These are just some quick updates, this has nothing to due with that movie.
I am back at school and have been super busy with classes and the crap that you have to do at the start of every term. So that is why there has been little activity for the last month.
I went to see USS at the Bomber, which they described as one of their top 5 gigs. It was quite intense and I really feel sorry for the few security guards who had to keep everyone back from the stage/platform. I have to submit a review of this for an assignment in one of my courses, so once that is done and submitted, I will post it here.
Since I have very little time to keep up this blog and my other blog (prolesec.blogspot.com), I have thoughts about joining them and Sicum Reviews posts will be identifiable by tags and/or posted by name. If you don't like this idea let me know.
This weekend I went to see two movies, The Social Network and Resident Evil: Afterlife. I had completely forgotten about hearing that Trent Reznor would be doing the soundtrack for The Social Network. When Atticus Ross and Reznor's names appeared in the opening credits, I immediately recalled hearing that and my expectations increased. For those of you who don't know Atticus Ross, he has worked with Reznor on several projects and is part of How to Destroy Angels. Reznor and Ross didn't disappoint, I really enjoyed the music during the film. And the movie was pretty good as well. If you haven't seen the movie yet or just want to listen to it anyways, there is a five track sampler available for free download.
If you really enjoy rock music that you will love the soundtrack for Resident Evil: Afterlife. I have yet to find the full soundtrack, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The music was very fitting. It was eerie rock and at times built up quite epically. The closing song by A Perfect Circle, "Outsider (Apocalypse Remix)", will give you an idea of the style of music used in the film. I'm not sure if the music was all original or just a collection of instrumental versions of songs. Nevertheless, I want the soundtrack when I can find it.
As I mentioned in the last post, I won tickets to see the Stone Temple Pilots and I must say even though I was on the opposite side of the stadium in seats it was still a great show. Cage the Elephant was insane. Matt Shultz, the lead singer, is wild. He was running all over the place and after he was bored of crowd surfing he decide to stand on the crowd during their last song. The microphone setup was a little off for both Hot Hot Heat and Cage the Elephant, because it was often hard to hear and understand the lyrics over the music. Luckily it was fixed for STP.
STP played a good full set and included all my favourites, so I was pleased. If you like blues rock or just blues I would definitely go see them live. They play just like their records but add all sorts of riffs and jams (I should mention that I've read accusations of lip syncing from Scott Weiland, but I watched him and it looked legit). Most songs start with either the bass or lead guitarist going off on a sweet blues jam. The stage was trippy. A full wall of lights showed some rough images, but mostly just psychedelic visualizations (similar to those in Windows Media Player but better). There were a few things I didn't like about the show. From my seats in the 100 level, in arguably one of the best places, I couldn't even make out band members faces. I am also not a fan of sitting down at rock shows, especially for bands as energetic as Cage the Elephant. It is quite awkward sitting there watching someone run around, jump, and blast great music when you have to space to get up and jump yourself. It's for this reason I've never enjoyed the ACC as a concert venue (with the exception of Trans Siberian Orchestra). You might say to buy floor tickets, but those are usually expensive and even then nothing can beat seeing your favourite band in a small intimate club venue.
Overall, STP were great and I can check them off the list of the many bands I have to see, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again. But, I wouldn't mind seeing them play a smaller venue. I would definitely like to see Cage the Elephant again once they have released more albums. It is hard for them to play a full set when they only have 12 track album. I'd want floor tickets for that too. STP is worth seeing live, but seeing as they've been on hiatus and split before, who knows how many more tours they have left in themselves. So if you have the chance to see STP on this tour I would make sure I get there.
By the way, I got a place and I'm moving back to school this weekend. So once I'm settled in and I get through the first week of parties, I will get some more articles and reviews out.
So I've been really tired since Wakestock, so this is actual about last week.
