Stake Land (2010)

Director:  Jim Mickle

Country:  USA

Tagline:  The most dangerous thing is to be alive

Plot:  America is transformed into an apocalyptic wasteland inhabited by vampires and sadistic cults. A world  Richard Matheson envisioned in his novel, I am Legend back in 1954, Stake Land is a film he would have been proud to write.

Verdict: Stake Land is not for the faint of heart, it is a truly harrowing interpretation of a world consumed by sin. The world in which Martin and Mister live is inhabited by zombie-like vampires, but they aren't even the most dangerous creatures - a cult of white supremist, sadists control much of the north of America. Stakeland isn't everybody's cup of tea, and it certainly isn't anything like the previous run of zombie apocalypse or indeed vampire flicks plastered all over the big screen. The film is a horror, a drama, and a genuinely thought provoking film with brilliant direction and a superb cast of relative unknowns (Kelly McGillis hasn't been well known since the 80's, and Danielle Harris isn't a house hold name unless you are a uber movie geek like me!)
10/10

Fright Night (1985)

Director: Tom Holland

Country:  USA

Tagline:  There are good reasons to be afraid of the dark

Plot:  Horror obsessed Charley believes his new neighbour is a vampire, thing is.. nobody believes him.

Verdict: A cult movie classic, this one has every 80's horror staple. Charley's neighbour of course turns out to be a vamp who kidnaps his girlfriend in true Dracula style, 'glamouring' her into dancing with him and then turning her into an ugly vampire creature, whose hair miraculously grows while vampified and shrinks again when Charley comes to the rescue with Van Helsing, nay Peter Vincent. Basically it is a Dracula tale without most of the sexism (it's still the 80's) and less of the accents. A fun night is to be had watching it, but not a frightening one.

Flight of the Living Dead - Outbreak on a Plane (2007)

Director:  Scott Thomas

Country:  USA

Tagline:  Un-dead at 30000 Feet

Plot:  Some scientists bring an infected colleague onto a plane and all hell breaks loose, literally.

Verdict:  This is another Romero influenced spoof, originally named ‘Plane Dead’, a name they should have, in my opinion, stuck with. It’s full of gore and bad acting, and a whole load of irritating characters you can’t wait to see ripped apart by zombies. It’s in short, Snakes on a Plane with zombies; and yes, it is actually better than Snakes on a Plane, but that’s not hard, is it? It’s easy to watch (well, if you enjoy watching bloody violence, as I do) and a brilliant laugh,  definitely a cult film in the making. If you are a fan of tongue and cheek zombie flicks it’s worth a watch or if you need something to shove on while you are playing drinking games... that’s a thought... you could definitely create a drinking game around this, how about every time a zombie gets shot? Yeah so it’s not going to win awards, okay maybe a Razzie... but I sure as hell enjoyed my plane ride with the dead!

Demons (1985) a.k.a. Dèmoni

Director: Lamberto Bava

Producer: Dario Argento

Country: Italy (why of course)

Tagline: They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.

Plot: A bunch of people get stuck inside a cinema (Metropol) with a whole load of ‘demons’, and are desperately trying to escape before turning into one of them.

Verdict:

In the great tradition of so-bad-it’s-good horror movies what makes this film so awesome is it’s brilliantly simple horror plot. It is packed full of brilliant make up sfx and boasts a heavy metal soundtrack with the likes of Motley Crue and Billy Idol. As in all horror some of the characters are sympathetic and some you severely hope die in the first ten minutes -  the irritatingly pathetic girl (who stupidly brings her friends to the cinema in the first place), the heroic tough guy, the ill-fated punks, the misogynistic pimp, the blind guy, the unlikely hero... you get the picture. It also leaves you desperate (or not...) for more, who was the creepy guy with half a metal face? What’s the mask all about? How did the demons escape the cinema and populate the entire city in the time that it took only few humans to escape? If all those questions and a overly sufficient helping of gore don’t leave you gagging for Demons 2, I don’t know what will.

MAD SIN!

Who? Mad Sin, of course.
Sounds Like? The Damned Meets Elvis
Where? The Fleece, Bristol
When? Friday, September 10th, 2010

As an avid fan of psychobilly, I am a bit of a regular to the scene. Mad Sin are one of the majors in the league of the genre that merges rockabilly and punk hailing from Germany, I'd even go as far to say they are the kings of psychobilly. It is easy to see why they are so influencial, with their theatrical stage presence and horror b-movie themed lyrics, they are a treat to watch. Horror inspired lyrics and dress have since become a staple of psychobilly fashion and music.
Heading to Bristol I knew I was in for a great show, but it outdid expectations with a brilliant list of support acts - Kings of Outer Space (a fellow psychobilly band), Speed Kings and Control (pegged as street punk rejects and delivered a great set of Oi! and got me dancing like crazy). I was already in the mood for a good gig after Control inspired me with their Casualties-style mix of skinhead street punk - always good to have a support act that is up to the challenge of stirring up the crowd!

