Here's Angela, bringing it full circle!

Rec 2

As some of you know, i LOVE Rec. The 2007 Spanish horror film about a quarantined apartment building, the entire event is being documented by a late night

This is the G-Rated pic.

Serbian Film.

I recently watched a film called Serbian Film.

Earlier this year i started writing for deadhub (a music blog) this review was the first i did for the site. A few days after this was published the editor told me they loved my review and would use it for the press section of their website (something i still cant' find..)

Lights dim, music begins to play, red and white rectangles project onto the backdrop and the stage is empty, the musical instruments suspended on an empty stage. The Show is about to begin.

Atsuo Mizuno walks out wearing a gold studded vest (Drums) followed by Takeshi (Bass/Guitar) who’s ominous lean gangly form hints at something more sinister, last to enter from stage right is Wata (Guitar) the small primed girl who may have spent a while back stage dolling up her hair to a perfect feathered look that would make Ms Fawcett jealous. These, ladies and gents, are the three holy ghosts of rock, Boris.

A flood of smoke filters the air behind Takeshi, who’s set up between Michio Kurihara (touring member of the band, guitar, legend) and Autsuo. Wata, at the end, stands motionless staring at the strings on her guitar waiting for a signal. Atsou, seated between and behind his bandmates lifts up a stick, one end wrapped and padded in what i assume to be leather, points it towards the giant golden circle behind him and bangs on it. At the sound of the gong all three guitarist begin to play in unison and the venue explodes with sound. The Show has begun.

Before i go further i must relay an instance of the show that was one, if not the only negative experience that night. When going to see a band as eclectic as Boris you must be aware going in that you’re in for an experience that Jack of All-Trades would approve. Boris has been around for over 15 years and has been influenced by many different bands- to label Boris into one specific genre would be an offense to their artistic endeavor. They covered a handful of genre during their hour and a half set (no breaks!); Prog/Ambient/Drone Metal/Noise/Hardcore/Psychedelic/Stoner Rock. Yes, this vast list can be a bit jarring to some people and even to some fans: One Beefy 6’4” gentleman in particular made it his goal to vocalize his distaste for parts of the show during the slower experimental-distortion rock songs. Said individual also took the time to push his way through the crowd and aggressively scream “F*cking Hipsters, you’re all F*cking hipsters!” at the smaller framed meek looking concert goers. To you sir, this was a rock show with truly talented artist on stage, your prejudices were lost in translation that evening.

Takeshi:

He stood on stage, a silhouette shadowed in front of an almost organic looking fog, with his duel bass/guitar, his long hair draped over his face and his voice (higher than and less aggressive than you’d normally expect when listening to music like this) flowing from somewhere within. Unable to see his face most of the show gave him the aura of mystery that should be a requisite from all great live acts. With the devil guitars and stoic stage presence its hard to believe they’re not yet playing stadium venues like many greats from the eighties. He’s the man the people will pump their devil horns in the air for.

Atsou:

The flamboyantly dressed drummer with skills that would put most American bands to shame; fast, furious and always on beat. Acting as back up vocalist as well, this man kept the crowd engaged, even though his proximity to the crowd was wider than the rest he was the man that looked out into the crowd made eye contact with individuals, acknowledging their support with wide-eyed facial expressions and high pitched “Whooo!” every time the audience rock-bobbed and moshed. Each time he did that the crowd reacted, they danced faster, pushed harder, jumped higher, and rocked stronger than before.

Wata:

The third side of the triangle, and almost opposite to Atsou’s on-stage energy, but not to a fault. Where Atsou was almost comedic she was professional and staid on stage. Giving the audience a master-recording quality performance. During some of the experimental-prog tracks she put the guitar aside and stood up as lead vocalist. Her soft hypnotizing voice plus the breeze cooing from the venue fans tickling her hair brought magic to the stage. She’ll shred as good than the rest of them and look so much better doing so, bringing grace and regality to a regularly rough environment.

An hour and a half after the beginning of their set the band looks as fresh and vital as they did walking on stage. The last song lingers, the red and white rectangles are projected onto the stage background again and Atsou has finished his part for the night. The Guitarist continue on, distorting and playing with the many amazing sounds the string instruments can make while Atsou stands on top of his drum set, his drumsticks over his head like an ancient victorious warrior and rushes towards the crowd. His body disappears for a quick second, he caught the audience off guard, but quickly the drumsticks poke their way up and then his arm, then his head and another “Whoooo!” as he rides over the heads of the people who’ve given him and and his life so much energy that evening. Wata, Takeshi, and Michio continue to play their weird symphonic climax never missing a key and always adding and adapting to what everyone else is playing, giving the audience a performance until the very last not. Just like they begun they end abruptly, the venue turns into a vacuum, the lights shut down and Takeshi thanks the audience for their support before they walk off stage.

