Borneo Jazz 2013, held on May 10-11 in Park City Everly Hotel, saw two jazz-filled nights that left festival-goers rocking.

The lineup this year was: West Jazz Band (Malaysia), Scott Martin Latin Soul Band (USA), Lisa Young Quartet (Australia), The Nylons (Canada), The Asian Jazz Allstar Power Quartet (Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand), Hazmat Modine (USA), Mo’ Blow (Germany) and Jump 4 Joy (Sweden).

Some bands just blow you away. Mo’ Blow, third set on the second night, were undoubtedly the people’s favorite. Mo’ Blow is made of Felix F. Falk (saxophone), Matti Klein (electric piano), Tobias Fleischer (bass) and André Seidel (drums).

With 13 shows to play in May and having just arrived in Miri from Germany that very morning, a certain amount of anxiety could have been prevalent among the organizers for Mo’ Blow. Traveling to different cities consecutively can take its toll. But within the first piece all concerns would have been swept away. Mo’ Blow were barely introduced by the host when they hit into full gear for the opening piece, “Fried Chocolate.” In an instant, they brought the mood of the festival to another energy level, capturing the crowd’s attention. Falk, a commanding presence on stage, led the band with hooks on his saxophone that drew everyone to their feet. Their second piece, “Mo Tough,” was a personification their youthful energy; like they had so much to say but not enough time to say it all. Klein, hitting the keys on the electric piano with great fervor, was an eye-catcher.

Falk, founder and leader of the group, exuberated cool confidence and stage presence. He threw out a few newly-learnt phrases in Malay language and received a delighted response from the crowd. Between pieces, Falk would switch between instruments. The way he deftly changed instruments while keeping poise was something to be admired. After delivering two high power pieces, he clipped off his saxophone and paused as if to remember which instrument the next tune required.

“Gimme the Boots” was their third piece, the one everyone was waiting for. It featured Falk on the didgeridoo, giving a deep ambience, and then built up to the hook line “Gimme the Boots,” which ushered in Mo’ Blow’s signature sound; you could almost hear the good humor in their music. This was a song for everyone. Falk interacted well with the crowd, getting them to shout ‘Gimme the Boots’ at the interval.

They kicked it up another notch with “Slingshot.” By then, you could feel that Mo’Blow were feeding off each other’s energy. Klein was a star on the piano. He played with a searching frenzy, as if he put the notes somewhere and was looking for them, with the occasional ‘aha!’ as each piece developed. At faster paces he rammed his hands on the Nord with an urgency that the right notes must come out. Fleischer, playing the bass with a big smile, laid down punchy and groovy bass lines, laying the foundation to the band’s overall sound. Seidel, on drums, played in the pocket and had plenty of hard-hitting linear fills.

Midway through the set, they played a piece, “Rocket Swing,” that had a line a little reminiscent of “The Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock. Mo’ Blow also gave a preview to some tunes off their latest record, such as “Papa’s Pancakes,” “Call Me Milroy” and “Headbutt.” By the end of their set, the crowd was ecstatic, calling for an encore. They came back on and played “Somewhere in Sharp Mountain” to cap off a brilliant set.

For all the official pictures from Borneo Jazz 2013, visit this website.

Image credit: Nadeen Kamel

The article Mo’ Blow Funks up Miri at Borneo Jazz 2013 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The long awaited Borneo Jazz 2013 has finally arrived. Running for the eighth time in a row, the festival has managed to attract countless visitors worldwide; many jazz enthusiasts come every year to appreciate and enjoy the various approaches to jazz displayed onstage. Like past Borneo Jazz concerts, the first day’s event was fantastic, with amazing performances by award winning bands. The general atmosphere was surreal with traditional bazaars, tasty food, and amazing lighting and sound systems. The location, ParkCity Everly Hotel, provided an enchanting environment, interacting with the masses through their senses: the smell of food, sight of nature, sound of music, and large screens situated in strategic locations to capture the amazing performances. This festival doesn’t just serve music enthusiasts; it is also an excellent getaway for family and friends who are looking for a relaxing way to spend their weekend.

The concert commenced with Sarawak’s very own West Jazz band. As the only local act, they managed to heighten up the mood by their performance, a mix of fusion funk. The lead singer, Lisa Chong, charmed the audience with her charisma and vocal talent. Overall, they managed to add a Malaysian touch to their music, making their performance unique and entertaining. The rest of the lineup included the amazing Lisa Young from Australia, the Grammy award winner Scott Martin Latin Soul band from the United States, and the legendary Nylons from Canada.

Escalating the mood, the Lisa Young quartet took the crowd on a journey of South Indian vocal percussion, ‘konnakol’. The band’s extremely appealing compositions left the masses breath taken. Lisa and her quartet’s song cycle ‘The Eternal Pulse’ left the audience wanting more. According to Lisa, ‘The Eternal Pulse’ “explores a diverse musical expression, layering Indian elements, rhythmic textures and ensemble dialogue, and varieties of meter and sub-division.” Lisa was truly phenomenal; her music is one of a kind, all about rhythmic control, something rare yet so beautiful. Her quartet features Stephen Magnusson on guitar, Ben Robertson on double bass, and Dave Beck on drums.

All the way from California, the Scott Martin Latin Soul Band took the crowd by storm with their Latin jazz soul mix performance. The band of 10 years played magnificently; they even performed a song they had recently written along with a couple of tracks from their upcoming album. To please the crowd, the Scott Martin Latin Soul band members announced that they are planning to name their latest song as either Malaysian Mambo or Miri Malaysian Mambo. Their music was harmonically rich, appreciated by all at the scene. Young fans described their performance as “fun and adventurous.”

Finally, the legendary Nylons, the last act of the evening, dazzled the crowd with their beautiful vocal harmonies, wonderful humor, and feel good songs. Among the songs they performed were “Work,” “Dream,” a cover of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, “Happy Together” and the most loved “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Along the years, members changed, leaving Claude Morrison as the only original member. Though he may not be as young, he is the perkiest singer in the band. The quartet also includes Tyrone Gabriel, Garth Mosbaugh and Gavin Hope. The Nylons instantly connected with crowd; they were adored by people of all ages, and even kids danced to their music. The band’s creativity was astonishing. They collaborated with Lisa Young, intensifying the excitement of the crowd. Up until the very end, the mesmerized audience was not quite ready to say goodbye.

Coming up next is a recap of Borneo Jazz 2013 Day 2, featuring Jump4Joy from Sweden, Hazmat Modine from the United States, Mo’Blow from Germany, and the Asian Jazz All-Stars Power Quartet from Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand.

Image credit: Yasmin Pascual Khalil //Toonari Post

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There are quite a few different genres being released this month from Platformers to Racing games. If you are interested in having a game for a specific system, or simply want a game remade such as “Donkey Kong Returns 3D” or “Resident Evil: Revelations,” then this is a great month for you.

RPG

(5/7 Tuesday) “Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut” (Wii U)

(5/22 Wednesday) “The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing” (PC)

“Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut” is the extended cut of the cyberpunk role-playing game exclusively for the Wii U. The game will feature a new augmentation, the Neural Hub, using the Wii U’s Gamepad. This expansion also includes two new levels.

“The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing” is a game based on the tribunals of young Van Helsing, son of the monster hunter Abraham Van Helsing from the novel Dracula. The setting of the game is in gothic-noir 19th-century Eastern Europe with monsters, magic, and strange technology.

Platformer

(5/9 Thursday) “Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move” (Nintendo 3DS)

(5/24 Thursday) “Donkey Kong Returns 3D” (Nintendo 3DS)

“Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move” is a puzzle game and the fifth game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. The game will have the player placing blocks on a board to make a path for the Minis (small Mario-like robots) so they can reach the goal in every level. There will be at least 180 levels in all.

“Donkey Kong Returns 3D” is the remake of the Wii game “Donkey Kong Returns.” The game has been optimized for portability on the Nintendo 3DS and features layered side-scrolling levels that come to life with the 3D capabilities. Eight new levels have been added in the Golden Temple as well as a new mode for an easy on-the-go play.

Action

(5/14 Tuesday) “Dust 514″ (PlayStation 3)

(5/14 Tuesday) “Metro: Last Light” (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

(5/21 Tuesday) “Resident Evil: Revelations” (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC)

(5/28 Tuesday) “Fuse” (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

“Dust 514” is a game that takes place in New Eden and is directly connected to the MMORPG “Eve Online.” In fact, actions in one game will affect the political and economic status in the player’s other game. The player will be able to customize various aspects such as skills and specialize their roles and tactics on the battlefield. Though the game doesn’t have a single-player campaign, there will be a survival game mode which will pit players against A.I. controlled drones.

“Metro: Last Light” is a first-person shooter set in the post-apocalyptic world and is the sequel to “Metro 2033.” The game is meant to be a story-driven experience and will have the player fight with exotic man-made weapons. The player will fight against both human and mutant enemies. The game is designed to be an immersing atmosphere.

“Resident Evil: Revelations” is a port of  the game of the same name that had been previously been exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS. The game returns to the survival horror gameplay such as a limited supply of ammunition and more emphasis on puzzle solving and exploration that has been missing from the newest installments. The game will be ported to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC.  

“Fuse” is a four-player cooperative game set in the near future, where a team of four misfit agents must team-up to stop an evil corporation from getting an alien substance called Fuse. Each character will have their own Fuse-powered weapon that will serve different purposes throughout the gameplay. Each character will also have their own skill tree, which will allow the player to upgrade each level.

Racing

(5/21 Tuesday) “Fast & Furious: Showdown” (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PC)

(5/28 Tuesday) “Grid 2″ (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

“Fast & Furious: Showdown” is a cooperative racing game and will tie into the events of the sixth movie. The game will also bridge the events between each film in the franchise.

“Grid 2” an upcoming racing game and the sequel to “Race Driver: Grid.” The game will feature various real world locations such as Paris and the U.S., as well as vehicles from four different decades.

Image credit: The Incredible Adventure of Van Helsing via Facebook

The article May Game Releases for 2013 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

George Jones’ had risen from a talented youngster performing on the street corner with his father to a superstar climbing the Top Ten charts in the 50′s. But soon his personal and professional life took a turn for the worse and was headed to a downward spiral in the 60′s and 70′s. It wasn’t until the 80′s with help from his fourth wife Nancy Sepulvada that Jones got back on track both in his life and with his music.  Remembering George Jones comes to a conclusion with his comeback and final years.

The 80’s

Musically, Jones began making a comeback in 1980 with a Top Ten duet with Tammy Wynette, “Two Story House,” early in the year. However, the song that pushed him back to the top of the charts was the dramatic ballad “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” The song hit number one and started a new series of Top Ten hits and number one singles that ran through 1986. They were so successful it rivaled the peak of his popularity in the ’60s. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” was followed by the Top Ten hit “I’m Not Ready Yet” and the album ‘I Am What I Am’ in the fall of the 1980, which became his most successful album, going platinum.

From 1981-83, Jones had eight Top Ten hits. Although he was having hits again, he was still struggling with his personal demons. Jones was going on crazed, intoxicated rampages, which culminated with a televised police chase of Jones, who was driving drunk through the streets of Nashville. With the help of his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvada, whom he had married in March 1983, he was able to shake his drug and alcohol addictions. By the end of the year he had completed his rehabilitation.

Jones continued to have hits on the Top Ten regularly until 1987, when the onset of newer artists dominated and kept Jones’ music off the charts. Interestingly, these same artists were heavily influenced by Jones himself. In 1987 Jones and his wife moved back to Nashville where he recorded his final album with Billy Sherrill in 1988 titled ‘One Woman Man’. This album was Jones’ final solo Top Ten hit as well as his last record for Epic Records.

The 90’s

Despite no longer having a huge presence on modern country radio in 1990’s, Jones continued to record and tour. After the release of ‘One Woman Man’, Jones recorded a duet with Randy Travis, “A Few Ole Country Boys,” that was a Top Ten hit in the fall of 1990. Jones had signed with MCA and released his first record for them in 1991 titled ‘And Along Came Jones’. In 1995, he reunited with his ex-wife Wynette to record ‘One’. In April of 1996, Jones published his autobiography, I Lived to Tell It All. In the book, he devoted a full chapter to the changes in the country music scene of the 1990′s. In his later years Jones was also very vocal about his disappointment for the direction country music has taken in the last two decades. In 1998, he released another studio album titled ‘It Don’t Get Any Better Than This’.

