Last night I went to a concert for a band I'm familiar with, but not that familiar with, in a building I haven't been inside in years, and got to do something I'd never done before. It was a good time.
Sevendust is one of my buddy Moppy's favorite bands. He's got everything they've done, probably twice. I do have some of their music from various soundtracks and such but I mostly know them through Moppy, from car rides or tailgating or whatever. I enjoy them and their heavy metal/hard rock style music. Like I mentioned, I'm not that familiar with their work. I don't remember song titles or lyrics or anything, I just know I like the sounds they make. Normally that would not be enough to get me to go to a concert but I figured it would be a good time and, more importantly, Moppy had some free tickets so I went along.
I haven't been to the building known as the Rave in about a decade. It has been fixed up a bit in that time. It's an old, old building that's probably falling down more than it shows. The ballroom is where the concert was held and, oddly enough, was also the scene of the last concert I went to in the Rave. It has two or three areas to host concerts. It's old and a big place. I'd been using my memories of it to invent a place for my stories. It looks nicer than I've been describing it.
Moppy and I were in the midst of the crowd. When the first chords of music began, he turned sideways, became paper thin, and dove deeper into the crowd, into the center where a mosh pit was guaranteed. As I'm unable to become that thin anymore and the seam closed after he passed through it, I stayed where I was, happy to headbang by myself. We had a place to meet if we got separated so I wasn't concerned about finding him again. I just rocked and enjoyed myself.
About halfway through the concert, another mosh pit formed next to me. Now, if you've never been in a mosh pit before, they look very violent. There's a reason for that; they are very violent. It's not an angry violent, it's a very good natured sort of violent, like football. Guys slam into each other repeatedly during the music, then shake hands, hug and go on their ways. If someone gets knocked down, he gets picked back up again. If someone gets hurt, he gets helped out.
When I was younger, moshing wasn't quite such a contact sport. I still didn't do it too much due to concerns over my eyewear. Now, it's a little too rough for me. Considering where the pit formed, I became part of the pit wall. Now, the thing about these concerts is that not everyone wants to be in the pit. Some people just want to listen to the music. A wall forms around the pit to absorb the energy of the moshers and try to disperse it before it can affect the rest of the audience. Basically you're trying to block them from knocking everyone else down. Most of the time, the moshers aren't hitting the pit wall that hard. You're just helping them keep their feet. Occasionally they bump into someone wrong, lose control and you're trying to keep everyone from falling, especially yourself. I stumbled a few times but never fell. The moshers were doing their best to keep the bumps to themselves. As it should be. I would rock out during the break between songs and then return to watching the pit. When it's on you cannot take your eyes off of it. If you do, you will get knocked down.
Sevendust finished their set. Moppy, tired, rematerialized by my side. I shook hands with one of the guys from the pit before leaving. Good times.
28 March 2009
27 March 2009
A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week
Or just one comic from this week.
The Muppet Show Comic Book #1.
The art took some getting used to, but I like it. It's short 'skits' with a story arc, just like the show. I can hear the characters' voices in my head as I read the book. It's funny. I got misty eyed at the end, just like I do for some of the shows when Kermit says something sad but sweet.
It is outstanding.
The Muppet Show Comic Book #1.
The art took some getting used to, but I like it. It's short 'skits' with a story arc, just like the show. I can hear the characters' voices in my head as I read the book. It's funny. I got misty eyed at the end, just like I do for some of the shows when Kermit says something sad but sweet.
It is outstanding.
26 March 2009
Ouch
Spent all day, well, almost all day at a job fair. Too much thinking. Head hurts. Simpsons, beer, chips and nacho cheese to relax. Actual text later.
25 March 2009
Midwest Gaming Classic
Last year I went to the Midwest Gaming Classic because I could. I had an interest in going, I had no expectations of having company and just went for the sake of wanting to be there. I ended up bumping into friends and had a fine time in general.
