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Sounds of the Suburbs Festival @ Wilbar Lane
Posted Sept. 28, 2016, 9:45 p.m. by TSounds of the Suburbs Festival
Wilbar Lane
Cronulla, Sydney
September 25, 2016
Cronulla, the “place of the pink seashells," is a beachside suburb, about 30 kilometers south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire, an area serving as the backdrop for the classic 1981 coming of age movie Puberty Blues, for which a big part of today’s laid-back, beachy crowd would have been the perfect cast – given that Sounds of the Suburbs festival is aimed at Sydney’s beautiful young things, people aged 18 to 24.
Squeezed into the Wilbar laneway behind the Space 44 gallery, which quintessentially turned a house into a live music and arts venue, and the Mexican restaurant/bar El Sol, the fourth installment of the boutique-y yet burgeoning Sounds of the Suburbs festival was held.
Sounds of the Suburbs is a laneway festival packed with Sydney’s newest and brightest of the indie variety, the odd touring band, Mexican food and culture located deep in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Summa summarum: All the key ingredients for a great DIY festival.
The 2016 all-day indie bill incarnated on multiple stages, one of which open for anyone bringing a device and plug whatever they wanted in, were supplemented by an art room displaying works from local creatively inclined folks, as well as Mexican food from El Sol and Italian wood-fired pizza.
Unfortunately only Budweiser was served on the beer front and while one was salivating at the prime selection of tequilas at display in the back of El Sol’s bar, only sangria and rum was served. Sacre bleu!
With DZ Deathrays (fresh off from an immensely successful Australian tour with Violent Soho), surf-inspired Guantanamo Baywatch, Peter Bibby, Alex Lahey, Verge Collection, Big White, Wild Honey, James Crooks, Tees, Pist Idiots, Baxter, Wash, Amyl And The Sniffers, Heads Of Charm, Red Wine Roses, The Cloacas, The Moving Stills, MVRKS, Mini Skirt, Uplifting Bell Ends and Stay At Home Mum this year’s incarnation of the festival lineup was not only eclectic, but even if you’re unaware of the protagonists, the names alone made you want to check them out.
For the most part, the bands gracing the main stage played fast paced, condensed sets, the lion’s share with an electric combination of lo-fi riffs coupled with energetic, offbeat stage presence, which did not fail to elicit boisterous and at time reckless responses from the willing, sold-out crowd.
Inside Space 44, in a more intimate environment bands like Wild Honey channeled their alchemy
Sounds of the Suburbs is a unique festival that has not merely found but created its very own and unique niche.
Having progressively gotten bigger and better with each year, one would not be surprised if it would evolve to a mainstream fest.
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Photos by KAVV
Apocalyptica @ Metro Theatre
Posted Sept. 27, 2016, 10:24 p.m. by TApocalyptica, We Lost the Sea
Metro Theatre
Australia, AUS
September 24,2016
Rumor has it that Ritchie Blackmore tried to get into mastering the cello, the attention-getter among instruments – try to ignore a woman lugging one around, at some point of his career.
He came to the conclusion that one has to dedicate one’s whole life to it, after which he went back to playing guitar and turning it up a bit louder.
In classical music the bowed string instrument is often considered to be one of the less interesting instruments, eclipsed by the piano and the violin, because it tends to be used for drawn-out notes to give a melancholic tone.
Apocalyptica are a classically trained cello metal band and have mastered the art of exploring the range of the cello, showcasing how diverse and powerful it can be – playing it as low as the double bass and a high as the violin, along with making it sound like the human voice.
Apocalyptica started 20 years ago with an album solely consisting of Metallica covers played on cellos. Twenty years on, eight studio albums with compositions of their own along with collaboration with the likes to Ville Valo of HIM, Corey Taylor of Slipknot fame and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil later, they descended upon Sydney as part of their “Shadowmaker” tour.
The set list consisted of a mix of originals and crowd pleasing cover songs, including heavy hitters by Metallica and Sepultura, interspersed by a segment with their current touring singer, Frankie Perez, which was the most conventional part of their performance.
Bringing together fans from heavy and more traditional musical spheres, the multi-faceted range Apocalyptica draws from makes them a very powerful and fun live act to see, keeping the audience on its toes as they seamlessly slide from Wagnerian tributes via somber moments to their various collaborations/covers, which elicit reactions and participation from the audience that you normally would only expect from hard rock acts with more traditional instrumentation. A great evening for anyone into heavy and classical music.
The evening was opened by We Lost the Sea, a great post-metal instrumental band from Sydney.
For some, music is nothing but a mundane distraction of background noise.
