Blackest of the Black Tour Review - Danzig and Doyle

The following is a review of the "Blackest of the Black" tour that came through Niagara Falls New York last night at the Dome Theatre:

Mortiis sounded like a noisier more metal version of Rob Zombie - plus the lead singer had on prostetics that actually made him look like a retarded Hobbit.

HimsA were the suprise for me. Not having seen these guys before I was expecting a filler band for Danzig. Metal to groove beats with guitar harmonies all over the place! The singing wasn't my cup of tea but they did vary between shouting and screaming - so at least there was a break from the monotony.

Bohemoth was scary - not like "ohh I'm scared!" but rather like, "I can't believe that bands try and play as fast and as noisy with guttural puking noises for vocals (harmonized mind you) for 40 minutes straight!" I love when they chastised the crowd in their German accent - "Waht! We play doo fasht for j00!"
No - you play too bad for me...but then again - I have never seen eye to eye with the death metal genre.

Chaimaira (pronounced Kai-mare-ahh) were tight as hell and their music arrangements went from all out metal to groove which was cool but they lose me on not singing once in awhile. It's okay with me to do the guttural vocals, screaming and shouting but then when you break into singing - that's where you will turn my head.

Danzig played his new stuff for the first half hour. I didn't know the songs because I don't have his new album but watching him come out on stage was like reliving my youth. He still carries a presence that is unmatched. The songs were classic Danzig - dark, bluesy andd groove laden.

Danzig w/ Doyle- It's been over 20 years since these two have shared a stage together and Danzig promises that this is the closest he will come to a Misfits reunion. I wasn't planning on jumping in the pit but the hardcore kid in me came out as soon as I saw this man:



Doyle, well over 6 feet tall is a sight to see. He came out stomping and hitting chords as he stomped - it was awesome. As soon as they broke into their first song, "20 Eyes" I lost it and went nuts.

The crowd was engergized to say the least! I don't think I've ever seen Danzig as animated, he was putting his all into playing those songs.

They jumped from one song to the next and it was a blur of Misfits tunes, exhaustion from running around and screaming the lyrics (I wonder why I got all those looks? - It was mainly from the "too cool" section).

Choice songs that I remember them playing - "Astro Zombies", "Skulls", "Mommy Can I go out and Kill tonight", "Earth AD", "Last Caress/Green Hell", "We are 138".

The set ended, the band walked off stage and I was exhausted. It was awesome. A siren went off for at least 5 minutes and Danzig minus Doyle came out and played some more Danzig tunes and ended the mini set with "Mother" - that was a fun one.

Danzig called out Doyle one more time and they ended the show with "Die, Die my Darling"

Listening to Danzig playing those songs was probably one of the greatest moments for me (in the music sense) because it was something I thought I'd never have been able to see.

It looks like the money and popularity of this Misfits venture is outweighing the drama. I imagine if Danzig continues to get positive feed back about the Misfits set - he may come around to inviting Jerry Only up there too.

If you are a Misfits fan at all, I recommend seeing this show!

Danzig and Doyle...Tonight in Niagara Falls, New York!!

Danzig and Doyle tonight in Niagara Falls! This was a show I've known about for some time and didn't look like I was able to attend until today.

There is a big reason why I can't wait to see this show:
I do have to admit during my 80s metal days - Danzig was on the top of the list - well top 10 anyway - Danzig III was a killer CD.

I also liked Metallica alot and by reading their album sleeves (did he say album?) especially one "Garage Days Re-Revisited" a couple of songs that Metallica had covered were from this band called "The Misfits".

These songs were raw, aggressive and catchy as all hell! They were my favorite songs on Garage Days... and I had to see for myself what The Misfits were all about.



"Walk Among Us" was an album that the Misfits did in the late 70s and early 80s and it is THE definitive Misfits album. It set the tone for what punk rock and metal is today - forget the Ramones, The Clash, The Sexpistols...You can hear a little bit of The Misfits in almost everything you hear now.



The Misfits did a handful of albums...Glenn Danzig got cocky, told the rest of The Misfits that they couldn't play their instruments worth a damn, a big falling out happened and Glenn Danzig went solo.
Danzig was approached by lead front man of Metallica, James Hetfield right after Ride the Lightning was recorded and was offered the lead singer spot - and Danzig declined the offer! (can you imagine if he said yes?)
Glenn Danzig went on to start Samhain which then turned into Danzig.

