Check out what I won this week.
This begs the question: What Will I Win Next?
Stay tuned and ye shall find out.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Your Reason for Getting a Hi-Def Setup
After seeing the new trailer for Nine Inch Nails' new live DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, Early 2007 can't come soon enough. The quality looks amazing, and I for one, cannot wait to see NIN is high-definition!
This also begs the question, where is that Closure DVD??!! Originally scheduled for Fall 2004, it is already 2 years later....
Now all we need a a similar dvd for NIN's Summer 2006 tour.
This also begs the question, where is that Closure DVD??!! Originally scheduled for Fall 2004, it is already 2 years later....
Now all we need a a similar dvd for NIN's Summer 2006 tour.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Dark Knight: A Wishlist
2005 saw the return of the Dark Knight in the definitive film version of Batman. Fans rejoiced, and critics heaped it with well-deserved praise. Having not been a fan of the previous 4 Batman films, Batman Begins was a revelation, finally, they got it right. Due to the critical and commercial success of Begins, Warner Brothers has gone forward with a sequel tentatively due for release in the summer of 2008. Here is a little personal wishlist I put together that I think are keys to keeping this franchise strong.
1. Christian Bale - Perhaps second only to Christopher Reeve in terms of perfect comic book movie casting. He IS Bruce Wayne, he IS Batman. He not only looks the part, he's got the acting chops to match those looks. Apparently he is signed for 3, but if he decides not to don the cowl beyond that, I would recommend not making any Batman films (at least for a little while).
2. Christopher Nolan - he's on board for this, but lock him in for more. His hiring was a bit of an eyebrow raiser, but upon reflection was genius and almost as crucial as Bale's casting. Note to big studios: Further reflection also notes that the best superhero movies have been directed by non-bignames who began their careers with small independent character-based movies. See: Superman (Richard Donner), X-Men (Bryan Singer), Spider-Man (Sam Raimi). Also note, the loss of the director can be catastrophic. See: X-Men 3, Superman 3 & 4. Like Bale, if Nolan doesn't wanna do another Batman, you might as well not make another one at all.
3. _NO_ Sidekicks - Do NOT introduce Robin, Batgirl, or anyone else that could take the focus away from Batman. The movie is called The Dark Knight, not The Dark Knight & Friends.
4. Gary Oldman / James Gordon - Another of the crucial support beams of the first movie. I envision the new Batman series following Gordon and Batman's friendship and Gordon's ascendency throughout the police ranks culminating with him becoming the Commissioner somewhere down the line in maybe the 3rd or 4th movie.
5. 1 Big Villain and 1 Supporting Villain - one of the pitfalls of the first four Batman films were too many villains, and too much focus on the villains. Batman Begins struck a perfect chord with 1 major villain and 1 supporting villain.
6. Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - they teamed to do the magnificent score for the first film. Will they come back? Let's hope so. Their score succeeds greatly in the area of emotional depth, it underlined the tone of the movie without overpowering it. Also, they are masters of their craft and knew how to build the tension by building the beats of the music. It's hard to explain, but if you give the score a listen to on its own, its very apparent. Personal favorite tracks from the score: Eptesicus, Molossus, Lasiurus.
7. A Strong Script - perhaps the biggest strength of the first film was its script. They took note of everything that didn't work in the previous Batman films, and took notice of what made Batman work. They did the definitive film origin of Batman and set the seeds for future films.
8. Lose Katie Holmes - you know what they say, everyone can be good in the right role. Rachel Dawes was not the right role for her. She was clearly miscast, she had no chemistry with Bale, but thankfully her role was small enough and competently done enough that she did not ruin the first film.
9. Great Supporting Characters - the casting of Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine lent an air of nobility and credibility to a "comic book movie." Comic books aren't just people with super powers flying around and beating the crap out of each other, and the casting of these well-known and well-respected actors may have gotten some people to see and enjoy the film who probably would normally not have seen such a film in the first place.
10. Not so choppy action scenes - As exciting and well done as the Begins' climax was, the action was just too shaky and choppily-edited. Honestly, Spider-Man 2's train action sequence made Batman Begins train sequence look amateurish by comparison. Of course, the action in Batman is more grounded in reality and could never be as high-flying as a Superman or Spider-Man film, but it would be nice to pull the camera back a little and tone down the shakiness.
I have a similar wishlist for the Fantastic Four sequel, but because it's so small, it doesn't warrant another post, so here it is in full: Don't Make One.
1. Christian Bale - Perhaps second only to Christopher Reeve in terms of perfect comic book movie casting. He IS Bruce Wayne, he IS Batman. He not only looks the part, he's got the acting chops to match those looks. Apparently he is signed for 3, but if he decides not to don the cowl beyond that, I would recommend not making any Batman films (at least for a little while).
2. Christopher Nolan - he's on board for this, but lock him in for more. His hiring was a bit of an eyebrow raiser, but upon reflection was genius and almost as crucial as Bale's casting. Note to big studios: Further reflection also notes that the best superhero movies have been directed by non-bignames who began their careers with small independent character-based movies. See: Superman (Richard Donner), X-Men (Bryan Singer), Spider-Man (Sam Raimi). Also note, the loss of the director can be catastrophic. See: X-Men 3, Superman 3 & 4. Like Bale, if Nolan doesn't wanna do another Batman, you might as well not make another one at all.
3. _NO_ Sidekicks - Do NOT introduce Robin, Batgirl, or anyone else that could take the focus away from Batman. The movie is called The Dark Knight, not The Dark Knight & Friends.
4. Gary Oldman / James Gordon - Another of the crucial support beams of the first movie. I envision the new Batman series following Gordon and Batman's friendship and Gordon's ascendency throughout the police ranks culminating with him becoming the Commissioner somewhere down the line in maybe the 3rd or 4th movie.
5. 1 Big Villain and 1 Supporting Villain - one of the pitfalls of the first four Batman films were too many villains, and too much focus on the villains. Batman Begins struck a perfect chord with 1 major villain and 1 supporting villain.
6. Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - they teamed to do the magnificent score for the first film. Will they come back? Let's hope so. Their score succeeds greatly in the area of emotional depth, it underlined the tone of the movie without overpowering it. Also, they are masters of their craft and knew how to build the tension by building the beats of the music. It's hard to explain, but if you give the score a listen to on its own, its very apparent. Personal favorite tracks from the score: Eptesicus, Molossus, Lasiurus.
7. A Strong Script - perhaps the biggest strength of the first film was its script. They took note of everything that didn't work in the previous Batman films, and took notice of what made Batman work. They did the definitive film origin of Batman and set the seeds for future films.
8. Lose Katie Holmes - you know what they say, everyone can be good in the right role. Rachel Dawes was not the right role for her. She was clearly miscast, she had no chemistry with Bale, but thankfully her role was small enough and competently done enough that she did not ruin the first film.
9. Great Supporting Characters - the casting of Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine lent an air of nobility and credibility to a "comic book movie." Comic books aren't just people with super powers flying around and beating the crap out of each other, and the casting of these well-known and well-respected actors may have gotten some people to see and enjoy the film who probably would normally not have seen such a film in the first place.
