CHRIS PHILPOTT – Page 4 – THIS IS NOT HIM. THIS IS HIS WEBSITE.

REVIEW Incubus – Auckland, March 4

On March 5, 2018

It would be fair to say that I have not been the most committed or loyal Incubus fan.

Actually, it would be accurate to say that they were not my favourite act in the nu-metal movement of the late nineties; I much preferred their peers the Deftones, KoRn and Limp Bizkit, and later Linkin Park. It was all noisy, chunky guitars and a fairly straight-forward drum beat for me.

Yet, aside from Deftones (who are still one of my favourite bands, and whose inclusion in the nu-metal genre was always because of their association to KoRn), I would also say that Incubus are one of the few bands of the time that I’ve kept an eye on in the years since the genre started to go the way of the dodo. I’ve heard and even enjoyed parts of all of their major releases – including their patchy latest album 8 – so it was without hesitation that I accepted a very kind offer of a ticket to their Auckland show this past Sunday night.

We arrived early on, around 45 minutes before the opening act was due to take the stage, which meant a fairly good opportunity to people watch from our seats in the back-right of Spark Arena. I mean, if there were any people there; the arena took most of the time from then until Incubus took the stage just after 8.30pm to fill up.

Villainy – the opening act who were playing with Incubus for the second time – took the stage around 7.30pm, launching into a selection of the biggest hits from their first couple of albums, punctuated by a stirring rendition of their brilliant first single, “Alligator Skin”, a song which surely ranks as one of the best hard rock songs out of New Zealand this century.

Their set ended on an odd note after they launched into their brand new song “Tiny Little Island” – a pirate-rock influenced punk track – and tried to get the crowd singing along, despite admitting that it was the first time they were playing the track live, and it had only been released two days earlier. Probably not enough time for your fans to hear it, guys.

After a short break to set up the stage, Incubus took to the near pitch black stage and assumed position with their instruments, launching into a pair of new album tracks – “Glitterbomb” and “Nimble Bastard” – split by “Circles”, from their hit 2001 album Morning View. I was dubious about how the new album tracks would translate, but they actually sounded better live; in fact, I would say the entire band sounded better live, with their songs elevating in the live environment.

From there, the group jumped around their discography a little, starting with “Anna Molly” – a personal favourite from 2006’s Light Grenades – and leading into “Megalomaniac” (from 2004’s A Crow Left Of The Murder), “State Of The Art” (from 8), and their hit single “Pardon Me” (from 1999’s Make Yourself); the crowd caught part of the opening riff as the band were getting ready to start, so the hype for the track built for a few moments until the group launched into it.

“Paper Shoes” (from 2006’s Light Grenades”) and “Pantomime” followed, with the group taking a few moments between each song to get their bearings and set up for the next track, with the stage going to black each time. The unwillingness of singer Brandon Boyd to engage with the crowd between songs meant that the show felt like a series of short performances, as opposed to one continuous, coherent performance.

In fact, the stripped back stage – with the group kind of huddled together in the middle with large swathes of space on either side, just one screen behind them, and a fairly straight-forward lighting rig – combined with the performance style almost made the band feel at arm’s length from the crowd, like the union between artist and audience didn’t really get established. It did play as low-key for the most part, but it would be easy to see how some audience members might feel disappointed.

The group continued on with a string of hits – “Nice To Know You” (from 2001’s Morning View), “Sick Sad Little World” (from 2004’s A Crow Left Of The Murder), “Stellar” (another favourite of mine from 1999’s Make Yourself) and “Talk Shows On Mute” (from 2004’s A Crow Left Of The Murder), which turned into a cover of INXS’ “Need You Tonight” instead of going into its bridge. I have to say, I used to cover “Need You Tonight” in an old cover band, and we didn’t sound as good as these guys.

They closed out the main set with “Vitamin” – sadly, the only track they played from their brilliant 1997 album S.C.I.E.N.C.E. – followed by “Are You In” and “Wish You Were Here”, both from 2001’s Morning View, ending the main set with a few bars of Pink Floyd’s brilliant single “Wish You Were Here”, which had the crowd on their feet and singing at full volume.

After a very short encore comprised of their latest single “No Fun” (from 8) and their biggest single “Drive” (from 1999’s Make Yourself), they were done. A very solid set list which traversed their entire repertoire – though I would personally have liked more from their earlier albums – and a very good night out for one of their biggest fair-weather fans.

Incubus’ latest album, 8, is available now.
Villainy’s new single, “Tiny Little Island”, is out now on your favourite streaming service.

REVIEW Black Panther (2018)

By cphilpott

On February 15, 2018

In Reviews

Fair warning: considerable spoilers follow – read after watching.

As a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I consider Black Panther a triumph, one of the best origin stories the film series has produced, packed with engaging and enjoyable characters, and boasting a story that deftly balances comic-book action and political machinations to create something wholly unique in the MCU.

As a fan of the comic books on which it is based, and particularly the most recent run by Ta-Nehisi Coates, I consider Black Panther a triumph on every level, utilising what I love best about the character – his internal conflict between what is best for his people and what is best for the world, and his shoot-last approach; see more on that below – to bring him to life in a way that very few of the other MCU films have managed.

But most of all, I consider Black Panther a triumph because this is a film that isn’t for me.

Not necessarily, at least. And I feel a little uncomfortable even venturing into the territory of race because of what it means, on all sides. I’m just trying to say that I was proud to go into a theatre, and watch, and love – LOVE – a film that was made to celebrate a man, a people, a race, that does not look like me.