For others music can serve as a tool of survival and bring hope to otherwise hopeless situations.
Life is complex. The emotions it evokes even more so. Music can provide solace.
We Lost the Sea gives consolation by wonderfully executing lengthy, hefty instrumental songs with towering guitar arrangements that create an active, immersive and cathartic listening experience.
A band to look out for.
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Photos by KAVV
Descendents @ First Avenue
Posted Sept. 21, 2016, 9:21 p.m. by LorenDescendents, Modern Life Is War, Color TV
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
September 15, 2016
The only people luckier than those who get to see the Descendents are those who get to open.
Color TV kicked off the show with a surfy-garage punk vibe as the room filled in, while vets Modern Life Is War played to a mostly interested crowd in a surprise billing of hardcore and pop-punk. While it was fun watching Jeffrey Eaton straddling the banister as crowd control security rushed over, the real star of the show was the Descendents, now on tour in support of their 7th studio album (Hypercaffium Spazzinate, Epitaph, 2016).
“It’s been 20 years since we’ve played here,” Milo announced as they took the stage. You wouldn’t know it other than the gray hairs on both stage and in audience—except perhaps by the swelling enthusiasm of the crowd that seemed to dwarf the excitement of a more regular show.
Descendents live are something special. That’s the bulk of the story. There are bands who come and play a nice show that promotes their new album, then they move on and do it again. Then there are bands where the magic on a record isn’t reproduced, it’s created on stage and makes that record sound dull in comparison. The Ramones had it (or so I hear, I only have their live records to go by) and Descendents have it. Yes, the set list is sort of a best of compilation, but the manic energy from Milo on the mic to Stephen Egerton on the guitar and Karl Alvarez on the bass fill it out. With Bill Stevenson blasting at the kit, they still feel like a group of young kids who enjoy the songs, what they’re doing, and each other. That may sound trite, but it’s important, especially for a band pushing 38 years.
I felt a little young at this show and I guess that’s why. Descendents and I are essentially the same age, so naturally the crowd has a few years on me—though you wouldn’t know it by the atmosphere in the packed room. Despite it being a Thursday night with a lot of scheduled to get up early the next morning, it felt like the weekend. I’m sure 12 hours later it was all grumpy coffee mugs at the breakfast table in their suburban homes mumbling, “I don’t want to grow up” (see what I did there), but time stood still for their hour long set followed by two encores.
As stated, it really was a best of, though with a good chunk of new material and the oldest and best known material peppered within cleverly, never dropping momentum or losing a beat.
It’s tricky to summarize an hour and half of live Descendents because it’s a moment trapped in time where age and calendars and work fade away. The band is older and the stages are bigger, but it doesn’t feel like Milo and company ever grew up, and it feels great.
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All photography by Loren Green.
Steve Wozniak @ Australian Technology Park
Posted Sept. 4, 2016, 3:28 p.m. by TAn evening with Steve Wozniak
Australian Technology Park
Sydney, Australia
August 28, 2016
Think Inc. is a boundary pushing, Australia-based initiative dedicated to the promotion of intellectual discourse by bringing forward thinkers like Maajid Nawaz, Edward Snowden, Dr. Neil deGrasse, et alia down under.
Tonight ‘twas Stephen Wozniak’s turn – the man who has been credited with being the inventor of the personal computer as we now it: co-founder of Apple, philanthropist, motivational speaker and strong advocate for STEM education.
The ”Evening with” the effervescent and engaging 66-year-old, moderated by Dr. Jordan Nguyen -- a biomedical engineer, innovator in his own right and inventor of a mind-controlled wheelchair -- was a engaging biographic event with Wozniak reminiscing about his upbringing and how he developed a love for tinkering with technology long before computers came to exist.
Being an overachiever in the spheres of mathematics and engineering and equipped with a sense of humour, the young Wozniak indulged in pranks and found instant gratification in the way technology could be used. This was common ground for his relationship with Steve Jobs, whom he met at college.
Working at Hewlett-Packard at the time, Wozniak did engineering jobs throughout California, the products of which Jobs would turn into money.
Wozniak’s approach to technology has always had a very punk approach in a benevolent way: DIY in its nature through and through, with money never being a driving factor and with a longing for being part of a revolution, he gave his designs for free without copyright and dedicated his spare time to educating others in how to set up and operating computers.
With Hewlett-Packard having turned down his computer designs repeatedly, he and Jobs seized the opportunity, made a virtue out of necessity and formally started a company in 1976.
The Apple had fallen off the tree and the rest of the flourishing enterprise is history, pervading every aspect of our reality.
