Modest Alchemist's AwesomeSauce

Screaming Mechanical Brain at Rock House November 9th

2012-11-20T15:13:00.001-05:00

This post has been put off long enough. Sorry about the delay, there has been a lot going on. I almost died and such. Well not really, but I was pretty sick for a week after this event, and stuff. God I hate giving you excuses. I suck at life. Anyway, without further ado, my review of Lazy Hawk Promotion's show, featuring Screaming Mechanical Brain and others.

So first off, this show, unlike most of the shows I have reviewed on here, was not at the Emerson. Instead, it was at the Rock House off of Keystone and Hanna. I like this place. I've only been here once before for a Harley Poe concert which also featured Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes.

The Rock House is a bar, but they really put a lot of effort into making it a nice local music venue as well. They have a good stage location so everyone can see no matter where they are in the bar. Plenty of places to sit, fantastic drink specials, enough space to move around, their service is really excellent too. I recommend this place for any local show. rockhouseindy.com

So I went up there with my good friend Mike, who is my Bcast co-host, and we met up with some other awesome friends. Some other guy sat with us and bought a round of Coors, which I thought was pretty funny since I hate beer, and Mike doesn't drink. It's ok though cause Liz does and we just traded bottles so I'd have an empty one. Problem solved.

We got there in time to see the last song by Bizarre Noir. I thought they were fun and engaging. They weren't the kind of band to jump around and stuff, but it was a good opener to get into the swing of things. There would be plenty of rowdiness later.

Coffinsville kinda reminds me of a mix of Primus and Metallica. The lyrics aren't complicated, but the music itself is decent. They played a song called Deathrider, which I can't find on Youtube, so I guess you'll just have to go see them sometime. I could really tell that they are musicians for the love of the music. They're clearly not writing masterpieces here, they're having fun.

Ideamen were probably the best band all night to be honest. As they were doing their sound test, I told Liz, "If they're half as good as their sound test then they are going to be awesome". And I was right. They're really energetic, and have 7 members, but only 6 were there at the time. The dude on keyboard, yes they have a keyboardist, is super dancy. The only gripe I really have about them is that's their singer seriously reminds me of an ex who I do not get along with, and that was hard to overlook. But I can't hold that against them really. They have kindof a jazzy, ska sound. I'd love to see these guys again.

And then, there was Screaming Mechanical Brain. These guys were the headliner I guess. Their name was the biggest on the poster. I don't know. I guess a lot of people like them or something. I just didn't get them though. They had good music, and good audience interactions between songs. The lead guy liked to say a lot of things that didn't make any sense, like he had tourettes or something. You all might be interested in them a lot more than I was. I'm not saying they're bad by any means, I just didn't get the overall image of the band. I mean one dude was dressed up like the Mysery Machine from Scooby Doo, and all the way on the other end of the stage, another guy looked like some kind of weird, gay biker or something with lipstick smeared all over the side of his face. And there was everything in between. I was confused, and didn't know where to look, and it was distracting from the music.

The last band, which is a little weird since the headliner already played, Exit the System, who I can't find anything about online. If you know them, put links in the comments or something. I really liked this band.
Their setup was really interesting. It was all dark and goth, and they had costumes which were all black and white and ripped up. The singer's costume looked like an assassin hood. I thought it was cool. The music reminded me of Orgy; industrial and electronic, but heavier than Orgy. They had a very cool sound, but in reality it was just two guys on tom drums and a singer and a synthesizer for making all the industrial bits... so most of the music was synthesized. Don't hold that against them though, it was still good.

They even had a neat light and laser show. Sadly, with all light shows, they typically use a fog machine, and I'm kindof allergic to the fog, so we had to leave before these guys were finished. Would have been ok if they opened a door, or had some fans going or something. I suck at life. I can't even handle a fog machine, ugh.

Anyway, it was all around a pretty good time. Check out some shows at the Rock House sometime. If you're in a local band, play there if you're old enough.

Ripple Zombie Walk

2012-10-22T08:52:00.001-04:00

The Zombie Walk in Broad Ripple was this weekend. I was really impressed with a lot of the zombie makeup, and some people were really in character. Some people actually chose to go as a "response team" and they were on top of SUV's and shooting zombies with toy guns. Very funny.

So if you are unaware, this is annual event that accepts donations of canned food for needy people. I'm not sure whether it is affiliated with a church, or a specific charity or anything. Last year they raised about 5000 pounds of food with only 1000 or so participants.

It was definitely a good time. After the walk, which happened around dusk, and didn't last very long, my friend and I just hung out around Ripple. The Vogue hosted a Zombie Prom for all the walkers, but we didn't go. I have a bit of a grudge towards the Vogue after they wouldn't let me in one evening and were assholes about it. Said my ID was fake. And I'll have you know, I have never once had a fake ID. Anyway, they did up the outside of the building pretty good, and I would have liked to see what the inside looked like. If anyone has pics, send them to me and I'll post them up here. Or just post them in the comments or something.

So word of advice if you go next year: get there early to find a decent parking spot. They say makeup is from 5-7, but if you get there at 7, you'll completely miss the whole event while you're looking for parking.

Been Gone so Long

2012-10-19T11:37:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! I know I've been slacking on this site for a while. And I really need to get out there and do some more local reviews!

Well money's been tight, as I'm sure you can all understand. In addition to that, I've been putting together a new site for my podcast. You can check it out at bcastcult.com . So all my movie reviews and any events related to horror, or sci-fi are going there now.

So now that that's pretty much self sufficient, I'm back. I know you missed me.

So here are some upcoming events that I'll be reviewing.

The Emerson is hosting this event which will include Cast From Perfection and many others. I can hardly wait for this!

At Rave Motion Pictures, they're doing a live Rifftrax showing of Birdemic, which is a really terrible version of "The Birds". So that should be exciting. - that review will probably be on bcastcult.

There will be a zombie walk in Broad Ripple, that I'm attending, and you should too. details here .

And that's just the beginning.

