Picture this: Saturday night at the Blowout
Marco Polio and the New Vaccines, Ether Aura and Detroit Threads Fashion Show
Cut Across Shorty
The fever’s currently topping a balmy 102. A busted car axle too; all hail the Hamtown roadway! But the perfunctory Danny Kroha nod nonetheless: His unnamed trio at Record Graveyard Friday night restored a certain faith in the homespun, Glen Buxton-y five-chord roundelay; garage-era-cum-classic-rock crash and pop. His voice’s all vulnerable; Ronnie Lane comes to…
Urine Artist pt. 2
Oh, Deastro. How doth the ladies love thou? How devout the bloggers affections? How buzztastic can one get without a serious reality check? Here’s the thing, though. The kid called Randolph Chabot Jr. brings the goods. I figured that the critical mass of online scribes would have rode the been-there-done-that-I’ll see-him-next-week logic and head straight…
A Cross-Section of Emails from bands
The Spitting Nickels: “Spitting Nickels — what a party!” – Aaron Bales We say: “MetroTimes Blowout — what a party!” Spitting Nickels had a great time with the Blowout crowd in the Atlas Bar. We made lots of new friends, learned a lot about space management, and spattered blood on someone’s drums for the second…
Urine Artist Pt 1
No. I did not see Terrible Twos on Friday night. The dudes are still tall, genius and in total out-of-control. I don’t need the Blowout to tell me that. But the fact that you couldn’t move inside Small’s even 15 minutes after their set ended is encouraging in the big picture. but first… When you…
An Abuse of Analogy (pt. 2)
(Had to do this in two parts cause the blog editor is being naughty.) Damon, on the other hand, took it slower, didn’t do anything mainstream for a while. He made All the Pretty Horses, Rounders, The Talented Mr. Ripley. Stuff like that. Eventually he stumbled into the Bourne franchise, but that was out of…
An Abuse of Analogy (pt. 1)
Before I begin, can I just ask: when did rock get so punctual? I have yet, in three days of Blowing it Out, to not walk in a band I came to see mid-set. Punctuality is just not part of the time-honored code I live by. When I roll I don’t just roll DEEP, I…
Never Book a Sports Bar
Hey folks…FYI: The Motor City Sports Bar will no longer be participating in this year’s Blowout. Please do not go there, as we believe it is an unsafe atmosphere. Drag.
Video Gaga
Special thanks to Blowout volunteer and Detroit music superfan, Bill Cheek, who shot some live Blowout footage: Eons at the Pre-Party: The Decks:
Blowout, the viral effect
Listen, the snow is falling. It’s the third morning after the third night of Blowout ’08 and my thoughts turn not to the music that rocked Hamtramck bars, clubs, social and veterans halls, record and clothing stores the past two nights. Or to another amped up grand opening night at Detroit’s Majestic complex. They turn…
Too Much To Say, So….
Every. Band. Who. Agreed. To. Play. Blowout. Rules.Every. Band. Who. Agreed. To. Play. Blowout. Rules.
I’m Like Rockwell, But in Reverse
I always feel like I’m watching someone else? Hmm…I’ll work on my bad blogger-type references as the weekend progresses. #05213 Reporting from Guyvile. Millions of Brazilians: Who knew? Sparse content on a myspace page and a kick-ass name are one of the hazards of the Blowout in the nu-modern age. But I rolled the 12-sided…
Crossing Lines.
Here’s hoping folks who wouldn’t normally check out an urban music showcase, give Capo a shot tonight. Links to tonights musicians are here. Tack on at least one more of Blowout’s so-called “WTF moments.”
New Candidates Arrive
I vote yes. Yes to Millions of Brazillions and the furtherance of sexy sludgy rock’n’roll as a national pastime. I vote NO to candidates A, B and C and flaccid political theater in general. But yes, yes to any band that updates its love of Dinosaur Jr., Jesus Lizard and Urge Overkill by damaging its…
ROCK REVISIONISM REVISITED
Dead Letters Thursday, 9:30 p.m. Smalls Yeah, the puppy-dog guitar hero on stage right’s in a Ramones T. The bassist’s wearing a Zep T. Ironic? No. It’s the 21st century and all bets are off; history’s rewritten, Zep works alongside Ramones works alongside Massive Attack works alongside the MC5 works alongside Plain White T’s. There…
STILL ALIVE & WELL (THOUGH JUST BARELY…)
You know what really sucks about Blowout? Too many fucking band. That shouldn’t be a problem — but it certainly poses one when there are two and even three bands that you want to see playing at the exact same time. Oh, well, guess that’s one of those problems/dilemmas that hurts so good and I…
MONGER AND ME
Backslaps and thumbs up go to Great Lakes Myth Society this Thursday night. The fellas in GLMS not only overcame a hideous day of bad luck and absentee drummers (absentee as in “stuck in Flint”), they pulled off their set with serious grace and aplomb. What’s new, right? But it’s worth mentioning that lead singer…
TO QUOTE A SHIRTLESS WONDER
#05213 reporting. 350125 — go! ahem. er, To paraphrase one Mr. Matthew McConaughey: The best thing about Blowout is I keep getting older and it stays the same age…yes it does…” There were many wonders to behold as I dove into the deep water of the real live in-Hamtramck chairs-and-milkcrates-in-reserved-spots-and-all Blowout on this seemingly schedule-agnostic…
BLOWOUT WEDNESDAY: CONSTANTS AND CHAOS
Better late than never, I guess. Right? Oh, fuggit. Impending sinus infection? Check. Recent/impending blizzard? Check and check! Sneaky pete passed between friends in the bathroom? Check. Steve-O doing his orbital mingling? Check! I mean, my god, how great is it that you can tuck your kids into bed, kiss your wife goodnight and still…
BLOWOUT PHOTOS!