Eventually Wozniak opted out of Apple to pursue his goal of teaching computer classes to primary school children – a job he loved for its instant gratification outside the confines of monetary rewards as he to this day considers human interaction to be of utmost importance for education at primary and high school levels.
Wozniak is still a strong advocate of start ups and innovative areas, which his answers during the open Q&A component of the evening, with questions from the audience, underlining the importance and equitable access to education and that business and marketing acumen needs to go hand in hand with engineering capability.
Wozniak’s sincere enthusiasm for the possibilities of artificial intelligence and the benefits it could bring and giving humans what they need instead of replacing them, made it another quality Think Inc. event.
The Beards @ Metro Theatre
Posted July 6, 2016, 9:59 p.m. by TThe Beards
Metro Theatre
Sydney, Australia
July 2, 2016
The concept of The Beards is simple – an Australian self-proclaimed “novelty band” from Adelaide that exclusively performs songs around the subject matter of beards.
Variations of their monothematicism spans across five albums and their pro-beard agenda has been propagated relentlessly in a live environment across the globe since its inception in 2005.
The Beards are currently on a last victory lap across Australia to go out with a bang before they will be ending their touring and live performing career.
While it might sound like the concept behind The Beards could quickly grow old – yes, there are beard jokes and beard jokes along with a few beard jokes thrown in for good measure - their jovial stage demeanour, tight quality playing, banter with the audience and great songs make it a rollicking good time.
The Beards are seasoned, talented musicians with frontman and Zach Galifianakis Hangover-era lookalike Johan Beardraven, serenader and multi-instrumentalist, being the focus of the action.
The evening was split into two sets: An acoustic first half saw the band sharply dressed in dinner suits and in chamber music formation with the repertoire anchored in their folksy songs, while the second half saw the The Beards in more traditional rock mode.
No matter the genre, their engaging stage performance had everyone in attendance either singing along or enjoying the show with a smile on his or her face.
The fact that a band that sings entirely about beards creates such an atmosphere speaks volumes of their caliber as great songwriters and entertainers – let alone their warped sense of humour.
Their farewell tour keeps getting extended and one can only hope that it will prompt them to continue – be it as beardophiliacs or in other incarnations.
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Photos by KAVV
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Posted by T
Dec. 15, 2014, 5:26 p.m.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds State Theatre Sydney, AUS December 11, 2014 "All that has dark sounds has duende, that mysterious power that everyone feels but no philosopher ... read more
Run The Jewels & Ratking @ The Fine Line
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
Nov. 22, 2014, 11:31 a.m.
Run The Jewels, Ratking The Fine Line Music Café Minneapolis, MN November 20, 2014 Earlier this week I attended an artist’s talk/writer’s workshop-type thing here in Minneapolis. Kevin Bowe, who’s ... read more
Gaslight Anthem & Against Me! @ First Avenue
Posted by Loren
Oct. 22, 2014, 5:50 p.m.
The Gaslight Anthem, Against Me!, Cory Brannan First Avenue Minneapolis, MN October 15, 2014 It had been many a year since I’d seen Against Me! and I hadn’t seen Gaslight ... read more
Pixes @ State Theatre
Posted by Loren
Oct. 14, 2014, 6:02 p.m.
The Pixies, Royal Blood State Theatre Minneapolis, MN October 11, 2014 There’s a lot that can be said about The Pixies and their 2014 tour—well, about any tour of ... read more
Alice In Chains @ The Enmax
Posted by Jon E.
Aug. 21, 2014, 8:53 p.m.
Lethbridge is a suburb of sorts to Calgary to give you, the reader an idea of the towns size. Usually the Enmax (where this show took place) is host to ... read more
Arcade Fire @ The Forum (Night 1)
Posted by Aaron H
Aug. 21, 2014, 6:21 p.m.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Arcade Fire are currently shaking up North America with an enchanting spectacle of a tour. I caught the tour in Los ... read more
Too Many Rappers: July 2014
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
July 18, 2014, 3:34 p.m.
Too Many Rappers: July 2014 7/18/14 - Minneapolis, MN Commuting earlier than usual this morning means it’s nice and cool. I ride by a kid who’s wearing an old 3rd ... read more
Guided By Voices @ Irving Plaza
Posted by Eli Zeger
July 13, 2014, 12:35 p.m.
Guided By Voices, Crystal Stilts Irving Plaza New York, NY July 11, 2014 Photo courtesy of Gerald McBoing-Boing See Guided By Voices before you die. ... read more
Agalloch @ Irving Plaza
Posted by Eli Zeger
July 7, 2014, 10:11 a.m.