Or to put it another way: this film obviously means much more to people of colour than I could ever understand. Last night, I went into a sold-out movie theatre, packed to the brim with Maori and Pacific Island men, women and children. And they cheered and clapped all the way through the film. They saw themselves on screen, portrayed in a way that people of colour are so rarely shown, celebrating culture in a way that is so rarely shown.

I mean, I’ve never cheered at a white superhero. I guess I’m kind of blaise about them by now.

None of that is to say that I felt discluded or left out. To the contrary. And this is the thing that I notice about films that are truly representative: when you go and see a film that is primarily about white people, they are invariably middle-upper class, and invariably having white people problems. Even characters that are not white are having the same issues. They are reduced to the social norms of the white people in the film.

But you go to a see a film that offers true social representation, that is about an ethnic or racial group that is not white – those films are always about something much more resonant, much more universal.

I don’t know what it is like to be oppressed in the way that black people have been, and are, racially oppressed in the United States, but I can start to understand and I can empathise. I haven’t been forced to persevere through anything like what black people – or, really, any racial group that has suffered through slavery or colonisation – have been through, but I get it. I understand, even if just in the smallest of ways. I can empathise.

It seems a contentious thing to say, but white people do enjoy a position of privilege. And you can’t always see it clearly in today’s society. We’ve deluded ourselves into believing it doesn’t really exist. “I have friends who are Maori, and I work with a Fijian, I’m not better off than them.”

But I’ve nevered cheered for a white superhero simply because one finally exists.

Black Panther is a triumph on so many levels. It is a pitch-perfect adaptation of the comics, particularly the Christopher Priest run on the character from 1998 to 2003. Ryan Coogler gets T’Challa in the same way I do: this is a man who values culture and tradition first, who is a politician before anything else, who approaches violence as a last resort, and who is trying to be a good man – and you really get that in both Coogler’s writing and Chadwick Boseman’s performance. This is a very nuanced character who appears fully-formed on the screen.

T’Challa comes up against an antagonist who is almost as complete as he is. Michael B Jordan takes Erik Killmonger and makes him sympathetic in a way that few Marvel Cinematic Universe villains have managed. Sure, a lot of that is possible because we’re so well versed in how this universe works. But a lot of credit, again, goes to Coogler: the character of Killmonger is complex, but easy to understand, and you kind of start to side with him a litttle bit.

I also have to give a shout-out to the supporting cast, too. Andy Serkis does some great work as Ulysses Klaue – last seen during Avengers: Age Of Ultron – but the real stars here are Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira, who play T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri and the head of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, respectively. These two steal every scene they are in, and I can’t wait to see them explored further in Avengers: Infinity War and beyond.

Oh, and stay till the end of the credits for a well-earned cameo.

All in all, Black Panther is a true success in blockbuster film-making – and, I hope, a financial success that starts to swing the tide in Hollywood. And I can’t wait to see it again.

Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler, from a script by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, and stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis. It is in cinemas now.

REVIEW Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2018)

By cphilpott

On February 11, 2018

In Reviews

Fair warning: considerable spoilers follow – read after watching.

Oh, it was so close. SO CLOSE.

Hypothetically, if Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – hereafter referred to as Three Billboards because f*** typing out the full title every time – hypothetically, if it had ended five minutes earlier, I’d be giving it a straight ten out of ten, telling you that this is the perfect film, and petitioning you that it should win all of the trophies at the forthcoming Academy Awards. All. Of. The. Trophies.

But then Mildred had to invite Dixon along on a trip to Idaho. And Dixon had to pop his gun in the trunk, next to the sandwiches Mildred had packed (because priorities). And the pair had to discuss whether or not they were going to kill a guy who had done something bad, but not the something bad we’d just been talking about for two hours.

And, just like that, I was out.

Look, Three Billboards is still a fantastic movie. McDonagh’s writing is honest and relatable and evocative all in one. It’s kind of like watching real life on screen. McDonagh captures the real in a way that few writers can, digging up small moments of comedy – like Penelope clarifying her employment situation while Charlie has Mildred by the throat – in the most serious and frightening of dramatic moments.

And the performances are phenomenal across the board: Frances McDormand turns in her best performance since Fargo, owning the screen as she explores Mildred and brings her grief to bear on the audience, and Sam Rockwell is a revelation as Dixon, the small town cop with a questionable track record. Kudos to Woody Harrelson, who continues to surprise with his recent flourish of stellar performances.

I’ll be plenty happy for any of them to win acting awards at the Oscars.

I mean, I’ll probably be happy for the film to win, too. And McDonagh for writing or directing. I just felt really annoyed by the ending, to be honest.

Mildred spends the entire film fighting to kick the local police up the butt about the lack of movement in the case of her raped and murdered daughter, first through the three billboards of the title, but later by engaging the police – and the town, as we see in a pair of confrontations with the local priest and dentist – in a battle of wills. And that will comes about because of her grief. Whatever else she might be in Three Billboards, Mildred is a grieving mother. She wants justice for her daughter. And there is something kind of intimate about that.

The ending of the film, however, sees Mildred and Dixon seeking outwhatever justice they can find. It just felt at odds with the version of Mildred we’d been watching up to the point.

Don’t let the ending put you off seeing Three Billboards; this is a 10/10 film for around 95% of its run time. Just be prepared for a vague ending that doesn’t really resolve anything, and you’ll love it.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is written and directed by Martin McDonagh, and stars Frances McDorman, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Lucas Hedges, Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage, Clarke Peters, John Hawkes and Zeljko Ivanek. It is in theatres now.