Final Years

Following the release of ‘It Don’t Get Any Better Than This’, Jones left MCA and moved to Elektra/Asylum, who signed him on the condition that he would record hardcore country music.

While Jones was completing work for his debut album for the label, he crashed his car into a bridge in Nashville on March 6, 1999. Though he was critically injured, he pulled through and recovered. However, the investigation revealed that Jones had been drinking and driving. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, DWI, and entered a rehab program.  The release of his debut album, ‘Cold Hard Truth’, went on as scheduled in the summer of 1999. He then went on to release the albums ‘The Rock: Stone Cold Country’ in 2001 and in 2005 ‘Hits I Missed…And One I Didn’t', which found Jones looking back over the years and picking songs that he originally declined to record, but were hits for the other artists. On the record, he recorded a duet with Dolly Parton titled “The Blues Man.” In 2006 he released the album ‘God’s Country: George Jones and Friends’. His final album was released by Vanguard Records in 2008 titled ‘Burning Your Playhouse Down’.

Jones has received many honors during his long career, from Most Promising New Country Vocalist in 1956 to being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and being named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2008. In 2012, he was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. At the ceremony, his longtime friend Merle Haggard paid tribute to him. His many awards include Billboards, Grammys and CMA’s.

In popular view, George Jones was the finest vocalist in the recorded history of country music. He started out as a hardcore honky tonker in the tradition of his idol Hank Williams and developed effective subtle ballad style while staying closer to the roots of hardcore country. Throughout his career, he never left the top of the country charts and overcame his personal struggles. Many others have paid tribute to Jones while expressing their love and respect for his legacy. George was a true country legend who paved the way for many country stars’ success.  He will always be remembered by music fans.

Image credit: George Jones via Facebook

The article Remembering George Jones Part III: The Comeback & Final Years appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In Part 1, we discussed the world of “BioShock Infinite” and gameplay. In Part 2 we will go deeper into the atmosphere of Columbia.

A highlight of the gameplay is the use of Columbia’s Sky-Line. The Sky-Line is the rail in which the city uses to transport goods throughout the city. Booker can use a Sky-Hook to get around the city as well as be used as a melee weapon that can snap enemies’ necks, cut them open or decapitate them. Enemies can also be pounced upon from the Sky-Line, which is pretty intense. Riding the Sky-Line is just as intense an experience; it feels as though you are on a roller coaster.

The enemies you will encounter throughout “BioShock Infinite” are varied, but not as iconic as the enemies of the first “BioShock.” There are the basic enemies which consist of the men and women on both sides of Comstock’s army and the Vox Populi that use guns, cannons and flying ships. However, the Heavy Hitters are the boss-like enemies that Irrational Games and Ken Levine have spoken at length about in several videos while “BioShock Infinite” was still in development. They have changed immensely from their initial debuts, but their impact to the gameplay was severely over-stated.

In addition, the fabled 1999 mode that was spoken so highly of is simply just a mode more difficult than the hard difficulty. The enemies are exactly the same except that they do more damage and when you die, the game takes away even more money from you. If you do not have enough money to regenerate, then it is game over.

Visually “BioShock Infinite” is gorgeous. The detail that was placed into every part of Columbia is immense. When looking from the city, you can see off into the horizon and it feels crisp, clean and fresh. This almost serene picture is juxtaposed against the crumbling society of Columbia, which makes it all the more eerie. Try having Booker stand still for a minute and during that time, you will see the city drift up and down almost as if it is breathing.

Elizabeth, Booker, Comstock, Daisy Fitzroy and the scientist behind why Columbia floats, Lutece, have their own backstories for you to discover. The story line is one of the greatest stories of the video game scene today and is something that will require much thought after being completed. Numerous gaming sites have had discussions as to what the ending means for the characters and the debate that has come out of “BioShock Infinite” alone make it worth playing. Each player can walk away with a different interpretation and are willing to share that perception with other people.

Gary Schyman has returned to score “BioShock Infinite.” His talents were used in both “BioShock” one and two and are crucial to the atmosphere of Columbia. The soundtrack of “BioShock Infinite” was given within the premium edition as well as the Ultimate Songbird Edition, but unfortunately according to Irrational Games’ “BioShock Infinite” frequently asked questions, they “currently have no plans to sell the soundtrack.” The score evokes emotion in tense places where appropriate, while not being overbearing. Moreover, the score does inject a sense of  danger in combat situations that only add to the urgency of Booker’s situation to the gameplay.

Altogether, “BioShock Infinite” delivers an experience unlike any other game currently on the market. It does not take the player as a fool, it will not spoon feed you any answers. You will have to pay attention to every detail found within the game in order to truly grasp the meaning behind the incredible ending. This may mean that “BioShock Infinite” will be a miss for gamers that typically are not familiar with the franchise. This is not a game for players who just want to whizz by Voxophones and environmental queues.

Rating – 5/5: If you put in the hours, “BioShock” is an extremely rewarding game with an intriguing story that will stick with you for a long time even after you have finished it. It will make you want to discuss it and understand it. “BioShock Infinite” is not just a game, it is an experience. For this complete package and long lasting impact with a lot of depth, “BioShock Infinite” deserves the praise and accolades.

Image credit: Bioshockinfinite.com

The article A City in the Sky: “BioShock Infinite” Reviewed Part 2 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In the previous article, the early years of country music artist George Jones were discussed. Jones’ star was rising rapidly; however, his career and his personal life took a tumultuous turn during the 60′s and the 70′s, and his numerous difficulties are discussed below.

The 60s

In the sixties, Jones had a number of hits which included “Achin’, Breakin’ Heart”  in 1962. This would be his last hit for Mercury Records, as Daily became a staff producer for United Artists Records (UA) in 1962 and Jones followed him to the label. His third number one hit was his first single for UA, “She Thinks I Still Care.” In 1963, Jones began performing and recording with Melba Montgomery and their first duet, “We Must Have Been out of Our Minds,” was their biggest hit, peaking at number three. They continued to record together throughout 1963-64 and in 1966-67, though they never again had a Top Ten Hit.

In his solo work, Jones had a number of hits in 1963 and 1964, peaking with the third hit “The Race Is On” in the fall of 1964. The next year, Daily had Jones move to the new record label Musicor. His first hit single for Musicor, “Things Have Gone to Pieces,” was in the spring of 1965. Between 1965 and 1970, he had 17 Top Ten hits for Musicor. During his five years at the label, Jones recorded almost 300 songs. Among them were first-rate songs that included country classics like “Love Bug,” “Walk Through This World With Me,” and “A Good Year for the Roses.”

Like any artist, Jones also recorded mediocre material as he made some records that were genuine tributes or experiments. He also tried to fit into contemporary country styles, such as the Bakersfield sound, and many of his attempts did not result in hits. However, he consistently charted the Top Ten with his singles, if not with his albums. And only two, his 1965 duet George Jones & Gene Pitney and 1969′s “I’ll Share My World With You,” charted.

The 70’s

In the 70’s, Jones parted ways with Musicor and Daily. In the process he signed away all the rights to his Musicor recordings. The label continued to release Jones’ albums for a couple of years, and licensed recordings to RCA, who released two singles and a series of budget-priced albums in the early ’70s. In October 1971, Jones signed with Epic Records. This year was a busy year for the singer as he and Tammy Wynette became the biggest stars in country music, racking up a number of Top Ten hits as solo artists and sold out concerts across the country as a duo.

At the end of the year, he cut his first records for Epic and began working with his new producer Billy Sherrill, who was also responsible for Wynette’s hit albums. At first, Jones and Sherrill had a tense relationship as Sherrill was known for his lush, string-laden productions and his precise, aggressive approach in the studio. Under his direction, musicians were there to obey his orders and that included the singers as well. Jones had been accustomed to the relaxed style of Daily, who was the polar opposite of Sherrill. Eventually the men developed a positive working relationship and because of the that, Jones became an official ballad singer.

Jones’ successful career at Epic started in 1972. His first solo single for the label, “We Can Make It,” was a celebration of Jones’ marriage to Wynette, and was written by Sherrill and Glenn Sutton. “The Ceremony,” Jones and Wynette’s, also became a Top Ten hit. “Loving You Could Never Be Better” followed its predecessors into the Top Ten at the end of the year. Though Jones’ music career was making even more gains, his personal life wasn’t. His marriage to Wynette had become an interest to their fans, and privately the couple had problems. They fought frequently and Jones was sinking deep into alcoholism and drug abuse, which escalated as the couple continued to tour together. In August of 1973, Wynette filed for divorce. Shortly after she filed the papers, the couple decided to reconcile and her petition was withdrawn. However in 1975, the couple divorced.

Throughout this time, Jones’ music continued to be a success. In 1973, every single that Jones released was in the Top Ten. He and Wynette also had a number one single titled  ”We’re Gonna Hold On.” In the summer of 1974, Jones had his first number one hit since “Walk Through This World With Me” called “The Grand Tour,” a song that described a realistic picture of a broken marriage. He followed it with another number one hit, “The Door.” Not long after its release, he recorded “These Days (I Barely Get By),” which featured lyrics co-written by Wynette.

Soon enough, Jones began to have trouble musically. Between 1975 and the beginning of 1980, he had only two Top Ten solo hits — “These Days (I Barely Get By)” (1975) and “Her Name Is” (1976). Though divorced, Jones and Wynette continued to record and tour together, and that is where he stacked up hits, beginning with the back-to-back 1976 number ones, “Golden Ring” and “Near You.” The decrease in hits was a direct result of the downward spiral in Jones’ health in the late ’70s, when he became addicted not only to alcohol, but to cocaine as well. Jones became notorious for his drunken, intoxicated rampages, often involving both drugs and shotguns. Jones would disappear for days at a time. He began missing a substantial amount of concerts — in 1979 alone, he missed 54 shows — which earned him the nickname “No-Show Jones.” In her 1979 autobiography Stand By Your Man, Wynette recalled waking at 1 AM to find her husband gone:

“I got into the car and drove to the nearest bar 10 miles away. When I pulled into the parking lot there sat our rider-mower right by the entrance. He’d driven that mower right down a main highway. He looked up and saw me and said, ‘Well, fellas, here she is now. My little wife, I told you she’d come after me.”

Flirting with rock & roll, Jones’ career began to pick up in 1978, when he covered Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” with Johnny Paycheck and recorded a duet with James Taylor called “Bartender’s Blues.” Both singles went Top Ten and led to an album of duets, ‘My Very Special Guests,’ in 1979. Though the album was set to be a return to the top of the charts for Jones, he was absent from the scheduled recording sessions and had to overdub his vocals after his partners recorded theirs. His self-destructive behavior brought him close to death, and doctors told the singer he had to quit drinking. Jones checked into a rehab clinic but left after a month, uncured. He was also in an Alabama psychiatric hospital by the end of the decade. Due to his cocaine addiction, his weight had fallen from 150 pounds to a mere 100. He was often penniless and admits that Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash came to his financial aid during this time.

Part three discusses how he overcame these obstacles and regained his momentum on the charts and his later years.

Image credit: George Jones via Facebook

The article Remembering George Jones Part II: The Tumultuous ’60s & ’70s appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

“Dishonored” is back with its latest storyline-expanding DLC pack: “The Knife of Dunwall.” The story has you in the role of Daud, the master assassin that murdered the Empress in the main story. However, it seems as though even after making a career of mindlessly assassinating people, Daud actually feels remorse after killing the Empress. The Outsider appears to Daud and tells him that his “story is coming to an end.” The Outsider tells Daud to seek out a person named Delilah.

As Daud, the player is given unique abilities such as the ability to summon assassins to aid him in combat and to imbue his comrades with his abilities. A familiar power, Blink, is still available but very much improved. You can now freeze time at the very top of a jump and plant your next move within that time. Rat Swarm and Possession are not part of Daud’s repertoire, but he makes up for this by having unique weapons such as the Chokedust, which, when thrown, explodes into a cloud of poison which chokes the enemy and allows you to either take the offensive or disappear into hiding. As the leader of the assassins, Daud also has the choice of buying information from informants such as safe codes, whale oil tanks, or even bone charms.