Agalloch, Jex Thoth Irving Plaza New York, NY June 30, 2014 Agalloch were one of the first metal bands to combine black/doom’s monsoon of carnage with ambient, ... read more
Eyehategod @ Club Europa
Posted by Eli Zeger
June 11, 2014, 2:55 p.m.
Eyehategod, Ringworm, Enabler, Shitkill Club Europa Brooklyn, New York June 7, 2014 This past weekend, the mega-festival Governors Ball hit hard in NYC. People from all ... read more
Boston Calling Music Festival
Posted by Eli Zeger
May 29, 2014, 5:20 p.m.
Boston Calling Music Festival 2014 City Hall Plaza in Boston, MA May 23-25 2014 (All concert photos courtesy of Mike Diskin) Over Memorial Day weekend, I experienced the ... read more
Mogwai @ Terminal 5
Posted by Eli Zeger
May 10, 2014, 11:44 a.m.
As my friend David and I were being hurled around the mosh pit at the Terminal 5 show of legendary post-rock ensemble Mogwai, I thought back to how earlier ... read more
Chuck Ragan @ Triple Rock
Posted by Loren
April 19, 2014, 9:03 a.m.
Chuck Ragan, White Buffalo, Jonny Two BagsTriple Rock Social ClubMinneapolis, MNApril 15, 2014 It had been many a year since I’d seen Chuck Ragan perform, and that was with his ... read more
From Indian Lakes @ Studio at Webster Hall
Posted by Eli Zeger
March 28, 2014, 1:59 p.m.
Written by Eli ZegerPhotos by Hadar Sagi From Indian Lakes From Indian Lakes is a group of five pretty boys who make poppy emo music, but with post-rock riffs ... read more
Russian Circles, KEN Mode, Inter Arma
Posted by Chris Brown
Feb. 24, 2014, 8:17 a.m.
Russian Circles, KEN Mode, Inter Arma at Underground Arts, Philadelphia, 2/19/14 Last week, Chicago's Russian Circles touched down in Philadelphia as a part of their current tour with Ontario's KEN ... read more
Too Many Rappers: Fall Roundup
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
Nov. 14, 2013, 7:45 p.m.
Too Many Rappers: Fall Roundup The Minnehaha Creek is just one of the many places I do my thinking. I mean, as a human being with a fully functional brain, ... read more
HIM @ Southampton Guildhall
Posted by David Rutherford
Nov. 10, 2013, 1:02 p.m.
HIM, Caspian Southampton GuildhallSouthampton, Hampshire, UKOctober 28, 2013 It has been three years since HIM last played on the shores of the UK, with a lot of uncertainty whether they ... read more
Beacons Festival 2013
Posted by Fin TJM
Nov. 9, 2013, 7:53 p.m.
Beacons Festival 2013 North Yorkshire August 16-18, 2013 Beacons Festival is a pretty novel addition to the British concert scene. Taking place in Skipton (Lancs > Yorks) away from the ... read more
Elliott Smith: a personal remembrance
Posted by Matt
Oct. 24, 2013, 4:34 p.m.
Elliott Smith at his last-ever NYC show, January 29th 2003. He killed himself that October.Photo: Alexis I have this friend, let's call her L. We "met" on a music messageboard ... read more
Terror, Counterparts & Guests @ Golden Age Club
Posted by Jon E.
Oct. 15, 2013, 6:33 p.m.
October 12, 2013 Calgary, Alberta @ THE GOLDEN AGE CLUB After a few hiccups in the booking process (venue issues, etc.) the day finally came for Terror to come back ... read more
What Inspires You? A (Sort of) Tour Diary Part 2
Posted by Aaron H
Oct. 14, 2013, 9:44 p.m.
A couple weeks ago, I went on a trip to the middle of the country to see my favorite band, AFI, play shows up and down the midwest. Some of ... read more
What Inspires You? A (Sort of) Tour Diary
Posted by Aaron H
Oct. 10, 2013, 1:03 p.m.
A couple weeks ago, I went on a trip to the middle of the country to see my favorite band, AFI, play shows up and down the midwest. Some ... read more
FLAG, T.S.O.L. @ First Avenue
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
Sept. 17, 2013, 12:17 p.m.
FLAG, T.S.O.L., Cerbral Ballzy, Off WithTheir Heads First Avenue Minneapolis, MN September 13, 2013 After spending a few hours in a sports bar down the street, where my compadres and ... read more
Caïna @ The Unicorn
Posted by Cheryl
Sept. 8, 2013, 3:25 p.m.
Caïna, Hordes, Barshasketh The Unicorn London, UK September 6 2013 We've been talking a lot about the rebirth of Caïna of late and we'll soon have a review of the new ... read more
The Progressive Music Awards II: Futile Sequence
Posted by Sarah
Sept. 2, 2013, 4:11 p.m.
