A Love Born Out of Spite

The year was 1967. It was the year my father, a mild-mannered, shy, quiet soul, fell in love. This love would become strong, unwavering and not without its hardships.

No, this is not the kind of love that would eventually manifest itself into the handsome young man writing this entry for you today. That love would come later on. This love, was a love born out of spite. It is a love I, myself share. Oddly enough, I owe it all to fans of the Montreal Canadiens.

In 1967, Matthew Barton was certainly aware of hockey, but had never fully jumped into the realm of full-on die hard fandom. He knew of the teams, and he certainly knew the game. My father and his brothers would grow to become synonymous with a twice a week ice-time at the local arena; If you hadn’t played “Barton Boys” hockey, you hadn’t played hockey.

Now, while he had yet to accept the hopeful, glorious highs along with the desperate, bitter lows of choosing a sports team in which he could rest his faith, he was most certainly aware of the kind of attitude needed to be a “die-hard”. Anyone (whether knowing the game or not) who has looked at their Twitter/Facebook feed during the Stanley Cup playoffs this year is also blatantly aware of the utter ridiculousness of it all – yup, I said it.

Here’s the deal: In ’67 the Montreal Canadiens were poised to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup, after ousting Detroit & Chicago, respectively, in the two years prior. So, naturally, Habs fans (and I’m referencing Seinfeld here) had “hand” in their relationship with fans of other teams. So, like any fan with “hand”, these Habs fans – these friends and school-mates of my father – started chirping. The only thing worse than a chirping fan, is a chirping Habs fan. (You know my affiliation, so don’t even bother to defend, here.)

Yes, my father is mild-mannered, and shy…he is also stubborn and antagonistic (traits I can concede he has passed on to his children). The latter traits will trump most any other if he cares enough; and in 1967, my father cared. He cared, not for who he thought would be the best hockey team; not for who had the most cups…he cared about silencing the chirping. He cared about serenity. If another team were to beat the Canadiens and win the cup, my father knew he could go to school and not have to put up with the overzealous boasting that, until now, wasn’t even directed at him. That’s how bad it was and he’d had enough.

So, Matthew Barton, the antagonist, began to truly watch hockey, but he needed a team. He had to root for someone: a team that could be better than Montreal, a team that, by winning a game in general, could piss of an entire nation of Habs fans. He chose The Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs won the cup that year; playing Montreal in the Stanley Cup finals, taking them out at home in game 6. They haven’t won another since. Montreal would go on to win the following year, and many years thereafter, but in 1967: the chirping was silenced. My father found peace. My father fell in love…with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hey, Dad, listen…the chirping has stopped again for the year. Here’s to you, and here’s to 2011.

Even The Losers Get Lucky Sometimes

The Losers are a macho group of rag-tag military guys with nicknames as cliché as the rest of the movie itself (see poster above for nicknames). Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

The first scene arbitrarily sets up the premise: A 5-man military unit is on a mission. The unit is set-up; the mission goes bad, and they’re left for dead. The gang goes off the grid until a mystery woman offers to help them get their lives back and then spend the rest of the film exacting revenge on man they know only by his voice and a name: Max.

Max is fantastic, by the way. Jason Patrick, not necessarily known for light-hearted fare, injects snarky humour into the heartless bad-guy. He steals each scene he is in and, at least for me, he made this movie. The rest of the cast are as cliché as you’d expect in a B-class comic book movie. (Is The Losers even considered B-class?) Each of the Losers has his own specialty and they crack wise and act macho, but they all have a heart of gold...or do they?

There’s plenty of over the top action, complete with double crosses. The good guys are all perfectly accurate while the bad guys have the reflexes of turtles. There’s a cool state-of-the-art terrorist weapon that is there to have something to stop at the last second, and there’s even a love-story; but it’s merely a blip. Zoe Sandala is basically in it to look good; which I’m fine with.

Overall, The Losers is a TV Movie with a bigger budget. At the same time, that’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s why I had fun. It had action; it had laughs; and it sets up nicely for a sequel. How could I expect anything more?

3 Dented Bumpers*


*Crash’s Film Rating Legend:
5 DB’s -- Freaking Fantastic! (a rating that’s not easily attained, btw)
4–4.5 DB’s -- Great: It’s worth seeing again/owning.
3–3.5 DB’s -- Decent – Good (I’d watch it again on cable)
2–2.5 DB’s -- Meh; (possibly had potential, but I won’t watch it again)
1DB -- Awful; I want my money back.

Anything less is not even worth downloading illegally

Unicorns & rainbows...and Telfer...

The Guys from Telfer dropped in for a chat today. It's always a good time when they stop by. Check out the interview & performance...and hear a story about their "beef' with Ross Neilsen...



And here it is - Thanks to Telfer - in actual Video Form:

My DJ Day Was Rad...

Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin' Bastards have a new album for your listening pleasure and on Friday, Ross, Shawn & Karl dropped into the Fox-Hole to chat about it, and the Release Party...plus they performed one of my favourites from Redemption: "What I Can"...hear it here:

Another Love Letter To My Favourite Music

“Hope,
A new beginning
Time,
Time to start living
Like just before we died

There's no going back
To the place we started from…”

-From All Secrets Known by Alice In Chains

Black Gives Way To Blue is an album that shows Alice in Chains as a band re-emerging from dark times – their lead singer, Layne Staley, died in 2002 – to not only pay tribute to their friend, but also to prove that they’re a band with more to say . The album opens with the aptly titled All Secrets Known; a song that shows a broken band picking up the pieces and carrying on doing what they do. Rightfully so, that song also begins their live set.