Even though it is only three levels long, The Knife of Dunwall does give the player valuable insight into a very intriguing character. We did not get to uncover much about him during the main story, so it is interesting to hear his thoughts about certain events and how he works as the leader of his band of assassins. In addition, the horrific practices of the whaling industry are shown, which is as interesting as it is repulsive. Enemies within the whaling factory are armed with immense flesh rending saws which can shoot metal at long range.

Each level has multiple ways of tackling it, in true “Dishonored” fashion. Multiple routes provide you with ways of completing a level with low chaos or high chaos. Being an assassin, it may not seem to make sense to leave everyone alive but in order to remain undetected low chaos is essential.

“The Knife of Dunwall” is part one of Daud’s story, and yet it feels like an unfinished game. The DLC is more of “Dishonored’s” great gameplay but the story is mediocre. The end of this episode delivers a watered down twist that is obvious from the beginning.

Rating- 3.8 out of 5 . If anything you should buy this DLC if you crave more “Dishonored” gameplay featuring Daud, wish to know more about the horrific whaling industry or just to see a little more of the enigmatic Outsider. If “The Knife of Dunwall” had been released as a whole, it might have felt more satisfying to play and spend money on. Part two of the DLC (“The Brigmore Witches”) has yet to receive a release date or price. “The Knife of Dunwall” is available on Steam ($9.99 USD), PlayStation 3 ($9.99 USD) and Xbox 360 (800 Microsoft Points).

Image credit: Dishonored via Facebook

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On April 26, 2013, American country music star George Jones passed away at the age of 81. During his lifetime he was known for his numerous hits and his distinctive voice. He had more than 150 solo and duet hits during his career, and was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer during the last twenty years of his life. In writing about Jones, country music scholar Bill C. Malone wrote, “For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved.”  In his song “It’s Alright,” Waylon Jennings sang: “If we all could sound like we wanted to, we’d all sound like George Jones.” Jones’ astounding career wasn’t without its countless personal and professional difficulties, but he overcame many of them towards the end of his life.

Early Years

Born in Saratoga, Texas, and raised in Vidor, Texas, along with his brother and seven sisters, he heard country music for the first time at the age of seven after his parents purchased a radio. When he was nine he was given a guitar and he was hooked and soon playing on the streets of Beaumont with his father earning some spare change. When he was sixteen, he left home for Jasper, TX where he performed at a local radio station. In 1950, at the age of nineteen, he married his first wife Dorothy but within a year the couple divorced. In 1951, Jones enlisted in the Marines as the Korean War was underway, and never served overseas as he was stationed in California for his entire service. When he was discharged, Jones began performing again and this is when his music career took off.

The 50’s

Record producer and co-owner of a local Texas label Starday Records, Pappy Daily, discovered Jones and signed him to the label in 1953. Jones’ first single “No Money In This Deal” was released in early 1954 to little attention. Three more of Jones’ singles were released by the label that same year and all were ignored. Jones’ first hit came late in the summer of 1955. Titled “Why, Baby, Why,” it peaked at number four on the country charts, but never gained momentum, as it was halted by a cover version by Webb Pierce and Red Sovine which hit number one.

Despite these setbacks, Jones was on his way as he was secured a spot by Daily on the Louisiana Hayride where he co-billed with Elvis Presley. In 1956 Jones’ songs were regularly featured on the Top Ten. Among them were “What Am I Worth” and “Just One More.” In August, Jones joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry and his first album appeared by the end of the year.

Jones’ records began appearing under a new label in 1957 as Starday Records had signed a distribution deal with Mercury Records. He began recording in Nashville and his first single under the new label “Don’t Stop the Music” was a Top Ten hit.  Throughout 1958, his songs were landing near the top of the charts, culminating with “White Lightning,” which spent five weeks at number one in the spring of 1959. Two years later, his next big hit “Tender Years” arrived and stayed for seven weeks at number one. This hit pointed the way toward Jones’ later success as a singer of ballads, since the song displayed a smoother production and larger arrangement than his previous hits.

Read more about George Jones’ struggle and success in part two and part three.

Image credit: George Jones via Facebook

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“BioShock Infinite” has delivered. After five years of speculation and doubt surrounding the project, the game has surpassed the expectations set for it. Irrational Games, 2k games and creative director Ken Levine have given gamers an ambitious labor of love and thought that has brought the “BioShock” franchise out of the stagnation of limbo and into paradise. Gamers, in Ken Levine we trust.

With that said, the story of “BioShock Infinite” begins simply. Booker Dewitt has problems. An ex-Pinkerton agent with nothing left to hang onto has received a last chance to clear his debt. The task is stated in simple terms:  “Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt.”

However, this is no easy task. The girl, Elizabeth, is kept hidden away in a literal city in the sky, Columbia. Booker must get to Columbia and get Elizabeth to New York unharmed. Booker must also bypass the conflict between Comstock and the Vox Populi. The Vox’s leader, Daisy Fitzroy, aims to change the hierarchy of Columbia and will do anything to make sure Comstock falls.

The world of Columbia is bright and spacious for a city that’s floating in the air. The people of Columbia are set in their nationalistic, religious and racist ideals. They follow their leader, Zachary Comstock, with unwavering devotion even among the trouble that’s brewing with the Vox Populi. All over Columbia there are propaganda ads that let you know how the citizens are to feel about the Vox Populi among other racially charged messages.

Gameplay wise, “BioShock Infinite” delivers more of the same to players who are familiar with the franchise. The Vigors (super powers) are on Booker’s left while the guns are on his right. You switch between each or focus on one over the other depending on your playing style. You can upgrade both guns and Vigors through vending machines.

And while the Vigors are inventive and include some new twists on old favorites, such as electro bolt and incinerate, but are lacking in relation to the plot. In the first “BioShock,” the Plasmids (powers) were involved in Rapture’s evolving genetics race and the citizens purchased them to protect themselves during the war. In Columbia there is no real explanation as to why Vigors are needed by anyone. They’re more of a novelty to Columbians, with only the Vox or the Founders consuming them.

The gameplay of “BioShock Infinite” sets itself apart from its previous iterations through Elizabeth. She gives you anything that you need to assist you in the heat of combat. Too focused on fighting with a group of enemies that your Salts (a liquid that allows you to use Vigors) become dangerously low? Elizabeth will throw a bottle your way. Get yourself backed into a corner with low health? No problem, Elizabeth will throw you some health. She will even find you ammo for the gun you are currently employing.

Elizabeth’s powers are an asset to Booker as well from an offensive standpoint. She can bring objects through Tears (doors through time and space) whether they be a turret, cover or a weapon to aid in combat. With Elizabeth at your side, you are almost invincible.

Outside of combat, the game play is evident to a “BioShock” fan. Get ready to root through tons of desks, trashcans, crates, boxes, and corners. Elizabeth is vital to searching for items such as ammo, health, Salts and most importantly Voxophones (diaries of the citizens). Moreover, Elizabeth’s perk is that she can lock pick doors for you. She will point out lock picks in the environment as well as Voxophones. She will even give you money when she finds it, which is immensely helpful if you want to upgrade your weapons and Vigors.

The downside of Elizabeth scavenging with you is that she will point out objects in the environment which will glow briefly. If you do not look immediately, the glow will disappear and you will miss out on whatever she found. Also, you can only hold thirty lock picks at a time, but Elizabeth will still point them out to you even though you cannot pick up anymore.

In Part 2, we will delve more into the gameplay and the atmosphere of “Bioshock Infinite.”

Image credit: Bioshockinfinity.com

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With the arrival of the summer season, music events are exploding around the globe. An interesting one is the Citadel Music Festival, taking place in Berlin, Germany. Do not be confused by the word “festival,” expecting a 4 days event with loads of bands performing one after the other. This music event, organized by Trinity Music GmbH, spreads over about three months of genuine appreciation for the art of music. Kicking off on June 5 with the performance by historical band Toto, the festival will close the curtain on August 30 with Xavas.

Citadel Music Festival takes place at the Spandau Citadel, a Renaissance fortress, located on an island created by the meeting of the rivers Havel and Spree. The Citadel is a beautiful open air location with the ability to contain a large number of participants while offering a dreamy setting to enjoy the soul of music. A variety of genres and styles are covered by the festival, including world fusion, trip hop, classic rock, alternative and proto-punk.

Acts such as Portishead, ZZ Top, and 30 Seconds to Mars will perform in this beautiful location. Queens of the Stone Age will be there on June 22 promoting their upcoming work ‘…Like Clockwork,’ the band’s sixth studio album due on June 3. Tenacious D will offer the city a performance of its funny rock, whose ironic lyrics accompany a strong and serious sound. One of the most intriguing performances offered by the musical event is surely the Iggy and The Stooges concert. The band has recently released a new album ‘Ready to Die,’ the first one seeing Iggy Pop and James Williamson collaborate on the composition of tracks after the glorious ‘Raw Power’ album, released in 1973 and held responsible for the birth of punk rock.

Iggy and The Stooges are well known for offering one of the best live shows in the current music scene. In spite of his age, Iggy Pop does not seem to feel any need to change his approach to the stage, nor do the great Mike Watt, Steve Mackay, Scott Asheton, and James Williamson who together with the Iguana create a magical atmosphere during the concert, able to kidnap the audience and bring it to the roots of rock. They create a powerful and honest experience, which merges raw sentiments, strong energy, simplicity and perfect execution, giving birth to an astonishing performance. A concert by Iggy and The Stooges is an experience which goes beyond words, and a must see for anybody who wants to fully live music instead of just listening to it. The graceful setting of the Spandau Citadel will serve as the perfect stage for such a glorious event.

The Citadel Music Festival is used to big names playing its stage: Patty Smith, Billy Idol, Marilyn Manson and many more played there, giving this festival great relevance in the scene. With eighteen concerts spanned over three months, picking among several music genres, this year the Citadel Music Festival gives once again everybody a chance to take a leap into one’s favorite kind of music. For the complete line-up click here.

Image credit: Citadelmusicfestival.de

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For jazz lovers, jazz musicians and jazz musician lovers, April 30 was declared “The international jazz day.“  

Jazz music has been bringing people together in harmony for more than a century, starting with the “Blue Note” that served as a relief from slavery, pain and grief, sung and played by the workers brought from Africa to work in America and Europe as slaves. What was better than music to release the soul?

A great Classic jazz piece by the Great Saxophonist John Coltrane (1961)

Jazz music still serves its purpose by bringing people together. While most have forgotten its origins and the true meaning of freedom in jazz music, it is still popularly celebrated, played and heard by a large portion of the world’s population.

Ragtime, Bebop, Swing, Blues,  Afro, Funk, Latin and Soul are just some of the names that jazz music has evolved and sub-categorized into over the generations. We come not even one step closer to knowing what jazz music really is, well lets just say that  jazz music is any music that can not be properly categorized, played in odd times and loaded with improvisations, and sounds good.

Jazz taking new shapes through Miles Davis

Though jazz music can not be properly identified, playing it has its rules, and listening to it has its feels, in a jazz music sheet the most significant bar is the empty bar where nothing is written, but a lot is played by the musician, and that introduces the most famous  element in jazz which is  improvisation. Jazz music has only become famous after slaves rose above slavery and slavery was no longer in the western culture and only then the African Americans freed who gained their freedom has started to have the right to have their own jobs.where a big portion went working in pubs and casinos in the entertaining business, and every night after everyone is gone and the chairs were empty those entertainers and musicians would come together with no prior preparation and lay down what may some would think “the best music they have heard”. And that was the beginning of Jazz music as an official genre, all based on the ability to improvise, carrying the meaning to present freedom through music and the ability to improvise by the feeling.

(Herbie Hancock with ” Watermelon Man,” Observe Improvisation live on stage)

Since around the 1860s, the Jazz music scene was built by musicians who are now immortalized due to their massive contribution in laying a practical, theoretical and a historical foundation to jazz music. Musicians who have conquered the world, and they are not only remembered on international jazz day, but every day where jazz music is being played.

Below is a list of a very few of many that forever influenced jazz music:

- Edward Kennedy (1899–1974) a.k.a Duke Ellington, a.k.a The Duke, who composed more than 1000 jazz pieces, also famous for being America’s greatest composer (Pianist).

- Louis Armstrong (1901–1971) a.k.a. Satchel-mouth, one of the most influential trumpeters and vocalists of all jazz’s life time.

- Benny Goodman (1909–1986) a.k.a the King of swing music.