It's that time once again! The fabled Progressive Music Awards are tomorrow night, and I've spent the last few weeks getting myself familiar with the best of the best in ... read more
Too Many Rappers: Summer Wrapup
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
Aug. 28, 2013, 6:27 p.m.
Holy crap, has this summer been hot or what? Like, hot as in temperature hot. Like, literally hot. Which might be confusing now that Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries as well ... read more
The Nines Festival - Devens MA August 2013
Posted by Scott Wilkinson
Aug. 26, 2013, 8:52 a.m.
The NINES Festival Devens, MA I must admit I was anxious to attend this festival when I heard the lineup featured none other than Shuggie Otis. I have had ... read more
Blur 21: The Exhibition @ IMMA, Dublin
Posted by Aideen
Aug. 2, 2013, 12:20 p.m.
It's a tray in a hotel room, fairly unremarkable when put back to basics. The tray is littered with cigarettes, beer bottles, a can of coke, a crumpled McDonald's ... read more
Melvins, Negative Approach, Mudhoney @ Grumpys
Posted by Loren
July 29, 2013, 8:27 p.m.
Die Kruezen, Hepa/Titus, Mudhoney, Gay Witch Abortion, Negative Approach, Honky, Melvins Grumpys Downtown Minneapolis, MN July 20, 2013 It’s a shame that Amphetamine Reptile Records quit putting out new ... read more
Postal Service @ The Greek Theater
Posted by Aaron H
July 26, 2013, 3:17 a.m.
The Postal Service are making their rounds again in support in the Deluxe Edition re-release of their 2003 album, Give Up. Scene Point Blank had a chance to check'em out ... read more
Dave Hause @ Cabooze Plaza
Posted by Loren
July 10, 2013, 5:05 p.m.
Dave Hause @ Cabooze Plaza Social Distortion, Cheap Time, Dave HauseCabooze PlazaMinneapolis, MNJuly 2, 2013 Dave Hause is a busy guy. I swear I get an email a week here ... read more
Too Many Rappers: Spring
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
May 6, 2013, 6:32 p.m.
Well here we are into the first part of May, and I'm wondering where the fuck March and April went. I apologize for dropping the F bomb on you in ... read more
Record Store Day 2013 Wrapup
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
April 22, 2013, 10:56 p.m.
Minneapolis, MN, 4/20/13 Despite being fairly worn out from the previous evening—one which had me visiting three different venues, seeing six different bands, and imbibing at least twice as many ... read more
The Men @ 7th St Entry, Mpls, MN
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
April 14, 2013, 2:38 p.m.
The Men 7th St Entry Minneapolis, MN June 12, 2013 On just the third night of their North American tour, Brooklyn-based band The Men landed in Minneapolis for a packed-in ... read more
Book Review: Davey Havok - Pop Kids
Posted by Matt
April 7, 2013, 3:02 p.m.
(This review contains copious spoilers: if you intend to read the novel yourself, proceed with caution. We're posting it as a blog since it's not strictly music-related, despite being written by ... read more
Tegan and Sara @ Upstate Concert Hall
Posted by Stephanie Preston
April 7, 2013, 12:27 p.m.
Tegan and Sara were appreciated by Albany, NY last month when they came to the Upstate Concert Hall, the first time they've visited since the duo released So Jealous, which ... read more
Anthrax, Exodus @ First Avenue, MN
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
April 6, 2013, 1:16 p.m.
Anthrax, Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, Holy Grail First Avenue Minneapolis, MN April 4th, 2013 Continuing their recent-ish trend of performing classic albums in their entirety, Anthrax rolled into ... read more
This Beastie Boys Footage Needs to be Addressed
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
March 20, 2013, 1:40 a.m.
In the days following Adam Yauch’s passing in May of last year, many of us nostalgia-stricken fans were searching for words to express how deeply saddened we were by not ... read more
Too Many Rappers: February Wrapup
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
March 6, 2013, 8:31 p.m.
February 28th, 2013 As I write this, I am overlooking the Sea of Cortez on the Baja Peninsula from the balcony of my room at a vacation resort outside of ... read more
Too Many Rappers: February
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
Feb. 15, 2013, 6:02 p.m.
This hip-hop train just keeps on rolling. And although I would like to think I’m fully on board, it feels more like I’m running beside it, trying to keep up, ... read more
New Column: Too Many Rappers
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
Feb. 5, 2013, 4:41 p.m.