If you know of any interesting local events, let me know in the comments, and I'll try to get a review on it.

Be sure to check out bcastcult.com while you're waiting for more content here.

-Malaria

Beef and Boards "Chicago"

2012-10-03T11:30:00.001-04:00

Totally went to Beef and Boards for the first time this past Sunday. It's located up by the Pyramids, and if you don't know what the Pyramids are, take a good ride around 465, and if you can't figure it out, then you're probably retarded.

So I went there with Mike from the Bcast, and his parents who are not from the Bcast, but are still awesome. We had a pretty good time despite this obviously being a venue for senior citizens, but you too can have fun there.

The place is a theater meant for showing plays, but first they give you food. And it's pretty good food. I mean it is a buffet where they cut roast beef for you, and you can choose which cut you get. And everything else tastes pretty good too, but when there's a roast beef involved, you really don't care about anything else.

The servers come around all the time with fresh beverages and they don't spend a lot of time bothering you with decisions to make. They just get in, and get out and leave you to enjoy your company.

After everyone is finished, they start the play. This time, we saw Chicago. The musical play, not the musical group. Both are great in their won ways, but they are not similar at all.

All in all, it was a really good experience. I recommend you try it if you like good service, food and plays. Take it back from the seniors! This should be a thing for all ages!

Beef and Boards

Part 2: Cake: my heroic journey and epic escape from the clutches of doom

2012-09-11T19:47:00.005-04:00

All the town screamed. Some in terror and some cackling with delight. There was nothing to be seen in the darkness. Nothing but Wizard Fire cascading through the heavens.

The lights returned suddenly, and lo and behold, on the stage was none other than the Sorceress Metric and her three musical minions. They had crept in under the cover of darkness, for if the guards had seen them, they would have put up a grand exposition and denied their entry.

She began her sorcery. It was like that of another land. Like German pop, 80's synth, psychedelic Pink Floyd songs of walls. Though much better than I am able to describe. Their spell fell like a mist over those taking shelter in the theater. Then suddenly, many lights, geometric in their ways shone throughout the structure. They danced in the air like magic, for magic they were indeed.

Then the rains died down and the atmosphere seemed less threatening than it had just prior to the blackout. The Sorceress and her minions had done what they came to do. The hour grew late and the event seemed to be drawing to an end. Would we get to see Cake this cold rainy night, or was our journey all for naught? It was already past the hour that these events usually subsided and weary travelers made their way back to their home lands.

The lights rose to normal proportions though the sun had already set. many theatre employs scuttled to the stage to bring out sound amplifying gadgets and strange doobly instruments. They even hanged an elaborate tapestry in honor of the Fellowship of Cake. Cake would play this night!

Oh joyous noise! The crowd cheered for them as they finally arrived. They made haste and played the most popular songs out of their expansive repertoire. They must finish by the stroke of midnight, or face massive consequences from the town ordinance.

Half way through, they made pause and gave the gift of a tree to a stranger. The greatest honor one could hope to receive from persons hailing from the land of Iconoclast. From music to life.

After they finished, my party made our weary trek home. Running into more, but minimal rain. Where I wrote in my internet diary,

"My friends and I went to a Cake concert featuring the Wombats and Metric. It changed venues last minute, and the thunderstorm caused a nearly two hour delay. But it was awesome!"

The End
Part 1

Part 1: Cake: my heroic journey and epic escape from the clutches of doom

2012-09-10T15:54:00.004-04:00

I had just returned from the mystic land of Dragon*con when I was first offered the invitation. The musical fellowship of Cake was requesting audience in the nearby Park of White River State. I had eagerly accepted this invitation as I have often been told of their great works, and had borne witness to a variety of their more popular pieces. Fast following my acceptance of the invitation, I had begun the time of planning for the travelling of this short journey.

All seemed well until my beloved cousin mentioned that he had heard news of Cake's decision to instead hold the event in another land. This seemed preposterous as it was nearly time for my departure. My feathers had been ruffled in my realization that this news held true, and Cake would indeed be presenting their fine arts in the distant land of Klipsch.

My cousin and I decided to band together along with his new and former housemates and a white mage to ensure our safe travel to the distant land. The road to which was long and littered with many other weary travelers' homeward bound quests, which would prove to make our adventure quite perilous indeed.

Whilst on the road we told many tales, and pondered on the reasonings why the fellowship of Cake had made this last minute decision to change our destination. Could it be that this was all a ruse to confuse the enjoyers of Cake? Was this some dastardly ploy? Was the Cake a lie? Perhaps the evil anti-Cake, the Chocolate Cake, was just out to make our merriments full of despair. They would be sure to sing quite the opposite of the songs that we had grown to know well. We felt insistent that at our journey's end we should find not our beloved bardic fellowship, but instead a baked good with yet a single candle and the signature face of a troll.

With ominous clouds billowing overhead we reached the modest Castle of Klipsch wherein presided many a meadery, pubs, and outlets for clothing goods. In the midst, stood the Grand Theatre of Klipsch. To enter into the town we were one by one subjugated to a mild search of our persons. Guards carefully checked our pockets and purses for any means or gadgets by which villains might cause harm to their otherwise law abiding patrons and guests.

Once inside our party made way to the theatre where we were to choose our seating arrangements for the remainder of the night. Every seat was quite good. We were pleased that on the stage we saw no sign of baked goods. Many of our fears had melted away when we were reassured that the fellowship of Cake were in the vicinity and would be performing that night.

I for one, was delighted to find out that not only were we to experience the arts of Cake, but we were also about to witness the foreign oddities of Wombat, a bardic band from the other side of the world hailing from Liverpool, and named for the exotic creature presiding in lands down under. Liverpooleans must be strange indeed as I am convinced that The Wombats are actually marsupialous wombats who are dressed as human men dressed in women's skinny pants.

