Treme : Do You Know What It Means.

Review

Treme, created by David Simon, the creator of The Wire, follows the lives of a group of artists and musicians three months after Hurricane Katrina hit new Orleans. Similar to The Wire, Treme is the kind of show with multiple intertwined storylines carried by a great ensemble cast. Every character is related to each other either directly or indirectly in some way or another.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. You have Batiste (Wendell Pierce) the struggling artist that has not met a taxi cab he hasn’t conned into paying less than he owes. He is divorced but still in good terms with Ladonna Batiste (Khandi Alexander), who is working with a local civil rights attorney, Toni Bernette (Melissa Leo) to try and find her brother who disappeared after Katrina. Toni happens to be married to Creighton (John Goodman), an expert on local history, who is also trying to speak to the media to vocalize the fundamental issues with the whole Katrina issue.
See what I mean. Four characters, Four Storylines, all linked together in beautifully scripted and acted moments. Just sheer brilliance. I love every single one of these stories as they are told with a very authentic and captivating tone that has become the staple of David Simon shows.
In addition, to the fantastic stories, you just can’t help but fall in love with the main character of the show which is ultimately the music. From the soulful new orleans second line parade that starts the episode until the final funeral procession that ends it, music is constantly present throughout the episode and it just makes the show that much better. You can’t help bobbing your head when listening to it and it makes you feel for the city and the people that much more.
All and all, Treme is a show that you cannot miss. It has it all: An authentic and powerful story, fascinating characters you can relate to and entrancing music you can’t help loving.

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Treme: Meet de Boys On The Battlefront.

Review

The allure of a David Simon series lies in the eventual payoff of what can take perhaps half a season to set up. It looks as though Treme will follow that pattern, as its second episode expanded on the lives of a handful of characters, moving them deliberately from one phase of their new lives to the next.

On the surface, it seems like little actually happened this week; most situations resolved themselves without incident (Albert Lambreaux's violent outburst aside) or not at all. Looking deeper, though, this episode set up several key points that we'll almost certainly refer back to later in the season -- the exposure of Albert's and Antoine Batiste's major character flaws, Creighton Burnette's growing frustration with government response to Katrina, Janette Desautel's mounting financial troubles.

We're beginning to learn that these are people who do for themselves, asking favors only as a very last and reluctant resort. The most literal example of this was Albert who, we're learning, is somewhat of a Big Deal in New Orleans. His tools were stolen before he could start work on a rich client's water-damaged home, only to have them returned by the fence who bought them. It takes more than a respected reputation to have that influence -- you've got to be able to frighten the hell out of people. And we saw why, as Albert tracked down the thief by himself and basically kicked the crap out of him. Albert clearly has enough pent-up rage to make him capable of doing some serious damage, but it's also likely that his vigilante-style methods of exacting revenge are going to backfire on him sooner rather than later.

Antoine's fondness for the strange became apparent this week -- no sooner was he getting busted by his ex-wife LaDonna for having kids by at least three women (that we know of) than he was making eyes at a stripper while playing a gig. Also: live jazz music at a strip club? It's easy to see why people love New Orleans. I'm enjoying the cracking chemistry between Antoine and LaDonna during the few brief exchanges they've had so far, but finding it tough to become invested in the search for her missing brother, Daymo -- though that can be chalked up to the fact that we haven't met him yet or learned anything concrete about his whereabouts. Let's hope this storyline will eventually lead us further into the problematic workings of the OPP (which stands for Orleans Parish Prison and not, as Naughty By Nature taught us, Other People's Property). The rest of what we saw this episode traced over lines drawn by the pilot. Davis couldn't resist going his own way, getting fired first from WWOZ and then from his new gig as a front desk clerk at a Bourbon St. hotel. Meanwhile, Janette's problems felt more germane to New Orleans's uniquely bizarre situation: while business is booming at the restaurant, but she literally can't afford to hire a staff until she gets insurance money that might be months in coming. Her problems are the perfect metaphor for a city that desperately wants to make itself right again but lacks the basic tools for doing so.

Lastly, we met two new characters this week -- Sonny (Michiel Huisman) and Annie (classical violinist Lucia Micarelli), street musicians who hooked up following the hurricane and have forged an uneasy alliance in the name of making money. And with that, it's safe to say we've met enough series regulars to last us for awhile. Okay, writers, you've got plenty to play with. Go play.

