Friday, May 17, 2013

Saturday May 11th, Great Day of Shows and plants!

(8am-4pm) On this day I visited the Bronx Botanical Garden with friends, got some photos before my incredibly awesome and well-functioning batteries promptly died. Then resurrected. Then died. Then dickered around deciding which they wanted to be. I got some delicious free breakfast and Garden passes from my aforementioned friends and we just beat a storm on the way home, which added satiety and fortuitousness (respectively) to the trip.






(4pm-LATE) I returned home, ate some more foodstuffs (this time courtesy of my skilled wife because I am lucky enough to get fed often). Following this, I embarked on concert extravaganza. Firstly, I made my way to Manhattan's Webster Hall for Ghost (B.C.) and Ides of Gemini (highly recommended if you like doomy occult-laden Heavy Metal bands. Highly talented female bassist/singer and drummer = BONUS.

 Reminds me of something like Royal Thunder mixed with Devil's Blood to use modern comparisons). This was of course mind-blowingly awesome. I am still absorbing Ghost's new album (which is certainly good and a competent sophomore outing), however I so far like the debut better. While not only having a terribly clever title, Opus Eponymous had thicker guitar sounds and better slow, doomy guitar slides that I love in some classic sounding rock/metal of primordial 70's sounds.


My evening not yet completed, I scurried over to Brooklyn's Saint Vitus bar for some LEGENDS. That is, I saw October 31st (for the second time!) AAAAND....(drum roll, please) OZ! Both bands sounded awesome and rocked my socks clean off. I was super worried that I would miss one or both bands as the show got announced AFTER I bought Ghost tickets so I was glad I didn't have to choose. I did miss some opening bands at the second show, but I have already seen and supported most of them.

Oz blew me away, of note having 2 very new and very young members which did NOT stop them from being awesome or cracking jokes, such as the new guitarist stating, "We wrote this one about 2 years before I was born..." I have been a fan of Oz for sometime, long having destroyed my cassette of "Fire In The Brain" through listening (not that it was in great shape for starters, that tape was battle-worn, and for good reason!). Which, I might add Marc Ruffneck signed after giving me one of his drumsticks. Mega-bonus!!! I met a different friend of mine for this show and that added a great bit for me as I stupidly grinned and headbanged away with many a fistpump, etc. even though he didn't dig either band much. However, I did get to see 2 rabbits and a cat that he was sitting, even petted one rabbit plus had one beer so this closed a fantastic, packed, well-rounded day of majestic victories!

*Review and photos (except flyers!) copyright The Samnambulist, 2013*

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Agent Cooper Moment 5-1-13 and 5-2-13

May Day: The Wicker Man and pizza! Not traditional or complimentary, but seriously, pizza and a movie. A DAMN FINE movie. Finally watched the documentary too, and I must say  extra-thanks to Christopher Lee for not only acting in this movie for free but for practically building its cult following with your tireless belief in its quality. May the original uncut negatives be found and restored. Hail the Goddess of the Fields!

5-2-13: Northland brand Cranberry juice (100% juice, of course!) and Cadbury Royal Dark style dark chocolate after watching the long-playing Good Eats episode about dark chocolate. I was well-pleased that Alton referenced not only Star Wars (twice) but also the ancient Mayan (psychoactive) drink which became hot chocolate.
Special mention: listening to the vinyl re-issue of Suffocation's classic 'Human Waste' EP from Relapse Records (of course, its original release was the first CD release on Relapse). It is BY FAR my favorite release by Suffocation, the balance of the primitive and the technical (heavier on the primitive compared to later releases) is perfectly executed. Necessary listening for me! Since I haven't listened to the album in a while either, my old copy lost to the ages, this was an extra special treat.

*Content copyright The Samnambulist, 2013*