CD Review: John Cena - You Can't See Me

Let's see if we can track the origins of how this album came to be. (Not meant to be complete but the general chain of events) It starts on WWE: Smackdown a few years back, Kurt Angle is in the ring offering to give someone a shot at stardom, out comes one John Cena, sadly, while he shows some spark, he doesn't really grab the crowd, Halloween roles around and all the wrestlers are in costumes, in comes Cena done up like Vanilla Ice and gives a goofy little rap, the rap thing becomes a part of the gimmick, gimmick becomes popular, then talks of an album comes up. That brings us to the present where a wrestling gimmick inspired a rap album. The big question is it any good? Also, will he have any credibility in the music industry? Hmmmm.

When I got this disk in my hands, I was afraid it was going to be laced with wrestling references and other such nonsense. I am a wrestling fan, but in order to have any chance at being taken seriously as music, it can't be filled with headlocks and bodyslams. The cover didn't help matters as it is looks just like Cena's WWE Championship belt with the WWE logo plastered front and center. The future does not look good.

I slipped the disk into the car stereo, turned up the volume and waited for the worst. As the tracks played I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it wasn't all that bad. It is kind of hard to describe what I thought while the beats played on. On one hand I was impressed, Cena has some actual skill, on the other hand he is very green. I was also glad to find that there weren't any gratuitous wrestling references.

Now I am not the biggest hip hop fan in the world, nor do I have any claim of extensive knowledge of the genre, but I know what I like, and this, this I sort of like. Cena has a good flow and timing. The beats have an old school feel to them. Also, Cena hasn't come alone, he brings along The Trademarc and, on a few tracks, Bumpy Knuckles. Both of those guys help to cover up his weaknesses, add a few more voices to the mix.

The album opens with "The Time is Now," which serves double duty as the CD opener and John Cena's entrance music when he wrestles. It is an OK track, except during the opening I keep expecting some to yell "Viva Cuervo!" I don't know why, well maybe it's the horns. "Bad, Bad Man" was the first actual single from the album, featuring Bumpy Knuckles on the chorus. It is complete with a video parodying the A-Team. This one is also pretty good. The track to avoid is "Right Now," some advice to John, don't play mellow, it is not your strong suit.

I'm not going to run through all of the songs, but I will say it was surprisingly entertaining. Of course, I was going in with low expectations, and more of a curiosity than a desire for high quality music. I don't fell that this will buy him that much credibility in mainstream music, and I am not sure how well this will play outside of the wrestling audience. It has got to be a tough one to market. I was glad to discover the absence of wrestling references, outside of the cover. Cena does have some mic skills, and he shows that he could potentially hold his own. It will be interesting to see if he pursues this career path in parallel with his wrestling. Could become something like fellow wrestler Chris Jericho, who has a rock band called Fozzy which has released three albums so far.

Bottomline. The album features 17 songs, most of which are decent, some of which are kind of lame, but overall it is worth a listen. It is a decent attempt at a genuine hip hop album. It has an old school flavor to it. I think the biggest roadblock to potential success is the credibility, or lack thereof, in the hip hop community, and the somewhat limited audience of wrestling fans. Not exactly a must buy, but one you also aren't likely to regret if you don't have terribly high expectations.

Mildly Recommended.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

The Lost Conversation

What follows is a little conversation via email that I had with a coworker of mine. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Your head may explode if you read until the end.

HIM: So what do you think about the season ender?

Also when are the new episodes coming? I am addicted to the show.

I think they are all dead still. Nothing has changed that in my mind, so far.

ME: It left me a little flat, there wasn't enough of a reveal.
New eps are due in September.

HIM: They seem to want to keep stringing the viewers along. I feel that is wrong. I for one am hooked and wont miss the show but I wanted a little more insight to what is going on. I still think they are all dead either way.

ME: You are a rather morbid individual.
I think they are all alive but will eventually kill each other or themselves off, ha!

HIM: That's an interesting thought, about them killing each other off that is. I have to think about that one for a while though.

There was a movie I saw with Michael Caine ( I think? circa 1980) and his ship was wrecked and was found a lost group of pirates, actually decedents of pirates who where intergraded in to the crew. The climatic battle was the pirates attacking a Coast Guard cutter. Those guys on the boat who took the boy reminded me of that movie.

ME: I was just kidding, I don't really know what I think.... Yet.
I don't think I've seen that movie... But they did say the others were coming for the boy....

HIM: The others I think are descendants of the pirate/slave ship that was found a couple episodes back. Where did the "others" get a boat with fuel?

ME: I don't think the others are real people.

HIM: They shot at and probably hit Sawyer and took the boy. Sounds real to me.

ME: You take real to literally....
I didn't mean to imply they were not really there, but I think they are something other than the outward appearance of being human. I believe them to be involved with that black smoke creature.

