Crue Fest featuring Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, SIXX:A.M., Trapt (07/15/08, DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan)

Yesterday's show was a blast. If you've never been to DTE, it's a pavilion that seats 15,000 and some odd change (about 8,000 of that are lawn seats) out in a nice quiet place called Clarkston, Michigan. Despite Detroit being miles away, no music acts ever play Clarkston when they're at DTE, they play Detroit. It's more prestigious sounding that way. A pretty nice & clean outdoor place, with tons of shops inside the gates to blow your money on heavily overpriced beer, margarita, snow cones, merchandise, mini-fans, and pizza. Just like Disney World!

Actually, the merchandise (well, t-shirts at least), weren't too bad. Depending on the style, they were $25-35. That was for Motley though, I didn't even notice merchandise for other bands, though I'm sure it was there. I've seen and heard horror stories of worse! They even had Crue panties, which I initially wanted my old lady, Connie, to pick up. She didn't seem impressed with the idea, but I guess it worked out for the best. Who wants gothic images of Mick Mars popping in your head when you're trying to get it on?

So the gates opened at 3:30, which is about when we arrived. It was about an 80 minute trip from Lansing to Clarkston. Parking was plentiful at that point, yet the tailgate parties were already in full bloom. Visions of Heavy Metal Parking Lotfilled my head as every Tom, Dick, and Joe Bob chugged beer, sat in lawn chairs, and blasted music in their pick-up trucks with pride, each and every one obviously fancying themselves parking lot DJs. As we got out of the car, off in the distance, the sight of two ladies (who no doubt were of age to have caught the Crue's performances at the Starwood in '81) dressed like Bratz dolls, each holding a can of beer in their hand and grinding on each other gave me a chuckle and I had to point it out to Connie.

After a quick frisking (which I quite liked), we were inside DTEwalking around and we ended up inadvertantly taking the long way to the actual pavilion, where we stood in line for about 30 minutes waiting for DTE to allow everyone to start taking their seats. We had lawn seats, which I was told were still a good view, and that's true. I just wish I didn't have the sun beating down on me. Oh why, oh why didn't I get pavilion seats?! Oh yeah, my bank account wouldn't allow it. All in all though, it was a pretty good day weather-wise, nice 'n' breezy, just the way I like to keep my conversations and relationships.

We were center on the lawn with the stage, only a few rows back from the actual pavilion. Between the annoying drunk guy a few spots over from us and the two comely blond 20-somethings a few spots in front (one of which was exceptional looking in her skintight blue jeans), it was the best of times and it was the worst of times.

There was an intermission after every band.

Trapt:

This was a band I was surprised to hear get a slot on CrueFest because I didn't even know they were still around. The last time I ever remember them getting much airplay was in '05. They hit the stage around 5PM or so, playing to a probably 1/4 full DTE Energy Music Theatre. The crowd that was there was pretty into them, though I've never cared much for them outside a few of their singles and certainly didn't care whether they were on this bill or not. But hey, I paid money for ALL of these bands, so I'm going to watch ALL of these bands. I never got why some people only show up for the "big" names after buying a ticket, seems like throwing money away, to me, to show up half-way through the concert. You might actually end up liking something new.

If you like Trapt, you would've liked this performance. Like I said, they have a few good songs ("Headstrong", "Still Frame"), and I enjoyed hearing those live, but there some of the other songs I didn't know (and wasn't impressed with) and they played the single, "Who's Going Home with You Tonight?", from their upcoming album to be released in August, which I was ok and could grow on me if I actually still listened to anything but XM Radio's Boneyard station. Still, compared to what you hear on the radio, they sounded very much alike though. Singer has a great voice.

I believe the set list looked something like this:
"Headstrong", "Still Frame", "Who's Going Home with You Tonight?", "Stand Up", "Echo", with possibly another song or two

SIXX:A.M.:

I was looking forward to this band for a few reasons: to see Nikki early, to hear James Michael live, and because the album rocks. James has a great powerful voice and they opened with the equally powerful "Pray for Me". Band did a great job on this song and DTE was close to half full at this point and the crowd was going crazy during this performance. D.J. Ashba is a great guitarist, but I'm not sure who played drums with'em. Oh wait, Wikipedia says Joshua Stevens. So there you go.

