Saturday July 30th, 2011

UWTL talking about LA Rising. There's still a ringin in my ears thanks to tonight's activities, that of seeing two of my favorite Rock bands on one stage, Rage Against The Machine and Muse. The scene was the LA Coliseum and it was the first ever incarnation of this festival that was put on by LA's premier political hard rock hip hop band.

This is what it looked like!!! Though my section is off camera left.

Can't begin to describe how stoked I was to be seeing one of my favorite bands of all time for the 3rd time in the last 4 years, when just 10 years ago I thought I'd missed my chance to see them once, let alone multiple times. You see back in 8th grade, I could not get enough of RATM. But some combination of youth and missed opportunities deprived me of seeing them live before they broke up circa 2000. When 2007 rolled around and it was announced they were reuniting for Coachella, I flipped my shit. Sadly though, I was away at school and couldn't make it. This proved only a formality once it was announced that they'd be co-headlining that summer's Rock The Bells festival. It was awesome to say the least.

Fast forward 3 years later to the summer of 2010, I was just over a month back in LA after 6 years of east coast living. Rage announced an anti Arizona immigration law benefit at the Palladium that would be there first LA proper show in over a decade. Me and my little cuz managed to land tickets, and seeing my favorite band in one of my absolute favorite venues, made for one of the best concert going experiences of my life (despite Conor Oberst doing his absolute darndest to spoil it with a shitty opening or should I say "co-headlining" set).

Back to tonight, so pumped to again see Rage in what seemed like the perfect venue, the LA Coliseum. The fact that Muse, another favorite i'd yet to see live, was on the bill, only increased my anticipation which would have been sky high anyway. We got there towards the end of Rise Against, the day's 3rd billed act (Missed Ms. Lauryn Hill, Immortal Technique and El Gran Silencio). Sadly we'd not anticipated the 3 tiered floor setup, in which those arriving first were placed in sections closer to the stage, and those late comers such as ourselves were relegated to the back section. A lot of effort had been put into not settling for side seating, so that we could rock out on the floor, going so far as getting tickets through AEG based on a fortuitous connection. Either way despite the distance from the stage, the show was great.

Muse went on first and totally kicked but, playing plenty of their best while also entertaining in between songs with sick guitar riffs from throughout the history of Rock. They sounded great, and their light show/ imagery on stage was top notch, can't wait to see those guys again (hopefully in a smaller or closer up setting).

Then the evening's main event began a good 15-20 minutes late, around 10:40. The wave was rocking the coliseum and the energy was through the roof (at least, it would've been if we weren't in open air). Pony and Zachy won the bet, when after a pretty awesome opening montage that I didn't get the best look at, Testify kicked the set off in big loud, jumpy, moshy fashion. Crazily though, the sound cut out multiple times during the opener, and many of the rear speakers were either out or absurdly low for a majority of the set. Thankfully the sound rebounded just in time for Guerilla Radio, and continued to be serviceable through the rest and up to the huge closing of Killing In The Name. The perfect, 3rd time's the charm Rage experience i'd hoped for, it was not. But despite that, it was a really fun night and I look forward to the next opportunity to see one of the greatest bands in the world (or at least, my world).

Ok, it's 4 o'clock in the f'in morning. I should have and could have gone to bed a long time ago, so I better make that happen now. Until the next time I find myself uwtl, goodnight or good morning to many.

Friday July 29th, 2011

UWTL talking about ATTACK THE BLOCK, a little big British flick I just saw tonight. I am getting stoked just typing about it! Went into the 10:50 showing at the Arclight, dog tired but guardedly optimistic that this Sci-Fi Comedy from some of SHAUN OF THE DEAD team, could keep me up and entertained during hours 17 and 18 of the day. Boy did it do that and then some.

This movie was by far the most fun i've had at the movies in a good year or two. The last time I remember being so wholly won over and impressed by a movie that I had high expectations for coming in, was back in September 2009 with WORLD'S GREATEST DAD, a woefully underseen darkly hilarious gem starring Robin Williams. The difference between the two is that ATTACK has all the makings of a sleeper hit whereas DAD was so dark and specific that it was inevitably going to have a rough time gaining an audience.