10. Not so choppy action scenes - As exciting and well done as the Begins' climax was, the action was just too shaky and choppily-edited. Honestly, Spider-Man 2's train action sequence made Batman Begins train sequence look amateurish by comparison. Of course, the action in Batman is more grounded in reality and could never be as high-flying as a Superman or Spider-Man film, but it would be nice to pull the camera back a little and tone down the shakiness.
I have a similar wishlist for the Fantastic Four sequel, but because it's so small, it doesn't warrant another post, so here it is in full: Don't Make One.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Hit List
Rather than write a long review of a single movie, I'll give a short paragraph on a number of recent TV shows, DVDs and movies I've enjoyed recently.
Veronica Mars: Season Two - my favorite show on TV right now. Superbly acted and written, this show follows the title character as she endeavors through high school. She's smart, sassy and one hell of a detective. The first season was a tightly woven collection of 22 episodes with an overlaying arc that carried the whole season. The second season was even tighter with each episode essential to the season's big arc. Hearts break and surprises abound. Buffy fans, this should be your new devotion. It's always on the cusp of cancellation, so buy the DVDs and watch it when it airs on the CW in October, and spread the word!
Murderball - a really, really great documentary about the sport of wheelchair rugby, wherein the athletes can smash into each with bonecrushing results, hence the name Murderball. There's some real drama here, the kind you can't make up where a former American player, formerly considered the best in the world is cut from the team as he became older, and consequently slower. Feeling betrayed, he becomes head coach of Canada and helps them defeat the American juggernaut. "How does it feel to betray your country" he is rhetorically asked. A very insightful movie that will open your mind and smash your expectations of "lesser-abled" individuals. As one of the subjects says himself "I've done more in my chair than I've ever been able to do walking." Very compelling stuff.
Wonderfalls: The Complete Series - A great show with a great cast with a lead actress I defy you not to fall in love with or at least develop a small crush on. Of course it was on the Fox network and cancelled after 4 episodes. 13 were made and they're all in this set with a heaping of extras. It's a very quirky comedy that requires you to suspend your disbelief on a certain
Short Cuts: Criterion Collection - this 2 disc set is loaded with quality extras. You know movies like Crash that have large casts that interweave several stories together? Robert Altman is the king of them, and this is one of his masterpieces. 3+ hours long, but never boring, and always engaging.
We Were Soldiers - I remember the first time I saw this I didn't like it that much, but I didn't hate it either. I think it was because around the time the film was made, we were just overloaded with war movies. But the second time around was much much better. The movie is almost one big action scene where the audience is dropped into the middle of a particularly difficult battle. A very, very good movie. If you overlooked this the first time, give it another shot.
A Very Long Engagement - bought this recently because I saw it for cheap, but I would've gladly paid 10 times for this gem. From the director and star of Amelie, but don't think this is Amelie 2. A romantic epic set in WW1 follows Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) as she searches for her lover, despite being told of his death. Audrey Tautou has quickly become one of my favorite actresses and I've only seen her in a few movies. This is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, and the cinematography on display in this movie will leave you breathless.
Superman: The Animated Series - Vol. 3 - The last and best set of this animated show, while not the definitive Superman, is still extremely enjoyable. Kudos to the producers for ending the show on a note that isn't typically "Superman" but fits with where the show was headed, a very gutsy move especially for a character not known for being dark.
Justice League - Season 1 - more enjoyable animated goodness from the guys that brought us the Batman, Superman and Batman Beyond Animated series. While this is probably the worst set of anything from the whole Paul Dini/Bruce Timm DC animated universe, it does have a few gems (Justice Guild!) and it also introduces us to my new favorite JLAer, Hawkgirl.
Justice League - Season 2 - the producers sat down and took all the bad parts of the first season of Justice League and fixed them. They kick things up a notch right from the very beginning and carry that momentum all the way to the slambang 3-part finale Starcrossed that really sets the tone for the future, and IMO, the best of anything they've done, Justice League Unlimited. October 24th can't come soon enough (Justice League Unlimited Season 1 releases then).
Born On The Fourth On July - got this in the Ultimate Oliver Stone collection, and this was the first flick I watched from it, because it is one of my all-time favorites. Forget all that Scientology and Katie Holmes bullshit, anyone who doesn't think Tom Cruise is a great actor hasn't seen this film. IMO, the best anti-war movie ever made. One of those movies that has a timeless message that's just as relevant now and maybe even moreso now than at the time it was made, and the time it portrayed.
Various Buster Keaton Short Films: Convict 13, Daydreams, Cops, The Playhouse, Hard Luck, The Blacksmith, The Electric House, The Goat, My Wife's Relations, and the list goes on and on - Let's get this straight upfront. Buster Keaton is a genius, he is one of the innovators of visual humour in the 20th century. He's been copied, studied and idolized so much by modern day actors from Jackie Chan to Johnny Depp. Many people see his gags used in modern day movies and think to themselves how original they are. Well, he did that back into the 1920s. Now that is really something for someone to still be original almost a century later. I could talk on and on about Buster Keaton because he's one of the few people I've truly idolized, so I'll just leave it at that. Go find his movies! They are frequently available for free from your local library! You can't beat that.
Wedding Crashers - Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan are pretty much given free reign to really show off their comedic abilities to the fullest here. This is one of those movies where I would think about a joke that happened earlier and just laugh out loud even when something unfunny was going on. Rachel McAdams is great (wouldn't she be great as Susan Storm - Invisible Girl in Fantastic Four?). She has 2 very rare assets among actresses today, beauty AND acting ability.
Land of the Dead - Forget every other zombie movie. When it comes to zombies, no one does it better than George A. Romero. He's the real master, he created the genre, and no one else has even come close to what he's done. This movie wasn't just good, it was awesome and it just plain rocked. Please, please let there be more Romero zombie goodness. This is almost like a Romero best of mix tape; it's got action, drama, adventure, great ideas, and explores both the human and zombie aspects of living in the new world. Overall, an extremely satisfying movie.
Day of the Dead - Having seen Land of the Dead and enjoying the heck out of it, I decided to go back and give a second chance to Romero's only film which I disliked. With an open mind, I enjoyed and respected this film so much more. I think my original fault the first time was that I expected a film more akin to Night or Dawn. But what Day tries to do is so much different than those films. In this film, Romero really tries to deconstruct zombies and deconstructing the whole human-zombie differentiation. It's more of a talky-thinky movie unlike the more action and drama oriented Night and Dawn. I still place Day as the weakest of Romero's zombie films, but now I like it and respect it much more than I use to.
Once a Thief - A lot of people see Chow Yun Fat as this slick and cool character from films like The Killer and Hard Boiled. As great as he is at playing the slick and cool character, CYF may be even better at the comedic roles, and in this movie he gets to show off his more comedic side. Not to be confused with the far inferior english language remake, also made by Woo.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - A smartly written dark comedy starring two great character actors, Robert Downey, Jr. & Val Kilmer. I'm really beginning to like these guys more and more as they move away from standard Hollywood fair and towards sharply written, dialogue driven independent movies. Oh, and Michelle Monaghan sizzles, she could be the typical Hollywood big star if she wanted to be, but I hope she sticks with these little treasures.
