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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2021)
2 THE OPENING ACT DECEMBER 15�22, 2021 STAFF follow us ONLINE www.goeasternoregon.com TWITTER twitter.com/GoEasternOregon FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/ goeasternoregon INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/ goeasternoregon contact us EDITOR Lisa Britton Go! Editor editor@goeasternoregon.com 541-406-5274 Sarah Smith Calendar Coordinator calendar@goeasternoregon.com SUBMIT NEWS Submit your event information by Monday for publication the following week (two weeks in advance is even better!). Go! Magazine is published Wednesdays in the Wallowa County Chieftain and Blue Mountain Eagle. It publishes Thursdays in The Observer, Baker City Herald and East Oregonian. RAISING THE CURTAIN ON THIS WEEK’S ISSUE What we’re into New releases ‘THE SOPRANOS’ ‘BARN’ BY NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE — all-out rockers, contempla- Ever wonder what Neil Young and his longtime band- mates Crazy Horse would sound like in a restored 19th century barn out in the middle of nowhere under a full moon? Wait no longer — “Barn” is here. And for a bunch of rockers in their 70s, “Barn” proves that Young and Crazy Horse can still bring it with power, and more often not, sensitivity. Count them as one of the few rock acts that came of age in the 1960s still making relevant music today. “Barn” has a loose, relaxed feeling that comes with playing with the same bandmates for more than four decades. It’s a well-conceived mix of what Young fans have come to ex- pect from him and Crazy Horse between. I recently rewatched “The Sopranos,” which originally de- buted in 1999. The complicated drama about a mob boss, his family, his shrink and his crew soon became a cultural phenomenon. The show garnered rave reviews from crit- ics, stacks of awards and a ton of media coverage. I loved the show because it took a deep dive into the moral ambiguity of its lead character, Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfi ni), and looked at how charismatic, but deeply fl awed, he was. I especially enjoyed how the storytelling mirrored the random nature of real life. To be sure, had the Sopranos been about a Mob boss who whacked people and hung out at a strip club, it would not have had the impact or cultural signifi - cance that it did. What made the show interesting was the show’s main character, Tony Soprano, a man with an explosive tem- per and an intriguing degree of power trying to hang to a code imbd.com of ethics. Meanwhile, Soprano was battling negativity from a mother who was out to get him and a violent underworld. A prequel movie, dubbed “the Many Saints of Newark,” came out last month on HBO. The movie is set in the 1960s and 1970s in Newark, New Jersey. It follows a violent gang war from the perspectives of Tony Soprano, then a teenager, and his uncle, Dickie Moltisanti. In my opinion, the movie lacked the depth of storytelling and nuance of the series. tive ballads and everything in “Lookin’ through this clear vinyl window/At the city and its lights,” Young sings on the lilting opener “Song of the Sea- sons.” “Masked people walkin’ everywhere/It’s humanity in my sights.” He’s got plenty more in his sights over the 10 tracks on “Barn,” which was recorded last summer in the Rockies. It’s the fi rst record Young has released with Crazy Horse since “Colorado” in 2019 and it comes 42 years after their fi rst record together. Don’t look for a rose- colored view of the past from Young, who has spent his en- tire career moving forward and reinventing himself. — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — STEVEN MITCHELL, REPORTER, BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLE ADVERTISING AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Baker City Herald 541-523-3673 The Observer 541-963-3161 East Oregonian 541-276-2211 Wallowa County Chieftain 541-426-4567 Blue Mountain Eagle 541-575-0710 Hermiston Herald 541-567-6457 Quality Vehicles. Reasonable Prices. 10500 West 1st St., Island City, OR• 541-204-0041 HOMESTEADMOTORSOR.COM
