Fiction Plane - Left Side of the Brain

Fiction Plane is probably one of the best non-well known bands out there.  It blows my mind as to why they are not famous.  They have everything that a famous band has - good songs, good lyrics, clean sounding albums, and oh yeah, their frontman is Joe Sumner (Son of Gordon Sumner, aka Sting).

The voice of Joe sounds much like his father's, which is a great thing to mix with a rock band, as history has shown us.  However, this band is not The Police reincarnate, it is a much more "Early 2000's Garage Rock" type band mixed with the Chili Pepper's sound (No, not their style, their SOUND).

I first was exposed to these guys on The Tonight Show, and then saw them open for The Police (wonder how they got that gig?).  Do yourself a favor and check these guys out, they're really cool; and Left Side of the Brain is great front-to-back.  In fact, I've listened to it everyday so far this week. 

PROS

-Catchy songs

-GREAT vocals, especially if you like Sting

-Well produced and clean sounding

CONS

-Too short

-Hmm... hard to find any really, I guess it's not perfect but that's pretty hard to find these days

Overall ranking - 8.5/10

Michael Phelps Picture

Michael Phelps, the latest American hero, has recently been photographed smokin' reefer out of a bong!  Say what?!?!  Yep, he must like to get high.  There has been much criticism surrounding this breaking news event and Phelps has even publicly apologized for it.

Many people have lost respect for this man because of this photo, but I, on the other hand, have gained respect for him.  I used to think he was a real boring dude when I saw his interviews and whatnot, now, I see he's not as boring as I once thought.

I guess this is his secret weapon he used when he needed to down 8,000 calories a day for his training.  He's still a hero in my book.  One thing I would like to tell Mr. Phelps - Don't apologize, whip the media the bird and tell them to screw off because you just set Olympic history - do what you want to do man!

PROS

- Michael Phelps smokin' dope!

CONS

- .................................

The Rocker (Movie)

The Rocker (2008) is a movie about an aging rock star played by comedian Dwight Schrute.  Yes, I know that's not the actor's real name, but Rainn Wilson is just his Scientologist name...

Anyhow, to the review.  Dwight (who will now be referred to as Rob) was a founding member and drummer of the mega-popular, 80's glam/hair band, Vesuvius.  But, right before they signed their huge contract, the rest of the band kicked Rob out.

Flash forward 20 years and we find Rob flipping out and losing his job when he hears the new, and strangely still popular, Vesuvius record.  Rob then demonstrates THE most creative way to break up with your girlfriend and moves in with his sister's family.  It is there he learns that his nephew has a band who just lost their drummer.  Well, you can put two and two together and figure out where this is going.

A blessing in disguise awaits the band when Rob is filmed drumming in the nude and the video hits Youtube.  It is a huge success which propels the band to stardom.  What follows is a tour, music video, and an eventual run in with Vesuvius, Rob's old 80's metal band, who are still... strangely popular.

There are many familiar faces in this movie that will surprise you - a few cast members of Superbad, a certain tall blonde from the 40 Year Old Virgin, some SNL cast members, a hefty fellow from Curb Your Enthusiasm, and of course Will Arnett.  They all provide some good laughs along with Dwight Schrute, to make this an enjoyable movie.  However, it seems that there are some stale moments and missed opportunities.

PROS

- Dwight Schrute is funny

- The rest of the cast is great too

- Rob is apparently a Gazelle and a Zombie (watch and you'll know what I mean)

- Spot on spoofs of characters in and around the music business

- Some of the humor is really creative

CONS

- Rob's new band is .... kind of lame?

- There is an unnecessary Poison cover, but I can see that if there's a 80's element thrown in

- Missed comedic opportunities

- Underutilized Christina Applegate

- Humor definitely slows down near the end as it turns into a feel-good story

Overall I give it a 6/10

Freaks and Geeks (The TV Show)

Freaks and Geeks is a wildly amusing, hour-long, television series that came out in 1999.  I happened to catch a few of these episodes back then and was hooked.  Over the last decade I have seen every single episode created; this is partly due to the fact that there is only 1 season with 18 episodes!

So, why is this show so awesome?  Could it be because it was created by the now, extremely successful, Judd Apatow?  Or is it because it has such celebrity superstars as Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, and Thomas F. Wilson? (that's of Biff Tannen fame folks)  More than likely it's the combination of the two, and the comedic, yet lesson-teaching plots that remind me of The Wonder Years, but edgier.  

Everyone should do themselves a favor and watch a few of these episodes if not the whole season.

PROS

- Funny

- Good stories

- Great chance to see actors destined to be stars in the near future (meaning right now)

- Biff is in the show

- Lessons to be learned - maybe you can learn something

CONS

- Only one season!

For what it's worth I give this show a high ten (that's two high fives, equivalent to two thumbs up)

The Library (Bar) - Minneapolis, MN

Well this is my first review so wish me luck.  I recently visited The Library which is, yep you guessed it, a drinking establishment.  This bar is located in the University of Minnesota's infamous Dinkytown neighborhood, meaning the clientele of the bar is 99.9% college students or young people.

Now to the review - Imagine an empty bar, you walk in the front door and see lots of flatscreen TV's all over the walls with Sportscenter or some game on them.  Good start right?  Then you notice a very nice looking, island style, bar that is somewhat reminiscent of the bar in Cheers.  Unfortunately, you won't see Ted Danson tending bar, but that's ok.  You go to order a drink and find out that this place has fantastic drink specials and good food.  Sounds like a pretty cool place, right?  Right, it is a good bar, a very good bar; and you're satisfied that you chose to go here.

From sometime between 10 and 11 pm you might regret your choice.  You'll overhear things such as, "Hey man, what?  You don't have Natty Ice on tap?  Oh bummer! "  And before you know it, the bar will smell like Axe spray and you will be seeing high five's left and right.  That's right, you've stumbled into a bro-bar.  Total bro's as far as the eye can see.  Around this time the management will decide to crank up your favorite top pop hits to ear bleeding levels - but that's ok, because you don't want to talk to anyone anyhow - you just wanted to go downstairs and get your groove on at the dance floor they have down there.

So, this may or may not be your cup of tea, to each their own.

To summarize The Library - I definitely like this bar if you get there before it's unbearably loud, because, it is a pretty cool place.  There are three floors (including the basement dance fest) and they have Big Buck Hunter upstairs.  They also, like I said earlier, have really good prices.  I recommend the u-call-its and get a glass of Jameson on the rocks.  Just be prepared for the changeover at night time.  Also, when it gets busy and crowded, be careful if you're a short person like me.  You just might get elbowed in the head by a bro trying to push his way through the crowd.

PROS

• Recently remodeled (within the last 5 years) so it doesn't smell like vomit anymore and it looks classy.
  
• Good specials
• Big Buck Hunter
• Dance floor if you want it
  

CONS

• Bros come out at night
• Overcrowded at night
• Loud, crappy music at night
• Did I mention the bros?

First Post

Hey everyone who's reading this right now.  So I officially jumped on the bandwagon and am starting a blog as well.  Why?  Why not, right?  So this blog will be a review (and no the revue in the title is not a misspelling) of anything with entertainment value.  This means movies, dvds, cds, concerts, bars, restaurants, and maybe even if I go to a theatrical production I'll throw that on here too - basically anything I find entertaining will be put on here.

I'll try to update as often as possible.  I'm thinking daily M-F and maybe weekends if I feel ambitious, but don't count on it.

Enjoy,

Pat