Alas, the Wombats proved to be evil wizards. Their enchanting tunes brought forth the storm of all storms. The ominous clouds from before turned the skies as black as night and rolled over blocking the sun from horizon to horizon. The cold hateful winds blew away the castle flags and leaves of trees into the theatre and onto every patron. Thunder and lightning threatened us from every direction. The local towns folk hurried to cover their most valuable structures and items from the impending rains.

Tears fell from the heavens in a monsoonious downpour. The sound of the drops from the clouds could be likened to that of dark soldiers marching into the castle. The lightning was a mighty fire breathing dragon. Fellow travelers scattered for their individual camps just outside the castle walls as others took cover under the faulty shelter provided by the theatre. The air grew colder and the rain dampened my garments. I put my thoughts to warmer days as I shivered under the pavilion. I should have thought to bring my overcoat. Then suddenly, the lights went out.

End Part 1
Part 2

Linkin Park and Incubus at Honda Civic Tour

2012-08-26T16:31:00.000-04:00

So I attended the Honda Civic tour at the Klipsch venue last night. I was super excited to see Incubus and Linkin Park.

I had never seen Incubus before and so many of my friends who have seen them play a live show have told me that it was the best concert they had ever seen. "life changing!". Well, I don't know what happened, but it was not really that good. After a short opening act by Mutemath, Incubus went on second. It was still bright daylight. Usually the big acts don't start playing until the sun goes down. So I was pretty caught off guard when I heard them start to play while I was in line to enter the contest to win the awesome Honda Civic SI.

After Incubus was done, it took Linkin Park about 45 minutes to set up their set. They had a lot of pyrotechnics, and a projector show, and a pretty elaborate stage set up, so I can see why it took so long. The bad part was that they usually play music between sets, but instead of that, they just re-played a couple commercials about Linkin Park, and the Honda SI they were giving away. When they finally stopped all that and started playing music - The Beastie Boys - people actually cheered. It was kinda funny.

The Linkin Park set was pretty good. They played all the old music, and a lot of new music too. So even people like me, who stopped following them after Meteora, could have a good time. At one point during their second or third song, the loud speakers for the lawn section gave out, and they were out for a good minute, but when they came back up, they didn't seem to have any more problems for the rest of the night. The visuals for the show were pretty neat. I'm pretty sure Mike Shinoda had something to do with them because he's into that whole graffiti art thing.

Linkin Park was good, but the thing that really bothered me about the whole night was that nobody seemed all that enthusiastic about them at all. Usually you can take a look at the crowd on the lawn, and see some pits, or at the very least people jumping around. Strangely, it looked like nothing but a sea of zombies.

I didn't let that stop me and my friends from having a good time though! I just wish that one day, Linkin Park will play with Korn again.

Bcast Episode 1 Companion

2012-08-26T15:36:00.005-04:00

Holy Shit! Linkin Park and Incubus

2012-08-25T15:53:00.001-04:00

i realized last night while making the podcast that today i am going to the linkin park and incubus concert. i guess that's what happens when you have your tickets for 3 months. pro tip: do not forget about concerts that you've already purchased tickets for. will write all about it when i get home :)

Mike and Malaria make a podcast

2012-08-08T17:59:00.000-04:00

Thought it would be fun to make a podcast with Mike. So we did.

Search for Bcastcult on itunes or subscribe on the website bcastcult.com

In it, we talk about B movies and normal movies and stuff. It's pretty cool.

We're still trying to figure out the whole podcasting/hosting thing. It's not nearly as easy as Youtube is for videos. I wish Google had a podcast hosting app.

Mega Metal Weekend Review Part 3

2012-08-01T16:47:00.000-04:00

Alright, so I'm totally getting a start on this so I will be motivated to finish it before this weekend. I got a lot of other exciting stuff to write about and I have to catch up.
View Part 2 here.

Mayhem Festival 2012!

Ok, so here's the story. I kinda wanted to go to this festival for months. I had planned to go with some friends, but like two days before the show, everyone cancelled for one reason or another. I bought my tickets anyway thinking I would probably meet up with some people up there since I pretty much know everyone in Indiana, and I had some people I knew were going up there with other people. But the venue is like an hour's drive from my house and I just didn't want to drive up there alone.

So anyway about 15 hours before the show, my friend Liz gets offered a free VIP ticket, so she totally jumped on that and was like, "hey let's caravan up there with Chris and Eddie." So we tried to call them, and they were both like, "I'm not going because I'm lame". So Liz and I went up there without them.

So I went to pick up Liz and when I get to her house she tells me that the guy who gave her his extra ticket has a migraine, and so now he has two extra VIP tickets, and if we drive up to his place (which was on the way anyway) that I could have it. So we did, and VIP tickets include some really kick-ass parking and access to the air conditioned bar. It made for a really good time. Not to mention that we were basically upgraded from the lawn to the lower pavilion for free. Lower pavilion at this venue is just about as close as you can get to the show. You can easily throw shit at the stage from this distance, and I am a girl, and I throw like a girl.

See, we were really close.

So we get there and Liz and I met up with my friend Nick, who lives in the middle of nowhere North Dakota. He actually used to be in a local Indianapolis metal band in the late 90's early 2000's, Pupil. Then drama happened and he left the band and then the band turned into some other band. Ishiah (or something like that... I don't remember or know the details.) So I hadn't seen Nick in like 10 years. So it was fun to hang out with him again. He's currently in a band called Celestria in North Dakota, and we had to break the news that his band name is totally the name of the princess of Equestria in My Little Pony. Good job Nick.

So later on, I sent a text to Chris, that said something to the sort of, "I am drunk, come out here and keep me out of trouble." Which actually worked to get him to the show believe it or not. And when he got there and I was not drunk, he bought me drinks cause he is awesome.

Then his lady, Reeann showed up too! She is awesome, and I was super excited that they were both able to come out considering that they had completely bailed on the idea two days before.

Here is all of us together. I'm not in the pic cause I took it.

I also met up with someone I used to LARP with. (Don't judge me!)

I really love this venue. It has so much open space, so you're not just sitting out in the middle of the sun surrounded by a bunch of smelly people.

So on with the show I guess.

