Blownload, Thrill Kill Kult, and Lords of Acid

Only just yesterday, I was near 300 miles from home, at the DNA Lounge in overcast San Francisco, eager to see My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Lords of Acid do a show together. Great combo and it was also the first time in 15 years that the bands have performed together. At $23 per ticket, sounded like a damn good opportunity to me.

One of my favorite perks to going to shows for bands I know, is to be sure to get there for the openings act(s) I don't know. Granted, while some bands have taken me by such wonderful surprise that I immediately bought their CD (I highly recommend Pigmy Love Circus for anyone interested in hearing a heavy rock band that would blend right in to a Texas biker bar--with a dash of humor), and other bands have made me laugh so hard and shake my head that I simply couldn't buy into it (not that I'm a fan of bashing, but Eustachian was not a good choice as an opening act to Skinny Puppy--go listen, you'll see what I mean. Then again, when is it a good time to have a dude cycle between a laptop, drum machine and roaring vocals incessantly? I dunno but it didn't fly over well with most of the crowd). And then there's some bands that come on, and while you may not find yourself to be a fan, you can see how it would work for other people, and in that way appreciate what you get to see.

I happen to be talking about Blownload, a Sacramento-based band that had me laughing and clapping right along. The frontman is a big dude (I'm talkin' 300+, and I'm not being rude, he called himself fat, so I think it's safe to assume that I'm not being harsh) with magenta-colored dreads and a very energetic vibe. When he came out on stage with the band, I was both curious and hesitant whether this was something I'd like or not. Comparison or even explanation is a bit difficult, but I'll try. You know how System of a Down does this thing where they range from sounding all smashy-bashy to sudden breaks where it can be harmonic and then (randomly) it becomes playful and silly? Blownload is by no means the same sound, however, similar in style to what I've described. Good examples would be Keep Sex Evil which is just as it sounds, and has its heavy moments and then a brief 'harmonic' break. The chorus is very fast and I commend the singer for having been able to scream that fast and still sound coherent--props to you, man--and hearing the song live, I had a good time with it. On the more playful side, there was a song they did called Rubber which equally goes from bouncy and jaunty (keyboard sounds included) to roaring and heavy guitars and drums. I appreciate that a metal band (for all intents and purposes I will lump them in that category) can have humor and energy towards the importance of wearing protection when you get wasted and want to have a good time with a cute stranger. Lolz. They were different, and I was glad that I went in listening to them with completely unbiased ears, having never heard of them before. They were a great opening to what became a very fun show. Thanks guys.

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult was up next. The band's frontman, Groovie Mann, came out looking like Bono with long hair and a John Waters' stache (tried to find a picture, but I guess the show's still too new). Anyhow, he and Pepper Somerset (the female vocalist, who's aged wonderfully well over the years) came out and started off with Devil Bunnies, which got everyone dancing and having a good time right-quick. They only played for an hour, but in that hour, they played much of what the crowd seemed to be shouting for, including such classics as The Days of Swine and Roses (my personal favorite), Kooler Than Jesus, and Sex on Wheels. They were having a good time, and encouraged the crowd a lot to rock out, which I always appreciate, since in my show experiences it seems to alleviate a lot of show hype when a crowd is given even a few seconds of attention. If you shut yourself off from the crowd, they just get louder and rowdier and usually complain for more (*coughaljourgensencough*). But interact with them a few times and you're golden. At least that's been my experience. So they totally win, and they were a lot of fun.

We waited for nearly an hour before Lords of Acid showed up. But it was worth the wait, because they played for an hour and a half and I heard every song I wanted to hear, including Scrood Bi U, I Sit on Acid, Pussy, Drink My Honey, Spank My Booty and Voodoo-U. Currently, they have a new female singer, Lacey Conner, who did a damn good job and was freakin' hot, which always helps. Praga Khan, one of the band's founders, was there, twiggy-shaped and bleach-blonde as all get-out, and despite his small stature, he sweat like a pig up on stage and was very energetic and playful. Lots of smiles, so it was plain to see he was having fun. For three or four songs, they brought about a dozen or so girls from the crowd up on stage to dance with them, and I noticed that they didn't discriminate who got on stage, it seemed to be chosen by proximity to the stage, not necessarily by looks, which I thought was very cool of them, so they get kudos for that.

