Archive for March, 2010

29
Mar

Monday Mornings– Here and Now, Studio 31.

Matthew Stewart
By Mattzors 0 Comments
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Categories: Music Review

So I’ve been skipping my updates the last few weeks to catch up on some sleep, and some mental stability. Lately the music I’ve been listening to was to pass the time, not to think about. An e-mail I got a few days ago was a kick in the ass to get myself going again. So here we go.

Studio 31 was nice enough to send me their album the last time I assaulted a hundred artists on Myspace. The first night I got it, my room mate and I put it in his cd player, and pumped it through some kick ass speakers. It sounded damn good. To be honest, it’s not exactly my type of music, but that’s not to say I don’t think these folks are talented. They definitely are!

Jessica Grant’s vocals are absolutely mesmerizing. And placed against music that sounds straight out of the early ninties, played by Geoffery James, and various high name studio artists it really brings some nostalgia to the record, even when you’re only hearing it for the first time.

The songs are all well written, and sound wonderful, check out the link below and listen to Free to Fly. I have a feeling I’d like Studio 31 live a lot, there would definitely be a lot of character in every song. I didn’t see any tour dates or anything on their site, so I’m kinda waiting on that, but I’ll make a note of it should anything come up.

Either way, later.

www.myspace.com/studio31music

18
Mar

The Sheepdogs

By iamawildparty 1 Comment
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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Categories: Uncategorized

There’s something about getting to see a band live. Some bands can win you over with the live show. Some bands can cement a relationship with their live show. Still others can lose a lot of fans with their live show.

A recent purge of my inbox brought me to an email about The Sheepdogs. I was feeling a little more frisky than usual, so I downloaded the free mp3 included and read through their upcoming tour dates. The Sheepdogs are 4 men of various stages of facial hair from ‘Toon town, in Saskatchewan. They specialize in a very well done brand of 70’s style rock and roll. To be truthful, it’s nothing you’ve never heard before. If you heard The Sheepdogs on local classic rock radio in between The Doobie Brothers and The Guess Who, you’d never realize they were young whippersnappers. It’s a good record, clean and polished, and tight as all get out.

Their live show is where the get you. They were making a swing through Moncton Rock City so I made a trek to the old Plan B lounge. What I found were four dudes who while remaining true to the structure of their songs, made it just dirty enough to stand out. Professional through and through these guys put on a seriously gritty show despite only 3 people there to see them, the rest being there because the venue sold beer and had no cover charge.

I hope these guys decide to make their way to these parts again, and I hope next time they can have a local opener to draw some fans out for them! Check out the Sheepdogs and come see them with me next time they come to Moncton.

myspace

13
Mar

Saturday Night Movie– Alice in Wonderland in 3D.

Matthew Stewart
By Mattzors 0 Comments
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Categories: Film Review

First off, never, Ever, drink three Dr Peppers, a large coffee, and then buy a large drink at the theatre. You miss stuff.

Now, Tim Burtan’s Alice in Wonderland. Where to start. I didn’t go in expecting much, I thought this was an over hyped, 3-d movie, and was scared it would turn the way of Avatar, and be praised for more than it’s worth. Avatar is still playing by the way. How pleasantly surprised I was with this film!

The opening scenes were fantastic foreshadowing, and your first glimpse of Wonderland takes you back to when you were a kid, watching the Disney cartoon for the first time. Normally I hate it when Disney decides to make a sequel, especially when they make it live action, but this time they did it right. The 3-d, and whimsical scenery made wonderland appear more of a cartoon with a few live actors here and there.

Alice, having aged thirteen years since her last adventure in wonderland, had almost forgotten about it. Can you say Peter Pan in Hook? She’s off to a party where the Lord attempting to court her plans to ask for her hand. Keep your eye on the characters around her at this party. The lord’s mother takes her through a garden of white roses, which Alice suggests to paint red, when she spots the white rabbit. She excuses herself from the ceremony to follow him down the rabbit hole, landing in a very familiar checker floor room, with nothing but a small door, a key sitting on a table, and a bottle labelled “Drink me.”

As we follow Alice we find that a prophecy reports her return to wonderland, or Underland as the natives call it, to slay the Red Queen’s dragon, the Jabberwalkie. Alice, convinced this is all a dream, embarkes reluctantly on her adventure, teaming up with old characters such as, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Dormouse, and of course the star role, The Mad Hatter, played by one Willy Wonka. I mean… Edward Scissorhands. Oops, Victor Van Dort. Ok, it’s Johnny Depp. Of course it’s Johnny Depp, who else would play Tim Burtan’s eccentric, colourful main character?

Anne Hathaway also makes an appearance as the White Queen. What a perfect fairy tale princess she is, flowing around the scenes with her head held high in beauty. Stephan Fry as the Chesire Cat, and Alan Rickman plays the caterpillar. Perfect! And Mia Wasikowska as Alice, looking very good in a suit of armour, pulled the movie together, and tied it off with a bow on top.

Like I said, I wasn’t expecting much going into the theatre, but I left very happy with the entire experience. I would see this movie again, and I hope it gets the same amount of glory that Avatar did. In short, if you’re flipflopping on seeing this movie, do it, it’s worth the ten bucks.

Either way, later.

08
Mar

Monday Mornings– Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg.

