New: On the pod
Fear the State - Live @ CBGB: OMFUG
Great White – Live At The Marquee (Official Bootleg)
Jonatha Brooke – Careful What You Wish For
Kelly Keagy – I’m Alive
Mary Chapin Carpenter – The Calling
Norah Jones – Not Too Late
Pete Yorn – Musicforthemorningafter
Rocco DeLuca & The Burden – I Trust You To Kill Me
Shaw/Blades – Influence
News: On the pod
We’re Back!!! As you may have noticed, OTP has been on a bit of an extended hiatus lately. It wasn’t really intentional, but as it turns out it was necessary. I found myself in the hospital for a few days and then not doing much for about six weeks. Not to worry though…I’m back into the swing of things for the most part and ready to bring you up to speed on a few great albums I’ve found.
While I was goofing around, I managed to blow through a couple of books:
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx – Eric Nylund
If you dig the Halo video game series, then odds are you’ll dig this book. This is the first book inspired by the game where the usual hero of the series, Master Chief, is not featured. It follows the story arc of a new Spartan program lead by a long thought dead Spartan from the Master Chief’s own team.
Thomas Harris managed to score both a new book and a new movie all at the same time with Hannibal Rising. I just read the book though and oddly enough, not as creepy as I thought it would be. However, it does give a look into the life of a young Hannibal Lecter and some reasons for the way he ended up. It was a quick read that I managed to get through it in a day.
Lady Friday (The Keys to the Kingdom) – Garth Nix
Yeah, OK, so I read kids books…well young adult books, but still. Garth Nix is a terrific writer of young adult fiction whose Lady Friday book marks the fifth of seven in his The Keys to the Kingdom series. In this installment we continue to follow the young Arthur Penhaligon, the rightful heir to the Will of the Architect, and his struggle to save his friends, his family and himself from the denizens of the upper house and Lady Friday. The series is really a fun read and with only two installments left…it’s time to get started, don’t you think?
I also picked up my Xbox 360…finally. Of course, as expected, the minute I bought it Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 Elite…Bastards. So, I returned it and will be waiting for the new Xbox 360 Elite. Prior to that, I managed to play:
Dead Rising
You’re a photojournalist stranded in a shopping mall infested with zombies for 72 hours. You have to take outstanding pictures of the horror all around you and…survive by any means necessary. The game play is cool, but this game is meant for a big screen as the on-screen text is very small and hard to read.
Crackdown
You’re a super cop in a city run amuck. It’s very similar in fashion to the Grand Theft Auto series but this time you’re the good guy. The game play is very easy to get used to and as you collect and use your abilities, your powers increase. My only real complaint with this game was that it was really short. Even though you have three different gangs you need to put out of business, I managed to finish this game in less than a week. It’s a big investment for such a short experience, although it is ready for Xbox Live and does come with an invitation to the Halo 3 online beta.
Gears of War
First off, this is a pretty bad-ass game. The story is a familiar one though, you’re a human(oid) and your planet is invaded by aliens. At the start of the game you’re a soldier who’s serving time and you’re broken out only to facedown an alien invasion and your past. The game play is fairly unique in that one of the things you have to do in order to survive the game is take cover…if you don’t, you die. The weapons are fun too, although a chainsaw on the end of a machine gun? Eeh, who’s to say?
Finally, in my down time I’ve been watching a few DVDs. Here’s what I thought:
24: Season 1
I may have been the only person left on the planet Earth who hadn’t watched Jack Bauer save the world. Having watched Season 1…I get it. Good stuff!
Bones: Season 1
Based on characters created by Kathy Reichs, Bones is the story of Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist played by Emily Deschanel, and her dealings and relationship with FBI agent Seely Booth, played by David Boreanaz. They hate each other, they love each other, they solve cases with each other…but the scripts are well written as well as being supported by great actors. Bones is actually a fun and intelligent alternative to the less fun and intelligent CSI.
I did say finally about the DVDs didn’t I? Oh well, last week was the week of live shows for me. I managed to see:
Indigo Girls @ the Mohegan Sun Cabaret Theater in CT
I’ve seen the Indigo Girls a bunch of time before, but this was hands down the best time yet. They played as an acoustic duo for the evening and just brought the house down. It was great because along with playing the predictable hits and new stuff, they dipped into their seemingly endless song catalogue for some really obscure things I’d never had the pleasure of hearing them play live before.
Shaw-Blades @ BB King’s in NYC
These two guys can sing. This was my second acoustic show for the week and well worth the trip. In a lot of ways, it was a cover show as they played tunes both on and considered for their latest album, Influence. They also played favorites from Damn Yankees,
Fear the State @ The Space in CT
These guys have to be the hardest working unsigned band around. I have never seen them have a bad show performance wise, much less a show where they didn’t absolutely give 110% on stage. They work it no matter who or how many people are in the crowd and it’s always fun.
Speaking of Fear the State, they’ve released a new EP called Live @ CBGB: OMFUG. It’s half live and half new studio tunes. Fear the State was actually one of the last bands to play the legendary and now defunct CBGBs in NYC. They recorded that show and the best tracks are included on this disc. In many ways, Live @ CBGB: OMFUG is really a historic recording in that it captures the last days of the famous and infamous club. Aside from the cool tunes, it’s worth picking up just for that and if you manage to catch them live, I think you can pick up a copy for free when you buy your long sought after Fear the State merch.
That’s it…I swear. I just want to say thanks for reading and for continually coming back even during the down time. If you come back next wee, you’ll get a look at Jonatha Brooke’s new disc and here are some of the other artists I have coming up: Art Turner, Guy Clark, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Peter Ostroushko.
Thanks again and as always…Keep Listening!
Joe
