
Streets of Fire plays at The New Parkway in Oakland on Saturday, May 11th at 10:30
Unlike other movies that have entered the canon of “cult films,’ Streets of Fire is actually considered a good movie by some people who judge that sort of thing. But it’s over-the-top nature of the characters, the terrific music, and the combination of Michael Pare and Diane Lane that make this movie absolutely worth seeing. But why should I try to convince you when I can just quote the opening voiceover from the trailer:
You are about to enter a world unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Where rock and roll is king, the only law is a loaded gun, where the beautiful, the brutal, and the brave all meet. In Streets of Fire. [read the whole post]
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On a special Friday Popscene that went far into the night, all the way into the headliner’s birthday, the crowd was treated to synth pop in different forms — the dark tinged variety, the choreographed kind, and finally the made-for-the-charts sugary pop of Victoria Hesketh, aka Little Boots. It was a fun night, although not without some rough bits. [read the whole post]
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Anthony Mackie, Mark Wahlberg and Duane Johnson in Pain & Gain
When you hear the phrase “Directed by Michael Bay,” you probably think of some if not all of the following things: giant robots, massive explosions, military hardware, unnecessarily scantily clad and impossibly thin women and an insane amount of quick edits. You probably don’t think “passion project.” But that’s what we get here. In order to say yes to directing Transformers 4 for Paramount, Bay insisted that he be given the opportunity to make this “small budget” film ($25 million) based on a series of articles from the Miami New Times that document the exploits of the so-called Sun Gym Gang. The real story is brutal, full of twists and turns, and more than a little weird. So how would this translate into a Michael Bay picture? [read the whole post]
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How much would you pay to see these guys?
This started with a Facebook post I made on my personal wall:
The cheap seats are $171 for The Rolling Stones at Oracle. $660 for the top price level (not including VIP which costs GKHM). Makes Prince look like a bargain.
To that, my friend and fellow blogger John Marcher of A Beast in a Jungle responded with a long post that started with the line, “Gordon, I want to debate this with you.” So over the next few days, we sent some emails back and forth doing just that, and getting into deep topics like whether career artists are truly artists. I promised him the last word, and he’ll have it between us. We do invite you, however, to post your thoughts in the comments.
John Marcher:
Gordon, I want to debate this with you. The prices are what they are, and they are fair. Is $250 too much to see Prince in a small venue? Absolutely not. He and his band deserve to paid for the show. The people setting up and tearing down the show deserve to get paid. They have to eat on the road and stay in hotels- and do you think Prince and his band are going to eat at fucking Mel’s Diner and stay at the Holiday Inn? [read the whole post]
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Thomas Mars, as if he’s in front of the sun.
The announcement sent panic waves throughout the indie rockers of San Francisco: Phoenix at The Independent on April Fool’s Day. And this was not a hoax. What it was, though, was an impossible ticket. A representative of The Independent was quoted in the paper as saying the show sold out “immediately.” It sent everyone I know scrambling for tickets, wanting to be at what was officially the welcome back party for Steve Masters of Live 105, and would also serve as the unofficial kickoff to Fauxchella. [read the whole post]
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Just Mika, lit only by a single white globe that appeared to be floating in air, and those darned camera phones.
Mika burst on to the scene a few years ago with a sugary pop masterpiece, Life in Cartoon Motion, and his joyful and colorful live shows, chock full of balloons, confetti, streamers and a giant pop band behind him. Now, he’s on tour supporting his newest album, The Origin of Love, and he’s taking a markedly different approach. This show, billed as “An intimate evening with” saw him behind a piano for the lion’s share of the evening, joined only by Max Taylor and Curtis Stansfield on a variety of instruments. It was stripped down, and it was wonderful. [read the whole post]
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Is It OK For Artists to Charge High Prices For Their Concert Tickets?
by Gordon Elgart on April 5, 2013
How much would you pay to see these guys?
This started with a Facebook post I made on my personal wall:
The cheap seats are $171 for The Rolling Stones at Oracle. $660 for the top price level (not including VIP which costs GKHM). Makes Prince look like a bargain.
To that, my friend and fellow blogger John Marcher of A Beast in a Jungle responded with a long post that started with the line, “Gordon, I want to debate this with you.” So over the next few days, we sent some emails back and forth doing just that, and getting into deep topics like whether career artists are truly artists. I promised him the last word, and he’ll have it between us. We do invite you, however, to post your thoughts in the comments.
John Marcher:
Gordon, I want to debate this with you. The prices are what they are, and they are fair. Is $250 too much to see Prince in a small venue? Absolutely not. He and his band deserve to paid for the show. The people setting up and tearing down the show deserve to get paid. They have to eat on the road and stay in hotels- and do you think Prince and his band are going to eat at fucking Mel’s Diner and stay at the Holiday Inn? [read the whole post]
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