"Accidents Can Happen" and "Tomorrow" (which I think James said would be the next single) also highlighted this 30 minute set. Of course, they ended it with "Life Is Beautiful", which is one of the greatest rock songs from the last few years and people went insane over this, singing along with James. I'd love to see this band live again, James did an amazing job on the record and just as well live.

Couldn't find any set list online, but I think it went like this:

"XMas in Hell", "Pray for Me", "Heart Failure", "Intermission", "Accidents Can Happen", "Tomorrow", "Life Is Beautiful"

Some sites say they've been playing "Van Nuys" as well, but I don't remember them playing that.

Papa Roach:

By the time these ex rap-metalheads hit the stage, the placed was pretty packed. Except for a like, 6 full rows at the very end of the pavilion, which didn't fill up until right before Motley stormed the stage. This was Connie's big reason for going and while I've never bothered with this band past Infest, looking back, they have some great singles and they put on a killer show. As much as the crowd popped for SIXX:A.M., they so even more for Papa Roach. Jacoby even ran through the pavilion singing and for some bizarre reason during the middle of a song, James Michael and Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson showed up in the crowd hugging people, waving and shaking hands. Michael/Nelson in '08 ?! Or maybe they were just trying to score some of that weed we kept smelling.

Set was probably close to 45 minutes and they played all the hits, with the new single (album also coming out in August), "I Almost Told You I Loved You" being the only song I hadn't heard. And because I copped it from another blog, here's their set list:

"...To Be Loved", "Forever", "Time Is Running Out", "Getting Away With Murder", "Scars", "Broken Home", "Between Angels and Insects", "I Almost Told You I Loved You", "Last Resort"

Energy was way high during this set, from the band and crowd, they did an awesome job and they were obviously the #2 band in terms of popularity at the show.

Buckcherry:

Tons of energy from this band. Josh Todd is a maniac andthey all deliver that old school rock 'n' sleaze attitude that makes them perfect touring buddies for Motley. A tremendous throwback to the GNRscene of the 80s, and I mean that in a good way because they make it their own. Weird thing is, at this point in their career, the band really doesn't have enough hits to do a 45 minute set that'll keep the crowd hot considering their first album was only a minor hit (and that came out 9 years ago), the second album bombed, and most people only know them from their last album's hits, "Crazy Bitch" and "Sorry". Don't get me wrong, they loved the performance, but they were more into Papa Roach.

I actually thought this was the #2nd best performanceof the night behind Motley, because Buckcherry fits my preferred style of rock. Josh Todd is a great front man and brought back the great tradition of the stage rap as they segued in and out of "Crazy Bitch" giving it a great funk intro and extending the song to about 10 minutes and including parts of Billy Squire's "The Stroke" (which the crowd totally sung along with) and ranting about procreation and saying that if you wanna get fucked, you wanna get fucked by a crazy bitch (mimicking a girl fixing her hair and having big boobs) and kept saying "crazy bitch, suck my dick, right between your big ol' tits". This was a great performance based on that song alone and someone needs to YouTube it from this tour. The crowd, of course, at this song up as did the ladies with "Sorry".

Promotion time, they have a new album coming out in September and played "Too Drunk" which was pretty good and funky sounding. I was hoping they'd play "Ridin'" (which I've read they've played already on this tour) and "For the Movies", but I guess they axed "Ridin'" for the night and "For the Movies" has been replaced by "Sorry" as the essential Buckcherry ballad, so no luck there.

Not sure of the exact order of the set list, but here's what they played:

"So Far" (I think), "Next 2 You", "Lit Up", "Broken Glass", "Everything", "Sorry", "Too Drunk", "Crazy Bitch"

Motley Crue:

Obviously, the biggest pop of the night. They was some stuff going on with a silhouette of an angel, then the devil and then they came roaring out with "Kickstart My Heart". Man, I love these guys. They just sound so powerful live! I caught them on 2005's Carnival of Sin tour (where it was nearly a 3 show with no opener) and they did a great job then and I would say even better job here. Even Mick's solo was good! The Carnival of Sin solo, not so much.

Not many surprises from the set list, of course they included "Saints of Los Angeles", which already a classic Crue cut, IMO, and all the singers from the other bands came out andsung the secondhalf of the song with the band.

