I Have Returned

I'm out of school and my computer is fixed(for the moment at least), so let the posting onslaught begin! I need to make up for lost time and the godawful lack of posting that has been going on. I shall have review for the new Tyler, The Creator, Arsonists Get All The Girls and Hate Eternal records hope soon, as well as film reviews for Thor and No Strings Attached(film number 1 on my experiment for 2011 films.) These posts will hopefully all be up within the next few days. I am locked, loaded, and ready to get back to this. It's been far too long. Thanks again to people that are reading this, I really appreciate the support.

Chris Maitland

Concert Review: Deftones, Boston, MA, May 9th, 2011

It was a glorious evening last night at the House Of Blues. I was just stoked to be there after having my friend that was supposed to drive drop out the night before. Thankfully, another one of my friends was able to go and I am beyond thankful that I found someone to drive, it was one hell of a show.

I arrived at the House Of Blues around 7:40. My tickets were supposed to be on the second level, but my friends and I decided to sneak on the floor. It worked out, no one asked to see our tickets. It was a huge plus being able to see this show from the floor. At around 8:00, the first band, Funeral Party went on. I didn't expect them to at this show, I thought Dillinger Escape Plan was the only opener. Funeral Party is a indie/alternative rock band from England. They were actually surprisingly decent. They were an unconventional opener for this show, but they really weren't bad. I am not going to start listening to their stuff or anything like that, but they were a respectable opener for the evening.

The Dillinger Escape Plan was up next. The first time I saw them at Warped Tour last summer, the audience reaction was horrible, but Dillinger was still great. This time around, the crowd reaction was much better and Dillinger's show was even better. They were actually lights out. Their energy is honestly unmatched anyone in the music industry. I would go as far as to say you have not seen an energetic live band until you've seen The Dillinger Escape Plan live. From the opening notes of "Farewell, Mona Lisa" to guitarist Ben Weinman hanging upside from the balcony railing during set closer "43% Burnt", Dillinger's energy was relentless. They are such a fantastic and intense live band that needs to be seen by every metal fan at least once.  I would love to see them headline very soon.

Deftones were amazing as well. I saw them open for Alice In Chains in September and they were great, but this time out they killed that performance. They had one of, if not, the clearest sound mixes i've ever heard live. The sound was completely perfect. Chino Moreno sounded fantastic. His voice is even better live than is on disc. He is one of the very few vocalists I've heard live that I can say that about. The setlist was fucking great. A really great balance of stuff from their entire discography. The set highlight for me was "Passenger" with Greg Puicato from The Dillinger Escape Plan. That song gave me chills live and Greg Puicato does an amazing job with Maynard James Keenan's parts from the original  (personally, I think he does a better job. ) One of the best live songs I've seen this year, maybe even ever.

Overall, it was a spectacular show. Deftones and Dillinger Escape Plan are two of the finest live bands in metal today. They both put on high energy shows and they give it 110% every time out. If this coming to your city, don't miss this tour.

Scores
Funeral Party 6/10
Dillinger Escape Plan 9.5/10
Deftones 9/10

Setlists
Dillinger Escape Plan
Farewell, Mona Lisa
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Chinese Whispers
Room Full Of Eyes
Gold Teeth On A Bum
Black Bubblegum
Sunshine The Werewolf
43% Burnt



Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Birthmark
Engine No.9
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Digital Bath
Knife Prty
Korea
Hexagram
Minerva
Bloody Cape
You've Seen The Butcher
Sextape
Prince
Cherry Waves
Feiticera
Elite
Change (In The House Of Flies)
Passenger(with Greg Puciato) (One of the best single song performances of 2011, if not ever for me)
Encore:
Root
Nosebleed
7 Words

Short Break From Posting

This upcoming week is my last week of college for this semester. I have a lot of work to do this week, so I will not be posting with the exception of a review for the Deftones/Dillinger Escape Plan show that I will attending on Monday. After this short break, expect more frequent posting. I will be out of school and have a good amount of time to compose posts. I have some cool posts planned, as well as the typical film and music reviews.

Chris Maitland

Album Review: Beastie Boys-Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

The Beastie Boys have been through a lot of shit in the past few years. Most notably, MCA was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, which subsequently delayed the release of their new record. Now that MCA is (thankfully) cancer-free, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two has finally seen the light of day and it's a triumphant return for the Beastie Boys.

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 has been a long time coming. It's the first Beastie Boys's rap record since 2004's To The 5 Boroughs (they released an instrumental album in 2007). The Beastie Boys return to rap is a welcome one. The Beasties let it be known early on they are coming back with a vengeance. "Make Some Noise" is a furious vintage Beastie Boys anthem. It's in your face fun filled with the witty wordplay and manic energy the Beastie Boys have become known for. The entire duration of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two maintains this unpredictable, chaotic fun whirlwind energy. It's truly infectious and you can tell how much fun the Beastie Boys had making this record. On top of the sheer fun, the vast array of beats the Beastie Boys explore on this record is fantastic. From the old-school drum driven "Nonstop Disco Powerpack" to the punk influenced "Lee Majors Come Again" to the reggae stylings of "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win", the Beastie Boys leave pretty much no style of beat untouched.

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 is a reminder to the entire hip-hop community of how great the Beastie Boys are. Their inventive lyrics and beats are still in peak form with over twenty-five years in the rap game. It's a really testament of how strong of artists they are. I think Nas says it the best on the album's crowning achievement "Too Many Rappers", when says "There's too many rappers, but not enough MC's". The Beastie Boys are still MC's to be reckoned with and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two proves that.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Too Many Rappers (feat/Nas)
2.Lee Majors Come Again
3.Nonstop Disco Powerpack

Album Review: Texas In July-One Reality

Texas In July has easily been one of the most hyped bands in the metalcore community recently. They have picked up a pretty solid following off their debut album I Am which was released in 2009. They recently signed with Equal Vision Records and look to gain an even larger following. One Reality is my first exposure to Texas In July and I have to say I was pretty impressed.