Mad Sin started with a bang, almost literally. The crowd was straight to their feet and full of rock n' roll spirit. My boyfriend was never a great fan of psychobilly - he is more of a ska punk sort of man (The Specials and the like), however, I am pretty convinced he has been converted after the kings that are Mad Sin! Not many bands can inspire such a unity in the crowd.
Definitely a band to check out, and I am looking forward to Rebellion 2011, where I am sure they will steal the show again!


Verdict? 10/10 Whether or not you enjoy psychobilly, or have even ever heard of it, this gig will get even your grandad moving!

A-G-G-R-O AGGRO!

Who? The Aggrolites!!
A Californian five piece reggae band.
Known for? The song Dirty Reggae, found on Hellcat Records Give 'Em Boot Volume 4 and their collaberation with Rancid singer Tim Armstrong for his solo album A Poet's Life.

Where? The Croft, Bristol
When? 02/08/10

I've liked the Aggrolites for a number of years now but never managed to catch them live. The ticket cost me a whopping great £15 and let me tell you, it was worth every penny.
The Croft pub is a fantastic venue for punk gigs, Bristol is lucky enough to have quite a few brilliant venues, but I have particularly become fond of this one. On entering I instantly fell in love with the concert poster art plastered all over the walls, of which, I discovered is made directly above the pub by a small independant company Jacknife. Got to get me some of those masterpieces when I have the money! Once I'd admired the posters and drank a pint of cider I entered a very small room where a ska band was playing, time to get another drink I thought! Pretty standard local band, might as well save my ears and energy for the Californian reggae band, and boy am I glad I did!
The guys stole the show as expected. I don't think there was a soul not skanking their heart out to the beat of Mr. Misery or Dirty Reggae. Mate of mine, Drew, had previously been up on stage with the band at another gig at the Croft when they recognised him for his covers on youtube (watch here) of which they'd apparently been introduced to by one of the bands family members - oh the power of technology! They spotted him again and he joined them up on stage for a rendition of Faster Bullet and fair play Drew, you nailed it!
After what must have been over an hour of playing, the audience beckoned the band back for more with a chant of A-G-G-R-O a-g-g-r-o aggro! - Lyrics to the song they proceeded to play plus a few more. I couldn't fault them one little bit- they played all my favourites, gave in to the crowds demands and their stage presence was just brilliant - I think I might have even developed a minor crush on the lead singer (yes, he was just THAT charismatic!) I also got a hug off him at the end of the night - all in all, a night well spent!

Verdict? 10/10 Will I be rushing to see them next time? Hell yes! And buying the t-shirt... again and again!

hello!

Why hello my devoted followers (hahaha) just wanted to say that i found THIS a while ago and have now decided to stick it up on here :D woop! Check it out.
xxx

THE PEACOCKS!

Sunday 14th March @ The Old Library

New(ish) venue, The Old Library is proving to be a good 'un. Swedish pop punk rockabilly psychobilly trio The Peacocks didn't quite bring in the crowd we'd have hoped but nevertheless, the gig was brilliant. Support came from valley's boys 8.4% and Deadbeat Deluxe. Plenty of rock n' roll, pyschobilly covers from 8.4% set the tone for the night, and warmed up the crowd for the Peacocks. Personally I am a pyschobilly fan, and even though I am not particularly knowledgable about the Peacocks, I had heard a few tunes and knew I was in for a decent show. The show out did expectations, however. Even with the venue half empty there was a great atmosphere in the room. People were up dancing, and for an empty gig that's a good achievement. I've seen some great bands who haven't managed to get people on their feet for lack of confidence in an empty room. So guys, if you have the chance, rockabilly/psychobilly fan or not, go see the Peacocks. I'd also reccomend the support acts too, if your a South Wales local!

My verdict... 8/10

Finally, an update!!

Well, I know this blog has been sitting pretty for the last god knows how many months, but here we go, I am back and I have a whole load of shit to complain and rant about! Woop!

Firstly, myself and Graveyard Jimmy had a fantastic Punk Rock Midnight show at Xpress radio (Cardiff university's student radio station) that was tragically cancelled because the man pulled it down. Obviously, there still isn't room for punk rock in a world of the idiot majority. I don't see what harm a midnight show that few people bother to listen to would do to keep on. Honestly, they wouldn't even notice we were airing. Fear not my dedicated followers (ie. nobody) Jimmy and I had a plan... a podcast! Anyone with any great knowledge of how to set one of these up, or any knowledge at all please get in contact with me, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I am currently reading about a thousand books at the moment, including one that everyone should read: Female Chauvinist Pigs that I attempted to read a few years back but got so incredibly frustrated by stopped (frustrated in a good way though.. the kind of frustration you get with reading about the insane amount of sexism that is stuff rife in our society, ney our world. Also a new book Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism, both very good and very relevant reading if you had any moral or political conscience.



That is all for now, gig reviews up soon!