"Mutherfucker of the Year" is apparently gonna be the next single andthey told us they were shooting footage for the video for it. This, I found odd. First off, for as well as Saints of Los Angelesdebuted on the Billboard charts (#4, if you didn't know) and as well as their tours do, who's going to play a Motley music video in 2008? Well, apparently "Fuse or something" because Nikki said MTV can "suck my dick, they don't play videos anymore" which got a huge pop from the crowd. Secondly, no one can play it anyway because it's got the word "mutherfucker" in it! They'd have to censor a great portion of the lyrics and the song title itself. I doesn't make sense. Nikki must have a thing for releasing songs as singles that he knows are gonna be butchered by the censors because he did the same thing when Brides of Destruction released "Shut the Fuck Up" as their first single a few years back. Funny bit, Nikki told us they were going to shoot B-roll for the video the next night in Chicago. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" "Well, what do you think they'll say when we tell them we shot footage in Detroit?" "YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!" We had to do a little audience participation for the video and sit down and then jump up with our hands in the air and scream. Cool stuff.

Anyway, I think "The Animal In Me" should be the next single as it has that great mix Motley & modern hard rock that "Sick Love Song" and "If I Die Tomorrow" had.

Not sure how much of this was typical stage rap BS, but Nikki, Tommy and Vince all spoke at times and seemed genuinely touched and amazed by the sell out crowd. Vince mentioned he'd been looking forward to playing the Detroit show the most and Nikki said it was the most packed the tour has been yet and went on to speak about how whenever he's talked to bands like KISS or the Ramones or whoever "back in Los Angeles" it's always been said Detroit is their favorite place to play. I've read that alot in various interviews from bands, actually.

Some shows are getting the world famous Titty Cam, Detroit did not. I'm guessing maybe it was because DTE is a pavilion with huge monitors on top of it and that would violate some anti-boobies showing laws. We got to see'm on the Carnival of Sin tour, but that was in an arena. So "Sick Love Song" and "Anarchy in the U.K." replaced the Titty Cam in the set list.

"Kickstart My Heart", "Wild Side", "Shout at the Devil", "Saints of Los Angeles", "Live Wire", "Mutherfucker of the Year", "Sick Love Song", "Anarchy in the U.K." (I think they were both placed right about here), "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)", "Same Ol' Situation", "Primal Scream", "Looks that Kill", "Girls Girls Girls", "Dr. Feelgood", "Home Sweet Home"

The video was top notch throughout this show. Only Motley got to use it, but then it only started getting dark when they took over anyway. I was expecting maybe just a hard camera from the mixing board, but they had lots of angles from the drums, from the pit, etc, with some great close ups on Mick's guitar.

It was a great performance, with so much smoke, pyro, lasers and flames going off. It was an eye candy orgy! THIS was a rock 'n' roll show and Motley deserves all the success they have and more. I'm just glad I've seen these legends play twice and I hope to do so more in the future and judging by the sell out crowd and high energy all evening, they'll probably swing by on the next tour.

If you have a chance to see Crue Fest, do so.

The Vines - Ride
System Of A Down - Angels Deserve To Die
Story of the Year - Until the Day I Die
Puddle Of Mud - She Hates Me
Godsmack - I Stand Alone
Forthrite - Substituting_The_Silence
Ember_Sky - Silence_Breaks
Blur- Song 2
Trapt - Headstrong
Westside Connection - Gangsta Nation
White Zombie - Feed The Gods
Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music
Yellow Card - Breathing
Aaliyah -_Miss You
Thrice - Silhouette
Three Days Grace - I Hate Everything About You
Super Troopers - Shenanigans
Stone Temple Pilots - Dead and Bloated
Scotty Doesnt Know - Lustra
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
Ra - Do You Call My Name
Rage Against The Machine - Guerilla Radio
Ramstein - Du Hast
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl
Saliva - Always
Sheryl Crow - Soak Up The Sun
Slayer - Bloodline
Slipknot - Duality
Smashing Pumkins - Zero
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Power Man 5000 - BombShell
Puddle Of Mudd - Away From Me
Pantera - Walk
Papa Roach - Last Resort
Ozzy Osbourne - Ironman
Nirvana - Lake Of Fire
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Megadeth - Shadow Of Deth
Limp Bizkit - Faith
Lost Prophets - Last Train Home
Korn - Got The Life
Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son
Kid Rock - Cowboy
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Godsmack - Voodoo
Green Day - American Idiot
Godsmack - Bad Religion
Devo - Whip It
Disturbed - Dropping Plates
Dope - Debonaire
Dropbox - Wishbone
Daniel Lioneye - King Of Rock And Roll
Dark Lotus - Pass The Ax
Blink 182 - I Miss You
Alice In Chains - We Die Young
Alternative Switchfoot - Meant To Live
American Hi-Fi - Flavor Of The Week
AFI - Total Immortal
AC/DC - TNT

