Okay, so music videos are out, and concert films like "U2, 3-D", "Shine a Light", and "Lou Reed's Berlin", are in. There are actually a lot of pro's and con's to live concerts, the pro's being, 1. The cost. It is definitely a lot cheaper than paying "Ticketmaster" prices, 2. if it is shot in a documentary style, you may see and learn from new and old, never seen before footage and interviews, and 3. you don't have to worry about a tall person standing in front of you. :) The only con I could think of is that you can not stand up and dance. There should be a dance floor in the movie theater, so that if the viewer is so inclined, they can feel free to get up during the movie/concert. It would be kind of like playing tennis or golf on the wii. :-)

"Lou Reed's Berlin", directed by Julian Schnabel, once again stars the female lead actress from "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", Emmanuelle Seigner, who this time around, depicts Caroline, a strung out depressed, "miserable rotten slut, who couldn't turn anyone away", in this imaginative, 81 minute long, depressing, dramatic rockumentary about the throes of a couple in conflict, while Lou Reed, Fernando Saunders, Sharon Jones, and Antony, play themselves. The never performed live coverage of Lou Reed's third solo album from 1973, "Berlin", was finally captured live over five nights, in December, 2006, at St. Ann's Warehouse, located at 38 Water Street in Brooklyn. This concert film is unique, as the album tracks are played in order, there is a nice blend of live stage performances mixed with scenes based on the lyrics depicting Caroline and the tragedy of her daughter being taken away from her. At one point during "The Kids", there is a faint child screaming, crying, "mommy" in the background, while in the stage performances, an older man with his back to the camera dons a light blue coat with the words BERLIN written vertically down the back. Tracks: 1. Berlin, 2. Lady Day, 3. Men of Good Fortune, 4. Caroline Says, 5. How Do You Think It Feels, 6. Oh, Jim, 7. Caroline Says (II), 8. The Kids, 9. The Bed, and 10. Sad Song, and during the rolling credits, 11. Sweet Jane. Sung with the assistance from a Brooklyn children's choir, and funded by "The New York State music fund".

"Men of good fortunes very often can't do a thing, while men of poor beginnings often can do anything." "Men of good fortune often want to die, while men of poor beggings want what they have, and to get it they'll die." "Caroline says I'm just a toy, she wants a man, not just a boy." "Life's meant to be more than this bum trip." "They are taking her children away, because she..." "Miserable rotten slut who couldn't turn anyone away, and I'm the waterboy." "This is the place where she cut her wrists."

Showing at "The Tribeca Film Festival" on Thursday May 1st, at 8:30pm at Pace University, and again on Friday, May 2, at 11:30PM AMC Village VII Theater 5.

Sharon Abella