News on Shuffle – Page 7 – News on Shuffle

Murphy’s Law play last Trash Bar show TONIGHT!

Happy St Patrick’s Day, everyone!

I might not agree with the statement “Everyone is Irish on St Patrick’s Day,” but I can agree with the fact everyone can have fun at Trash Bar tonight. Well, everyone who can squeeze through the door will have fun, anyway. It’s Murphy’s Law at Trash Bar day! Since Trash Bar will be closing soon, this is the last one of these you’ll be able to go to, so get your butt out for a fun night of music. The lineup for tonight is pretty solid:

Murphy’s Law
CJ Ramone
World War IX
Inspecter 7
Wombat in Combat
Gangway

There’s also the usual open bar from 8-9pm. So show up early and party all night. And remember that while you’re having fun DON’T BE A DICK. Nobody likes a drunken asshole killing their buzz.

The Interview: A review and commentary on digital media

I’m sure we all remember the big news surrounding “The Interview” and how it got pulled from theaters because of a terrorist threat. The movie was eventually given a digital release and is now currently available on Netflix Instant. I originally had no desire to see the movie. I was mildly curious but didn’t care enough to go to the theater or rent the DVD when it came out. Having instant access to it, however, I decided to give it a try. Worse case scenario the movie sucks and I turn it off if I get bored.

To say my expectations were low would be an understatement. True, Seth Rogen is funny enough, but the premise of the movie seemed so incredibly stupid I didn’t want to waste my time with it. I mean, I like movies that are stupid in a funny way, but that is not how the trailers presented this one to me. Boy was I surprised…

“The Interview” turned out to be a surprisingly funny and thoroughly enjoyable comedy experience. Yeah it’s about two guys trying to kill the North Korean leader, but there’s so much more to it than that. The character development was stronger than I would’ve imagined, and the actual jokes were honest to god funny.

I laughed.

A lot.

At this stupid movie that I had very low hopes of grabbing my attention or amusing me. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe sometimes you need to let go of expectations and see what happens.

Now, if “The Interview” had been given a more traditional release it might have done okay in theaters, but I doubt it would’ve done great. Plaster it all over the Internet though, and now you have something. I know the terrorist threats attached to it definitely gave them some buzz, and there are even some who believe this was all planned for just such a purpose. Regardless of what you believe, I think movies like this in general would do better if they skipped the theater and just got released online. With how expensive movies have gotten, it’s no surprise that people have started saving the trip to the theater for the big blockbusters. I know the last time I went was probably the last Thor movie to come out, and I don’t remember the last time I went for anything other than an action movie. It’s not that i don’t like comedies. I just usually save them for home viewing. Maybe I’m in the minority on this one but I definitely enjoyed being able to watch “The Interview” while it was still relevant and not two years later when it finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue. If more movies did it like this then I would be one happy movie consumer. I might not want to pay $15 to see a movie in theaters, but I’ll pay half that to watch it instantly at home. The experience of theater-going has changed. Why not change with it?

Murder by O’Death @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Some background before I begin this one: I work at a music venue and have a musician boyfriend. This means that my entire life is spent getting paid to go to shows (oh no, my life is so hard!). Seriously though, it’s a blessing and a curse because since the above fact is true it means I rarely go to shows that I’m not working or my boyfriend is playing. Which is why this past Sunday was such a treat for me.

This was the first big show I went to in forever where I got to go back to being just a person going to a show. I remember walking into the room with the feeling of excitement at seeing two big acts and having no responsibilities other than to have a good time. The band started playing almost immediately after I arrived. I slowly weaved through the crowd towards the front of the room, where I found a friend of mine who was also attending that evening’s performance. I stayed firmly planted in that same spot up front for the entire night, only moving when Murder by Death’s crowd started to get slightly rambunctious up front and to my right. I was so engrossed in the performance that I barely noticed it happen. All of a sudden I was getting pushed to the left. I didn’t care; it was all in fun. It was all part of the experience.

