Review

Okay, Tolkien by himself (or even filtered through the eyes of demigod Peter Jackson) generally bores me, but somehow the mythos of Middle Earth becomes completely tolerable when in the hands of a German power metal band. And so it was with great excitement that I ventured to New Jersey last night to see the triumphant Blind Guardian on the sixth date of the first ever US/Canada tour in their 15-year career. Since their albums… See more →

I really have to start trusting my instincts. Hell, even trusting the evidence of my senses would have sufficed in this case. But some friends of mine that aren’t imbeciles gave The Ring a thumbs-up, so I followed an apparently misguided inclination to think I might agree with them. Ninety minutes into the film, I wondered if its payoff would be the most incredible cinematic redemption in history, or if this experience had merely been… See more →

Halloween was fun. The afternoon was begun with a matinee of P.T. Anderson’s pitch-perfect Punch-Drunk Love, and rounded out by a few hours of my traditional Halloween rock-a-thon, jumping around the house to an exclusively old-school Misfits soundtrack, careful not to expend too much of the energy that would be needed for the evening’s Andrew W.K. show at the Troc. Judging by the way I was able to wring out my shirt afterwards—if not by… See more →

Judging by the way I was able to wring out my shirt afterwards—if not by the fact that my child-size fireman costume was still reasonably intact—I’d say a good time was had.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Lethargy month is drawing to a close. I’ve been out and about for the usual films and rock shows, but the time spent at home has been occupied with less will to be creative than to stare at the walls and play countless hours of TimeSplitters 2, which might be time better spent if the game wasn’t significantly less good than Perfect Dark. I’m in the process of lulling myself out of… See more →

Skeleton Key at the Balcony was a bit disappointing, as I noticed that singer/bassist Eric Sanko is once again the only surviving founding member, and the new dudes don’t really do it for me.

I finally saw Matt Pond PA play at the Troc and they were damn good, though I thought it a little odd to play a record release show virtually devoid of new material.

I’ve been back from Ottawa for nearly a week now and the annoying cold I contracted while I was there is on its last leg, so I am finally getting around to reporting on the festival. This was the third bi-annual Ottawa International Animation Festival I have been to; I counted seeing 162 short films in just about three days and for the first time there was nothing that really blew me away. Which is… See more →

Last night I went to the Philadelphia Ethical Society in Rittenhouse Square to see Mark Eitzel and the beautiful, beautiful Low. I was previously unfamiliar with Mark Eitzel and I really enjoyed his performance: intense, occasionally humorous acoustic folk, and his voice reminded me of the late Mark Sandman from Morphine. Low was awesome. Given their somewhat extensive discography, the set was perhaps a bit uneven with material almost exclusively from their last two albums,… See more →

I’ll be in Ontario for the next five days at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Some brief scattered comments before I leave:

One Hour Photo was a stale and boring waste of 95 minutes. I went to see it based on the strength of some decent reviews and the fact that it looked subtly creepy, and while I’ll concede that the production design (particularly set design and lighting) was exceptional, the story was practically nonexistent.… See more →

I caught a free sneak preview of Das Experiment last night. It stars Moritz Bleibtreu of Run Lola Run fame (it took some serious self-discipline to not yell out “Maaannniiiiii!!!!!” when he appeared on the screen) and the story deals with a bunch of ordinary German men involved in a psychological prison experiment in which half the men are designated prisoners and half are designated guards. I’m sure I’m not giving anything away by divulging… See more →

Apparently a 2-disc Faith No More tribute album called Tribute of the Year: A Tribute to Faith No More was released in July. Considering the numerous superstar nü-metal wankers that cite Faith No More as a major influence, I would have expected this thing to be soiled by Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, et al, but instead it’s soiled by a bunch of obscure industrial bands. Real Player crashed my computer when I tried to listen… See more →

There was much rocking this week.

Saturday night was Andrew W.K. in Jersey, at this weird sprawling complex filled with teenagers called The Birch Hill Concert Hall. Not quite as much fun as the last A.W.K. show since it was so packed and I couldn’t be bothered to wade through the masses to get on the stage. Still a good time, though.

Sunday night was Technician and Dysrhythmia at the Pontiac, and I’m really glad… See more →

I then headed over to the Balcony to see The Trauma Queens, who are always a great time.

Friday night was a packed screening of Stan Brakhage’s The Text of Light at the International House with a live improvised score by William Hooker, Christian Marclay, Lee Ranaldo and Alan Licht. It was very cool, but the hypnotic, non-objective nature of the 80-minute film somehow heightened my awareness of just how horribly uncomfortable the seats in that place are.