Veronica Mars: Season Two - my favorite show on TV right now. Superbly acted and written, this show follows the title character as she endeavors through high school. She's smart, sassy and one hell of a detective. The first season was a tightly woven collection of 22 episodes with an overlaying arc that carried the whole season. The second season was even tighter with each episode essential to the season's big arc. Hearts break and surprises abound. Buffy fans, this should be your new devotion. It's always on the cusp of cancellation, so buy the DVDs and watch it when it airs on the CW in October, and spread the word!
Murderball - a really, really great documentary about the sport of wheelchair rugby, wherein the athletes can smash into each with bonecrushing results, hence the name Murderball. There's some real drama here, the kind you can't make up where a former American player, formerly considered the best in the world is cut from the team as he became older, and consequently slower. Feeling betrayed, he becomes head coach of Canada and helps them defeat the American juggernaut. "How does it feel to betray your country" he is rhetorically asked. A very insightful movie that will open your mind and smash your expectations of "lesser-abled" individuals. As one of the subjects says himself "I've done more in my chair than I've ever been able to do walking." Very compelling stuff.
Wonderfalls: The Complete Series - A great show with a great cast with a lead actress I defy you not to fall in love with or at least develop a small crush on. Of course it was on the Fox network and cancelled after 4 episodes. 13 were made and they're all in this set with a heaping of extras. It's a very quirky comedy that requires you to suspend your disbelief on a certain
Short Cuts: Criterion Collection - this 2 disc set is loaded with quality extras. You know movies like Crash that have large casts that interweave several stories together? Robert Altman is the king of them, and this is one of his masterpieces. 3+ hours long, but never boring, and always engaging.
We Were Soldiers - I remember the first time I saw this I didn't like it that much, but I didn't hate it either. I think it was because around the time the film was made, we were just overloaded with war movies. But the second time around was much much better. The movie is almost one big action scene where the audience is dropped into the middle of a particularly difficult battle. A very, very good movie. If you overlooked this the first time, give it another shot.
A Very Long Engagement - bought this recently because I saw it for cheap, but I would've gladly paid 10 times for this gem. From the director and star of Amelie, but don't think this is Amelie 2. A romantic epic set in WW1 follows Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) as she searches for her lover, despite being told of his death. Audrey Tautou has quickly become one of my favorite actresses and I've only seen her in a few movies. This is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, and the cinematography on display in this movie will leave you breathless.
Superman: The Animated Series - Vol. 3 - The last and best set of this animated show, while not the definitive Superman, is still extremely enjoyable. Kudos to the producers for ending the show on a note that isn't typically "Superman" but fits with where the show was headed, a very gutsy move especially for a character not known for being dark.
Justice League - Season 1 - more enjoyable animated goodness from the guys that brought us the Batman, Superman and Batman Beyond Animated series. While this is probably the worst set of anything from the whole Paul Dini/Bruce Timm DC animated universe, it does have a few gems (Justice Guild!) and it also introduces us to my new favorite JLAer, Hawkgirl.
Justice League - Season 2 - the producers sat down and took all the bad parts of the first season of Justice League and fixed them. They kick things up a notch right from the very beginning and carry that momentum all the way to the slambang 3-part finale Starcrossed that really sets the tone for the future, and IMO, the best of anything they've done, Justice League Unlimited. October 24th can't come soon enough (Justice League Unlimited Season 1 releases then).
Born On The Fourth On July - got this in the Ultimate Oliver Stone collection, and this was the first flick I watched from it, because it is one of my all-time favorites. Forget all that Scientology and Katie Holmes bullshit, anyone who doesn't think Tom Cruise is a great actor hasn't seen this film. IMO, the best anti-war movie ever made. One of those movies that has a timeless message that's just as relevant now and maybe even moreso now than at the time it was made, and the time it portrayed.
Various Buster Keaton Short Films: Convict 13, Daydreams, Cops, The Playhouse, Hard Luck, The Blacksmith, The Electric House, The Goat, My Wife's Relations, and the list goes on and on - Let's get this straight upfront. Buster Keaton is a genius, he is one of the innovators of visual humour in the 20th century. He's been copied, studied and idolized so much by modern day actors from Jackie Chan to Johnny Depp. Many people see his gags used in modern day movies and think to themselves how original they are. Well, he did that back into the 1920s. Now that is really something for someone to still be original almost a century later. I could talk on and on about Buster Keaton because he's one of the few people I've truly idolized, so I'll just leave it at that. Go find his movies! They are frequently available for free from your local library! You can't beat that.
Wedding Crashers - Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan are pretty much given free reign to really show off their comedic abilities to the fullest here. This is one of those movies where I would think about a joke that happened earlier and just laugh out loud even when something unfunny was going on. Rachel McAdams is great (wouldn't she be great as Susan Storm - Invisible Girl in Fantastic Four?). She has 2 very rare assets among actresses today, beauty AND acting ability.
Land of the Dead - Forget every other zombie movie. When it comes to zombies, no one does it better than George A. Romero. He's the real master, he created the genre, and no one else has even come close to what he's done. This movie wasn't just good, it was awesome and it just plain rocked. Please, please let there be more Romero zombie goodness. This is almost like a Romero best of mix tape; it's got action, drama, adventure, great ideas, and explores both the human and zombie aspects of living in the new world. Overall, an extremely satisfying movie.
Day of the Dead - Having seen Land of the Dead and enjoying the heck out of it, I decided to go back and give a second chance to Romero's only film which I disliked. With an open mind, I enjoyed and respected this film so much more. I think my original fault the first time was that I expected a film more akin to Night or Dawn. But what Day tries to do is so much different than those films. In this film, Romero really tries to deconstruct zombies and deconstructing the whole human-zombie differentiation. It's more of a talky-thinky movie unlike the more action and drama oriented Night and Dawn. I still place Day as the weakest of Romero's zombie films, but now I like it and respect it much more than I use to.
Once a Thief - A lot of people see Chow Yun Fat as this slick and cool character from films like The Killer and Hard Boiled. As great as he is at playing the slick and cool character, CYF may be even better at the comedic roles, and in this movie he gets to show off his more comedic side. Not to be confused with the far inferior english language remake, also made by Woo.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - A smartly written dark comedy starring two great character actors, Robert Downey, Jr. & Val Kilmer. I'm really beginning to like these guys more and more as they move away from standard Hollywood fair and towards sharply written, dialogue driven independent movies. Oh, and Michelle Monaghan sizzles, she could be the typical Hollywood big star if she wanted to be, but I hope she sticks with these little treasures.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
New Photos on Flickr
Hey, updated with some pictures from the all-singing, all-dancing, all-guitar hero playing unveiling of my latest masterpiece: the aptly named Steve's Guitaraoke Palace. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., I had a dream, and it was to play Guitar Hero, with Karaoke Revolution _and_ a dance pad all at the same time. Requirements: 2 PS2s, Karaoke Revolution Party with microphone, Guitar Hero with Guitar, dance pad and 2 televisions (I had a TV which allows to accept 2 signals and split the TV in half, displaying both signals). Sadly, Karaoke Revolution Party's sing and dance mode makes you sing and dance to a truncated version of the songs it features.