Han puesto varios comentarios con duda acerca de la Playstation Store en México y debo de imaginarme que también se puede aplicar a los países que tampooco tienen el servicio. Para responder todas de un golpe o madrazo les puedo comentar que:

• Si la tienda te indica que ya tienes todas las canciones descargadas es un error, que no significa que tengas acceso a ellas. Algo similar me paso a mi con el Xbox 360 y era solo la evidencia de que el servicio no se encontraba disponible en México.
• Para poder descargar canciones, el Playstation 3 tiene que estar registrado en alguno de los paises que cuenten oficialmente con la PSN Store y por logica, de la tienda de Rock Band.
• Si se pueden descargar canciones, solo que es un poco de lata y requiere de utilizar servicios de tarjetas de credito "virtuales" como Entropay, chequenlo y si tienen cualquier otra duda, no tengan miedo en mandarme un comentario.
• No hay ni un pinche comunicado oficial de cuando se vera la tienda de Sony en México o los demas países que vendan oficialmente el PS3 pero que no la tengan.

Y ya para esta semana tenemos nada mas ni nada menos, que un poco de Hair Metal de la mano de Mötley Crüe, un poco de Nu Metal cortesía de Papa Roach y un grupo ficticio de la película The Rocker (que no había oído hablar de ella).

Pack de Crüe Fest (240 MS Points / $3)

• "Down at the Whiskey" - Mötley Crüe (80 MS Points / $1)
• "Time is Running Out" - Papa Roach (80 MS Points / $1)
• "Who's Going Home With You Tonight" - Trapt (80 MS Points / $1)

Sencillo de Vesuvius (Grupo Ficticio de la película The Rocker)

• "Promise Land" - Vesuvius (Gratuita)

Disponibles el Martes 1 de Julio  para el Xbox 360 y el Jueves 3 para el PS3.

Videos mas al rato (culpa de OpenDNS)

"Down at the Whiskey" - Mötley Crüe

"Time is Running Out" - Papa Roach

"Who's Going Home With You Tonight" - Trapt

"Promise Land" - Vesuvius (Jugabilidad)

Present yourself, press your clothes, comb your hair,
and clock in,
You just can't win, just can't win,
And the things you own, own you!

This week Harmonix and EA have decided to bring us new DLC in the form of 'The Crüefest Pack'. This pack 'celebrates' Crüefest and will feature three of the artists performing at the festival. Of course Motley Crüe are in here.

The tracks are:

• 'Down At The Whisky' - Motley Crüe
• 'Time Is Running Out' - Papa Roach
• 'Who's Going Home With You Tonight' - Trapt

I'm not expecting anything special with these tracks and that's the way I like to approach DLC i've never heard. I will give these a listen before Thursday but I probably won't be rushing to get these. Not really into metal but the last Crüe track ('Saints Of Los Angeles') surprised me and is actually quite good, but whatever.

Those tracks will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace (Tuesday/Wednesday) and PS Store (Thursday). The tracks are priced at $0.99 each (80 MS points) or $2.99 (240 MS points) for the pack.

Not only are we being given this but Harmonix is releasing 'Promised Land' by Vesuvius for free along with the usual paid for DLC on the above days. Nice of 'em that. I will download that song (it sounds terrible) because it's free and well...why not.

Crüefest Pack:
“Down At The Whisky” – Mötley Crüe
“Time Is Running Out” – Papa Roach
“Who’s Going Home With You Tonight” – Trapt

Each song above will be available for 80 MS points each or you can purchase the whole pack together for 240 Microsoft Points.

This song will be completely free: “Promised Land” - Vesuvius

Free stuff...count us in!

