Adventures in Photography : The Arcade

Hello darlings! Guess who got a brand new SHINY camera! (If you guessed me, you're right.) Well, of course ever since December I've been taking pictures of everything (and most of it is dumb!). But I was really excited about the shots I got at the arcade, so here they are:

Nerdy Giftwrap

Okay, kids... check this out

You and your crew of geeks are having a gift swap?
You've got the perfect present for your secret santa but now you have to wrap it in boring paper?
NO! NO YOU DON'T!

Cover it with lolcats "Can has"
(also comes in equations, binary, and more)

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/7a5c/

IWABO comes to Charleston; Review

On Wednesday, July 8th, iwrestledabearonce came to Charleston. They could have had a night off before their tour, but instead they came here (this will be important later)! Ron and Bam (of Harder Nation Faster Unleashed X) from 98X, basically got them to come, somehow with their magical prowess (you can listen to their show every Saturday night on WYBB, 98.1) and pulled together a bunch of great local bands for openers. They promoted this show like crazy (I got to make the flier ! ) and their work paid off. I have never in my LIFE seen The Oasis that packed. You could barely move, and it wasn't just in front of the stage; all the way past the bar and in the entrance was full of people. Not only was it a Wednesday night, but it was pouring down rain (it was so bad that the Apple store flooded and had to be shut down). So despite torrents from heaven, and work in the morning, and hot and sweaty and crowded rooms, huge amounts of people came out.
And this crowd was not only filled with normal metal kids, there were the metal guys of the older sort who are legit and hardcore not in the sense that it's used today. There were kids that seemed to be normal. Even punk kids showed up. That's the appeal of this band; everyone came.



The first band on stage was amazing, Aralic. They were put first on the lineup just because not too many people knew who they were and they were from the farthest away place, but I think they should have been last. They're finalists for a Metal Blade recording contract, and when they started playing you could tell why. They really blew me away because to be honest I wasn't expecting to see a first opener with that kind of talent.
It was great, I loved the screaming, and it was really kind of almost smooth with their breakdowns. You can check out their myspace here.



My favorite "local" band of the evening: Your Chance to Die. They are from Columbia and I've been going to a lot of their shows this year so I guess I'll just go ahead and say I love them. They're another really cool band that talks to their fans. And okay, so we shouldn't have to talk about it but we do. The lead singer is a chick. Missy. And her performance will shut you up if you say anything about girls and metal. They are really fun to listen to and see. The set was really good at the show. I hope they got a bunch of new fans from Charleston now :)

At the end of their set, people started chanting "one more song! one more song!" And heck yeah, they played the THEME SONG! Which is tied with Verdict for the Gods as my favorite YCTD song. But they didn't play it in full. ): I'm really sad about this. Actually, I'm really sad that they don't play the Theme Song as an opener for every show like they used to. Heres my opinion, and guys if you're reading this, know that a bunch of us fans have talked about it and all agree. You should play the Theme Song as the opener for every show. Not just because I like it (although that is a perfectly legitimate reason) but did you see how during IWABO's set, they got the whole crowd doing the harp fingers? Thats what YOU have with the Theme Song. You get the whole crowd rushing to and jumping on the stage and singing along. Yeah, maybe its a gimmick, but it works. And even if your style is drifting a little bit away from that song, I still think you should play it, because when you do, it draws attention to you. Everyone in the venue looks up to see why everyone is rushing the stage. And people want to be a PART of that. They want to be in that crowd of people who know the words, and are screaming THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DIE! It really works.
Well, anyway, you can check out their myspace here.



Mare of Steel was the third up. I suppose I'd call them speed metal maybe... with a Lamb of God influence. At the very least their music was very fast, and their dedicated fans were all about a good circle pit. They've been getting pretty big locally while I've been away, and they'll be at S.C.U.M. FEST later this summer.
Myspace here.



Coffin Syrup is really loved around here, and I'd been waiting to see them for a while. Kinda gritty sounding, pretty much grindcore; another SCUM IV band. Good at what they do. Not much to say because I missed part of their set. :o
Check it out here.



I've only had a chance to see Belligerent one other time. And I was outside with Ron and Bam and a few other people during part of their set as well but they are good. Read again Lamb of God and Slayer, and bands like that.
Myspace here.



AHH IWRESTLEDABEARONCE! Ohhmydeityofyourchoice! Bloooooown away. This is what everyone came to see. IWABO is one of those bands on the way to the top (are they there yet? ... maybe). They are completely unique in their sound and I believe if anyone sounds like them it is probably because they are trying to be like them.
Okay so first of all there's the talent. Theres some serious skill there with every band member, and the song writing is amazing. They keep everything hardcore and legit but aren't afraid to have fun. Then they love what they do. They came to Charleston the night before their tour. They could have taken a day off, but it just shows that they care about their fans, and they love their music. And I hope we made it worth it for them.
It was amazing to see the crowd explode when they started playing. The pit was crazy, even out of the pit everyone was moshing. Everybody played along. Everyone was into it. These kids have what it takes.
I don't even know what to say about them... myspace.