So sadly, my dream came to a crashing halt. We would have to settle with the combination of guitar and singing, which I have cleverly named "Guitaraoke." Sadly, only 1 song is featured in both games: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Love Rock and Roll." The plan was to have me playing guitar, with Ron on vocals. The key to getting Guitaraoke was syncing the two games, which is quite hard, and which we were never quite able to do exactly. After several abortive attempts were thwarted by Gordon's poor timing, we were finally able to sync it up somewhat, but alas we were thwarted yet again by Ron's inexperience with "I Love Rock and Roll" and he failed the vocal parts. We were never able to sync it as closely as the time when Ron failed in singing, so curse you Ron! We were finally able to do the song with Jess on vocals, but it was odd as the 2 songs were ever so slightly out of sync. In the end, we did what we set out to do, somewhat.
Note to music/rhythm game makers. Combine drummania, Guitar Hero and several guitars, karaoke revolution and you've got you're very own Garage Band. The possible results make me salivate.
Update: For those who want higher quality photographic evidence as well as incriminating video footage, email or message me.
So sadly, my dream came to a crashing halt. We would have to settle with the combination of guitar and singing, which I have cleverly named "Guitaraoke." Sadly, only 1 song is featured in both games: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Love Rock and Roll." The plan was to have me playing guitar, with Ron on vocals. The key to getting Guitaraoke was syncing the two games, which is quite hard, and which we were never quite able to do exactly. After several abortive attempts were thwarted by Gordon's poor timing, we were finally able to sync it up somewhat, but alas we were thwarted yet again by Ron's inexperience with "I Love Rock and Roll" and he failed the vocal parts. We were never able to sync it as closely as the time when Ron failed in singing, so curse you Ron! We were finally able to do the song with Jess on vocals, but it was odd as the 2 songs were ever so slightly out of sync. In the end, we did what we set out to do, somewhat.
Note to music/rhythm game makers. Combine drummania, Guitar Hero and several guitars, karaoke revolution and you've got you're very own Garage Band. The possible results make me salivate.
Update: For those who want higher quality photographic evidence as well as incriminating video footage, email or message me.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Music Review: Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
Having recently seen and enjoyed the movie Friday Night Lights, one of the aspects of the movie I enjoyed the most was the movie's soundtrack composed primarily by post-rock group Explosions In The Sky. As such, I went in search of more material by this band. Enter their 2003 album, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place. Simply put; lush, epic soundscapes. No vocal clutter. Just guitar, bass and drums. Rock at its simplest, its core, and its best.
Ever listen to a song which has great music but then you feel like the vocals are a distraction? Not so here. Part of the "post-rock" movement is the abolition of vocals. This is my favorite kind of music, the kind of music you can listen to, lean back, close your eyes and be transported into a different world.
Rather than have a large collection of short songs, here we get 5 grandiose, epic songs. I like the idea here, rather than a bunch of songs with maybe 1 or 2 "good" ones and the rest filler, they concentrated on making 5 great songs, each approximately 8-10 minutes in length. There is no filler here, each track is big, beefy, grand and beautiful.
Their sound is amazing, especially the guitars, and each member of the 4 person band compliments each other perfectly. Fans of guitar will not go wrong here. I am very much looking forward to future work from this group.
Personal favorite tracks: Your Hand In Mine, followed by First Breath After Coma and The Only Moment We Were Alone
Tracklist:
1. First Breath After Coma
2. The Only Moment We Were Alone
3. Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean
4. Memorial
5. Your Hand In Mine
Ever listen to a song which has great music but then you feel like the vocals are a distraction? Not so here. Part of the "post-rock" movement is the abolition of vocals. This is my favorite kind of music, the kind of music you can listen to, lean back, close your eyes and be transported into a different world.
Rather than have a large collection of short songs, here we get 5 grandiose, epic songs. I like the idea here, rather than a bunch of songs with maybe 1 or 2 "good" ones and the rest filler, they concentrated on making 5 great songs, each approximately 8-10 minutes in length. There is no filler here, each track is big, beefy, grand and beautiful.
Their sound is amazing, especially the guitars, and each member of the 4 person band compliments each other perfectly. Fans of guitar will not go wrong here. I am very much looking forward to future work from this group.
Personal favorite tracks: Your Hand In Mine, followed by First Breath After Coma and The Only Moment We Were Alone
Tracklist:
1. First Breath After Coma
2. The Only Moment We Were Alone
3. Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean
4. Memorial
5. Your Hand In Mine
Monday, July 3, 2006
Movie Review: Singin' In The Rain
So I saw this again recently, and I hadn't seen it in so long that it was almost like watching it for the first time, again. Well, it's even better than I remember. Great musical numbers, a great look that is reproduced fantastically on Warner's 2 Disc Special Edition DVD, heck, I can't imagine it looking better when it was first released in theatres. The colours jump off the screen and the amount is detail is staggering for such an old film, I've seen many recent releases that look worse than this movie. Every single member of the cast is pitch-perfect, hitting all the high notes, both musically and comedically. The cast looks like they were having fun making the movie, and this makes the film even more fun to watch, it's a real joy to watch this. Warner's Special Edition DVD has the aforementioned fantastic transfer, sound is provided in a fancy new Dolby Digital 5.1 track that sounds great, but is never too flashy for its own good. Purists will appreciate that the original mono track is included. Extras are high in quantity and quality. This is the best kind of DVD, a great movie, looks great, sounds great, tons of great extras. The great looking transfer would be enough for any fan, but the well rounded package puts it over the top. I know it's cliche, but they really don't make 'em like this anymore. Maybe the best movie musical ever, and certainly one of the best DVDs ever.
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Movie Review: Cars
Pixar Movie - Definition: Greatness. Awesome. _Insert positive attribute here_.
Bad Pixar Movie - Definition: one that only makes the top ten best films list of any given year rather than the top five.
As of the weekend of June 25, of the current Top Ten Grossing Movies in North America, Cars is the only movie with a fresh rating (a movie which has more than 60% positive reviews from major movie critics) at Rotten Tomatoes.
Yeah, so the reviews have been middling (for a Pixar film, that is). Other filmmakers would kill to get the positive reviews that Pixar garners. They've set the bar so high that anything else in just pales in comparison. No other 3D animation studio comes close, their movies sound the best, look the best, make you laugh the most, make you cry the most, they are simple the best period.
Bad Pixar Movie - Definition: one that only makes the top ten best films list of any given year rather than the top five.
As of the weekend of June 25, of the current Top Ten Grossing Movies in North America, Cars is the only movie with a fresh rating (a movie which has more than 60% positive reviews from major movie critics) at Rotten Tomatoes.
