go no higher and simply, stamina-wise, cannot play any longer.
As the mugginess and heat filled the amphitheatre, the band took the stage with Seek Up, a quiet yet powerful way to open the show. Matthew’s never ending main riff lay the foundation for Reynolds, Coffin, and the rest of the band to show their skill straight from the beginning. Coffin and Rashawn traded solos after every measure or so, or simply soloed on top of each other to create a stunning sound for four minutes before Matthews quiet and simply guitar riff was the only thing left to accompany his vocal entrance to the show. The exit jam, which unsuccessfully tried to hide under Matthew’s screams, was a textbook DMB solo that featured violinist’s Boyd Tinsley steering the song to new heights with smooth and flowing playing. Proudest Monkey segued into Satellite kept the mood to a relaxed and chilled state while yet energizing the crowd. Proudest Monkey appealed to longtime fans while Satellite connected with the more “radio” fans. Reynolds added his first large solo of the evening during Monkey.
Ditching the slower songs behind, Cornbread, a cover of Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, and a tour debut of Stay (Wasting Time) raised the tempo and provided the band to showcase the wide variety of their talents. Cornbread, which is on its second summer tour, is quickly becoming a fan favorite. With a southern sound, Beauford’s beats are overshadowed by Dave’s relentless scatting, rapping, and quite ridiculous yet memorable dancing while Reynolds continues to wail through the verse and solo. Sledgehammer did not sound like a cover but rather a track of a vintage DMB album while Stay got the crowd involved especially during the outro with Matthews, Beauford, and Ross all singing together. It is always hard to point out a weak spot in DMB’s sets but Matthew’s piano ballad Out of My Hands was clearly the low point if you were to dare call it that.
With Out of My Hands behind them, the band began one of the most classic runs ever preformed this tour. You Might Die Trying featuring a Reynolds, and horn solo should expel all negative thoughts about the song because of what album it was released on. The unfair bias placed on this song because it was on the disappointing Stand Up album is ridiculous and judging by the amount of fun the band had playing this song on stage, it does make you smile. The quiet opening chords of Drive in Drive Out were answered by monstrous and bolstering sounds from all members of the band in a rusty but successful attempt to bring the song back from 751 day hiatus. Dave’s lyrics including “
I’m about to make up a new god and have a funky tea party of my own” demonstrates the powerful tones while displaying his comfort about singing about important issues such as religion. Sugar Will, another song “liberated” was recently played for the first time in over 1000 days demonstrates the musical diversity of the band.
The highlight of the night is awarded to a magnificent performance of #41. The band displayed its ability to out due them. You go to concerts and hope to leave with a moment as special as this one. Coffin and Ross included a Soujourn of Arjuna interpolation and along with every member of the band created a symphony that you wish you could hear over and over again. Instead of playing the usual Everyday outro that goes along with #41 the band segued straight into Everyday. The crowd felt the energy and joined the band singing the famous “Honey Honey come and dance with me” during the intro. Jimi Thing followed and kept the energy high as each performer took their time to solo. Another unusual segue of Grey Street into Ants Marching ended the main set.
So Damn Lucky, normally played as Dave and Tim song, featured the whole band and a lengthy Reynolds solo outro. The audience was blessed with a perfect Two Step and Beauford solo to end the night. A great setlist, and energy from the band provided a memorable night for Dave fans.
Download the Show: http://www.antsmarching.org/forum/showthread.php?t=224941
Set List
Seek Up
Proudest Monkey ...>
Satellite
Corn Bread
Sledgehammer
Stay
Out of My Hands
You Might Die Trying
Drive In Drive Out
Sugar Will
#41
Everyday
Jimi Thing
Grey Street
Ants Marching
Encore:
So Damn Lucky
Two Step
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Concert Review: O.A.R. 8/2/08 Jones Beach
Lets forget about the negative attention the recent O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) show at Jones Beach has received and focus on the music. Fans of the band know for a fact that O.A.R. does not support any of the none-sense that was seen in the parking lot. Just listen to their lyrics ( Conquering Fools for example). I do believe that the instigators of the fights and other debauchery in the parking lot did not even attend the show but just went to the parking lot to drink and cause a ruckus. That said...
Touring in support of their newest album All Sides, O.A.R. started their night off with single This Town. A perfect example of the possible pop-mainstream direction the band may be taking. Then when you thought the band would forget about their core fans that have been with the band for years, Benj Gershman's bassline of Dareh Meyod begins to crawl up your spine as saxophonist Jerry DePizzo starts his superb night by wailing solos throughout the song, especially in the outro.
One of the major reason that O.A.R. attracts such a devoted and eager fan base is he unpredictability of night to night setlists. A classic and tour rarity Get Away stunned the crowd and was hands down the most memorable moment of the show. Fan favorite Crazy Game of Poker followed unusually early in the set, giving each member of the band to solo. The jamming continued during Lay Down and Anyway, lead by keyboardist/ percussionist Mikael Paris whose new breakdown/outro of Lay Down and segues in Anyway gave the band much more musical flexibility.
Although not as special as the appearance of Get Away, King of the Thing and Someone in the Road allowed Marc Roberge to showcase his great songwriting ability while still catering to the older fans in the crowd.
Program Director harmonies, War Song, and Whose Chariot's jams were also memorable moments leading into Night Shift closing out the main set. The encore consisted of the standard acoustic song, I Feel Home, new song Whatever Happened, and closed City on Down. Ozomatli, the opening band joined O.A.R. on stage and created a song that seemed like it was taken from the tapes of a Dave Matthews Band show. Definitely the best jam of the night as the band displayed their maturity. Ozomatli's saxophonist and trumpet player joined DePizzo to make an unforgettable ending. City on Down, a fan favorite and classic was a perfect ending to another great show at Jones Beach by O.A.R.
Overall a great show by the band. Perfect mix of old and new. This being my fifth O.A.R. show I really enjoyed their sound and appreciate the energy they bring each night. Special thanks to the band for their wishes for my grandfather that was extremely nice and thoughtful of them!
Download the Show: http://www.archive.org/details/ofarevolution2008-08-02.oar2008-08-02.at-pro24.flac
Set List:
1. This Town
2. Dareh Meyod (34th & 8th Intro)
3. Get Away
4. That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker
5. Lay Down
6. Anyway
7. King Of The Thing
8. Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
9. Dinner Last Night
10. Someone In The Road
11. Program Director
12. Whose Chariot?
13. Love And Memories
14. War Song
15. Night Shift
Encore:
16. I Feel Home
17. Whatever Happened
18. City On Down (Organ Intro)
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