Interesting to note: it's been a while since I've been to a show where the mosh pit was so energetic and well-used. I can't count how many metal shows (where you'd expect the pits to be very voracious) where things would start up and die down quickly and it would only be for maybe 20% of the show's duration. For this show, the crowd was consistently active, helpful when people needed it, and very strong on the body slams, which was a good thing. I managed to get a few bruises, and I had been hoping to. I never considered either Thrill Kill or Acid to be moshable music, but turns out it was, and that rocked my socks pretty damn well. During most of the show, there was a staff member in the pit standing there making sure all went well, which was very considerate, so DNA Lounge staff--you get points for being kickass.

Point in short: The show was awesome.

Predators: It's About Damn Time

In this era of sequels, it should come as no surprise that Predators was made. However, the gap between Predator 2 and the newest sequel spans twenty years, with quasi-tie-in films with the Alien franchise during those two decades. While both were entertaining, neither really satisfied Predator fans nearly enough to keep them from asking for more like a pack of latté-starved hipsters.

In this latest rendition, all the homage-stops are pulled out, save for just a choice few (which I'll get to later), there is violence, a bit of humor, rich landscapes (courtesy of Hawaii and Texas), a well-chosen cast, and it was thankfully blessed with an 'R' rating. Why is this a good thing? Have you seen the Predator films? Don't lie, you don't go for the plot, you go for the golden one-liners, the violence, the action, and of course, the awesome aliens. Well this has it all then some.

Several lines were directly taken from the previous films, and used appropriately. Some lines from the first film were hinted at subtly if you're paying attention, but don't expect to hear every line you loved from Jesse Ventura or Schwarzenegger--fortunately the filmmakers knew that while super ass-kissing-homage can give a movie several awesome points, it doesn't make the movie what it is.

You get to see booby-traps old and new, a few new fun gadgets and several old weapons (like that kickass M134 Minigun) and there were also a few new creatures thrown into the mix. The creatures get enough screen time so that you can get a good look at them, but they're not a direct focus, which is good because they don't distract from the rest of the film.

The characters are interesting and mix well together, although a few felt a bit underused before their time ran out. For the ones who lasted longer, you develop curiosity and enjoyment at watching how they respond to their environment, and while it appears towards the end that a few actions that are made seem predictable, I believe it was purposeful; it wasn't about the revealing secret a character had, but it was more about what they were going to do as that character that remained the mystery. Most people will probably just see predictability, but I hope that they might see beyond that.

Each character either portrays aspects of characters from the previous films, or, in some cases, literally has a scene that is reminiscent of the past, which while tipping off its hat to the old films, does not use these elements to stand on, the new simply honors the old, instead of beating it into the ground. For example, who could forget Schwarzenegger's shirtless battle with the big beasty? It's readily established that Adrian Brody is the leading actor in the film, so I'd say it's safe to tell you without spoiling anything that he's the one who gets to take his shirt off, and he's no Schwarzenegger, but he's not supposed to be, and stands as a strong unique character of his own. It's also obvious that he toned up for the role. Though I'm not speaking just physically, his character was compelling beyond his looks, and you were continually interested in what he was doing. Whoever the military consultant was, they did a damn good job giving lessons; Brody was good with a gun, and acted as though he'd been used to handling it for a long time. Maybe he slept with the damn thing, who knows, but one thing I find particularly interesting is watching actor's react when they fire a weapon. A lot of the time you can notice who is comfortable with it and who is not. He was, good for him.