At the second stage we saw White Chapel and a number of other bands. I thought they were pretty good. Though I'd never really heard of them before. Liz went crowd surfing. So that was fun.

Then we went over to the main stage and caught As I Lay Dying, which Chris was excited to see. Liz and I took this time to go check out our seats in the pavilion to see how good they were. The seats were awesomely close to the stage.

Then we went back up to the lawn to hook back up with everyone else. We spent most of our time up on the lawn with everyone. Motorhead and Slayer played. And they were good, but I mean they're so old you know. Still good, but didn't have any new stuff or anything.

When Slipknot came on, Liz and I ran back down to our pavilion seats. There was a loud gunshot of sorts that totally startled me, and I ducked and screamed. I then realized that it was part of the show. I felt pretty embarrassed, but that's ok. Slipknot is AMAZING!

They have 3 drummers! I never knew that. It was really cool. They had a really cool light show with fire and projections and fire. And some of the band was playing drums way up in the air while others were climbing up onto the drum kit. And another drummer was playing completely upside down, something I haven't seen since I saw Blink 182 in 2002.

But anyway, where the seats were, it actually allowed no wind at all, so I had to go back up to the lawn about 1/2 way through the set so I wouldn't pass out. I think I actually had more fun out in the grass anyway because it's easier to jump around without tripping over chairs and stuff. The show was still awesome from out in the lawn.

And that wraps up the Mega Metal Weekend review. Sorry it took so long, but the awesomeness made me mentally check out for about a week.

Mega Metal Weekend Review Part 2

2012-07-30T15:17:00.003-04:00

My God! I am so sorry it has taken me this long to post Part 2! I could give you all the excuses, but truth is, I was pretty tired that Monday, and then work got in the way.

Read Part 1 here.

Anyway... Part 2!

When we left off, I was about to review 7Horns 7Eyes. I thought they were pretty good, although, I probably wouldn't rush to go buy their CD. They just weren't my thing. However, the cool thing about them is that they reminded me a little bit about Dethklok. They just definitely have that classic metal Metallica, "everything is black" look. The lead guy, totally reminded me of a really skinny Nathan Explosion.

Also, check out that guy's beard! It is so cool!

It has a will of its own. I'm pretty sure the beard is actually the one playing the guitar.

7Horns 7eyes also had a pretty good light show. You can see the different colored lights in the two pics of them.

Next, Jeff Loomis (Nevermore)! WTF! Fucking Guitar God!
This man does not have a face! I seriously took like 7 or 8 pictures of him and there is nothing but hair and hands.

That's probably why he's so good though. When you are unable to speak because you have no mouth, then you have to learn how to communicate through music.

And here you go. A prime example of his Goddery. Remember, my phone recordings are pretty shitty.
You're welcome.

The last band who played was The Contortionist.

I liked them.

I was unable to get any good pictures for some reason (remember I am not a photographer. Deal with it.)

These guys were really interesting. It was like... well... this...

It's just beautiful. Follow them on facebook.
So that concludes the Emerson experience part of Mega Metal Weekend.

Stay tuned for Part 3 where I talk about the Mayhem Festival at Deer Creek.

Mega Metal Weekend Review Part 1

2012-07-18T18:35:00.002-04:00

Wow! Sorry this is so late. I am still recovering from the awesomeness of Mega Metal Weekend. I even started trying to write this last night, and just fell asleep immediately.

So, let's get to it!

Saturday started off pretty good. Me and my buddy, Mike went to the Emerson to see the show. Doors were supposed to open at 6, but for some reason, they made everyone stand outside during the sound test, and they took their sweet time. Doors opened around 8:00, and it was hot as fuck outside just sitting there waiting to get in.

Some homeless guy was on acid or something and kept yelling at everyone standing outside. He asked who was playing, and how much it was to get it. Then he preceded to tell everyone that he lived just around the corner. Strangely he acted surprised to see people hanging out outside the theater even though there are shows there all the time, and given his home's supposed proximity. Loud obnoxious homeless man just kept bantering his hippie bullshit, "it is what it is", a statement that says nothing! And then spouted out some religious ,"all hail the goat monkey king for he comes in the distance." That last one is not an actual quote, but it doesn't really matter. Dude was creepy.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that the theater hired him to creep people out so they would go away. Combined with making us stand outside and be subject to the heat, and strategically having the creepy homeless guy harass us, was all just a ploy to get people not to see the show.

And then they let us in.

Luckily, creepy homeless dude did not actually attend the show. He was gone when we finally left, so I think he probably just forgot that stuff was going on once everyone went inside.

So the sheep were herded into the venue, where we were once again contained. Unable to head out to the actual space in the main room. Sound testing as still going on, but at this point, they were adjusting the levels for Cast From Perfection, who were scheduled to go on first.

Finally, they let us onto the floor and we were able to stretch out, sit down, walk around, move about. Space is your friend when you're surrounded by a bunch of people.

You probably know how excited I have been to see Cast From Perfection again after the Battle of the Bands on 7/7. They were still just as awesome this time around. New favorite local band? I think so. Previous favorite local band? Perfect Nothing... and that was over 10 years ago.

I tried to get a pic of all of them, but every single time someone was either turned around, as you can see here, or ducked down, or temporarily hiding behind their hair. I'm not a photographer. Deal with it.

I captured some video, with shittastic sound quality, but I fixed it by layering the actual recording of the song over the top. "Six Minutes" is misleadingly not six minutes long.

They do sound really good live. I am just at the mercy of crappy equipment that can't filter out white noise.

After that, we got to hear The Room Colored Charlatan. And I thought they sounded sad. Like their music was sad. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I could definitely feel a sadness to it. Maybe they were sad because one of them wore a purple shirt. Why didn't he match! Why!

It's ok to disagree with me. Here is their Facebook page with some of their music. All I'm saying is that if I were pissed at the world I would listen to this. It's good.

Something else I noticed about these guys, they seem to want to have as many strings as possible. Both guitarists had 7 string guitars, and the bassist had a 5 string bass.

