Ozomatli

The last time I saw Ozomatli perform was for their first record release party/concert in 1998 at the House of Blues Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. I had connections by way of my 'brother from another mother,' Manuel Delgado (Delgado Guitars), a third generation guitar maker who'd made a guitar for Ozomatli guitarist, Raul "El Bully" Pacheco.

My ears are still ringing as I've returned from seeing them perform at The Arches here in Glasgow. In true Ozomatli fashion, the venue was jumping (quite literally) to the up tempo fusion of Latin, hip hop, jazz, funk, reggae, and rock that defines Ozomatli. This nine-piece, multiethnic band puts on a show like few other bands I've seen (up there with Fishbone & The Mighty Mighty BossTones), and they endear themselves to the audience by thoroughly engaging them throughout the show. From start to finish there is literally no lull in the performance. E-N-E-R-G-Y is just about the only word that accurately describes their stage presence.

Unlike 99% of the gigs you'll go to where the band finishes their set with a warm farewell and a 'thanks for coming out," Ozomatli, in their entirety, exited stage center directly into the welcoming arms of the crowd, where they set themselves up in the center of the Arches and initiated a drum & horns jam that veritably rocked the red brick catacombs. Closing with an enthusiastic conga line that ended in a crescendo of beating drums and blaring horns, the band esteemed themselves to the crowd once more as they closed their final number to a fury of applause and howls.

After the show I sought out Raul "El Bully" Pacheco who was surprisingly and pleasantly accessible. We talked of the show in LA and of our mutual friend, Manuel. He asked what I was doing after the show to which I responded, "Dude, I have three of the most beautiful young women in Glasgow sleeping at home, waiting for my return. I'm going there."
If you ever have the opportunity to see them perform live, I highly, highly, highly recommend it. But drink your Red Bull... you'll need the energy boost.

Will Harry Die?

With the release of the fifth cinematic installment of the Harry Potter empire, and the seventh and final book due out in a week, the film-going, book-reading world is buzzing with Potter-mania!

Yes, I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this weekend, but as I've stated in prior film reviews, I'm not going to bother reviewing films that gross hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide in less than a month. It will be argued that this is the best of the five films. It will be criticized for accelerating the storyline of the lengthiest book thus far (870 pages). Strong cases for both will be hard to refute.

But what's more interesting than the hype surrounding the current film, is the outcome of the final chapter in the literary series. Rumors have been circulating for at least two years that J.K. Rowling is going to kill off two major characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and we know that Rowling isn't shy about offing fan-fav characters (Professor Dumbledore; Sirius Black). So the billion dollar question is: Will Harry Potter chalk out?

As an American, I like closure. No - I need closure. The Brits don't seem to share my hang-up. They demonstrate almost limitless patience (which explains cricket) when it comes to the issue of 'resolution.'
We Yanks, however, don't want a flowery ending. We want things definitively tied-up. And that usually means a large body count. Preferably in the context of excruciating death sequences and lots of explosions. We love lots of explosions.
And we love when characters utter curt catchphrases like, "Let off some steam, Bennett," or "Stick around," after they skewer them with a lead-pipe or nail them to a wooden beam with a machete.

For these reasons, Harry Potter must die. I mean, I don't hate the kid. He's not my favorite character in the story, I actually like him. He's endearing and he's suffered a lot. So why do 80% of Americans polled think that Harry's headed to that great Quidditch match in the sky? His parents were brutally murdered, he spent his childhood in a closet, and every year someone close to him dies. Hasn't this kid been through enough already?

You want Harry to die... even if you don't know you want it. You want him to die because you want to be surprised. You want to be shocked.
Even more than explosions, we love surprises. And even though 8 out of 10 of us offer Harry our bloodlust, we know, deep down that won't happen.
Rowling doesn't have the stones.
Harry won't die because it doesn't fit with the formula for ending a grand mythological tale. Good triumphs over evil. Hope overcomes despair. Paper covers rock. Harry wins. Voldemort loses. The Ewoks sing.

Even though offering Harry a dirt nap is the only proper way to end this saga, it won't happen. However poetic, however tragic, however surprising it would be... Harry is decisively not going to die.
But how perfectly poetic would it be if a story that began with the chapter title, "The Boy Who Lived," concluded with the final chapter heading, "The Boy Who Died?" Harry is alive because his parents sacrificed their own lives to save him. It would be so appropriate if he kicked off with a similar act of self-sacrifice.

Of course, maybe if Voldemort lofted one final indefensible spell at Harry... like a mega-mother of an Avada Kedavra curse that no one has ever survived... and maybe if Harry did some kinda super-slo-mo-Matrix-stop-action move and deflected the curse back at ol' Voldy, and then the dark lord exploded everywhere into a million reptilian pieces, and then Harry blew on the tip of his wand and smirked, "I told you not to curse, Voldemort."
That'd be pretty cool, too.

Rankings, Shmrankings - The Angels are #1

Check your calendars people and remember July 1, 2007 as a remarkable day in Angels Baseball history. At the end of the day, the California Angels (I still can't bring myself to write LAAoA) stand alone at the top of Major League Baseball with the best record in the league. I can't remember a time that the Angels held the best overall record in the league.
Despite overwhelming evidence that they've earned the #1 spot in the ESPN Baseball Power Rankings, the Angels still find themselves sitting behind Boston in the #2 spot. The ESPN.com writers claim that a week containing Frank Thomas' 500th home run (and ejection), Craig Biggio's 3000th hit, and Carlos Lee's walkoff grand slam, were enough dramatics for the baseball world to handle. There was no need to add further drama by rearranging what already seemed like a pretty accurate ranking... pretty accurate.

I love that the Power Rankings came out on the day that the Angels took sole possession of the best record in baseball by beating Baltimore, while Boston dropped a close one to Texas. Neither team played particularly well this week, but last week Boston jumped two spots to #1 by having one more win than the Angels that week. This week, Boston went 1-5 and held the top spot, while the Angels went 2-4, earning the best record in baseball. Boston is 4-6 in their last 10. The Angels are 6-4. The Angels have the same number of losses as Boston, but two more wins and find themselves sitting 20 games over .500 - talk about your east coast bias.

I know this could all change by Tuesday and that the Power Rankings (still) don't really mean anything, but right is right. What else could the Angels possibly do to earn their rightful place of #1 atop the Power Rankings list? Win the World Series?!?!?!?

They just might.

"Terror Related" Attack on Glasgow International Airport

It's sobering when something like this happens in your own city. I've never really considered Glasgow to be much of a target for terrorist activity. London, sure. New York, a given. Los Angeles, of course. But Glasgow? Scotland???

Two men were arrested after ramming a burning car into the airport's main terminal, a day after police thwarted two attempted bombings in the capital.

Police said one of the men wore a "suspect device" and the incident was being treated as terror related.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the public to remain vigilant.

"I know the British people will stand together, united and resolute," he added.

More on this story can be found at the BBC NEWS website.