Thursday night was Wire and Oxes at Gasoline Warehouse. Oxes put on a great wireless show as usual—this time with no setlist—though they were clearly displeased with the Philly scene’s usual mundane lack of participation. As for Wire, I know they’re legends, but I just never listened to much of their stuff before, so I didn’t really have a frame of reference for their performance. From what I understand, they did mostly new stuff, with… See more →

Monday night was Andrew W.K. again, this time in Allentown at a super-cheesy club called Crocodile Rock. Best A.W.K. show yet, in spite of a stage-diving mishap that had me walking funny for the rest of the week. That guy’s energy and charisma is amazing.

Sunday night was Technician and Dysrhythmia at the Pontiac, and I’m really glad these guys are from Philly so I have plenty of chances to see them. Dysrhythmia: Complicated, technical mix of math rock, metal, punk, jazz and prog. Sounds unlike anyone else. Technician: Often compared to Shellac. Very stripped down, winding and unpredictable song structures. They’re touring together this fall, so check ’em out if they come to your town.

Saturday night was Andrew W.K. in Jersey, at this weird sprawling complex filled with teenagers called The Birch Hill Concert Hall. Not quite as much fun as the last A.W.K. show since it was so packed and I couldn’t be bothered to wade through the masses to get on the stage. Still a good time, though.

Oh man, this Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights album is soooo good; I cannot stop listening to it. Spacey, melancholy, shoegazey rock with touches of goth and ’80s influences like Joy Division and The Cure. The singer sounds like the offspring of a secret marriage between Peter Murphy and Michael Gira from Swans. I’ve never been a huge fan of any of the bands I just mentioned (not that I particularly dislike any of… See more →

During a relaxing and uneventful four days in Ocean City, MD, I couldn’t say no to “The Metal Issue” of Spin on the rack at the 7-11, and shucks if I only own half of the 40 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. I know this is all a matter of opinion and everything, but I thought that even a rag as insipid as Spin might have put together a more sensible list, and might… See more →

After having been informed that an MP3 from the forthcoming Dillinger Escape Plan / Mike Patton collaboration is now online, I rushed home to download it. I had to listen to it like five times in a row. So far, it sounds even better than I had hoped (which is saying a lot considering how highly I regard the talent involved). The EP comes out on August 27 (on Epitaph Records, for some reason). Go… See more →

I drove 100 miles last night to see Andrew W.K. play in Towson, MD (near Baltimore). I found out about the show three hours before I left.

The show was opened by some crappy Seattle screamo pop punk band with matching tattoos called Vendetta Red, followed by the carefully groomed punkers Total Chaos (they’re still around and they’re still not joking), who were quick to inform the uninitiated that they are “a band that’s been… See more →

At long last, “The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season” DVD set arrived yesterday. As with the first season set, the special features are pretty weak (I’m finding that to be the case on most DVDs now, actually), but those shortcomings are far outweighed by the fact that the season has been preserved in its entirety for consumer posterity. The commentary by various key players (Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, et al) is generally pretty good… See more →

M. Night Shyamalan is smart. He knows people don’t want to see a movie about Mel Gibson struggling with his faith if it doesn’t somehow involve, you know, aliens and crop circles and shit. The slogan in the Signs commercials encourages you, “Don’t see it alone,” but I would shorten it to “Don’t see it.”

This month’s Exhumed Films event (which was last night) featured two films from Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, the director/producer team behind 1985’s fantastic Re-Animator. For that reason, I had kind of high hopes for Dagon and From Beyond. And for that reason, I was doomed to even greater disappointment.

Like Re-Animator, both films were based on short stories by H.P. Lovecraft. Now, it’s only fair to mention that I’ve never actually read any Lovecraft,… See more →

Mary and I were all set to go see Tuatara last night before we discovered that they cancelled the show in favor of a second stage opening slot for The Who. Rather than pay $35 to see them do a shorter set on an enormous stage from seven miles away, I was talked into renting The Mothman Prophecies, which turned out to be just the snore of a two hour “X-Files” episode I expected it… See more →

Friday night was a rewarding but ultimately forgettable show at the Troc with The Shins, Beachwood Sparks, and some horrible band whose name I didn’t bother to remember. (I should probably look into it so as to avoid accidentally seeing them play in the future.)

Saturday night I went with some friends to see Road to Perdition. I gave Sam Mendes top marks for American Beauty, but he doesn’t seem to have much respect for… See more →

Tonight my friend Jason’s band The Trauma Queens played at the Khyber. Garage, blues, punk, ala The Hives. Loads of energy. Great show.

Friday night was a rewarding but ultimately forgettable show at the Troc with The Shins, Beachwood Sparks, and some horrible band whose name I didn’t bother to remember. (I should probably look into it so as to avoid accidentally seeing them play in the future.)