It would be unfair not to mention that music itself plays a vital role in Treme, and is really a character in and of itself, embellished by appearances by music all-stars like Elvis Costello. For me the standout performances this week included a solo performance of "Walking with the Spirit" by New Orleans native Coco Robicheaux, Sonny and Annie letting loose on blues standard "Careless Love," and a wonderful toe-tapping rendition of "Blackbird Special." Winner: Robicheaux, because no other character capped their performance with the slaughter of a rooster on live radio.

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Treme - Right Place , Wrong Time.

Review

Treme, Episode 3, “Right Place, Wrong Time.” Story by David Mills and David Simon, teleplay by David Mills, directed by Ernest Dickerson
Episode 3 of Treme, “Right Place, Wrong Time.” Was all about transitions, further character development and was also the first episode penned by  late co-executive producer and head writer of the series, the brilliant David Mills.

The episode opens with Antoine having sex with a waitress from the Bourbon street strip club he’s been recently playing at. These kinds of shenanigans are causing Antoine all kinds of problems on the home front, because his current squeeze, Destree, is suspicious that he’s screwing around. Things don’t get much better for Antoine as the episode progresses when he finds out he’s been left out of a benefit gig at Lincoln center and he decides to get drunk to sooth the apparent slight and accidentally bumps into an NOPD cruiser. The cops take offense, beat the shit out of him and arrest him.
Davis is also arrested by the National Guard for drinking in front of his house and volunteers to pay his legal fees to Toni by providing her daughter with piano lessons. Davis also begins more or less stalking a woman he believes is a stripper who is living in his neighborhood. The woman gets him so worked up that he decides to take Janette out with the earnings from his brief stint at the Inn on Bourbon.
Ladonna continues the search for her brother and attempts to reach out to her brother-in-law, who is civil judge, only to be blown off despite his promises that he’ll try to help.
Sonny and Annie (who were introduced briefly in a poignant scene in episode 2) two street musicians begin to take on a larger roll in the series. Sonny scrapes together enough cash to buy Annie a decent bottle of wine for her birthday, only to have their celebration postponed when pianist Tom Mcdermott invites her to play alongside him at a private party. Sonny tags along and spends the evening regaling party guests with stories when he was drifting around the city on a row boat during the flood helping recover both the living and the dead. Later, after many drinks, Sonny abandons Annie at the party, either because he’s angry that Annie is a far more talented musician than he is or that he has to share her with the rest of the world, and returns to their apartment to drink the bottle of wine on his own.
Of course, the biggest scenes of the episode are reserved for Albert, who goes in search of one of his band mates in a devastated house in the ninth ward only to discover his rotting corpse trapped beneath a mired rowboat. A wake is quickly assembled and interrupted when a hurricane Katrina tour bus pulls alongside the mourners so disaster tourists can snap a few pictures.
Anger is palatable in episode three, where it seems every grievance of the characters is brought fully to light. I’m fascinated by Sonny (Michael Huisman) and his love/hate relationship with Annie (Lucia Micarelli) and I’m looking forward to seeing how their relationship progresses. Episode three was strong, but as I mentioned at the beginning of the review, the episode mostly bridged story arcs and while the writing and performances were strong, wasn’t exactly essential viewing as a whole. Still worth watching, but in the terms of the entire series, the viewer could easily miss episode 3 without feeling they’d missed anything vital to the storyline

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Treme - At The Foot of Canal Street.

Review

Antoine perfectly captures the theme of tonight's 'Treme' episode (and, OK, the entire series so far) when he sings the line "I have roamed this whole wide world over, but New Orleans is still my home" while waiting at the E.R. It's the first post-Katrina Christmastime in New Orleans, and everyone is far from jolly: Albert is denied his insurance claim; Davis's car gets busted into; Creighton gives the entire country a "F--k you"; Ladonna still doesn't know where her brother is; and Janette is screwed by the utility company.

What was most compelling about tonight's story was the three men -- Delmond, Sonny, and Antoine -- who find themselves away from New Orleans for very different reasons. While Delmond lives it up in New York City with his girlfriend Jill (how funny that both he and his father were chatting up ladies in this episode) and has no intention of returning home, Antoine, the native son, and Sonny, the Amsterdam expat, are desperate to make a living in the city they call home but venture to Baton Rouge and Houston, respectively.

Delmond is clearly Antoine's foil, with Sonny the foreigner hoping for New Orleans cred. Antoine is so tied to New Orleans it takes a lot of convincing for him to visit his boys (and get his teeth treated by his ex's decent second husband). His entire stay in Baton Rouge was awkward, and the scenes with his chain-restaurant-loving kids incredibly bittersweet ("Can't you bring our sister to meet us?").