This year I had plans to attend with friends I don't get to see very often as they live out of town. These plans worked. In addition to having access to more classic arcade games than last year, more museum systems to look at and play, more vendors to buy from, I had my buddies to mess around with while there. It all ended up working out, which was nice. Hung out, had fun, had a nice dinner with most of them, got to tell stories, got to hear stories. Nothing explosive or overwhelming to report, unless beating Mark in Gorf counts. Or me losing my Kermit in Mickey ears pin. Drat it.
Bought a Xbox 360. It's broken. Maybe I can fix it. For $10 I decided to take the dare. I'm decent at tinkering which means I can follow directions and troubleshoot well but I can also break things that are already broken. We shall see.
This year I had plans to attend with friends I don't get to see very often as they live out of town. These plans worked. In addition to having access to more classic arcade games than last year, more museum systems to look at and play, more vendors to buy from, I had my buddies to mess around with while there. It all ended up working out, which was nice. Hung out, had fun, had a nice dinner with most of them, got to tell stories, got to hear stories. Nothing explosive or overwhelming to report, unless beating Mark in Gorf counts. Or me losing my Kermit in Mickey ears pin. Drat it.
Bought a Xbox 360. It's broken. Maybe I can fix it. For $10 I decided to take the dare. I'm decent at tinkering which means I can follow directions and troubleshoot well but I can also break things that are already broken. We shall see.
24 March 2009
'Strongman' Review
When I was twelve, I was introduced to comic books as Comic Books. I'd read them before that age and knew many of the characters from television, but suddenly there was a history there, more depth than I expected. I fell hard, as I often do when finding a new obsession.
A couple years later, I bumped into wrestling and hesitated rather than turning away. At it's core was a story similar to the comics I had gotten comfortable with reading. It was good vs evil on a stage. I got hooked.
In the 1990's my interest in wrestling revived once I started seeing luchadores, high flying styled wrestlers mostly from Mexico, as part of the shows. Comics and wrestling had more truly connected with masks designed to hide the identity of the wrestler and fighting moves that would make Spider-Man proud. Discovering that Mexican cinema had a history of taking these men and having them fight crime just cemented that connection together. My character El Hombre de Silla is born out of that fascination, in tribute to that style of entertainment.
The 'Strongman' graphic novel also follows in that tradition. It tells the story of Tigre, a formerly Santo-esqe character insomuch that he wrestled, fought crime, and made movies. Tragedy hit over thirty years ago and he is but a shadow of himself, spending much of his time drunk and wasting his life. A young woman encourages him to investigate a problem and, eventually, he gets talked into it, reviving the Tigre of old.
Over the course of the story we find out what happened that fateful day in 1973 and how it affects Tigre to this day. The story is logically laid out, well told in words and art. It is more realistic than the movies would have been in the past and yet reads like a storyboard for a movie waiting to happen. It's not that realistic. It's real enough when it needs to be and yet a story when the time is right.
I loved it. More please.
A couple years later, I bumped into wrestling and hesitated rather than turning away. At it's core was a story similar to the comics I had gotten comfortable with reading. It was good vs evil on a stage. I got hooked.
In the 1990's my interest in wrestling revived once I started seeing luchadores, high flying styled wrestlers mostly from Mexico, as part of the shows. Comics and wrestling had more truly connected with masks designed to hide the identity of the wrestler and fighting moves that would make Spider-Man proud. Discovering that Mexican cinema had a history of taking these men and having them fight crime just cemented that connection together. My character El Hombre de Silla is born out of that fascination, in tribute to that style of entertainment.
The 'Strongman' graphic novel also follows in that tradition. It tells the story of Tigre, a formerly Santo-esqe character insomuch that he wrestled, fought crime, and made movies. Tragedy hit over thirty years ago and he is but a shadow of himself, spending much of his time drunk and wasting his life. A young woman encourages him to investigate a problem and, eventually, he gets talked into it, reviving the Tigre of old.