The Misfits (Jerry Only on bass & Robo - drummer) went on to write more albums with different singers but to me they were always a shell of a band without Glenn Danzig.

Now I have the chance to see two of the 4 original members tonight - Danzig - lead singer and Doyle - guitar, playing those songs the way they should be played.



This should be fun - I'll have a review sometime this weekend.

The Next Generation Console...Playstation 3 vs. XBox 360 vs. Nintendo Revolution

As this next generation of new consoles gets ever so close - which one are you leaning toward?

The Nintendo Revolution, Playstation 3 or XBox 360?


The Nintendo Revolution has been immediately crossed off of my list. Not that I don't appreciate the road Nintendo paved for me after the Atari but the kiddie titles just don't do it for me. They are going the route this time with placing their eggs in the "gimmick" department - Its main innovation will likely be its controller that responds to its own position and orientation in 3-D physical space in front of the television. Its previous codename was N5 (alluding to the fact that it is Nintendo's fifth home system). I see the gimmick being a "hey look how cool this is" something that lasts for 5 seconds for me - Kind of like the riding a moped/ dating a fat girl concept - it's fun until your friends see you on it.

Yes Link and Zelda were cool but I need an injection of some R rated fun in my video games and this is sorely needed at this stage of my life. More adult titles!
So that brings the battle now between:

The Playstation 3 (release early 2006) and the XBox 360 (release 4th QTR 2005).


The XBox will have some pretty cool titles out upon or just after release - Perfect Dark and the Halo franchise - plus the XBox IS microsoft and microsoft IS the internet for crying out loud. This is kind of where I see the next generation expanding to - the internet. So the XBox has my attention in this regard. They also worked with ATI which I am familiar with through upgrading my PC (I have a ATI Radeon 9800 Pro) over the past year and I have nothing but good things to say about that piece of hardware.

The Playstation franchise on the other hand I've been playing since its inception. Their big claim this time around is that NVIDIA chip that NVDIA made just for them and I guess it's supposed to be something special. Also the game media format is the next genertion in disc storage - the Blu-Ray BD-ROM.
The titles of Metal Gear, Final Fantasy (which I am really looking forward to), Grand Turismo..etc. get me giddy and upon looking at the specs (presented below) between the two console's it looks like to me, the Playstation 3 is edging out the XBox 360.

I am also interested in seeing the next generation video games for these next generation consoles - GTA, Resident Evil, James Bond, Medal of Honor...etc.

For now I'm going with who I know and it looks like my money is on the Playstation 3

Compare: Product Name Sony PlayStation 3 Microsoft Xbox 360 Release Date 2006 Q4 2005 Controller Bluetooth Wireless 2.4 GHz Wireless Graphics Core Clock Speed 550 MHz 500MHz Graphics Processor RSX "Reality Synthesizer" Custom ATI Processor System Memory 256 MB XDR 512 MB UMA (Shared with GPU) Video Memory 256 MB 512 MB UMA (Shared with CPU) Embedded Video Memory n/a 10MB eDRAM Resolution 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p 480p, 480i, 720p, 1080i Controller Ports Supports up to 7 Bluetooth Controllers Supports up to 4 Controllers Digital Media Formats Compatible with CR-ROM, CDR+W, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD Game Media Format Blu-ray BD-ROM Dual-Layer DVD-ROM Integrated Communications 802.11 B/G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 802.11 A/B/G Wi-Fi ready, adapter not included Other I/O Connectors Ethernet (RJ45), 6 USB 2.0, CF Slot (Type I, II), SD Slot (Regular, Compact), Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, 1 x Optical Audio 3 USB 2.0, 2 Memory Slots, Ethernet Port (RJ45) Plug and Play Storage 2.5in Removable Hard Drive (Unkown Size) 20GB Removable Hard Drive Standard AV Output Connectors 2 x HDMI, 1 x AV n/a L2 Cache 512KB L2 cache, 256KB per SPE 1MB Processor Cell Processor Custom IBM PowerPC CPU Processor Clock Speed 3.2 GHz 3.2 GHz Built-in Features Backward Compatible with PlayStation 2, Stands Vertically or Horizontally Backward Compatible with Xbox (limited), Stands Vertically or Horizontally, Interchangable Face Plates, Xbox Live Service, Media Center Extender Memory Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s main memory bandwidth, 22.4 GB/s video memory bandwidth 22.4 GB/s main memory bandwidth, 256 GB/s to eDRAM, 21.6 GB/s FSB Surround Sound Multichannel Output (software driven) Multichannel Output (software driven)
(This graph was taken from the gamespot Tech Head to Head Forum)

Comedian Bill Burr

This is a little old because his HBO "One Night Stand" performance first aired on September 16th but man - this guy is first rate hilarious.