Motley Crue - Saints of Los Angeles [Best Buy Exclusive DVD Limited Edition] (2008, Motley Records)

Track Listing:
1. "L.A.M.F." ... 1:21
2. "Face Down in the Dirt" ... 3:44
3. "What's It Gonna Take" ... 3:45
4. "Down at the Whisky" ... 3:50
5. "Saints of Los Angeles" ... 3:40
6. "MF of the Year" ... 3:55
7. "The Animal in Me" ... 4:16
8. "Welcome to the Machine" ... 3:00
9. "Just Another Psycho" ... 3:36
10. "Chicks=Trouble" ... 3:13
11. "This Ain't a Love Song" ... 3:25
12. "White Trash Circus" ... 2:51
13. "Goin' out Swingin'" ... 3:27

Best Buy Exclusive Bonus DVD
1. "Saints of Los Angeles" Music Video
2. Crue Fest Press Conference
3. "Kickstart My Heart" live performance
4. "Saints of Los Angeles" live performance

Band:
Vince Neil - Vocals
Mick Mars - Guitar
Nikki Sixx - Bass
Tommy Lee - Drums

Additional Musicians:
Josh Todd - Gang Vocals
Jacoby Shaddix - Gang Vocals
Chris Taylor Brown - Gang Vocals
James Michael - Backing/Gang Vocals, Keyboards
Marty Frederikson - Backing Vocals
Melissa Harding - Backing Vocals

Produced by: James Michael
Co-Produced by: Nikki Sixx & DJ Ashba

When Motley said they were working on NEW material, I was ecstatic. I loved the new stuff, "Sick Love Song" and "If I Die Tomorrow", they added onto the Red, White & Crue compilation. I thought they were a perfect mix of the classic Motley sound and modern hard rock, even if some Motley fans didn't care for'em. I remember seeing them on the Carnival of Sin tour and the crowd just sitting on their hands when they played those songs. So, I was thinking we'd get an album full of sick love songs, but Motley has gone back to their roots with this album and is delivering good old-fashioned Motley hard rock.

Even in anticipation, I was kinda worried, because their last studio album, 2000's New Tattoo fell flat with me. But SOLA definitely has bite and definitely sounds like Motley, despite the fact that Nikki's side project, SIXX:AM, was pretty much the creative force behind it (James Michael & DJ Ashba produced and had a hand in writing every song alongside Nikki). Veteran rock songwriter/producer Marti Frederikson had a heavy hand in the songwriting as well, and Mick did also, to a lesser extent. At least, they didn't bring Bob Rock back. He neutered Metallica for a decade and nearly did the same with Motley in 1994!

Anyway, song samples posted on Amazon.com a few weeks back didn't give me much hope, but I don't know what I  was thinking at the time, because the album rocks and is one of 2008's best releases. "Saint of Los Angeles" is my favorite track and is classic Motley without any modern influences. It also features "gang vocals" from Crue Fest-mates James Michael (SIXX:AM) Josh Todd (Buckcherry), Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) and Chris Taylor Brown (Trapt). On the flipside, "The Animal in Me" screams modern rock radio to me, but is very good, and should be their next single. Nikki's always had a good ear for writing catchy modern hard rock songs (listen to Saliva's "Rest In Pieces" and tell me I'm lying!).

I picked up the Best Buy limited edition, but the only difference is there's a bonus DVD, but it's pretty cool. There's a music video for "SOLA", their Crue Fest press conference in full and two songs they performed live at the press conference. Plus, photo stills of the band and a bunchload of excerpts from their band autobiography, "The Dirt".

Highlights: "What's It Gonna Take", "Down at the Whisky", "Saints of Los Angeles", "MF of the Year", "The Animal in Me", "This Ain't a Love Song", "Goin' out Swingin'".

www.motley.com
www.myspace.com/motleycrue

01. L.A.M.F.
02. Face Down In The Dirt
03. What's It Gonna Take
04. Down At The Whisky
05. Saints Of Los Angeles
06. Mutherfucker Of The Year
07. The Animal In Me
08. Welcome To The Machine
09. Just Another Psycho
10. Chicks = Trouble
11. This Ain't A Love Song
12. White Trash Circus
13. Goin' Out Swingin'

