Walkin' Through Jacobus

It's always great for the mind, body, and soul to find new ground to wander, new paths to tread. (OK, that sounded a little hippie-zen-ish, but it's true).  In the last month or so, Jacobus Park in Wauwatosa (accessible in the area of 62nd and Wells) has become a favorite haunt for me.  I recently went with camera at the ready and snapped some photos of some favorite features.

On 62nd Street, a staircase greets visitors.  There's another staircase down immediately after this one, so it's a good start to a workout

Speaking of staircases, there are many in Jacobus Park, some straight up or down, some winding.

Picnic area/indoor meeting place

Pond beyond the meeting hall

Out of the woods and into the sun

Up the staircase, or to the left?

 

 

 

 

This time, the staircase leads out.  Jacobus Park is a short walk from Wisconsin Avenue or Wells Street, and it might be good to follow the workout with coffee or some breakfast at Alterra on 68th and Wells.

So long for now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kings of Summer, The Way Way Back

In The Way Way Back, Duncan and his family are headed with his mother's boyfriend's family to a beach house. Upon arrival, Duncan discovers that the beach house can be a nightmare, as he doesn't fit in with the kids, and the adults are busy either getting drunk or stoned. His mother's boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) is a constant antagonist, and Duncan's mom (Toni Collette) doesn't seem happy but also doesn't seem too concerned about him. Duncan takes to riding a bike during the day and stumbles upon a waterpark. The park's manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) offers him a job, and at last Duncan has an escape from the beachfront misery

In The Kings of Summer, Joe and Patrick seek escape from their unbearable home situations. Joe's father Frank (Nick Offerman) demeans Joe (and pretty much everyone else). Frank's parents are clingy to the point of suffocating. Joe gets the idea to build a house in the woods, and after initially being skeptical, Patrick joins him, as does an odd kid named Biaggio.

To me, the two films with similar premises offered a similar experience. These are two entertaining but not great films with noteworthy performances. The Way Way Back features Sam Rockwell as Owen, a waterpark manager that befriends Duncan, and the film is much better when Rockwell is on screen than at any other time. The film succeeds in portraying Water Wizz as an oasis for Duncan and his coworkers as a second family, but away from the park, The Way Way Back is nothing out of the ordinary (although Alison Janney does steal some scenes as a loose-lipped neighbor, and Carell plays a convincing jerk, something I've been waiting for after all his nice-guy roles).

The Kings of Summer covers familiar territory as well, and I think Offerman and Moises Arias (Biaggio) steal the show. Offerman's scowl and criticism drive his family away, but he also has some funny moments, and Arias provides the wackiness that an otherwise earnest film needs.

I'd recommend both films. They're not groundbreaking films, but have individual performances worth the price of admission.


　

　

　

　

　

　

Concert Review- John Mayer at Summerfest July 6, 2013

For me, John Mayer's show Saturday night already had a lot of intrigue going in.  I'd never seen Mayer live, didn't know the flow of his show, and was curious to see what he would perform and how he would perform, especially given that this was his first full set since his vocal cord scare sidelined him and nearly prevented him from singing again.  I also wondered about the opening act, Phillip Phillips, as I didn't really like his album but vaguely remembered enjoying his performances on American Idol.

Phillips was much better live than I imagined.  His songs gained new life on stage, from the opening "Get Up Get Down" through the rousing closer "Home", as he and his band added jams to nearly every song.  Phillips interacted nervously with the crowd but performed like a veteran and added some interesting twists (like adding a few verses of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" to one of his songs), so all in all he was much better than I had anticipated.

I'm sure John Mayer had some nerves as well when he stepped on the stage, but he settled in nicely with his large band in front of a virtual display of mountains and sky for "Queen of California" from his latest, Born and Raised.  His voice sounded a little different (some online reading uncovered that he's still, um, waiting on his voice to change as some Botox clears out) to start, but he looked relaxed and eager to go.

After "Waiting On The World To Change", he informed everyone that he was taking us on a trip and needed a little trust from us, which was a nice heads-up that he might be detouring from the hits.  Other than a few well-placed better-known songs ("I Can't Trust Myself with Loving You was jammed out, a rousing Mayer solo led to "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room", and the set closed with "Gravity", also jammed-out), Mayer stuck to Born and Raised, songs off his upcoming Paradise Valley, and a couple of covers ("Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" worked well, but "Free Fallin'" to me was the only bad choice of the night).  To me, it was an unusual approach to take, and might have tripped up a lesser musician, but Mayer and his band made it work, mostly because Born and Raised has a lot of good songs and Paradise Valley definitely sounds promising (I especially liked "Wildfire", which Mayer identified as the first track).  The virtual background added value, especially on "The Age of Worry", where the lyrics were projected on the screen.

Throughout the set, two women in the row in front of us kept leaning over and taking pictures of something or someone a bit far away.  I couldn't tell if they were taking pictures of friends sitting in another section, but it was definitely distracting for a little bit, but word got around that someone thought to be Katy Perry was indeed Katy Perry.  The two ladies left before the encore, which was too bad because  after his first encore song, Mayer went on a lengthly little spiel on how good Perry was to him when he was recovering and dedicated "A Face To Call Home" to her, and just before he did so, Perry walked right in front of our section (with security, of course).

All in all, it was one of the most entertaining shows I've been to.  I didn't hear many of the songs that I wanted to, but it just shows that Mayer is a compelling musician capable of taking any trip he wants to.