Mokona Modoki

Dir en grey @ The Marquee, Tempe, Az
28 November 2008

Dir en grey, a popular visual kei japanese rock back is currently promoting their latest album Uroboros with a US tour.  The recently played a show here in the Valley. prompting all our j-rockers (American and not) to crawl out of the woodwork, dress up to their Hot Topic nines and gather together on this auspicious night.  The opening act was a heavy metal band The Human Abstract.

( Let's rock. )

Wicked is a musical with songs by Stephen Schwartz, based on the Gregory Macguire novel Wicked:  The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  It is a story about the Elphaba,  her rocky relationship with Galinda (Glinda the Good) and the events leading to her becoming the Wicked Witch of the West.  The musical debuted on Broadway fall 2003, with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth starring at Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.  The musical songs performed by the Menzel and Chenoweth and the original cast were recorded and released on cd.  This album has been my current ear-obsession.

GO!GO!7188 is a three piece rock band hailing from Japan.  Their sound varies from song to song, album to album, ranging from your standard alternative rock to punk to a little surf rock.  They seem to draw from different sources that give their sound a little more life and colour.  The fifth album 569 is a prime example of this.

 

Hotel Cafe Tour 2008. March 11, 2008. The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ.



This tour has a long lineup of artists of all types, who are rotated between shows. Five to six artists perform at any one show. For The Clubhouse lineup included: Jim Bianco, Cary Brothers (co-organizer), Kate Havnevik, Greg Laswell, Jessie Baylin and Ingrid Michaelson. The show was divided into two sets. Each set featured all six artists, each peforming 3-4 songs at a time.

( --Set Two-- )

  

TRAVIS is an amazing live band.  they performed tonight at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ.

photo credit:  anne heefner, travisonline.com

   

演歌の女王 - Enka no Joou - Queen of Enka


This is a 10 episode Japanese drama that aired last winter. If you're not familiar with enka, it's a type of japanese music, mostly known for its melodramatic, sad themes and crooning nature. it's mostly regarded as music for the older generation, but it's a good piece of japanese pop culture.  you can wikipedia enka and come up with this lovely entry.

In this show, we follow Ookochi Himawari, a woman in her late twenties, still trying to realize her dream of becoming an enka singer.  Unfortunately, she is a woman of extremely bad luck and, perhaps, bad decisions.  At the very start of the series, she meets Hitoshi, an old flame who  just happen to be a pitiful excuse for a human being (he's always apologizing for being alive).  He quickly pulls her into more misfortune, and you're shaking your head at Himawari for ever listening to him.  This goes on for a couple of episodes, and it's almost unbearable to watch Himawari endure so much trouble because of him.  But soon more characters are introduced, and while Himawari's misfortune continues, the show becomes more interesting as she interacts with and helps these various characters.  As pitiful as Himawari appears to be at the start of the show, you come to admire her unselfishness and determination to help others before herself.

Slow start. Superb characters.  Random unfortunate events.  A heartfelt ending.  This all adds up to a a great show.  I'd dare say it's now one of my favourite dramas.

NOTE:  It's hard to review a show without talking too much about the events and risk spoilers.  This review is pretty lame.

  

this is the first official review for this newly established review journal. this is the b-side. you can catch the a-side at http://didnti.livejournal.com

and so, Zeitgeist has finally made its debut, and, finally, the Smashing Pumpkins has returned.

i, like many other pumpkins fans, have been looking forward to this new album. but i don't think i was anywhere near anxious as other pumpkins fans. and like some fans, i had my reservations. could the pumpkins still be the pumpkins, while missing half of the band? billy corgan and jimmy chamberlain (BC & JC) want you to believe so.

jimmy kicks off the album (Doomsday Clock) with a grand drumming intro, and is quickly joined by billy thrashing away on his guitars. they truly want to announce to the world the pumpkins are back, and they succeed in doing so. the first track takes you back 10+years and leaves you wondering, "did the pumpkins ever leave?"

by track 2 (7 Shades of Black), i'm already noticing a lack in backup vocals. it's all billy, and while he did a great job, it really does seem a little flat with just him. i know in previous albums he did the majority of the writing and playing and recording, but i think you could still hear the other members chiming in. though, i should listen to some previous albums before i actually go off on this point. it has been a while since i last listened to the pumpkins. you can correct me if i'm wrong.

billy did a nice job creating a mix bag of tracks. some tracks strong and driving (Doomsday Clock ,Tarantula). others softer and somewhat tender (Neverlost, That's The Way). there's even an rallying of the troops for a revolution. but despite the mixed bag of tracks, overall, the album starts off with a killer edge and dulls out toward the end.

two tracks that stand out to me are 7 Shades of Black and Neverlost. the first one showcasing jimmy drums and billy croon at maximum output. it's downright sexy. the latter taking a more alternative sound that reminisces the Adore era.

i'm sure i have more thoughts on Zeitgeist, but i shall leave this review as is. short and lacking.
  

hello friends.

since i rarely use this livejournal. i decided to turn it into a supplemental review journal for my sister's music review journal. i have already named myself the b-side to her a-side, which you can find here. http://didnti.livejournal.com

while the reviews seem to focus on music, i'm sure i won't just leave it at that. i may do books, movies, tv, and whatever else i may chance upon. i believe my sister and i will try and review the same things so there is actually both an a-side and a b-side for one particular item, but as i'm moving across the nation and she's moving across the globe and adding the fact that we do have different taste in media consumption, i don't think it will be feasible to maintain this gimmick at all times. so i am sure we'll be reviewing items on our own as well.

i apologize for any inconveniences this journal change may cause. and rest assured i won't be offended if you rid me from your friends list to save you from yet another poorly written review journal. i just thought it would be proper of me to give anyone of my current friends a heads up on these changes.

take it easy.

malia