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Arts & Entertainment

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 7, 2015

MVNews this week: Page B:3

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, March 7, 2015

SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS:

NIGHT TERRORS OF 1927

Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown

By Sean Kayden

FUTURE CRIMES: EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED, EVERYONE IS VULNERABLE
AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT by Marc Goodman

One of the world’s leading authorities on global security, Marc
Goodman takes readers deep into the digital underground to expose
the alarming ways criminals, corporations, and even countries are
using new and emerging technologies against you—and how this
makes everyone more vulnerable than ever imagined. Technological
advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there
is an ominous flip side: our technology can be turned against us.
Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on families, thieves are
analyzing social media posts to plot home invasions, and stalkers
are exploiting the GPS on smart phones to track their victims’ every
move. We all know today’s criminals can steal identities, drain online
bank accounts, and wipe out computer servers, but that’s just the
beginning.

To date, no computer has been created that could not be hacked—a
sobering fact given our radical dependence on these machines for
everything from our nation’s power grid to air traffic control to
financial services. Yet, as ubiquitous as technology seems today, just
over the horizon is a tidal wave of scientific progress that will leave
our heads spinning. If today’s Internet is the size of a golf ball, tomorrow’s will be the size of
the sun. Welcome to the Internet of Things, a living, breathing, global information grid where
every physical object will be online. But with greater connections come greater risks. Implantable
medical devices such as pacemakers can be hacked to deliver a lethal jolt of electricity and a car’s
brakes can be disabled at high speed from miles away. Meanwhile, 3-D printers can produce AK-
47s, bioterrorists can download the recipe for Spanish flu, and cartels are using fleets of drones to
ferry drugs across borders.

With explosive insights based upon a career in law enforcement and counterterrorism, Marc
Goodman takes readers on a vivid journey through the darkest recesses of the Internet. Reading
like science fiction, but based in science fact, Future Crimes explores how bad actors are primed to
hijack the technologies of tomorrow, including robotics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, virtual
reality, and artificial intelligence. These fields hold the power to create a world of unprecedented
abundance and prosperity. But the technological bedrock upon which we are building our common
future is deeply unstable and, like a house of cards, can come crashing down at any mome.Future
Crimes provides a mind-blowing glimpse into the dark side of technological innovation and the
unintended consequences of our connected world. Goodman offers a way out with clear steps
we must take to survive the progress unfolding before us. Provocative, thrilling, and ultimately
empowering, Future Crimes will serve as an urgent call to action that shows how we can take back
control over our own devices and harness technology’s tremendous power for the betterment of
humanity—before it’s too late.

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up
on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior
leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only
other Indian is the school mascot.Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely
True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with
poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary
adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined
to live.

The duo comprising the
Los Angeles snyth-pop
band, Night Terrors of 1927,
formulate an interesting
pair. Blake Sennett
(guitarist) was a member
of the successful indie rock band Rilo Kiley and The
Elected. Jarrod Gorbel (vocals) was the singer of the
The Honorary Title, an indie rock act in the 2000s.
The two guys met in 2010 through mutual friends
with no intentions in creating a band. About a year
later, they started getting together casually to work
on songs that fell out of their comfort zone. It was
clear that both guys were trying to discover what they
wanted out of music. After being musicians for well
over a decade with other acts, they still weren’t entirely
fulfilled emotionally or artistically. The creative juices
started kicking in and in 2013 they released their first
single, “Watch The World Go Dark,” online under the
mysterious moniker Night Terrors of 1927. With much
potential and praise from numerous publications,
Atlantic Records quickly signed them. They released
their debut EP, Guilty Pleas in November 2013 and
went on tour to support that album. Last September,
they released four-track EP, Anything to Anyone,
which continued their anthem driven ways. Those
songs on the EP carried over to the new 11-track
compilation known as Everything’s Coming Up
Roses. The Night Terrors of 1927 debut LP is bursting
with nostalgia, catharsis, and beauty in so many ways.

“Dust and Bones,” which was found on their 2013
EP opens the record in a familiar way for previous fans.
With Gorbel’s huge, larger-than-life vocals present
and Sennett’s masterful snyth work, “Dust and Bones”
feels just as great it did over a year ago. Brand new song,
“Running in Place,” hits the floor running. It features
Gorbel singing in a slightly darker manner. The song
is packed with oomph and showcases background
harmonies to really kick the chorus into high gear.
Night Terrors of 1927 perform songs like everything
is on the line at all times. There’s so much gusto and
glory found within their material that doesn’t feel like
a retread of other musicians. “Perfect Day” slides in
with a milder tempo, but still keeps the listener’s head
bobbing back and forth. The combination of Gorbel’s
power vocals and Sennett’s glossy guitar contribution
pushes this gem into a whole new category for Night
Terrors of 1927. “When You Were Mine (ft. Tegan
& Sara)” is the band’s gloriously epic single. Gorbel
croons along with Tegan & Sara about the likes of a
relationship on the verge of being lost forever. The
dynamic contrast of the male/female voices works
wonders for this superbly indie-synth jam.

