sometimes.... things work out

But, I Wanna by @gwaimak But, I wanna - Mak Gwai ft. @louieduffelbags (Prod. @danger-incorporated) twitter.com/gwaimak http://twitter.com/LouieDuffelbags

"Gwai"

A year of being around By Ben Flanagan Ben Around April 10, 2009 So we have hit column no. 52 here in “Tusk,” and I’ve still got plenty to learn about our unique town that maintains its mysterious aura of sorts as an entertainment destination. I would say mysterious because Tuscaloosa’s identity in that department often sees many changes that never let it categorize itself as “this” kind of town. Think hard, without bursting any brain cells, and locate another college town (or town in general) to which you would compare our own. I certainly cannot claim a well-traveled résumé in terms of towns similar to our own, but I have trouble simply pondering the idea. Has much changed in our small world of entertainment since my occupation here on page four? Perhaps the most significant change we shall soon see will be the rise of the forthcoming amphitheater to be erected just west of the Hugh Thomas Bridge down off of River Road. This essential progression comes with a bit of a bittersweet sentiment, given that most Tuscaloosans will eventually rock out on top of where I played most of my little league baseball games for the YMCA leagues. Although I never had the passion for the game that saw me swinging at and missing curve balls through middle or high school, I never did not look forward to playing on those Y-fields. But to evolve, some dreams must go shattered and torn. So be it. Good things ought to come of it, for the city’s economy at least. For starters, it will create about 100 jobs in the short term and will be paid for by the city’s lodging tax. What kind of musical acts should we expect to see on this stage nestled across the Black Warrior River? It should seat approximately 6,500 people, so that ought to leave it to the imagination in terms of what kinds of acts could potentially fill that many seats. We better do our part in suggesting to the city just who we’d like to see christen that boy come 2010. The spot should serve as Tuscaloosa’s primary locale for major live music acts, finally taking the place of the underused Coleman Coliseum, which housed enough many A-list artists back in the day to make you sick to your stomach. I might have liked to have seen the city at least attempt to utilize the student recreation fields between University Boulevard and Campus Drive, but perhaps the most convenient situations never arose for such talks. Lately, most of our marquee acts have played the Bama Theatre as well as smaller venues like the Jupiter Bar and Grill and Mellow Mushroom, both of which have sufficed to say the least for what artists they are able to host. Still, more can and will be done by the folks in charge whose standards are just as high as yours. Logistics will forever be the main concern in their efforts to book the pickers and singers you want to hear. Fortunately, though, Tuscaloosa has gotten better at it than it was a year ago. But where it remains wounded is within its local music scene, which normally sees its share of seasonal lulls here and there, so there is no need to presume that our current lack of consistency is anything new or something that will remain steady in the coming months. Growth requires patience, and sometimes it is questionable to believe Tuscaloosans have enough of that. Was it patience or impatience that signified our behavior throughout the years following Alabama football from Dennis Franchione’s end to Nick Saban’s emergence? Plowing through four head coaches in five years may indicate a fan base’s impatience, but circumstances reveal just how difficult that process was and has been for the community. But the payoff sure has been sweet lately, hasn’t it? Some figures within Tuscaloosa’s entertainment scene find it necessary to scoff at or shun analogies or anything related to Crimson Tide athletics that could mirror their own situation, but sometimes it helps folks see eye-to-eye. Our patience will pay off, especially with forward-minded thinkers who see the potential for continued greatness in a town that only deserves it. Help them help you. At least for another year. Baak Gwai on Saturday at the Mellow Mushroom: Sons of Roswell and Roof Rabbit (Auburn “punk-grass”) will join my favorite local band in another show at the Mushroom, which seems to best suit Baak Gwai nowadays. I caught them there recently, and there was new and significant material to speak of, including a pair of solid originals that will likely find a regular spot in the rotation. If their catalogue continues to grow like it has, I can’t imagine this band sticking around for much longer, so let’s enjoy it while we can. ’Observe and Report’ at the Cobb Hollywood 16: Seth Rogen has suggested that fairer comparisons to his new mall cop film lie with “Taxi Driver” instead of “Paul Blart,” so don’t get any ideas, all of you moms, dads and babysitters, unless your kid is just extra-mature. Teaming up with director Jody Hill (“The Foot Fist Way,” HBO’s “Eastbound & Down), Rogen ditches only some silliness in favor of much darker and violent territory in this way offbeat comedy about mall security guards hot on the trail of a parking lot flasher. Its red-band trailer hints that this one will polarize and disgust its viewers, in hopes of retaining a likely loyal cult following. ’Monterey Pop’ at the Bama Theatre: Tonight and tomorrow, the Bama Theatre will screen D.A. Pennebaker’s music documentary as part of the “Dinner and a Movie” series with Chuck’s Fish. The film, now a three-disc Criterion Collection release, chronicles the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 that featured early, indicative looks at Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding, as they changed the landscape of rock and roll. As always, folks who dine at Chuck's Fish the evening of the screenings will receive free tickets to attend the movies. If you purchase tickets at the box office, you can bring the ticket stub to Chuck's at a later date and get your meal minus the ticket cost.