After the long weekend here in Canada, the week was off to a nice start by shortening the work week. Tuesday went by so fast and as discussed earlier I got the surprise news of a free Metric concert at Union Station. The show was excellent and well worth the ticket price. For Thursday, I sort of wanted to go see Kesha and Rihanna play the Molson Amphitheatre, partly to check out the venue, which I've never seen a gig at. I couldn't find any cheap tickets and didn't want to fork out what Ticketmaster was charging, so I didn't go. Luckily, something else came up in its place. Like I often do after work, I opened up YouTube to play some tunes and see if any interesting movie trailers came out. The spotlight on Arcade Fire caught my attention, and I noticed they'd be playing a show in NYC that night and a live stream was available. Although I missed the live opening while planning my rides for the rest of the week's entertainment, I was able to see most of it when it replayed after the live set ended. Some of the guys in Arcade Fire really go all out, banging instruments and dancing like mad, generally working up a sweat. I hope their tour bus has a shower on it... But like Win said, "remember when I saw Arcade Fire and they were a minute into a song, stopped and started from the top. Best night (or week in my case) of my life." Whoever caught the tambourine way back in the crowd must being really enjoying themselves. Nice to see Win toss it to the back instead of passing it to the front like most bands. They already had a splendid experience from being right up front, add something to the night of fans in the back peeking over people's shoulders just to see. Hopefully the concert will be posted in full for further enjoyment, like the U2 at the Rose Bowl was. And for the rest of the week, Wakestock 2010. Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, Crash Kings, Hollerado, Public Enemy, KO, Rebel Emergency, the Katacombs and Alexisonfire all weekend long. Not to mention wakeboarding and bikinis.
USS was super energetic as I was expecting them to be, but I would have much rather seen a full set by them. They only had an hour which was shared with Maestro Fresh Wes. Some of the craziness included Human Kebab scratching with a severed hand, guest appearances by cardboard Twilight stars and Sarah Palin as guest DJ, and washing it all down with a smoothie concoction. Crash Kings performed a great set. Started off a little slow because of unfamiliarity with the crowd, but even the songs I didn't know I liked. As soon as they played "Mountain Man," the crowd really got into it and the Crash Kings never stopped after that. Their version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" was amazing. I think they don't get enough recognition for their music, which is really good and loud.
(Thanks to Jenicka Wynne for allowing her photos to be downloaded and shared, check out her other shots.)
Now it was time for the headliners, and the crowd was going insane before AOF even took to the stage. I was almost impaled by a thick metal spike someone threw in the air with a shoe. Luckily, it just grazed my leg. Once on stage, the crowd got even rowdier. Full cans of Monster, hats, razors, glasses, ice, shoes, beach balls and people. Anything that was given out or people had, got tossed in the air. My friends and I stuck around to see Flava Flav and Public Enemy, but we really didn't enjoy it much and Flav was missing his clock, so we headed out. Although I discovered later that he had been hit by a shoe during that show, so I almost regret leaving.
On the Sunday, we watched more wakeboarding, but due to rain, it was delayed. After being soaked, we went for lunch and came back to watch some Katacombs, Rebel Emergency and Hollerado. Katacombs had a cool sound, but I didn't get to see too much of their performance. I am glad Hollerado played "Juliette" near the start of their set, because it began to rain again, so we had to head home. Overall, even with the rain, the festival was great and I am definitely going next year. One recommendation, if you decide to go, arrive early or if you have a 3-day pass go Friday. We couldn't go on Friday, but we thought we wouldn't have to wait in line for tickets because we bought online. We were so wrong and got in five minutes before USS started.
Here if you couldn't be there, enjoy some bikini girls (no band videos have good sound).
Looks like I have another awesome week coming up this month. I just won tickets to see Stone Temple Pilots, Cage the Elephant and Hot Hot Heat and they happen to be the night after Fan Expo ends. I love summer.
As I mentioned on my twitter page that I may not finish this article due to the streaming Arcade Fire Concert on YouTube, I will have to post the article next week. I am only half finished and I was trying to get a hold of my ride for Wakestock 2010 this weekend that I missed the first hour of the AF gig.
I got a special treat this morning when I discovered Metric was to be playing a free show outside of Union Station in Toronto, Ontario to celebrate the release of the Samsung Galaxy S. I headed down after work to check out the show and I must say I was impressed. Metric played extremely well and Emily Haines' dance moves were crazy. They must have only played 10 songs or so, but I definitely would pay to see a full set. I even preferred some of the live versions over the studio recording, especially Stadium Love. A live album from Metric would be sick. If you weren't lucky enough to have been there this is a video someone else got at the event (unfortunately I was unprepared and had no camera).
I'll will update this post if I find any better videos, and if the few photos I got on my cellphone turn out, I'll add them too.
Here are some short reviews after listening to some albums released today. These are after my first listen through the albums and as I hear the songs more and more, they may grow on me.