Matthew Stewart
By Mattzors 0 Comments
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As soon as I opened the new Wolfmother album, Cosmic Egg, I was taken back to a simpler time. A time when rock and roll was fun, full of energy, and had understandable lyrics. I was so happy when I pulled out the CD and it was a flat blue, with the white word Wolfmother, written at the bottom. That, and the cardboard case made it feel like I was opening a vinyl record.

The music is less impressive than their debut album. California Queen cannot compare to Joker and the Thief in terms of musical aptitude. This might comes from the band splitting after the first album, leaving singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale as the only surviving original. However, the whole album is just as entertaining as their first, and that’s really the most important part.

Wolfmother has a sound that makes you wonder if they actually recorded everything in the days of Led Zepplin, or Black Sabbath, and just waited until now to release it. I’m very happy with their ability to make a music that you can call Rock and Roll without having to add an adjective to it.

Cosmic Egg is a good buy, and I suggest it to anyone who grew up with older brothers, or young fathers, wearing tight jeans and band t-shirts.

http://www.wolfmother.com/
http://www.myspace.com/wolfmother

02
Mar

East Coast Loud

By iamawildparty 0 Comments
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Categories: Music Review, Reviews, Show Review and Uncategorized

I headed out Friday night to the East Coast Loud tour. Six of the East Coasts loudest and most brutal bands doing a quick Maritime Tour making their way to Cape Breton for this years East Coast Music Awards. All six bands on the tour are nominated for awards this year under the Loud category, now in it’s second year thanks in large part to Josh Hogan, founder of Diminished Fifth Records, based out of Halifax/Dartmouth Nova Scotia.

I was never a big metal guy until Josh started throwing all this music at me. While I’m still not an expert, I’ve become a bit more well versed than before, and this night was going to help me get into it that much more. I’m going to apologize in advance to Shelter With Thieves. I’ve heard wonderful things about you guys, but 1:30 am is a late start time, and my days start early. I’ll check you all out next time you’re in town, I promise. Your guy looks cute in a toque.

I got to the Manhattan about halfway through the first set. Halifax’s Big Game Hunt were bringing their Down style stoner metal to us. Their guitar player was rocking a 12 string Les Paul style rig that sounded as awesome as it looked. It was fantastic to hear a few tunes from Goliath played live and loud. Their stage presence was a bit lacking, but the sound just about made up for it. And I’m still not sure how that drummer plays with his kit so LOW!

Uncooperative Death took the stage next. I wasn’t very impressed with their album. I missed about half the set talking with Jonah of The Motorleague & Something Delicious, and Ross from The Swiftkicks. What I did catch was alright. They’re talented musicians, no doubt, but the songs don’t seem to have much cohesion, or coherence for that matter. I hope they’ll be able to choose one of their many influences and go with that for a while. It’s a bit much, coming from all angles and at some times it sounds a bit sloppy.

The Motorleague took third spot. I don’t know what I can say about these guys that I haven’t said before. They’re fantastic. They’re getting tighter. The new songs are excellent. They just got back from Toronto where they were recording the follow up to Black Noise. If you haven’t seen The Motes, do yourself a favor and check them out next time they roll through your area.

We, the Undersigned hit clean up for this show. I’ve been gushing about their record, Bleed the Constants for a while now. It made my top 10 for the year, easily. These guys are in the same boat as Uncooperative Death in that they have a lot of influences, and they all bleed through in their songs, but where UD lacks, WtU makes up the difference. While cohesive isn’t a word I’d use, coherent is. Their songs made sense. They were no doubt the tightest band of the night that I got to see. Their stage presence was ridiculous, and their frontman is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

Black Moor was up after WtU, and during a semi-final Olympic Hockey game where Canada nearly lost it to the Slovaks. Despite the crowd spending half their time watching the big TV screen next to them, Black Moor put on a great show. They’re a great throwback band. They have fantastic influences worn on their sleeves, but manage to pay some great respect to it. Without a doubt one of the best all around metal bands coming through right now. That being said, their frontman should stop talking between songs. Silence is golden, young man.

All in all the East Coast Loud tour Moncton stop was fantastic. I’m sure Shelter With Thieves ripped it up, and the other 5 bands, while they weren’t all my thing, definitely gave it their all. Give some of these local guys a chance when they hit up your area.

Big Game Hunt
Uncooperative Death
The Motorleague
We, the Undersigned
Black Moor
Shelter With Thieves

01
Mar

Monday Morning– The Belle Game, Inventing Letters.

Matthew Stewart
By Mattzors 1 Comment
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To call The Belle Game a folk/pop band simply because they have a guitar and a banjo (and being the listed genres on their website) would be unfair. However to call them a band worth giving a listen is fine. The musicianship all though the Inventing Letters EP is incredible. There’s so much talent packed into every song, even though each part might sound simple on it’s own, when you look at the list of instruments the members play on their official myspace it’s almost ridiculous! The Glockenspiel is listed!

The music is very tight. There’s so many instruments utilised in every song that it almost sounds like an indie-folk orchestra. And the vocals blend so well, and are wonderfully done. If you get a chance to check out their music, or see a live show, do it.

I feel like they’re holding back though. As though they are capable of even further wowing their audience. I just want to see what else they have locked up, hiding in their repertoire. The Belle Game is one of those bands that you just want to hear more. The EP gives you a taste, but you know you want more, and that’s why I’m going to be keeping my eye on them.

Either way, later.

www.myspace.com/thebellegame