- Charlie Parker (1920-1955) a.k.a The Yardbird, the Saxophonist that all saxophonists look up to.

- Miles Davis (1926-1991), The trumpeter and the nominated creator of Contemporary Jazz.

- Buddy Rich (1917 -1987), once known as “The World’s Greatest Drummer,” famous for his speed, power and playing with big bands.

- Herbie Hanock (1940-Present), A.K.A The Ambassador, Master of the Head Hunters and one of the best jazz pianists, composers and band leader alive today.

The list goes on and on, as every name is a piece of the puzzle that is jazz music.And so, Jazz of the past and the present shall be internationally celebrated annually on April 30 by some and every single day by others. For Jazz music is a story with infinite chapters and an unpredictable journey, translated into all languages.

The International Jazz Day Full Concert Presented By The Genius Herbie Hancock on April 30th 2013  in Istanbul,Turkey:

Image credit: Jazzday.com

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Borneo Jazz 2013 will see a fresh set of explosive acts that makes it the most anticipated Borneo Jazz festival to date. With notable names such as The Nylons, Jump 4 Joy, Lisa Young Quartet and Mo’ Blow, to name a few, festival goers can expect a weekend full of swing, groove and musicality.

As a preview, let’s look at one of the groups that will be gracing the stage this 11 May: Mo’ Blow.

Mo’ Blow hails from Germany; a young, energetic group that would make the first-time listener an instant follower. Listening to their groovy tunes will get you moving along to their rhythm. With piece titles such as “Ricky the Lobster,” “Coke & Baked Beans” and “How Jules got his Cool Back,” you sort of get that nonchalant, casual connotation, and when coupled with listening to the actual melodies played out, there you have Mo’ Blow; a quintessential group with dynamic music to play.

“That’s groovy Jazz-Funk of the very best kind, intelligent and moving, yet with a generous helping of fun and great good humor.” – Norddeutsche Neuste Nachrichten, Germany.

For a young group, Mo’ Blow have done themselves proud; getting lavish praise from places such as Germany, Russia, Netherlands and Croatia. Now, they are geared up for making their mark in South-East Asia, christening their maiden show in Borneo the ‘Gimme the Boots’ concert, in conjunction with the release of their latest album.

Along the way they have pocketed enviable awards as well. The Winner of Berliner Jazz & Blues Award, Winner of Future Sounds Award 2011 and Winner of ‘Jazz am see’ Award for best concert of 2011. Berliner Zeitung has endorsed them as “one of the hottest live bands.”

Founder Felix F. Falk plays saxophone and percussion, Matti Klein – electric piano, Tobias Fleischer on bass and André Seidel keeping the groove on the drums. These four certainly epitomize the meaning of detail and precision, without being bland or rigid.

Mo’ Blow is a big name you do not want to miss.

The full list of performers at Borneo Jazz 2013 is: West Jazz Band (Sarawak); Lisa Young Quartet (Australia); Scott Martin Latin Soul Band (USA); The Nylons (Canada); The Asian Jazz All Stars Power Quartet (Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan); Hazmat Modine (USA); Mo’ Blow (Germany); Jump 4 Joy (Sweden).

Borneo Jazz 2013 will be held at Park City Everly Hotel, Miri Sarawak from 10-11 May. Tickets are priced at RM 60 (USD 20) per day or RM100 (USD 33) for a 2-day pass. Children aged 3-12 years enter at half price. For more information, visit the Sarawak Tourism Board website.

Image credit: Moblow.de

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Troy Andrews, famous by the name of “Trombone Shorty,” is one of New Orleans’ current youngest and finest musicians. A professional musician, a trombonist and a band leader only by the age of six earned him his nick name Trombone Shorty. Troy was born on January 2, 1986 in the same city where jazz music was born, the great city New Orleans.

Troy Andrews as a child played in brass bands and through lots of music exposure since very young he has gained more than enough experience. By the time he reached age 24, his own and most successful album “Backatown” was nominated for a Grammy award for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2011.”

Trombone Shorty Playing with Wynton Marsalis at the Age of 13

Backatown was a great success for Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue. It was produced by Ben Ellman, Galactic’s own saxophonist. Galactic is known to be one of the top funk and fusion bands world wide; where also Trombone Shorty has played, recorded and performed live with them for several times, which is also a great achievement of his. Andrew’s music in general features a very powerful contemporary style jazz, that is full of energy and surprises along the way, he himself said” “We never sat down and really thought about concepts and what we wanted our music to sound like,” Andrew continued “It’s just that, over the years, we allowed each one of the band members to bring their influences and taste in music into our music. Anything we hear or are influenced by, it naturally comes out in what we’re trying to do. It’s just our sound, and it happened naturally.” In this special kind of  jazz music the perfect combination for it being jazz music full of improvisation and at the same time representing different personalities and genres into one musical piece, is what makes it sound different and unique than for example standard jazz, in the world of contemporary jazz one can just never know what to expect, and Trombone Shorty and the Orleans Avenue are a good demonstrates of such music.

Trombone Shorty Playing one of his tracks from “Backatown” 2011 (Observe Breathing Circulation Technique On The Trumpet)

Troy is always on the move with Orleans Avenue, touring the world with their energetic music. Troy on stage tends to have an outstanding stage presence and performance, that has a very passionate expression, filled with energetic love of music, and regularly he always urges to push it to the limit every single show, Trombone Shorty could one day be the new Miles Davis with his passion but on the trombone, though Troy is also a master of the trumpet and often uses it in a fair number of his songs. 

Troy so far has recorded 8 studio albums, the latest being “For True” that was released in 2011 and the first entitled “Trombone Shorty’s Swingin’ Gate” released in 2002, but his album “Backatown” still remains his most successful record.

One would have not expected less from a young musician born, raised and influenced by the amazing music sounds of New Orleans, the great city that still continues to produce outstanding jazz musicians, and prove to the generations of the present and the future that jazz music did not die after Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong or many others and the jazz music legacy continues on and it will live on to take new shapes into each generation.

Image credit: Laura Carbone via Tromboneshorty.com

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After bursting onto the indie rock scene in 2003 with their first album ‘Forever to Tell’, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs haven’t looked back as they electrified fans with their sophomore album ‘Show Your Bones’ in 2006 and then came back in two years later with their ‘Is Is’ EP. In 2009 the band debuted a new sound with the album ‘It’s Blitz!’, and now they are back with their fourth studio album titled ‘Mosquito’. However, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ experimental new sounds have split fans down the middle where people either love it or hate it to such a degree, that even the cover of the album itself has caused controversy. Some fans and critics have dubbed the cover the worst of 2013.

Cover aside, the album has done well on the charts. Released on April 16, ‘Mosquito’ entered the Billboard 200 at number five with 38,000 copies sold in its first week, earning the band their first top ten album on the chart. The album debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 9,150 copies, becoming the band’s third consecutive top ten album.

Compared to their previous albums, ‘Mosquito’ is a characteristic composition with a highlight on songs that experiment with the bizarre. At first listen, most of the songs grab you and make you curious to come back again. The album starts off on a high note with “Sacrilege.” The first single make initial indications of a change in the band’s sound with gospel choirs thrown into the mix at the end, creating a somewhat dramatic ending that the song did not need. Likewise, “Subway” was not in itself a bad song, it was just hard to get through, as it was too long and boring as it dragged on.

The rest of the album makes listening to “Subway” worth the trouble as it continues the liveliness and diversity that “Sacrilege” makes a start at. Most memorable are “Mosquito,” where the band appears to be having fun, and “Area 52″ whose comedic lyrics make for some hints of self-parody. The James Murphy-produced track “Buried Alive” with a guest chorus from Dr. Octagon, a fictional character created by rapper Kool Keith, fits perfectly with the rest of the tracks, despite initial skepticism. “Always” is a romantic ballad with a sequel in the end track “Wedding Song,” rumoured to be the follow-up to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs now legendary love song, “Maps.” These songs provide the album with a strange sense of closeness and familiarity, as the backstory is that Karen O performed it at her wedding to Barney Clay.

Overall ‘Mosquito’ has a listenability that grows on you and gets better with every listen. Yeah Yeah Yeahs move through styles and textures and have managed to capture a sound with an appeal outside of its genre. The album is somewhat choppy though as it moves from song to song but the band’s creativeness minimizes the negative impact in our opinion. ‘Mosquito’ is bizarrely beautiful and eccentric and will continue to be a highly debated album among Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ fanbase.

Review verdict: 4/5

Image credit: Yeahyeahyeahs.com

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The highly anticipated new Iggy and The Stooges album ‘Ready to Die’, released on Fat Possum Records, arrived one week in advance, pleasingly surprising the tons of fans who were craving the new work of the Godfather of Punk and his band. The album will be officially released on April 30, but it is already available for streaming.

Many are doubtful when it comes to an old band reuniting or working on new material. The criticism of the old still doing what made it great is a characteristic of the current music scene. Iggy and The Stooges, with this new album, help to prove how wrong this attitude is. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Iggy Pop explained the simple, and yet admirable, reason why the band decided not to just ride the train of eternal self-celebration, benefiting from the timeless fame acquired by creating one of the most influential albums of all time, ‘Raw Power’. Iggy Pop stated “I didn’t do this expecting to make money out of it. It’s a lot of work, but I felt it was something that had to be done. This is my teenage dream, having a band that makes records and plays gigs. That’s still the glory of it, and I wanted to honor the institution and honor the group.”

So basically, being in a band should lead to music making. Well said Iggy, and well done. ‘Ready to Die’ does not disappoint those who were expecting some real rock ‘n’ roll to be on the plate. With songs written by Iggy Pop and James Williamson for the first time after ‘Raw Power’, the album is straightforward and raw; the listener does not face an overly-polished work, rather a lesson on how rock ‘n’ roll should be played. It has something that many, although luckily not all, rock albums are missing lately: it sounds real.

The album presents a powerful dynamic which, although classical, here works perfectly. It moves from louder and harder tracks, such as “Burn,” “Ready to Die” and “Dirty Deal,” to some delicate ballads and intimate songs, such as “The Departed,” dedicated to the late Ron Asheton. The lyrics are also very dynamic; Iggy Pop takes a close look at the world around, the “Unfriendly World,” as the title of one of the tracks suggests. There is the description and criticism of some of current society’s issues (“Gun”) and of people’s feelings. Some of the tracks present deeply involving and reflective lyrics, which help to create an intimacy with the band’s sonority. Iggy Pop mixes in this album his hard and punk attitude with his emotional side, towards which he definitively opened the gate for fans through his latest solo album ‘Après’. Some other lyrics are instead very simple and careless, stressing an easygoing attitude pertaining to part of the early punk movement, which presented not only a social condemnation approach, but also an irreverent and ironic one.

‘Ready to Die’ is a powerful and pleasant album which needs no comparison to ‘Raw Power‘ since it plays a very different role in the band’s career and in the current music scene. It is easy to listen to and captures the listener’s attention right away. Nevertheless, it is possible to grasp more and more at every listen. It is a record which gives a lot to those who listen with open ears and an open soul.

Well produced and appreciable by those loving rock ‘n’ roll, it is a strong statement of presence by a band which has made history. The renovation operated by Iggy and the Stooges in ’Ready to Die’ starts exactly from the band’s roots. Iggy and The Stooges do not present a completely new sound, but rather refresh the original one, transforming it in an adequate and relevant sonority for the present. With ‘Ready to Die’ Iggy and The Stooges take their past and make it meet with the present without cheating on themselves.

Rating: EXCELLENT 4.5/5

Image credit: Iggy And The Stooges via Facebook

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‘Oblivion’ won the box office in its opening weekend, with ticket sales worth approximately $38.2 million. Tom Cruise’s sci-fi thriller took in $13.3 million on opening day Friday and $14.9 million on the following day reported the Globe and Mail. The PG-13 movie is not Cruise’s first opening weekend gross of above $25 million; previously, ‘Minority Report’ brought in $35 million, ‘Interview With The Vampire’, $36 million, ‘Mission: Impossible’, $45 million, ‘Mission: Impossible II’, $57 million, ‘Mission: Impossible III’, $47 million, and ‘War Of The Worlds’, $64 million. Also in the Top 5 this week are: ’42′, ‘The Croods’, ‘Scary Movie V’, and ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’.