Buckcherry's All Night Long
This album was decent. I didn't know what to expect because I don't listen to much Buckcherry. I thought it was as good or better than other Buckcherry music I know. If you want to prove me wrong, please do so, I always enjoy finding music I had previously overlooked. My favourite song on the album is "Liberty". I see this being picked up by radio stations and doing the best out of all singles. The chorus is quite catchy and I just love how Josh Todd says little darling. It has a quiter section with a southern blues-rock and folk style just before the chorus picks back up near the end, which was very interesting. I also thought "Our World", the song written for the aid of BP oil spill, was one of the better songs on the album. I read what this song was about and thought it would just be something to capitalize on headlines and be used in public service announcements. This was not the case. Overall, I found the album had great rock sound, but still not a favourite of mind. Maybe if you're a Buckcherry fan you'll find this album amazing. I think there are some songs that have the potential to develop into rock anthems, such as "All Night Long" or "It's a Party". They will definitely be blasting at parties and out of car stereos cruising the midnight highways.
As for the Reckless Sons acoustic EP, included in deluxe editions, I won't say much. I liked the EP more than the album and it is definitely worth getting. It shows Buckcherry's artistic side, as opposed to rockstar side you see on the album. It is more musical and I enjoyed the sound a lot more, even though previously I've never enjoyed all acoustic album or EPs. This is not just padding to increase the "worth" of the album or give more "bang for your buck".
Arcade Fire's The Suburbs
I found this album more comparable to Funeral. In my opinion it is better than Neon Bible, and like the first album is a treat for the ears from start to finish. If this album was a meal, you have a delicious appetizer and meal, and when you are already satisfied the waiter brings out a dessert cart full of 14 mouth-watering options. Since you can't possible choose, you just have to eat them all. I thought this album was particularly inspiring, just because the tales told in many of the songs are easy to relate to and with such variety of music there are many things to drawn inspiration from. I find it interesting to be listening to these bands now, knowing that in 10 or 20 years new bands will be citing them as their influences. Classic rock bands that I listen to today, such as the Beatles, had music from almost every genre and have influenced pretty much every band out there, whether they say so or not. Could Arcade Fire be one such band in the future?
Like always, Arcade Fire is pleasing because their albums offer so much variety in the styles of sound and vocals. This album was epic both in its greatness and its sounds. Some songs almost sounded like part of a movie soundtrack, and the stories in the lyrics only help add to this image. The only bad thing I can think of to tell you is that I can't pick a favourite song. So to people who look at the history of great Canadian musicians and still believe we are grades below everyone else, you have officially been proved wrong. Arcade Fire is doing wonders for the view of the Canadian music scene and are the most creative and innovative modern band.
The Suburbs is an absolute must have. If you can't afford to buy it, you have two options. Sell your children or download it, either way I think the law make an exception in this case.
This is the truth about Christian rock music. Christian rock is not choirs singing gospel hymns or some sissy, watered down version of rock music. I heard more hardcore music coming from Christian bands that some heavy metal bands. And in fact many people who are opposed to this genre are surprised to learn several of the artists that frequent their playlists are popular Christian bands. Let me introduce you to some of my favourite Christian bands, some you may already know.
Demon Hunter
This band plays rock and heavy metal and in my experience people who hear them without knowing it would never guess they were Christian. Have a listen to some of their music:
Hailing from Canada, some of you may or may not know this band, as they have a larger following in the USA. To some's surprise, Trevor McNevan, founding member, guitarist and lead vocals, has close ties to Three Days Grace, Finger Eleven, and Breaking Benjamin. He even had a hand in Three Days Grace's demo. You can pick up anyone of their albums and every song is crazy awesome, so it is hard to pick some favourites.
P.O.D.
Here is a great band that has been around for a long while and have great mainstream success. You probably know them, so I just let you get to the music. If you don't recognize either of these two songs, look up "Boom".
Pillar
This is one of the bands I've found on people iTunes and they had no idea they were a Christian band. I couldn't find a good quality video that had embedding enabled or wasn't blocked in Canada (don't know how record companies expect people to spread music around), so just click "Frontline".
Here is a quick run down of some more great Chrisitan bands you may already be listening to.
Skillet
Relient K
Project 86
Decyfer Down
I could go on with many more great bands, some unknown and others mainstream artists, but why not just discover them for yourself. Here are two free sites streaming Christian rock.
Or you can sign up for New Release Tuesday or Hear It First. Both of these sites give you several free downloads each week, offer full album previews, contests and NRT even lets you earn points for free swag.
I had originally gone downtown Toronto to see Stars play at the Queen St. HMV, unfortunately it was not the best of days outside and parts of the subway were closed so I decided not to stick around for the performance. But while I was downtown I did see some interesting street music aside from the usual drums, guitar and bagpipes that are always around. I came around a man, I believe he was sitting somewhere along Queen St., and he was playing a saw with a violin bow. To create different notes he bent the blade using a handle attached at the end. He was managing to create some quite haunting music on it and I thought this is probably one of the most interesting instruments I have seen in a while.