HIM: Gottcha. The black smoke creature is an very interesting thing on its own.

ME: I felt a bit underwhelmed by it.
Supposedly while Locke is being dragged you can catch a glimpse of a humanoid shape reflected in his eye, supposed to be a look at the creature.

HIM: Sounds like them keeping the plot slow moving is annoying you. I would like to see the pace moving a little faster. Idont have a HDTV to see those extra details in Johns eyes.

ME: Me neither, I read about it online somewhere.
I do find the expositional pace to be a bit maddening. I think they could show/tell us more without giving away the whole plot.
It seems to be a case of hurry up and wait.

HIM: Hurry up and wait. That fits well. They should show more. They have very good ratings and don't have to worry much about people losing interest. The slow pace might cause some of loss of interest though.

Also the others are they supernatural? The smoke creature does appear to be supernatural but it could be just bad camera angels. No one seems to talk about the smoke creature even though several should had a fairly good view of it.

ME: That was the first shot of the creature, I don't believe anyone else has gotten a look at it yet.

Definitely run the risk of lost interest, my parents are rather frustrated with it enough to possible start skipping it. The attitude is that they can miss an episode and not miss much, since not much seems to happen.

I think that there are a lot of smaller details that we are all missing.

I am pretty sure that the others are not human, what they are, I do not know yet....

HIM: Actually I think there were several spots where the creature was chasing people and there should have been a glimpse of it to a few people. Jack, Charlie, Locke, Arnz or whatever his name was should have seen something to go along with the creatures roar and earthshaking movements.

I agree with your parents and I hope the producers etc will realize this before people turn away.

I for one want to know what is down the tunnel and how Hugo's lottery numbers play in to this.

ME: Should have, but I think most was undercover of the jungle.

The numbers are bad, what else do you need to know? haha

HIM: .....dude

ME: I want to see Locke lose his ability to walk.

Have him piss off the island and have his privilege revoked.

HIM: Locke walking is one thing that bothers me. He could not walk all of a sudden can. This seems to make the show supernatural. His whole spiel about the island demanding this and that he is a man of faith etc makes me to believe this more. Were are the space aliens?

ME: There are definitely supernatural forces at work here.
Locke knows more than he is letting on. The creators, at one point, likened him to Randall Flagg from Stephen King's The Stand.

HIM: Randall Flag huh? I did not like him very much. Hopefully Locke is nicer. But I think he know more as well. I wonder how he knows though.

ME: Maybe he is the root cause, perhaps he made some deal to regain the use of his legs. Perhaps each ship that has crashed there has had someone like him. Makes you wonder what he gave up to get those legs back, I also doubt he had all those hunting/tracking skills and such prior to his arrival.

I also have thought's that Boone was reborn as the baby considering the timing of his death and the baby's birth...

HIM: If he made a deal it would have been during the crash. He was walking on the beach no problems right afterward. With the extent of damage no one should have survived but artistic license can void some of that thinking. As to a Locke on every ship that would be interesting but I don't think so.

To get his legs back either made a deal with God, the devil or space aliens. Sorry the space alien thing is bouncing around my head but it is a too obvious solution to this. I think he had the hunting/tracking skills. Picked them up from his dad before the surgery. That was rotten of Lockes dad to do to him.

Boone and the baby is interesting as well but there have been other fatalities so that might be a reach.

ME: Artistic license is the name of the game. I don't mean a Locke character on every ship, but a similar type of person.

You and the aliens! Maybe this is a Predator hunting ground.

True others have died, but how many died as a baby was being born?


And that brings out little conversation to a close. I hope this didn't put you into a coma.

Any spelling mistakes are as they were int he original emails.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

New Movie Releases: 6/23/05

This weekend's offerings bring us an update of an old film series, a reimagination of an old television, and a legendary director's return to the genre he created. But, will any of it be enough to unseat Batman Begins from it's perch at the top of the box office list? Or, from another angle, will they finally be the answer to the box office slump, now in it's 17th week? My guess on both counts is no. I do think they will have good showings.

Bewitched. I had my doubts about this early on, but lately I have been thinking that it may actually be pretty good. It has a good cast, featuring Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman, and Michael Caine, and it doesn't appear to be the typical retread. It looks to bring a twist to the old show, instead of being what the show was, the film is about recreating the show. The jury is out whether or not it will work, but I like the idea.

Land of the Dead. This is my must see release for this weekend. It's hard to go wrong with George Romero and zombies. The fourth film of the trilogy is set to descend upon us and devour the land of the living. I don't know the details, and don't care, it's zombies, it's Romero, that's all I need to know.

Herbie: Fully Loaded. This may or may not be a good movie. The old series lost steam quickly, will the idea serve to sustain a new film? Will it be soaked with effects drowning out a story? Will it be a smartly written and entertaining film for the family? Or will it just be a lame attempt at grabbing the family dollar?