This movie is everything SUPER 8 wanted to be, but couldn't. It's a very contained throwback to 80's adventure nostalgia that has it's own specific voice and point of view. It was endlessly funny, ridiculously scary, had an amazing and engaging score and rock solid to excellent performances by a group of mostly first time teenage actors.

I could go on about this flick for days (and I probably will in my head) but please heed my advice and SEE THIS MOVIE! With great little movies like these, if people really go out and support, then all the more likely we'll get more original and excellent films like it. I honestly can't wait to see the thing again, and really hope you'll give it a shot.

Friday July 22nd, 2011

It's happened again. Doin the UWTL thing Friday style.

Ate at this newish spot A-frame in Culver City, which consists of cuisine from the Kogi master. Very good, very laid back, and very crowded, as tonight was a light night with a 30 minute wait for a table of 2. The place was fashioned from an old IHOP, but the resemblance ends at the classic IHOP structure. Despite ordering plenty, the place is pretty fricking reasonable for an in demand westside establishment. Got a taste of a couple other spots in the vicinity, The Alibi Room and Waterloo and City. Both of these places quite nice as well, and though no additional food was needed, the menus looked great and the drinks were solid. Definitely going to have to make those places a main evening destination in the not too distant future.

Plenty of other things to report from the week, highlights included my first ever live attendance at DOUG LOVES MOVIES, an awesome podcast I'd highly recommend, and certainly not least seeing EDDIE IZZARD headline the bowl, the first ever solo act/ standup to do so. He was great as advertised and despite the solid price tag, it was well worth it.

That is all for now. CAPTAIN AMERICA tomorrow! Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Saturday July 16th, 2011

Captain's log... oh wait, scratch that. This ain't no Star Trek fan blog.

UWTL talking bout the best bald protagonist on TV since Patrick Stewart. That's right, Mr. Bryan Cranston (though mind you I never actually watched THE SHIELD). The best show that will air on television this year (as we continue on in the year without MAD MEN) returns tomorrow, or technically tonight. I'm currently on the home stretch of catching up to date with the series that goes to deeper, darker, and even occasionally funnier places than any show in recent memory, if ever. The transformation of a mild mannered father and chemistry teacher, into an increasingly powerful drug manufacturer and kingpin, all while battling cancer, has been an awesome thing to watch. BREAKING BAD is so damn good, that it wins fools over before they've ever even seen a minute (well, at least for this fool).

Like plenty of other great gems, I was definitely late to the party and I've also lagged behind in my arrival to said party. I got my hands on the pilot script and the first season of the show a good 12-18 months ago. I read and watched the pilot then, and was instantly hooked. Actually, in a weird way I'd felt as if it was one of my favorite shows before I ever even read a word or watched a frame. There was something about the hype, and the vibe of the show that just clicked with me before I was ever even exposed to it. The danger, the drama, the tragedy, the comedy, a show's got to be pretty unbelievably rich in these departments in order to win fans such as myself, at such an early stage.

After reading the pilot, I was absolutely blown away by the attention to detail and care that was put into the portrayal of this man, Walter White. I loved the emptiness of the Ontario, CA setting, and how that really informed the direness of the characters predicament. When I sat down to watch the filmed version, I was pleased with the change of setting to Albuquerque, NM which is a choice that really opened the world up to endless visual possibilities that the previously scripted section of California couldn't really provide. One thing I found, and maybe this is a testament to great writing in general, is that the read was much stronger than the filmed end result. I was a little underwhelmed by the look and feel of the pilot, especially when measured against my imagination of what it would be like, based on the superb words. That being said, this was super low budget TV without a doubt, and with that in mind they did a really great job and have pushed and evolved the visual aspect of the show as it went on.

I'm sure I could talk about this stuff for days, but alas it's 2:17 in the morning, I plan to get another episode in at least to find myself 3 episodes closer to catching up before tomorrow night's season premiere. That and I'd like to get to sleep at a not too absurd hour.

I highly recommend this show for anyone who can handle a little edge, and who loves great television. From what i've read and heard, this fourth season is as dark and compelling as ever, which is a crazy awesome accomplishment considering the show has already had those two things in spades during it's first 3 seasons.