Well, here we are, a whole month into the New Year, and as usual January was spent catching up on all the music I slept on last year. Normally the ... read more
Winterfylleth @ The Black Heart
Posted by Cheryl
Jan. 29, 2013, 7:50 a.m.
The tiny Black Heart in Camden holds court to an evening of droned out sludge, traditional heavy doom, and more English black metal than you can shake a stick at ... read more
Show Review: The Great Old Ones w/Terzij de Horde and Oblivionized @ The Unicorn, London (January 5th 2013)
Posted by Cheryl
Jan. 9, 2013, 12:17 a.m.
The Unicorn is suffering from a severe lack of air con tonight, the tension in the air made all the palpable by the insane levels of heat and the anticipation ... read more
Show Review: Neurosis and Godflesh @ Kentish Town Forum, London (December 2nd 2012)
Posted by Cheryl
Dec. 8, 2012, 8:39 p.m.
The view that Scene Point Blank has been afforded for tonight’s performance is beautiful, and the sea of heads below on the floor is all the more astonishing seen from ... read more
Show Review: Minus the Bear/Cursive @ The Glasshouse
Posted by Aaron H
Nov. 13, 2012, 4:20 p.m.
Minus the Bear and Cursive have been on tour for the past few months in support of their 2012 releases. Minus the Bear put out Infinity Overhead in August, while ... read more
Show Review: Murder by Death @ House of Blues Anaheim
Posted by Aaron H
Oct. 8, 2012, 4:34 p.m.
Murder by Death have just begun to tour for their new album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, by supporting pop-punk troop, Say Anything. It's an interesting combo and Murder by Death ... read more
Show review: At The Drive-In @ Brixton Academy, London (08/28/12)
Posted by Matt
Aug. 29, 2012, 2:43 a.m.
It's rare that you attend a show that feels like it has the weight of history riding on it, but seeing At The Drive-In play what is likely to be ... read more
Show Review: fun. @ The Wiltern
Posted by Aaron H
Aug. 19, 2012, 4:58 p.m.
Fun. are back on the road selling out shows again. This time however, they didn't just sell out one show, but 3 nights at the illustrious Wiltern Theater in Los ... read more
Show Review: Murder by Death @ The El Rey Theater
Posted by Aaron H
Aug. 9, 2012, 2:25 p.m.
Murder by Death are preparing the release of their 6th studio album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, while celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their first LP, Like The Exorcist, but More ... read more
Sarah Deconstructs the Progressive Music Awards Nominees
Posted by Sarah
July 4, 2012, 9:39 a.m.
Well, it's high time that progressive music got a good, high-ish-profile awards show, and now, thanks to Prog Magazine, we have one. The bad news is that it stlil shows ... read more
Japandroids @ 7th St. Entry
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
July 3, 2012, 5:07 p.m.
Japandroids 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, MN July 7, 2012 When a touring band starts their set by saying, “It feels like we’re back home, Minneapolis”, the natural instinct is to go ... read more
LeBron James - Stay Hatin'
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
June 22, 2012, 1:56 a.m.
LeBron James is Four Titles and a Rape Allegation Away From Becoming Kobe Bryant: How the Miami Heat Winning is Bad for Basketball Now I know that we here at ... read more
Royal Headache @ Triple Rock Social Club
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
June 10, 2012, 4:50 a.m.
Royal Headache, The Arrivals, Condominium Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN June 9, 2012 It was with some intrigue and, admittedly, mostly trepidation that I made my way to ... read more
Show Review: Hot Water Music @ The Glasshouse
Posted by Aaron H
May 28, 2012, 5:28 p.m.
Hot Water Music just released their new album, Exister, and recently spent a couple nights in So-Cal to warm up the new songs before they head out to Europe this ... read more
Rock on the Cowbell Slowly
Posted by Sarah
April 14, 2012, 12:27 p.m.
There are a few cultural constants we all come to understand depending on where we come from, and growing up in Vermont is no exception. Amongst other things, many develop ... read more
Show Review: fun.
Posted by Aaron H
March 29, 2012, 3:08 p.m.
Once again, fun. are on the road and Scene Point Blank was there to catch another great show. The band's playing the clubs in support of their sophomore record, Some ... read more
Musink Fest: A Review
Posted by Aaron H
March 6, 2012, 3:44 p.m.
I had the pleasure of attending the 5th annual Musink Fest in Costa Mesa, CA--a festival blending live music and an appreciation for tattoo art--hosted by LA Ink star, Kat ... read more
Show Review: Cursive @ The Glasshouse 02/25/12
Posted by Aaron H
Feb. 27, 2012, 3:43 p.m.