I only wish I had a camera with me because my phone's quality is atrocious. But, I searched YouTube and was of course able to find someone playing similarly.
This is the first segment (hopefully of many) of Taking It Back. The Taking It Back segments will vary as I this blog goes on. Sometimes it will be about some classic hits that have been lost in 30 or more years of new bands and hit singles. Other times, we will reminisce about a bands early years.
This week I'm taking you back to 1990 for the formation of one of the great rock bands to hail from Seattle. The original line-up was first known as Mookie Blaylock, a name paying homage to a basketball star. Changing the name to Pearl Jam for fear legal consequences. Vedder's audition tape to three bands including the future Pearl included three songs, one of which would the first single on the band's debut release. This song, "Alive", still gets regular play on radio stations nearly 20 years later.
Currently, Pearl Jam are on a European tour for their 2009 release Backspacer. Whether or not you like their new hits, you can't reasonably deny the greatness of this song. Even Vedder himself has stated that Ten is the only early Pearl Jam album he can listen to.
I hoped you enjoyed reading this segment and stayed tuned for future taking it back Thursdays and other new segments. Feel free to post any of your thoughts or ideas on this segment.
I wanted to make a list of the best costumes in music, but every band just had creepy costumes all following in the footsteps of Kiss, such as Lordi and Gwar, or wore the same type of suit, the Hives, the Beatles, Devo, et cetra. There were some unique get ups such as the Village People, but I decided to limit this list to masks only. Besides masked bands are so much more mysterious. Everyone always has to try and find out what they look like underneath the mask. It is also good for bands that don't want to be judged on their looks and style, only their music.
Without further ado, here are the best five masks in music:
5. Los Straitjackets
This band's masks are very simple, but can be very funny, even inspiring a Jack Black movie.
4. Slipknot
All unique masks that will mess up your dreams.
3. Buckethead
Even simpler than the Los Straitjackets, it is just an empty KFC bucket. I wonder if he gets paid by them, he might be able to get a better deal from Mary Brown's or Popeye's.
2. Deadmau5
I think it is the size of this mask that counts, plus he is the only Canadian DJ in the Top 25 on TheDJList.com. (I guess I should note that the red suit in the picture is coincidental and not always worn)
1. Daft Punk
These are by far the most intricate (and most expensive) and hard to replicate masks on this list. All the LEDs add great effects at live shows and robots fit perfectly with Daft Punk's style.
Question for everyone, how come there are handfuls of female lead singers in rock bands, many successful ones, yet most people say they don't like female rock singers?
The Evidence:
Flyleaf
Paramore
Evanescence
Metric
Guano Apes
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Others:
No Doubt
VersaEmerge
Hey Monday
Stars
Lacuna Coil
Within Temptation
Arch Enemy
Silverson Pickups
And I could go on, but you get my point. I don't know why some people can't listen to female singers. Check out "My Apocalypse" by Arch Enemy, the vocals are more hardcore than many male metal singers. Some female vocalists are very talented, Haley Williams being near the top of the list.
Not really a summer song, but still great none the less. [Sorry, embedding was disabled]
Steal My Sunshine by Len
Where Is My Mind by The Pixies
Written while on vacation in the Caribbean, this song has a great summer vibe.
California Gurls by Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg
I didn't really want to include this, but you're probably gonna hear it all summer anyways.
If you're in the mood you can bring out Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams. And, if you want to listen to All Summer Long by Kid Rock, don't, just listen to Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon and Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The albino Burmese python! That's right, unfortunately this poor little fella, *ahem* large fella is always getting the same role. But on the other hand he's been with some beautiful women. Check him out in Emii's "Magic" music video, in the dark in Ke$ha's "Your Love is my Drug" video, and you all know him from Britney Spears' famous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.
I just watched the "Alejandro" video by Lady Gaga and it kinda reminded me of the "Like a Prayer" video from Madonna. Just in the way that the burning crosses and black Jesus were controversial. This video had a Nazi or SS soldier, Gaga wearing a red leather (by the look of it) nun outfit, and even a cross appeared in the 7 and half minute. Not to mention the graphic sexual positions and motions.
This got me thinking and Gaga seems very similar to Madonna. They both wear odd outfits that are often pushing boundaries and both of them seem to be able to transform how they look quite easily. I would say Lady Gaga is the modern day Madonna, she seems to be releasing enough hits. Just look at some evidence below:
You can always just Google Lady Gaga and Madonna and you'll see how many times they've completely changed their looks. They both seem to be trend-setters of fashion, not that I would know very much about that.
