Boston band- The Hotelier- and then some Films
I have fallen waaaay behind in film reviews and concert updates, as I find myself sitting here and thinking about the shows I've been to in the past couple of months.
Back in the middle of October, I went to see a Western MA band called the Hotelier with my sister (one of her favorite indie bands). We've seen them twice before and they put on a great show, full of energy. They sort of remind me of early-Cursive. They were opening for another indie band, Joyce Manor.
The Hotelier setlist looked a bit like this:
A couple of days before Halloween, I was able to catch another local, New England band- Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band in Portland. I happened to hear of them a couple of years ago, but I've missed other opportunities to see them when they were in town. They are definitely a live band. I can tell that they build their fan-base from their live shows and just being on the touring circuit. And their live show is absolutely incredible. Kat Wright, the lead singer, has such a powerful and commanding voice.
A local Portland duo consisting of Anna Lombard and Dave Gutter (from Rustic Overtones fame and fortune) opened the show. I had seen them once before, and oh man, do I just love their sound together. They are a force to be reckoned with.
There are no setlists that I can recall, but check out these videos.
Armies:
At the beginning of November, I convinced my sister to come with me to see another great indie/emo band called Lydia (who sort of unbeknownst to me has been consistently making records over the past few years, as well as touring. I happened to find this show, which happened at the Middle East (a small venue in Boston). It was an early show, starting at like 6p.m. meaning it ended right around 9:30p.m. (kind of a blessing when you go to so many shows and just want to catch up on sleep). I was really impressed with Lydia's set, as they mixed older songs with their newer album tunes. The opening bands were decent as well- June Divided and a solo acoustic set from the singer of Have Mercy (Brian Swindle), which was really good.
Lydia's setlist:
June Divided:
Brian Swindle (of Have Mercy):
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"Most Likely to Die"
starring: Chad Addison, Jake Busey, Tess Christiansen, John Doe, Ryan Doom, Perez Hilton, Marci Miller, Tatum Miranda, Heather Morris, Johnny Ramsey, Jason Tobias, Skyler Vallo
written by: Laura Brennan
directed by: Anthony DiBlasi
This really promotes itself as a throwback to those 1990s campy horror films that we loved (some of us anyway). It's definitely in the same vein as "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" but unfortunately, it is terribly written and the scares are really nothing. Plus, the biggest names are Jake Busey, Heather Morris (from "Glee") and Perez Hilton (really?! he's an actor, I use the term loosely). It plays out and presents itself more like a Lifetime: Movie of the Week, instead, and just disappoints at every single turn. The script is just lazy and awful.
On the eve of their 10 year High School Reunion, a gaggle of friends gather at a remote mansion to party it up before the big day. None of them have seen each other since High School, but apparently, they're close enough to get together and pretend that they're still great friends.
And the plot reveal is that they all used to make fun of and torture one of their classmates, so this little reunion becomes a death trap as the tortured comes back to exact their revenge one at a time on this misfitting Scooby Gang.
Skip it.
.........................................................................................
"Sacrifice"
starring: Radha Mitchell, Rupert Graves, Ian McElhinney, David Robb, Hilary Rose, Joanne Crawford, Liam Carney, Megan Riordan
written and directed by: Peter A. Dowling
Another disappointing "scary" and supernatural horror film that just never really takes off.
The story follows Dr. Tora Hamilton (Radha Mitchell), an American physician whose sudden miscarriage prompts her to move with her husband, Duncan (Rupert Graves), to the Shetland Islands, located 100 miles off the coast of Scotland. Hoping to start anew and perhaps adopt a child, Tora is instead quickly mixed up in a murder case involving a young woman who's been dismembered and carved up with ritualistic symbols.
There's a lot of jumping around, from the first 10 minutes of the film's prologue giving us a background to the mystery, then jumping ahead to "3 months later" and then lots of scene jumping throughout the film. It makes me think that the writer/director had too much on his plate and he's just trying to condense it into something watchable, but honestly, it just makes the viewer lose interest in anything that's happening or going to happen. There is very little character development, too. It's a film too focused on the mysteries that aren't scary enough.
.........................................................................................
"The November Man"
starring: Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Bill Smitrovich, Amila Terzimehic, Lazar Ristovski, Mediha Musliovic, Eliza Taylor, Caterina Scorsone
written by: Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek
directed by: Roger Donaldson
There's nothing new and fresh in this spy thriller. Instead, we find an old 007 playing a former CIA operative matching up with a new(er) Bond girl (Olga was in Quantum of Solace). The film certainly moves along at a steady pace to keep you interested and the action is packed in enough, as well. It's an entertaining film, for sure, as long as you know ahead of time the spy thriller formula and do not expect any significant twists and turns.
"The November Man" also benefits from a certain topicality since the backdrop that sets the story’s action into motion is the execution of all the former cohorts of Arkady Federov (Ristovski), the man who is about to become the new president of Russia. Bodies and secrets are scattered over Eastern Europe when the erstwhile CIA operative Peter Devereaux (Brosnan) is called back into action by his former handler (the wonderful character actor Bill Smitrovich). There’s always a compelling reason why movie spies are called out of retirement, and it usually involves a woman. The woman in this particular instance needs to be exfiltrated from her covert mission as an assistant to Federov. When things go haywire, the die is cast for the remainder of this cat-and-mouse chase.
The ostensible trigger for Devereaux’s reinvolvement is pulled by his former protégé, David Mason (Bracey), whom we observe in the movie’s preamble disobeying a direct order from Devereaux. Viewed from another angle, The November Man is a deeply Oedipal drama between a teacher and student trying to outfox each other. Both men seek a phantom woman who holds the informative key to Federov’s downfall, which involves events that occurred during the Second Chechen War.