Stay tuned for Mega Metal Weekend Review part 2 where we'll pick up with 7Horns 7Eyes.

Mega Metal Weekend

2012-07-13T12:48:00.003-04:00

Alright! this weekend's going to be epic.

Saturday - Emerson Theater to see

THE CONTORTIONIST
JEFF LOOMIS (NEVERMORE)
CHIMP SPANNER
7 HORNS 7 EYES
THE ROOM COLORED CHARLATAN
HARUSPEX
CAST FROM PERFECTION

I think that Chimp Spanner and Haruspex have bailed though according to the rumors on Facebook. It's still going to be epic though cause I get to see Cast From Perfection again. And they are awesome! Hoping to have an epic time.

I'm taking my friend Mike with me. You can check out some of Mike's movie reviews here on the Ponder Couch among some other stuff by my friend Seth. But Seth isn't going with us to Mega Metal Weekend event 1.

Sunday - Mayhem Festival at that place that used to be Deer Creek, and then became Verizon, and now it's called something else entirely!

This has got to be my favorite venue. I love going there. I like being outside and sitting on the grass listening to my favorite bands. And I even love it when it is crowded as fuck, and sod fights and mosh pits spring up randomly like Poke'mon in tall grass.

Mayhem info.

I'm seriously excited to see Slipknot! I was not into them at all when they first came out. The whole Juggalo scene was brand new and I did not understand any of it. But as I got older and less retarded, I learned the difference between Slipknot, Incubus, and ICP.

HUGE difference I might add.

Also, on my "excited to see" list is Slayer, Motorhead and Anthrax. I haven't seen any of these bands live before. So it's going to be awesome.

I just printed off my ticket!

Go get yours!

Gearing up for this weekend's Show - Emerson 7/14/2012

2012-07-12T12:24:00.000-04:00

Please God don't let this be true.

If you read my most recent post you already know what's up. If not, go read it and you will find that I spent more time ripping on Sonic Maelstrom's shit music than I spent praising some of the other bands.

Since I wrote that post, I have been able to find some examples of them online. It would have helped if their band name was spelled right on the itinerary for the show. If it was my band, I would have had it corrected.
Here go drown in a whirling vortex of sorrows.

Listening to them now, I will say that they sound a lot better recorded than they did live. Still, it sounds like they can't figure out whether they are taking their influences from Korn, Godsmack, Creed or Pearl Jam. Really... try to mash up Korn and Creed. It's not going to work. I challenge the writers of Glee, who have been successful mashing up West Side Story's I feel Pretty with TLC's Unpretty, to try to mash up Creed and Korn. They will probably not even try. Or at least it doesn't for me. I hope this doesn't turn into one of those "Primus sucks" things. I would be very disappointed.

Wow seriously. I need to stop hating on them and just let them dig their own grave. I'm open to changing my mind about them if they clean it up a bit, and start to sound better live.

Wait, why did I just bring up Glee? I really need to get out of the house more often. Fuck you! I like Glee.

So anyway...

I'm going to this event on Saturday 7/14/12. The only band officially on the lineup that I have seen is Cast From Perfection. They have amazing stage presence, and I am seriously excited to see them again.

They are last on the lineup flyers, so I am really optimistic for the rest of the show. Usually you go up the list the longer you've been around. And if you've been around long enough, you're supposed to be really good. I basically pulled all my neck/shoulder muscles last week during Cast From Perfection. I'm probably not going to be able to walk after this show. I can't wait!

Battle of the Bands - Emerson Theater 7/7/2012

2012-07-10T00:25:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I went to check out the Battle of the Bands contest at the Emerson Theater on 10th and Emerson in Indy. The winner of this contest gets to play at the Mayhem Festival this year, so it was a pretty epic prize.

If you don't know, the Emerson is an under 21 establishment, so the participating bands really ranged as far as the age of their members. I showed up a little late, so the first band I saw was the M80's. The members looked like they ranged from ages 14-17, but age doesn't really matter when you're fucking metal. They were excellent! Here is a video of them from the show. The sound quality is shit though cause it's from someone's cell phone. M80s and more M80's

The Risq was another pretty cool young band, but they don't have any music up on youtube. Get some stuff up you guys! How are you going to be promoted without an example of your work? I found some music on ReverbNation. the Risq

The next band that came on was Creed... I mean Sonic Malestorm... And they sounded like a shitty version of Creed. They couldn't even get the audience going. If this band was a bunch of kids like the previous two, I would cut them some slack, but they were a band of older dudes. A consensus going around the crowd was, "Why did you come here if you were just going to suck?" Now I really hate to trash people for doing what they like to do, but seriously, do not come to town to compete in a metal competition if you're not metal. I don't know if they were just having a bad day or what. I just don't see these guys getting anywhere. But you know what? I'm not the see all end all of metal. I am by no means an expert, or a critic, I just enjoy it. I did not enjoy this band at all. I would have loved for you to share in my disapproval, but even though I tried, I couldn't find anything of theirs online. No Facebook page, no Youtube, nothing. Were they even really there, or was the event staff just wasting time until the sound guy could fix something?

Epyon gave a good show. Sadly, the friends who came to the show with me bailed at this point to go to the bar around the corner and get some shots. Those geeks really missed out. Epyon was engaged in the music and they worked the stage. Everyone was everywhere. Some kid in a yellow shirt got his face busted open during a pit fight too. He looks to be ok now aside from the huge gash on his eyebrow. Epic Pit Fight Face Busting! Epyon's facebook page.

Should This Armor Fail was fantastic. I did think that they had one too many guitarists, but that is only because one of them looked like he wasn't doing much. He's probably a very integral part of the band. Shit, he could be the one who writes all the music. I don't know! Otherwise, everyone else looked like they were into it. This is where the crowd started to really get into the whole show too, not just the pit fighters. There were more people dancing, and jumping around for this group. These guys sounded like, in my opinion, Story of the Year. I'm probably going to get a lot of shit for my opinion, but I don't care... I like Story of the Year. What is most alike was the way the singer switched between singing and screaming. A lot of the other bands were 100% screaming. Should This Armor Fail's Facebook page.

