Bottoms
Saturday, March 23, 2024
My Favorite Films of 2023
Bottoms
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
My Favorite Films of 2022
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Nine Inch Nails: Live at the Hayden Homes Amphiteater in Bend, Oregon - Sept. 9, 2022
After missing out on their 2017/2018 shows due to having no shows close to the Vancouver area and me being unable to travel to see them due to personal issues along with the global pandemic (by the way, remember when Year Zero came out in 2007 and predicted that the world would implode by 2022?), I finally saw NIN again for the first time in 8 years (my last show being in August of 2014). And boy did I really need it. And of all days Sept.9 (9/9), coincidentally 9 + 9 = 18, and this was my 18th NIN show. Furthermore adding the numbers of the date 09/09/22 = 40, and I'm 40 years old. #ILLUMINATI
Had to make the trek from Vancouver to Seattle via 3 hour bus ride, then Seattle to Portland via 3 hour train ride, then Portland to Bend via 3 hour car ride. 3 + 3 + 3 = 9. #ILLUMINATI. The long commutes were worth it though, despite a nearby fire making the skies all hazy and spoiling the beautiful views in Bend and surrounding areas. The smoke didn't effect the outdoor venue, although if anything it would've added to the ambiance of the show as anyone who's ever seen NIN live knows their extensive use of fog machines. It may be recency bias but open air, no seats Hayden Homes Amphitheater may be the best venue I've seen NIN in yet.
Setlist (with comments):
1. March of the Pigs - The first time they've ever opened with this song. I can't lie though, it had me a little worried. This is a song that is played at nearly every NIN show, but never first, but usually in the 3rd or 4th or 5th slot. I had expected NIN to start around 8pm, and when they started at 8:15pm with this, I was worried they had to skip a few songs. Fortunately, this was not the case and nothing was skipped.
2. Letting You - love the outro where Ilan just goes ham on the drums
3. Something I Can Never Have - haven't heard this one in a while
4. Sanctified - A personal favourite
5. The Lovers - always a treat to hear a song you've never heard live before
6. Discipline
7. The Becoming - man, this song is so killer live
8. Me, I'm Not - another personal favourite
9. Wish - yet another personal favourite, maybe it would be easier to just say which songs aren't personal favourites?
10. Every Day Is Exactly The Same - another live debut for me, an anthem for the pandemic
11. Closer - thanks to the sign language interpreter I now know how to say "I want to fuck you like an animal" in sign language (click to learn for yourself!). It's gotta come in handy some day
12. Heresy - holy f was this amazing, you haven't truly lived until you've heard this live
13. The Frail
14. The Wretched
15. Copy of A
16. Survivalism
17. The Perfect Drug - The holy grail of NIN songs never played live. As a long time NIN fan, I never thought I would ever have the pleasure of hearing it played live in person. The song was first released in 1996 and first played live in 2017, which is probably the longest time it took for a NIN song to make its live debut. Again, Ilan's drum solo is <chef's kiss>
18. Gave Up
19. Head Like a Hole
Encore:
20. Somewhat Damaged
21. The Day the World Went Away
22. Hurt - the typical set closer, made even more fitting that a falling star/meteor appeared during it (click for video proof!)
The venue before the show
Me before the show (face still intact before getting it rocked off by NIN)
One of the more unique setlists of the tour (and proof nothing was skipped)
Deer like to rest just outside the place I was staying at in Bend
Thursday, September 1, 2022
My Favorite Films of 2021
The Top Ten:
1. tick, tick...BOOM!
2. The Sparks Brothers
3. Come from Away
4. Last Night in Soho
5. The Last Duel
6. CODA
7. Dune
9. Spider-Man: No Way Home
10. Being the Ricardos
Hoorable Mentions:
Luca
A Quiet Place Part II
Skater Girl
Judas and the Black Messiah
Riders of Justice
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Val
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Spencer
Candyman
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Cyrano
Jockey
TV Shows I enjoyed that aired new episodes in 2021 (in no particular order):
Loki
Hawkeye
Rick and Morty
Invincible
M.O.D.O.K.
Never Have I Ever
Betty
Master of None
Heels
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Young Justice
Squid Game
Only Murders in the Building
Dexter: New Blood
Saved by the Bell
How To with John Wilson
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Ghosts
Sunday, July 18, 2021
My Favorite Films of 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
My Favorite Films of 2019
- Parasite
- Marriage Story
- Uncut Gems
- Jojo Rabbit
- Waves
- Knives Out
- The Farewell
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Ford v Ferrari
- Avengers: Endgame
Some more good movies:
Toy Story 4
Dolemite is My Name
Little Women
The Art of Self-Defense
1917
Wild Rose
The Kid Who Would Be King
Booksmart
Fighting With My Family
Support the Girls
The Irishman
Good Boys
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Late Night
The Mustang
The Peanut Butter Falcon
I Lost My Body
Judy
Klaus
Some good TV shows:
Fleabag
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Watchmen
Cobra Kai
The Mandalorian
Barry
The Good Place
Stranger Things
The Boys
Rick and Morty
GLOW
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Documentary Now!