Rize. This is a documentary about an expressive dance that started in LA called krumping. I had not heard of this film prior to seeing the listing, but it could be interesting to see where a newer form of dance has come from. Not sure how much of a widespread desire there will be to see it, but it could be interesting.

My Summer of Love. Not sure how to describe this one, so here is the description from a local theater, www.upstatefilms.org: "Set in Yorkshire, this tale of an unlikely friendship between a snooty cello-playing rich girl with a very active imagination and a freckle-faced teen who lives with her ex-con born-again brother creates a funny, menacing, and enchanted world. For kicks, bored Mona (Natalie Press) beds her married lover and coasts her engineless motor bike down the Yorkshire hills. One day while lying in the grass, she looks up and sees Tasmin (Emily Blunt), a pre-Raphaelite beauty perched high on her horse. Mona and Tasmin bond, retreat into a sensualized alternative reality and swear an oath to one another. The girls’ mutual obsession troubles Mona’s brother Phil (Paddy Considine) who plans to banish evil from their quiet village and who finds it disturbing that neither wants to accept Jesus or help erect a giant cross on a hill overlooking the village. He even begins to suspect that his sister’s new friend may be the devil! A startling rite-of-passage drama with remarkable performances, the film casts a seductive spell that’s both hard to classify and even harder to resist."

Until next week when War strikes!

Also at Blogcritics.org.

The Trailer Park: A Scanner Darkly

I first saw this trailer online a few months ago, then I saw it again theatrically, although I can't recall what film it was with. It looks great, the style is vastly different than most films that grace the local cineplex. Oh yeah, almost forgot, the film is called A Scanner Darkly.

I wish that a release date would get attached to this rather than the nebulous "Coming Soon." I am afraid that this may never see the light of a cinema screen, or it may just get a small indie theater run, which runs the risk of passing me by. It looks terribly interesting, I am just thinking that the studio (Warner Independent Pictures) may not know how to market it and do the quickie release and shuffle it off to DVD.

The film is based on a story by Philip K. Dick, whose work has previously been mined for features such as Bladerunner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and the underrated Screamers. It was adapted and directed by Richard Linklater. It has a laundry list of stars such as Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Downey, Jr.

I admit to not knowing the tale, but it involves the near future where we are all recorded all the time. All of out movements become a permanent record. It is told in a cross between animation and live action film, using rotoscoping, where the actors are filmed and then are traced, a technique used in Ralph Bakshi's animated Lord of the Rings from the 1970's.

Judging by this trailer alone this is a highly anticipated release. It promises an intriguing story, told with a unique vision. It has star power, but with a twist, actors that are willing to have their visages distorted with an artists touch. Definitely interested in this.

You can see the trailer HERE.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

DVD Review: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

New Line's first attempt with the Jason character is a mixed bag. We must give the filmmakers credit for attempting to take the character in a new direction, they must also be scolded for the same thing. The end result is a mish mash of old and new ideas, and in the end I enjoy it, more now than I did upon my initial viewing. And in the end, with this type of film all we really want is to be entertained, right?

First off, it should be mentioned, that this film does not begin with any connection to the previous one, there is no mention of where Jason went or how he survived the end of Part VIII. But besides all of that, this does begin with a bang, and one of the best Jason sequences put to film. But after that we get into a bizarre series of body switchings, bloody murders, and rules.

The film opens with a woman driving out to a remote cabin, and before you know it Jason is there. A chase through the woods ensues ending in an ambush which results in the blowing up of Jason. This is where any similarities to previous Friday films vanishes and we are delved into one of the strangest films yet. A mythology is built around the character involving other Voorhees characters and how Jason is an eternal evil that is looking to be reborn by a Voorhees woman. There is also a mystical dagger and a character who seems to know an awful lot about Jason and his past.

We do get a number of interesting kills. Including a spear through a tent, a head crushed in a car door, and brains squeezed through the top of a head. Great stuff if you like that sort of thing, which you probably do since you're reading this. The acting is above average on the Friday scale, brought up by the presence of Erin Gray. All involved give a valiant effort to make this a memorable horror flick.

It was directed by Adam Marcus, making his directorial debut. He actually does a pretty good job at keeping some sort of focus on the story and advancing a new mythology, which often times is so convoluted that we don't know what to think of it. Helping him along the way is Sean Cunningham as producer. For those who do not know, he was the director of the first one.

Video. Presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphically enhanced. It looks good, although it could be a bit brighter, there are a number of dark scenes which tend to lose a bit of detail.

Audio. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as DTS surround. I listened to the 5.1 track and it sounds very good.

