THIS WEAKEND PLANNER UNDERPERFORMS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Okay folks, right off the bat you should know that your regular Weakend Planner editor Bud Scoppa is currently enjoying a little much-needed R&R in an undisclosed island locale, so this week’s edition isn’t nearly as fancy and decked out as usual, and likewise, you may find that its usual high standard of editorial integrity may have slipped a little. But the truth is, it’s December and no one cares. We’re coasting to the finish line at this point, so do like us and focus on music and sports (and maybe even a little holiday cheer) as a way of numbing your mind and forgetting how screwed up the world is. That and a fifth of Old Crow might buy you a good night’s coma. Anyway, we’ll start with the following live McCartney review from Roy Trakin:

Paul McCartney @Staples Center, L.A.: Sure, it’s a little creepy to look around and see similarly paunchy, balding boomers reliving their youth by mouthing the words to all their old Beatles faves, but it’s also inspiring (if a touch bittersweet) to watch families all singing together, too. Maybe this is as close as we get to a church-like experience in this secular world. And whoever thought we’d be watching what’s left of the Beatles and the Stones, sounding as good as ever, and better in many cases, 40-some odd years after the fact? Macca’s follow-up to 2002-3’s superb “Driving Rain” tour wasn’t quite the heart-pounding, one-hit-after-another, up-on-your-feet revelation that show was. This is a looser, more ambling affair, with Paul playing the sometimes-too-affable host... like the guy who gets up in your living room to play Beatles songs on his acoustic guitar, except this is the guy who sang and wrote ’em in the first place. And say what you will, any concert that begins with “Magical Mystery Tour” and concludes with a medley of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” (“We hope that you enjoyed the show”) into Abbey Road’s “The End” ain’t too shabby.

The set list was lovingly compiled in a nod towards its historical significance, but Paul is humble enough to make it all look as effortless as it sounds. He pulled out the plugged-in acoustic Hofner bass for the Music Man chestnut “Till There Was You,” saying the band played it in order to get bookings in the “swankier cabarets” of the time. “Let Me Roll It” climaxed with what sounded like an extended riff from “Foxy Lady,” while the new “Fine Line” offered the perfect segue after “Got To Get You Into My Life.” Sitting down at the piano, he blew some minds with Revolver’s “For No One” into Sgt. Pepper’s “Fixin’ a Hole,” then perfectly followed with the new veddy British “English Tea.”

McCartney’s band leans into the material like they were discovering these riffs for the first time, with sinewy guitarist Rusty Anderson and robust drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr., more than holding their own. By the time they got to the medley of “Too Many People” into “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” it was the point of no return, with “Good Day Sunshine” leading into “Band on the Run,” “Penny Lane,” “I’ve Got a Feeling” (with band members trading off the Lennon lines), “Back in the USSR,” “Hey Jude” and the pyro-fueled “Live and Let Die.” Not a bad backstretch. Dunno if John Lennon could do better, but then, that’s the sadness overhanging the whole enterprise, that he’ll never be able to try. F**k Mark David Chapman. But then in the end… it doesn’t matter how old or young you are. As I walked out repeating like a mantra the final words that echoed through the hall… “The love you take is equal to the love you make.” —Roy Trakin

CALENDAR
Friday, Dec. 2nd

6:00pm

Avenged Sevenfold w/ Death by Stereo, Bullets and Octane and Saosin @ House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV All Ages

7:00pm

Holiday Nights at The Grove. Looking to get into the Christmas spirit a little early? then head to the Grove, where the shops are lit up, Marvel at the 110-foot white spruce, the largest public Christmas tree in Los Angeles and don’t forget to stay for the snowfall every night at t 7 and 8 until New Years Eve.

7:00pm

Relient K w/ The Click Five @ Carver Concert Hall - Modesto, CA

7:00pm

Against Me! w/ Smoke on Fire and The Epoxies @ Webster Hall - New York, NY

8:00pm

New Rock 97.3 Presents Coheed and Cambria with Rise Against, Motion City Soundtrack @ Bogart’s - Cincinnati, OH - All Ages

8:00pm

Socialburn @ Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville, FL

9:00pm

Rocking Scoundrels @ Club Good Hurt - West Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, Dec. 3rd

1:30pm

UCLA vs. USC on ABC. In the mother of all rivalries, where both teams are having stellar years, this has the makings of a classic, eventhough the spread is 21 points, and I expect this game to be a close and high scoring affair. Can UCLA pull the upset?

3:00pm

LSU vs. Georgia on CBS. LSU is red hot, and they are looking to continue that streak against the bulldogs of Georgia in Baton Rouge.

3:00pm

All Access Magazine.com Presents Rock The Toy Box VI. A Toys For Tots Benefit featuring Carbon 9, ThundHerStruck (All-girl tribute to AC/DC), The Chimpz and many more @ Paladinos - Tarzana, CA. Bring a toy for admission.

6:00-8:00pm

Studio City Holiday Parade on Ventura and Laurel. Held each December, the Studio City Holiday Parade has expanded from humble origins to become one of the best of the smaller parades in the region. The parade features floats, bands and celebrity guests, as well as a multitude of activities for younger visitors, including face painting, pictures with Santa and street performers.

7:30pm

Cavaliers vs. Clippers at Staples Center. The Clippers return home from a short two game road trip in which they had an impressive win over the suddenly surging Timberwolves, then lost a tough overtime game to Cleveland, a game in which they should have won and let slip away. However, this Clippers fan is still proud to have split a tough road trip and to have played as well as they did against a usually dominant Cavs team at home. Now the Clippers will look to revenge that loss by protecting their home court where they open a five game home stand.

7:30pm

Rob Thomas w/ Anna Nalick @ Uptown Theatre - Kansas City, MO

8:00pm

Kanye West w/ Fantasia & Keyshia Cole @ Gibson Ampitheatre - Universal City, CA

Korn @ Myth - Maplewood, MN

KZLA 93.9 Presents 4th Annual Tilden's Christmas Concert featuring Jo Dee Messina @ The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA

9:00pm

Reverend Horton Heat w/ Supersuckers @ The Metro / Smart Bar - Chicago, IL

Sunday, Dec 4th

10:00am

Bengals vs. Steelers on CBS. This is the big match up of the weekend. Pittsburgh, which was beaten on both sides of the ball against the Colts on Monday, will look to get back on the winning track against the red hot, and high scoring Bengals.

1:15pm

Broncos vs. Chiefs on CBS. An AFC showdown between the first place Broncos and the suddenly red hot Chiefs. I think Plummer and Denver’s big winning streak could come to an end.

6:00pm

Masters of Horror Tour featuring Sevendust, Mudvayne, Bobaflex and 10 Years @ Lupo's at the Strand - Providence, RI

7:30pm

Marshall Tucker Band - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA

8:00pm

Depeche Mode w/ The Bravery @ Bell Centre - Montreal, QC

Kings X @ Galaxy Theatre - Santa Ana, CA

JE-C’S NEW MOVIE RUNDOWN

Aeon Flux

Starring: Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, and Pete Postlethwaite

Synopsis: Four hundred years from now, disease has wiped out the majority of Earth's population, save for the residents of Bregna, a city-state protected by a giant wall and ruled by scientists. Aeon Flux is an operative for the Monican Rebellion, an underground group led by the Handler who wants Aeon to kill the government's leader.

Thoughts: I want to see this movie and I am hoping that it is good, but something tells me it’s not going to be. Oh well, at least I will be able to watch Charlize in tight clothing for two hours.