And what an experience it was! O’Death I have seen before several times and they have never disappointed me. The first time was opening for one of my favorite bands of all time, The World/Inferno Friendship Society. I remember not knowing what to expect that night, and being absolutely in awe of them by the time their set was over. This time I was there mostly to see them, and barely knew any of Murder by Death’s music. Obviously I’ve listened to them before, but I’ve never been to see them live and had no idea what to expect. Despite not knowing all the words to the songs like what seemed true for the rest of the kids in the front, I still had a fantastic time. The band held a captivating performance, to the point where I had forgotten how long I had been standing and had fun trying to get my legs to move again at the end of the night. It was a great show, and I highly encourage you to catch them either during this tour or in the future. Bonus points if you can get both bands to play on the same bill again. Individually they are both great, but the pairing makes it even better.

Both bands are at Union Transfer tonight, which is a fun coincidence since I will be in Philly seeing World/Inferno. (I love it when life comes full circle like that). The rest of the dates are as follows:

March 7 – Black Cat – Washington DC
March 8 – Kings Barcade – Raleigh, NC
March 10 – The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
March 11 – The Social – Orlando, FL
March 12 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA
March 13 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
March 14 – The Bluebird – Bloomington, IN

All dates are with O’Death

Housekeeping Stuff! plus Out of System Transfer release a thing!

Hey all! I did really good with the writing stuff for a couple days in January and then dropped off the face of the Earth. Sorry about that, folks. I meant to give you a review of “The Interview” and the Murder by Death/O’Death show I went to on Sunday but somehow never did. I probably will go back to those over the next week since I seem to have a lot of free time ahead of me and there’s only so much Adventure Time you can watch before Netflix starts questioning your life and the choices you’ve made (or at least asks if you’re still awake). Right now there’s a thing I have to talk about IMMEDIATELY because it just happened and is BREAKING NEWS and something I’m super excited about.

The breaking news is that Out of System Transfer, a band I am friends with and think they are awesome and stuff, just released a NEW SONG on bandcamp that you can go download for FREE. As in ZERO DOLLARS. Or for as many dollars as you feel like, as it’s a pay-what-you-want type deal. So go judge what they’re worth and download a new song. Also, come see them AND Brook Pridemore AND Pat the Bunny play a show tonight at Palisades in Brooklyn. Prewar Yardsale open up the show at 8pm. It’s gonna be a fun night that your’s truly will be attending. I’ll probably be the girl with the camera, bouncing around and taking pictures.

Jekyll & Hyde

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I’ve been binge watching a bunch of shows that Netflix is taking off Instant at the end of the month. Today’s viewing was a marathon of the 6-episode series Jekyll, which was a modern version of the classic Stevenson story as told by a different Steven – Steven Moffat. Usually I am cautiously optimistic when it comes to modernizing classic tales, but I think Moffat did a superb job with his version of the story. Warning: spoilers abound in the next section, so please consider yourself warned…

The story begins by introducing us to the main character, Dr Jackman. Jackman is originally presented in a very mysterious manner. As the viewer I knew what the story was supposed to be based on and made assumptions based on that which turned out to be accurate, but it was still fascinating watching the story unfold as we gradually realize Jackman has his version of Mr. Hyde. The two personalities seem to have a sort of truce where they work out scheduled times each one is allowed to be in control. They each have their own personal lives, although they spend their time in completely different ways. Jackman has a wife and two sons (twins), none of whom know about this alter ego. On the other side of things, Hyde does not realize Jackman has a family, at least not when we first meet him. The story progresses to show the struggle the two sides fight in trying to assume control, until ultimately they are put in a situation where they are forced to join forces for the big finale. It is fantastic the moment you realize Jackman and Hyde can control the transformation and switch between one or the other at will. Moffat does a splendid job spinning his tale and slowly revealing layers until you get to the creamy and delicious center of the show. I definitely recommend giving the series a try while you can, and at just 6 episodes long it should be easy to finish before Netflix takes this gem away from our Instant queues.

Happy 2015!

New year, new possibilities. Unfortunately for us here at News on Shuffle the new year started with our site having to be temporarily taken down, thus preventing me from doing my traditional new years post. Fear not, gentle reader, for we are back now after moving our hosting *blah blah blah insert tech stuff here*. Thanks to the man behind the scenes for taking care of that stuff so I don’t have to.