Extras. We get a couple of decent extras here.
-Trailer. The original trailer is included here, a pretty good one to.
-Alternate takes. There are alternate takes of scenes that were used for television broadcast. This isn't bad, but I would have liked an multiple angle option to compare it with the original edit.
-Rated and Unrated versions. We get both the R rated theatrical cut, and the Unrated cut. There is a 3 minute difference in running time. I have only watched the Unrated cut.
-Audio Commentary. This track features director Adam Marcus and writer Dean Lorey. I have listened to this track and it is very entertaining. There is a lot of backslapping, but also a lot of background on the making of the film, from how they were young and had no business making a movie. It was funny how they cringed at some of the scenes, trying to remember what they were thinking. Excellent listen, they are both very talkative and personable for the entire length of the film.

Bottomline. A departure from the rest of the series, New Line was seriously distancing themselves from the Paramount series. The result is very much a mixed bag, but I have come to enjoy it as a worthy entry. Plus, there was the gag with Freddy which sets up Freddy vs. Jason. Worth a view for fans.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

DVD/CD Review: Metalmania 2004

I'd didn't know what Metalmania was until I got my hands on this disk, which I grabbed because of the appearances of Tiamat, Moonspell, and Soulfly. What I learned was that Metalmania is a festival celebrating metal, mostly of the extreme variety, that takes place in Poland each year. It has been a yearly occurrence since 1986. They play host to a number of metal bands from Europe and around the world. It has varied in size, occasionally spanning a few days, other times just one, and even others filling two stages with metallic insanity.

This is a set which features a DVD running nearly two hours focusing on the nine main stage acts. Plus, there is a CD featuring the thirteen second stage acts. It is a great way to be introduced to metal acts that you may or may not be familiar with all in the same place. The set also shows that Europe has a thriving extreme metal scene with a lot of respect for the older metal styles of the 70's and 80's which has been left behind in the US, at least at a large scale.

First, I'd like to take a look at the main stage acts on the DVD, which is the real substance of this set. It features 23 songs split between the 9 bands. I will also give a star rating for each act, for what they are worth.

The first band was Trauma, and we are served 3 doses of their style of heavy. Each song gets successively better, and they have some good riffs, but in the end I found it rather unremarkable. their stage presence was not all that imposing, as they just stood there. Not a bad way to open up the show. **

Next up is a band called Esqarial featuring Grzegorz Kupczyk (don't ask how to pronounce either, please!). This was a step up in the technical department, featuring a nice Mozart inspired opening, and some Iron Maiden inspired sound. The vocals were decent, but were a little sporadic over the three songs presented here. This is an act I would be interested in hearing some studio work from. ***

The next two songs are brought to us by Krisiun. These guys are fast! Through that speed they produce are really evil sound. I had heard of this act before, but have never heard them prior to this display. **.5

Enslaved took the stage and proceeded to deliver three songs of dark atmospheric despair. They are heavy, slow, and grinding. Their style seemed to lean towards the dramatic darkness, and they do a good job of it. ***

Now it was time to change things up a little bit. The next act was MSG, the Michael Schenker Group. I have heard Schenker over the years, never enough to really say I was a fan, or that I was even familiar with his work, but having spent time with UFO and The Scorpions, as well as his own group, it would be hard for a rock and metal fan to avoid coming into some contact. Here, they proceed to deliver some metal with an old school flavor. In addition to some rocking metal, there were a couple of great solos. First there is the solid Schenker, and then his bass player and drummer trade some segments. Excellent performance. ***.5

Now I was a little disappointed with our next act, Tiamat. It has nothing to do with their performance, which was great, it was that they are a bit underrepresented here with only one song. The performance is great, I have a pair of their albums from the late 90's that are great. This performance makes me want to go get others. It features Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell sharing the vocal duties. These guys play by their own rules delivering an original gothic styled metal. I knock off a star here for just one song. ***

After Tiamat, it was time to take another step back and get some old school metal. TSA was the next act, I have never heard of them before, but they have played an important role in Polish metal for the past 20+ years. Their performance was good, it seemed a bit off, but it was easy to forgive as they seemed to be having a great time up there. ***

Moonspell was next on the list. Like Tiamat, I have a few of their albums from the late 90's which I am rather fond of. Here they give us three tracks of dark leaning metal. Not as extreme as some of the early acts, nor as goth as Tiamat, they forge their own direction in original metal, and the performance here reinforces that. They tear through with high energy and talent. ***.5

The main event of the festival is Soulfly, headed by Max Cavalera who was a founding member of metal greats Sepultura, and has been forging ahead in new directions for four albums of Soulfly. They deliver a couple of great songs. Not metal in the traditional sense, but definitely metal in attitude. He has gathered a good lineup of musicians to back him up on stage, and It would have been great to see more of their performance. ***.5

Something else important to the show is the crowd reaction. The crowd is lively and vocal throughout showing their support for each and every band. Something I did notice was they were engaged in the traditional head banging and jumping, rather than the more violent reactions of American crowds. I found it refreshing.