The adventure movie also stars Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Melissa Leo. It takes place in the year 2077, sixty years after an alien attack destroyed half of the moon, ruining Earth’s ability to support life. Cruise plays the main protagonist Jack Harper (Technician #49), who along with the communications officer Victoria, played by Riseborough, is among the very few humans to remain on the planet, with the rest of the survivors located at a massive space station called the Tet. Victoria maintains contact with Sally, her commander on the Tet, played by Melissa Leo to receive daily tasks. The storyline takes a turn for the worse once a spaceship, the Odyssey, crashes nearby and Jack discovers that drones were programmed to kill humans.

Coming in second at the box office was Brian Helgeland’s ’42′, a biographical sports drama about the life of baseball player Jackie Robinson. The biopic continued its successful run, bringing in $18 million this weekend with an overall domestic gross total of $54.1 million after two weeks in the box office. The number three slot was ‘The Croods’ with a $9.5 million gross, bringing its total to $154.9 million. ‘Scary Movie 5′ and ‘GI Joe: Retaliation’ are at numbers four and five respectively, while Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper’s latest film, ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ just missed the Top 5 after expanding nationwide from 514 theaters into 1,542 theaters. Approximate ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US theatres, according to Hollywood.com can be seen below. 

‘Oblivion’ is a great sci-fi film full of persuasive characters, dramatic tension, and a strong plot with a few unexpected twists. The movie’s director Joseph Kosinski (‘Tron: Legacy’) was successfully able to combine visual and narrative elements to produce an engaging yet emotional addition to the genre. The film opened in roughly 35 countries including France, Sweden, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, bringing in nearly $112 million worldwide. The head of distribution for Universal, Nikki Rocco said, “He’s a global star; people love Tom Cruise. If you put him in the right vehicle, they love him even better.”

Next weekend, the main competition for the top spot will be ‘Pain and Gain’ and ‘The Big Wedding’ just before Summer 2013 kicks off with ‘Iron Man 3′.

Image credit: Oblivion UK via Facebook

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The Nylons, an internationally-acclaimed Canadian a cappella quartet founded in 1978, will be performing for the first time at Borneo Jazz’s eighth edition in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. They are known for their energetic live shows, stunning harmonies, tight choreography, and fabulous showmanship, attracting audiences from all age groups. Fans in the past have described them as “thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining,” “fun, witty, and charming,” and “fantastic.”

Canada’s pop vocal group has an amazing sales record of more than 2 million copies, along with seven gold and six platinum recordings. The Nylons has performed over 1,000 concerts throughout Japan, Korea, China, Australia, Europe, Brazil, the United States, and Canada. They received several awards and accolades, such as a Tokyo Music Festival award and a Canadian Juno nomination for Best Jazz Vocal album in 2011.

The quartet, comprised of Tyrone Gabriel, Garth Mosbaugh, Claude Morrison, and Gavin Hope, are known for hits like “Kiss Him Goodbye,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and “Happy Together.” For the past 30 years, The Nylons has been the most beloved Canadian vocal quartet, with their first album becoming a Canadian platinum.

Also lined up to perform at the festival are: Lisa Young Quartet from Australia, Scott Martin Latin Soul Band from the United States, West Jazz Band from Malaysia, Jump4Joy from Sweden, Hazmat Modine from the United States, Mo’Blow from Germany, and the Asian Jazz All-Stars Power Quartet from Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Aside from the nightly performances, there will be stalls selling a wide variety of food, beverages, and souvenirs at the venue. Also, fringe events, comprised of a craft bazaar, will offer local craftsmen and artisans an opportunity to sell their merchandise.

This festival is not just about music, it is about experiencing culture and appreciating scenery. Borneo Jazz has attracted over 8,000 spectators last year and is anticipated to attract even more this year. The eighth edition of Borneo Jazz, previously known as the Miri International Jazz festival, is expected to be the most diverse in terms of musical offerings in order to bring together various groups of jazz enthusiasts.

Borneo Jazz 2013 will be held on May 10 and 11 at the fabulous Parkcity Everly hotel in Miri. Tickets are priced for adults at RM 60 ($19.76 USD) per day and RM 100 ($32.94 USD) for 2 days. For children aged between 3 and 12, tickets sell at RM 30 ($9.88 USD) per day and RM 50 ($16.47 USD) for two days. All tickets are available for purchase online at www.jazzborneo.com or www.ticketcharge.com.my.

Image credit: The Nylons Homepage

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Since the Tampa Theater opened its doors in 1926, it has been a Tampa institution and icon.  The Tampa Theater website sums it up best by saying, “Tampa Theatre is a passionately protected landmark and one of America’s best-preserved examples of grand movie palace architecture.”  This is the precise reason why Tampa attorney Kevin Napper, of law firm Carlton Fields, pledged his support to the theater for years.

Kevin Napper is an ardent supporter of film and the arts, so his involvement with the Tampa Theater is naturally symbiotic.  Much like his support of and work with WMNF, Kevin quite enjoys giving back to his community.  He thinks that the Tampa Theater serves a special purpose in the community, in a variety of ways.  “Something like 60,000 school kids go to the theater every year on field trips in one form or another. They go for musical performances, for lectures, for puppet shows, for musical acts.  And it also serves as, I think, an important bridge, sort of an historical bridge between Old Tampa and New Tampa,” says Napper.  The theater’s cultural and artistic significance isn’t lost on him either.

It was the first air conditioned theater in the South. It’s been continuously operating since 1926. They don’t make them like that anymore. John Eberson who was the architect that designed it, also designed the Gusman Theater in Miami Beach, which is another historical theater.”  Mr. Napper’s appreciation of the theater grew so much, that he eventually joined the board of directors, later becoming the chairman of the board for 3 years (1999-2002).

“I was on the board for 6 years at least; maybe 8 in four two year terms.  It’s a great historic theater.  It’s on the national register of historic places.  It’s the Tampa city landmark.”  Kevin continues discussing his fondness of the theater, noting, “I have been there a lot for concerts and movies. My wife and I both like films, we go to a lot of films there, and I just really liked it.”  Eventually his patronage of the theater got noticed.

“The former board chair…knew that I liked the theater and they had a board opening coming up, and asked if I was interested on applying.  I did.  I got appointed to the board…just sort of worked my way up. Attended monthly board meetings, and we started a capital campaign during that time.  We started a number of things when I was on the board including the largest annual fundraising activity they have.”  Kevin helped the theater immensely by working through the complex real estate challenges facing it.

“We were able to consolidate some of the real estate through the city and the theater.”   The real estate consolidation led to a “… partnership with the county, the city, a private foundation, and the state.  And we get funding from the feds, the state, the city, and the county, so it was very complicated; a lot of moving parts, and very unmanageable arrangement in terms of budgetary concerns,” says Napper.  He concludes saying, “It’s a very difficult financial arrangement, and it’s very difficult to manage and to keep all the parts moving. You have a 100 year old building that needs a lot of expensive maintenance, that the city is primarily responsible for maintenance and upkeep but a little bit of the county is responsible, and a little bit of the state, and you get a little bit of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. It’s a difficult situation.”  Nevertheless, you can tell that despite the challenges and hard work, Kevin’s tireless support and passion for the theater never wanes.

About Kevin Napper

Kevin J. Napper is one of Carlton Fields’ top attorneys. A graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law, Mr. Napper has been practicing for over 28 years, and he has successfully represented executives in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations involving allegations of bribery of foreign government officials. He has also successfully represented executives involved in federal grand jury investigations into a range of allegations, including violations of criminal antitrust law and the Food and Drug Act.  Kevin Napper is widely recognized as a leading expert in the field of white collar defense.

Links:

• http://dooid.me/kevinnapper
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevin-napper
• http://about.me/kevin.napper
• http://www.kevinnapper.com
• http://www.legalprofile.info
• http://www.lookuppage.com/users/kevinnapper/
• http://www.kevinnapper.net
• http://www.kevinnapper.org
• http://www.kevinnapper.weebly.com
• http://www.kevinnapper.info/
• http://www.quora.com/Kevin-Napper
• http://500px.com/kevinnapper

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There are quite few good titles coming out this month, mostly in the Action and RPG genre such as “Injustice: Gods Among Us,” “Star Trek” and “Dead Island: Riptide.” However, since these two genres are so popular, there is certain to be something for everyone to play.

Action

(4/2) “Defiance,” for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC

(4/16) “Injustice: Gods Among Us,” for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U

(4/21) “Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins,” for Nintendo 3DS

(4/23) “Star Trek,” for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC

“Defiance” is a game that was made as a tie-in to a Syfy show of the same name. Unlike other MMO’s, the game doesn’t have set classes for the player to choose from, but instead an origin, which doesn’t limit ability, outfit, or weapon choice. The players customize their characters in various ways, and will choose to either play as a human or an Irathient (a humanoid alien species). The players also choose from a large variety of weapons which they can modify.

“Injustice: Gods Among Us” is a fighting game based on characters from DC Comics. Locations for fights include the Batcave, Watchtower, and Fortress of Solitude, and will have interactive environments with several layers. For example, a powerful attack will launch an opponent into another layer. During a battle, players charge their “super meters” by executing combos or getting hit by an opponent. The super meter can be used to perform special moves or to counter an opponent’s moves. When the super meter is charged the player can use the strongest special attack.

“Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins” is the prequel to “Lego City Undercover,” and follows the adventures of Chase McCain as a rookie cop.

“Star Trek” the game is based on the 2009 ‘Star Trek’ film, securing the voices and likeness of the main cast. The game will feature both single player and co-op gameplay as Kirk and Spock. The two characters have different gameplay techniques, with Kirk’s gameplay being that of a typical shooter and Spock having more stealth-based gameplay, using the Vulcan nerve pinch and mind meld. As players progress, the experience they gain will allow them to unlock new settings on weapons.

RPG

(4/23) “Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen,” for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

(4/23) “Dead Island: Riptide,” for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC

(4/30) “Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut,” for PlayStation 3

(4/30) “Soul Sacrifice,” for PlayStation Vita

“Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen” is the re-release of the original game but features new content. The player will have new quests to choose from, new monsters to battle, and valuable treasure to discover. The game will also feature improvements from the old game, such as easier travel and a more intuitive menu system. There will also be 100 pieces of new equipment, new high level weapons and armor sets. Players who own the original Dragon’s Dogma will receive 100,000 Rift Crystals (the currency), unlimited Ferrystones (a form of teleporter), and the Gransys Armor Pack, consisting of six brand new costumes, for free.

“Dead Island: Riptide” is a spin-off of the original “Dead Island” and picks up right where the last game left off. The five survivors arrive at another island that is overrun by zombies. The game will feature new vehicles, levels, and weather conditions. There will also be online multiplayer support, as well as co-op.

“Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut” is the re-release of the game with the Guinness World Record for “Most Critically Polarizing Survival Horror Game.” This game will feature a new branching ending, as well as an in-game camera. The game will also have a graphical overhaul from the original game.

“Soul Sacrifice” is a role playing game where the primary mechanic involves the ability to sacrifice parts of their character’s body or items to unleash devastating attacks. However, there is a catch: each sacrifice will be permanently marked on the player’s body, so they will not be able to constantly draw upon their sacrifices. The player will be able to choose from different types of sorcerers to customize their character.

Image credit: IGN.com

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Chi Cheng, founding member of Alternative Metal band Deftones, died at age 42 on April 13, as announced by his family. Cheng had a car accident in 2008, and had been in a partially conscious state ever since. In November 2008, the former Deftones bassist was driving with his sister in Santa Clara, CA, when they were involved in a crash that left him in a coma. While his sister reported only minor injuries, having worn a seatbelt, Chi Cheng was not and got ejected from the car. At the time of the crash, the band was finalizing its sixth studio album ‘Eros’, which was later postponed indefinitely. Since the accident, the metal community had been raising money through benefit shows and a dedicated fan base, in order to sustain the family’s medical expenses.

A statement was released by his family, on April 14, via Oneloveforchi.com, the official blog through which the family has been releasing information about Cheng’s medical condition during the latest years. His mother (Mom J) wrote:

“Our dearest Family,

This is the hardest thing to write to you. Your love and heart and devotion to Chi was unconditional and amazing. I know that you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you.

He was taken to the emegency room and at 3 am today his heart just suddenly stopped. He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear. He fought the good fight. You stood by him sending love daily. He knew that he was very loved and never alone.

