Marduk Concert Review

I really enjoy going to Black Metal shows, particularly because you never know what may happen. The crowd, the bands, the venue, the technical difficulties, the type of air one breaths in, etc, everything is simply VERY different at a BM Show. Usually, during metal concerts you get to see things like:

The girlfriend of the tour manager,
the girl that thinks HIM and System of A Down are as heavy as it gets and has a bf that brings her along to shows,
the guys with hair much longer and prettier than yours,
the groupie that is looking for the band members to take a photo,
the groupie that is looking to sleep with the band members,
the crazy Indian guy that likes to mosh at any metal show and enjoys talking to the speakers, the wall, and seems to enjoy throwing himself onto anything that moves [and that does not move] (applicable in Toronto Only... I think)
The skanky girl that see this event as an opportunity to wear close to nothing
The radio diva who thinks metal would be unknown without her
etc
etc
ETC!

Black Metal concerts may portrait some of the above, but the ambiance is VERY different PERIOD. You will see more than one guy wearing a black collar shirt with a suit jacket, the guy wearing corpse paint, a group of Black Metal Skinheads, and old guy wearing khakis, all sorts of pentagrams, all sorts of upside-down crosses, all sorts of tattoos, and all sorts of things that you may not see everyday. One last thing that needs to be clarified: Black Metal followers DO NO SUPPORT moshing during BM shows. Nevertheless, you always have the Indian guy that could be watching Britney Spears (hypothetical example for the sake of the argument) and would still mosh. Black Metal fans simply DO NOT MOSH and that needs to be understood; they like to enjoy the music, bang their head and move their GORGEOUS hair around. Moshing (or slamming), as some people know and acknowledge, has its origins in the 1970s Hardcore movement in the United States. It has been slowly adopted by all metal sub-genres, but still, POINT BEING is that the true BM fan will not mosh. I think that is just rational and wonderful.

Hails to the black metal attitude fur immer und immer. \m/

Anyway, point being is that I got to see the almighty Marduk on Sunday at the Annex Wreck Room in Toronto. Mantic Ritual, Merrimack, Black Anvil and Nachtmystium opened for them. Unfortunately, due to my canon training I missed the first few bands and walked in during Nachtmystium's performance:

Comments:
I have never been a Nachtmystium fan. As a matter of fact, I don't even like them. BUT they put on a really good show. Last time I listened to their music it was full-blast BM, but on Sunday they were really groovy! They have changed their style a lot, and I am really glad that that seems to be working for them. I enjoyed their performance very much and I actually look forward to seeing them again.





Marduk:

Well, well, well... Where to begin... Oh, yes, views about their latest album, Wormwood. I think it is badass! What a great comeback to complement their 2007 Rom 5:!2. Wormwood brings out all the rawness that Marduk has represented throughout the time they have been around.

Back to the concert: Given that this is the first time they could make it to Canadian grounds, I had to go see them! I was really looking forward to it, but by the time they got to their final set of songs, I was bored as fuck! Besides the songs from Panzer Division, it all sounded the same to me. What happened to the old Marduk, the one that was brutal, traditional, RAW OVER ALL? Everything was so monotone and boring! Are we anticipating an early retirement? I can honestly not say anything at the moment. Since this was the first time I saw them live, I have no point of comparison, so maybe they have never been all that Wish-fulfilling while they perform. Oh well, I guess I will stick to playing Baptism by fire, Throne of Rats and Steel Inferno on my ipod.

Still, here is a video of their LIVE performance. I will still bow at Marduk for their trajectory and for their unbelievable music, but I am sort of disappointed about their show. I betcha more than one disagrees with me, but well, let it be...






Conclusions about the show:

I Had a great time at the show. I went with my man, I saw some friends, had a beer, got to play around with the Canon G11, and most importantly, I banged my head to good music. Unfortunately, my expectations were not fully met by the almighty Marduk. Perhaps next time things will be better. So on that note, 'til next time.


MM

DAY 6! TRACK AND FIELD AND BOLT WINNING MY HEART!

Today was the 6th day of the Track and Field Championship and as anticipated, Jamaican Superman Usain Bolt beat the world record in the Men's 200m race (19''20). He JOGGED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! and beat Panamenian Alonso Edward by 62 Milliseconds!
This guy, WTF! When is he really going to get serious and run as fast as he can? He slowed down at the end of the race, and still did not have a problem breaking the previous world record, which was 19''30! Besides this, he had the fastest reaction time of the race (0.133), which allowed him to gain at least an advantage of 15 milliseconds!