Ah, the Khyber. I hadn’t been there in awhile. Tonight’s crowd was just the size I like: the audience was large enough to make the bands feel loved, but small enough to allow me to breathe. Tonight’s highlight was Aereogramme (not coincidentally the band I went to see), a melancholy Glasgow rock band with loud/soft dynamics kind of similar to fellow Scots Mogwai, but also with some weird time signature power-riffing ala the sadly defunct … See more →

I was very pleased today to discover that the lineup on the new Skeleton Key album Obtainium is identical to their original lineup, with the apparent exception of the drummer. There was cause for alarm when I saw them in NYC last year with a new stripped-down lineup that did not include junk player Rick Lee or guitarist Chris Maxwell, but apparently they have returned and brought the rock back with them (which isn’t to… See more →

Great show last night at the Balcony.

Thoughtstreams kicked off the show around 10:00. I’d heard of them before (mostly from them playing shows with Dysrhythmia), but this was the first time I’d seen them. Impressive. Very technical, jazzy avant-metal, kind of reminiscent of Cynic, but less focused. I have to appreciate the genre parody of such song titles as “To Devour Ovaries.”

Up next was Technician, who I’ve been digging on for several months now,… See more →

Just got back from a weekend in New York, primarily for two nights’ worth of sold out shows at North Six in Brooklyn.

Saturday night was The Fucking Champs, Rye Coalition, and Drunk Horse, the denser of the two shows in terms of quality. The Fucking Champs were excellent as usual, Rye Coalition was significantly more entertaining than the last time I saw them (insane energy, plus the singer put on some weight and has… See more →

There were five bands on the bill Sunday night, including Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof, Wolf Eyes, Thurston Moore with Carlos Giffoni, and 5ive (not the British boy band). The incomparable Lightning Bolt was the highlight of the show, opting to do their set on the floor on the right side of the club instead of the stage, actually cutting off the final song of Deerhoof’s set. Rock. Deerhoof was the only other band that really grabbed… See more →

Saturday night was The Fucking Champs, Rye Coalition, and Drunk Horse, the denser of the two shows in terms of quality. The Fucking Champs were excellent as usual, Rye Coalition was significantly more entertaining than the last time I saw them (insane energy, plus the singer put on some weight and has a kind of John Belushi thing going on that really works for him), and Drunk Horse, who I hadn’t heard of before, rocked… See more →

The bad news: Tuesday’s Mogwai show in Brooklyn sold out before I could get tickets. Although I bet if I stuck my head out my window, I would’ve been able to hear the show. (Mind you, I live about 100 miles from Brooklyn.)

The okay news: The Fucking Champs’ V is pretty much exactly what you expected.

The good news: The new Oxes album roxxes.

I finally saw Miller’s Crossing this weekend; it was the last of the Coen brothers’ films I hadn’t seen. It is now nearly my favorite (Fargo still refuses to give up the title).

It’s a three movie week.

Spiderman was pretty fun; it’s rare these days for a movie to have an acceptable excuse to be that hokey. Bruce Campbell and Randy “Macho Man” Savage cameos were the highlights for me. I do think people are getting a little too worked up over the movie, though.

Y Tu Mama Tambien was very well-done. Strong characters, interesting commentary on Mexico’s socio-economic innards, and a commendably frank and honest sexuality.… See more →

Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer’s fantastic Conspirators of Pleasure screened tonight at the International House. This is the first Švankmajer feature I’ve seen (though I’ve seen plenty of his shorts) and I’m pleased to report that it was well worth another 85 minutes in the theater’s notoriously uncomfortable seats. The International House’s Post-Communism Film Series (which this film was a part of) continues through the weekend and I nearly shit myself when I noticed they’ll be… See more →

I hadn’t been to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a year or so, so I went on Saturday. Primary points of interest were the massive Barnett Newman exhibition and Out of the Box: 20th Century Print Portfolios, including works by Man Ray, El Lissitzky, Andy Warhol and more. I was also happy to stumble upon a room I somehow never saw before, which was full of turn-of-the-century magazine covers (Harper’s, Lippincott’s, etc) by such… See more →

Yesterday I escaped the unseasonable sweltering heat for a couple hours with a visit to the Philadelphia ICA. The Photogenic exhibition was especially slick, including a number of works that applied photographic principles to other media, such as relief sculpture. Shoot the Singer: Music on Video was slightly disappointing, but still well worth seeing. Particularly noteworthy was a video piece with footage from a 1982 Minor Threat show woven with an interview with a 20-year… See more →

The evening was occupied by a show at a little DIY gallery/showspace called Detroit Contemporary. I don’t get into so much hardcore stuff these days, so I don’t have any glowing reviews to share, but the overall friendliness of the scene is always appealing, so I met lots of nice people wearing t-shirts adorned with band names that sound like Steven Seagal movie titles.

My generous hosts and I got back a couple hours ago from seeing a gorgeous digitally remastered 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Music Box Theatre. Wow.

This afternoon I paid my inaugural visit to the inside of The Art Institute of Chicago (I took some fabulous photos of my sock monkey around the exterior last spring). Lots of cool stuff in there, including a number of Lautrec and Renoir paintings I’ve… See more →