Pre-weekend Weekend Lunch Invite 53. Lewis, U Romeoville

So here we are at the start of the second week of 2000. It doesn't seem much different than December. The only signs of apocalypse so far are warm temperatures and the fact that both Jan and Sean Nelson have girlfriends.

If this page appears to work faster or take less time to boot up, it's probably because I recently wiped clean my PowerMac and started reinstalling stuff as I need it. So far it seems better and doesn't crash so much.

Movies

Movies this week:

• Girl, Interrupted: Based on Susanna Kaysen's account of her stay in a mental hospital in the 60's. Starring Winona Ryder, and Angelina Jolie among others (and not to give anything away, but Angelina Jolie is still there and I'm not referring to her character.)
• The Hurricane: Not about meteorology nor New Orleans drinks, but the story of Rueben "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. He promptly escaped a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, he survives as a soldier of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire Denzel Washington.
• Next Friday: Craig Jones (Ice Cube) moves from the ghetto to the suburbs to live with his lottery-winning uncle and cousins.
• Play It to the Bone: Antonio "So Sexy" Banderas and Woody "Can't Jump" Harrelson are a couple boxers who are signed to fight one another.
• Supernova: I couldn't improve on "Agent 1267"'s comments at Internet Movie Database when he says:
  This movie was the best movie I have ever seen and it was like having my face ripped off, having my brain poked with a hot stick several times, then having my face stapled back on. It had such great special effects I left the theater thinking I was beaten with an aluminum bat like some kind of homa [sic]. It was the greatest movie and it had so many great actors to keep me guessin'. I don't know much about the outside atmosphere buy [sic] this movie seemed like it could be real, and it totally rocked, man. I like totally loved this movie dude.
• Topsy-Turvy: Mike Leigh brings us the story of Gilbert and Sullivan, the Victorian operetta writers.
• The Green Mile: Tom Hanks plays a slightly-less-racist-than-everyone-else in this touching story about an impossibly selfless and humane contrived character who happens to be a gigantic black man accused of murdering a child. (Although this opened on December 9, it's the open caption movie at Regal Henrietta.)

Thursday

First up, Hypnotic Clambake opens for Buddhahood at Milestones (170 East Ave.) tonight. I've seen Buddhahood several times, but I hate trying to describe music, so as Milestones' own ad says, it's the "Good Time Hippy-Rock-Klesmer-Dance-Feel Good Music."

The safe money goes as always to Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) Today, Section 8 is there. I haven't seen them before, and I really didn't like The Assumptions last week (mostly because they play Goth or industrial or something -- I don't know what kind of music it was but I didn't like it ... of course, I don't even know if that wasn't the opening act if there even was one) but it's still pretty good odds to see a good act.

Karaoke at Drinks by Mary Dawn (535 S. Clinton) is pretty much due to pull a Celtic Fire and make its way off this page. It's become essentially a traditional karaoke night which, if you don't already know, is hella lame. If you've never been to regular karaoke, this is about as nice as it gets. Drinks by Mary Dawn is a nice bar, so I'll have to find something else interesting there.

WBER's Alternative Music night at Red (171 St. Paul.) I stopped by last week briefly and it was a pretty good club. They didn't play the music too loud, but they kept the bass high enough that you could feel it a lot. It's kind of a ... uhh ... younger ... crowd there, in case you couldn't guess.

Friday!

Could it be good acts at Milestones (170 East Ave.) two days in a row? Well, Chanka Chank opens for 5Head tonight starting at 10, after happy hour. Although Milestones' ad says it's "A Cajun Dance Party Second to None," I really think 5Head is way more ska than Cajun.

Karaoke at Boston Brew Company (251 Exchange Blvd.) Unlike the original, this one still has a few weeks left. As a Friday night stop on tour, 11:00 until about 12:30 is a decent time to pop in. Although it's getting like an ANSI standard karaoke night (ANSI 1284.0) at least the people who sing are a little more talented.

Saturday

O'Bagelo's, 165 State Street, noon. (Yep, that's http://www.obagelos.com.)

For the trifecta, Bitter Flesh Thing, White Cotton Panties, The Grinders, and Tuuli are all appearing at Red (171 St. Paul.) Red's ad titles this the "Live Industrial/Garage Pop Show", and although I don't consider myself a great fan of either of those styles, White Cotton Panties is pretty good. That is not to say, however, that the other bands are or are not of reasonable quality. I just haven't seen 'em. :-)

If you're buying into the Monty's Krown thing, (875 Monroe Ave.) The Chinchillas are there tonight. I haven't heard them before, but their letter-size poster featured a photograph of a racoon violating a beagle, so they can't be all bad.

For something more different (and perhaps less explicit), Monty's Korner (363 East Ave.) is hosting Dream Machine. They're listed under Poetry in Freetime, so you figure it out.

Treehouse Cinema's Movie Night, 9:30 p.m., The Treehouse (693 East Ave.) This week: >Mindwalk As Carl from the Monroe County Baha'i Mailing List put it:

A movie about a very interesting conversation which leads to transcendence.

FOX's Sunday Night Animation and that new show:

• King of the Hill: Rodeo Days - Bobby fails to rope a calf at the rodeo but disarms the crowd with clown tricks.
• Simpsons: Faith Off - Bart is convinced he's a faith healer after he helps a revivalist extract Homer's head from a bucket. Guest voices: Don Cheadle and Joe Mantegna.
• Malcolm in the Middle: The pilot totally sucked last week. Try Tex Avery on the Cartoon Network instead.
• Futurama is on hiatus until February or until I stop liking it.

YABM

Tuesday

Open mic comedy at the Colosseum Caffe (262 Park Ave.) starting around 9:30.

VERSUS

Open mic poetry at Java's (16 Gibb Street) starting around 9:30.

Wednesday

If you were good enough, smart enough, and people liked you, you'd know that Lynyrd Skynyrd opens for ZZ Top tonight at the Blue Cross Arena (Exchange Blvd and Broad St.)

South Park today at Rohrbach's at 315 Gregory Street at 10:00. Although a rerun, this is a pretty dang funny episode. It's Chef's Salty Chocolate Balls: a popular film festival is slated to come to town; Kyle gets another visit from Mr. Hankey.

(The links archive is coming not so soon.)