Vires was awesome. They sounded really good together. The lead guy was pretty energetic, but the others kinda just stood there playing their instruments though. I really liked the guitarist's dragonfly shirt. That's pretty hardcore. Not sure if you know this, but dragonflies live their entire lives in about 4 days. They basically have to decide whether to eat or mate, and then they die. It's badass! Actually, I'm not sure if that's true at all. Here's a link to their music. Fucking check them out and support their music.

Cast From Perfection is actually the band that I went to support. I have a friend in the band and he is awesome! So I went to this show to support my friend's band, and I had never heard them before, but just wow. They are amazing. They were showmen at their finest. First and foremost, and a lot of the other bands should totally learn this lesson from them, they made their vocals louder than the instruments. Hello bands everywhere! When you are playing a live show, your instruments are naturally going to be louder than your vocals. Please turn the instruments down so people can hear your fucking lyrics. Otherwise, there is no point in having lyrics at all.

Secondly, Cast From Perfection was the only band who actually successfully engaged the crowd. Encouraging them to jump around and headbang and scream and stuff, made the performance a lot of fun. My neck/shoulder region is still pretty sore from it and it's Tuesday. It's been 3 days! Also getting close to the crowd and encouraging them to air molest your guitar is pretty sweet. These guys were just really enthusiastic about being up there in front of everyone. It looked like they were having just as much fun as the crowd. And that's what you gotta look for in an artist. They have to enjoy what they do.

Check them out on Facebook Cast From Perfection.
And here's some of their music... cause that's all that matters. Fucking Brutal Music.

So after these guys finished playing, my friends and I left, even though there were like 3 or 4 more bands to play. But before we left, we asked around to see if we could vote for our favorites since it was a battle and everything. As it turns out, there was a judge... that's right A judge. One. Judge. One judge for like 14 bands. How the fuck are you going to only have one judge? How could that not be biased? They probably didn't even consider how many presales each band brought in. The M80's brought in like $300 from presales alone! Cast From Perfection brought in over $500. And the Creed Ripoffs brought in a whopping $0. I know this because I was able to stealthily take a picture of the ticket taker's computer screen.

So I am not sure who won, because I wasn't there, but apparently, everyone else is calling them a Pantera knock off. "There can only be one Pantera", and this is true. The whole thing was totally rigged. They should have put it to a screaming vote at the end of the night or something. And Epyon should have gotten extra points for bloodface kid.

If you attended the event, comment below. Tell me who you would have voted for, if there had actually been a vote. Or talk about the bands that I didn't get the privilege to see.

Rocky Horror and other Audience Participation Events

2012-06-19T22:34:00.001-04:00

That epic moment when something is so bad, it is awesome!

When I was in junior high, my best friend raved about the Rocky Horror Picture Show. She had an older brother who told her all about it. And, I am pretty sure her parents both went to see it one time or another. So that Halloween, I was pretty excited to find out that VH1 was going to do an all day marathon of the film. I holed up in my basement that night so I could watch it.

Now, I'm a huge fan of musicals, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that RHPS is indeed a musical. I absolutely loved the opening scenes with Brad and Janet. It was both hilarious, and reminiscent of the first few scenes of "Night of the Living Dead", at least in my opinion. Then Brad and Janet got lost on the road and ended up in a creepy house full of eccentric people, and some stuff started happening, and I was out like a light.

Several subsequent attempts at watching it later, and I realized that if I couldn't stay awake through the movie, even when fully rested, then I probably just didn't like the movie. That is until I was invited to a public showing several years later. That night, for the first time ever, I stayed awake and enjoyed the whole movie. I also realized that the music in the movie turned to slow, storytelling ballads that lulled me into a cozy sleep state.

I don't really need to get into all that goes on at a public showing of RHPS, as I am sure many of you have been to one, or at least heard about it already. If not, I'll post a link at the bottom of this post that'll tell you all about it. Indeed, it was definitely a good time out with friends, and I felt good for supporting a local independent theater. (disclaimer: I AM NOT A HIPSTER!)

Earlier this week, the same friends who took me to RHPS, took me to see another similar event. We went to an arts theater to see the epicly bad love triangle drama, The Room. This isn't nearly as popular as RHPS, but apparently it's growing in some circles. Audience participation for The Room is not nearly as energetic as Rocky Horror. The story is easier to follow, and there is only one thing to throw, SPOONS! You should definitely go see it if you get the chance.
Public participation in theaters is a fucking unique experience. It doesn't have to be nearly as involved as RHPS, or The Room, it could be as simple as filling a premiere with friends, or like minded people, and just experiencing a film for the first time with others. I remember seeing Star Wars episode 3 on opening night. The theater had to show it on all 18 of it's screens to accommodate the crowd, and I am sure they still had to turn people away. Nearly everyone was dressed up for the occasion. Everyone was just as excited as I was to see the final installment of Star Wars for the first time; movie history.

Environments like this create a special atmosphere. It's different than seeing a movie a few days later, when almost everyone who is a true fan has already seen it. When you see a premiere with like-minded enthusiasts, you're actually going on an adventure with your companions. It's new, uncharted territory. The whole theater struggles through the plight of the characters, they cry when Aniken's mom dies in his arms, and they cheer when Obi-Wan leaves him for dead on the lava planet (because it is bad-ass).

This isn't just true with Star Wars. One year in college, my history of games class was able to fill a pre-screening of Kick Ass. And it was awesome! When Kick Ass tazed the drug dealer in the face, someone yelled out, "Oh! in the face!", and everyone busted out laughing. The night was filled with such comments. It was a memory that the audience shared together. I will always remember that movie the way I saw it the first time, which was much more exciting than watching it alone at home on DVD.

So, in the comments below, let me know your favorite audience participation event story.