That wraps up the bands and crowd, but this disk is more than just a collection of bands. How does it sound? How does it look? How are the production values? The answer on all counts are pretty good. It won't win any A/V awards, but they serve the material fine.

Something that is crucial in a performance based concert DVD is editing. The editing here is very good. I have seen some disks take the path of cutting too fast, never giving the viewer a chance to really see anything. That is not the case here. The timing of the cuts works very well, never distracting, giving each band member their due, good work to those involved. I also like how there is no break in the sound when switching bands, it plays straight through.

The video is good, good color separation, no noticeable edge enhancement. It does a good job of representing the show.

The audio is also good, presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0. I watched with the 5.1 track, it is much richer in tone.

There are even some extras here. There is a history of the Metalmania festival listing the bills for all of the previous events. There is a photo gallery of the show, and some desktop images for your computer. There is also a section with full biographical information on all of the involved bands. As an extra not listed on the box, there are brief video interviews with all of the main stage acts, asking them about what they are expecting from the show and the creation of their recent albums. The interviews are brief, but surprisingly informative, my only gripe is that it takes a bit of navigation to get to them, I would have liked to be able to view them all in a row.

As an even better extra there is a 13 track audio CD of the second stage acts. I thought it would be live performances, but even better we get studio tracks. Granted, it is a mixed bag as to what is good on the album, but there are definitely some good acts on it. High points include Bright Ophidia, Atrophia Red Sun, Tenebrosus, and The Chainsaw, all acts to keep an eye on.

Bottomline. This is a good set for any fan of metal. It may introduce you to some new acts, or be reintroduced to old favorites. Either way, you will get 2 quality hours of live material and another hour of music on CD.

Recommended.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

Box Office Update: 6/17-19

Well, the Batman was not strong enough to get the box office slump. The streak has now reached 17 weeks, tying the unwanted record set back in 1985.

It's not like the quality of films is in that sharp a decline. Granted, there are a lot of sub-par films out there, but at any given time there are generally a few worth seeing. Maybe it is time for studios to start picking up on the smaller, independent films and try pushing them. Who knows, maybe one will catch on and become a big hit. Or maybe the film goers, or would be film goers, should try seeking out the arthouses and independent theaters to see what they have to offer. The good films are out there, sometimes it just takes a little looking.

Anyway, while it underperformed based on analysts predictions, Batman Begins performed well enough to handily beat all comers. I think that word of mouth will keep this in the top ten for quite some time. It will probably also be the top getter next weekend, but will fall to the upcoming Spielberg juggernaut, War of the Worlds.

On another note, The Perfect Man was DOA, coming in 8th place in it's opening weekend.

Here are the top 10: (Title, Weekend, Total, Weeks in release)

1. Batman Begins $48,745,440 $72,896,986 1
2. Mr. and Mrs. Smith $26,037,023 $6,697,986 2
3. Madagascar $10,737,325 $146,831,846 4
4. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith $10,038,498 $348,140,685 5
5. The Longest Yard $8,239,853 $132,144,471 4
6. The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl (3D) $6,692,907 $24,015,408 2
7. Cinderella Man $5,572,285 $43,893,695 3
8. The Perfect Man $5,300,980 $5,300,980 1
9. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants $3,127,232 $30,160,110 3
10. he Honeymooners $2,648,330 $9,551,584 2

Figures courtesy of www.BoxOfficeMojo.com

Also at Blogcritics.org.

DVD Pick of the Week: 6/21

This week's pick is a re-release of a film with a very storied past. First off, it is a film based a book which drew a lot of controversy due to it's violence towards women. It finally was made into a film after some strife over the script and also casting issues. Christian Bale was chosen for the lead, and played it perfectly. The pick is American Psycho: Uncut Killer Collector's Edition.

The DVD was originally released by Universal in 2000 with two versions, an unrated version and the original R rated theatrical version, and very few extras. A few years later Lion's Gate acquired the rights and released the R rated version to the shelves. Now Lion's Gate is releasing it again, this time in the unrated format and with a host of extras, including 2 commentary tracks, deleted scenes, and behind the scenes featurettes. It is also reported that it has been remastered and has improved audio and video quality.

The film itself is excellent and not easy to pigeon hole in a genre. It is part drama, part horror, part satire of 80's excess. It is a strange film with an end that will leave you with a few questions. It features a great performance from , then up and comer, Christian Bale.

