SoulinProcess

Andrea and I saw The Dark Knight yesterday afternoon, and I wanted to write down a few thoughts. 

Brilliant movie. Loved the whole production - acting, cinematography, story arc. Good stuff.

Is Nolan conscious/intentional of setting up a morality play of Batman (Christ), the Joker (Satan), and Dent (Everyman)? Is it more in line with the story of Baldr? The Joker does resemble Loki, with his love of chaos.

Is Nolan leading to the “Broken Bat” arc?

The relationship between the Joker and Batman seems more Zoroastrian - an equality/duality between good and evil. Batman can’t defeat the Joker, because he refuses to kill him, and the Joker won’t kill Batman because he enjoys the conflict too much. Neither has the true upper hand, or if anything, Batman is playing catchup and is reactionary.

Interesting differences between the story of The Dark Knight and “canon”:

• Harvey is attacked in the courtroom by the Joker, who throws acid on him, causing the physical injury. The acid affects his psychosis, causing the madness.
• Rachel and Harvey are already married when he is injured.
• Harvey fights the madness (at times), and Bruce is always there to encourage him (”I believe in Harvey Dent”).
• Harvey doesn’t die. He does disappear for awhile, giving in to Two-Face, but comes back, and becomes the DA again.
• Parallels between the cellphone aggregation and Brother Eye?

So, here’s the deal. Andrea was listening to the radio a month ago, and heard that a local station (107.5) was sponsoring discount tickets for the James Blunt/Sheryl Crow show at the Sommet. Tickets were $10.75, which, with all the Ticketmaster fees, translates to ~$20 - still a great price. We jumped on ‘em, and I thought they’d be nose-bleed seats.

Fast-forward to last night. We get there, and the seats are amazing! We’re in the second tier, second row, right in the middle, dead-on with the stage. I could throw a plastic cup at the FOH on the floor. Nice job, Andrea!

When James took the stage, the room was empty. Maybe 30% of the seats occupied, which made the cave that much more cave-y. However, Blunt is a great musician, entertaining and quirky, and the mix was solid. People continued to filter in, so that by the time the lights came up for the set change, the room was full.

Andrea and I commented that we were a bit disappointed in the mix for Sheryl. For one, it was too loud (and I’m probably too old), and so any time there was a full moment in the arrangement - two electric guitars, plus B3, say - Sheryl’s voice disappeared in the mix. Gone. It didn’t sound like she was having problems, just that she was getting masked by all the midrange. In contrast, Blunt’s mix was just the right level, and ultra-clear. His voice was on top of the mix, with a solid foundation underneath, and you could hear the textures of the upright piano he played contrasting with the Rhodes his keyboardist played, and the plucking of the bass in the pocket with the kick. Crow is also moving decidedly more political in voice, and the audience really didn’t respond well. She may think she’s from Nashville now that she’s living on a farm south of Franklin, but she’s still not a native. 

Still, it was a fun night. We got downtown early, parked, and walked around with ice cream before heading in. I don’t remember the buskers for the clubs, bars, and carriage rides being so aggressive, but it was fun to be in the chaos for a bit, to remember that we do live in a decent-sized city.

Andrea observed that this photo would be ironic. Still at the adore-aforementioned show

Quick post, after too long a silence. Andrea and I are sitting here at what I keep wanting to call the GEC, waiting for the show to start. Believe it or not, this is only our third concert together! Sheryl Crow, James Blunt, fun!

We have some friends coming over for dinner tonight, and I won’t get home until right at time to eat. So, while I’m working from home today, I’m baking dessert.

This is my favorite cake recipe. I’ve only made it twice before - it’s not hard, but it’s quite rich. A total of 12 oz of bittersweet chocolate, half-a-dozen eggs, two sticks of butter and a cup of unsweetened cocoa. Ahhhh. Serve with a cup of dark coffee and swoon!