Over the course of the story we find out what happened that fateful day in 1973 and how it affects Tigre to this day. The story is logically laid out, well told in words and art. It is more realistic than the movies would have been in the past and yet reads like a storyboard for a movie waiting to happen. It's not that realistic. It's real enough when it needs to be and yet a story when the time is right.
I loved it. More please.
23 March 2009
GLCW - 'Two Words ... Too Sweet' - March 21, 2009
I've been to a few cards promoted by Great Lakes Championship Wrestling and they've all been a good time. This show was no exception. We arrived at the Waukesha Expo Center with plenty of time before the show started. We got the same seats that we had for last December's Blizzard Brawl. The only variation on our side was that my buddy Mark was in the area over the weekend from Stevens Point and he attended in place of Moppy.
Match 1: ICW Title Match, Justin Dredd defending the title against Mickey McCoy
Mickey was from Ireland and Justin from Milwaukee which, oddly enough, was cause for 'USA' chants to break out. Just days after St. Patrick's day and suddenly we're anti-Irish? Weird. Justin was the face and took a good beating from Mickey. We started renaming Mickey's moves to fit his Irish background, from simple things like renaming the Russian Leg Sweep to the Irish Leg Sweep to more complex things like calling chest chops potato slices. Or something. I'm forgetting our best jokes. Justin won with a move off the top rope that was similar to a Russian Leg Sweep if both guys involved were on the top turnbuckle and did a backflip to land face down in the ring. There's a name for the move and I'm ashamed to say I can't remember what it is. Nice hot opener that got the crowd going. Justin is a little on the skinny side and would benefit from putting on some weight.
Match 2: Electric Eric Freedom vs Lenny Lane - 10 minute Time Limit
The Lenny Lane Army was ready for the appearance of their hero this time. There were signs, there was yelling, there were smiles all around. His Lenniness played the face this time. He and the 'hardcore hippie' worked a solid back-and-forth match that was ended by the Time Limit. Of course more time was asked for, Freedom tried a sneak attack as the match restarted, and Lenny got the win. After posing around the ring, slapping hands with the cheering crowd, Lenny started back towards the dressing room. With an exaggerated 'oh wait a minute' expression, he tore over to the location of the Lenny Lane Army in order to pose with us. Outstanding! Excellent fun. As predicted, my voice was already destroyed after this match.
Match 3: Three Way Dance - Matt 'Love Machine' Longtime vs Dysfunction vs Ryan Rogue
After a few moments, the characters sorted themselves out after the general positive reactions to the guys during the introductions. I've seen Dysfunction play face and heel so there was a certain 'what's he been lately' confusion. Matt Longtime is generally a heel so that wasn't complicated. Ryan Rogue was unfamiliar. Apparently Ryan's middle name is 'punching bag' as Dysfunction played heel and helped Longtime beat the snot out of him. Heel miscommunication led to Longtime hitting Dysfunction and then pinning him for the elimination. Ryan managed to rally to quickly defeat Longtime for the win. Post match, Dysfunction expressed his 'that's not how we planned it' frustration to Longtime. Dissatisfied with the response, Dysfunction superkicked Longtime, leaving Longtime in the middle of the ring, his legs raised in the air stiffly. He remained in that position until the Intermission was announced. Unsteadily, he climbed to his feet, fell, rolled from the ring, staggered, fell again, and stumbled to the back, selling the entire way. Well done sir!
Intermission - Lenny Lane set up shop on the ring apron. Once the children had a chance to say hi, the Army moved in. We said hi, bought t-shirts, laughed with him, chit-chatted about his recent brief appearance 'up north', he discussed a character idea he brought up there and expressed his annoyance with how it got shot down. He also signed the Lenny Lane Army sign I'd held up. Good times.
Match 4: Bobcat vs 'Connie Armoni' with Sunny as Guest Ref
'Connie Armoni' would be local legend Angel Armoni in a dress and wig. GLCW womens matches tend to be fun comedy matches and this one was no different. Relatively short, sweet, and to the point. When the comedy faded, a few individuals in the audience expressed their boredom but the match really wasn't long enough to lag for any real length of time. Bobcat won to become the new GLCW Ladies Champion. Fun.
