Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 4, 2014

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 4, 2014

Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown

SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS: 

An Overlooked Album Of The Year


PASSAGE TO JUNEAU: A 
SEA AND ITS MEANINGS 

by Jonathan Raban 
With the same rigorous observation 
(natural and social), invigorating 
stylishness, and encyclopedic 
learning that he brought to his 
National Book Award-winning Bad 
Land, Jonathan Raban conducts 
readers along the Inside Passage 
from Seattle to Juneau. The physical 
distance is 1,000 miles of difficult 
and often treacherous-water, which 
Raban navigates solo in a 35-foot 
sailboat. But Passage to Juneau also 
traverses a gulf of centuries and 
cultures: the immeasurable divide 
between the Northwest’s Indians 
and its first European explorers 
between its embattled fishermen 
and loggers and its pampered new 
class. Along the way, Raban offers 
captivating discourses on art, 
philosophy, and navigation and an 
unsparing narrative of personal loss. 


A SPY AMONG FRIENDS: 
KIM PHILBY AND THE GREAT 
BETRAYAL by Ben Macintyre 

Kim Philby was the greatest spy in 
history, a brilliant and charming 
man who rose to head Britain’s 
counterintelligence against the Soviet 
Union during the height of the Cold 
War, while he was secretly working 
for the enemy. And nobody thought 
he knew Philby like Nicholas Elliott, 
Philby’s best friend and fellow officer 
in MI6. The two men had gone to 
the same schools, belonged to the 
same clubs, grown close through the 
crucible of wartime intelligence work 
and long nights of drink and revelry. 
It was madness for one to think the 
other might be a communist spy, 
bent on subverting Western values 
and the power of the free world. But 
Philby was secretly betraying his 
friend. Every word Elliott breathed 
to Philby was transmitted back 
to Moscow—and not just Elliott’s 
words, for in America, Philby had 
made another powerful friend: James 
Jesus Angleton, the head of CIA 
counterintelligence. Angleton’s and 
Elliott’s unwitting disclosures helped 
Philby sink almost every important 
Anglo-American spy operation 
for twenty years, leading countless 
operatives to their doom. The 
stunning truth of his betrayal would 
have devastating consequences on 
the two men who thought they knew 
him best, and on the intelligence 
services he left crippled in his wake. 
Told with heart-pounding suspense 
and keen psychological insight, and 
based on personal papers and never-
before-seen British intelligence files. 


DR. MUTTER’S MARVELS: A 
TRUE TALE OF INTRIGUE AND 
INNOVATION AT THE DAWN 
OF MODERN MEDICINE by 
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz 
A mesmerizing biography of the 
brilliant and eccentric medical 
innovator who revolutionized 
American surgery and founded the 
country’s most famous museum 
of medical oddities. Imagine 
undergoing an operation without 
anesthesia performed by a surgeon 
who refuses to sterilize his tools-or 
even wash his hands. This was the 
world of medicine when Mutter 
began his trailblazing career as 
a plastic surgeon in Philadelphia 
during the middle of the nineteenth 
century. Although he died at just 
forty-eight, Mutter was an audacious 
medical innovator who pioneered 
the use of ether as anesthesia, the 
sterilization of surgical tools, and a 
compassion-based vision for helping 
the severely deformed. Brilliant, 
outspoken, and brazenly handsome, 
he was flamboyant in every aspect 
of his life. He wore pink silk suits 
to perform surgery, and amassed 
an immense collection of medical 
oddities that would later form 
the basis of Philadelphia’s Mutter 
Museum. Award-winning writer 
Aptowicz vividly chronicles how 
Mutter’s efforts helped establish 
Philadelphia as a global mecca for 
medical innovation-despite intense 
resistance from his numerous rivals. 
The book interweaves an eye-opening 
portrait of 19th century medicine wi 
th the riveting biography of a man 
once described as the “P.T. Barnum of 
the surgery room.” 

By Sean Kayden

 NYC indie pop band, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart have released their third LP, “Days of Abandon,” the follow-up to 2011’s critically successful album, “Belong.” With the group’s first two albums plus one EP record behind them, the band has shifted slightly into a new direction away from their signature sound. Their new chapter explores the likes of more joyful, brighter sounding material while still remaining lyrically dark. They still infuse a 90s alternative rock sound from their adoration of bands during that time. There is this stigma to the band for their wimpy sound, but that should be put to rest. Frontman Kip Berman’s still retains his soft lilt while singing. “Days Of Abandon” consists of ten superb indie-pop tracks that are relatable and evoke so many mixed emotions. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have always written songs drawn from personal experiences as well as emotions. When interviewed about the inspiration behind the new record, Berman was quoted by saying, “recognizing that sometimes the most difficult things to do in life are the most straightforward and the most seemingly simple.” “Days Of Abandon” is the record for anyone simply living life because it captures every moment, noticeable and imperceptible. 

