Music Instruments: PRS Guitars Limited Edition 2008 Private Stock Calendar On Sale
September 26, 2007
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Music Instruments: PRS Guitars Limited Edition 2008 Private Stock Calendar On Sale
PRS Private Stock calendars have been published since 2002, and each year the anticipation for the calendar continues to grow. As a special incentive for the 2008 Private Stock calendar, the first 200 calendars ordered through the PRS Accessory Shop will be signed by Paul Reed Smith, Joseph Knaggs and the entire Private Stock team (limit 2 signed copies per order). Each year the calendar showcases some of the most unique guitars handcrafted by the talented Private Stock craftsmen. The cover of this year’s calendar features an aquamarine 513 Semi-Hollow model PRS with tropical fish inlays, a one-piece quilted top and back and many other striking details. The cost for the 2008 calendar is can be ordered online here.
So a new Tony Hawk video game is out for XBOX.
September 26, 2007
So a new Tony Hawk video game is out for XBOX. Let me know what you think of this demo. Does it not get tiring?
Heaven and Hell, Alice Cooper, Queensryche show tour review in Hamilton
September 26, 2007
Heaven and Hell, Alice Cooper, Queensryche
Copps Coliseum
September 19, 2007
I didn’t think it was possible to upstage Alice Cooper.
But there it was, a tidal wave of molten iron obliterating all that came before. This was Heaven and Hell, the woefully underappreciated Black Sabbath mark II back for another swing, and if anything a hundred times stronger than their previous attack on the Air Canada Centre.
Not that Alice was below par. Despite his short set, rock ‘n roll’s greatest showman (yup you heard me right) pulled all the stops, from the moment he stabbed his dummy counterpart to when he wheeled a full sized gallows on stage and hung himself. It was great theatre all the way, played against a set-list culled from every era of his expansive career. No one can command a stage like Alice Cooper, a man who understands stagecraft probably better than anyone in the industry.
But on the strength of songs alone, it was Heaven and Hell who carried the night (alas, poor Queensryche: bypassing their early stuff in favour of Empire and the Mindecrime sagas, they barely made a dent), chugging along like tectonic plates, massive and unstoppable. They started off with “Mob Rules”, a much stronger opener than “Computer God” which they used last time, and never lost momentum from there. Most of the albums Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules were played (though “Turn up the Night” was again a lamentable oversight) with only ‘93’s Dehumaizer getting short shift. The delivery was flawless. Tony Iommi’s riffs and the titanic voice of Ronnie James Dio make a fearsome combination, and tonight they were in exceptionally fine form and unusually (for those of us who grew up with tales of discord in this lineup) good humour, joking with the crowd and each other, rattling off “Die Young”, “Falling off the Edge of the World”, “I” and the seminal “Neon Knights” with great energy and determination. Even the slow numbers, like the new song “Shadow of the Wind”, which at the ACC just sounded plodding, sounded just soul crushing here, putting any modern doom band to shame.
The most powerful moment though, had to be the song “Heaven and Hell” itself, an epic song made greater by what was probably one of Tony’s longest and grandest solos. No Malmsteenesque wankfest, it seemed rather a logical expansion of the song, every bit as revealing as Ronnie’s lyrics - an unscheduled detour into the band’s heart of darkness. It was awe inspiring.
A Heavy Metal tour de force all around.
!!!!1/4
-Steve Dylag
Rush hometown tour stop review (in Toronto)
September 26, 2007
Rush hometown tour stop review (in Toronto)
Rush
Air Canada Centre
Sept. 19, 2007
I hate stadium shows. First they stick you so high up in the nosebleeds that there’s snow on your seat. Then the sound is so bad that you can’t even recognize songs that you’ve grown up with and know by heart. Then you’re surrounded by people who chastize your for standing up and blocking their view. These things may not have much to do with the music being performed on stage, but they sure as hell effect your ability to enjoy it.
How does one get enthused about a show when the people around you won’t even stand and cheer when the band takes stage?
It was a grand entry to be sure: first a lengthy animated video presentation followed by the glorious opening chords of “Limelight”, rendered barely recognizable by the ACC’s dreadful acoustics. It set the tone for the evening: good performance marred by external factors.
Now Rush are a band who can juggle their back catalogue better than most. Their set lists tend to represent their entire careers and are rarely predictable. Tonight was no exception. Numbers like “A Passage to Bangkok” and “Circumstances” were both unexpected and welcome. But the emphasis did seem to favour the mellow, largely bypassing the hard rockin’ seventies. The latest album, Snakes and Arrows was played almost in its entirety. And while it has its moments (“Far Cry” is probably their best song in years), it is a mellow piece of work, and it lead to long slow moments where the attention wavered (possibly yearning for the days of “Working Man”).
As usual, Neil Pert’s obligatory drum solo was the highlight of the evening, an elaborate, multi-layered percussive attack that took on a life of its own. Curiously enough, the videos in the background were also memorable: hypnotic computer generated patterns, and bizarre mini-movies that moved in synch with the music. There were also visits from Bob and Doug McKenzie and all the South Park boys which lent the evening a light-hearted intimate atmosphere more typical of a small club than a nearly sold out arena. Rush are good at that.
And of course, there’s “YYZ”.
All in all, not a bad evening, though hardly the religious experience one craves when seeing a godlike band.
!!
-Steve Dylag
Why does WII contiously outsell XBOX and Playstation?
September 26, 2007
Why does WII contiously out sell XBOX and Playstation?
After to going to some video gaming show this past weekend, I can see why WII is out selling the rest. With their wireless hand controls, it adds a new dimension to video gaming. Esp for a guy who had an Intellivision. Also, the games are pretty simple compared to the boring shoot ‘em up kind I got bored of. Halo 3 looks awesome but does not attract an older gamer like me. I am no video gaming reviewer but I will tell you that WII is definitely up my alley.
Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new
games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed
Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points
can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new
games are:
Kirby’s Avalanche™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii
Points): Everyone’s favorite round, pink hero takes a break from swallowing
his enemies to put your brain to work in this fast-paced puzzle game. Players
take control of Kirby and match wits with well-known enemies from the Kirby
series (including his archrival, King Dedede) in an effort to win the First
Annual Dream Land Avalanche Competition. The simple-but-addictive game play
revolves around brightly colored blobs and boulders. When the right amount of
matching blobs are stacked, they explode and rain down on your opponent’s
field of play. Repeat this until your screen is clear to move on to the next
round. But be careful—the farther you advance, the faster the blobs fall and
the smarter the opponents get. Are you good enough to help Kirby become the
avalanche king?
Streets of Rage™ 3 (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and
Older – Violence, 800 Wii Points): Just when you thought the world was safe
from the Syndicate and its shady leader, Mr. X, they have returned to torment
the city once again. Mr. X has developed lifelike robots to take the place of
various city officials so he can be in complete control. Now it’s up to our
old heroes Axel, Skate and Blaze to stop the threat with their amazing
fighting skills. With more weapons and combat moves, as well as secret
characters and various endings, this return to the streets is one you won’t
want to miss.
LEGEND OF HERO TONMA (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone – Mild
Cartoon Violence, 600 Wii Points): LEGEND OF HERO TONMA is an action game that
puts players in control of the magic-user Tonma, whose role – as was typical
for game heroes of the day – is to travel to another world and save the
princess. Fight your way through seven stages using Tonma’s jump ability and
shot power. Collect power-ups and barriers to grow in strength and pummel your
enemies. Bring that strength to the end of each stage to face off against and
defeat the menacing bosses that aim to keep you from the princess. This well-
detailed game’s comic visuals and feel will have players wanting to come back
for more frantic and exciting action.
