2011 Academy Award Nominations

            This coming Tuesday, January 25th, the nominations will be announced for the 83rd annual Academy Awards.
            This year the 10 Best Picture nominees seem a little more obvious than last year. Here are my predictions.

                    127 Hours
                    Black Swan
                    The Fighter
                    Inception
                    The Kids Are All Right
                    The King's Speech
                    The Social Network
                    The Town
                    Toy Story 3
                    True Grit

            Dark horse possibility in place of True Grit or The Town:

                    Winters Bone

                 
 
                   

Light of Day 11-Paramount Theatre- 1/15/2011

      The 11th Annual Light of Day Concerts were held Friday January 14th through Sunday January 16th in Asbury Park New Jersey. Once again a series of concerts and songwriter showcases were held in various venues throughout the city. From the start, the concerts have been set up to raise awareness for Parkinson's Disease and possible treatments and family support. The founder of the concerts is Bob Benjamin, a music manager who has been living with Parkinson's Disease since 1996.
       The flagship concert was held at the Paramount Theatre once again on Saturday January 15. The show featured a good mix of younger and veteran acts. It was a rare show where everyone brought their "A" game.
       Each performer was well received. As in previous years, the time in between the main stage acts featured solo acoustic performances by many of New Jersey and New Yorks best songwriters/performers.
       Light of Day regulars Jesse Malin, Willie Nile, Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers, Garland Jeffreys & Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan were joined by newcomer Quincy Mumford and his band The Reason Why. The Rock and Roll Chorus started the show off with a 20 minute set of choral versions of some rock and pop hits.
       As in 7 of the previous 10 years, Bruce Springsteen made an appearance, joining several of the musicians and playing the final slot with Joe Gruschecky & the Houserockers. The set, as usual, consisted of Springsteen songs, Gruschecky songs, and songs they co-wrote together. The Houserockers are a great band and could easily back Bruce tour. Bruce is obviously very comfortable with them having performed with them many times over the years.
       For me, highlights were the recently released One Way Street, Adam Raised a Cain, and Talking to the King. Jesse Malin's set was pretty amazing, as was Alejandro Escovedo's acoustic set. He was joined by David Pulkingham from his band, the Sensitive Boys. Following 5 bands which had the crowd on their feet for most of night, with an acoustic set could have been tough, but Mr. Escovedo was in top form and had the crowd's attention from beginning to end. His set ended with an appearance by Bruce on Mr. Escovedo's song Always a Friend.
       The show ended with Twist and Shout which featured all the evenings performers, and few words from Bob Benjamin himself. After Mr. Benjamin's remarks, Bruce finished with a solo version of Thunder Road.

        I have included the setlist, as best as I can put together. My apologies for any incorrect song titles. If the song title is not definite, it is followed by a question mark.
        For more information, visit http://www.lightofday.org/

                        Rock and Roll Chorus
                        Steal My Kisses
                        That's What You Get
                        Vida La Vida
                        Medley - Free Ride/Ain't Too Proud to Beg/Without Love
                        Thank You(Boyz II Men song)

                         Melissa Chill
                         Tick Tock?
                         Baby Come Home?

                         Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why
                         Full Tank of Gas
                         Can't Break Free
                         My Friend
                         Lifted
                         Helmet Man
                         Feel the Music

                         Danny White
                         When You Want to Win?
                         Some Say

                         Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan
                         Hold On
                         ???????????
                         Welcome Home
                         Waiting on a Train
                         Never Missed You More
                         Let it Go
                         Noisy Guitars

                         Rob Dye
                         2 Song Set included Precious One

                         Garland Jeffreys
                         Wild in the Street
                         35 Millimeter Dreams
                         Thanks Alot?
                         96 Tears
                         Hail Hail Rock & Roll

                         Lisa Bianco
                         2 Song set

                         Jesse Malin & the St. Marks Social
                         Burning the Bowery
                         Hotel Columbia
                         Burn the Bridge
                         ?????????????
                         Wendy
                         All the Way From Moscow
                         Brooklyn
                         Broken Radio w/Bruce Springsteen
                         Modern World

                         Bruce Tunkel
                         2 Song set
   
                         Willie Nile
                         Runaway With Me Tonight?
                         Cell Phones Ringing in the Pockets of the Dead
                         One Guitar w/Joe D'Urso, Jesse Malin
                         You Gotta be a Buddah in a Place Like This
                         People Who Died(Jim Carroll cover)
                         Heaven Help the Lonely w/Bruce Springsteen

                         Anthony D'Amato
                         Songbirds
                         Ballad of an Underachiever?

                         Alejandro Escovedo w/David Pulkingham
                         Anchor
                         Everybody Loves Me
                         (Instrumental)
                         Rosalie
                         Down in the Bowery
                         Faith w/Danny Clinch
                         Always a Friend w/Bruce Springsteen

                         Bobby Strange
                         2 Song set

                         Bruce Springsteen
                         Your Own Worst Enemy
                         This Hard Land

                         Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers w/Bruce Springsteen
                         Another Thin Line
                         Atlantic City
                         Never Be Enough Time
                         Adam Raised a Cain
                         One Way Street
                         I'm Not Sleeping
                         Save My Love
                         Talking to the King
                         Pink Cadillac w/Danny Clinch
                         Darkness on the Edge of Town
                         The Promised Land
                         Light of Day w/Willie Nile
                         Twist & Shout w/All performers

                          Bruce Springsteen
                          Thunder Road
            

In Memoriam - Peter Yates

                                    Director Pete Yates passed away on January 9 at the age if 81 Years Old.
                                    He directed such films as Bullitt, For Pete's Sake, The Dresser, the 1963 Cliff Richard musical Summer Holiday and one of my all time favorite movies, Breaking Away.
                                    He was nominated twice at the Academy Awards for his direction. In 1980 for Breaking Away and again in 1984 for The Dresser
                                    Rest in Peace

In Memoriam - Gerry Rafferty

            Scottish rocker Gerry Rafferty passed away today at the age of 63.
            He is best known for his solo hits, Baker Street and Right Down the Line from his City to City album, and the classic Stuck in the Middle, which he recorded with Stealers Wheel.
            My favorite song by him remains the Mark Knopfler penned The Way it Always Starts from the soundtrack of Local Hero. 
            Rest in Peace.

In Memoriam - Pete Postlethwaite

         One of the greatest character actors around has passed away at the age of 64.
         Pete Postlethwaite appeared in many prominent films including Amistad, The Usual Suspects, The Lost World:Jurassic Park, The Last of the Mohicans and In the Name of the Father, for which he received an Academy Award nomination as best Supporting Actor. Most recently he had important cameos in both The Town and Inception.

         However, it is his performance as Danny, the conductor of the Grimley brass band in Brassed Off, that will forever be my favorite performance by Mr. Postlethwaite. His perfomance was so perfect, without being overdone or showy, that you could easily forgive the character for being so out of touch to his surroundings and the crumbling lives of the local coal miners, who make up the band, and also of the town itself. Of course, Danny takes a stand when the miners plight hits his own family, but you always understand why he is so impassioned that the band should soldier on through the worst of circumstances.
        His performance was excellent, as was the movie.
        Rest In Peace.
     


Image courtesy of http://www.cinema.com/