Harley Quinn
Monday, June 24, 2019
My Favorite Films of 2018
2. Eighth Grade
3. If Beale Street Could Talk
4. Shoplifters
5. The Favourite
6. Love, Simon
7. Mission: Impossible: Fallout
8. The Breadwinner
9. Green Book
10. Hereditary
But wait, there's more!
Anna and the Apocalypse
Blindspotting
BlacKkKlansman
First Reformed
Leave No Trace
Avengers: Infinity War
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
A Quiet Place
Incredibles 2
First Man
Columbus
Borg vs. McEnroe
The Hate U Give
Searching
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
They Shall Not Grow Old
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
My Favorite Films of 2017 aka The Year Cinema Ruined Fruit For Me
2. Coco
3. Wind River
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. Logan
6. The Florida Project
7. Dunkirk
8. The Shape of Water
9. Baby Driver
10. The Big Sick
Some more films I also really enjoyed:
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
My Favorite Films of 2016
1. La La Land
2. The Handmaiden
3. Moonlight
4. Manchester by the Sea
5. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
6. Sing Street
7. Arrival
8. My Life as a Zucchini
9. Hacksaw Ridge
10. Nocturnal Animals
Even more films from that were almost/just as good:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Nice Guys
The Lobster
Finding Dory
10 Cloverfield Lane
Before the Flood
The Little Prince
Loving
Queen of Katwe
Doctor Strange
Captain America: Civil War
The Jungle Book
Train to Busan
Captain Fantastic
Paterson
Lion
Hidden Figures
Sunday, June 5, 2016
My Favorite Films of 2015
2. Inside Out
3. The Look of Silence
4. The Hateful Eight
5. The Martian
6. Room
7. Dope
8. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
9. Ex Machina
10. The Walk
Other films I really enjoyed:
Sicario
Love & Mercy
Cinderella
Creed
The Big Short
Brooklyn
The Good Dinosaur
Crimson Peak
The Revenant
It Follows
Thursday, March 19, 2015
My Ten Favorite Films of 2014
2. The Wind Rises
3. The Raid 2
4. Song of the Sea
5. Gone Girl
6. Boyhood
7. Whiplash
8. Guardians of the Galaxy / Captain America: The Winter Soldier
9. Birdman
10. Edge of Tomorrow
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Nine Inch Nails Waves Goodbye (Again)
August 29 from the Sleep Country Amphitheater in Ridgefield, WA.
The 2nd to last night of Nine Inch Nails 2014 summer tour, and the 2nd to last show for some time. Trent has said this will be it for a while, and the last time he said that NIN went away for about 4 years. Because of that I knew I had to see at least one of these final shows. Sadly, their choice of venues for the summer tour (outdoor amphitheaters) meant no Vancouver show, so I would have to make the sojourn down to Portland, Oregon once again. Co-headlining with Soundgarden and also another opening band meant a shorter set, but any NIN is better than no NIN.
You can debate the setlist, the length, the venue, and all the other intangibles, but you really can't judge a show unless you've been there. I was there and it was awesome. The new four-piece configuration halves the number of live musicians in half from the eight-piece that represented NIN last fall. The result is a leaner and meaner NIN. This was quite possibly the best sounding Nine Inch Nails show I have ever been to. Of the 17 shows I have seen, this is definitely near the top of my favorites. It's hard to rank, almost like ranking your children, but this is up there with night 1 of the Osaka show I saw in 2007 among my favorite NIN shows that I've seen live. The visuals were not as complex as Tension 2013, but they were no slouch either. With the different band and different production, it was a completely new experience than what I experienced less than a year ago and that's one of the things that makes NIN such a great band to see live.
Cold Cave was the opener followed by co-headliners Soundgarden before Nine Inch Nails took the stage to close out the night.
Setlist:
1. Copy of A - their standard opener, in a different arrangement. Trent starts out alone on stage with the house lights still on and the rest of the band joins in one by one until finally the song climaxes and the house lights go out and the band is shown as large shadows on the stage's backdrop
2. Sanctified - as I've said before, the new arrangement of this song since last year is simply outstanding. Might be my favorite song of the night
3. Came Back Haunted - the driving bass line and tempo of this song really kicks ass
4. 1,000,000
5. March of the Pigs
6. Reptile - not often played, and because of that, always a pleasant surprise
7. Terrible Lie
8. Closer
9. Gave Up
10. Disappointed - as with Tension 2013, Trent decided this song should have the coolest visuals of the night. The youtube videos do NOT do this song justice. It must be seen live and in person for maximum impact
11. Find My Way
12. The Great Destroyer
13. Eraser - my favorite song from The Downward Spiral makes it's live return. Fantastic as always
14. Wish
15. The Hand That Feeds
16. Head Like A Hole
17. Hurt