Other titles to look for:

• Bewitched: The Complete First Season. I can't claim to be a big fan, but it was always a fun show. Beware, it is available in original black and white, and bastardized color. be sure to get the right one.
• Coach Carter. I missed this in theaters, but have heard good things, and Samuel L. Jackson is consistently entertaining.
• Cursed. Mediocre to poor Wes Craven outing. Not the worst, but it is towards that end of the spectrum.
• Dark Water. Just in time for the American remake comes Hideo Nakata's original. A pretty good creepy story film.
• Hostage. Very good suspense/actioner starring Bruce Willis. Director Florent Siri brings a nice visual style to the proceedings.
• Immortal. I haven't heard of this before, but what I have read about it looks interesting. A sci-fi tale set in the future and involving the gods.
• The Jacket. Adrien Brody and Keira Knightly star in this twisted little mind trip of a film. I liked it in the theater, and hope it holds up. I liked the way it didn't try to explain itself.
• Metalmania 2004. A compilation of concert footage from one of the biggest metal festivals in Europe. Features Krisiun, MSG, Tiamat, Moonspell, and Soulfly.
• Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. This was a fun, it completely unnecessary sequel.
• Ring Virus. The Korean remake of Ringu, made prior to the American version. I have not seen it, but have heard it is good, and truer to to the book than either of the others.

That does it for this week.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

Concert Review: Marky Ramone and Friends 6/19/05

Last night's show helped to prove a couple of things for me. One, The Ramones' music will always be alive in some form, and two, punk music, with a few exceptions, really isn't for me. I am more of a casual Ramones fan, I have heard a bunch of their songs over the years, and they were a band that I have been meaning to check out, but kept putting off. Then I got the tribute album that Rob Zombie put together a few years back, which is excellent, and I listened to Henry Rollins relate his experience at a Ramones show. When I saw that Marky was touring with a Ramones tribute act, and that he was coming to my town, I decided I had to go. I was a little unsure of wanting to see the openers, you see, I am really not one for punk rock. I get that it is about the energy and anti-establishment and all that, but there was something about it, something intangible about the genre itself that didn't attract me as much as say, the style of metal. I went, and what I got was a mixed bag.

I got there shortly after 7 PM to find a small crowd gathered and the first act already on the stage. The band playing was called Last Ditch Effort, and they were the best of the opening acts. I caught about 20 minutes of their set. They were a five piece featuring a female lead singer, who had apparently just joined the band. The music was tight and the singing very good. This is the kind of punk that I liked, it had some of that loose style, but there was a distinct structure and they played very well together. They joked around and seemed to generally be having a good time getting the early crowd going. This is an act I would be interested in seeing again.

Next up was a group called The Peeps. These guys were playing their hearts out, but it just didn't do much for me. They played an upbeat, bouncy, and very loose type of punk. I felt kind of bad for these guys, the reaction from the crowd didn't seem to be all too strong. I could see in their faces that they were dying for some crowd approval, urging for it, asking for it. They played hard, and the performance had a playful feel to it, but I just didn't really care for it. I do wish them luck in the future.

The stage was then invaded by The Armed Suspects. Another band that did very little for me. I really didn't care for this harder edged hardcore/punk. It was the most aggressive of the night. They also brought their own fans in the guise of some skinheads that were in the pit going through the stomp around motions and assisting the band on vocals. I just couldn't get into them. A case of not for me, but perhaps someone else.

The final opening act had the curious name of They Hate Us. Not sure if they were just trying to be clever, or if they knew something that I didn't. These guys were a hard act to pin down. On one hand they seemed to have a genuine creativeness to their music, but it was something that seemed failed in execution. The band seemed to have a split personality. On one hand you had a drummer, bassist, and guitar player who seemed bored and maybe a bit disinterested with the whole performance thing, not to say they were bad, but looked like they'd rather be somewhere else. The other side of the stage was a different story, the remaining two members struck me as the creative driving force. The other guitar player seemed to be attempting to channel Flea, and succeeding to some degree, flailing about in a deranged manner. The singer seemed to be alternately angry and goofy, plus he played a washboard (that's a first for me). I can't say I liked them, but I don't want to be too quick to write off potential future entertainment. The crowd certainly liked them.

The time was here, it was time for Marky Ramone and Friends to show all comers just how it is done. Granted, it would have been better had all of the Ramones still been with us to take part in this, but what Marky is doing is great none the less. I had read prior to the show that Marky was planning on a set list of 30 Ramones tracks to be introduced by him from behind the drum kit, I lost track as the songs were coming at quite a pace, but that number sounds accurate. I probably recognized 10 or so songs. Like I mentioned earlier, I am not terribly familiar with the history or the song catalog, but I know what I like, and I liked this. These guys put on one helluva show, ripping through the songs with such energy. The crowd was into every second of it, singing along with many of the songs. Highlights included "Sheena was a Punk Rocker," "Shock Treatment," "Psychotherapy," "The KKK Took My Baby Away," and "I Wanna Be Sedated." Marky sat up there behind the kit, announcing almost every song, never wasting a word. Most of it went like this "The next song is blah, blah" then the guitar player would come in with "One, Two, Three, Four!" And so it went for the next 60 minutes it was near non-stop Ramones music, it was great. I don't recall the names of the rest of the band, but they really tore through the songs, they played great. At around the 45 minute mark the band left the stage, to return about 30 seconds later to get into an encore set, closing the night out with the classic "Blitzkrieg Bop."