Texas In July reminds me a lot of fellow Lancaster, Pennsylvania Christian metalcore band August Burns Red. Both acts feature a pretty fast, breakdown heavy brand of metalcore with melodic undertones. One Reality does get of to a slow start with "Magnolia" and "1000 Lies". I found these tracks to be pretty forgettable and they felt like they were kind of lacking something. Once "Dreamer" kicked in, One Reality didn't let up in quality. The rest of the album is chock full of catchy riffs, melodic sections, and some solid breakdowns. Album standouts "Dying World" and "Cyclops" make particularly good use of breakdowns. I am not a person that gets overly excited by breakdowns, but Texas In July uses them pretty effectively. The breakdowns actually enhance the song, they aren't just thrown in for fun like some other bands currently on the scene today.

Texas In July is a good young band to watch. One Reality is an impressive second album and I can only see this band getting better. They are pretty much a must listen for fans of bands like August Burns Red. Texas In July blends their metalcore influences with melodic elements seamlessly. One Reality is a heavy and melodic record that provides an enjoyable thirty minutes of music.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Dying World
2.Cyclops
3.Our Freedom  

Movie Review: Fast Five

When it comes to sheer entertainment value, the Fast and The Furious franchise is hard to beat. The franchise has provided consistent fun and action since it's inception in 2001. The new installment, Fast Five,  not only continues the tradition, it's the best installment yet.

Fast Five takes place directly after the end of the previous installment. After Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) break Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) out of jail they head to Rio De Janerio, Brazil. Upon arriving in Rio, they take a job from their friend Vince (Matt Schulze) to steal three cars from a train. The job goes wrong and they end up getting double-crossed by a Brazilian mobster Reyes. Mia was able to steal the one car the mobster wanted which contained a computer chip of all his money-laundering safehouses. Looking for vengeance, they assemble a team featuring a lot of their old friends to steal $100 million from Reyes. To make the hard job even more difficult, Dom, Brian and Mia are being tracked by elite DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwanye "The Rock" Johnson) . Hobbs is looking to apprehend them for breaking Dom out of prison and will stop at nothing to capture him and bring him to justice.

Fast Five is one hell of a way to start the summer movie season off. This is exactly the piece of pure entertainment that 2011 needed. Fast Five is the best installment yet. It takes more of a focus on being a action-packed heist film then a street racing film. It doesn't completely abandon racing, the film is just more focused on the heist centering the film. I think this makes the franchise even better and I really like the direction these films have taken. The action sequences are completely beefed up to a grander scale. The fight between Dom and Agent Hobbs is one of the most intense movie fights in recent memory. Even more impressive is the heist sequence at the end of the film. That is the absolute best sequence out of any film I have seen this year. It's one hell of a chase scene and it's a thrilling climax to a fantastic film.

Fast Five is one of the best straight action films I have seen in the past few years. The action scenes are top-notch and the story is engaging and surprisingly pretty good. There is also a surprising amount of laughs to be had. The new found humor adds something that has been missing from The Fast and Furious formula. The cast has good chemistry together and Dwayne Johnson's presence as the new "villain" is a big plus. Fast Five is a more mature, more action-packed, and more fun version of The Fast and The Furious. Fast Five is the best film of 2011 so far as well as the best installment of the franchise.

4.5/5 Stars

May In Film

May marks the official start of summer movie season. May is actually the strongest looking month in a pretty weak looking summer(4 of my top 10 most anticipated films of the summer come out in May). Here are my thoughts on the upcoming releases in May.

Films I Want To See
4.Kung Fu Panda 2(5/26)-This might come as a shock to some people that frequent my blog, but I want to see Kung Fu Panda 2. I watched the first one out of boredom during a free preview of HBO a couple of years ago and it was pretty good. The original cast is back for the most part and this should be a good sequel.

3.Thor(5/6)-Thor isn't one of my favorite Marvel heroes, but this still looks pretty cool. The trailers looks pretty great and it looks to be very Iron Man-esque(blending action with some comedy), which is a good thing.

2.Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides(5/20)-The subtractions of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and the addition of Ian McShane/return of Geoffry Rush makes me extremely excited for this movie. The trailers looks pretty damn awesome and it looks like it make up for the disappointing (but still pretty good) third film. The only potential red flag is that this was directed by Rob Marshall, who has never directed anything like this before (his previous films include Chicago and Memoirs Of A Geisha).

1. The Hangover: Part II(5/26)-The Hangover is one of my favorite comedies of all time, so naturally I can't wait to see this film. The new trailers look to be more of the same, which makes me even more pumped to see this. This is my most anticipated film of the entire summer and if it's even anywhere close to as good as the original, I will be happy.

Films I Am Unsure About
Bridesmaids(5/13)-I haven't been more split on a film in a long time. On the positive side, it's been getting really good early buzz dubbing it as the "female version of The Hangover" and Kristen Wiig is really funny (she is one of the best parts of Saturday Night Live). On the negative side, the trailers are pretty average and it could too much of a chick flick for my tastes. I'll have to see how it turns out.

Films I don't want to see (but will anyways due to my dedication to see as many 2011 films as possible)
Something Borrowed(5/6)-Generic looking romantic comedy that looks to be eye-gougingly awful, no thanks.

Jumping The Broom(5/6)-Repeat what I said for Something Borrowed.

Priest(5/13)-This look eerily similar to last year's Legion (that can be can explained, it has the same director and writers). It also looks completely stupid. Come on a god damn vampire hunting priest, that's really dumb. The action looks to be dull and the effects aren't even good.