Rocky Horror Picture Show fan site: http://www.rockyhorror.com/
The Room wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Room_(film)
The Room Tribute video game: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/547307 this shit is EPIC! Find all the hidden spoons!

Classic TV shows. Nick at Nite. Life in general

2012-06-16T00:47:00.000-04:00

First, I would like to say that I have always been bothered by the way they spell "Nite". It's "night" people! Stop promoting incorrect spelling!

Second, I would like to say that I spent my childhood years staying up all hours of the night watching this channel. Often times, people I work with say things like, "Oh, this one time on the Mary Tyler Moore Show... oh you're probably too young for that." Well guess what, old people, I watched that show all the time when I was 6. I know what you're talking about.

Anyway, Netflix has started posting some of these old shows. I literally spent most of my day today watching Dick Van Dyke. This was probably my favorite show as a kid. It's a wonder why we don't have shows like this anymore. Something that the whole family can sit down and watch together. There is no programming like this at all today. TV parents don't love each other, kids are not obedient or innocent. Wives and husbands don't come together and talk out their problems, talk about how to raise their kids, talk about their day, talk at all. Today on TV, you'll see married couples sleep in the same bed, and the same bed of the lady /man down the street.

I can understand that times have changed, and now we're supposed to show diversity on TV. We're supposed to let kids know that not every family is the same, and that's "OK". But has this gone so far as to create bad role models for families?

Is there even any programming out there for families to watch together? Sure, Lifetime still has those original movies about moms looking for their kidnapped children, which are great for scaring your kids into staying in the yard.... Well... that's not any fun. Oh! We have the Disney channel, where the programming is made exclusively to promote tween-pop. The content is sometimes so ridiculous that it doesn't even make any sense. Sometimes they play classic movies, which are pretty good, but neither the programming or the movies are really all that entertaining for adults on a regular basis.

There is such a split in what's on TV. Everything is made for a specific demographic, but families are not made out of one demographic. Families are all demographics under the same roof.

TV families used to represent the perfect model for the perfect family. Today, they reflect the worst possible relationships imaginable. Today, we have nothing to look up to, no goals to reach. What we have, is a very low bar, that we try not to go under. We see the dirt on everyone, and try to justify our immoral lives by saying, "well at least I'm not as bad as [insert trending celebrity couple here]". Wouldn't it be better to try to be the best we can be for the betterment of mankind?

Netflix! Why you no Break Bad?!?!

2012-06-13T14:35:00.000-04:00

I have been waiting for AMC's Breaking Bad season 4 to be added to Netflix instant streaming since it finished airing on TV. Season 5 airs in July, and still no season 4!

Seriously Netflix! get with the program here!

Breaking Bad is the epic tale of Chemistry teacher Walter White (Brian Cranston) who starts dealing meth to help create a pretty nice cushion for his family to live on when he dies. In season 1, he was diagnosed with cancer, his 15 year old son has paulsey, and his home-maker wife finds out she's having another baby.

His brother in law, Hank, is a DEA agent, and one day while Walt is on a "ride along" with Hank, he sees one of his former students flee the scene of a lab bust. He later confronts this student and asks him to help him get into the drug trade. Hilarity ensues.

Walter finds himself forced to make one tough decision after another. You follow him along this journey from High School Science teacher to hardened criminal. At first, he doesn't even want to touch a gun, and later, you find him masterminding elaborate plans to wipe out high rollers in the drug trade. All the while, the DEA seems to be closing in on him (or rather they're really portrayed as complete morons, who haven't been hot on anyone's tail throughout the whole series).

Anyway, Netflix come on already and post season 4 before season 5 starts, I'd really like to watch the series in order. Could be totally confusing if I don't know who key players are at this point.

Roger Waters Presents :The Wall

2012-06-13T12:35:00.004-04:00

My 27th birthday! Happy birthday to me!

Tonight, (June 11, 2012), I went to see The Wall, a concert put on by Roger Waters. It was a pretty fantastic performance. I had at this point only seen the movie once, and that was about 6 years or so ago, so I didn't really know what to expect.

If any of you have ever seen a Pink Floyd show, you would know that it is more than a concert, it relies heavily on storytelling elements. They used props and projections, and puppets and carefully timed construction to tell the story of a man named Pink Floyd, who is building a mental wall to keep people out, but then finds that it also imprisons him, and his struggle to get back out.

I really liked the use of the bricks in the wall. As the first half of the story played out, stage hands were building the wall out of white bricks. The bricks were each about 5 ft by 3 ft, and looked like they were pretty light, leading me to believe they were made of light Styrofoam, or card board. I sat in the far balcony, so I couldn't get a good look at their construction. By the time intermission rolled around, the wall was complete. The second half of the show was really cool because the wall served as a projection screen to show some pretty awesome imagery. A lot of which was taken directly from the movie, but some was changed for the show. The story deals a lot with WWII, but during the concert, a lot of things were changed to reflect the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The same message is sent however in that people are used as stepping stones for the country to bring terror onto others. There was actually a written message on the wall that said something to the likes of,

"Every weapon, every tank, every bomb represents in it's final sense, a theft from those who are hungry and not fed, from those who are cold and not clothed."

:: update:: I found the quote I was looking for,

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

This message was pretty in your face the whole time, actually. In the first half of the show, the really precise projection system showed a picture of a different soldier, or civilian who has lost a life because of the war, on the face of each brick. It looked like one of those pictures made out of 1000 photos. This basically is supposed to mean that we are just tools that are used by the government to keep people out, and to keep us in. Like we're just livestock or something. This imagery also reminded me of the Great Wall of China, wherein people who died while building it were just built into the wall serving as mortar. I am not sure if this is true, but that is definitely the rumor.

There were obviously some more, "don't trust your government" overtones, but I wouldn't say that the narrative is actually all that shallow. There were a lot of other themes, such as the loss of innocence, the damage of overbearing parents, the realization of the state of the world, self destruction, and many others. This is the story of every man, and his struggles. Of every person, and their individual wall. It's really deep. Watch it, and then watch it again.

