The Continuing Saga of Sundance

I’m sorry that this post has taken so long. Everyone’s probably already lost the majority of their interest in Sundance, but I wanted to chronicle my entire experience and so I’ll just add this final one.

On Tuesday of the second week of Sundance I saw this movie called the Adventures of Power. Honestly, I really enjoyed this movie—it was probably my favorite Sundance movie that I saw—but when I saw it I was kind of in a bad mood, so I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I could have. It’s a pretty light-hearted comedy that owes more than a little to another Sundance breakout hit, Napoleon Dynamite. The editing is a lot more fast-paced for sure, but the quirkiness and eclectic feel have Napoleon Dynamite written all over it. Not to mention that the star and director look suspiciously like Jon Heder in his first starring role. Therefore, if you enjoy unconventional offbeat humor wrapped around the premise of ‘air drumming’ then you should definitely give this little movie a try. That’s if it gets picked up by a major studio. Thanks again, Christian for the tickets.

My next Sundance experience was a concert. Emma and I went to go see the Aggrolites at the Kimball’s Art Center. Again, in order to get into these concerts you have to have credentials. I didn’t this time, but Emma actually knew the band from when they performed on the hit kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba, which Emma was on. The concert was extremely small and was really conceived for the Sundance ‘uppities’ with their important credentials. This meant that the band was performing for a bunch of people that were only there to flash their credentials and say they went to the concert, in other words, they weren’t really fans. This created kind of a lounge bar feeling: an act performs with great panache, but the elitists are too busy sipping their drinks and schmoozing to really take notice. However, the Aggrolites released some exclusive tickets on their MySpace page to their most loyal fans, which meant that there were probably twenty-five to thirty people there who actually cared. And the band delivered. They’re kind of a reggae-rock band akin to 311, but with more allegiance to the ska realm of the musical universe. Anyway, it rocked and we didn’t get a ticket for illegal parking. Yay!

Our final Sundance venture happened at 9:15 on a Saturday morning. (Getting Emma to go anywhere at this time in the morning is a minor miracle. jk.) We went to go see this movie CSNY: Déjà Vu. It’s about the aging rockers, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, on their "Freedom of Speech Tour" in 2006 that was the equivalent of a political rally for anti-war sentiment. Let’s see, I don’t mind people speaking their minds and letting their frustrations out through song, but to create a documentary about pulling out of Iraq, built upon weak 60s sensibilities and simplistic melodrama isn’t the way to really influence policy or difficult decision-making. Here’s what one commenter said on the movie’s IMDB webpage:

Sundance Moment: Someone in the Q&A said that he had lost a brother in Iraq, and told Neil Young that "you have no idea what you're talking about." It was a tense moment in the very liberal Sundance crowd. I'm guessing that Young has dealt with this kind of thing dozens of times on the tour, and he chose to handle it by, essentially, backing down. "I think you're right," he said. "We're just trying to get people to talk about it." Well, that might be an easy answer, but I'm not sure it's honest. A song like "Let's Impeach the President" is something more than an invitation for dialogue; it's a political statement of the strongest kind. I respect the band's sincerity, but was disappointed they were something less than forthright when challenged.

Here, here.

Anyway, thanks again Christian for the tickets. Apparently all of CSNY were there that morning at the screening, but we failed to even look for them. That was stupid. We then went out to eat at Loco Lizard and decided to take a picture.

So, Sundance is over for now. When worked correctly you can have a pretty good time when Hollywood turns its spotlight onto little ol’ Park City. I really enjoyed myself this year, but it’s also kind of a headache. It’s kind of like when your relatives come over to visit you: it’s great to see them and listen to all they have to say, but soon enough you can’t wait for them to leave.