Cursive recently began touring in support of their 7th studio album, I Am Gemini. I had the privilege of catching their show in Pomona, CA where they played a great ... read more
Catholic Dating Sites
Posted by Sarah
Feb. 17, 2012, 10:45 a.m.
I know we don't usually review websites here at Scene Point Blank, but we just couldn't help ourselves after our editor in chief Loren received the following request: Hi,I'm Pheiné, ... read more
Vermont Counterpoint(s)
Posted by Sarah
Nov. 18, 2011, 12:51 p.m.
The piece ended rather suddenly, almost completely without warning. The conductor held his position for a moment, then slowly brought his arms down. The theater erupted with applause as the ... read more
Show Review: Bayside/Saves the Day @ The Glasshouse
Posted by Aaron H
Oct. 28, 2011, 1:35 a.m.
Saves the Day and Bayside decided to team up this Fall to deliver a thrilling show fans of either could appreciate. Joining them on the tour are I Am ... read more
Show Review: The World/Inferno Friendship Society @ The Key Club
Posted by Aaron H
Oct. 8, 2011, 2:05 p.m.
The World/Inferno Friendship Society recently started their US tour supporting their new album, The Anarchy and The Ecstasy, with sci-fi-psychobilly (psy-fi?) band, The Phenomenauts. You could not ask for a ... read more
Cannabis Corpse - A Live Review
Posted by Cheryl
Sept. 12, 2011, 7:36 a.m.
Last Thursday, The Purple Turtle in London's infamous Camden held what is likely to be the most fun headlining show I've seen this year. Cannabis Corpse, fresh off the back ... read more
Motley Crue and Poison - A Live Review
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
June 29, 2011, 6:33 a.m.
Motley Crue and Poison live, Target Center, Mpls, MN, 6/24/11 The New York Dolls opened the show but I couldn’t tell you damn thing about them. The girlfriend and I literally ... read more
Midwest Hell Fest Wrapup-Day 2
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
May 31, 2011, 12:51 p.m.
Read Midwest Hell Fest Wrapup-Day 1 here. Despite intermittent sleep, I wake up feeling fairly well rested. If memory serves correctly, I’m somewhere deep within the confines of enemy territory—Wisconsin. ... read more
Midwest Hell Fest Wrapup-Day 1
Posted by Nathan G. O'Brien
May 17, 2011, 7:02 a.m.
After losing a year of my life behind the wheel, I finally arrive at my destination: Kimberly, Wisconsin. Upon walking into the hotel—and I use this term loosely—lobby, I am ... read more
Show Review: Fun. @ The Glasshouse
Posted by Aaron H
May 2, 2011, 8:31 a.m.
After a long wait and two opening acts—the clock struck 9:30 and Fun took the stage, while the boys and girls cheered. Suddenly, the beautiful overture to “Be Calm” opens ... read more
Fest 8 Wrapup
Posted by Loren
Dec. 16, 2009, 6:53 a.m.
200 bands, seemingly as many beers, and only three nights. Where do I begin my recap? My stomach is still shrunken from not eating right, and I continue to drink ... read more
Converge/Mastodon/Dethklok - A Live Review
Posted by Edson
Oct. 31, 2009, 6:11 p.m.
Let me start off by saying that I love all three of these bands, and I have been looking forward to this show since I got confirmed to photograph it. ... read more
Portugal. the Man - A Live Review
Posted by Edson
Oct. 24, 2009, 3:41 p.m.
Portugal. the Man is a Portland, Oregon based experimental indie-rock band, fronted by native Alaskan John Gourley. If you haven’t heard the story about this up and coming group, Gourley’s ... read more
Moving Mountains: A Live Review
Posted by Edson
Sept. 23, 2009, 3:17 p.m.
I don't know how many of you have heard of Moving Mountains. A band from Westchester, NY, they are fresh off a tour with Thursday, about to embark on a ... read more
500+ Reviews
Posted by Michael
May 31, 2009, 11:36 p.m.
I hit the 500 review mark last week with my Narrows review. That's a lot of reviews. Sometimes I get burnt out with all the stuff coming through, especially when ... read more
Braffed!
Posted by Michael
May 6, 2009, 3:41 p.m.
So I just got done watching the season finale of Scrubs. It was Zach Braff's final episode. His character is saying goodbye, but I think they gave it a nice ... read more
Remember Those Browns?
Posted by Michael
Nov. 13, 2008, 11:16 a.m.
Two months ago I had high hopes for the Cleveland Browns. Now I am left with a fairly mediocre season. We shall see how the remainder plays out. I'm looking ... read more
Intro
Posted by Graham Isador
Sept. 22, 2008, 8:27 a.m.
