Day 2 or The Weekend in Review

Well, I made it back! (...just in time I might add) A lot happened this weekend:

Touch the Sound
This was one of the best made documentaries I've ever seen. Granted it was not terribly fast paced, and didn't contain any sort of cohesive storyline, but I think if you were looking for those things in this piece then you were barking up the wrong tree.
What made this film so absorbing for me was the way Director Thomas Riedelsheimer showed us the unique world of deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Riedelsheimer's attention to detail was incredible--so many beautiful examples of everyday sounds that often escape our conscious attention were brought to the forefront in shot after shot. Sounds like the repetitive clicking of a train car on it's iron tracks, the way a sheet of metal warbles in the wind, and the symphonious cacauphony of people on the street became new and fresh and exciting from Glennie's point of view.
I also really enjoyed the many percussion performances by Glennie throughout the film, especially her improvisational sessions with experimental musician Fred Frith.
Riedelsheimer does a great job pairing Glennie's uniquely expressive music with beautifully crafted visuals that are both thought provoking and aesthetically pleasing. The combination created for me as near as I can imagine a true synesthetic experience to be.
If you liked the film "Baraka", I would not hesitate to recommend this rich audio-visual experience.


Daedelus and Bus Driver in Concert at In the Venue 10/26/07
So the instrument you can see Alfred Darlington AKA "Daedelus" playing on the right is called a "Monome" and this man is a magician at using it. It has, I think, about two hundred and fifty little back-lit buttons that correspond to different sound loops on the attached Macbook. It was pretty impressive to watch the man work his magic--his fingers flying, punching and prodding the defenseless box at lightning speed, conjuring sonic spells and mystifying the crowd. It is not unusual, I am told, to see this wizard dressed in nineteenth-century british attire for his shows. And he was super nice coming down after the show to chat with his fans. Thanks, Alfred!


Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana
After the Daedelus show, we are all super hungry. Lisa wisely suggested this pizza place that none of us had ever been to: Settebello. And although I had never been there before, I will certainly not be staying away for long. The pizza was AMAZING!!! Totally authentic Italian-style thin crust pizza. Half the pies on the menu don't even come with tomato sauce, and all of them are cooked in a wood-burning brick oven. We got the "Del Cafone", which had fresh mozarella, grilled onions and peppers, authentic italian sausage, artichoke hearts, and pine nuts. It was, to say the least, blissful. We also ordered the "Caprece", which is an appetizer consisting of fresh tomato slices paired with fresh mozarella slices drizzled with olive oil. I can't wait to go back. Check it out if you're in the neighborhood: 260 S. 200 W. in Salt Lake.


Mazza Cafe Middle-Eastern Cuisine
Flash forward. Saturday afternoon Lisa and I head back up to Salt Lake to catch the opening of The Darjeeling Limited at The Broadway. And, not surprisingly, Lisa has another delicious restaurant for me to try. This time it's a quaint little Lebanese cafe up on the east side of town.

We ordered:

POTATOES "HARRA"
Cubes of potatoes skillet-fried in garlic, pepper, cilantro, olive oil and spices.
HUMMUS
Fresh cooked garbanzo beans blended with lemon juice, garlic, tahini and olive oil. Served with pita bread.
SHAWARMA
Thin slices of beef and lamb marinated and seasoned with our blend of spices, stacked on a standing grill and broiled to perfection. Shaved into a pita with tahini, fresh veggies and turnip pickles.
BAKED EGGPLANT
The quintessential Mediterranean sandwich. Thick slices of eggplant baked in olive oil, stuffed into a pita pocket and garnished with garlic tahini sauce, fresh greens and Armenian pickles.
LIMEADE
Homemade limeade with fresh-squeezed limes, flavored with orange blossom water.

Once again, Lisa hit the mark dead on. We got the combos, which include the sandwich, appetizer, and beverage--highly recommended.


The Darjeeling Limited
There's really not a lot I can say about this film that you probably won't already know about it if you're familiar with Wes Anderson's work. Gorgeous cinematography that is acutely sensitive to hue and color saturation, quirky characters in rapidly decaying situations, severely witty deadpan humor, and meticulous attention to detail (especially in wardrobe and set design), all presented with an immaculate soundtrack. Darjeeling made good on all of Wes Anderson's promises of consistent trademark quality in his signature style.
Even though the film was, in my opinion, very, very good, it was far from perfect. While Darjeeling did have some very funny moments, I didn't think it was quite as clever or packed with memorable laugh out loud moments as Wes's other films have had. But this did not stop me from liking it any less. I thought the acting was spot-on and the characters portrayed entirely endearing. There were just so many great moments and stand-out scenes, aesthetically scintillating shots, and meaningful silences to keep me interested.
I did like the ending, BUT I was a little less than satisfied with the way it played out. I don't know if it was the pacing, or the scene order, or the events themselves, but something left me wanting more. ....and in the final estimation, I guess that's not a bad thing at all--to leave the audience wanting more. And I do want more. Please Mr. Anderson, give us another soon?

Lisa Ruefenacht's Talk at church on Sunday 10/28/07
One Word: Awesome.