It was almost a performance piece, each character onstage giving their own personal expressive energies out onto the crowd, each voyeur taking something different from it. Perfect blend of showmanship, art, rock and perhaps even a little spirituality.

All hail the Japanese Gods of Rock!

Its nearing the end, 2010 is almost over and its around this time of the year where i begin to list distract myself with media-games.

I was so impressed with the film I special ordered it and spent the last bit of cash money i had that week to own it. From there Rec became the go to horror movie i showed you. If you wanted to hang out and watch a movie my recommendation was Rec. If you wanted to watch a good Halloween movie it was Rec (i watched it 3 times during the month of October). Rec became my most watched movie of 2010.

A Spanish first-person horror film. It follows a tv host and her camera man who do segments on the late night events around Madrid called 'While You're Sleeping.'

They start off a little let down by the dull night at a fire station, then at some point in the middle of the night the alarm sounds off and they're heading to an apartment complex where complaints of a domestic disturbance have been reported.

Once in the complex they meet all the wonderfully colorful residents, who have convened on the main floor lobby. When they finally find and figure out the reason for the distress call its too late, a federal authority has begun sealing off the building; blocking all windows and doors and cutting off all power and wireless communication. They are literally trapped in a building with monsters. And its great, its simple and satisfying. I hear the sequel is even better and i cant wait to find it.

My most watched movie of the year, Lady and Gent. [Rec]

So, my review on deadhub has been getting a lot of traffic from Cheerytree Records, Robyn's label. A couple moments ago i checked the site and see that ROBYN has posted my review onto the site. My gay heart is skipping beats.

On Saturday November 13. 2010 i saw Robyn at the Metro.

This is a review i wrote for thedeadhub.com

Robyn, comeback queen.

It was the mid-nineties when most of America first heard of Robyn, with hits like Show Me Love and ‘Do You Know (What It Takes)’ playing constantly on pop radio. Fifteen years later- distribution and label troubles later- she’s back, slowly crawling upwards in the American consciousness, and like all great music its an American sub-culture that first responds to it.

Her band dressed in white lab coats, two synth players and two drummers, walk on stage, their uniform reminiscent of early 80’s New Wave. Electronic music has always associated itself with a scientific aesthetic. Robyn sticks to her roots, her electro-pop music that has come out within the last three years if filled with futuristic sounds the way Devo once did, replacing the avant-nerd with early Madonna sensibility. She jumps onstage and opens with Fembot off Body Talk Part 1 ushering the audience into the magical pixie world called Robyn.

I was a little worried that her cancellation the night before in Canada (due to illness) would mean I’d see A less active slightly sluggish performance. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, she made every dance move, every extended arm move as intense as a frequent club-dancer, someone who listens to the music and reacts instinctually. I doubt she’s taken choreography lessons from anyone for the tour, all her moves seemed organic and on beat with her music, if she did take lessons from someone, good job. The audience also took ques from her and danced along with her, free-spirited with smiles as wide as their faces could allow.

Singing songs from her fourth self-titled album (2008) and Body Talk Part 1, 2, and 3 (which all came out this year) she had more than enough songs to choose from. During ‘U Should Know Better’ a duet with Snoop Dogg she slows down the tempo, singing a stage single version of the track, the band interluding the electronic sounds during the Snoop Dogg verse(unfortunately, he couldn’t make it). While singing With Every Heartbeat, the ballad that helped emerge her career from obscurity, the audience sang and empathised with her lyrics, the audience feeling her pain. With. Every. Heartbeat.

It was during her second encore that i began to see Robyn as someone who could potentially be in the history books as a pop-diva. She began with a cover or fellow Swede pop band Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ which sent the audience into a karaoke frenzy, the entire crowd trying belting out their inner Disco Queen. The cover then transitioned into her 1995 hit, ‘Show Me Love.’ This melody proved that through her many record label hardships this woman-who’s been in the music industry for over a decade- will have it her way, she will become the pop sensation she always wanted to be. She’s the comeback diva of the new millennium.

**

Even her ugly dance face is adorable!