Music Movies: Highs & Lows, and more tips

MUSIC MOVIES: HIGHS & LOWS

Over the holidays, I stepped out to see the two new ballyhooed music films, “I’m Not There’’ (an entertainingly warped biopic on Bob Dylan) and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,’’ about which the less said, the better.
The Dylan pic was an eye-opening march through multiple actors (and actress Cate Blanchett) playing Dylan at different points of his life. I loved it, especially Blanchett’s steely portrayal of Dylan’s bohemian days and Richard Gere’s sage portrayal of the older-and-wiser (and yes, grizzled) Dylan. The movie is imaginative, fanciful, often revelatory but sometimes full of baloney – a fitting juxtaposition to Dylan’s wildly mixed-bag songs.
The two-disc soundtrack is worth picking up – some great songs there by Calexico, Wilco and others – but many don’t end up in the movie. But a lot of great tunes by Dylan himself do end up in it, so any Dylan lover will dig it. Some of the history in the movie gets a little sketchy, but overall, this ambitious project delivers far more than I expected. Don’t go thinking you’re going to see “Citizen Kane.’’ Just go with an open mind and enjoy.
As for “Dewey Cox,’’ it’s an out-and-out mess. Billed as a rock satire, it might be fine for people with a tangential interest to the music, but to anyone who takes the genre seriously, it’s an offensive mishmash. It is cartoony throughout. It starts by making fun of Johnny Cash, then ends up poking fun at everyone from the Beatles to the Maharishi. There are laughs here and there, but mostly this is a grade B movie that ultimately denigrates rock ‘n’ roll and makes it look completely foolish. Give me “Spinal Tap’’ anytime. That’s a real satire.

CRITIC’S TIPS
Big Brothers & the Holding Company – at Harpers Ferry on Thursday, Jan. 3. Janis Joplin’s band is still soldiering on. I’m not sure who is singing Janis’ parts these days, but the last time I saw them a few years ago, they succeeded quite admirably.

Watts – at the Abbey Lounge on Friday, Jan. 4. Any garage-rock band that names itself Watts – after Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts – has an immediate leg up on the competition, right? They deliver the goods.

Hot Stove, Cool Music – at the Paradise Rock Club on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 5-6. Theo Epstein and Peter Gammons return with their annual benefit gigs for Theo’s Foundation to Be Named Later (catchy phrase, that). The Saturday event includes WBOS faves deSol and Eli “Paperboy’’ Reed & the True Loves. And Sunday is a whopping night with Lori McKenna, Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys, Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Kay Hanley, Bill Janovitz, Paul Barrere of Little Feat, and the list goes on.

50th Anniversary Hootenanny – at the Brattle Theatre on Sunday, Jan. 6. It will be 50 years to the day this Sunday that Club 47, which later became Club Passim, opened. To mark the occasion, some star-studded folk alumni from Tom Rush and Jim Kweskin, to Al Kooper, Bill Keith and Geoff Muldaur, perform a celebratory hoot at the Brattle, starting at 4 p.m.

Christmas Celtic Sojourn

Christmas may provoke some tense reactions in some people. They may need a reminder about the warmth of the season -- and one way to jumpstart that is to catch the upcoming Christmas Celtic Sojourn shows at the Cutler Majestic Theatre over the next two weeks.
"These shows allow us to be sentimental. People look for the assurance of Christmas time,'' says producer Brian O'Donovan, who presents the Christmas Celtic Sojourn for the fifth straight year starting this Thursday, Dec. 13 and running to Dec. 22.
"There will be up to 17 musicians and dancers on stage at any given time,'' adds O'Donovan, who has a rotating cast each year. This year's program includes the renowned Solas, Aoife O'Donovan (Brian's daughter, who is also in the folk group Crooked Still that just sold out the Somerville Theatre), Dougie MacLean, Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas, Seamus Eagan, and Kieran Jordan and her troupe of four dancers.
"It's a very collaborative effort,'' says O'Donovan. "The group is chosen in April of each year and that's when the collaborative effort begins. There's a fair amount of interesting Christmas music and some music that would fit an old-fashioned kitchen party gathering.''
O'Donovan himself ties it together by providing thoughts, poems, and commentary, though the program's focus is on music.
"There a main female singer and a main male singer. Last year it was Karen Kasey and Robbie O'Connell. This year it's Dougie MacLean and Aoife,'' he says.
I caught the show last year and loved it. The formula has also been quite successful. Three of the previous years' versions have come out on CDs from Rounder Records and the first DVD, "A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, Live,'' has come out from last year's show.
For tickets, you can call 1-800-872-8997 or go online at www.maj.org./p2008/celtic.html.

(Steve Morse can be reached at spmorse@gmail.com)