Another crazy weekend
I bought a drum Friday. I'd been thinking about it for a while, but with a paycheck and the realization that I'd accidentally paid most of my mid-month bills with the beginning-of-month paycheck, I decided to just go out and do it. I grabbed radiantbaby after work, and we headed down to Earth Shaking music in East Atlanta (right next to the Echo Lounge). A little time and $200 later, I walked out with a nice djembe. It's made of all synthetic materials: I don't trust myself (or the cats for that matter) with one made of real wood and skin yet.
Slept in Saturday, then in the evening radiantbaby and I went to see Sloan at The Cotton Club. It's an interesting venue; I'm not sure yet if I like it or not. The stage is downstairs, with an open half-story upstairs overlooking it. The entrance was upstairs, and some people sat on the stairs when the band started playing, but otherwise the upstairs went completely unused. I'm not sure if that's common or if it's usually busier up there. The stage unfortunately has two large columns in it, blocking the view of parts of the stage.
We were there before the doors opened, but the venue was dead until much later. It was still pretty empty when the opening band, The Kicks, took the stage. Their label were there marketing like mad; there were Kicks posters and CD samplers all over the place. Overall I really enjoyed their set. Good rock sound. Quality drumming. The lead guitar sounded really good, though one of those columns was blocking my view of him for most of the set. The lead vocal's guitaring was adequate but not particularly impressive, though his stage presence really made up for it. The only one who didn't really impress me at all was the bass player. He wasn't very animated, and it stuck out like a sore thumb in contrast to the rest of the band and the musical style. Their CD Hello Hong Kong won't be out until tomorrow, but I was impressed enough with the show that I'm tempted to make a trip to Criminal Records to grab a copy.
After the standard wait to break down and set up equipment, Sloan took the stage. radiantbaby and I rushed the stage, of course. It was a good show. A little more pop than a lot of the other bands we've seen lately. Apparently they've been around a while, particularly in Canada, but never really caught on in the States. I enjoyed the show, anyway, and I expect to go back whenever they make it back. The band came out to chat with the fans outside after the show, and we were there chatting with them until about 1.
Slept in late Sunday, not surprisingly. We didn't intend to do much for the day, but we ended up stopping by Mall of Georgia just for the hell of it. Before we knew what happened, we were inside buying movie tickets.
I'm sure a lot of the Hellenic Recon community is going to blow up over certain aspects of Troy. They certainly took some extensive liberties with the story and ended up with more of a war flick than a mythology, but on the whole I thought it was decent when considered in the context of the modern American movie industry and the modern American movie audience. Greek religion was a understated, but they didn't shy away from it entirely as some feared they might; they even had a brief shot of a priest cleaning the bones from a blood sacrifice. Stepping away from its roots for a moment to take it as "just a movie", I thought it was pretty good, actually.
When that was over, we decided to break down and buy more movie tickets. This time we went to see Van Helsing. The movie has caught a ton of flak from critics for its plot holes and general campiness. Honestly, though, I have to disagree with them. Sure there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Sure the character development is marginal at best. If you go to a summer-opening action flick expecting a work of dramatic genius, you deserve every bit of the disappointment you get out of it. Go to the movie expecting lots of action, excellent if overblown special effects, and a good steampunk monster action flick that doesn't take itself too seriously, and you won't be disappointed.
Left the theater at midnight. I don't think I've ever been in a mall that late; it's kind of weird. The I had to get radiantbaby back home and get myself all the way back up there to get home. It was a late night for a school night, but a good end to a fun weekend.
This morning is quite caffeine-flavored.
(LJ Spellchecker fun: djembe -> Drambuie)
Slept in Saturday, then in the evening radiantbaby and I went to see Sloan at The Cotton Club. It's an interesting venue; I'm not sure yet if I like it or not. The stage is downstairs, with an open half-story upstairs overlooking it. The entrance was upstairs, and some people sat on the stairs when the band started playing, but otherwise the upstairs went completely unused. I'm not sure if that's common or if it's usually busier up there. The stage unfortunately has two large columns in it, blocking the view of parts of the stage.
We were there before the doors opened, but the venue was dead until much later. It was still pretty empty when the opening band, The Kicks, took the stage. Their label were there marketing like mad; there were Kicks posters and CD samplers all over the place. Overall I really enjoyed their set. Good rock sound. Quality drumming. The lead guitar sounded really good, though one of those columns was blocking my view of him for most of the set. The lead vocal's guitaring was adequate but not particularly impressive, though his stage presence really made up for it. The only one who didn't really impress me at all was the bass player. He wasn't very animated, and it stuck out like a sore thumb in contrast to the rest of the band and the musical style. Their CD Hello Hong Kong won't be out until tomorrow, but I was impressed enough with the show that I'm tempted to make a trip to Criminal Records to grab a copy.
After the standard wait to break down and set up equipment, Sloan took the stage. radiantbaby and I rushed the stage, of course. It was a good show. A little more pop than a lot of the other bands we've seen lately. Apparently they've been around a while, particularly in Canada, but never really caught on in the States. I enjoyed the show, anyway, and I expect to go back whenever they make it back. The band came out to chat with the fans outside after the show, and we were there chatting with them until about 1.
Slept in late Sunday, not surprisingly. We didn't intend to do much for the day, but we ended up stopping by Mall of Georgia just for the hell of it. Before we knew what happened, we were inside buying movie tickets.
I'm sure a lot of the Hellenic Recon community is going to blow up over certain aspects of Troy. They certainly took some extensive liberties with the story and ended up with more of a war flick than a mythology, but on the whole I thought it was decent when considered in the context of the modern American movie industry and the modern American movie audience. Greek religion was a understated, but they didn't shy away from it entirely as some feared they might; they even had a brief shot of a priest cleaning the bones from a blood sacrifice. Stepping away from its roots for a moment to take it as "just a movie", I thought it was pretty good, actually.
When that was over, we decided to break down and buy more movie tickets. This time we went to see Van Helsing. The movie has caught a ton of flak from critics for its plot holes and general campiness. Honestly, though, I have to disagree with them. Sure there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Sure the character development is marginal at best. If you go to a summer-opening action flick expecting a work of dramatic genius, you deserve every bit of the disappointment you get out of it. Go to the movie expecting lots of action, excellent if overblown special effects, and a good steampunk monster action flick that doesn't take itself too seriously, and you won't be disappointed.
Left the theater at midnight. I don't think I've ever been in a mall that late; it's kind of weird. The I had to get radiantbaby back home and get myself all the way back up there to get home. It was a late night for a school night, but a good end to a fun weekend.
This morning is quite caffeine-flavored.
(LJ Spellchecker fun: djembe -> Drambuie)