Yeah, so the reviews have been middling (for a Pixar film, that is). Other filmmakers would kill to get the positive reviews that Pixar garners. They've set the bar so high that anything else in just pales in comparison. No other 3D animation studio comes close, their movies sound the best, look the best, make you laugh the most, make you cry the most, they are simple the best period.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Movie Review: Superman Returns
Yep, he's back, but should we care? After a grandiose opening, the Superman series of movie just kept losing steam, each one getting gradually worse. The Superman movie series also has the distinction of being one of the few movie series where the special effects get progressively worse.
First off, Superman/Clark Kent himself. Brandon Routh does a serviceable job but never really looks comfortable in the costume, and overplays Clark's geekiness. He just doesn't look comfortable when he's flying, especially when he takes off and lands, and doesn't look natural like Christopher Reeve did. Now he really made me believe a man could fly.
We needed more of Clark's mom and Jor-El. Such integral characters in the life of Superman, but nearly forgotten in this movie. The way they promoted it, it was as if Marlon Brando was going to be such an integral part of the movie. While it is amazing how they added him into the movie, it left me underwhelmed.
Too much homage to Superman. As in Smallville, this movie pays homage to the Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve's original interpretation of Superman to a fault. There are so many echoes of the first film that they tried to play as homage, but to me played as repetitious. Like when Superman heralds the safety of flying ("Statistically speaking..."), Lois's spelling inquiry ("How many Fs in catastrophe?") and when Clark throws the baseball several miles, Clark dropping his glasses and wanting to tell Lois his secret. And while I love the opening theme and title credits of the first movie, this movie copies it almost exactly and it just felt "been there, done that, 28 years ago".
The music in this movie evokes my general feeling about this film "very good, but not great." Many of the themes by John Williams from the original are back "re-imagined" (somebody please kill this word) by new composer John Ottman, in addition to some new themes. Most of it was very well done, but just doesn't match up to the original. That being said, John Williams score for Superman The Movie is just about as perfect as you can get, and it is my favorite film score of all-time, so I'm biased.
On to the things I liked about this movie: The Clark-Lois story was so well done that I hated when it would cut to Lex's story. My favorite scene: when Clark uses his see-through vision to watch Lois as she leaves on the elevator.
Kate Bosworth is really great in this movie. Her Lois is very different than what we've seen in previous incarnations, but still evokes the general feeling of who Lois should be in relation to Superman. She really pulls off the intelligent, go-getting reporter type, and it's easy to see why Clark would be in love with her. She has some of the more emotional scenes in this movie and really helps give some emotional impact to a movie that lacks it.
Many have complained about the age of the leads, but it didn't matter to me, yes they are young, but I think with younger leads, it would connect better with today's younger audience. That being said, all the controversy does make you think, and one of the thoughts in my mind was 5 years previous, would Clark Kent even look like he's been through puberty yet?
I saw the movie in IMAX 3D, which is definitely the way to go if you don't mind paying a little extra and it's available near you. However, only 20 minutes of the movie are in 3D, usually the most exciting. Many may be put off thinking it's accomplished using the crappy red-blue glasses, but it's not. It's done using new special technology and slightly tinted glasses. It is extremely well done and way better than the headache inducing red-blue glasses method. I only wish that the entire film was done in 3D, but I understand that it couldn't be done and still be released day and date with the normal theatrical feature.
There's a lot a nitpicking by me, but that's because I love the original Superman so much. Christopher Reeve was literally born to play Superman, and to see someone else in the role is almost wrong. Christopher Reeve will always be Superman in my eyes. This film is really really good! In fact, those not familiar with the previous Superman movies will be able to enter this movie with a blank slate and enjoy the hell out of it. On my superhero movie scale, it doesn't quite crack my top five, but its close and is easily better than Superman 3 and 4, and way better than most of the other superhero dreck (I'm looking at you X3 and Fantastic Four). I really shouldn't complain too much since it really is a competently made Superman film. It really could've been worse, we could've had Superman fighting giant spiders, polar bears and gay robots for all we know. Here's to Superman Forever and Superman & Robin (that's a joke about how the Superman movies have stolen the Batman movie names - Batman should steal Superman's naming...imagine the marquee: BATMAN BEGINS 4: THE QUEST FOR PEACE).
First off, Superman/Clark Kent himself. Brandon Routh does a serviceable job but never really looks comfortable in the costume, and overplays Clark's geekiness. He just doesn't look comfortable when he's flying, especially when he takes off and lands, and doesn't look natural like Christopher Reeve did. Now he really made me believe a man could fly.
We needed more of Clark's mom and Jor-El. Such integral characters in the life of Superman, but nearly forgotten in this movie. The way they promoted it, it was as if Marlon Brando was going to be such an integral part of the movie. While it is amazing how they added him into the movie, it left me underwhelmed.
Too much homage to Superman. As in Smallville, this movie pays homage to the Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve's original interpretation of Superman to a fault. There are so many echoes of the first film that they tried to play as homage, but to me played as repetitious. Like when Superman heralds the safety of flying ("Statistically speaking..."), Lois's spelling inquiry ("How many Fs in catastrophe?") and when Clark throws the baseball several miles, Clark dropping his glasses and wanting to tell Lois his secret. And while I love the opening theme and title credits of the first movie, this movie copies it almost exactly and it just felt "been there, done that, 28 years ago".
The music in this movie evokes my general feeling about this film "very good, but not great." Many of the themes by John Williams from the original are back "re-imagined" (somebody please kill this word) by new composer John Ottman, in addition to some new themes. Most of it was very well done, but just doesn't match up to the original. That being said, John Williams score for Superman The Movie is just about as perfect as you can get, and it is my favorite film score of all-time, so I'm biased.
On to the things I liked about this movie: The Clark-Lois story was so well done that I hated when it would cut to Lex's story. My favorite scene: when Clark uses his see-through vision to watch Lois as she leaves on the elevator.
Kate Bosworth is really great in this movie. Her Lois is very different than what we've seen in previous incarnations, but still evokes the general feeling of who Lois should be in relation to Superman. She really pulls off the intelligent, go-getting reporter type, and it's easy to see why Clark would be in love with her. She has some of the more emotional scenes in this movie and really helps give some emotional impact to a movie that lacks it.
Many have complained about the age of the leads, but it didn't matter to me, yes they are young, but I think with younger leads, it would connect better with today's younger audience. That being said, all the controversy does make you think, and one of the thoughts in my mind was 5 years previous, would Clark Kent even look like he's been through puberty yet?
I saw the movie in IMAX 3D, which is definitely the way to go if you don't mind paying a little extra and it's available near you. However, only 20 minutes of the movie are in 3D, usually the most exciting. Many may be put off thinking it's accomplished using the crappy red-blue glasses, but it's not. It's done using new special technology and slightly tinted glasses. It is extremely well done and way better than the headache inducing red-blue glasses method. I only wish that the entire film was done in 3D, but I understand that it couldn't be done and still be released day and date with the normal theatrical feature.