I love Bolt <3

As usual, here is the video (In HD and everything) for your viewing pleasure ^.^ Go Bolt Go!






Tomorrow start the Heats for the 4X100 Race, where Bolt will be running again! Now that I have finished my exam (Go Me GO!), I will have more time to comment on the race, and I will probably do it as I watch, so
STAY TUNED FOR MORE COMMENTARIES ABOUT T&F AND SUPERMAN BOLT!

Track, Track, and more TRACK AND FIELD! - Day 5

Here are the highlights of today's performance and the videos of the controversial Women's 800m race.
The IAAF is questioning the Femininity of the RSA's Athlete, Semenya Caster, winner of the race, who finished 2"45 after Kenyan Athlete, Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei.

Here is the video of the race.




Day 5 was another great day for Jamaican Superman, Usain Bolt, who cam first in the semi-finals of the Men's 200m race. This guy does not stop amazing me. I mean, the guy JOGGED at the end of the race, while the others were busting their asses to get a place on the final.
I love to watch him run!!!!
The big final is tomorrow, and Usain is expected to beat the world record and run each one of the 100m sections below 10"!

Here is the video of this race. Go Bolt Go!!!!!

Here is the video of Usain talking after the culmination of the race:

Enjoy and stay tuned for more comments :D

Track, Track, and more TRACK AND FIELD!!!!

Alright, so besides being in love with music, I happen to ALSO be in love with Track and Field, given that it has been fed to me since I was in the womb :)

I have been following the Berlin World Track and Field Championship, and I have enjoyed every second of it. To the point that I want to share the happiness with the visitors of this blog ^.^

Here are some of the best moments of the 12th IAAF World Championship in Athletics

Here is Usain Bolt beating the World Record of the Men's 100m Final ^.^

Here Is Usain again, running on the quarter-finals of the Men's 200 meters race ^.^

Below is the Men's 400m Hurdles Final, where Super Felix came last and the race did not end up being between Superman and Batman as it was previously expected. Great performance by the Puerto Rican Javier Culson came in second.

That's it for me at the moment. I will update this as the championship goes. Also, I have found a few signals to watch the competitions online. They are in Spanish, so if you are still incapable of watching it, here are a few options

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

For the people in the USA, you can watch it on Universal Sports

Have fun

Yann Tiersen - Toronto Concert Review (4/5)

I would like to start off by saying that I am a big fan of Yann Tiersen. The first time his name was presented to me was about three years ago. Then, I found out he was the person responsible for Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain's Soundtrack, which is called J'y suis jamais alle. I also discovered that he was the man behind the Soundtrack of Good Bye Lenin! I hope I was able to draw the idea of Yann Tiersen I had in my head all these years, so to me last night's show [at the Mod Club] caught me completely off guard. I never thought I would see Yann perform, nor would I ever imagine that I would interview the guy. This entire experience was incredibly surreal.

I am not necessarily implying that last night's performance was a bad. Not at all, on the contrary, it was a magnificent show, but it was a Yann that I was not familiar with. It was the electronic side of a man whom I had idolized as a contemporary composer. Well, last night he proved me wrong, and I liked that. Let me explain in more detail. As he had said to me earlier that day while I was interviewing him, Music should not be meant for the purposes of moving images. It should be the representation of something beyond; something perhaps more abstract, and that is exactly what he did last night. It was that: Abstraction being fully defined. It was beautiful, with an electric twist.

I was expecting to hear La Chute, Le Parapluit, and the Soundtracks that projected him to a level beyond a major scale. To my surprise, none of the above were played, or at least in their traditional way. He wrapped up the show with a fully synth-remastered version of J'y sius jamais alle, which I did not recognize immediately. It actually had to be brought to my attention. Either way, I really enjoyed it.

Overall, Yann Tiersen's show and the introduction of his musical side, to which
I was introduced last night is still mesmerizing me the same way Summer of '78 once did.

****
My interview with Yann Tiersen will be up on the Music Department blog the second week of May.
Music Director

Un dia mas...

En la penumbra de un abismo poco común he decidido radicarme desde hace varios dias. Cada segundo que pasa por mis ojos se convierte en una ocasion mas para finalmente convencerme de las razones por las cuales me merezco algo mejor. Que ha de ser? No lo quiero saber, ya que al aceptar lo que verdaderamente me conviene seria como entregarme a una verdad que no se si estoy lista para aceptar.

El dejarme llevar por una intencion, que no lleva escencia, es aprender a aceptar mis devilidades ante un universo que no respeta la individualidad y la vulnerabilidad del ser humano. Igualmente no he llegado a una conclusion en este asunto. Sigo meditabunda en medio de una noche que no quiere terminar y apesar del dilema, estoy en paz.

