Entertainment – Exsk8pnk

Bands On Tour

I’m grateful for music and regularly seize every opportunity to attend as many live music performances as my budget/schedule allows. That said, in light of actions perpetrated by ICE, Etc that are happening within the borders of the USA I’m surprised that any musical acts from overseas are set to visit the US.

I have tickets for several upcoming concerts featuring bands from Europe and elsewhere, and while watching the skies metaphorically speaking, I’m currently hedging my bets that these concerts will actually occur. As these bands enter our borders, will they make it to any/all of their scheduled dates without harassment from various government agencies? Time will tell.

These are scary, dark times. As I walk the streets in my city, I see national guard troops patrolling with sidearms at their hip. Several months ago, two of them were shot, one fatally near The White House National Guard Member Dies, Other in Critical Condition After Shooting | TIME Moreover, as reported via The Hill news came today that National Guard troops will remain deployed in DC through 2029 Pentagon plans to keep National Guard in DC into 2029

Neither myself, nor many of my fellow DC residents with whom I come in regular contact with consider the presence of armed soldiers roaming our streets and mass transit facilities to be a welcoming presence. Regardless of whether or not I was in a touring band from overseas I would think long and hard about entering the US at this time.

Hell, anytime I leave my house I think long and hard about where I’m going and I’m watchful of my surroundings. Additionally, I’ve grown increasingly apprehensive whenever I see SUV ‘s driving/parked on my city’s streets. Particularly if they have tinted windows. Are they driven by civilians, or are they used by any number of acronymed government agencies who have been violently snatching both citizens and non-citizens throughout the USA (some of whom are elementary school students)?

Back to my initial point- in these times, music is a balm that soothes the soul, and listening to it in a communal setting such as a concert is among the best things one can do. If there’s an upcoming concert near you by a band whose output you enjoy, please do attend and buy their merch.

Musicality and Money

I find it interesting the amount of time I expend on avoiding housework, and it seems like there’s an equal number of tasks I have to do as those that distract me from doing what needs to be done. Primarily, I find seeking out new music to be my biggest distraction, closely followed by watching movies, and playing Words With Friends games to be a close third distracting activity.

I have built and maintain a strong connection with various people on bluesky all of whom share an equal interest in sharing music with others and discussing various artists/songs and their importance to them.

I find it incredibly sad, disappointing and infuriating how many artists musical and otherwise increasingly struggle with earning a livable wage from their creativity. Barrett Strong recorded the well-known song, Money (That’s What I Want) in 1959- listen here: https://youtu.be/oU_ixZv9N-E?si=X7dkFsya5tFhgtzj which was covered by groups ranging from The Doors to The Beatles and The Flying Lizards whose version i’m particularly fond of which can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk.

I’ve long enjoyed attending concerts, and I understand the economics of scale of why ticket prices have increased. Like many other hopeful concert attendees, I am finding myself priced out of shows by bands/performers I’ve long wanted to see. I like to further my support of them through buying merchandise at their shows. My most recently attended concert was Lords Of Acid at Washington DC’s 9:30. I was quite surprised to see that a hoodie was priced at $60 only $7 dollars more than a 2-sided tour shirt. Did I buy something at the show? Yes. Did I spend more than I expected to? Also, yes.

All people, regardless of their work deserve a living wage, and the costs attributed to attending concerts shows the degree to which performers are struggling to make a living.

From Skateboarding to Pinball: Finding Your Community

What is community?

Is it the place you live or is it both where you live and with whom you spend your time?

I think it’s often both. People can and do find community in any number of ways. For example, if someone is agoraphobic, they probably turn to online communities. They are an avid user of Reddit. There, they discuss their interests with people. Some of whom even live in the same town.

When I was younger, I found my community in the punk/alternative music scenes which carried over to the skateboarding scene. Individualism was cherished. We’d support each other. Even if our interests outside of skateboarding or alternative/punk music didn’t overlap, we still valued our friendships. We allowed our friends to do whatever made them happy.

Which brings me to pinball. The first time I played pinball, I was maybe 11 or 12. I was on a vacation with family members. The place we stayed had a Mata Hari themed pinball machine. I fell in love with it. The noisy bells and other sound effects were new. Yet, they were familiar because I’d heard bells in other settings. It wasn’t until I was in eighth grade that I found my all-time favorite pinball machine. I struck gold with the F-14 TOMCAT, made by Williams in 1987. https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/f-14-tomcat/gallery. I’m not sure how many quarters I pumped into the machine. I am fortunate to have a venue here in the District Of Columbia. It boasts the F-14 TOMCAT among their stunning collection of forty machines https://pinballmap.com/map?by_location_id=24489&by_location_name=V%C3%9CK%20Pinball. If you’ve never played pinball, you should visit Vuk as it’s among the best places to play in the area. The machines are well maintained, none of which cost more than fifty cents to play.

After a time, the convenience store near my school got rid of their arcade section. The arcade near my grandma’s place shut its doors. I never saw another pinball machine until the late 90’s. The arcade in my town didn’t have my beloved f-14 tomcat, but they did have a healthy selection of machines, including Star Trek The Next Generation https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/star-trek-the-next-generation/details which is an excellent machine to play.

Soon after relocating to the District of Columbia in 2009, I found a place to play pinball at https://www.blackcatdc.com/information.html which once boasted a healthy selection of pinball machines, and even hosted a league. I had been completely unaware that competitive pinball was a thing. So, yeah, you bet your ass I joined up. It was there I met many people with whom I still play with that are among the most interesting people I know. Some of whom have honed their skills and have held state titles and competed at nationally and internationally. From my experience, pinball players are largely supportive, and freely exchange any tips/tricks they know with anyone regardless of level.

I can honestly say, like many others, in joining competitive pinball I found my community, which closely parallels my experiences in skateboarding, and alternative/punk music. The pinball community is pretty tight knit. I live in the District Of Columbia, and it’s not uncommon to see people play here that come from as far away as Florida, California, Texas, and other far-flung places.

More pinball resources below if you’re interested:

find somewhere to play: http://pinballmap.com

want to learn how to play various machines? http://pintips.net

all the ins and outs of competitive pinball are here: https://www.ifpapinball.com/

caught a few live music performances this year.

here are some highlights in photos- the first time I saw KMFDM perform live was in Detroit, MI at a small club called Latin Quarter where they opened for Ministry who were promoting their then new album-The Mind Is… hell of a show to see at in my early teens. left w/ a bloody nose, & lots of bruises from being in the pit the entire time.

the the blew me away, & were absolutely fantastic this night. first time i saw them was a long time ago, when they were promoting their album dusk. Not sure why it is, but a huge swath of musicians/groups whose music i like the most all hail from the British Isles.

Buzzcocks were/are a bucket list group i have long wanted to see live. jumped when the opportunity came, & hella happy I went.

Buzzcocks

thoughts on Nosferatu by Eggers

My thoughts regarding the newly released Nosferatu-

The lighting was perfect. every scene was blocked so well, it was like watching a stage production. As a whole, Nosferatu was both modern & a homage to horror flicks of long ago before they became gorefests littered w/ gratuitous t&a (note, i’m of course, not averse to t&a). i have no clue what the process(es) were to achieve such a rich yet subdued color palette, but holy shit, it was awesome. Audiences will benefit seeing it in a theater to fully appreciate the filmmaking aspect.

Nicholas Hoult was Stunning in his role, captivating my interest from the very first instant he appeared on screen- I was ambivalent about his being cast (love him in “the great” not sure if I’ve seen him in anything else).

Overall, I give it a B+.