-------
-------

Am I supposed to understand what that artwork means? Does it say something I'm just too dumb to notice? Is it some kind of tribute to 80's new wave? I DON'T UNDERSTAND!! AHH! Alrighty so I have the first record by this band, but I only bought it because I needed a third Solid State cd to qualify for a Best Buy online offer at the time and I ended up not really caring much about it at all. As I've talked about SO many times, it was just another metal/scene band doing the same old thing I've heard done better a million times over. My buddy fool of gold insists it's metal as balls, but I just don't hear it. So fast foward to present day and their new cd, 'I Swear...' (by the moon and the stars in the skyyyy, i'll be there) and I was really expecting more of the same. And I was right..sort of. Obviously it's still nothing original, but oddly enough, it's a lot more rocking and interesting to my ears. It sounds as if they're trying to actually evolve a little bit, albeit into some kind of August Burns Red (without the breakdowns)/36 Crazyfists/Cave In/20 other band monster, but evolution is evolution I suppose. I even hear traces of bands from days gone by, i.e. Korn and Papa Roach, in there too. Awesome. In all honesty, this is a much more enjoyable listen than I expected it to be, and anytime my low expectations can be exceeded, I feel that it's a positive thing for both the band and myself. If you're into ABR or 36CF or anything on Solid State , this is tailor made for you. Chances are I'll be keeping it on my ipod, and that's a bit more than I can say for a few of the cds I'm about to school you on.
Bear Approval Rating: 3.4/5
(i need little bear pictures to use for this from now on..someone get on that)

Alestorm - 'Captain Morgan's Revenge'
Napalm/SPV
Released Jan 29, 2008

Oh my, oh my, oh my. Imagine my excitement when I came across this gem this past weekend. Four Scottish dudes who have taken the idea of power metal concept stuff past the usual Viking nonsense of a slew of Euro bands and into the uncharted waters of...PIRATE METAL! As you might expect, the songs are all about sailing the seven seas, drinking mead and ale, walking the plank, finding treasure, hooking up with wenches, and all the other cool shit pirates get to do. The dude even sing in an 'ARRR' kinda pirate voice and they have all these other pirate instruments happening too. It's really something special to behold. Granted, once the novelty wares off, the cd is really pretty crappy. But whatever..PIRATES!!
2/5

Misery Signals - 'Controller'
Ferret Music
Released July 22, 2008

There's something kinda cool about that artwork. But yea, so Misery Signals. There's an ad for this cd that says: "For fans of Thrice, Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah, and Tool". Um ok, whatever you say Ferret. This band is a tough nut for me to crack, I can't really decide if I enjoy them or I hate them. It's been that way since their first record for me, and I guess that's a good thing..at least I don't have total disgust for them, right? To me, this doesn't really sound any different from their other stuff, but I'm just a casual observer and a hardcore Miserite might tell you differently. I kinda like the music, they go in some interesting directions with it, but it's hard to digest it with the vocals being what they are. And what they are is deeply screamed and heavily processed practically the entire time..so that takes some getting used to..but it does help them stand out a little bit. The record has it's moments where it's pretty damn heavy though and it has a few neat little breakdowns so that's always a good way to win me over a little bit. I've liked 'Controller' a smidge more with each attempt i've made to listen, which is good for the band, because I was initially planning on trashing this record. If you're into Tool, Thrice, Meshuggah, or KSE, give it a listen.
2.5/5

The Famine - 'The Raven and The Reaping'
Solid State
Released May 27, 2008

This band is made up of a bunch of dudes that were in a band I never really cared for when they played metal called Embodyment and they sorta sound like Living Sacrifice, who I also never really care much about. But yet there's also a hint of Dimebaggy Pantera riffing going on, and that's something I can support. But I don't like this cd. My biggest musical turn-off is a shitty production job, and that's kinda all I hear when I listen to this cd. Turn down the treble, douches..and dirty things up a bit. It sounds too clean. Not like a good Adam D. production job clean either, it's like using a brillo pad on a stainless steel pot clean. I'm also annoyed that there aren't really ANY tempo changes to speak of. Every song is kinda the same thing for 3-5 minutes, and that gets so incredibly old so incredibly fast. Don't waste your time.
1/5

Knights Of The Abyss - 'Shade'
Ferret Records
Released June 24, 2008

They sound like any combination of bands like Black Dahlia Murder, Agony Scene, As Blood Runs Black, etcetcetcetcetc. It's that fast metal with the mid-range screamy vocals that's fairly typical of bands in this genre. I've only listened a few times, but there's not all that much memorable here. Next!!
1.5/5

I Wrestled A Bear Once - s/t
2007/2008?

