Month: June 2008

Type O Negative/Hatebreed – Newport Music Hall, Columbus OH 6/27/08

On By RevMortisIn Concerts2 Comments

Hatebreed doesn’t allow pens or pencils into the audience (most likely, for very good reason) so I had to basically do this review from memory.  Right, that’s like teaching a one-legged man to rollerblade.  It can be done, but somehow you just KNOW things are missing.

First up was Columbus’ own X-Factor 1, an excellent opening act for fans of Hatebreed.  Not sure how long they’ve been around, but they played like pros.  They do a cool cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black”.  Real promising band, so check out their Myspace page HERE.

Next up were the Viking-like 3 Inches of Blood playing oldschool metal loud & heavy, just the way we like it.  I’ve seen these guys before at Ozzfest but enjoyed hearing ‘The Goatrider’s Horde’ and ‘Deadly Sinners’ again.  Bought a shirt, so that tells you all you need to know.  They cranked!

Type O Negative was next, and to me was the most disappointing part of the night.  Peter Steele looked out of it from the start and the Jager he was sipping didn’t seem to help matters.  Plus, the setlist had only 3 of their ‘hits’ – no ‘Love You to Death’, no ‘Everything Dies’, no ‘My Girlfriends’ Girlfriend’.  WTF!?  When they opened with the 12+ minute dirge ‘Prelude to Agony’, I knew we were in trouble.  The rest of the band sounded great, it just seemed to be an off night for Pete.  Others I talked to agreed – he screamed more than he sang, seemed disoriented and was basically a zombie on stage.  A shame, really.   The pic I’m using for this post came from a Flickr account HERE, where they have much better pics than mine.  Wonder if they saw a better show too?

Here’s what I recall of their set;

  • Prelude to Agony
  • Halloween in Heaven [dedicated to ‘Dimebag’ Darrell]
  • World Coming Down
  • Some Stupid Tomorrow
  • Christian Woman
  • Kill You Tonight
  • Kill All the White People
  • Black No.1
  • ???????

Hatebreed came out guns blazing as I knew they would, and never let up.  Fast, heavy and incredibly high octane, they whipped the crowd easily into a rabid whirlpool of sweat and occasionally, blood.   Even my wife (who’s somewhat neutral towards the band) had to admit they played one hell of a show.  Tabitha bought a t-shirt. 

Since they played roughly 20 songs, I can only tell you what I recognized; ‘To the Threshold’, ‘Conceived Through an Act of Violence’, ‘Destroy Everything’, ‘Before Dishonor’, ‘Defeatist’, ‘Perseverance’, ‘Tear it Down’, ‘Doomsayer’, ‘This is Now’.   That’s only half, so there were plenty more I missed.   I really need to play more of their stuff on my Iriver – they totally kick ass!

We left after the last song was played, and just in time to watch some fight break out with about 20 people.  It was time to go.  Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t have a pen – I might have had to scribble on someone.

On Tour for a Few Days

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Yep, won’t be posting a lot for the next few days but will return with some tales, I’m sure;

Seeing Type O Negative/Hatebreed/3 Inches of Blood tomorrow night.  OH YEAH!  Review will follow (eventually).

On Sat & Sunday I will be attending the Columbus Community Festival (Comfest), the largest unsponsored, totally independent festival of it’s type in the known universe.  Ok, well – it’s big.  Lots of bands (4 or 5 stages I think) including Teeth of the Hydra & Deadsea who are actually metal acts, unlike the folksy, Jazzy, bluegrassy, armpit farting ensembles that surround them.   Wolves amongst the sheep, I say.

I’ll be serving beer from 4-8pm on Sat. (yes, SERVING not drinking) so if you can figure out what I look like, stop by and say howdy.  That may involve buying beer from EVERY server at every beer tent until you find me, so good luck!  Here’s a hint – I won’t be in a dress or spaghetti straps.

Well, not this time.

Three Cheers for Chipotle

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In Mid-Ohio today from 5-8p, Chipotle was giving away a free burrito, or bowl or tacos – plus a small drink, to anyone who came thru the door. Supposedly, this was their way of saying ‘Thanks’ and to relieve customers a little from the cost of high gas prices. Ironic isn’t it – Chipotle actually RELIEVING someone’s gas?

Well, color me impressed. I was in and out in 30 minutes with a hot burrito and an icy soda. The wife and Tabitha were not so lucky at a location closer to home – costing them 2 hours of their lives. Sucks but you’ll have that when freebies are involved.

Still, as far as promotions go, this was well though-out and deftly executed. Better than a certain pizza chain’s 23 cent promotion of a few weeks back.

Kudos Chipotle! I’m even more of a loyal customer now than before.  Hope this kind of thing catches on. . . free shrimp from Red Lobster perhaps?

Ok, now I’m just being greedy.

Goodbye George. . .and Thanks!

On By RevMortisIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Sad news about the passing of George Carlin on Sunday. 
His was a unique and pioneering voice in the world of comedy. . . one that won’t be replaced.

I remember seeing him do the ‘Seven Words You Can’t Say on TV’ live in Dayton, only by this time in his career it had grown to a literal dictionary of profanity.  He couldn’t even read the whole thing in concert anymore – only select excerpts.  My fav – “Tits.  Sounds like a snack.  I know, I know – it is!”.