Just when you think you have this band figured
out, they throw you a curve ball with “Novocaine,”
a gentle tune that displays Gorbal’s earnest lyrical
side. “It Would Be An Honor” starts off with rapid
piano keys, which quickly unravel into sounding like
something from The Killers’ Hot Fuss era. Frankly, if
I had to compare Night Terrors of 1927 tone it would
fall in the hybrid of The Killers, M83, and AFI. While
the amalgamation of modern rock with the pinnacle
of 80s pop may be the most accurate depiction.

Three of the final four songs appear on the band’s
previous EP, but they are still arguably the best songs
Night Terrors of 1927 have produced. “Always Be
One” provides the finest chorus of all their songs.
Gorbel’s sings with a significant amount of vitality
and power. Sennett drives the song with dazzling
beats that oscillates in volume. “Shine” brings down
the tempo once again, yet are these guys even capable
of making a false move? Gorbel expresses he “doesn’t
want to be a gambler all his life,” but the gamble he’s
making with this band is perhaps his finest wager
yet. This is easily the freshest sounding band in years
occupying the territory of indie-pop. There appears to
be an abundance of compassion and spirit embedded
within the duo’s music. The labor of their efforts is
clearly shown encompassing an 11-track LP full of
musical layers, relatable lyrics, and a vibe unrivalled
in the genre. The spirited intensity that is established
is worth hearing for any and all individual listeners.

Grade: 8.9 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Dust and Bones,” “It Would Be An
Honor,” “Shine,” “Always Take You Back”

On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

THE NEW NEWS 2015

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano

It has been a few months since I last checked in with
readers of the Mountain Views News. My silence
is a reflection of just how much we’ve had going on
at the Playhouse. From the sold-out success of our
holiday show A Little House Christmas (set to return
to SMP in 2016) to our critical success with A Walk
in the Woods (our second Ovation Recommended
show!) And now SMP’s first Repertory! Einstein
is a Dummy, opening Friday, May 6, is the second
play in our Field Trip Series for local schools which
we began last year with Battledrum and Putting it
Together, opening Friday, May 13, is a gift to our
music-loving patrons which we’ve added to the
season after seeing this talented cast perform the
revue earlier in the year at a different theater.

These two offerings underscore what we are
trying to do here at the Playhouse. They appeal to
two different groups of our patrons – families will be
delighted with Einstein, a charming and fun musical
about a young Albert Einstein negotiating the
vicissitudes of early adolescence while formulating
the groundbreaking theories that would change the
world and Putting it Together, with the rich music of
Stephen Sondheim, will please adults who enjoy the
sophisticated and wry point of view of Sondheim’s
music. These two shows celebrate two American
geniuses (and before I get mail – Einstein became an
American and lived out his life here – who wouldn’t
want to claim him!) who have made profound
changes to their respective fields. I sincerely hope
that the adults who are drawn to Putting it Together
will also come back to hear the inventive songs in
Einstein is a Dummy written by Deborah Wicks
La Puma and Karen Zacarias and that families will
come back – with their children – to hear Sondheim’s
masterful way with songs.

A Repertory is a daunting undertaking involving
so many artists and so much coordination. I am
always struck by how many people it takes to put on
a show and how seriously everyone takes their role
in the process. I remember thinking that I would
love to share with our audiences how amazing it was
at our production meeting for Einstein that there
were fourteen! people discussing all the elements
that would come together in this production from
lighting to sound to our first ever use of video
projections to the set to the costumes to the props
all of which need to be conceived, and built, and
installed, and then work in tandem seamlessly to
support the work that the actors are doing on stage.
Talk about it taking a village…. And then we did it
again for the other show! My thanks to everyone
who worked so tirelessly to make this Repertory a
success, but especially to the two producers who
worked with us on this crazy idea – Amanda Weier
on Einstein and Alison Eliel Kalmus on Putting it
Together – without these two wonderful women
neither show would have succeeded as well as they
have.

As always we do this for you – our SMP family
– whose support and loyalty mean so much to us
and for whom we hope we bring pleasure and joy
and moving experiences in the theater. Please let
me know how you think we are doing. Reach me at
ArtisticDirector@SierraMadrePlayhouse.org

We’d like to hear from you!

What’s on YOUR Mind?