AndyO Blog

Tonight, Chris Mess played its inaugural show at the legendary Blue Moon tavern. I'd actually never been to the Blue Moon, and its reputation definitely lives up to the hype. I wasn't sure what to expect. The novelist Tom Robbins once described this bar as "a frenzy of distorted joy spinning just outside the reach of bourgeois horrors."

Everything started off strangely enough. I pulled up on the corner, parked illegally, and started unloading my drums. It wasn't until I looked up at the sign above the door that I realized I was in the wrong bar! Most of my drums were now sitting in The Rainbow (at least they weren't set up yet). Man, did I feel foolish.

I went over to the Blue Moon, where I found Sam setting up her bass and amp. I told her my foolish story of unloading my drums in the wrong place. She did the only thing she could have done: laughed. Then she walked over to The Rainbow to help haul all my drums to the correct venue.

There were more people hanging out in the Blue Moon than I expected. Since I didn't really know any of them, I assumed they were regulars. They were doing one of the following:

• Drinking beer
• Working on computers (free Wi-Fi)
• Hanging out with one of many dogs carousing about
• Playing pool
• Reading

After I set up my drum kit, I talked with my brother, who was reading a book in the corner. I thought he'd brought the book, but he actually got it off the shelf. I also talked to my son's teachers and their friends.

A little before 10:00 we hit the stage, blasting through our set. The crowd seemed receptive, and we played well. I had a few technical issues with equipment and drum sticks, but overall it felt good. When Chris introduced me during our song, "Bossa Nova," he said, "Andy just lives a few blocks away from me, so it's easy to rehearse." After the show, people came up and said, "Is that really true about you guys living so close?" It is indeed true.

Afterward, the headliner, "Radioshark" took to the stage to play an eclectic set that included elements of rock, punk, surf, garage, and Bionic Samba. Not only was their music interesting, but they were all great guys. They even invited us to play another show with them in April.

As I watched Radio Shark play their set, I thought about all the bands that had passed through this space. I know my uncle played a show where Robert Cray opened for him. I'd heard Jimi Hendrix played there, but I couldn't confirm it. A friend of Chris's said Hendrix did play The Rainbow next door. Ah, I was now familiar with The Rainbow. Where I'd started my evening.

On to the next show in March at "The Mercury."

Labels: Chris Mess

• Star Wars Episode III wasn't nominated for Special Visual Effects. Obviously, Hollywood doesn't think George deserves any more awards for effects, since he pretty much gets what he wants out of his effects company, ILM.
• Paul Giamati got nominate for Cinderella Man. Russell Crowe didn't get nominated, although he could have for his portrayal of the Depression-era boxer James J. Braddock.

Steven Spielberg's Munich got nominated for best picture. I wasn't sure if this was really expected, but Munich is definitely an Oscar-caliber movie.

Here are this year's nominees:

Best Motion Picture of the Year Nominees:
Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Capote (2005) - Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven
Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Grant Heslov
Munich (2005) - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005)
Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow (2005)
Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line (2005)
David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:
Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
Felicity Huffman for Transamerica (2005)
Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Charlize Theron for North Country (2005)
Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:
George Clooney for Syriana (2005)
Matt Dillon for Crash (2004)
Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man (2005)
Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain (2005)
William Hurt for A History of Violence (2005)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:
Amy Adams for Junebug (2005)
Catherine Keener for Capote (2005)
Frances McDormand for North Country (2005)
Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)
Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Best Achievement in Directing Nominees:
George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
Paul Haggis for Crash (2004)
Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Bennett Miller for Capote (2005)
Steven Spielberg for Munich (2005)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Nominees:
Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Match Point (2005) - Woody Allen
The Squid and the Whale (2005) - Noah Baumbach
Syriana (2005) - Stephen Gaghan

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Nominees:
Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
Capote (2005) - Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener (2005) - Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence (2005) - Josh Olson
Munich (2005) - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth

Best Achievement in Cinematography Nominees:
Batman Begins (2005) - Wally Pfister
Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Rodrigo Prieto
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Robert Elswit
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Dion Beebe
The New World (2005) - Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Achievement in Editing

Cinderella Man (2005) - Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
The Constant Gardener (2005) - Claire Simpson
Crash (2004) - Hughes Winborne
Munich (2005) - Michael Kahn
Walk the Line (2005) - Michael McCusker

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - James D. Bissell, Jan Pascale
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan
King Kong (2005) - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau
Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

Best Achievement in Costume Design:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Gabriella Pescucci
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Colleen Atwood
Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) - Sandy Powell
Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Jacqueline Durran
Walk the Line (2005) - Arianne Phillips

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Nominees:
Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Gustavo Santaolalla
The Constant Gardener (2005) - Alberto Iglesias
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Williams
Munich (2005) - John Williams
Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Dario Marianelli

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song Nominees:
Hustle & Flow (2005) - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard ("It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp")
Crash (2004) - Michael Becker, Kathleen York ("In the Deep")
Transamerica (2005) - Dolly Parton ("Travelin' Thru")

Best Achievement in Makeup Nominees:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Howard Berger, Tami Lane
Cinderella Man (2005) - David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles

Best Achievement in Sound Nominees:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic, Tony Johnson
King Kong (2005) - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett
Walk the Line (2005) - Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, Peter F. Kurland
War of the Worlds (2005) - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ron Judkins

Best Achievement in Sound Editing Nominees:
King Kong (2005) - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Wylie Stateman
War of the Worlds (2005) - Richard King

Best Achievement in Visual Effects Nominees:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar
King Kong (2005) - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor
War of the Worlds (2005) - Pablo Helman, Dennis Muren, Randy Dutra, Daniel Sudick Best

Animated Feature Film of the Year Nominees:
Corpse Bride (2005) - Tim Burton, Mike Johnson
Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) - Hayao Miyazaki
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Steve Box, Nick Park

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Nominees:
Bestia nel cuore, La (2005) - Cristina Comencini (Italy)
Joyeux Noel (2005) - Christian Carion (France)
Paradise Now (2005) - Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine)
Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (2005) - Marc Rothemund (Germany)
Tsotsi (2005) - Gavin Hood (South Africa)

Best Documentary, Features Nominees:
Darwin's Nightmare (2004) - Hubert Sauper
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - Alex Gibney, Jason Kliot
Marche de l'empereur, La (2005) - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau
Murderball (2005) - Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Street Fight (2005) - Marshall Curry

Best Documentary, Short Subjects Nominees:
God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005) - Kimberlee Acquaro, Stacy Sherman
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005) - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson
The Life of Kevin Carter (2004) - Dan Krauss
Mushroom Club, The (2005) - Steven Okazaki

Best Short Film, Animated Nominees:
Badgered (2005) - Sharon Colman
The Moon and the Son (2005) - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005) - Anthony Lucas
9 (2005) - Shane Acker
One Man Band (2005) - Mark Andrews, Andrew Jimenez

Best Short Film, Live Action Nominees:
Ausreißer (2004) - Ulrike Grote
Cashback (2004) - Sean Ellis, Lene Bausager
Síðasti bærinn í dalnum (2004) - Rúnar Rúnarsson, Þórir Snær Sigurjónsson
Our Time Is Up (2004) - Rob Pearlstein, Pia Clemente
Six Shooter (2005) - Martin McDonagh