Back in the middle of October, I went to see a Western MA band called the Hotelier with my sister (one of her favorite indie bands). We've seen them twice before and they put on a great show, full of energy. They sort of remind me of early-Cursive. They were opening for another indie band, Joyce Manor.
The Hotelier setlist looked a bit like this:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(The Murder City Devils cover)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Encore:
-
A couple of days before Halloween, I was able to catch another local, New England band- Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band in Portland. I happened to hear of them a couple of years ago, but I've missed other opportunities to see them when they were in town. They are definitely a live band. I can tell that they build their fan-base from their live shows and just being on the touring circuit. And their live show is absolutely incredible. Kat Wright, the lead singer, has such a powerful and commanding voice.
A local Portland duo consisting of Anna Lombard and Dave Gutter (from Rustic Overtones fame and fortune) opened the show. I had seen them once before, and oh man, do I just love their sound together. They are a force to be reckoned with.
There are no setlists that I can recall, but check out these videos.
Armies:
At the beginning of November, I convinced my sister to come with me to see another great indie/emo band called Lydia (who sort of unbeknownst to me has been consistently making records over the past few years, as well as touring. I happened to find this show, which happened at the Middle East (a small venue in Boston). It was an early show, starting at like 6p.m. meaning it ended right around 9:30p.m. (kind of a blessing when you go to so many shows and just want to catch up on sleep). I was really impressed with Lydia's set, as they mixed older songs with their newer album tunes. The opening bands were decent as well- June Divided and a solo acoustic set from the singer of Have Mercy (Brian Swindle), which was really good.
Lydia's setlist:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(Leighton playing piano, with with strings)
-
-
-
- Encore:
June Divided:
Brian Swindle (of Have Mercy):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Most Likely to Die"
starring: Chad Addison, Jake Busey, Tess Christiansen, John Doe, Ryan Doom, Perez Hilton, Marci Miller, Tatum Miranda, Heather Morris, Johnny Ramsey, Jason Tobias, Skyler Vallo
written by: Laura Brennan
directed by: Anthony DiBlasi
This really promotes itself as a throwback to those 1990s campy horror films that we loved (some of us anyway). It's definitely in the same vein as "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" but unfortunately, it is terribly written and the scares are really nothing. Plus, the biggest names are Jake Busey, Heather Morris (from "Glee") and Perez Hilton (really?! he's an actor, I use the term loosely). It plays out and presents itself more like a Lifetime: Movie of the Week, instead, and just disappoints at every single turn. The script is just lazy and awful.
On the eve of their 10 year High School Reunion, a gaggle of friends gather at a remote mansion to party it up before the big day. None of them have seen each other since High School, but apparently, they're close enough to get together and pretend that they're still great friends.
And the plot reveal is that they all used to make fun of and torture one of their classmates, so this little reunion becomes a death trap as the tortured comes back to exact their revenge one at a time on this misfitting Scooby Gang.
Skip it.
.........................................................................................
"Sacrifice"
starring: Radha Mitchell, Rupert Graves, Ian McElhinney, David Robb, Hilary Rose, Joanne Crawford, Liam Carney, Megan Riordan
written and directed by: Peter A. Dowling
Another disappointing "scary" and supernatural horror film that just never really takes off.
The story follows Dr. Tora Hamilton (Radha Mitchell), an American physician whose sudden miscarriage prompts her to move with her husband, Duncan (Rupert Graves), to the Shetland Islands, located 100 miles off the coast of Scotland. Hoping to start anew and perhaps adopt a child, Tora is instead quickly mixed up in a murder case involving a young woman who's been dismembered and carved up with ritualistic symbols.
There's a lot of jumping around, from the first 10 minutes of the film's prologue giving us a background to the mystery, then jumping ahead to "3 months later" and then lots of scene jumping throughout the film. It makes me think that the writer/director had too much on his plate and he's just trying to condense it into something watchable, but honestly, it just makes the viewer lose interest in anything that's happening or going to happen. There is very little character development, too. It's a film too focused on the mysteries that aren't scary enough.
.........................................................................................
"The November Man"
starring: Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Bill Smitrovich, Amila Terzimehic, Lazar Ristovski, Mediha Musliovic, Eliza Taylor, Caterina Scorsone
written by: Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek
directed by: Roger Donaldson
There's nothing new and fresh in this spy thriller. Instead, we find an old 007 playing a former CIA operative matching up with a new(er) Bond girl (Olga was in Quantum of Solace). The film certainly moves along at a steady pace to keep you interested and the action is packed in enough, as well. It's an entertaining film, for sure, as long as you know ahead of time the spy thriller formula and do not expect any significant twists and turns.
"The November Man" also benefits from a certain topicality since the backdrop that sets the story’s action into motion is the execution of all the former cohorts of Arkady Federov (Ristovski), the man who is about to become the new president of Russia. Bodies and secrets are scattered over Eastern Europe when the erstwhile CIA operative Peter Devereaux (Brosnan) is called back into action by his former handler (the wonderful character actor Bill Smitrovich). There’s always a compelling reason why movie spies are called out of retirement, and it usually involves a woman. The woman in this particular instance needs to be exfiltrated from her covert mission as an assistant to Federov. When things go haywire, the die is cast for the remainder of this cat-and-mouse chase.
The ostensible trigger for Devereaux’s reinvolvement is pulled by his former protégé, David Mason (Bracey), whom we observe in the movie’s preamble disobeying a direct order from Devereaux. Viewed from another angle, The November Man is a deeply Oedipal drama between a teacher and student trying to outfox each other. Both men seek a phantom woman who holds the informative key to Federov’s downfall, which involves events that occurred during the Second Chechen War.
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