I will write more later. I will be going through the oneloveforchi site and any other information may not be reliable. If you have any stories or messages to share please send them to the onelove site. Please hold Mae and Ming and the siblings and especially Chi’s son, Gabriel in your prayers. It is so hard to let go.”

Image credit: True Love Waits..! via Flickr.com

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Turns out Morrissey’s statement published on April 8, after Margaret Thatcher’s death, by the Daily Beast was not a post-mortem one, but dated back to when Ms. Thatcher was still alive. Nevertheless Morrissey has something to say about the ex-Prime Minister’s death, and did it on April 9 releasing a statement to the fan site True to You.

Apparently, Morrissey’s feelings did not change much. In this new comment about Margaret Thatcher’s death, the former frontman of The Smiths also addressed past and current British politics, as well as the media scene. About the dead politician he says “Thatcher was not a strong or formidable leader. She simply did not give a shit about people.” Read the full statement as follows:

“The difficulty with giving a comment on Margaret Thatcher’s death to the British tabloids is that, no matter how calmly and measured you speak, the comment must be reported as an “outburst” or an ”explosive attack” if your view is not pro-establishment.

If you reference “the Malvinas”, it will be switched to “the Falklands”, and your “Thatcher” will be softened to a “Maggie.” This is generally how things are structured in a non-democratic society. Thatcher’s name must be protected not because of all the wrong that she had done, but because the people around her allowed her to do it, and therefore any criticism of Thatcher throws a dangerously absurd light on the entire machinery of British politics.

Thatcher was not a strong or formidable leader. She simply did not give a shit about people, and this coarseness has been neatly transformed into bravery by the British press who are attempting to re-write history in order to protect patriotism. As a result, any opposing view is stifled or ridiculed, whereas we must all endure the obligatory praise for Thatcher from David Cameron without any suggestion from the BBC that his praise just might be an outburst of pro-Thatcher extremism  from someone whose praise might possibly protect his own current interests.

The fact that Thatcher ignited the British public into street-riots, violent demonstrations and a social disorder previously unseen in British history is completely ignored by David Cameron in 2013. In truth, of course, no British politician has ever been more despised by the British people than Margaret Thatcher.

Thatcher’s funeral on Wednesday will be heavily policed for fear that the British tax-payer will want to finally express their view of Thatcher. They are certain to be tear-gassed out of sight by the police.

United Kingdom? Syria? China? What’s the difference?”

Morrissey
9 April 2013

Image credit: LeStudio1.com via Flickr.com

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On the day the ex-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, passed away, one of the music icons known for opposing the ideology of the British politician reacted with strong feelings. In an open letter written on the occasion of the politician’s death, English singer Morrissey defined Thatcher’s personality traits as completely negative, and the Lady herself as “a terror without an atom of humanity.” Morrissey also pointed out a relevant concern about females in politics “because of Thatcher, there will never again be another woman in power in British politics” he says. Here is the complete open letter published by The Daily Beast on April 8.

Thatcher is remembered as The Iron Lady only because she possessed completely negative traits such as persistent stubbornness and a determined refusal to listen to others.

Every move she made was charged by negativity; she destroyed the British manufacturing industry, she hated the miners, she hated the arts, she hated the Irish Freedom Fighters and allowed them to die, she hated the English poor and did nothing at all to help them, she hated Greenpeace and environmental protectionists, she was the only European political leader who opposed a ban on the Ivory Trade, she had no wit and no warmth and even her own Cabinet booted her out. She gave the order to blow up The Belgrano even though it was outside of the Malvinas Exclusion Zone – and was sailing AWAY from the islands! When the young Argentinean boys aboard The Belgrano had suffered a most appalling and unjust death, Thatcher gave the thumbs up sign for the British press.

Iron? No. Barbaric? Yes. She hated feminists even though it was largely due to the progression of the women’s movement that the British people allowed themselves to accept that a Prime Minister could actually be female. But because of Thatcher, there will never again be another woman in power in British politics, and rather than opening that particular door for other women, she closed it.

Thatcher will only be fondly remembered by sentimentalists who did not suffer under her leadership, but the majority of British working people have forgotten her already, and the people of Argentina will be celebrating her death. As a matter of recorded fact, Thatcher was a terror without an atom of humanity.

MORRISSEY.

Image credit: feltonf via Flickr.com

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American journalist, screenwriter and influential film critic Roger Ebert passed away on Thursday. He was seventy years old. He was best known as a film critic for the Chicago Sun Times from 1967 until his death. In 1975, he became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. As of 2010 his columns were syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and abroad. During his lifetime, Ebert published more than twenty books and dozens of collections of reviews.

Born as an only child in Urbana, Illinois to parents Annabel and Walter H. Ebert, he was raised Roman Catholic and attending St. Mary’s Elementary school while serving as an altar boy in Urbana. Ebert’s interest in journalism began at the age of fifteen where he was a sports writer for The News-Gazette in Champaign, Illinois. His writing career however began with letters to the science fiction fanzines of the era. Ebert became involved in science fiction fandom as he wrote articles for fanzines which included Richard A. Lupoff’s Xero. During his senior year, he was class president and editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper The Echo and in 1958, he won the Illinois High School Association state speech championship in “radio speaking,” an event simulating radio newscasts.

Reminiscing about his early influences in film criticism, Ebert wrote in the 1998 parody collection Mad About the Movies:

“I learned to be a movie critic by reading Mad magazine… Mad’s parodies made me aware of the machine inside the skin – of the way a movie might look original on the outside, while inside it was just recycling the same old dumb formulas. I did not read the magazine, I plundered it for clues to the universe. Pauline Kaellost it at the movies; I lost it at Mad magazine.”

Ebert completed his high school courses while also taking his first university class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an early entrance student. He graduated from high School in 1960 and continued to take classes at the university where he also worked as a reporter for the The Daily Illini and then served as its editor during his senior year while also continuing to work as a reporter for the News-Gazette. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and president of the U.S. Student Press Association at Illinois. One of the first movie reviews he ever wrote was a review of La Dolce Vita, published in The Daily Illini in October 1961.

After graduating from the university in 1964, Ebert spent a semester as a master’s student in the department of English there before attending the University of Cape Town on a Rotary fellowship for a year and then returned from Cape Town to his graduate studies at Illinois for two more semesters. After being accepted as a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, he prepared to move. Needing a job to support himself while he worked on his doctorate, he applied to the Chicago Daily News, hoping that, as he had already sold freelance pieces to the newspaper-including an article on the death of writer Brendan Behan-he would be hired by editor Herman Kogan. Instead Kogan referred Ebert to the city editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, Jim Hoge, who hired Ebert as a reporter and feature writer in 1966. While working as a general reporter at the Sun-Times for a year, Ebert attended doctoral classes at the University of Chicago. After movie critic Eleanor Keane left the Sun-Times in April 1967, editor Robert Zonk gave the job to Ebert. Because the load of graduate school and being a film critic proved too much, he left the University of Chicago to focus his energies on reporting.

With Ebert becoming the movie critic for the Sun-Times in 1967, his film critic career began. That same year his first book Illini Century: One Hundred Years of Campus Life was published by the University of Illinois’ press. In 1969, his review of Night of the Living Dead was published in Reader’s Digest.

In 1975, Ebert began a co-hosting a weekly film review television show called Sneak Previews which was locally produced. Three years later Gene Siskel became a co-host when the show was picked up by PBS for national distribution and the rest was history. Going through variations of At the Movies programs, Siskel and Ebert debated and traded humourous barbs while discussing films. They created and trademarked the phrase “Two Thumbs Up” when both hosts gave the same film a positive review. After Siskel’s passing in 1999, Ebert continued the show with Richard Roeper as co-host. In 2005, Ebert became the first film critic to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on January 31, 2009, he was made an honorary life member of the Directors Guild of America.

As far as his critical approach to films, Ebert described it as “relative, not absolute”; he reviewed a film for what he felt would be its prospective audience, but always with at least some consideration as to its value as a whole. He awarded four stars to films of the highest quality, and generally a half star to those of the lowest, unless he considered the film to be “artistically inept” or “morally repugnant”, in which case it received no stars. Ebert often made heavy use of mocking sarcasm, especially when reviewing movies he considered bad. Ebert’s reviews were also characterized by what has been called “dry wit” At other times he was direct. Ebert commented on films using his Roman Catholic upbringing as a point of reference, and was critical of films he believed were grossly ignorant of or insulting to Catholicism. He often included personal anecdotes in his reviews when he considered them relevant. He occasionally wrote reviews in the forms of stories, poems, songs,scripts, open letters, or imagined conversations. He also wrote many essays and articles exploring in depth the field of film criticism.

Ebert lived with thyroid cancer from 2002, and in 2006, surgical complications left him unable to speak, but he continued writing in print and online. On April 4th, 2013, Roger Ebert died. According to his wife Chaz, “We were getting ready to go home today for hospice care, when he [Ebert] looked at us, smiled, and passed away.” The closing sentence on his final blog post, two days before his death, said, “So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.

Ebert’s death prompted wide reaction from celebrities both in and out of the entertainment industry. President Barack Obama wrote, “Roger was the movies … [he could capture] the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere magical … The movies won’t be the same without Roger.”

Robert Redford called Ebert “one of the great champions of freedom of artistic expression” and said “His personal passion for cinema was boundless, and that is sure to be his legacy for generations to come.”

Oprah Winfrey called Ebert’s death the “end of an era,” as did Steven Spielberg, who also said that Ebert’s “reviews went far deeper than simply thumbs up or thumbs down. He wrote with passion through a real knowledge of film and film history, and in doing so, helped many movies find their audiences… [he] put television criticism on the map.”

Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert “was without question the nation’s most prominent and influential film critic,” Tom Van Riper of Forbes described him as “the most powerful pundit in America,” and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him “the best known film critic in America.”

Image credit: Kanaka Menehune via Flickr.com

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Wei Shen has been through so much since the “Sleeping Dogs” main story ended. Wei has battled the undead in order to save his girlfriend in the Nightmare in North Point downloadable content (DLC) and has been in a major martial arts tournament in the Zodiac Tournament DLC but the player has never really seen Wei Shen take responsibility for his undercover exploits, until now.

In the latest DLC, The Year of the Snake, Shen’s bosses are very upset at all the property damage and casualties that were caused during his time working undercover and demote him to a regular officer. Here, Shen must follow orders, help citizens and even give out traffic tickets. While amusing to see Shen’s aggravation at being demoted, is the DLC worth the money and more importantly the time?

The Year of the Snake is the first of the DLC packs to actually promise to follow Wei Shen after the initial story, unlike Nightmare in North Point which could have easily taken place in the middle of the main story. This story begins before the Chinese New Year and Shen has been called to investigate some strange happenings going on around Hong Kong. Several bombings have been taking place and it is up to Shen to find out who is behind it and why, before the New Year.

The Year of the Snake contains roughly six missions along with new collectibles, trophies/achievements and weapons. For each mission accomplished, the clothes, weapons or vehicles that are unlocked may be used within the main story. As Wei Shen must settle down as a regular cop, so too must the player. You cannot simply beat down assailants as an officer, but you can tase them or beat them with a baton before arresting them. Moreover, if a riot starts Wei Shen can tear gas the entire crowd to gain back control. These weapons provide a new experience to an already great game.

Despite becoming an officer in Hong Kong and having the ability to tase criminals, there really is not much else to this DLC. Seeing Wei Shen punished for his handling of his undercover work was satisfying but that is all there is to it. As a final ending for the “Sleeping Dogs” main story, it is lacking but then again the main story’s ending was very anticlimactic as well, so you get what you pay for. There aren’t any twist ending or surprises, just Wei Shen dealing with being demoted.

Rating – 4/5: The Year of the Snake is a short but sweet DLC which provides a realistic consequence for Shen’s actions during the main story and gives the player a new angle to play from after tormenting Hong Kong as a gangster. This DLC is worth the money for the liberties one can take as a cop, however in the end, you will want to go back to being undercover because being a member of the Triad is still much more fun. The Year of the Snake is available for the PlayStation 3 ($6.99 USD), Xbox 360 (560 Microsoft Points) and Steam ($6.99 USD).

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Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have done it. They have made a game that not only gives us a legitimate origin story of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft but have also given an intense action-packed thriller that makes us come back for more.

