Get Out and Vote '08

So I went to the Get Out and Vote '08 tour last night. For those not in a swing state, this is a concert tour hosted by the Beastie Boys featuring various acts, all encouraging people to register to vote. They claim it's for either side, but I'm pretty sure there weren't ANY McCain/Palin supporters on stage. Not to mention I heard Obama's name half a dozen times (as Mike D would say..."noyce") throughout the politically charged sidebars. The show in my town had NY's own, along with Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, and Santogold. Here's how the show went along:

Santogold put on a good set, considering people were barely in the place as she was playing. Basically her with two dancers and a DJ, she did a solid showing of her current album.

Norah Jones...beautiful voice, total yawnfest, but that was expected. Also the prettiest group on stage, she and her backing band were some lovely ladies. They covered one of my favorite Wilco songs, "Jesus Don't Cry," along with Johnny Cash's "Cry Cry Cry," which proved more entertaining than her own songs, largely due to the tempo. Plus, they seemed real irritated because one of the backups couldn't get her banjo in synch with the house audio.

Jack Johnson...I've got nothing against the guy, I'm just not in the fan club. There were a fair amount of people there just to see him, evidenced by the number that left after his set (mindblowing, the Beasties were closing!!). His "fans" are such a joke...j-crew hippies (half of which are closet card-carrying young Republicans) sporting their latest faux-vintage gear and blazin up j's all over (nothing against the practice, believe me, just not in a non-ventilated, closed, non-smoking coliseum where others might not want to be involuntarily shotgunned with your skunk). Just picture your average annoying, short-n-chubby girl flailing arms wildly (supposedly dancing) and throwing her half-stoned ass into any guy (or girl) that might give her some attention. I guess every 17 year old gets to be a moron once. He played his well-knowns, and a Jimmy Buffet cover. Yay.

Sheryl Crow (see above, but add the deafening sonic assault of a well-mic'ed band playing for the halftime show at the Super Bowl).

The Beastie Boys closed, and close they did. It was obvious that the majority of the crowd was simply waiting out the other acts to see Adam, Adam and Mike. They lived up to everything I thought their live show would be, minus instruments (so no Sabotage). Those guys might have lost some fans with "To the 5 Boroughs" but they've still got every bit of fun and energy for a live performance they had in their 20s. Played all my favorites, and Mix Master Mike was cra-azy on the tables (including a wicked party happy version of "Tom Sawyer"). Solid set, and gave the crowd what they wanted to see. Thank you guys, for picking Richmond on your impromptu tour.

Here's some pics:















Santogold





















Norah Jones
















Jack Johnson & Norah Jones





















Sheryl Crow
















Mike D

















Mike D & MCA
















Beastie Boys

Real Muthaph*kkin G's

So there's this commercial I keep seeing for the new Saints Row 2 video game, and it has one of the best Eazy-E songs in the background. If anyone ever said nothing good came from rap feuds, they never heard a single track off of It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, Eazy's diss-album reply to Dre's "Fuck wit Dre Day." I love the album, start to finish, but this track in particular is one of my favorite in the early 90's gangsta genre. I can't say much more than if you don't already have it, pick it up.

Here's the "Saints Row 2" trailer, just so you can see how bad-ass it is:

Weekend Wrap

So, a good relaxing weekend enhanced by a Hokies victory (though a scary one) and Oktoberfest (giggidy).

I've rediscovered a new interest in "The Boondocks," catching a few reruns on the rare chance [adultswim] isn't running the same episode of Robot Chicken for the 48th time or a marathon of Peter Griffin's best fart moments. My campus newspaper used to run that comic, which I enjoyed before the show aired, so I had looked forward to the cartoon upon announcement. Pretty funny, pretty intelligent...I'm probably a fan of anything Aaron McGruder would produce now. Just saying the names "Flonomical" and "Thugnificent" makes me chuckle. And through time-wasting Google searches at work, I found that there are 3 really solid mixtapes based on the series. Volume One is available through myspace, and Volume Two appears courtesy of illroots.



Hip Hop Dock-trine (Official Boondocks Mixtape) - (download)

Hip Hop Dock-trine 2 (The Saga Continues) - (disc one) (disc two)

While you're at illroots, be sure to check out "DOOMed," a pretty sweet mix of Metal Fingers that includes the Villan himself rhyming over M.I.A's "Paper Planes." Of course, DOOM could rhyme overtop of someone dumping out a bag of aluminum cans and it would sound sweet with that interlaced rhyme scheme, mouth full of cookies flow.

Shhhhh

I don't get out to the theater much unless I'm rolling on some free passes, but out and about with friends Saturday night brought me to "Burn After Reading," the latest comedy piece from the Cohen Brothers. After throwing down about 35 of my hard-earned bones on tix, drinks and an unnecessarily deep busket of popcorn, we climbed the stairs of one of the smaller screening rooms and rested 1 row below the top for a better viewing angle. The movie was okay, I'd push for about a 6/10 based on post-drink consensus. It's no Lebowski or O Brother, but it's definitely got some hilarious moments, drawn out with a lot of steady-cam dialogue free sequences.

What completely marred my experience was the utter lack of courtesy and consideration from those around me. Over both my left and right shoulders were two groups of high school kids who didn't shut up throughout the entire movie. Immediately to my left was some greaseball who had to keep asking plot point explanations from his skank girlfriend because he couldn't stop texting long enough to catch the story. Somewhere in our quadrant of the stadium seating, some jackass kept typing on his phone and didn't have the f*cking key-tone turned off. What kind of f*cktard actually enjoys hearing a *beep* every time they touch a f*cking key on their phone? Is this how we watch movies now? Wasn't there a time when people actually cared about what they just payed $20 to see? Thanks for the heightened audeince regulation Regal. All that loot for a show and you can't pay someone to drag these babies out when they get too fussy?

Happy Birthday

Last night, anyone watching MTV suffered through the 25th Annual Video Music Awards. In recent years, these inflated-egofests have grown increasingly beyond atrocious. This year, they completely outdid themselves.



A few questions, from start to finish: Was there no script? Did Russell Brand just show up and the producers say "Hey, just go with whatever?" Why couldn't Jaime Foxx stand still, much less stop doing a Busta impression? What was the deal with the performances on back lot sets that all looked like bad high school musicals? What teenage boy in their right mind wears a promise ring? Who were these grown men flocking to the Jonas Brothers? Why was Weezy's lack of performance the best of the night? How hilarious was it to see Slash laughing at Linkin Park on national television? How out-of-place did Slash look? Why wasn't Lupe Fiasco given the main stage? Have the producers not seen or heard of any Fiasco performances on the summer festival tour? How horrible was that Kid Rock performance? How blown out of proportion was that Kanye set? Didn't that song pretty much suck? Did his backup include the world's most famous bucket drummers? When will MTV stop embarassing itself and just focus on reality TV rich kids?