If you get the chance to catch it watch Bill Burr's One Night Stand either rerun on HBO or if you have "On Demand" go to the HBO series section and look for it - you will not be dissapointed.

Bill Burr's stand up was fresh and entertaining.


I've been telling everyone about this guy, he had me rolling from start to finish of his full 30 minute special.

The bits he does range from the knock your head against the wall questions you ask yourself regarding relationships to the "almost selection of a black man as pope" in the catholic church to the quandry of the late night booty call involving interacial dating and a trip out to Harlem.


This guy made me a fan in the first 15 minutes of watching him. You wanna laugh...check out Bill Burr.

Blue Man Group in Toronto at Panasonic Theatre

My wife and I celebrated our 2nd year Anniversay in Toronto this past weekend. We stayed at the Metropolitan, we dined at Hemispheres and caught "The Blue Man Group" at the Panasonic Theatre.

If you get the chance I recommend going to see this eclectic group of Blue Men most known for their colorful and bizarre promotion of everything Pentium 4.

After viewing the show I came back and did a little research on the Blue Men Group via the web and I guess this is a "franchise" of sorts, being that they have shows all over the world and that there is only three of them - they can't be everywhere at once obviously - so they make due by picking musicians/artists/actors that look like them, teach them the ropes of everything "Blue" and then the original three Blue Men sit back and let the money roll in. Of course the Original three do the big shows, videos and commercials. If you don't feel slighted by seeing carbon copies of the original - you will enjoy this show, because the Blue Men I saw were I'm sure - just as good as the Original.

I laughed throughout, was amazed by the lighting, was impressed by how well the band sounded and how well the Blue Men played their "PVC Piped Instruments". Read on for a more professional review of the show my wife and I saw.

I found a review that hit the mark with me, it was written by Martin Dentron of NYTheatre.com :

Blue Man Group, not content to rest on their laurels even after more than twelve successful years off-Broadway, have just "upgraded" their show. Among the new additions is a piece on the state of the rock world, where lip synched performances and rigid choreography have edged out more primal and authentic forms of musical expression. Another scene takes place in an Internet cafe where people can sit silently, surrounded by others to whom they will not talk while communicating via computer to people who aren't there. There's also a new segment about the history of animation.

---

nytheatre.com review

Martin Denton · April 8, 2004

Like the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes and the Big Apple Circus, Blue Man Group is now pretty much a bona fide New York City tradition: your visit to our town should definitely include a visit to the Astor Place Theatre to witness the aggressively silly antics of BMG—especially if you have children in tow, or are not too comfortable with spoken English.

The occasion for this re-review of Blue Man Group is the show's recent "upgrade"—a good 20 minutes (or so) of new material has been inserted, mostly in the evening's second half. If you're a BMG fan or veteran, this stuff might tempt you to make a return trip: the segment set in an Internet Cafe is particularly beguiling—both pointed thematically and singularly beautiful to witness, with a magically animated stick figure reading and writing emails in the foreground while a dizzying dance of LCD displays takes place behind him. There's an interesting bit about the history of animation which is fun, and a long and loud audience-participation thing about rock concert etiquette which is less so.

The rest of the show is just about as it always was, which is to say an entertaining mélange of giddy, goofy nuttiness, some of it ever-so-slightly preoccupied with "serious" issues such as the nature of art or post-modernism, but most of it concerned only with giving the audience as broadly silly a good time as possible. The three "Blue Men" who inhabit the show—played by a corps of fourteen cast members, including franchise creators Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink—are alien-type creatures. Their heads and hands are blue; they're clad in durable felt of an innocuous shade that reminds us of Boris Karloff's Frankenstein costume. They have a child's sense of wonder and of play as they alternately bang on just about anything in sight (mostly drums and other percussion instruments) and curiously investigate whatever's at hand—food, frequently; but also paint, paper, and other messy objects.