The game begins with twenty-one year old Lara Croft, just graduated from college and on a search for the island of Yamatai, which may or may not exist. Her college friend Sam, who is recording their journey for a reality show, the lead archaeologist, Whitman, who is funding the expedition, Roth, the Captain of the Endurance, an old friend of Lara’s father and a father figure to Lara, and the rest of the Endurance crew (Reyes, Alex, Jonah and Grim) all accompany her. Lara believes Yamatai is located in the Dragon’s Triangle near Japan, but the crew is uneasy because of the storms that surround that area. Roth believes in Lara’s instincts and the ship enters the Dragon’s Triangle. The Endurance becomes engulfed in the storm and sinks, leaving Lara and the crew of the Endurance stranded on an unknown island.

The game that follows is nothing short of intense, as Lara must not only survive on the island but also try to save her fellow shipmates and fight against enemies driven by an unknown force. All of this makes Lara realize that she must grow up fast if she is to save herself and protect the ones she loves.

From the start, “Tomb Raider” creates a very real survival atmosphere, sucking you into Lara’s emotions. Lara’s very first kill is traumatic for her and you feels her sorrow and fear. Voice actress Camilla Luddington brings a sensitive and raw side to Lara Croft that lends well to the new experience the character is going through.

Gameplay wise, “Tomb Raider” has third person combat mixed with quick time reaction (QTR) ques. During melee combat the QTR ques can be daunting to press perfectly each time, especially during a thrilling fight. Once mastered, however, they aren’t much of a bother. The QTR ques add extra adrenaline for you in life or death situations, such as Lara dangling from a cliff after thrashing through rapids. Lara’s deaths are ghastly to see but are intriguing nonetheless. The game designers wanted you to believe that this environment has no mercy and careless mistakes have consequences. If you jump at the wrong time, Lara will fall and be impaled through the neck by a sharpened tree branch. If you lose a fight with a wolf, it will rip your jugular out. If you do not guide Lara out of a rock slide fast enough, the rock will chop her in half and you will watch helplessly as her head explodes and blood spurts out.

At first, Lara only has the bow and arrow as a weapon. However, as the game progresses, she gains advanced weaponry and can upgrade her weapons through collecting salvage or raiding tombs. Lara’s skills can also be upgraded from defeating humans/animals and looting their bodies. However, the main focus of the game is not the actual raiding of tombs, as it was in Lara Croft’s past games. They are optional and not all that dangerous. The tombs serve as mini puzzles which, after solved, treasure is rewarded. The gameplay is focused squarely on survival through combat but also by traversing the island. Lara can rock climb, crawl through caves, zip line, and most obstacles are removed by burning them with any fire you can find.

When thinking back to the past games in the “Tomb Raider” franchise, it is astonishing to see how far the franchise has come. The improvements to the game mechanics such as running, jumping, and climbing are so vastly improved and are obviously much more natural. In previous games developed by Core Design, you would have to aim the camera angle in a specific way to accurately injure an enemy, which was a frustrating endeavor. As the games matured under the development of Crystal Dynamics, Lara’s movements became more weighted, more natural and nimbler.

Lara’s image, needless to say, is much less pornographic now than it was in her earlier games. By focusing on Lara’s mental state in her given situation, Crystal Dynamics has let the character carry the game rather than relying on body image. Overall, the “Tomb Raider” franchise recycled the old running, jumping, climbing, stealth and weapon animations so often that it is very refreshing to see new animations and ways to solve environmental puzzles. In Crystal Dynamics’ hands, Tomb Raider could reclaim the glory it once had when it premiered in 1996.

The score for “Tomb Raider” is brilliantly composed by Jason Graves. At times it is reminiscent of the game “Arkham City.” It gives Lara Croft the theme music that not only defines her as a video game icon but as a human character who feels fear and loss throughout her experience on the island.

The only negative aspects to “Tomb Raider” are the cut scenes, which are not lip synced well, and the multiplayer component. The multiplayer features the survivors verses the inhabitants of the island in several game modes such as team death match or free for all. Although entertaining, multiplayer was not needed for this game to boast replay value. The single player mode is more than enough to warrant more than one play through. But these are trivial complaints for what the gamer receives in this action packed, emotionally driven survival narrative.

Rating 5/5- Tomb Raider has not only earned but deserves a perfect score. From the visuals, musical score, explosions, enemies both animal and human, the loss and the nostalgia of raiding tombs, “Tomb Raider” has it all for either those new to the franchise or for long time fans. Not only have Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix redeemed an icon but they have crafted an origin story that gives the “Tomb Raider” franchise the credibility it had lost long ago.

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If you are looking for a refreshing take on genres of some of the biggest bands ever, Staring at Nothing is your band. Staring at Nothing is from Rockwell City, Iowa but currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa. The band consists of two best friends, Andrew Schreier and Zach DeMoss. Between their different musical backgrounds, tastes and great collaboration skills on top of the lyrics, you will be hooked. Recently Toonari Post had a chance to interview the two guys.

Toonari Post (TP): How did you guys come up with the band’s name?

Andrew Schreier (AS): When I was around 14 or 15 years old I fell in love with this video of Say Anything ‘s Max Bemis playing “Alive with the Glory of Love,” and I thought when I got older and had a band I’d want my album to be near his, so I started making lists of band names starting with S.  It would have been more impressive had I found a name that at least went SA instead of ST.  But it was one of like, a hundred and twenty or so I wrote down, and I wrote a song based on the name so it stuck.

Zach DeMoss (ZD): Like he said he came up with the name long before I started to learn drums so when he asked me if that’s what I wanted I agreed candidly.

TP: What music genre do you think best describes your band, and why?

ZD: It’s a cohesion of punk rock and alternative rock. It has some punk elements such as Andrew’s singing and some rhythms are punk oriented, and most of these songs have “take offs” which we patented as meaning speed up and rock out. Also songs such as “Knots” and “I handle…” really enunciate a hard rock or alternative rock element with heavy, fuzz riffs.

AS: We try to have diversity across the record, because we aren’t into the ideal that I’ve heard kicked around of, make an album of eleven or twelve similar sounding songs.  We as a band, and I as a writer are into having different moods and vibes throughout the record, diversity and dimension. We’re not into static records.  We range from strands of emo/alt rock like “Breeze” and “I Do This Thing Sometimes” to fuzzy rant raves of “Ihandleprettymuchallmyownmoney,” to depressive acoustics that no one should probably listen to. Ha. They’re just journal entries with guitars thrown behind them and they’re uber depressing. I don’t listen to them, save the end of “Fragile.”  A friend of ours Emily Winks was chilling and jamming with us one night and I had just recorded it that day and I had this idea for her to sing, she did it and her voice absolutely sheened. I was really lucky she came along and was into what she heard and put herself in there.  We’d love to have her around more, but right now it’s just not what she feels she needs in her life.  We respect that, but much love to her as a person and a singer and her contribution.

TP: What do you hope fans get from listening to your music; getting to know you guys?

AS: It’d be amazing if anyone cared at all.  The dream would be, to be to any fans what our favorite bands are to us.  If our band could mean what Say Anything, Brand New, or Nirvana do to me that would leave me in absolute awe.

ZD: I agree with Andrew 100%. If our songs can just entertain people while they listen to it I would be plenty happy, and if it inspires anything in anyone that would just be going above and beyond. Personally I didn’t get into music to become super popular I did it for fun so if our songs can excite and entertain people than that’s all I really want.

TP: Being from small town Iowa, what do you feel you bring to the music world?

AS: I’m not sure that had anything to do with it. Whether I was in a large town or small town I probably would have done the same thing. Kind of isolate myself from everyone and go to my bedroom. Skip a lot of school, buy a lot of records, and watch a lot of interviews. I’d be kind, and smile and laugh when talked to. But inside I really didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to … I don’t even know anymore.  But it wasn’t driven by my environment I don’t think.  It was all just, inside me, watching videos of my favorite bands and songwriters all the time. Spending embarrassing lengths of time alone in my room with Zach. We shot hoops now and then…but I usually left or felt uncomfortable if others showed up.

ZD: Being from small town Iowa and not having a bunch of money to spend on musical instruments I think shows people that you can play music as long as you are willing to put in the effort. I spent most of a summer’s salary on an electronic drum set, and the acoustic set I have is one that Andrew bought for like 200 bucks. Also making a homemade album shows that people can make their own music and they don’t need any big studios or super nice instruments. All you need are a few instruments and some people willing to try.

TP: If you could tour with anyone, what would the line-up be?

AS: Without a doubt Say Anything, Brand New, and if we could go back in time Nirvana.  Manchester Orchestra would be rad too.  Zach has a bit more ambition than I do. Haha.

ZD: Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Say Anything, Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Silversun Pickups. Obviously those are the “dream” bands I would want to tour with, but really I think it would be awesome to tour with some local punk bands and just drive around in a van.

AS: Yeah. Vans are awesome.

TP: Speaking of favorite bands, who do you give credit to for inspiration?

AS: I really buy into certain songwriters although my writing certainly won’t display it.  Writing and poetry is what really got me into music.  Max Bemis of Say Anything was my obsession from when I was fifteen to today.  Funny story about it was, when I first bought “Is A Real Boy,” Say Anything’s first record…. I hated it… for six months, I listened to it every single day, hating it.  But obviously something else was going on in me because I kept listening to it day in and day out and it became my favorite album of all time.  Also Nirvana’s knack for taking straightforward simple riffs, and making them sound and feel so huge on record, that’s certainly to be admired.  And Brand New, just, wow. So much more I could say about any three of these bands.

ZD: Well for me a few factors played a role in me beginning to play drums. First I always knew Andrew played guitar and I thought that was cool but back when we first met I had no aspirations to become any sort of musician. I never played any instruments as a kid and I really never listened to rock music. Then freshman year of college and my roommate played guitar and one day I ended up with Rockband the video game. Next thing I know I am wasting hours and hours playing this stupid video game getting yelled at by neighbors, but honestly it was the best thing for me musically. I was exposed to tons of rock songs and I learned the basics of drumming. As for musicians who inspired me when I heard Dave Grohl on drums, I was sold. Every one of his songs he rocked. He is by far the best drummer alive to me, he keeps a straight forward beat and doesn’t try to show off he just does his part and helps the song musically. That is exactly what I try to do, fit my part to help the band be the best it can be.

AS: Zach learning drums is one of the greatest things that ever happened for me.  Who in a band doesn’t want the core to be him and his best friend? I don’t have to censor one sliver of myself, because if you think any of these songs are heavy. I talk about and reek of my issues non-stop. And lucky Zach living with me, I take it out on him all day every day.  Also, being his best friend for a long time, I exposed him to a lot of bands I listened to and he grew to love them also.  So we really come from the same roots of musical influence overall because of our friendship going back before we had this band together.

TP: Is there a favorite song that you guys recorded that you want to explain or give the reasoning behind?

AS: For me it’s definitely either “Breeze” or “Ihandleprettymuchallmyownmoney.”  I wrote “Breeze” the day before we were done and had to leave our personal studio.  Where I still felt like I hadn’t written and recorded a song like what I really wanted to do. So one night I just, went to write exactly what I had been wanting to write for a long time and “Breeze” nailed it.  “Breeze” is definitely a song that is in the direction we are heading as a band.  It was something I wrote in like an hour, plucked my poetry into it, and everything just clicked.  It said and did everything I wanted it to do.  While “Ihandleprettymuchallmyownmoney” is without a doubt my personal woe garbage bin. I love I got to open with a fiery showcase of my favorite vocal technique in “Ihandle,” the drunken sailor rant. Then it anchors into a heavy groove that really allowed me to spew chunks of thought out over it without a moments hesitation.  The entirety of that song was plucked straight from my veins.  Something about the riffs it clicks in and out of all allowed me to have it say what I wanted it to say. I also love how it clicks into this rave rock, and then back out into my favorite heavy drop onto the record.  That song started with a drum riff from Zach that inspired me to no end.

ZD: “Breeze” is just an awesome song, and it is by far my favorite. It has an awesome build up and then explodes into a catchy chorus, and even though it is long I am always enthralled with it. I also really like “Knots” because it shows off a more heavy side with the noise guitar and gritty chorus. I also fought to keep “Same Vein New Fluid,” because I love the easy rocking leading up to the “rock-out.”