Overall, it was an up and down night, but it definitely ended on a high note. Punk may not be my genre of choice, there is some great music to be had. So remember, if Marky comes to town, go.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

CD Review: Dream Theater - Octavarium

Dream Theater is back and as impressive as ever. I don't think these guys have released an album that I haven't liked yet. That is not to say that I don't like some over others, but they all have a consistent level of musical ability on display.

Epic songs are the order of the day. If you are looking for short radio styled rock songs, you will have to go elsewhere. Dream Theater excels at long songs with a variety of time changes and pacing. The type of song that will drag you in and get you involved wondering which way it will turn. This is especially true of the 24 minute title track which takes you on a melodic journey.

The first track on the album, "The Root of All Evil," opens quietly but soon explodes into a heavy riff letting you know that they mean business. Eight minutes of pure heavy rock. A great way to reel a guy like me, who is a sucker for a heavy riff, into the album. One of the more outright aggressive tracks I have heard from them. Everyone is just digging in and chugging away.

This is immediately followed by "The Answer Lies Within." A song which is completely opposite of the opener. It opens with a light piano playing behind James Labrie's soft vocals. A song of hope, a look to the future. A very mellow song that just floats into your ears, a very easy listen in stark contrast to the prior aggression.

"These Walls" is next, opening with some dissonant guitars that turn into a heavy opening riff before settling down for the words to come in over top. This song combines the qualities of the first two, adding a little brightness to the initial heaviness and a little heaviness to the slower portions. This is used to create an atmosphere of hope in a song that centers on someone who is sinking and looking for help.

"I Walk Beside You" is a good song, also focusing on the theme of hope and how there is always someone there to support you.

The heaviness exhibited in the opening track returns with "Panic Attack." This time speed accompanies the riffing. This is the song to put on in the car, turn up the volume, and just cruise. It is heavy and aggressive, great.

"Never Enough" seems to take on fandom. It questions how much has to be done to be appreciated. It may seem like all of the hard work and effort can be taken for granted. If they choose to leave would they come back out to support them then? Would it be too late?

The next song is the first one I can think of where the topic has more of a political bent based on current events. "Sacrificed Sons" gives an interesting take on the events of the past few years. Questioning why this was done. Questioning the faith that would require people to commit this acts and how they must have surely been misled. But instead of expressing hatred or anger, it requests that we essentially pray for those who have died. It is a beautiful song.

Rounding out the album is the 24 minute title epic, "Octavarium." History doomed to repeat itself. A musical journey that takes the listener through a progression of different sounds and styles, from the soft and melodic, to the heavy and dissonant. It is a song that exists to be experienced.

Each song evokes a different atmosphere, but all distinctly Dream Theater. The album as a whole is about hope and discovering it. The album is thematically on the darker side, but the music and the direction the dark takes sheds light. You may be alone and losing hope, but there is always something or someone for you to hold onto and overcome the darkness.

Another in a long line of musical successes. This is one of the most talented group of musicians working today. They have never failed to impress, or develop. Over the last few albums it seems as if they have been tempering their obvious technical expertise with more service to song structure. Now, don't read that wrong. They have aways given each song a lot of thought and structure, it just seems that lately the soloing is more sparse and built into the song, making the song the focal point rather than having the song serve the solos. There are also a number of great solos in the mix here. It is just a very good album.

Bottomline. This is a given for any fan, and a need to listen to for those who are looking for something new. Dream Theater is one of those bands that puts out consistently excellent albums without catering to the populace, although I think that there music should have a wider appeal. Basically, any fan of music should give this a listen, a truly excellent album.

Highly Recommended.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

The Week That Was.....A Viewer's Diary: 6/12-6/18

The summer season is moving into full swing. Let's jump into what I watched this past week.

Sunday 6/12.

• Ebert & Roeper. Fun show, a little more disagreement than before.
  Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Two Thumbs Up
  Howl's Moving Castle: Ebert- Thumbs down, Roeper- Thumbs up
  The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D: Two Thumbs Down
  High Tension: Two Thumbs Down
  The Honeymooners: Ebert- Thumbs up, Roeper- Thumbs down
  Thumbs Up Video:
  Roeper- Jaws, Casino, The Harder They Fall, All the President's Men
  Ebert- The Barbarian Invasions, Vertigo, Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train
• Ultimate Super Vixens. I missed the beginning of this, but it was a fun look at the TV and movie heroines which have captured our imaginations. It was a top 20 list, not sure who compiled it, but it was narrated the way only Adam West can. For the sake of brevity, I will only give you the top five: 5. Xena, 4. Lara Croft, 3. Buffy, 2. The Bond Women, 1. Catwoman.
• Ultimate Super Heroes. Next up was the listing for the other side, also narrated by Adam West, and still very entertaining. The top 5 on the guys side are: 5. Indiana Jones, 4. James Bond, 3. Batman, 2. Superman, 1. Spider-Man.
• Family Guy. A fun episode with Peter helping Cleveland get back with his wife after she lets Quagmire in. ***
• American Dad. What would you do if your dad thought the neighbors were terrorists and out the community on lock down? This was an OK episode, still pales next to Family Guy. **.5
• The 4400. I liked this episode. It focused on a baseball player who is having problems reconciling with his mind reading ability. He is then used as a spy to infiltrate and get information on Collier. ***
• Dead Zone. The fourth season premiere has Johnny being hunted as a murder suspect. He with the help of the sheriff find out who was behind it, and in turn find out it was not Stillson. ***