Whereas Antoine wants only to play authentic New Orleans jazz, Delmond seems almost offended when his agent (Jim True-Frost, formerly 'Prez' on 'The Wire') proposes a New Orleans-themed concert tour. Then there's Sonny, who sums up his devotion to New Orleans when he tells the curious "Texican" bouncer: "I came all the way from Europe, and you can't even drive five hours of interstate?" I hope we'll see the compelling "little" bouncer again.

Music-wise, tonight spotlighted John Boutté (who sings the theme song) playing 'At the Foot of Canal Street' and to Steve Earle (another 'Wire' alum who played Bubbles' NA sponsor and sang the final season's theme) and his son Townes Earle, who play with Annie. There's also a bunch of New York glitterati and musicians at the posh party Delmond and Jill attend (Stanley Crouch, Renee Neufville, and McCoy Tyner).

Speaking of musicians, Lucia Micarelli (Annie) is an amazing violinist. She's not going to win any awards for her acting, but the screenwriters don't make her do any heavy lifting; she says a few lines and then goes back to the "fiddle." The classically trained Micarelli plays with passion and sensuality that contrasts nicely with all the male musicians highlighted on the show. Where are the female New Orleans musicians? Surely there must be some worth featuring.

How fantastic was Creighton's epic YouTube rant? You could just see the wheels spinning as he's watching President Bush's message. All those F-bombs directed at what he deemed lesser cities (Chicago, that "overpriced cesspool with hills" San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta and even New York) were brilliantly delivered. Didn't Creigh seem pleased with his comped latte.But what really warmed this viewer's heart is how Davis got Creighton to agree to schlep him back to his car and then home to the Treme. Keeping fingers crossed those two become friends and have some unforgettable, obscenity-laced dialogue.

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Treme: Sham, Shame, Shame.

Review
Finally, things are looking up for Janette (Kim Dickens), whose restaurant got an impromptu visit from four of New York's top chefs (pictured, from left to right: Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, Wylie Dufresne, and David Chang). Not a foodie? No matter, the fact that they liked Janette and Jacques' food (as the Valley Girlish waitress confirmed) is a huge win, especially after last episode's depressing restaurant closure.

Antoine Baptiste (the amazing Wendell Pierce) is slowly emerging as the character with the most screen time, and this episode was no exception, although I much preferred the other storylines, for once. Khandi Alexander continues to impress as LaDonna, who is a woman who knows when to be tough (with the deadbeat contractor) but is also quite vulnerable (dreaming of and searching for her brother Daymo).

Creighton's ongoing love affair with YouTube yielded another memorable tirade (against President Bush), but this one wasn't quite as quotable as the "F--k you, you f--king f--ks!" from last episode. Could anything possibly top that?

Fess up, friends, how many of you had to turn on the closed captioning for the extensive jazz dialogue between Antoine and his Japanese patron? Even with the subtitles, I found most of the conversation a bit too "Inside Baseball" except when they disagreed at the music shop and Antoine unleashed his certainty about Honoré Dutrey being the slide-trombonist in the photo.
My wish to see more of the "compelling little bouncer" was granted, and I loved the intensity of his gaze and the chemistry between him and Annie. The moment he swiftly ushered Annie to safety during the second-line shooting, I knew Sonny was going to feel threatened and show him the door. Annie's the best thing in Sonny's life, and he's obviously a jealous boyfriend. I'm not a huge Sonny fan (although the actor Michael Huisman is doing a fine job), and I wouldn't mind a love triangle there.

For the sake of full disclosure, let me come clean about my life-long adoration of character-actor David Morse (Lt. Colson). He can basically do no wrong in my book, from his days as sensitive doctor in 'St, Elsewhere,' to his George Washington in 'John Adams.' A "That Guy" if ever there was one, his conversations with Toni provide much-needed perspective on how FUBAR the crime situation is in post-Katrina New Orleans.
The confrontation between Davis and the angry bar patron was soul-crushing. Poor Davis got sucker punched! Just because he's a long-time resident of the Treme, doesn't mean Davis can say the N-word without repercussions. It was poignant to see him interact again with his neighbors, because Davis sadly realized that to those who don't know him, he's just as much a "white boy" outsider as the gentrifying preservationists.

Speaking of Davis, Zahn was hilarious in that campaign-song jam -- "Shame, shame, shame on you, now Dubya." Was the song too partisan for conservative viewers? My husband insists this show wouldn't appeal to conservative viewers, and not just because of all the Bush-bashing, but I say good TV is good TV. Feel free to chime in, fellow Treme followers.



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