You can check out more about these great guys and their music at www.staringatnothing.com. They currently do not have any tour dates planned, but plan on playing in the Iowa City, IA area once they have a bass player.

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Nineteen years ago, on April 5, 1994, the legendary Nirvana founder Kurt Cobain passed away. Defined by some as a shotgun blast heard by the entire world, the one that killed Cobain left many fans and followers in anxiety and pain. However, death did not impede Cobain’s ability to remain an icon and point of reference for people of generations to follow, who share a particular vision of the world and a peculiar kind of emotional bond.

With only a few years of public activity, Kurt Cobain managed to remain in the heart of tons of people who have felt deeply connected to his artistic genius and personality for almost two decades. The continued relevance of his songs and thoughts is astonishing. After 19 years Cobain is still saying what many do not dare, taking the stands many still won’t, and continuous to connect with those who lack profound representation.

The work of Cobain did not end with his life. The message he spread around the world in the years of his musical activity has been enhancing itself even after his death. The shades of emotions he addressed and presented are still found in his voice and resounding among many people who find a daily refuge in them. The way he addressed extremely real and raw feelings in his songs and interviews has offered a hand to people defined as misfits by society; with his attitude Cobain told those misfits it is o.k. to be one, and it is o.k. to care.

The legacy of the late musician from Aberdeen goes beyond music, albeit through music. Recognized by many as one of the most influential artists of all times, he has put in music something rare to find these days: honesty, depth and humility.

Nevertheless Cobain’s persona has also suffered from that special illness affecting the ‘great ones’ of different eras: his personality has been used, copied and manipulated, to be used as a representation of a cool and alternative way of living. “I’d rather be dead than cool” said the late Cobain in the song “Stay Away.” A sick irony wants him to be both. In a society which allows holograms of dead musicians to perform on a stage never chosen, which seems to be willing to worship appearance in place of substance, and which celebrates the manic obsession with popularity at any cost, even the figure of Cobain, who has always fought against this very concepts, has been violated by not-so-genuine intentions.

The point is not the personal battles of the late musician’s family members, such as his wife, nor the use of Cobain’s name by those who should take care of his legacy. It is the concept of him, distorted by the media and the industry as a representation of something originally criticized by the musician, which is sickening.

The last months are a good example of the improper use of his name. In the wake of “Nevermind”s 20th anniversary edition’s success, Nirvana and Cobain’s name have been over-used with no respect at all, as in the case of the so-called acclaimed ‘Nirvana Reunion,’ on the occasion of the Sound City project carried out by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. It is hard to reunite a three piece band of which the founder, singer, guitarist, composer, lyricist, artwork and occasional video designer, and inventor has been dead for 19 years. Nevertheless this does not matter to those who want to sell a magazine, screaming there will be a Nirvana tour with somebody else filling in. Nor does it for somebody wanting to use Cobain’s face in order to promote their new album, because liking Cobain is cool. For some reason, it even became acceptable to read his journals, the most intimate expression of a person’s emotions. When one becomes an icon such as Cobain, respect does not always matter.

As in every human situation, Cobain’s state of being an icon has taken good and bad turns. Luckily, the good seems to be winning. Kurt Cobain needs no reunion, no holograms, and no advertisement to stay real and present in this world: his vision and honesty keep on marking his presence, and the shot which killed him still sounds thunderous in the hearts of many.

“Cobain can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station to Station?” sing the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Californication, invoking the philosophical concept according to which the universe is made of constantly moving celestial bodies, which produce music. This is probably one of the most beautiful wishes for the late Kurt Cobain: to be peacefully listening to the songs of his favorite Bowie’s album while floating in the universe, far from the noisy madness created around his name.

Image credit: Niadub via Flickr.com

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Racing games, unlike RPG’s or Action Adventure games, are pretty straight forward. What you see is what you get. Still, there will always be little secrets hidden inside racing games like “Real Racing 3″. As you progress through cars and upgrades, the number of upgrade options will expand to include body mods and exhaust kits that will help you further your racing ability but there are other ways to play “Real Racing 3″ to your advantage.

1. Risk vs Reward

Staying with the racing line is usually a good thing during the race but at certain times during the race it is advantageous to take the outside or cut the corner a little quicker than the guy in front of you. Just be aware that you’ll have to pay for any repairs that need to be made when you finish the game.

Hint: While it isn’t very sporting to use another car as a shield to bounce off during a corner, you can do it near the beginning of the race if there are a lot of cars. Not only does this slow all the cars that are behind you on the racing line, you take minimal damage and likely move up in position from back of the pack to middle or even 1st place. Just make sure after you bounce off this car that you don’t also bounce into a wall.

2. Checking Out the Sand

If you haven’t already figured this out, allow yourself to feel thunderstruck. There are sand or gravel markings on select tracks and it is not an accident that they happen to be there right where the racing line is located. Similarly, there are road bumpers on the side where the green is. Instead of this grass slowing you down, it is  a darker green that gives you a slight bit of turning grip for the benefit of cornering.

Hint: For better training, follow the sand markings via a connect-the-dot method so that you hit each one at maximum speed just after or before braking. Doing so can help you see where the racing line is, if the concept is new to you. If the racing line isn’t new to you, you can still use the location of the sand to indicate where the opponent will race and plan to drive around them accordingly. The aforementioned darker green area is also usable to gain a fraction of a second when doing endurance races where every mile counts.

3. Saving Your Coin

Gold coins aren’t used often in this game.  You’ll be spending R$ (racing money) so that you can guy upgrades like exhaust or body kits and new cars. Unless you’re impatient enough to use your gold coins, you should have a healthy amount saved as you gain levels. Save them all though and you’ll have some of the best cars featured in the entire game.

Hint: The gold coins that you make at the end of every level up should be saved so you can buy cars with it. The few that require only gold coins to buy are from Pagani, Koenigsegg, McLaren and Porsche. It makes sense to save them versus spending them on speeding up the time required for upgrades.

4.Watch the Showcase Events

There are showcase events that pop up in every tier of every series of racing events as well as independently on the main racing board. These showcase events allow you to buy cars that are also in the current tier but usually at a discounted price. When you start the race, you’ll have a choice between the Ford Focus RS and the Nissan Silvia S15 because the Dodge Challenge R/T and the BMW 1 Series M Coupe will be out of your budget for this beginners set of races.

Hint: When you get about halfway through the first of four series in the beginner level, the desire to buy the Challenger or BMW 1 Series will become stronger as races get harder. Assuming you’ve upgraded all the parts in your beginner Ford or Nissan, the showcase series race for the Challenger or the BMW 1 Series will come soon enough so just wait and save yourself some money as you progress. By then though, your starter Ford Focus or Silvia S15 may be so powerful you can speed through the rest of the races without buying the challenger or BMW 1 Series.

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Action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to cinema, full-throttle, for an all-out showdown in ‘The Last Stand’, Kim Jee-woon’s high-speed, high-mayhem action-thriller.

The good guys have never had it this bad, but they’re ready to give it everything they’ve got in this hard-charging, car-chasing, fist-fighting wild ride that takes an amped-up spin on the classic good vs. bad battle.

Schwarzenegger stars as relentless Sheriff Ray Owens, who left behind the LAPD following a bungled narcotics operation that still wracks him with remorse. Now he’s leading the quiet life in the border town of Sommerton – but that quiet is about to be shattered, big-time. When Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), the most lethal, not to mention wanted drug kingpin in America, makes a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, he’s hell bent for the Sommerton border – in a specially-equipped Corvette ZR1 capable of blowing past 250 MPH.

U.S. Federal Agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) might be hot on his trail but Cortez has no fear of the Feds. Cortez only has to fear what he doesn’t see coming: Sheriff Ray Owens. Owens might be out-manned and out-gunned, but he won’t be out-smarted or out-lasted when Cortez threatens the only thing that matters to him now – his new home. Owens and his small but fiercely loyal force are all that stands between Cortez and his freedom.

He’s long been among the toughest, most iconic action heroes of cinema legend, but lately Arnold Schwarzenegger has been serving in another high-adrenaline role – as the Governor of California. Now, at last, he makes his much-anticipated comeback with his first leading action role in a decade in ‘The Last Stand’. Taking on the role of a small-town Sheriff with a hard-edged past, Schwarzenegger resumes his screen hero status with a character who is familiar in his fierceness, yet brings a new twist.  This bold, badass veteran lawman has seen plenty of action — but he thinks he’s moved on to more peaceful pastures until bad guys show up in the very town where he’s come to escape them

“In this film, we see the Arnold we have missed, and the Arnold we have never seen before,” sums up the film’s director Jee-woon, whose Hollywood debut makes a surprise collision with Schwarzenegger’s return to the screen. One of the most lauded and watched of the Korean cinematic phenoms, Jee-Woon won acclaim with his stylish noir thriller ‘A Bittersweet Life’, his award-winning outlaw comedy ‘The Good, the Bad, the Weird’, his hardboiled horror movie ‘I Saw The Devil’ and his haunting ghost story ‘A Tale Of Two Sisters’.  But he had never made an action film in America before – and would get his first chance to do so with the biggest Hollywood action star of them all.

Jee-woon was instantly drawn to ‘The Last Stand’s mix of breakneck speed, rollicking humor and colorful characters on both sides of the law, but he was compelled most of all by the chance to have Arnold lead an awe-inspiring defense of justice, even when he and his town have been counted out as nobodies.

Says Jee-woon of their unusual pairing: “Arnold has done everything in Hollywood and I am just starting out in Hollywood. We are so different, but when I met him, our thoughts on ‘The Last Stand’ and his character coincided. Sheriff Owens has left behind his violent past for a quiet, peaceful small town, but ironically, he must now put everything he has on the line in order to protect this new home. I think we both saw it as story about how a villain armed with high-tech machinery that even governments cannot stop is thwarted by small town people who are inspired by justice.”

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The Italian indie-pop singer-songwriter Max Gazzè has been touring Italy and Europe in promotion of his latest album ‘Sotto Casa,’ which takes the name after its lead single, the song presented at the Sanremo Festival (the most known Italian pop music competition), which scored Gazzè relevant success.

Gazzè’s music plays with catchy melodies, often enriched by the use of a synthesizer, and refined lyrics. The latter address, express and analyze different human feelings and situations, usually using as a tool of expression ordinary stories of people’s lives. With this approach Gazzè travels through love, self-discovery, frustration and many other states of soul and mind.

In a global music scene which is too often charmed by superficiality, as long as it is presented in a provocative form, Gazzè stands out for the intensity of his work. His lyrics are never banal; not only explore they a variety of emotional shades of people’s lives, they also do so in a form which is extremely close to poetry, from which Max Gazzè has taken profound inspiration. The construction and execution of his songs always surprise the untrained listener, for their originality and pertinence with the feelings presented.

The Toonari Post had the chance to attend one of his concerts, held at the venue Mamamia in Senigallia (AN), Italy. The venue is pretty small, creating that cozy atmosphere which is appropriate for such a concert. A special mention surely needs to go to the sound-system of the venue, it being very good and adequate.

The stage, which is not extremely big, was not enriched by any choreography, leaving the center of the attention to the musician and his touring band. Gazzè, who plays the bass, was indeed supported by drums, a guitar and a synthesizer.

During the concert he performed many of his most famous hits, such as “La Favola di Adamo ed Eva,” “Vento d’Estate,” “Una Musica Può Fare,” “Il Timido Ubriaco” and so on. Nevertheless he also focused on new songs from his latest album. The concert started with a one hour delay, obviously creating a little disappointment in the audience. Gazzè then performed for about two hours; the choice of the set-list was arguable, not concerning the songs chosen but rather their order. Although all songs were very appreciable, the concert did not seem to take off for its first half.

The songs with which the musician decided to open the concert created a rather calm mood, which was probably not appropriate for an audience who had already lost some of the excitement due to the long delay. Furthermore, the use of lights on stage was annoyingly inadequately attended to: the lights were too strong for such a small venue, and did nothing to emphasize the music. During the concert Gazzè had a good interaction with the audience, as well as with his band mates. All of the members showed good harmony creating a smooth and interesting performance, and Gazzè also let the audience enjoy a couple of good solos.

Max Gazzè is a great musician and composer, who truly deserves to be known and followed. His talent and peculiar approach to music is worth a lot, and even more if considering the state of some corners of the current music scene.

Image: Maxgazze.it/by Barbara Oizmud

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