Sunday, August 20, 2006
X and THE ROLLINS BAND!!
Saw X and The Rollins Band last night. Man oh man, what a terrific fuckin show.
Back in the 80s L.A. hardcore scene, two of my favorite bands were Black Flag and X. So this was the next best thing. A fuckin blast from the past. And it was the original line-ups of both the Rollins Band and X (guitarist Billy Zoom is back!!).
Missed opening act the Riverboat Gamblers, but when I got there, Rollins was just taking the stage. He looks as buff as ever (I'm so jealous of the fuck) and stalked the stage like a wild animal. Hank and the boys put on a solid fuckin set, and I'd even forgotten how great song the once-overplayed LIAR was, but Henry reminded me how kick-ass it was. Especially with the last part where he laughs maniacally and says "Sucker!". Henry Rollins is the man, and he's still got his mojo intact.
Then headliners X came on and blew the roof off the place. Just as vital as they ever were. I always thought of the 80s hardcore acts, X was a little more polished and musically talented than the rest of the bands (they also didn't really sound hardcore, there stuff is more sped-up rockabilly). The two-part harmonies are still there, and strong as hell (Exene and John Doe are amazing), and it was great to have Billy Zoom standing there again, playing guitar and smiling at the audience. But they didn't play his signature song "Hungry Wolf" even though I shouted it out a bunch of times (maybe that's why they didn't play it...)
Amazing fuckin show. If these two bands bring their traveling sideshow to your neck of the woods, run don't walk to get tickets. You're in for a treat.
Infernally Yours,
~LLS
Sunday, August 13, 2006
THE DESCENT
Well it looks like I'll be making future posts to both here and my MySpace blog. So now there are two ways to check out my latest posts! Now on to the movie.
I finally got around to seeing THE DESCENT, and I have to admit, I absolutely LOVED it!
For those who don't know, THE DESCENT is a movie about a group of women who go spelunking (cave exploring, for the uninitatied) in the Appalachian mountains. While exploring a previously unexplored cave, they come across a lot of blind, albino monsters who love the taste of human flesh!
I'm surprised they didn't call this movie MONSTERS IN A CAVE, considering how everyone loves titles that give away the whole plot these days (am I the only person not chomping at the bit to see SNAKES ON A PLANE solely for its title?).
Director Neil Marshall previously made the film DOG SOLIDERS, featuring soldiers vs. werewolves (I know, I was underwhelmed when I heard the plot too, but Marshall pulls it off admirably, showing once again that there aren't bad plots, just bad writers and directors).
THE DESCENT offers us a strong cast, lots of suspense, and some very cool-looking cave monsters. And lots of gore (the only reason for the R rating). The plot may not sound like much, but Marshall does the most with it, getting us to really care about these characters before he plunges them into danger. You spend the rest of the movie (once the ambush starts) on the edge of your seat, wondering what the hell will happen next.
Hell, you can tell it's a good movie because the cast is made up solely of women, there's no nudity, and I STILL love it! LOL
Marshall is definitely a director worth watching. I can't wait to see what he does next. And THE DESCENT is easly one of the three best horror movies I've seen so far in 2006.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, go to your nearest theater now and check it out. You won't be dissapointed.
This movie actually bummed me out a little, because it would have been a perfect film for my old CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT column (with Michael Arruda). For those who were fans of the column, it's still trying to find a new home after the Hellnotes newsletter ended its run. More news on this as it develops.
Infernally Yours,
~LLS
PS: I recently got a couple of cool new DVD reviewing gigs. More on this news soon.