Monday 6/13.

• WWE: Raw. The show started with Stone Cold listening to Hassan's grievances, and agreeing with them. That leads to the opening match of Hassan v Shelton Benjamin, which ends with the inevitable stunner. Next up HHH is upset over potential draft choices. Chris Masters comes out with another challenge, answered by Sgt. Slaughter. Christian and Tomko took on Jericho and Cena in a decent tag match. Viscera came out with Lillian for his squash match on Maven. The final match was Kane handily taking care of Sylvan Grenier, while Edge and Lita announce impending nuptials. The final segment announced Kurt Angle as the latest draft choice. ***
• The Closer. New series starring Kyra Sedgwick as an interrogator moving from the south to California and assigned to find a murderer. This could turn out to be a good show, on the surface it is another procedural. What I like is the Southern styled lead, a fish out of water type story. It will be interesting to watch it develop. ***

Tuesday 6/14.

• Nothing.

Wednesday 6/15.

• The Inside. Less bloody the first episode, but perhaps a bit more twisted. This time they team dives inside the world of S&M. I don't recall many details, outside of enjoying the episode. Although I wonder if there are coming to be too many of these procedural type shows on. ***

Thursday 6/16.

• WWE: Smackdown. A power outage forced me to miss the first hour,but I did learn that Eddie destroyed Paul London and Rey made his return taking out Eddie. Also, the Bashams quit the Cabinet and the Undertaker took all of them out. Big Show took on Matt Morgan with some interference from Carlito. Orlando Jordan took on Hardcore Holly and won through a little bit of cheating. Heidenreich made some new friends, and ended up getting blasted by MNM. The final match was JBL v Undertaker in a no disqualification match. JBL won after some interference from the latest draft pick Randy Orton. **.5

Friday 6/17.

• Into the West. I liked this episode much more than last week, it seemed much more focused. This week follows Jacob who returns home with his family and begins a dangerous trip to California which tears them all apart. I think I will continue with the series. ***

Saturday 6/18.

• The Batman. While Bruce is being trailed by a video camera, Penguin invades the manor. The bird turns the table on the Bat and threatens to reveal his true identity, but Alfred saves the day, in more ways than one. An entertaining episode, still pales next to The Animated Series. ***
• Justice League: Unlimited. A signal is received and Hawkgirl, Vixen and Vigilante are sent to investigate. It turns out to be a trap set by a group of Thanagarians. A good episode featuring some good character development. ***
• WWE: Velocity. MNM took on a pair of jobbers. Funaki took on newcomer Juventud, it was an OK match featuring a People's Elbow and Juvy's finisher, some sort of pump handle into a Michinoku driver. Renee Dupree took on Mark Jindrak. The final match was newcomers Psicosis and Super Crazy taking on Billy Kidman and Akio, turned out to be a pretty good match too, featuring some flashy moves. **.5
• Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy. I almost made it all the way through, but it was so uninteresting that I had to give up on it. Bad effects, bad dialogue, bad acting. Just awful. But I should have realized that going in, but I was blinded by the potential fun performance from Jeffrey Combs, who is generally pretty reliable in this type of movie. *

That does it for this week.

Also at Blogcritics.org.

The Trailer Park: March of the Penguins

I saw this trailer the other night when I went to see Shortcut to Nirvana. I thought that it looked like a delightful, lighthearted documentary that a family would enjoy. It also reminded me a bit of Winged Migration from a couple of years back, but with a more focused purpose.

I am not sure how "true" the film will turn out to be, but I really enjoyed how they used music in combination with certain angles and such to give them a more human like personality. It isn't terribly accurate when comes to how these birds operate, but it adds another level of connection with the viewer.

This trailer makes the movie look like a lot of fun. It tracks the trek of the Emperor Penguins during mating season. The journey they make to the mating grounds and the adventures that it takes them on. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman, he brings a great tone to it, his voice works well for the material.

I hope to get a chance to see this on the big screen.

You can view the trailer HERE.

Also at Blogcritics.org.