I don’t care if the last seven, not to mention, greatest, Beatles albums never were performed in concert, I still enjoy the atmosphere live music builds.  Even if Strawberry Fields Forever was the trippiest pop song ever written, it’s going to have a hard time competing against the relationship that develops between a live audience and the musicians, especially outdoors.

There’s something about the combination of live instruments and fresh air that activates our carnal instincts, just watch any of the Arcade Fire’s shows on YouTube and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  In a live set the crowd is not only able to hear the band but see, touch, and if you’re really lucky, smell and taste them too – that is, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Rockin’ out on the Row

Every now and then Santana Row feels the same way and holds live music sets of their own.  This time around, So Timeless, of Bay Area roots, wins over the crowd with smooth saxophone-laced tracks and crisp vocalized harmonies.

First up is Lionel on alto sax whose puffer jacket and Asics sneakers are a definite homage to 1970’s fashion.  The derby cap and cords let you know that he’s one smooth saxophoner.  To his left is vocalist, Lonnye who layers a zip-up hoodie underneath his leather jacket to give it an even more laidback vibe.  You can never go wrong with all black peices.

On the keys is Ed, and I’m starting to think they coordinated the derby cap look before they took to the stage.  Not to his detriment, the headwear compliments his printed button-up seamlessly.  Playing acoustic bass, Norman brings the cafe-guitar/vocalist-aesthetic to life with the tan-colored blazer (extra points for the fingerless gloves, brotha!).

As twilight turned into nightfall on Santana Row, So Timeless was able to showcase a nice sampling of their body of work that reflects their iconic r&b influences Earth, Wind & Fire; Stevie Wonder and Babyface.  They even used the intimate setting to take requests from the crowd, covering Jill Scott’s “A Long Walk”, inspiring multiple shoppers-turned-audience-members to drop some coin into the guitar case and even pick up a copy of their album.

Special thanks to Jasmine Price for the photos.

photo taken from treehugger.com

2010 is a big year for 40^th anniversaries.  James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were in the Earth’s orbit aboard Apollo 13; Charles Manson, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone; and Midnight Cowboy, True Grit and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice were up for Academy Awards – all while the calendars read 1970.

photo taken from nadge.blogspot.com

That’s all fine and dandy but who really recalls any of it without Google’s helpful hand?  In that time span the helm of Star Trek’s Enterprise has been captained by William Shatner and Chris Pine’s Kirk, the airwaves rocked to the sound of David Bowie and Adam Lambert and the silver screen projected Sigourney Weaver as alien hunter in Ridley Scott’s Alien and alien philanthropist in James Cameron’s Avatar (and that’s just the highlight reel boys and girls!).

photo taken from eonline.com

With grand étonnement Earth Day hasn’t been forgotten despite all of the progress from the past 40 years, but why is it such an important holiday? 

Money does grow on trees.

From a fashion industry standpoint the word ‘trend’ describes a seasonal take on clothing that will pass as quickly as it came.  For the rest of the economy, green is a trend that hopefully is more of a shift than last year’s houndstooth blazer.

Eco-friendly is wallet-friendly.  You see it in the cars we drive (gas saved), the buildings we populate (heating and cooling) and the clothes we wear (recycled fashion, anyone?).  The first two may be obvious polluters but the fashion industry puts its fair share of emissions into the ecosystem.  It’s only natural that this segment gets its due from the green fairy.  Just look to GreenShows Eco-fashion Week hosted by New York Fashion Week and San Jose State’s Trashion Fashion Show.

With regulations on air and water pollution the United States has come a long way since the smokestack days of the ’70s.  Gaylord Nelson, former U.S. senator and San Jose State alum had something going, now let’s carry it into the next forty years.

Business or Pleasure, not both

The way I see it, laptops and sandy beaches are like tighty-whities and black socks (not that they always need to match).  Name one cocktail or tropical libation inspired by the guy who answers emails beneath palm trees and tucks his Tommy Bahama into his Dockers.  There are people who think working while on vacation is productive; to me it’s a half-hearted attempt at either one.

With that said, I did attend Silicon Valley’s 20th celebration of Cinequest Film Festival, originally with the intention of photographing Silicon Valley’s chic, but opted instead to sit back and enjoy the show.  Well, five shows – but whose counting really? 

Fashion in Film

Staying true to the feeling of this website I can’t write this post without some mention of fashion, my heart just won’t let me.  So I’ll be pointing out characters and their individual styles while discussing Cinequest. 

The Greatest, produced by Pierce Brosnan who also appears in the film opposite Susan Sarandon and Carey Mulligan, was by far the most star-studded of the five films. 

Mulligan plays Rose, a high school senior who, on the last day of school, finally speaks to her crush Bennett (Aaron Johnson) after four years of passing each other in the halls.  Their romance is cut short by a lethal car accident that leaves Rose the surviving member of the couple.

Bennett’s parents (Brosnan and Sarandon) are still in a state of disbelief when Rose appears on their doorstep revealing that she is carrying their late son’s child.  The film’s deep characters drive the story and explore the different faces of grief.

Brosnan plays Allen, a university professor who definitely dresses the part.  In a scene where he takes Rose and the rest of his family to their beach house, Allen sheds all traces of academia.  A navy blue poplin shirt and khaki club shorts tell everyone around him that he won’t be available for office hours.  The look is definitely a nod to the reemergence of Americana in fashion.

Upperdog is a Norwegian film that traces the life of twins separated by adoption. Axel lives a very posh existence with his adopted, upper-class family.  After he is betrayed by his girlfriend with his best friend, Axel sinks into a depression. 

The importance of appearance among the wealthy lead Axel into a ritual of crisp, white shirts and pressed, black slacks.  It’s a veneer that hints not only to his depression but the sterile environment in which he was raised.