Match 5: GLCW Heavyweight Title Match - Mr. A.E. vs Champion Al Snow
Mr. A.E. is also the current commissioner of GLCW so the storyline of the match revolved around his changing of the rules during the match to prevent his losing and stacking the deck against Al. It became 'no countouts', then 'no dq'. Once Al tried to bring his mascot 'Head' (a manniquin head) into the match, Mr. A.E. noted that he never agreed to a 'handicap' match so Matt Longtime came out to 'balance' things out. Al continued to survive the pummeling until the referee decided he'd had enough and refused to count a fall for Mr. A.E. The ref was dismissed and a new ref was chosen, someone already wearing black and white... Matt Longtime. Even Matt's quick counts weren't enough to count Al out after he'd had a chance to rest and Al managed a comeback. Once both Longtime and Mr. A.E. were down for the count, the original ref returned and gladly counted the fall for Al. Good work, fun storyline that was well performed. This and the Lenny Lane match were my two favorites for the night.
Match 6: 'The Match They Didn't Want You To See' - BG James and Kip James vs Kevin Nash and Scott Hall
Both teams (the former New Age Outlaws of DX and Outsiders of the NWO respectively) came out and did their traditional schtick to the delight of the crowd. A lawyer from 'Connecticut' then tried to stop the match but was told where he could go in humorous fashion. The match itself was standard, nothing special, what you'd expect from these guys and their ages but all performed well. As I predicted, Hall wrestled about 90% of the match for his team. Not only was this standard operating procedure for the Outsiders, but Nash is having elbow issues and may have been limited in what he could do. Late in the match, Hall went to tag his long-time partner but was met with a middle finger instead. Confused, he was easy prey for a Fameasser and a 3 count. Hall and Nash exchanged some words and a match between them was set up for the next card on June 12th. Very enjoyable.
Already announced for the June 12th show at the Italian Community Center:
Scott Hall vs Kevin Nash
Bobcast vs Traci Brooks for the Ladies Championship
Mr. A.E. vs the Boogieman
On the whole, an enjoyable show as I expected. Good times.
Match 1: ICW Title Match, Justin Dredd defending the title against Mickey McCoy
Mickey was from Ireland and Justin from Milwaukee which, oddly enough, was cause for 'USA' chants to break out. Just days after St. Patrick's day and suddenly we're anti-Irish? Weird. Justin was the face and took a good beating from Mickey. We started renaming Mickey's moves to fit his Irish background, from simple things like renaming the Russian Leg Sweep to the Irish Leg Sweep to more complex things like calling chest chops potato slices. Or something. I'm forgetting our best jokes. Justin won with a move off the top rope that was similar to a Russian Leg Sweep if both guys involved were on the top turnbuckle and did a backflip to land face down in the ring. There's a name for the move and I'm ashamed to say I can't remember what it is. Nice hot opener that got the crowd going. Justin is a little on the skinny side and would benefit from putting on some weight.
Match 2: Electric Eric Freedom vs Lenny Lane - 10 minute Time Limit
The Lenny Lane Army was ready for the appearance of their hero this time. There were signs, there was yelling, there were smiles all around. His Lenniness played the face this time. He and the 'hardcore hippie' worked a solid back-and-forth match that was ended by the Time Limit. Of course more time was asked for, Freedom tried a sneak attack as the match restarted, and Lenny got the win. After posing around the ring, slapping hands with the cheering crowd, Lenny started back towards the dressing room. With an exaggerated 'oh wait a minute' expression, he tore over to the location of the Lenny Lane Army in order to pose with us. Outstanding! Excellent fun. As predicted, my voice was already destroyed after this match.