Travel: Fort Freemont

I love to travel. I think one of the most important things someone can do in their life is travel. There are a million places I want to go; here's one:

Fort Freemont. Beaufort, South Carolina



Fort Freemont is an abandoned Fort. It was built in 1899 to defend Port Royal Sound and the Naval Station on Parris Island (that's where we send our Marines for training, if the name rings a bell).



The Fort was named after General Charles C. Freemont of Savannah, Georgia who was one of four major generals appointed by Lincoln.



In 1875 the site was merely a wharf into the Port Royale Sound and a wooden hospital. When the Spanish-American war began, they replaced the wooden structure with a concrete one. In the hospital area is a colonial revival style building, square, with two stories which was later incorporated into a private residence.



The first battery appeared in 1898 followed by Battery Jessup and Battery Fornance in 1899.



At its peak, the Fort was in use by over 100 men of the 116th Coast Artillery and included a hospital, barracks, stables, guardhouses, and commissary.


Also, according to my research there's a spooky tree on the road to Fort Freemont.



Apparently, its popular with people interested in the paranormal. Rumor has it, if you park on the right side of the road at night (facing the tree), you might be able to see the Lands End Light. You sit there and wait in the darkness, until what looks like the headlights of a car are coming at you. First it goes quickly, then it slows down at floats in front of you. But if you turn your car on to leave, so will the light...

[it's on Lands End Rd]

Have suggestions on places to go? Leave a comment or email me at jinxlovesrhps@gmail.com

Addicted to Bad Ideas; Review

Alright, I'm going to have to be upfront and honest. I loved this show. While there were flaws, I will stand by this show as something I thoroughly enjoyed and found worthwhile. So I'll try to be as harsh as possible.



Addicted to Bad Ideas is a stage show by World/Inferno Friendship Society which people refer to as "cabaret punk." It's definitely punk, and I understand where they are pulling cabaret from, but I don't agree, at least not from this show really. Well anyway, there were two saxes, a guitar, a bassist, a keyboardist, and a drummer (a famous drummer), and the lead singer, Jack Terricloth. It is a show revolving entirely around the actor, Peter Lorre.



Peter Lorre played in a number of films, like Casablanca, and the first time James Bond was ever seen on screen in Casino Royale. He also acted in a number of Hitchcock's works, but he is most famous for his first film M, which branded him for the rest of his life.

The great thing about going to the show is that it was part of Spoleto. So of course there were some rich elders there, who I'm sure needed the ear plugs they handed out. Although, to be fair, some of them clearly enjoyed it. The audience was filled with all different types of people, and a few standing in front of the stage. The stage had a giant white sheet as a curtain, and a screen at the top running film clips backwards. We waited anxiously, when suddenly the commotion began.



People began spraypainting from behind the curtain, different words and pictures. You could see the shadow of people, and of a girl bouncing a ball. It was great, and then the curtain got ripped down. Cue, the show.

For the record, Terricloth's impersonation was spot on. He sounded just like Peter Lorre. I was so convinced that if they took an artistic license in this performance, I will probably confuse it with fact.



I think this show really appealed to me in many ways. First of all I am an aspiring film buff. I hardly have time to watch films, but I love to know obscure facts about old actors. And as a person who is obsessed with 007, I already knew Lorre as Le Chiffre.

In another way, it harkens back (I'm seriously not that old...) to the days when I listened to punk all the time. I longed to go back in time to the late seventies, acid wash everything, shove safety pins under my skin, wear a leather vest with nothing underneath, and cut people with broken bottles in the pit. (I've grown out of that... sort of).

And then in the end, the beauty of the show. It was just a very pretty production. There are cameras on stage pointed at the musicians' faces in order to display them on the screens above. Terricloth changes in and out of a black tux and a white suit. Everything is black and white and red. The set is just a white floor and wall, with a mirror in the back, until they pop red confetti. There is a table for a scene later. And when Terricloth does his talks a red curtain drops and he talks into an old school microphone with a spot light on him. It's something I find beautiful.



Now for the harshness. I found it a little hard to follow at some points, particularly since I wasn't too familiar with Lorre's life. The second time I got to see it made a lot more sense. It seemed as if the letter from his daughter was randomly inserted. However, I didn't find any of this to be to the point where it would break apart the show. She was compelling enough to keep you listening and interested.

The second time I went was their last night in town and they did a few extra songs for the fans which was wonderful.



All in all I thought the show was great. I would pay to see it again, and I would recommend it to anyone.

When I saw it the following people played:
Maura Corrigan (sax)
Peter Hess (sax AND clarinet)
Sandra Malak (bass) she was so wonderful to watch! She has these great dreads, piled on top of her head and this cute dress and heels.
Lucky Strano (guitar)
Jack Terricloth (vocals) he was awesome!
and
Brian Viglione (drums) this is the REASON I came back a second time. Brian Viglione is the drummer for the Dresden Dolls who are on hiatus. I had to get a picture with him. And it is so true, he is great at what he does.