There's a lot a nitpicking by me, but that's because I love the original Superman so much. Christopher Reeve was literally born to play Superman, and to see someone else in the role is almost wrong. Christopher Reeve will always be Superman in my eyes. This film is really really good! In fact, those not familiar with the previous Superman movies will be able to enter this movie with a blank slate and enjoy the hell out of it. On my superhero movie scale, it doesn't quite crack my top five, but its close and is easily better than Superman 3 and 4, and way better than most of the other superhero dreck (I'm looking at you X3 and Fantastic Four). I really shouldn't complain too much since it really is a competently made Superman film. It really could've been worse, we could've had Superman fighting giant spiders, polar bears and gay robots for all we know. Here's to Superman Forever and Superman & Robin (that's a joke about how the Superman movies have stolen the Batman movie names - Batman should steal Superman's naming...imagine the marquee: BATMAN BEGINS 4: THE QUEST FOR PEACE).
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Movie Review: Baadassss!
Instead of posting reviews of movies that are mainstream, I'll make use of these movie reviews to recommend those harder to find gems, those small little movies you may never have heard about, instead of whatever generic Hollywood remake or sequel is out.
I really hate when movie reviews spoil movies for you, but I understand how they have to sometimes in order to understand the critic's feelings. However here, I will generally post about the stuff I love and will try and give a quick synopsis without major spoilers. It's a really touchy thing because sometimes even the smallest detail can be a huge spoiler. I know it is very hard to do sometimes with the saturation of modern media, but it is my belief that a film is best enjoyed when you go in knowing absolutely nothing about it. How many times have you seen a movie that has been so hyped, and as a result was so dissapointing? With that said, onto the review.
This time I am choosing one of my favorite films in recent history, Mario Van Peebles's Baadasssss! That's two As and five Ss. Not only does Mario serve as writer and director, but also stars as his father. His father, Melvin Van Peebles was a pioneer, and his film, Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song, was destined to fail before it was even made. Shot in a pseudo-documentary guerrilla style much in the same way his father did more than 30 years ago, this is an always exciting and compelling look at the state of filmmaking in the 1970s. And who better to tell the story than Melvin's own son Mario, who was with his father the summer this film was made and witnessed everything firsthand. There are so many things to like about this film, it's quick pace, and fly-on-the-wall style give us great insight to Melvin Van Peebles's process.
I have never really been a fan a Mario Van Peebles's work before this, having seen him in various random movies in the 80s and 90s. However here, he shows a certain charisma and a passion for the material (perhaps because it is so close to his heart).
If you rent this, make sure to make time to watch the plentiful and informative extras. Most compelling of all is the audio commentary with father and son. Many of the events that occurred during this movie carry a bit of that "you can't make this up" feeling and is all corroborated by the father. One of the more interesting tidbits, some clips from the original Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song are seamlessly integrated with new footage shot for the movie, and it turns out Mario had to pay his father to use this footage.
This is the best kind of movie, the one that makes you wanna go out and explore more about the history of Black Cinema, or find a copy of Melvin's book on the Making of Sweetback that this movie is based on and even try to find a copy of Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song (still no luck).
I really hate when movie reviews spoil movies for you, but I understand how they have to sometimes in order to understand the critic's feelings. However here, I will generally post about the stuff I love and will try and give a quick synopsis without major spoilers. It's a really touchy thing because sometimes even the smallest detail can be a huge spoiler. I know it is very hard to do sometimes with the saturation of modern media, but it is my belief that a film is best enjoyed when you go in knowing absolutely nothing about it. How many times have you seen a movie that has been so hyped, and as a result was so dissapointing? With that said, onto the review.
This time I am choosing one of my favorite films in recent history, Mario Van Peebles's Baadasssss! That's two As and five Ss. Not only does Mario serve as writer and director, but also stars as his father. His father, Melvin Van Peebles was a pioneer, and his film, Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song, was destined to fail before it was even made. Shot in a pseudo-documentary guerrilla style much in the same way his father did more than 30 years ago, this is an always exciting and compelling look at the state of filmmaking in the 1970s. And who better to tell the story than Melvin's own son Mario, who was with his father the summer this film was made and witnessed everything firsthand. There are so many things to like about this film, it's quick pace, and fly-on-the-wall style give us great insight to Melvin Van Peebles's process.
I have never really been a fan a Mario Van Peebles's work before this, having seen him in various random movies in the 80s and 90s. However here, he shows a certain charisma and a passion for the material (perhaps because it is so close to his heart).
If you rent this, make sure to make time to watch the plentiful and informative extras. Most compelling of all is the audio commentary with father and son. Many of the events that occurred during this movie carry a bit of that "you can't make this up" feeling and is all corroborated by the father. One of the more interesting tidbits, some clips from the original Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song are seamlessly integrated with new footage shot for the movie, and it turns out Mario had to pay his father to use this footage.
This is the best kind of movie, the one that makes you wanna go out and explore more about the history of Black Cinema, or find a copy of Melvin's book on the Making of Sweetback that this movie is based on and even try to find a copy of Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song (still no luck).
Friday, June 2, 2006
Concert Review: Nine Inch Nails at Ridgefield, WA - 5/27/06
With the current Nine Inch Nails summer tour in support of last year's With Teeth album, main man Trent Reznor stated that this would be the last round of touring "for a while". To NIN fans, a while can be an eternity, who knows how long it could be, after all, With Teeth came out 6 years after his last album, and NIN didn't tour again for 5 years after his last tour. That's half a freaking decade folks. My friends and I were dissapointed that a Vancouver date wasn't announced for this last leg of touring (as Trent & Co. were doing a summer tour in outdoor venues, I blame Vancouver's lack of a suitable outdoor venue for this oversight). Next closest place, Ridgefield, WA, at the southern end of Washington, a stone's throw away from Portland, Oregon, and a 6-8 hour drive depending on certain conditions such as traffic. But that wasn't gonna stop us, we had to see NIN again, there was no way we wanted to wait another 5 years to see them after their Vancouver show in Sept. 05. So we sucked it up and made it a long weekend in Portland, OR (yay for tax free shopping).
The weather was cold and damp all weekend, rain wasn't a bother as the venue was open, but covered. First opening band was TV On The Radio. Pretty much a straight rock group, of very little relation to NIN's sound, and greeted thusly by the crowd. A lukewarm reception at best. The singer tried his best, but the rest of the band needs to learn a little something about performing live. The Bass Player had his back turned against the crowd for the ENTIRE performance, is it so hard to turn around and face the people you're playing for? And having one of the guitarist play the Maracas for a couple songs? At least have him feigning air guitar or something. It takes a personality like Trent to be able to pull off something cheesy and turn it into something cool (see: Trent rocking the tambourine).
Next up was Bauhaus, legendary electronic pioneers who hit their peak back in the 80s. Reznor cites Bauhaus as one of his major influences, and had stated how he almost didn't want to go on after them. The crowd was very respectful and 90% of the audience stood for their performance. Bauhaus is known for their electronic sound, but gave a setlist full of energy no doubt more geared more towards the NIN audience's taste.