Moving right along… I have some things I planned for the end of last year that got pushed back due to the fact moving your entire life is really tiring and time consuming and my brain just couldn’t handle that and also being creative and funny and stuff. There are still boxes that are unpacked, but I’m mostly settled in now and hopefully things will go back to what passes for normal around here. I was really proud of the content I put out last year, but I know I can do better. And I shall! So yeah, there are two reviews I still owe you and am ashamed I haven’t gotten around to yet. And a third that was sent to me yesterday and am pretty excited about because of how this person found me. Oh, and I’m following a band on tour for a few days and hopefully will have some awesome pics to share when I get back. Yep, lots of cool things to look forward to…

Not to end this on a bad note, but there is one bit of entertainment news I should report on before I go.

NETFLIX IS TAKING AWAY ALL THEIR BBC STUFF! WHY GOD, WHY?!

*Ahem*

I’m sorry, but I’m rather upset about this news and have been binge watching a ton of stuff on my queue before it goes away. I’m currently wrapping up the last few episodes of Robin Hood, which lasted three seasons. I have to say the first two seasons were AMAZEBALLS but the third one I’m still not sure about. There were a lot of changes at the end of season 2 (don’t worry, no spoilers) that I’m not super happy about. There are some new characters added for season 3, but I only really love one of them and the rest are just a feeble attempt to replace those lost from the season before. Having said all that, I would definitely give the show a try for at least the first two seasons before it goes away and you have to *gasp* rent the DVDs. Also do your last bit of Doctor Who watching and catch that last season of Torchwood you never got around to because those are going away too. And if comedy is more your style, maybe give Fawlty Towers or A Bit of Fry and Laurie a try. John Cleese is great as the owner of a hotel in Fawlty Towers, and Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are great together in Fry and Laurie. The show is mostly just the two of them, but it never feels stale at all. I marathon-ed an entire season in a day. Granted it was just 7 episodes, but still, it’s pretty darn funny and you should give it a try.

That’s all for now. I’ll let you go binge watch some tv and see you again on the other side.

Happy November!

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY WEEEEEE!!!

As a birthday present to your (usually) humble blogger, I’m asking everyone to get ready because in ten days there is a show I want everyone to go to at Glasslands. I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that the place is closing down. Well you can say goodbye to the venue and hello to a visiting band from Texas at the same time on November 11th. More details can be found here. Hope to see a bunch of people come out and support a cool touring band.

CMJ 2014 – The Final Post

Alright, time to buckle in folks, because I helped TJO Presents run not one but two monster shows as my CMJ finale. There are lots of pictures to share and a final message at the end to wrap everything up in a nice little bow. Also as a side note, I might not have loved everyone who played, but I at least enjoyed everyone I saw to some extent and don’t have anything bad to say about them, so unless there’s a story to share I’ll probably just post names and photos instead of repeating myself a lot. Without further ado, however, let’s go on with the show…

Our story starts at Rock Shop for a day show with 8 (!!!) different bands. First up was Brian Bonz, who I remember seeing several times before paired up with one of my favorite local artist, Kevin Devine. You know it’s going to be a good day when you can boast something like that.

I got to speak with Brian after the show and found him to be quite enjoyable to talk to. I look forward to seeing him again in the future.

Next up was Charles Ellsworth:

Next Bree and the Whatevers. One critique I have here is that Bree has always struck me more as a performer than just a singer. There’s always a lot of energy on stage and a feeling that she loves every minute of her time there. I love that about her and think it’s what makes this band more enjoyable than average.

Daniel Sage:

Hot Jam Factory:

These guys were a fun mix of a lot of different things, but the hint of Arcade Fire was what I think really sold it for me.

Next up, End of Love, which included members of a little band called “Wilco”…

Next act was Andre Obin, who offered an odd transition from the previous band but I enjoyed nonetheless.

Last band for the night was The Netherlands, but unfortunately we had to run to get two evening shows up and running. One of them was at Bar Matchless, but I was only really there for a few minutes to make sure things were running smoothly. The show I mainly was interested in was at Muchmores. Before I delve into all the bands who played that evening, I have to say at the end of the night I got a chance to chat with the owner and he is incredibly nice and bright and overall a great dude. I would love a chance to work with him in the future. Honestly the concept he has going for him now is one I’ve had for awhile and the fact he makes it work so well gives me hope that there’s still a chance I can too one day. In the meantime I wish Andy Muchmore great success. You will definitely see me hanging out in those parts again.

With that little bit of sidetracking done I will now continue to give you lots of pictures and stories from Saturday night.

First up were some very good friends, Out of System Transfer. This band always brings the fun in, so if you ever get the chance I definitely suggest checking them out.