You can check out photos from the Blowout’s kickoff party Wednesday night at the Majestic Theater Complex at the Metro Times flickr site. Keep your eyes peeled for new additions during the week.
LIKE A VIRGIN STOOGE…
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with the following weird announcement just in… We hate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (although we don’t hate our pal former Ann Arbor resident Howard Kramer, who is now one of the curators at the Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland). What we hate is the actual…
LAST NIGHT…
It seemed to be a pretty good sign of success when we arrived at the Majestic for the pre-party at 9:30 p.m. and found the parking lot totally full. There were hardly any spaces on the street, either — and indeed, things were buzzing inside. First, we encountered MT’s lovely publisher Lisa Rudy, who was…
A JAUNDICED GLIMPSE
A jaundiced glimpse of Blowout 11 pre-party at the Majestic complex, Wednesday night: Biggest crowd for a blowout pre-party yet? That’s what’s said. Spotted gobs of comely girl-women. Lots of suburbanites, rivet heads, ape drapes, drunks, suits and local rock-star might, and so on. Undying music fans too, including the ever-committed self-made celeb Steve-O complaining…
BLOWOUT!!!!
Well, it’s finally here, folks! Christmas in March (at least that’s how someone described it to me last week)! See you at the opening party tonight. And please keep checking back here over the next several days, as we post reports, reviews, observations and what-not from such MT scribes as Chris Handyside (the original founder…
Judgment day
Legal wrangling over voter lists continues.
Bonneville
Forced to surrender the ashes of her recently deceased husband to his upright daughter, Arvilla Holden (Jessica Lange) takes her two closest friends, one boisterous and one prim, along for the ride from Pocatello, Idaho, to Santa Barbara, Calif. The conflict between breezy Arvilla and tightly wound daughter, Francine (Christine Baranski), is as much about…
Back slaps
Bash at Bert’s brings Kwame’s critics together.
City of Men
Rio de Janeiro is a chaotic war zone, with each ramshackle neighborhood (or favela) ruled by sparring gangs. The crew that holds down one squalid patch called “Dead End Hill” is led by a scary young dude named Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen), but his crown is under assault from rivals. The ramifications of this struggle are…
Night and Day
Wednesday-Saturday • 5-8 Media City Film Festival EYE-POPPING WONDER Once dubbed by MT as “the alternative that optically adventurous filmgoers have been waiting for,” the Media City Film Festival is Canada’s version of Cannes — for experimental films. And featuring vets from the actual Cannes fest, the New York Film Festival and surely many a…
Penelope
Christina Ricci’s character is the victim of a curse that burdens her with a large, porcine snout in place of her dainty little button. As the opening narration hastily explains, Penelope Wilhern’s wealthy great-great grandfather betrayed his servant-girl true love to marry a socially appropriate debutante. Hence, the family’s next first-born daughter (Ricci’s Penelope) was…
Ralph rides again
Is Nader the world’s most irritating vanity candidate?
The Violin
Mexican writer-director Francisco Vargas creates an indelible black-and-white vision of a dirty little war, and shows how occupation and oppression can lead to generations of resistance. The film opens with a scene of huddled villagers forced to watch torture and rape. Vargas then shifts focus to a family of street musicians going to perform in…
A town called Blowout
Someone recently e-mailed me, suggesting that for Detroit music fans, the Hamtramck Blowout is sorta like Christmas in March. Now in its 11th year — and originally just a pipe dream by former Metro Times music editor and current contributor Chris Handyside and then-marketing director Brian Boyle — the Blowout is certainly a Detroit institution…
The crown prince of nonchalance
Fashion photographer-turned-filmmaker Bruce Weber seems to want us to feel whiplashed as the screen jerks across the decades from the pretty California boy that photographers snapped at in his 20s and the weathered man in his late 50s. Baker screwed up so badly with junk, jail and various betrayals that he was unavailable to star…
2008 Blowout Photos
BLOWOUT LAUNCH PARTY – March 5, Majestic Theater Complex BLOWOUT THURSDAY – March 6 BLOWOUT FRIDAY – March 7 BLOWOUT SATURDAY – March 8
Motor City Cribs
Deastro mixes it up in his folks’ basement.