Next Up was NIN. Their stage setup and set design was unique from their previous show in Vancouver. Upon first inspection it was very unique and no doubt made everyone wonder what it would be like. At first you just see 4 vertical sets of horizontal grates. Very strange looking, and we had no idea what we were in for. It turns out those horizontal grates had rows of lights that lit up to make some absolutely fantastic looking visuals. In the back were 5 LED screens that made the sets backdrop and projected some even more awesome visuals. All this in addition to NIN's standard fog machines, strobe lights and lighting setup.
The intro was very cool and very sneaky. Pinion has long been NIN's opener, and once the lights went out and Pinion started playing, that's when you knew NIN was about to start. This concert was not the case. I say the opener was sneaky because they started while the house lights where still on. You could hear a strange electronic beat on the speakers but couldn't really tell if it was starting, but we all stood up in case. Then you hear Trent start singing the opening strains of Somewhat Damaged and see him silhouetted behind the grating. Once he reached a certain part of the song, the band joined in, the house lights went off, and the incredible visuals exploded on stage. Very, very awesome. Somewhat Damaged is one of NIN's more angry songs, and it was definately a great kick start. From there the grating was raised up and NIN continued their performance with setlist stalwarts, You Know What You Are?, Sin, Terrible Lie, and March of the Pigs.
One of the emotional highlights of the night followed as the stage was covered in a haze with a moody dark purple lighting, as they then played Something I Can Never Have. I had never heard this before live, and it is always a treat to hear NIN play something new.
Next up was Closer. I love how they've deconstructed the song and turned it into a whole new animal for the new With Teeth tour shows. Whereas the old live version was almost a carbon copy of the album cut, and at one point 4 members each on a keyboard (a record for a rock band I'm pretty sure). The new version strips all those keybaords away and adds a lot more guitar, and even inserts a short part of The Only Time towards the end of the song. During the song, the 2 middle grates were down and showed a very cool blood like effect and the LCDs in the back throbbed as we saw Trent's silhouette in front of them. Always a crowd pleaser.
Following this is a new standby of the 05-06 tour, Burn, which if you haven't heard live before, sounds very different but very cool. After this is the always rocking Gave Up.
And next was another of the pleasant surprises of the night, Help Me I Am In Hell. Accompanying this was, the 4 grate-screens came down and treated us to some fantastic imagery, which at first was very peculiar at first, but as the song wore on, you could making out water bubbles, perhaps boiling water. Very trippy. After this I expected Happiness In Slavery, as these 2 songs almost always go hand in hand. Instead we were treated to Non-Entity, first played by Trent by himself on a piano with a beatbox, but now with his full band. Great song, although I think I still like the piano version slightly better. Dissapointed with no Happiness in Slavery, but that quickly subsided. Following Non-Entity was Only, which was one of those tracks I thought might not translate well live, but Trent and Co. always surprise, it's even better than the album cut. Next up was Wish, one of my personal favorites, this song never gets old, and this song always gets the adrenaline pumping, and this night was no exception.
Another surprise awaited us as Trent begins playing something off key alone on a solitary keyboard. I was expecting this to lead into The Frail, but instead was pleasantly surprised as he went straight into La Mer. The pleasant surprises continues, as the song leads straight into the most rocking version of Into the Void I have ever heard in my life. Simply incredible!! Following this is one of the more underrated tracks from The Fragile, The Big Come Down. So glad I got to hear this live. Suck was next and was one of the heaviest tracks of the night and satisfied the headbangers in all of us.
Next was another treat, another song I thought I would never hear live, their live cover of Queen's Get Down Make Love. Another rocking crowdpleasing that had the crowd jumping, bobbing their heads and shaking their fists to. Hurt followed up, and did not dissapoint. This song begins with just Trent alone with a keyboard, before the rest of the band joins in for the last verse. One of his more meaningful songs, Hurt always touches a chord with the crowd and brought on many lighters as well as some tears.
The concert winds down with The Hand That Feeds, a good wakeup call after Hurt, to bring us out of that somber mood and kicking our collective asses with some straight out rock.
Finally NIN finished with the seminal Head Like A Hole. This venue was seating, so their wasn't a mosh pit, but the crowd just couldn't hold it in anymore. People jumped, people cheered, and people bowed down before the one they served.
The weather was cold and wet, despite it being the "summertime" which Trent lamented about. As he talked about how this would be his last tour for a while he stated how for the last tour he was convinced "to tour the coldest part of the country during the coldest time of the year," and because of that, "We froze our balls off. So they ask me now to do a summer time, it'll be outdoor, it'll be nice." Small pause. "So here are....Freezing our balls off". In Trent, We Trust.
Gladly, the venue was covered, so rain was not a problem, and all the movement that comes with enjoying NIN (headbanging, fist pumping, moshing, jumping, clapping, etc.) warmed us up sufficiently.
Maybe a little shorter than previous shows, but despite that, my favorite of all 3 NIN shows I've been to (The only thing that can top a NIN concert is another NIN concert). For all that crap we had to put up with the whole weekend, this made it worth it.
Small addendum: the parking at the Amphitheatre at Clark County is setup very strangely, and upon exiting, it looked like it would take at least half an hour, and maybe even longer than an hour to leave the place. Thankfully, I like to be very prepared and anal about things, and perusing the Clark County Amphitheatre's website, I found a sheet you can printout to get VIP parking access if you have at least 4 people in your car. This turned out to be a lifesafer, and instead of being stuck in a traffic jam for more than an hour, gave us a special clear exit and let us get out of the parking area faster than you can say "I LOVE YOU TRENT!"
With the show, and my new TV in the span of a few days, this might well have been one of the greatest weeks of my life. Hell, without my new TV, I would still be able to say that last sentence and not be lying.
The Setlist in Full:
1. Somewhat Damaged
2. You Know What You Are?
3. Sin
4. Terrible Lie
5. March of the Pigs
6. Something I Can Never Have
7. Closer (To The Only Time)
8. Burn
9. Gave Up
10. Help Me I Am In Hell
11. Non-Entity
12. Only
13. Wish
14. La Mer
15. Into The Void
16. The Big Come Down
17. Suck
18. Get Down Make Love
19. Hurt
20. The Hand The Feeds
21. Head Like A Hole
Told you it was gonna be long :)
The weather was cold and damp all weekend, rain wasn't a bother as the venue was open, but covered. First opening band was TV On The Radio. Pretty much a straight rock group, of very little relation to NIN's sound, and greeted thusly by the crowd. A lukewarm reception at best. The singer tried his best, but the rest of the band needs to learn a little something about performing live. The Bass Player had his back turned against the crowd for the ENTIRE performance, is it so hard to turn around and face the people you're playing for? And having one of the guitarist play the Maracas for a couple songs? At least have him feigning air guitar or something. It takes a personality like Trent to be able to pull off something cheesy and turn it into something cool (see: Trent rocking the tambourine).