These guys were followed by another good friend, Brook Pridemore. You might know him from the band Brook Pridemore. You might also know him as the guy who does that song about building a death ray. However you know him, be glad that you do, because your musical library probably thanks you.

Moving right along, we have Manic Pixi. This female fronted band had a ton of energy. I really dug their lead singer, and had a fun chat with her later in the night. I have to say I usually hate the color pink, but this girl had matching dress and boots that somehow was awesome and not infuriating to me. Props to you on that one.

Up next we have Fancy Balloons. For a bit of trivia I’ll tell you that this band shares a member with one of the bands from the day show, Bree and the Whatevers. While I might be partial to Bree, I still found Fancy Balloons enjoyable.

At this point I was dealing with a dying camera and a room that was starting to get packed, both signs we were having too much fun and total first world problems, but it did make it harder to keep getting good shots throughout the night. In quick succession let’s break down the next few bands.

The Shackletons:

Grundle Thunder (made up of a bunch of friends from my local bar AND voted one of the best band names this CMJ):

Cosmonaut:

And finally, Great Caesar:

I didn’t know anything about this last band going in, but it was a nice surprise hearing some horns to close out my night. Also was glad I got a final burst of energy both from myself and my camera to enjoy their set.

Thus concludes a very successful CMJ Music Marathon. Shout out to the man in charge of TJO Presents, TJ Olsen. He’s a very good friend, and I was beyond proud of how well his marathon Saturday turned out. Much success to you in the future, good sir. Anyone wishing to follow all the great shows this guy is doing can check out Facebook and Twitter. And if you come out to a show perhaps I will see you there.

CMJ 2014 – Day 3

Hey folks, just a quick post about some of my CMJ adventures yesterday. I only got pictures of two of the bands I saw yesterday and honestly bounced around so much it’s hard to remember everyone we caught. I made a comment to a friend while standing in the upstairs part of Pianos that CMJ is terrible for people with ADD because there’s simply too much to take in all around you that it’s easy to get distracted and want to keep moving from one show to the next. Having said that, a couple bands/artists did stand out to me, as well as a fun event we attended before I called it a night and my comrades moved on to Williamsburg (but not The Gutter because that show had been called due to Ebola).

First up (and the thing that convinced me to get out of the house) was Wakey Wakey at Rockwood Music Hall. Of course it turned out to be a bit deceiving, as it wasn’t the band but one member who was doing a solo set. It was still good but way more chill than I was expecting.

The other band I was able to snap some pictures of was Fictionist at Arlene’s Grocery. I have to say that was my first time visiting that particular venue and I was pretty impressed. Sure it was loud, but you could still understand everything being said. I also really dug the band, whom I had never heard of before but went on the recommendation of a friend.

The one other thing I feel worth reporting was the unofficial pre-party for Slothrust and The Kills at Bowery Ballroom. The event took place next door at One Mile House and featured Savoir Adore as DJs as well as free food and drink specials. I met some cool people and of course enjoyed the free food, which was mostly passed appetizers including these real tasty chicken sliders and some flatbread pizzas. It was a great way to end my night. Today I’m taking it easy but I’ll be back on the scene tomorrow all day and night.

CMJ 2014 – Day 2

The little blog that could went back out into the field to enjoy some more of what CMJ has to offer this year before going back to our “real job”. I didn’t get as many pictures this time but can report about three bands that wowed me yesterday.

First up it’s Frances Cone, who I saw at The Delancey during the day. Unfortunately I caught the last couple songs of their set, but what I heard I really enjoyed. I also managed to snag a picture just as they finished their set.

This was in the upstairs part of the venue, which was originally supposed to be on the roof but got moved due to the rain. Next up I wandered downstairs to catch what turned out to be the end of Peach Kings set. I still managed to grab a couple quick shots before they finished though, and again, I loved what I heard.

I wandered over to Cake Shop after this for what turned out to be the last band I caught for the day: Field Mouse. The room was packed and we got there a few minutes late, so it was near impossible to sneak up for some pics, but I loved their sound enough to give them a mention here anyway. After that I wandered over to the DL for a networking event on their rooftop, which was quite nice. Tomorrow I’ll have at least a few more bands to throw at you, including hopefully Wakey Wakey at Rockwood Music Hall (which starts at 3pm). Until then, keep rocking!