With the lights down, the album’s bare-heart logo is projected onto a white curtain covering the front of the stage. With nothing more than the sound of a heartbeat, anticipation builds as that familiar “thump, thump” grows increasingly more hurried. Then he appears.

A 30 foot silhouette of Jerry Cantrell towers over the nearly sold out crowd at the Civic Center in Portland, ME. This is the first time Alice in Chains has played a show in the city for 20 years; anticipation has now reached a boiling point. Cantrell raises his arms in the air to a cacophony of cheers. He begins the opening riff of All Secrets Known and the rest of the band appears, silhouetted on the curtain.

“...Time to start living; like just before we died...” Cantrell sings. The curtain drops. “There’s no going back, to the place we started from”, the crowd erupts at their first true glimpse at a band resurrected; a band on fire. They played for nearly two hours.

To say my opinion of the band is biased, is entirely expected; I’m a huge AIC fan. However, as I’ve mentioned in this blog before, I’m a fan of music with meaning. What excites me about this band is their ability to convey emotion in what they do; both musically and lyrically.

Many bands will say how their albums are reflections of where they were at the time they recorded them. The same can be said for Alice In Chains. Looking back on it, they laid it completely on the line; wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Layne Staley’s drug addictions (and let’s face it, the rest of the bands demons) are prominent features of the bands material; especially the last album with Layne.

As for live performances, the Portland show was my first time experiencing the band live - other than on a DVD. I’m well aware of the haunting performance that was given for the bands MTV Unplugged session (rivalling that of even Nirvana for the distinction of the best in the series, if you ask me). This performance - while loose, fun and technically stunning - is filled with sadness. Staley looked like he was on his last legs then and yet he still “lived” for 6 more years; simply chilling.

A lot was said when William Duvall took over vocal duties for the band in 2005. Many claimed you could not have Alice in Chains without Staley. Well, for my money, he more than handled the back-catalogue with ease and exuberance, making the songs not only as memorable as they were when originally recorded, but making them his own. He’s a fantastic vocalist and he’s also no slouch when it comes to guitar. Trading guitar parts with Cantrell as much as he traded vocal duties, Duvall proves himself worthy of being in this band.

The show I saw was filled many a memorable moment - The opening from behind the curtain was certainly one of them - but it was the introduction of the band that will stand out as one of the most memorable, for me. Taking a moment to introduce each member, before introducing himself, Jerry Cantrell confirms what the crowd is already gleefully aware: “(they) are Alice in Chains”. This was followed by a touching tribute to their lost friend which transitioned into a haunting performance of Nutshell – you could almost see the pain in Jerry’s eyes as he began. Woah.

Alice in Chains has shared their emotions with every album; with, presumably, every live performance. Amidst the aggression of their music is a soul that beats beautifully; it may be scarred, but therein lies its character. The band I saw on stage in Portland last week is a band that has lived through the grief and sadness to only appear that much stronger, conveying that very emotion with each song - the black has given way to blue - I can’t wait to experience it again.

-Crash-
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Make a Date Night to See Date Night With Your Date...Tonight...

As an engaged man approaching a Summer wedding, I’m more than aware of the amount of jokes related to how “romance is almost over” for me. However, after watching a movie like Date Night, I’m made aware that it’s not that romance is over; it’s just that life (and in this case, Kill-shots) can sometimes get in the way.

Steve Carell & Tina Fey play The Fosters: a happy, albeit slightly bored married couple, with two children, who have to schedule their dates… often times forgetting they’ve done so. After friends reveal they plan to split, The Fosters, worrying they’ll endure the same fate, decide to change it up a bit. Rather than hit up their usual New Jersey date night watering hole, they head for Manhattan for a night on the town at a swanky new restaurant. There’s only one problem: they don’t have a reservation.

So, while waiting for a table (which they’ll never get) they decide, in the spirit of spontaneity, that they’ll take a table reserved for no-shows, The Tripplehorns. From here comes mistaken identities, car chases, gun fights and a shirtless Mark Wahlberg. The basic premise is as far-fetched as what transpires on the screen, but it’s made believable, or at the very least acceptable, because of the way Carell & Fey play it. The two leads show great chemistry and comic timing and you believe them as the Fosters - a couple in love that just wants the best for each other.

Tina Fey essentially plays the suburban mom version of her character in 30 Rock (which is perfectly fine) but Carell is especially great as Phil. He takes all of the awkwardness and despicable qualities of Michael Scott and trades them in to play a down-to-earth regular Joe with just enough charm to make you want to be friends with the guy. It’s almost as if her were playing the role of Jim (pre-management position, or course) from the Office and making it his own.

Sure, it’s silly and things get over the top, but this is a comedy; as long as you laugh, who cares if that car chase isn’t at all possible. I laughed a lot, and I admired the heart of the film. If you don’t see your own relationship played out on screen, you will most likely know someone to compare it to. At the very least, you’ll walk away learning one valuable lesson: don’t take someone else’s reservation.

3.5 Dented Bumpers*



*Crash’s Film Rating Legend:
5 DB’s -- Freaking Fantastic! (a rating that’s not easily attained, btw)
4–4.5 DB’s -- Great: It’s worth seeing again/owning.
3–3.5 DB’s -- Decent – Good (I’d watch it again on cable)
2–2.5 DB’s -- Meh; (possibly had potential, but I won’t watch it again)
1DB -- Awful; I want my money back.

Anything less is not even worth downloading illegally

Another Reason to Love my Job...

As a huge Foo Fighters fan, this is a highlight of, not only my fandom, but my career... I chat with Taylor Hawkins. Enjoy.