Let’s fast forward to our fifth film, The Orange Girl.  Aside from being one of my favorites, this Norwegian tale of life and love received its own reprise on the final day of Cinequest.  Now, it’s Cinequest tradition to bring back a number of audience favorites (decided by ballot) for closing night and The Orange Girl made the cut, bravo!

Our hero, Jan, and his son Georg both fall in love with girls by chance meetings, albeit one generation apart.  For Jan he discovers his muse on the train ride to work carrying a basket of oranges and wearing a bright red trench.  The coat becomes a symbol that haunts him as he mistakes her for every woman who boards the train. For Georg, who develops the plot by reading his fathers letters of the orange girl, finds an orange girl of his own while on a cross country ski trip.

The film flashes back from Jan as a young man to Georg in the present day, paralleling each other’s journey of infatuation.  It’s a great opportunity to see Jan impeccably dressed in Nordic knit sweaters and business suits.  (I love how classic staples in menswear always keep a man in style no matter how far back the picture was taken.)

Now as a post script and to give this entry some visuals, we’re spotlighting Cerina.  She is a makeup artist whose work can be seen in such indie flicks as Glory Boy Days, Liquor Store Cactus, All About Dad (featured in Cinequest 2009 and Pacific Rim Film Fest) and she’s also worked with us here at Helium!

I love her punk rock, rockabilly motif and she rocks that beach cruiser almost like an accessory.  Way to be Cerina!

So to wrap up this Pentateuch of a blog post I’d like to tip my hat to all those involved with Cinequest, especially the volunteers.  You could tell everyone loved films and really helped make the event run smoothly.  Lines stretched to the end of the block at the California screening of Outsourced and by the time I locked up my bike and turned the corner every one of those people was in their seats.

The venues were amazing, specifically the California Theater with its handsome lobby furnished with touch screens gave filmgoers an interactive Cinequest experience.  Volunteers at this venue were especially accommodating to a nosy blogger poking his head into every corner.

And enough can’t be said about the films chosen for the festival.  I wholeheartedly believe that if I had a movie lovers pass as they call them, there would be not a one that I had a negative opinion about.

Once again thank you Cinequest for bringing so many mavericks together in one place and for instilling that spirit into Silicon Valley.  We’ll be looking forward to having you back next year.

***All photos taken from Cinequest website except the last

Tramping through San Jose’s splashy sidewalks will lead to the countless restaurants and cafes lining its rain drenched streets with this poster on display.  It’s a badge indicating the establishment’s endorsement of the city’s premiere film festival, this year being its 20^th installment.

Representing Silicon Valley’s progressive state of being, Cinequest is one of the first film festivals to embrace digital technology within the film industry.  Its founders see it as a channel that empowers mavericks, who, in their words, act as a catalyst of dynamic change in a cookie cutter world.

Soiree Shutterbugs

This two week event (Feb. 23 – Mar. 7) draws a diverse crowd to the downtown area including film makers from 44 countries.  Helium Radar is going to take full advantage, cameras drawn, ready to snap any of the action, and of course fashion, that cross our lines of sight.

Aside from the top-notch films showing at the California Theater and the downtown Camera Cinemas, there will be plenty of bars and restaurants taking part in the action you may be interested in.  Check the Cinequest site for details.

The Super Bowl is an American holiday bigger than Flag Day and, in beer cans and hot wings consumed, rivals any Independence Day celebration.  You’d be hard pressed to find an art gallery open on this holy day, let alone people in them, but just like the corner store that hasn’t sold out of ice and bean dip for the big game – they are out there.

This one in particular, on the UC Berkeley campus featured photographer Ari Marcopoulos, entitled Within Arm’s Reach.  Kick starting his career assisting Andy Warhol, Marcopoulos has a keen eye for what’s hip, focusing his lens on snowboarders, musicians and anything that youth has fixed itself upon.  

Source: hamburgereyes.com

Source: lat34.com

Source: reserveresult.com

Within Arm’s Reach is generating plenty of buzz within the hypebeast community (see Huf SF and others).  It goes without saying that his work has seen much commercial success with companies like Burton, Capitol Records, Prada Sport and Hugo Boss.

So back to my Super Bowl Sunday excursion; I’ve been looking forward to this show even before the Saints had a chance but because of a tight schedule, peppered with the lingering feeling of procrastination that comes with a long winter break, I had to pay a visit on closing day. 

Luckily, Helium Radar, out of the shotgun formation and with the final seconds ticking away – throws up the hail mary pass for the end zone completion (for the football-challenged, that means I got my butt out of bed early Sunday morning and over to Berkeley before they slammed the doors in my face and took down the gallery).

Just like the ice and bean dip, this is who I ran into at Within Arm’s Reach.

Meet Carmela, there’s something easygoing about her outfit that shows she doesn’t mind you taking her picture while she lounges on the Chuck E. Cheese furniture.  The abstract floral print is just what you need when Spring peeks in through the rain clouds(and has been spotted up and down runways, of late).

Jenna, giving her friend Carmela some company, keeps a Sunday afternoon vibe about her with yoga pants and a print hoody.  Her understated look plays up the details in her clutch, which I was instantly attracted to.  These ladies were definitely thinking springtime when they stepped outside.

Here’s Sergio.  I ran into him in the DVD section at Rasputin;  not exactly at the gallery but in Berkeley nonetheless.  I’m digging the sunglasses and leather jacket combo, hey – it worked for James Dean.  He puts his own twist on the classic combination with an updated cut on the jacket and trendy frames.  Well done, Serg!

To send you guys off, I’ll leave you with the pics I was able to snap before the beefy security guard told me to cease and desist.