 The record is incredibly beautiful all the way through. For two of the tracks, “Kelly” and “Life After Life,” Jen Goma, from A Sunny Day In Glasgow provides her glossy vocals. Longest track, “Beautiful You” is melancholic but never maudlin. “Coral and Gold” is another one that settles the mood. It offers this sort of yearning sensation. The strong progression the band has made between the three years from their last record is quite evident. “Days Of Abandon” is 
hopefully optimistic through any darkness that may unexpectedly arrive. Each song is impeccably crafted, effortlessly performed, and sharply executed. The combination of 90s alternative rock alongside shoegaze with Berman’s passion and reflective lyrics is brilliantly interconnected together. The final track, “The Asp In My Chest,” is tenderly soft while being an appropriate closing song for a record that hits nearly every emotion. 

 “Days Of Abandon” is filled with love, heart, and longing. It exudes tenderness but also enthusiasm. It’s a confident, rare album that balances the likes of melancholy with merriment. Personally, I find this to be the band’s finest 
record thus far. The craftsmanship parallel with the musicianship appears to be tighter than ever. The record may only be thirty-seven minutes in duration, but repeated listens will be imminent. It’s bold, bright, and a blast from beginning to end. It hits you with highs, with lows and melodies too good to ignore. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart’s latest is simply luminously remarkable. “Days Of Abandon” will hold you over endlessly. It just might become a modern day classic. 
“Days of Abandon” deluxe version was released on September 19, 2014 via Yebo. It includes 5 bonus tracks. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are currently on a nationwide tour. 

 Grade: 9.4 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Simple And Sure,” “Coral and 
Gold,”” Eurydice,”” Until The Sun Explodes”


On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra Madre Playhouse

A THEATER OF ITS COMMUNITY


By Artistic Director, 
Christian Lebano

The Sierra Madre Playhouse 
began its life as a Community 
Theater. Charles Andrese 
had a vision for a theater 
where he and actors from 
the community could put 
on modestly scaled - though 
sometimes surprisingly 
ambitious – plays. And 
that model was successful 
for many years. But as SMP 
grew in ambition, being 
known as a “community 
theater” began to limit its 
potential and in the last 
decade that mantle was 
thrown off for good.

We are now, what I like to call a Theater of its Community. We bring in professional theater artists: 
actors, designers, production members who have worked from Broadway (and won awards there – 
think Mary Lou Rosato (Driving Miss Daisy) who has two Drama Desks to her credit and Lynn Ann 
Leveridge (Our Town) who was nominated for one) to some of the biggest regional theaters in the 
country. But it is important to me that we are still “of” our community. 

 I was very clear with the Board when I was named Artistic Director that honoring our relationship 
to Sierra Madre and the surrounding communities was vital to our success. That is why I am so 
pleased with how three community partners came through for us on our current production of 
4000 Miles. The Friends of the Sierra Madre Library allowed me to raid their stacks so we could 
fill the bookshelves on our set; Centric Bike gave us much technical advice, loaned us a bike with 
panniers, AND allowed us to have our opening night reception in their store; and Christian Boehr 
of Atomic Threshold very generously made our gorgeous set possible by loaning us pieces of vintage 
Scandinavian Modern furniture.

Here’s what Christian Boehr had to say:

“I was thrilled to partner with Christian Lebano and the team at SMP. It’s an honor collaborate 
with such a longstanding theatrical venue in our community. After hearing about the premise of 
the play and the overall intended atmosphere, I knew using Scandinavian furnishings would help 
bring a certain level of authenticity and cohesion to the setting of the production.” He goes on to 
say: “I had the privilege of attending the opening night of 4000 Miles, and the hard work of the cast 
and crew really paid off. The set looks fantastic, the acting is compelling, and the production has an 
enchanting, yet provocative character that’s nicely balanced.”

All of the furniture that Christian loaned us is for sale after the run of the show. Come see it while 
it is basking in the spotlight of this play!

Building these kind of partnerships is so important to me and vital to the health and future of our 
theater. For our next show, A Little House Christmas based on the Little House books by Laura 
Ingalls Wilder, I hope to fill the lobby with local crafts and artisanal items – featuring the shops and 
craftspeople that live in Sierra Madre and the surrounding towns. Declaring again that we are a 
theater of our community.

Please come see what we are up to – and if you know of someone who hasn’t been to our theater 
bring them along. The best support we can get from this community is a sold-out run. I think this 
show deserves it. Come see if I’m right.

To purchase tickets call 626.355.4318 for reservations or go to our website www.sierramadreplayhouse.
org Photo by Gina Long