Might as well has this here too, it's been three years since I wrote it. I think it still holds true. Space for rent. Your ad here. My name is ... read more
Go Browns!
Posted by Michael
Sept. 14, 2008, 3:26 a.m.
I forgot to post this prior to week one, but given the outcome of that game, maybe it was for the best. Anyway, the Browns season is underway and that ... read more
End Of An Era: Life Long Tragedy
Posted by Michael
July 2, 2008, 7:23 a.m.
Over the weekend a band that was very dear to my heart announced their sudden breakup and played their final show. I first became acquainted with Life Long Tragedy over ... read more
The return of the blog
Posted by Cory
April 23, 2008, 12:45 p.m.
I was yelled at again for writing this, and since I am applying for a job at a local newspaper, I don't really want this hanging over my head. Sorry ... read more
It's been a long time
Posted by Bob
March 16, 2008, 2:56 a.m.
Last night my band played with Souvenir's Young America, City of Ships, and Monolith at Siren Records in Doylestown, PA; it was a fun time all the bands played real ... read more
We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat
Posted by Michael
Feb. 12, 2008, 9:09 a.m.
If you didn't hear the news, Roy Scheider died this week at the age of 75. Jaws is one of my all-time favorite films. I am extremely sad. I fully ... read more
I'm deleting my blogs because
Posted by Cory
Feb. 2, 2008, 6:48 a.m.
They could make me look not so good to certain people. Nobody read them anyways. read more
In Remembrance of Kid Kilowatt
Posted by Bob
Jan. 29, 2008, 11:04 a.m.
So, back when Cave In's Until Your Heart Stops dropped on the hardcore masses several years back, I had the chance of catching the band at Middlesex County Community College. ... read more
Oh Gehenna...how you make me smile
Posted by Bob
Jan. 8, 2008, 11:45 a.m.
I broke out my CD for the Gehenna- The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness and saw something that always made me smile. Allow me ... read more
Issue 2 of my print zine "I'm A Pretender" - available now!
Posted by Matt
Dec. 7, 2007, 2:29 a.m.
Hello. Some of you might remember (or have participated in) my experiment over the summer collecting people's wishes on this page. I got over 160 entries and published them all ... read more
Most Awkward Interview Ever?
Posted by Michael
Nov. 7, 2007, 11:22 a.m.
Imagine being in this kid's place... Interview w/ Henry Rollins read more
Colbert '08
Posted by Michael
Oct. 17, 2007, 11:27 a.m.
Even though it is just a joke, I'd still vote for Stephen Colbert for president before I'd vote for anyone else for running, outside of the longshots that have no ... read more
Dear Atreyu
Posted by Michael
Sept. 4, 2007, 2:32 p.m.
Dear Atreyu, Please stop. No seriously, please stop...now. - File has been removed. It was up for a month. It was the band's cover of Faith No More's "Epic." - ... read more
Nut Pain And Stereotyping Seattle
Posted by Jason
Aug. 18, 2007, 11:41 p.m.
I woke up today at 5:30am to get my ass to the store to open it for what I figured would be another boring Sunday at work. Work has been ... read more
Tony Wilson R.I.P.
Posted by Peanut
Aug. 10, 2007, 8:23 a.m.
So the man that founded Factory Records and helped Joy Division become as huge as they did through hype died today. Not alot of people repect what Wilson did for ... read more
Today Is For The Living
Posted by Jason
Aug. 2, 2007, 9:56 a.m.
Yesterday during rush hour traffic on 35W the bridge than spans the mighty Mississippi fell. There was no earthquake. There was no terrorist attack. The bridge just buckled and toppled ... read more
Be Afraid Vol.1
Posted by Bob
July 19, 2007, 8:36 a.m.
Part 1: Mission Statement, Introduction, and first terribly nostalgic musing A number of years ago, a few friends of mine, myself, and people who would quickly become my friends used ... read more
Bands I Like: Shook Ones
Posted by Josh F.
July 15, 2007, 12:24 p.m.
Shook Ones, for the uninitiated, are a melodic hardcore band from Seattle, Washington. Their debut LP, Sixteen, had some serious Kid Dynamite aping going on, without a doubt, but it ... read more
Friday The 13th
Posted by Michael
July 13, 2007, 2:19 p.m.
Remember when the idea of Friday the 13th used to be scary? Maybe its because I am a grown adult, but there just does not seem to be any horror ... read more
Scene Point Blank: July Relaunch
Posted by Matt
July 7, 2007, 11:02 p.m.
You have no idea how wonderful it is to be finally typing these words. Not that my work is done: a SPB staffer's work is never done! But seriously: typing ... read more
