Last night (YES a MONDAY night!) I went to the Roxy on The Strip to see one of my favorite live bands out there these days: Stockholm Syndrome. Now, before I go on, I was going to write this without knowing the name of any of the songs they played last night. That is how confident I am in this band’s strength. When do you go see and pay good money and drive an hour each way on a monday night a band where you don’t know a single tune of theirs? Never. But these guys are so ON IT all the time, that I just don’t care. They possess this odd power to rock out the Americana type music that really transcends the genre. Normally when I think “Americana” I think of the whiney Wilco who sings about stuff that seems made up and they always kind of plunk along and look like despondent musician types and let’s face it right now….are for the girls. Which is fine. But SS Has a TON of UMPH in their American rock and roll. They are like a steam train almost out of control. They really push the music into the air and it ends up moving through you like a shot of bourbon and leaves you warm and happy like a good bourbon should.

Stockholm Syndrome has been around for a number of years now and since, all of the members play in different bands, it is unusual as to how tight their sound is and how familiar they seem with the fairly lengthy tunes with a bunch of chord changes and creative transitions that make up surprisingly complex bombers out of each and every song. Sort of like that last sentence. They approach the rock almost like The Who: Like they have to take it to several levels in order to express the value in their music which tricks you into thinking it’s basic rock and roll. VERY satisfying in the end. Jerry Joseph, the leader of the band and a massively prolific and talented musician and songwriter, seems to put his heart and soul into every song and ends up sort of coming across like Bruce Springsteen without the distracting sax and with much better guitar players. He fills each song with big stories about his family or his neighborhood or other topics that, while not being uniquely American, make you feel like he grew up and lives right down the road. And that road can be in Santa Monica CA or Demoplis AL. There really is something special to what he is putting down and if you can just listen for a little bit, you can feel it too.

But he is just the hub. The spokes are equally important. Eric McFadden is a notoriously good guitar player from the bay area, Danny Louis on the classic key set up, Wally Ingram, a SICK session drummer and solo artist in his own right from right here in LA and of course, The Legendary (come on, at this point? Yeah) Dave Schools from Widespread Panic come together with an almost driven passion and clarity to make this some of the freshest and strongest rock and roll you have never heard. In fact, I am kinda concerned this blog is gonna get picked up by the AP wire and then everyone will know….

Last night was no exception as they dumped out two fairly compact sets that were lumbering with power and a genuine ability to resonate through the building on the famed Hollywood Strip and take you to that familiar place in the natural world that gives you a belief in humanity and reminds you, it ain’t just you, life really IS like THIS. The lyrics were filled with extremely gripping and sometimes alluring sentiment which made it hard to focus on the ABOVE and BEYOND musicianship that was occurring the ENTIRE time. All killer no filler without a doubt. The jams weren’t just dopey show-off guitar solos that went on just so Trey can…I mean wait: The jams sort of carried the songs into the emotional state that needed to be conveyed so they were sure you understood. They had almost a hot fire in their hands making the sound leap like a mythical stag into your mind and body. Perfect.

In case you WERE interested they played about a dozen tunes including a Vic Chestnut penned opus called “Flirting” that took the whole thing to the next level. They also played (And thank you Mr. Coffey for the knowledge!) Counter Clock World, Emma’s Pissed and Purple Heart as well as Apollo, Red Lightning and Bouncing Very Well. It was an excellent mix of styles from jam heavy rockers to swinging calypso numbers reminding us that the world is HUGE and we are all a part of it! Thanks for the reminder Sotckholm! You guys deserve the BEST!

The top image is the cover of their latest live EP.

And of course: http://www.stockholmsyndromeband.com/

This weekend I saw the movie Shutter Island. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley as well as other potentially strong cast members such as Mark Ruffalo and the legendary Max Von Sydow. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and has been the number one movie in America for a couple weeks now.

The base premise is that a US Marshall is called out to an asylum for the criminally insane which is located on a mystery island that gets bad weather somewhere in Boston Harbor or just outside of it. He is called out there because one of the patients/prisoners has disappeared from her cell without a trace. When he and his partner get out there, it is clear that the place is hiding something from them and everyone is in collusion to make it seem like they are not. As the “investigation” goes on,  wacky twists and turns occur so, that by the end of the film you are not supposed to know which way is up and are surprised by how it all comes out.

Sadly, I wasn’t confused or tricked or…even very impressed with any part of the movie. I mean, I guess the island looked cool but, it also looked real CGI heavy. I guess Ben Kingsley did a good job…sort of. He was convincing as the head of the hospital given his lack of depth as anything but. None of the characters had much going on and even Leo’s character, the MAIN guy, was thin at best and in no way did I feel any affinity toward him in whatsoever. So, by the end, who could really care less what happened to the dope? Also, they sort of tried to convince you that it was a big government conspiracy but, that too had a ton of loose ends and, again, who really cares? Why should we? It is the 50s and the beginning of the Cold War and they did reference WWII over and over again so, they could have really stood on that premise but, instead they must have decided to, avoid making this film a thinker and spoon fed you the whole time. We have been given no indication that anything bad is happening out there besides some wispy accusations tossed around. We do get to see some of “Ashcliffe Hospital”  itself and toward the end they throw in some sort of grisly looking accommodations for some of the “TRULY INSANE and dangerous” inmates but, since they are shown as sorta monsters you end up just thinking “GOOD, glad their all locked up.”

If you have seen the 1973 original The Wicker Man with Christopher Lee, you have seen it all before and done much creepier. Also, if you have read or seen William Peter Blatty’s  The Ninth Configuration you have seen the asylum twists done much darker and with more impact. Interestingly this too was based on a decent novel but just falls way short of being compelling, creepy or…good. The REAL disappointment for me was with Leo because the last three movies I saw him in, Blood Diamond, The Departed and Body of Lies, his characters are very real and he showed that he is a strong actor who can play a convincing adult. By that I mean, he had played a boy for so long that even when he tried to be a tough guy like in Gangs of New York, he was still a prissy little wuss. Watch Blood Diamond and tell me if you still think that. Awesome film. AS is Body of Lies so, it’s a bummer to see him groping in this role and sort of surprising. Also, you would think Von Sydow on a creepy island as an ex-nazi doctor would be a home run, but, instead…flaccid as he probably is these days.

So, please, go see something cool instead. Don’t buy it and if you can possibly avoid it, don’t go see Avatar either. How stupid?