Laurence Fishburne is entertaining and did a damn good job, even having a few choice one-liners that are all his own and quite memorable -- "This is my house, motherfuckers!" just to name one. Danny Trejo is a badass no matter what he does, and Robert Rodriguez, who produced the film, knows that. Speaking of which, his new baby Machete, which stars Trejo, is one of the trailers before the film! Alice Braga, who plays the sole female in the film, is refreshing in that she's relatively unknown, her first U.S. film being I Am Legend in 2007. I say refreshing since when you think "Latina badass chick" for a movie, it seems that women like Michelle Rodriguez are first up to bat. It was nice to see someone else step up and give "Latina badass chick" a try. Braga did well, she was compassionate without being overtly effeminate, and she managed to pull off looking strong without trying to be too manly--quite well balanced.

Topher Grace, possibly the most unexpected actor in the cast, has severely been underestimated for his acting potential due to the fact that he played sweet small town boy Eric Forman on That 70's Show for eight years. He was a surprising but not unfavorable choice for Spiderman 3 as Eddie Brock/Venom, and successfully turned a few heads, which I assume is how he managed to snag himself a role in a film like this. Perhaps he knew that he needed better acting exposure, who knows? Either way, his character adds variation to the film and he plays it well, even up to his finish, which you'll just have to see for yourself.

My particular favorite fan part of the film is the music. The score to the first two Predator films was composed by Alan Silvestri, who could probably be considered the Hans Zimmer of action/sci-fi films of the 80's and early 90's, with such credits under his belt as the Back to the Future series and Who Framed Roger Rabbit to name a few. The music for Predators was composed by John Debney, who has many Disney films to his credit, but surprisingly did an excellent job at revamping and honoring the score of the first two films. The majority of the movie sounds just like the first film, exciting and energetic, with the appropriate use of percussion instruments throughout the movie. It gets changed up towards the end of the film, but not in a bad way, and it allows for fans new and old to recognize an old sound with a new twist, making it just as invigorating as the original scores were in 1987 and 1990.

So, the biggest question I haven't answered yet, would be how do the rumored 'new' predators measure up to the old? Not too shabby, if I say so myself. We have Old School, who looks just how we remember him from the original (however it's not the same actor, and I'll get to that in a moment), and we have the new Big Beefy, who, aside from being a bit taller, is different but not enough so to make us cringe that the costume team was trying to hard. The 'dreads' on Big Beefy look red-tipped, which was a nice little change, and the mouth is a bit more intense and nasty looking.

Both look badass, and you get to see the new vs. old duke-out you know you were waiting/hoping to see. Interesting to note is that the original actor who got suited up for the first two films was Kevin Peter Hall, an African American actor who stood seven foot, two and a half inches tall--which made him prime awesome sauce that towered over both Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover considerably well. On the downside, he died shortly after the second one. The new guy playing the 'old' predator is Derek Mears, who does lots of T.V. work and played Jason Voorhees in the newest Friday the 13th installment. Funny thing about Derek Mears, he stands at six foot, five inches tall, considerably shorter than Hall did. But this worked to the advantage of the filmmakers since Big Beefy (played by Brian Steele, whose noted for playing, interestingly enough, the T-600 in Terminator: Salvation, which, in case you forgot, was the 'Schwarzenegger' terminator) was supposed to be bigger than Old School. And although only two inches taller, it shows, and the new-fangled headgear on Big Beefy was also larger, I'm sure to add to the illusion that he had 'evolved' beyond Old School. All in all, these minute details about height and costume difference helped make the Old School/Big Beefy fight exactly what you wanted to see, but not enough to overshadow the entire film.

Point in short: It's been a while since I went to a theater, saw a movie, and before the film was even over, was thinking to myself, "I can't wait to own this!" This movie did its job and rocked my socks appropriately. Thanks Rodriguez, you're a good man.

And now, for your viewing pleasure (whether you've made it this far through my review or you skipped to the bottom to get to the point), enjoy dancing Predators!