How are the mighty fallen

I went to see 70's/80's rock band Foreigner last night at the 013 Club in Tilburg. In fact, what I ended up seeing was the remains of Foreigner (actually, Mick Jones, founder, guitarist, songwiter of some of their songs) and five other guys, but I'm not complaining - they did a great set and I'd go see them again if I had the chance. But, come on, the 013 in Tilburg's not exactly Madison Square Garden or Wembley Stadium, is it? They've dropped down a rung or two on the ladder of rock renown since their glory days, I think.

The 013 was a nice, intimate, venue but had the irritating habit of insisting that you buy drinks using plastic tokens which you must obtain by putting a minimum of 10 Euro in a machine. When you only want a couple of Cokes that seems a bit of a rip-off and made me feel unnecessarily grumpy towards the venue for the extra couple of Euro they extorted from me. Bad move. If I ever go there again I'll make sure I spend the remaining tokens AND NO MORE. They've turned me from a customer into an insurgent against their evil policy.

I think being over 40 makes you much less tolerant of minor injustices like this (see #37):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,904513,00.html#article_continue

Anyway, I wanted to discuss the band. They did all the stuff you'd expect (I'm not going to name them all - just see which songs were hits from their albums up to 'Agent Provocateur' - they did all of them) and new vocalist Kelly Hansen (Steve Tyler wannabe) did a fine job, sounding extremely like the original singer Lou Gramm on every track, and providing great entertainment (climbing down into the crowd and walking around to lead communal singing, ordering a drink at the bar mid-song, climbing precariously on speaker-stacks etc.) And, I must say, he and rhythm guitarist Tommy Gimbel were especially attentive to the lady in the wheelchair next to me in the crowd (making eyes at her, posing for photos, throwing guitar picks and a towel to her as souvenirs), although the fact that she was rather attractive may have contributed to this as much as their desire to ensure that the disabled have adequate visibility of the performance in rock venues.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun at what looked like an old folks' day out for retired roadies (more faded tour T-shirts, thinning/greying hair and pot-bellies than you could shake a stick at). It's good to know the 1970's is still alive and well and living happily in the south of Holland. As they say, the past is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Sideways - A compact film review

I can see why so many people had their hearts stolen by this film, but it didn't quite have that effect on me. This film isn't the love of my life, but it is someone sweet who you want to kiss on the top of their head and make sure they're safe. (OK, metaphor borrowed shamelessly from Auntie Shell).
Miles, Maya coaxes him to reveal, is the human embodiment of the Pinot grape:

"A hard grape to grow...thin‑skinned, temperamental, ripens early...not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention."

He is us. The everyman, the gentleman loser, the person who aspires to be a more successful, bigger, better person and succeeds occasionally whilst failing on a more regular basis. I found myself longing for him to sieze the moment with Maya, despite loathing him for being so inconsiderate in the first 20‑30 minutes of the film. And Jessica Hecht is simply adorable in her cameo as his ex‑wife, Victoria. She demonstrates immediately why, two years after their divorce, he's still besotted with her. Her gentleness pours out like warm crème Anglaise. Virginia Madsen is ideally‑cast as Maya ‑ the considerate, sensitive, honest, cultured, intelligent woman we Pinots need. Hmmm, perhaps this film will grow to be one of my favourites. I think I'll watch it again. Soon.

8/10 ‑ a charming film to own and enjoy with good friends.