Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 27, 2015

Mountain Views News Saturday June 27, 2015 
B2 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT B2 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 
SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown 

REVIEWS: 

SAINT MAZIE: A NOVEL 

By Sean Kayden 

ALBUMS WORTH CHECKING OUT FROM THIS WEEK 


Motopony – “Welcome 
You” - Seattle based groupMotopony released their

sophomore LP, “Welcome You” via eOne Music /
Fast Plastic on June 23rd. The record is the follow 
up to Motopony’s 2011 self-
titled debut LP. “Welcome 
You” is the outcome of the 
previous four years of shape-
shifting, rigorous songwriting,
transforming, and revitalizing.
While Motopony was formedin 2009 with songwriter DanielBlue, co-producer Buddy Ross,
drummer Forrest Mauvais, 
and guitarist Brantley Cady.
Shortly after the band’s 
formation and the release of 
2011 S/T record, they addedguitarist Mike Notter to tourin support of the record. Thegroup didn’t have too manyupdates throughout the 
years, but in early 2014, theyadded new members Andrew 
Butler, Nate Daley (in placeof Buddy Ross), and TerryMattson (in place of BrantleyCady). Motopony switched 
record homes and in late 2014 
released the EP, “Idle Beauty,” 
the band’s first new music in 
over three years at the time.
While not one of those songsappears on this new LP, it wasstill a welcoming release toknow the Washington sextet 
was still making good music.
Now in 2015, the productknown as “Welcome You” is an indie-pop folkalbum with sweeping psychedelic vibes that mergecollectively to generate an invigorating, honest, andconvivial echo. There’s a certain style, a charismaticapproach to Blue’s singing abilities. It’s upliftingbecause his delivery and tone is uncommon in thisrealm of indie folk. This gleaming piece of workis an example of Motopony finding fortitude in 

redefining their unique style without compromisingany of their artistic expressions. 

Bully – “Feels Like” - In the awakening of ‘90s alt-

rock revivalists, Bully has emerged with the mostvigorous sound from the longlist of their peers. The secretto their early buzz and successis Alicia Bognanno. The 
singer/songwriter/guitaristmasterminded her band’s 
debut record, Feels Like— 
an assortment of fuzzed out 
tracks that percolate in themind long after first listen.
The wide-ranging sound 
shaped by Bognanno, StewartCopeland, Clayton Parker, 
and Reece Lazarus feels like 
an integration of Nirvana andHole, but this is certainly nota retread by any measures.
“Feels Like” benefits vastlyfrom the brisk pacing as wellas the razor sharp guitars,
thunderous drums, and 
Bognanno’s edgy attitude. Thesinger/songwriter’s charactergives off a no care image, butshe can back it all up withmuch pizzazz. The Nashvillefoursome’s major label debutwith Columbia Records is a 
compactly produced effort 
that whizzes by before youcan even catch your breath.
Nonetheless that’s all partof the exhilaration you’llexperience here as Bully bursts

through gates with a completely untamed record.

The time consumed with Bully is way too short-

lived, but inadvertently feels naturally complete.

From simplicity to density and ferociousness to

effervescence, Bully journeys to the 90s, but ends up

coming back with something quite beguiling—or a

the very least something that sticks with the listener

beyond the first listen. 

On the Marquee: 
Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse 
WHO WE’VE BEEN…AND WHO WE’LL BE 


by Jami Attenberg 

Meet Mazie Phillips: big-hearted and bawdy, she’s thetruth-telling proprietress of The Venice, the famedNew York City movie theater. It’s the Jazz Age, withromance and booze aplenty--even when Prohibitionkicks in--and Mazie never turns down a night on thetown. But her high spirits mask a childhood rootedin poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holdsher dearest secrets.When the Great Depressionhits, Mazie’s life is on the brink of transformation. 
Addicts and bums roam the Bowery; homelessnessis rampant. If Mazie won’t help them, then who?
When she opens the doors of The Venice to those inneed, this ticket taking, fun-time girl becomes thebeating heart of the Lower East Side, and in definingone neighborhood helps define the city.Then, morethan ninety years after Mazie began her diary, it’sdiscovered by a documentarian in search of a goodstory. Who was Mazie Phillips, really? A chorus ofvoices from the past and present fill in some of themysterious blanks of her adventurous life.Inspiredby the life of a woman who was profiled in JosephMitchell’s classic Up in the Old Hotel, Saint Mazieis infused with Jami Attenberg’s signature wit, 
bravery, and heart. Mazie’s rise to “sainthood”-
and her irrepressible spirit--is unforgettable. 
Assembling California by John McPhee 
At various times in a span of fifteen years, JohnMcPhee made geological field surveys in thecompany of Eldridge Moores, a tectonicist at theUniversity of California at Davis. The result of thesetrips is Assembling California, a cross-section inhuman and geologic time, from Donner Pass in theSierra Nevada through the golden foothills of theMother Lode and across the Great Central Valleyto the wine country of the Coast Ranges, the rockof San Francisco, and the San Andreas family offaults. The two disparate time scales occasionallyintersect—in the gold disruptions of the nineteenthcentury no less than in the earthquakes of thetwentieth—and always with relevance to a newlyunderstood geologic history in which half a dozenlarge and separate pieces of country are seen tohave drifted in from far and near to coalesce as 
California. McPhee and Moores also journeyed toremote mountains of Arizona and to Cyprus andnorthern Greece, where rock of the deep-ocean floorhas been transported into continental settings, as ithas in California. Global in scope and a delight toread, Assembling California is a sweeping narrativeof maps in motion, of evolving and dissolving lands. 