Match 3: Three Way Dance - Matt 'Love Machine' Longtime vs Dysfunction vs Ryan Rogue
After a few moments, the characters sorted themselves out after the general positive reactions to the guys during the introductions. I've seen Dysfunction play face and heel so there was a certain 'what's he been lately' confusion. Matt Longtime is generally a heel so that wasn't complicated. Ryan Rogue was unfamiliar. Apparently Ryan's middle name is 'punching bag' as Dysfunction played heel and helped Longtime beat the snot out of him. Heel miscommunication led to Longtime hitting Dysfunction and then pinning him for the elimination. Ryan managed to rally to quickly defeat Longtime for the win. Post match, Dysfunction expressed his 'that's not how we planned it' frustration to Longtime. Dissatisfied with the response, Dysfunction superkicked Longtime, leaving Longtime in the middle of the ring, his legs raised in the air stiffly. He remained in that position until the Intermission was announced. Unsteadily, he climbed to his feet, fell, rolled from the ring, staggered, fell again, and stumbled to the back, selling the entire way. Well done sir!
Intermission - Lenny Lane set up shop on the ring apron. Once the children had a chance to say hi, the Army moved in. We said hi, bought t-shirts, laughed with him, chit-chatted about his recent brief appearance 'up north', he discussed a character idea he brought up there and expressed his annoyance with how it got shot down. He also signed the Lenny Lane Army sign I'd held up. Good times.
Match 4: Bobcat vs 'Connie Armoni' with Sunny as Guest Ref
'Connie Armoni' would be local legend Angel Armoni in a dress and wig. GLCW womens matches tend to be fun comedy matches and this one was no different. Relatively short, sweet, and to the point. When the comedy faded, a few individuals in the audience expressed their boredom but the match really wasn't long enough to lag for any real length of time. Bobcat won to become the new GLCW Ladies Champion. Fun.
Match 5: GLCW Heavyweight Title Match - Mr. A.E. vs Champion Al Snow
Mr. A.E. is also the current commissioner of GLCW so the storyline of the match revolved around his changing of the rules during the match to prevent his losing and stacking the deck against Al. It became 'no countouts', then 'no dq'. Once Al tried to bring his mascot 'Head' (a manniquin head) into the match, Mr. A.E. noted that he never agreed to a 'handicap' match so Matt Longtime came out to 'balance' things out. Al continued to survive the pummeling until the referee decided he'd had enough and refused to count a fall for Mr. A.E. The ref was dismissed and a new ref was chosen, someone already wearing black and white... Matt Longtime. Even Matt's quick counts weren't enough to count Al out after he'd had a chance to rest and Al managed a comeback. Once both Longtime and Mr. A.E. were down for the count, the original ref returned and gladly counted the fall for Al. Good work, fun storyline that was well performed. This and the Lenny Lane match were my two favorites for the night.
Match 6: 'The Match They Didn't Want You To See' - BG James and Kip James vs Kevin Nash and Scott Hall
Both teams (the former New Age Outlaws of DX and Outsiders of the NWO respectively) came out and did their traditional schtick to the delight of the crowd. A lawyer from 'Connecticut' then tried to stop the match but was told where he could go in humorous fashion. The match itself was standard, nothing special, what you'd expect from these guys and their ages but all performed well. As I predicted, Hall wrestled about 90% of the match for his team. Not only was this standard operating procedure for the Outsiders, but Nash is having elbow issues and may have been limited in what he could do. Late in the match, Hall went to tag his long-time partner but was met with a middle finger instead. Confused, he was easy prey for a Fameasser and a 3 count. Hall and Nash exchanged some words and a match between them was set up for the next card on June 12th. Very enjoyable.
Already announced for the June 12th show at the Italian Community Center:
Scott Hall vs Kevin Nash
Bobcast vs Traci Brooks for the Ladies Championship
Mr. A.E. vs the Boogieman
On the whole, an enjoyable show as I expected. Good times.
22 March 2009
Long Weekend
Everything played out as it should. Tired. Will most likely review the wrestling card tomorrow. Maybe more to make up for this limited entry.
I still smell marker. Bother.
I still smell marker. Bother.
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