Rant and Rave Live!

The Rickie Lee Jones concert was a real zoo last week — that's what Seattle Times critic Misha Berson thought, anyway, what with all the kids running around making a racket at the Woodland Park Zoo venue. Maybe parents just don't understand. Or maybe we just don't understand — parents had plenty to say about Berson's review.

The Cinerama got another reader's goat this week. What's got yours? Let us know at 206-464-3230 or send e-mail to rantandrave@seattletimes.com.

— Pam Sitt

Concerts are a family affair

"While I enjoyed your review of the Rickie Lee Jones concert, I'm saddened by your ending comment: `Letting children in free to lengthy concerts by sophisticated pop-folkies is generous but doesn't make for easy listening.' I've been going to the zoo concerts since they first started, when they consisted of a few hundred adults and their kids, enjoying the music while munching on dinner and sipping wine. The whole point of the concerts is for families to enjoy an outdoor concert with quality performers."

It's the zoo, remember?

"You're off base about kids at zoo concerts. Remember, this is a show at the zoo you're talking about. This is not some venue where you paid $40 for a reserved seat. You're sitting in the grass having a picnic and listening to music. ... There are very few venues where people can bring their kids to hear live music, which is something many parents want to expose their children to."

Keep it suitable for kids

"We attended the show with another family. One comment on your review: Rather than rethinking the 'logistics' of the concerts, maybe reconsider the selections of performers. Rickie Lee Jones may not be suitable for 'family friendly' ZooTunes."

'Apocalypse' where?

"I was so disappointed today when I read that one the great movies of all time, `Apocalypse Now,' was going to be screened at the Cinerama. The last few times we have been there, the presentation has been so awful it ruined the films. The bulb in the projector is so dim it makes every scene look like it was shot at midnight. Secondly (and more disturbing), during the last several films we've seen there, every 10 minutes or so the image started to dance around on the screen. It destroyed our concentration and any chance of being `caught up' in the film.

"To the operating staff of the Cinerama: Please check your bulbs and splicing abilities. To Paul Allen: If you do care about film, please check out your multimillion-dollar-labor-of-love-restoration and see how far it has sunk in just a short time. You can buy state-of-the-art machines, but if the people can't operate them, you have thrown your money away. To movie-loving Seattle: If you pay top dollar to see a film, you should demand (and expect) top presentations, especially at a potentially great theater that was so lovingly rescued just a short time ago."