If it took itself seriously, it would be ponderous performance art; as it is, nobody in the theatre takes anything seriously and consequently a grand, foolish time is had by all. The experience begins with a crew member giving each person in the room a long strip of paper to play with, and that's just what you should do: play with it. (The lady in front of me fashioned a neat bow in her hair, for example.)

Play remains the order of the day as Blue Men (and front row inhabitants) are pelted with Cap'n Crunch cereal and marshmallows. The Men spew colored pellets onto whiteboard to create original paintings and hold up funny signs to create a game of silent wordplay. In one sketch, a lucky (or unlucky—depends upon your point of view) audience member joins the Men on stage for a Twinkie feast. The performers juggle, clown, and make music with consummate skill that belies their seeming innocence; they're backed by a raucous but accomplished three-piece band. The show is noisy almost all the time, hilarious a good deal of the time, and weirdly entrancing some of the time.

The ending should not be revealed because it's so strange, unexpected and ridiculous. Everyone in the room gets involved, with a neat strobe light effect making us look much cooler than we actually are during this unforgettable finale.

Blue Man Group is all about the senses—the five familiar ones, plus one that doesn't get free reign in theatres very often, the sense of fun. Dress comfortably, park your inhibitions at the door, relax, and enjoy.

Waiting...

I worked in the Restaurant/Banquet business for over 8 years. I was a waiter for 4 years, moved to Manager then to General Manager of both operations. Many a time my fellow co-workers and I unwound at the bar with our choice beverage(s) toying with the idea of writing a script about that night's blunders and follies.

I think the movie "Waiting" will be the movie for that script we'd written so many times before. Everytime I see the previews for this movie - I crack up uncontrollably.

For those that have worked in the business I think this movie will bring back memories.

There was nothing like the fast paced, stress filled, customer one on one of that business. Co-workers were very cordial in the front of the house and acted like clowns in the back It was a very serious front with a crazy, teetering on the edge of sanity hilariousness below.

The movie is not making a blip really and critics seem to hate it but if this movie comes close to the potential...it's going to be awesome.


clips of the movie:
Waiting...

NWA-TNA on Spike TV!

NWA-TNA is looking awesome. I watched it Saturday night (actually I Tivo'd/DVR'd it - and watched it last night). It is on Spike TV from 11pm to 12am Saturdays.

I think the interest may be back for me - I've been a long time fan of wrestling going back to Hogan/Andre in Wrestlemania 3. I've watched off and on since that time period and it looks like it's on again!
I've been fishing around the NWA-TNA for a couple of years now...I never really wanted to get into paying weekly to see it so I never put the time into it.

It reminds me of ECW alot. The reason being they put the danger back in move sets that the pussified WWE won't permit their wrestlers to perform. (They want them to get their 280 shows a year out of them and not be injured). Crazy flips, dangerous finishing moves, pile drivers and an insane crowd atmosphere.

Feartured Wrestlers:

Ex-Buffalo Bill Monty Brown aka "The Alpha Male" is on there with his finishing move "The Pounce" (which looks like it's a variation of a no grabbing one on one stand up tackle)

Some names you know from ECW, WCW & WWE:
Kevin Nash
Jeff Jarret
Tag team - The Dudleys aka 3-D
New tag team 3 Live Crew (made up of Road Dogg aka BG James, Konan and K-Kwick aka Ron Killings)
Rhino
Sabu - who looks absolutely ancient but he can still pull it off.
Jeff Hardy

They have a high fliers division called the "X" Division with 5 or 6 wrestlers..most of the names escape me at the moment.
One dude on there is named the Canadian Destroyer with a finishing move of the same name. This finishing move starts off in the pile driver position, he full frontal flips the opponent and lands in the finishing pile driver seated position bouncing his opponent across the ring - it is a sick move!

AJ Styles is one of the favs, has a great variety of movesets and one that I've had my eye on for awhile now - He has a move that begin as a backflip off the 2nd rope where he catches his opponent in a reverse DDT. It rules.

The story lines are so-so and rehashed but the wrestling is entertaining.
If you get the chance and you like wrestling - give this a shot!


...and the WWE has moved back to USA Network. I've tried a couple of times to get back into them but to no avail. With their "no injury" policy they've relied heavily on storylines that just don't do it for me. I hope NWA-TNA gets big enough where it goes head to head with WWE...only time will tell!