The man has more quotes circulating the internet than probably the Pope and the last 7 presidents combined.   And most make more sense.

Thanks for the laughs George.  We’ll miss you!

Is Bret Michaels the Long Lost Son of Goldie Hawn?

On By RevMortisIn Humor - Games2 Comments

Fark.com & Comedy.com – So I was checking out the article on Comedy.com listing the ’10 Oldest Women We’d Still Bang’. I have to say I agree with most on that list – except maybe Diane Sawyer. Too much sassy investigative journalism there. Not Good.

But then I couldn’t help but notice this pic of Goldie Hawn. . . looks an awful lot like Poison frontman & People magazine recently named ’10 Hottest Bachelor’ Bret Michaels. See the evidence below;

Ok, so either Bret needs to go easy on the mascara or Goldie needs to wear a bandana. Not sure which.

There Will be an Ozzfest 2009 Tour?

On By RevMortisIn Concerts3 Comments

Blabbermouth.net – Yep, according to the one who should know (Sharon), Ozzfest 2009 will once again be a traveling tour. This according to her interview on Opie & Anthony (opieandanthony.com).

Not that Oz will step foot anywhere near my town (I truly believe he hates Columbus, but that’s another story) but it’s nice to see that all plans are to keep moving forward with the tour. Check out the links for the full story.

Woman Sues Over Defective Thong – CNN is Dumb Enough to Cover It

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CNN.com – Just when you think the American justice system can’t get any worse, check out this link. A woman is suing Victoria’s Secret because of a ‘defect’ that caused a thong she was trying on to snap and a metal piece to hit her in the eye – reportedly causing permanent damage. Design flaw, they’re saying.

Of course, we only can see the top portion of the woman’s face in this footage – why? Could it possibly be because she weighs 300 lbs and had no business trying on a thong in the first place? I should sue HER because of damage to my mind’s eye visualizing her just getting into a thong. THE HORROR! THE HORROR!!

Seriously tho, I don’t wish ‘permanent eye damage’ on anyone, but I do wish them some common sense and decent mirror. Maybe it wasn’t a design flaw, it was an ACT OF GOD! Ever think about that, slim?

Confused About ‘Nostradamus’

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A while back I talked about how we could learn a lot from Trent Reznor’s distribution models for his past two releases ‘Ghosts I-IV’ and ‘The Slip’. Especially ‘Ghosts I-IV’ since it introduced a tiered level of purchasing from free all the way to a $300 uber-fan edition. I liked the creativity and insight behind this business model but did caution that it seemed to prey upon the most devoted fans, who would sign in blood to acquire the ‘biggest & best’ version of their favorite artists releases. If you really care you can read the whole brilliantly constructed analysis HERE.

Jump forward to today, when Judas Priests’ latest new release ‘Nostradamus’ hit the stores. Like a good husband, I went out to get my wife a copy at lunch as this is her all-time favorite band in the world. Researching the release on Amazon.com, I soon found there would be two versions available; a standard 2 disc set and a deluxe set that also included a 40 page hardbound book. That’s according to Amazon.com – only the largest retail outlet in the world.

At Best Buy, I find that both versions are available and even on sale (how thoughtful!). The ‘deluxe’ edition was marked down to $24.99, which seemed to me to be a do-able amount for the book et al. so I went with that. Nothing’s too good for me lady. But while in line, I noticed the guy in front of me with a HUGE box, with the very same Nostradamus artwork that I was holding in my grubby paw. So I enquired what he had there, and was dismayed to hear he had the last copy of a SUPER deluxe edition, available only at Best Buy.

Yep, same book and discs as I was getting plus 3 vinyl records (of the same songs on the CD’s) and a limited edition poster. Ok, so nothing I couldn’t live without (especially at $70) and obviously I hadn’t been to the OFFICIAL Judas Priest page or I’d have known about option 3. Shame on me.

However, in these days of dwindling record company profits does it make any sense to only advertise a product on a band’s website, and only make it available at one retailer? I mean, I listen to literally hundreds of groups across many different genres – am I supposed to make ALL of them my friend on Myspace in order to know what new products they have available?

So this goes back to my original concern with Reznor’s model; are we forcing bands to become too dependent on their hardcore fanbase, at the exclusion of the more casual fan? Don’t get me wrong, I have some very limited edition stuff that I cherish from some of my favorite groups – I merely question how this information gets disseminated in the first place and if potential sales aren’t being lost by keeping the releases exclusive. Does it make sense to benefit the third party resellers on Ebay over the band?

I don’t know the answer, I’m just asking the question. To me, Reznor’s model is brilliant – but it ain’t necessarily perfect. And it might not work for everyone. Time will tell us, won’t it?

Iron Maiden’s MSG Show Haunted by “Ghost of Sharon Osbourne”

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Almost as a followup to my own review of the current Iron Maiden tour HERE is news of the band’s show at Madison Square Garden having a lengthy power interruption a la the Ozzfest tiff with Sharon Osbourne of a few years back. In fact vocalist Bruce Dickinson tempts fate by mentioning the “ghost of Sharon” as a possible cause of their problems onstage.

Go to Blabbermouth.net and check out the whole article (which also links to a video of the incident). The footage of Dickinson kicking around a soccer ball onstage while using one of the sarcophagus as a shield is priceless.