Actually, you can find the movie legit on Youtube on RogerWatersChannel http://www.youtube.com/user/rogerwaterschannel

Here is the direct link to the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jTmMU6sMgM

Also, the song "Hey You" was cut from the official release of the film. It is supposed to go between "goodbye cruel world" and "is there anybody out there?" . Here is the link for the cut portion of the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B4N_-NIBZA&feature=plcp

While watching the movie, or after watching it the first time, I highly suggest reading the complete analysis of the film because there is a lot of symbolism and metaphor used in the film and it is explained in the analysis.
http://www.thewallanalysis.com

If you'd like to see some pics from the concert, check out this guy's page:
http://clarencegrad72.blogspot.com/2010/10/wall.html

nkotbsb

2011-07-27T01:00:00.001-04:00

Nkotbsb new kids on the back street boys does not sound like they put enough thought into it because it sounds like they are on them. They should have. Had 2 bs and have one of them backward.

Kevin and howies hat died in a terrible school bus accident. Howie buys a new hat which happens to be kevins reincarnated soul. Only Howie can hear him, but for some incompent reason he doesn't tell the others. Kevin tries to communicate with them, but gets nowhere. Meanwhile, aj also bought a hat.

The bsb. Often turn into knotb. But they are unaware of their own alternate identities. Howies new hat which is kevin, also has a knotb alternate identity.

Ideas for bsb fan satire stick figure comic.

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baby ducks

2011-03-16T17:09:00.001-04:00

I got baby ducks

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team four star

2011-02-22T14:48:00.001-05:00

Is totally awesome, and I wish they would put out content more often than once a month.

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Acai Berry

2009-11-16T15:09:00.003-05:00

Hey all...

I'm sure you have all heard about the wonderful benefits of acai betty and all the hundreds of pounds of lard you will burn whilst paying out the ass, quite literally as well as figuratively for this glorified tropical blueberry. But what about the real side effects?

There are about a billion or more websites out there dedicated to this fruit as if it is the fountain of youth... It will cure cancer, heart disease, obesity, immigration and gay marriage. It costs nothing but 12 easy payments of your soul, and your first born child.

Here are some of the things the websites will tell you:

It is natural, so there are no side effects.
Well hello!!!! arsenic is a natural extract of apple seeds, but I guarantee it has side effects. If natural things didn't have side effects, then people who like to smoke Marijuana, wouldn't be trying to hide it from their coworkers, boss, the government and Jesus. Poison ivy is naturally occurring as well.

Acai Berry will boost your metabolism.
What a load of shit... i mean it's technically true, but it is misleading. Eating ANYTHING will boost your metabolism... especially if it is an organic fruit or vegetable. All you dieting people need to stop starving yourselves and eat things... not eating things is what makes you huge! our bodies weren't meant for the rollercoaster of binging and fasting. Our bodies need a regular schedule of nutrition so it knows how to properly store and use the nutrition. If you starve yourself, the next time you eat, your body is going to want to store more of the nutrients as fat than it will use to repair your broken cells... Basically... this rollercoaster causes humans to be giant tubs of blubber that age quickly because of the lack of cell regeneration. Eat healthy and exercise... go to the friggin gym... take a walk to the park... take the stairs instead of the elevator, and park your car further away from the front door of mcdonalds.

Clinical labs have proven that acai berry has no side effects.
you need to ask questions here. Whose clinical lab? I have a clinical lab, but God knows I'm no doctor. I'm tech support. And I can say anything I want to online... Whenever a site says it has clinical proof, actually look for the clinical proof. it would be published in a SCIENTIFIC journal if it is true... or jeez... they should at least post a link to a graph or something in the sidebar, or the article itself.
Oh by the way, the only thing the online medical sites like webMD.com have said about side effects is that they haven't had enough time to test the short term or long term side effects of this product, therefore, have no idea.

Dr. Phil and Oprah have featured acai on their tv shows.
Ok, do you have any idea how TV shows like this are even put together? Producers have a team of teenagers and early 20 year olds surfing the web for today's next trends. They see the same crap you read about a subject, product, new hat wearing directional preference, and they test it on their target demographic. in the case of the acai berry and any of it's associated products, the demographic is pudgy housewives who do nothing but watch oprah and dr phil all day. So the topic team says "oh cool, let's feature this!" they gets tons of money from the acai berry distributors for the advertisement that they are going to run on the show (the show is a big advertisement by the way, but that is another topic) and oprah gets a few "experts" to dress up like scientists and proclaim that acai is a new miracle.... Does anyone remember when she did atkins or south beach? it is a pattern... stop being so blind! By the way, Dr Phil is not a medical doctor, he is a therapist... With 4 more years of school, i'll be a doctor too... a doctor of Media arts and Technology... but i'm sure you won't want my medical advise.

Ok so now that i'm done trashing massive copy and paste job of the acai berry promoters. let me tell you this..

I'm the kind of person who will try pretty much anything. I tried Clean and Clear advantage for my face (which actually worked for a little while) i tried being Vegan (failed miserably after 1 good week) i tried south beach, atkins, joining a gym, running regularly, birth control (as some of them actually cause weight loss and prevent acne) and wii fit. now i'm a normal average american girl. a little overweight. I'm relatively healthy, and i have no marks on my medical history.

I tried the acai cleanse detox thing that i found in my supermarket. a friend actually recommended it to me. apparently she lost 2 sizes on it... good for her. so i took it home and excitedly read all the info on the bottle, took my 2 pills and drank my 8 ounces of water. That night i woke up from a sound sleep at 4:00 am, vomited all over the place, had to drink about 2 liters of water to get re-hydrated, and i've had a migraine headache for the last 3 days.

I have NEVER had a migraine before EVER. there is NO history of migraine in my family at all. And yes i know it was a migraine cause it was so painful i couldn't get out of bed for 2 of these 3 days.

So anyway...
i thought i would post a bad review about acai berries since there aren't any

kermit

2007-10-10T16:07:00.000-04:00

when you're bored in IT...