Finding Oliver Steck

Someone who read about my New Year’s Eve and how much I enjoyed Oliver Steck sent me a list of up-coming dates:

Every Monday with Bob at Saxon

Every Thursday (except VD and 2/21) 10:30pm at Flipnotics with Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies (traditional jazz)

Tues	2/5	10pm	Ruta Maya	Austin Knights (New Orleans brass band)
Thurs	2/7	6-8	Elephant Room	with Mark Rubin
Fri	2/8	8-11	McCormick & Schmick’s downtown	with George Carver
Fri	2/8	11:30	Antone’s	with Bob Schneider
Sat	2/9	7:30-10	Treehouse Italian Grill	Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies
Sun	2/10	noon-3	Mother Egan’s	with the Polkasonics
Fri	2/15	7:30-10	Treehouse Italian Grill	Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies
Fri	2/15	10-mid	Sam’s Town Point	with John Emory
Sat	2/16	6:30-9	Central Market North	Son Y No Son
Sun	2/17	12:30-3	Central Market South	with Mark Rubin

Matt the Electrician has returned to Mondays at Saxon as well, making Mondays at the Saxon Pub your best bet for regular musical entertainment.

AJFF, part one

“Jellyfish” had some interesting moments, but didn’t really hang together. The surreal bits, the coincidences, the acting, the characters–all good. It’s a shame that the plot didn’t hold them together better, although I’m not sure whether it was the writing or the editing that could have made the difference.

“Sixty Six” is one of those gems that you go to film festivals to have the chance to see. Everything perfect, nothing wasted, totally charming. I can’t recommend it highly enough; I don’t know how you’ll find it, but do keep an eye out.

It’ll be the comedy choices tonight for me!

Austin Jewish Film Festival schedule

complete AJFF schedule

It’s tragic that “Steal a Pencil for Me” is only showing at noon on Wednesday. It was one of my favorites during SxSW 2007.

my AJFF schedule

• “Jellyfish” (9:30 Saturday, so after ice skating) http://www.wejew.com/media/1005/Jellyfish_Movie_Trailer/
• “Sixty-Six” (2:30 Sunday, if brunch doesn’t go too long) http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/trailers/sixtysix_trailer_small.htm
• “My Father, My Lord” (7pm Monday @ Arbor) no trailer available, has won lots of awards, sounds intense
  or
  “Making Trouble” (7pm Monday @ UT) Jewish comediennes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6qnpWNO8GI
• “Three Mothers” (7pm Tuesday @ Arbor) http://www.3mothers.co.il/default_en.html, but I hope the movies has subtitles, because the trailer sure doesn’t.
  or
  “Silver Jew” (7pm Tuesday @ UT) This one got good buzz during SxSW 2007, but I missed it.

Wednesday night, I have an invitation to the 30th anniversary party for the Omelettry, so I won’t be seeing “Arranged” again. I did see it during SxSW 2007, and strongly recommend it.

Thursday night sounds a bit grim. We’ll see.

Thursday, part two

So there’s still no queue at Alamo Village. I’m able to get a parking spot right at the head of where my show’s queue will begin, and I see others in cars waiting to see if anyone will get the line started. I pull out an uncompleted sudoku and hope that we can all stay in our cars for a good while longer. But, alas, a couple gets out of the next CR-V over and starts the line, even after I plead with them not to. So they say I can sit in the car and wait and they will let me come in with them, which I take them up on, until I see that there are a couple dozen people lined up, so I join the queue. Most of the folks are not dressed anymore warmly for standing in line than I was for sitting in an office, so I almost feel like peeling off layers and sharing, but I’m only so kind.

The five people I end up chatting with are very fun, and we have a lot in common in terms of movies. Except that they know why too much about video games and movies based on video games, and they are all 20-30 years younger than me. But anyway, it’s a good group to stand with, as everyone is intelligent, able to contribute to conversation, and adverse to spoilers.

Thursday, part one

So Matt the Electrician and Southpaw Jones are already performing when I get to Flipnotics North, but I get a mocha (one shot regular so I can stay up until 2am, one shot decaf so I’m not up forever) and still find a seat up front. Fortunately, the song title challenge songs are still to come, and one of the previous week’s song title songs returns (MtE’s Obama song, which is now stuck in my brain).

Did you realize that the upcoming February has five Fridays? That was part of the challenge thrown out last week, which also somehow got some rainwater thrown in, perhaps due to the bottled water. So it was that we had two songs called “Five Fridays in February Rainwater Green Blues.” Or something like that. It’s obviously too long for a proper title.

But the songs were fine and I was ready to propose the next week’s: the Dean’s list. But as I didn’t make it clear that it was related to The Child, it got interpreted as having something to do with Howard, so I had to issue a stern injunction against smart remarks about the scream. Southpaw said he sympathized because he understands the damage a PA system can do. But I still have to return to hear it, because the only other time that my suggestion was accepted (years ago–something about chicken pox), I was unable to return for the results.

So the show is over and it’s 10pm-ish, and I head back to Alamo Village, hoping that I don’t find too many people waiting to get in.