SEVENEVES: A Novel by Neal Stephenson 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling authorof Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comesan exciting and thought-provoking science fictionepic,a grand story of annihilation and survivalspanning five thousand years.A catastrophic eventrenders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverishrace against the inevitable, nations around the 
globe band together to devise an ambitious planto ensure the survival of humanity far beyond ouratmosphere, in outer space.But the complexitiesand unpredictability of human nature coupled withunforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the 
intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivorsremain . . .Five thousand years later, their progeny—
seven distinct races now three billion strong—
embark on yet another audacious journey into theunknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformedby cataclysm and time: Earth.A writer of dazzlinggenius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephensoncombines science, philosophy, technology,
psychology, and literature in a magnificent work ofspeculative fiction that offers a portrait of a futurethat is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable.
As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the BaroqueCycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some ofour biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in abreathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, andaltogether brilliant. 

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano 

The Playhouse has been a fixture on the 
Boulevard since 1923. It was built as a theater 
and a vaudeville before evolving into the 
special Playhouse that we now have. I’ve heard 
from many patrons that this is the theater in 
which they had their first movie experience. 
And I love that this same building is one in 
which many young people are having their first 
theatrical experience in our Field Trip Series of 
plays for school youth. 

Unbelievably, the accompanying picture is the 
only one we have of the Playhouse in its movie 
house incarnation. We would love to have 
more. We are planning a major renovation of 
our website and I hope to have a section on the 
history of the building since 1923 – I would 
also like to feature the pictures in our lobby. 
We have had some encouraging support from 
Maggie Ellis and Laura Ziff of the Sierra Madre 
Historical Preservation Society who have 
told us that they have some leads to images.
Please, if any of you have any photos of the 
building in your albums and would be willing 
to share copies of them with us, we would be 
so very grateful. 

The marquee has been such a prominent 
feature of the Boulevard for so long that I am 
sure that it figures in many a picture. We would 


also like to collect stories and photos from the 
early days of the theater – both in its movie 
house incarnation and as the Playhouse. I’m 
sure there are even readers who worked here as 
kids – in concessions or as ticket takers. 

The photo below is of Olivia DeHaviland in 
our box office circa 1950. 

As we look forward to the 100th anniversary 
of the building in 1923, it is important to 
collect documentation of our past. We are in 
the beginning stages of planning a yearly gala 
fundraising event which lead up to a special 
year-long celebration of our centenary and it 
would be great to connect with anyone who 
has stories or pictures that we can collect. 
Please contact me at ArtisticDirector@ 
SierraMadrePlayhouse.org to arrange a time to 
talk or to make a copy of your picture. 

. . . 

By the time you read this The Odd Couple 
may have closed. I know that we are sold out 
for Friday night and Saturday matinee but as 
of right now we still have tickets for Saturday 
night’s closing performance. If you haven’t 
seen it yet, this is your last chance! It has been a 
delight to have this cast and crew with us these 

last months. Always 
sad to say goodbye, 
but we’ve made some 
good friends amongst 
this company and I’m 
sure you’ll be seeing 
these wonderful actors 
in other shows at the 
Playhouse. 

Always…Patsy Cline is 
now in rehearsal and 
I can tell it is going to 
be fantastic. Tickets 
are selling well for this 
one already – don’t 
miss out, buy yours 
now! The show opens 
July 31. Remember we 
give 20% discounts for 
groups of 10 or more 
who purchase their 
tickets ahead of their 
attendance date. Please 
call Mary Baville at 
626.355.4318 to arrange 
your purchase. 


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