Duele aprender a aceptar que seguimos cometiendo los mismos errores para sentirnos completamente vivos y emocionalmente estables; para de repente rendirnos victimas ante las consecuencias y sentirnos miserables de nuevo. A veces pienso que el masoquismo es indispensable en la vida de un ser humano, si es que verdaderamente queremos ser vulnerables en algo que anhelamos como un futuro no muy lejano.

In My Time of Need

I find it a little irritating to write only in times of need. That is, the need of the auto-reinforcing kind. Expecting that after plastering a few words in front of me, I will be able to picture what is it that does not cease to hurt me. After experiencing dissonance of cognition, there are only two choices, to change one's concepts or to accept personal flaws.

In this case, I have decided not to fall to the extremes of the spectrum. Instead, I chose to let my surroundings speak on my behalf. I let them embrace the pain that rises within me, as long as I do not dare to turn my back to a reality I created out of thin air. Learning how to differentiate between virtuality and physical existence is what does not stop attacking and, consequently destroying my Alter-ego.

After trying to find out why is it that I remain endlessly miserable, regardless of my actions, I do not stop questioning, but yet I choose to remain subtle. Sometimes I refuse to speak, because anything can be used against my own will and can lead to eventual autodistruction. I hate to feel vulnerable, to any extend. Once the minimum amount of weakness is displayed, my softness in character defeats me and I end up humiliating myself for absolutely no reason. And what for? To keep on threading this world made out of thin air. For the sake of hope, perhaps? The more I wonder, the more I loose it, and what for? To keep on running in circles and encounter a greater deception.

This is not unexpected... but yet again, I seem to forget that life does not function in linear sequence, things make absolutely no sense, nothing is based on previous experience and people love to be humiliated and disrespected. I don't! I give the best of me to get the exact opposite every... single... time..., and yet again, I go on. I keep on trying and I let anyone get to me at the most inconvenient times. Problems of character? Perhaps... Insecurities? Most likely. Purposeless piece of hope that caresses my face to remind me of a possible reality, not made of thin air.

I am not talking about desire, for I live in a world of thirst for what I may superficially have to offer. I once heard that a woman does not want to feel pretty; rather, she wants to feel desired. I am tired of feeling desired God damnit! I want to feel pretty. I want to feel valued, I want to feel something else fot that matter. It has been me all this time the one responsible for objectifying what I am, instead of embracing it with respect. It is my fault after all, and I am publicly aknowledging it. I hate what I am and what I have become. I am rotting from the inside out because of a game I thought I could master. After all, it is not that easy.

I cannot hurt something I do not have, and I will hurt as long as it perserves an emotional serendipity.

In a situation like this, there seems to be a song written for every second I stop to take a breath. Music helps, too much for my own sake. I found refuge within the lyrics of the almighty Opeth (Benighted, In My Time Of Need, Harvest, Closure), as well as Ahora Me Cuesta by La Pestilencia. Also, an all-time favorite is Climbing Up the Walls by Radiohead. In search of refuge, I also came across a rather unusual Slipknot song that colapsed the strenght I had managed to gather in the past 24 hrs:

My heart is just too dark to care. I can't destroy what isn't there. I couldn't face a life without your light But all of that was ripped apart… when you refused to fight So save your breath, I will not hear. I think I made it very clear. You couldn't hate enough to love. Is that supposed to be enough? I only wish you weren't my friend. Then I could hurt you in the end.

Wow, the more I explore the musical library embeded in me to deal with times like this, I seem to get to a point where I narrow down everything into another song:

But you don't understand when I'm attempting to explain Because you know it all and I guess things will never change But you might need my hand when falling in your hole Your disposition I'll remember when I'm letting go of You and me we're through and re-arranged You think everybody's the same I don't think that anybody's like you

And in the end, this only makes sense in Andrea's Head. Well, it's the only world that does not suddenly seem to dissapoint me, and it is the only one I can always count on when it is time to start again, from zero that is. It is the only one I have. Then, I face a neglected reality and opt to walk back in order to reanalyze where I made a mistake. Those can be the most painful steps ever taken, since that means confronting who I am and all what I truly stand for, to the point of finding answers to questions that were never meant to be asked.

And still, life does not take a break to look back at the instant that just took place. It does not loose its course, rather embraces every piece of existence. Just like the river that does not stop to catch its breath, I shall go on 'til the next time I collapse.

-Dre 2009