American bull
Years ago, an older woman described seeing American Buffalo to me as: “Horrible. These two men just argue with each other and swear through the whole play! And I didn’t understand what was going on! It was very unpleasant.” For some reason, I imagine that response would have brought a glimmer to playwright David Mamet’s…
Comics
The Boiling Point – by Mikhaela Reid The Perry Bible Fellowship – by Nicholas Gurewitch
Daddy do-right
The campsite rule: Leave younger lovers better off.
Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout
Quick peeks at choice releases.
Blowout Drive-bys
Fast facts about selected acts.
The Tao of tea
Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world. It’s widely available in endless variety, and it’s good for you. And according to The Economist, tea consumption is on the rise in the United States, as sales of tea have more than tripled in the last 15 years. But despite tea’s growing popularity,…
Food Stuff
Full plates for local foodies.
Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants? The Tale of a Teen Rock Wannabe Who Almost Was
As author David Sedaris continues to demonstrate, nostalgia’s a dependable cash cow if you’ve got the self-deprecating narrative skills to transform yesteryear’s humiliations into tomorrow’s fat checks. Fortunately, for his creditors and readers, Los Angeles-based screenwriter Craig A. Williams is in possession of an MFA in professional writing and mighty writerly gifts, contemplating his adolescence…
From laughs to a tear
They’re a hip-hop group that laughs publicly, though their music is decidedly underground and rugged. They actually believe in having fun. Go figure. What’s more, they’re a pack of closet music geeks who get excited about being able to hear the sound of Max Roach’s kick drum moving around on the floor while listening to…
A Practical Guide to Racism
It is a little-known fact that Arabs are made of a highly volatile compound similar to nitroglycerin, author C.H. Dalton writes in A Practical Guide to Racism. Under stressful conditions, they are liable to spontaneously combust, and their nervous constitutions cause them to do so frequently. Often in public places, like cafés and Israeli buses.…
As Michigan sinks
The only state in the union where you can’t sue pharmaceutical companies.
Lurid elegance
Open since June 2007 on Friday nights only, the “speakeasy” soon achieved critical mass , attracting a crowd of young, mostly white hipsters. What brings them? The drinks list is ordinary, and owner Larry Mongo is less than exacting when it comes to recruiting musicians. So it’s not the drinks and it’s not the tunes,…
Zoology
“My whole idea was, I want to kick this guy’s ass,” says singer Trevor Naud, smiling widely, his unkempt nest of hair shocked out like a Beethoven bust. Naud’s talking about the early days with Daniel Clark, his musical soulmate and the guy he shares frontman duties with in Zoos of Berlin. At a spindly…
The Other Boleyn Girl
British television director Justin Chadwick, with the help of Philippa Gregory’s inaccurate “historical” novel, re-imagines the love affairs between King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) and sisters Mary (Scarlett Johansson) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) as a Godfather-esque story of court intrigues, power-mongering and outright whoring. Because of Anne’s marriage to Henry following his divorce from…
Perfect harmony
It’s amazing that a lot of bands manage to stay together as long as they do. It’s hard to deal with all those diverse personalities in a creative situation after a while. It’s happened to the greatest of them … and sometimes streamlining is the only option. Economically speaking, it makes a lot of sense…
Taxi to the Darkside
When you see a film like Alex Gibney’s disturbing and meticulously researched Taxi to the Darkside, it’s hard not to start yelling about indicting George W. and Donald Rumsfeld for crimes against humanity. Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) uses the death of a detainee as a point of entry to examine the…
Letters to the Editor
Time to go I read with interest the editorial “Just Go” (Metro Times, Feb. 27) and what I say is Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has got to go! Mayor Kilpatrick is a liability that neither the city of Detroit nor southeastern Michigan can afford any longer. He’s now starting to have a negative financial impact on…
Semi-Pro
Will Ferrell’s third goofy sports spoof in two years means that Ferrell arguably the most bankable comedy star, but sooner or later audiences are going to figure out his game: Committing every inch of his giant, flabby frame to playing an overgrown man-child consumed with near-terminal self-absorption. This time, Ferrell’s Jackie Moon, the player-coach and…
Speed critics
No shit. One can learn a lot about another from their musical tastes. For example, if someone hates Simple Plan but adores Harry Nilsson, it says that person’s probably worth accompanying on a drinking night out, and that he or she is most likely on the same page about culture, music and life. Some things…
The Band’s Visit
Mordantly funny and full of sly social commentary, The Band’s Visit is the kind of film where not much happens. The members of the Alexandria Police Ceremonial Orchestra arrive at an immaculately clean airport in Israel to find no one waiting for them. The stubbornness of conductor and orchestra taskmaster, Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai), combined with…