Yea I don't really know anything about this band, aside from their badass tshirt design above and their awesome name and the fact that I downloaded their last cd the other day. I think they even have a girl singer. At least she does some singing on the mellower parts, I dunno if shes the screamer. BUT IT'S ALWAYS GREAT WHEN SHE IS, AMIRITE?? This is fuckin' metal as balls and pretty awesome too. It's grindcore to the extreme, with rad programming and those cute little jazzy interludes that all these bands are all about. And breakdowns!! They'r the shit, so go listen to them on myspace, and try not to soil your undies.
They just got signed to Century Media too! Yay!

]]> http://thewritersjourney.wordpress.com/?p=254 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00:58 +0000 JT http://thewritersjourney.wordpress.com/?p=254 August is looking like it will be a great month for music in Cincinnati. There are several shows coming to Riverbend that I hope to attend.

August 14, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be playing with special guest Rev Run of the legendary Run DMC. I've seen Skynyrd before, in 1995 with Tesla, and it was an awesome show. But I would also like to see Kid Rock live; I hear he is great in concert.

August 16, Poison, Dokken, and Sebastian Bach are going to throw a huge hair metal party. I've seen Poison live three times, and Bach solo once. Poison is always a great show. Bach wasn't that good when I saw him, but I love his studio work so I hope I'm surprised. I've never been a fan of Dokken with the exception of the Erase the Slate album featuring Reb Beach. But he's no longer the guitarist now that Winger is back together, so I don't expect too much from them.

August 19, Crue Fest will bring down the house with Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Sixx:A.M., Papa Roach, and Trapt. I've seen Motley twice, and that's always a killer show, but I'm really looking forward to Buckcherry and Sixx:A.M.

Any good shows in your area coming up?

Star Trek Voyager - Headstrong(Kathryn Janeway) [borders1]

Star Trek Voyager - Holding Out For A Hero [SazzyAgain]

Star Trek Doomed (Voyager) - Alternate Opening [Bloempje721]

Evil Janeway ~ Bad to the Bone [ZoeAmory]

there's no money
there's no possessions
only obsession
i don't need that shit
take my money
take my obsession

i just want to be heard
loud and clear are my words
coming from within man
tell them what you heard
it's about a revolution
in your heart and in your mind
till you find a conclusion
lost out in obsession
diamond rings get you nothing
but a life long lesson
and your pocketbook's stressing
you're a slave to the system
working jobs that you hate
for that shit you don't need
it's too bad the world is based on greed
step back and see
stop thinking about yourself
start thinking about

there's no money
there's no possessions
only obsession
i don't need that shit
take my money
take my possessions
take my obsession
i don't need that shit

'cause everything is nothing
and emptiness is in everything
this reality is really just a fucked up dream
with the flesh and the blood
that you call your soul
flip it inside out
it's a big black hole
take your money
burn it up like an asteroid
possessions
they are never gonna fill the void
take it away and learn your best lesson
the heart
the soul
the life
the passion

there's no money
there's no possessions
only obsession
i don't need that shit
take my money
take my possessions
take my obsession
i don't need that shit

money
possession
obsession

present yourself
press your clothes
comb your hair
and clock in
you just can't win
just can't win
and the things you own
own you