Next up was Bauhaus, legendary electronic pioneers who hit their peak back in the 80s. Reznor cites Bauhaus as one of his major influences, and had stated how he almost didn't want to go on after them. The crowd was very respectful and 90% of the audience stood for their performance. Bauhaus is known for their electronic sound, but gave a setlist full of energy no doubt more geared more towards the NIN audience's taste.
Next Up was NIN. Their stage setup and set design was unique from their previous show in Vancouver. Upon first inspection it was very unique and no doubt made everyone wonder what it would be like. At first you just see 4 vertical sets of horizontal grates. Very strange looking, and we had no idea what we were in for. It turns out those horizontal grates had rows of lights that lit up to make some absolutely fantastic looking visuals. In the back were 5 LED screens that made the sets backdrop and projected some even more awesome visuals. All this in addition to NIN's standard fog machines, strobe lights and lighting setup.
The intro was very cool and very sneaky. Pinion has long been NIN's opener, and once the lights went out and Pinion started playing, that's when you knew NIN was about to start. This concert was not the case. I say the opener was sneaky because they started while the house lights where still on. You could hear a strange electronic beat on the speakers but couldn't really tell if it was starting, but we all stood up in case. Then you hear Trent start singing the opening strains of Somewhat Damaged and see him silhouetted behind the grating. Once he reached a certain part of the song, the band joined in, the house lights went off, and the incredible visuals exploded on stage. Very, very awesome. Somewhat Damaged is one of NIN's more angry songs, and it was definately a great kick start. From there the grating was raised up and NIN continued their performance with setlist stalwarts, You Know What You Are?, Sin, Terrible Lie, and March of the Pigs.
One of the emotional highlights of the night followed as the stage was covered in a haze with a moody dark purple lighting, as they then played Something I Can Never Have. I had never heard this before live, and it is always a treat to hear NIN play something new.
Next up was Closer. I love how they've deconstructed the song and turned it into a whole new animal for the new With Teeth tour shows. Whereas the old live version was almost a carbon copy of the album cut, and at one point 4 members each on a keyboard (a record for a rock band I'm pretty sure). The new version strips all those keybaords away and adds a lot more guitar, and even inserts a short part of The Only Time towards the end of the song. During the song, the 2 middle grates were down and showed a very cool blood like effect and the LCDs in the back throbbed as we saw Trent's silhouette in front of them. Always a crowd pleaser.
Following this is a new standby of the 05-06 tour, Burn, which if you haven't heard live before, sounds very different but very cool. After this is the always rocking Gave Up.
And next was another of the pleasant surprises of the night, Help Me I Am In Hell. Accompanying this was, the 4 grate-screens came down and treated us to some fantastic imagery, which at first was very peculiar at first, but as the song wore on, you could making out water bubbles, perhaps boiling water. Very trippy. After this I expected Happiness In Slavery, as these 2 songs almost always go hand in hand. Instead we were treated to Non-Entity, first played by Trent by himself on a piano with a beatbox, but now with his full band. Great song, although I think I still like the piano version slightly better. Dissapointed with no Happiness in Slavery, but that quickly subsided. Following Non-Entity was Only, which was one of those tracks I thought might not translate well live, but Trent and Co. always surprise, it's even better than the album cut. Next up was Wish, one of my personal favorites, this song never gets old, and this song always gets the adrenaline pumping, and this night was no exception.
Another surprise awaited us as Trent begins playing something off key alone on a solitary keyboard. I was expecting this to lead into The Frail, but instead was pleasantly surprised as he went straight into La Mer. The pleasant surprises continues, as the song leads straight into the most rocking version of Into the Void I have ever heard in my life. Simply incredible!! Following this is one of the more underrated tracks from The Fragile, The Big Come Down. So glad I got to hear this live. Suck was next and was one of the heaviest tracks of the night and satisfied the headbangers in all of us.
Next was another treat, another song I thought I would never hear live, their live cover of Queen's Get Down Make Love. Another rocking crowdpleasing that had the crowd jumping, bobbing their heads and shaking their fists to. Hurt followed up, and did not dissapoint. This song begins with just Trent alone with a keyboard, before the rest of the band joins in for the last verse. One of his more meaningful songs, Hurt always touches a chord with the crowd and brought on many lighters as well as some tears.
The concert winds down with The Hand That Feeds, a good wakeup call after Hurt, to bring us out of that somber mood and kicking our collective asses with some straight out rock.
Finally NIN finished with the seminal Head Like A Hole. This venue was seating, so their wasn't a mosh pit, but the crowd just couldn't hold it in anymore. People jumped, people cheered, and people bowed down before the one they served.
The weather was cold and wet, despite it being the "summertime" which Trent lamented about. As he talked about how this would be his last tour for a while he stated how for the last tour he was convinced "to tour the coldest part of the country during the coldest time of the year," and because of that, "We froze our balls off. So they ask me now to do a summer time, it'll be outdoor, it'll be nice." Small pause. "So here are....Freezing our balls off". In Trent, We Trust.
Gladly, the venue was covered, so rain was not a problem, and all the movement that comes with enjoying NIN (headbanging, fist pumping, moshing, jumping, clapping, etc.) warmed us up sufficiently.
Maybe a little shorter than previous shows, but despite that, my favorite of all 3 NIN shows I've been to (The only thing that can top a NIN concert is another NIN concert). For all that crap we had to put up with the whole weekend, this made it worth it.
Small addendum: the parking at the Amphitheatre at Clark County is setup very strangely, and upon exiting, it looked like it would take at least half an hour, and maybe even longer than an hour to leave the place. Thankfully, I like to be very prepared and anal about things, and perusing the Clark County Amphitheatre's website, I found a sheet you can printout to get VIP parking access if you have at least 4 people in your car. This turned out to be a lifesafer, and instead of being stuck in a traffic jam for more than an hour, gave us a special clear exit and let us get out of the parking area faster than you can say "I LOVE YOU TRENT!"
With the show, and my new TV in the span of a few days, this might well have been one of the greatest weeks of my life. Hell, without my new TV, I would still be able to say that last sentence and not be lying.
The Setlist in Full:
1. Somewhat Damaged
2. You Know What You Are?
3. Sin
4. Terrible Lie
5. March of the Pigs
6. Something I Can Never Have
7. Closer (To The Only Time)
8. Burn
9. Gave Up
10. Help Me I Am In Hell
11. Non-Entity
12. Only
13. Wish
14. La Mer
15. Into The Void
16. The Big Come Down
17. Suck
18. Get Down Make Love
19. Hurt
20. The Hand The Feeds
21. Head Like A Hole
Told you it was gonna be long :)
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Best Day for Mail Ever.
Remember my last post? (Scroll down, I'll wait) Back? Well I got this delivered to me today. Here's a pic of it setup in my computer room. As if that wasn't good enough, I also got this, and this (it's not too clear in that pic, but I can get a free Ipod shuffle, and all I have to do to get it is test drive a car). All in all, a very good day for mail. A very good day for mail indeed. Coming Soon: My incredibly long review of NIN's recent and amazingly awesome show in Ridgefield, WA.
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