nooooooooooooo

take my money
take my possessions
take my obsession
i don't need that shit

fuck your money
fuck your possession
fuck your obsession
i don't need that shit

money
possession
obsession
i don't need that shit

Between Angels and Insects - Papa Roach

Earlier this week, Activision announced that Blizzard Entertainment's house band Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain would be lending its World of Warcraft-inspired "I am Murloc" as a free downloadable track in Guitar Hero III. Today, another parody band has stepped up to the mic for an on-the-house performance, this time for Guitar Hero rival Rock Band. With Fox's The Rocker starring Rainn Wilson (The Office, Wheelman) out next month, MTV Games and Harmonix are offering a cut from the film's fictitious glam metal act Vesuvius as part of next week's downloadable content. "Promised Land" will be available as a free download for the Xbox 360 on July 1 and the PlayStation Network on July 3. With the Motley Crue-headlined Cruefest kicking off next week, MTV Games will be paying tribute to the tour with the next regularly scheduled DLC update. Included as part of the Cruefest Pack will be Motely Crue's "Down at the Whiskey," Papa Roach's "Time Is Running Out," and Trapt's "Who's Going Home With You Tonight." The Cruefest Pack can be purchased for $2.99 (240 Microsoft points), or each song can be picked up individually at $.99 (80 Microsoft points) a piece. A complete list of tracks available for Rock Band can be found on Harmonix's official Web site.

Source: Pictures purportedly from an upcoming K-Mart newspaper flyer originally posted on the High-Def Digest forums.

What we heard: Last August, Microsoft's plans to drop the price of the Xbox 360 in all of its configurations were leaked four separate times. The Hollywood Reporter ran the news first citing retail sources, then Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, and Circuit City all had weekly newspaper ads that prematurely found their way into the public domain. Needless to say, by the time Microsoft finally confirmed the cuts, few considered the news to be especially shocking. History may be repeating itself, given that the supposed K-Mart flyer clearly shows a 20GB Xbox 360 system with a "new low price" of $299.99. Currently the 20GB model sells for a suggested retail price of $349.99. The scanned image shows only part of the Xbox 360 listing, and nothing from the rest of the ad save for box art of Civilization Revolution and 2K Sports' Prizefighter. Such pictures can be faked, but if this one was, the creator at least paid enough attention to duplicate the K-Mart circular's font as well as details like the twin-color blowout box announcing the price drop. The person who posted the images says that the price cut should go into effect around July 6, a Sunday, likely meaning that the ad is intended to run in that edition of the newspaper. It's fairly common for newspaper ads such as this to be printed a week or more in advance of the publication date, and with Civilization Revolution set for release on July 8, the timing of this leak fits well. That's also the week before the big E3 Media and Business Summit (GameSpot coverage) in Los Angeles, a time when console makers traditionally try to generate momentum for their systems with big announcements. Although it hasn't quite been a year since the last round of Xbox 360 price cuts, those were a bit mild ($20 on the Core and $30 on the Elite), and the intervening time frame has seen the Xbox 360 hardware lose considerable momentum to the PlayStation 3. According to figures from the industry-tracking NPD Group, the Xbox 360 beat the PS3 in US hardware sales every single month through the end of 2007. However, for the first five months of 2008, the PS3 has outsold the Xbox 360 three times, and was only a thin margin behind the Microsoft console for the other two. Microsoft needs to spark system sales to fend off Sony's advancing PS3. A price cut is one of the simplest, most direct ways to encourage gamers on the fence to take the plunge. Right now customers are likely looking at a Blu-ray drive and built-in wireless support as features well worth the $50 difference between a 20GB Xbox 360 and a 40GB PS3. Widening that gap to a nice round $100 would no doubt make Microsoft's system a much more enticing value proposition for many gamers.

Bogus or not bogus?: Probably not bogus.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has never had an easy time of it in the press. Given that the title is in itself a felony, it's not surprising that some parents and politicians would assume it to be a negative influence on kids. Those who share that point of view can point to an incident in New York this week, as Long Island-based Newsday is reporting that police have arrested six teens for going on a crime spree that they admitted was imitating acts seen in Rockstar's GTA series. Through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, the kids mugged and severely beat a man, attempted a carjacking, and vandalized a vehicle before being arrested by Garden City police, authorities said. A bat, a crowbar, and a broomstick were confiscated from the teens upon their arrest. The teens spanned ages between 14 and 17. Two of them had prior records, one for burglary and larceny, the other for drug possession. All six suspects were charged as adults; five of them face a felony robbery rap, while the sixth was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of stolen property. "They decide that they're going to go do some street robberies, emulating the popular fictional character Niko Bellic," Nassau County detective lieutenant Raymond Cote told Newsday. In the first incident of the night, the mugging, Cote said the teens "approach him from behind, force him to the ground, start punching him, kicking him, knocking the teeth out of his head and take what he has on him."

Read the page for more info