Novermber 14, 2005 Concert Review: Avenged Sevenfold It was a brisk, dark night in Philadelphia's Chinatown section. After wading through rush hour traffic, fellow Lion's Eye staff writer Amar Ganti and I made our way to the Trocadero, the famed music venue located at 10th and Arch streets. Tonight, we were going to see Avenged Sevenfold, the metalcore group from California. Prior to the concert, I had purchased their new CD "City of Evil" so that I could get familiar with the band. I was surprised at how adept each member was at his respective instrument, and was delighted to hear that their songs were not the garden variety of metal that exists today. Upon arrival at the Trocadero, we were informed by the burly bounc- ers that there was to be no moshing, stage-diving or crowd surfing. All these comments were made to the disgust of all the rowdy junior high school stu- dents who were around us. Anyways, we walked in and found a standing spot right next to the sound booth. The lights went down, and out came the drummer for the opening act, Opiate for the Masses. Though they were nothing special by my stan- dards, Opiate for the Masses seemed to enjoy what they were doing. The drummer showed off with lots of stick-spins, and the guitarist played some decent shred-style solos. Upon completion of their half-hour set, they quickly sped off the stage to make room for the next opening act, Death by Stereo. This is a band that exemplifies the phrase "tries too hard." To be honest, they all looked like a bunch of immature 30-year-olds who were trying to appeal to a younger audience. Their lead singer was obnoxious and couldn't really stay in key. Their bassist was sloppy. Their drummer was decent, but looked thoroughly uninterested in playing. Quite frankly, I couldn't wait for them to get off the stage. However, the next act (yes, there were three open- ing bands) was just as bad, if not, worse. Saosin was their name, and sucking was their game. Their trite guitar riffs and solos were only second to the Movie Review: Chopper Chicks in Zombietown Sometimes when I lay in my bed, I think to myself, "Why can't I have a movie that combines all my favorite elements of film into one?" When will there be a movie that has 80's biker chicks, midgets, blind people, zombies and Billy Bob Thornton all in one? For a while I feared the answer was never, but then, I found this gem... Chopper Chicks in Zombietown on Netflix. Who E would release the film of my dreams? The Lion's Eye Page 5 Eve On singer's horribly whiney voice. Three songs into their set, members of the audience began yelling "get the [bleep] off the stage!" among other things. Finally, Saosin finished their set and Avenged Sevenfold took the stage. Blazing through their first song, Avenged Sevenfold quickly went into the first track of their new CD (and my personal favorite), "The Beast and the Harlot." The next song was "Burn it Down," another crowd favorite. This song was fol- lowed by a short solo by the band's drummer. Synyster Gates, the band's lead guitarist, then came out and performed a guitar solo, showing his talent at the instrument. Man, is this guy ever talented. The rest of the band soon joined the two, and the rest of the set was a combination of new songs from "City of Evil" and old songs from one of their previous albums, "Waking the Fallen." Everyone in the audience raised their fists, "devil fingers," or even in some cases, the middle finger, for the entire set. Towards the end, the bands lead singer, M. Shadows, stopped to talk to the audience. He said how Avenged Sevenfold is not a political band, nor will they ever be. "But the fact of the matter is, there's a war going on over there, and our people are dying." With that, the band launched into their tremendous tribute to America's soldiers, "M.I.A." A banner unrolled in the background to reveal an American flag, with the band's skull logo embla- zoned on the flag itself. The concert ended, and Ganti and I depart- ed the venue substantially deafer than when we entered. The drive back home was filled with phrases like "Aw, man, that was so cool" and "dude, remember the part when..." I've always believed that the best concerts were those that made you want to go home and practice your instrument. Believe me, I wanted to play my drums very badly. It's a shame that I didn't get back home until 12:45AM.. I made tall 1f he does all the funeral director's evil bidding. All the while there's a bus of blind orphans on a field trip. The main blind orphan named Lance is played by none other . than Hal Sparks of I love the 80's fame and * Queer as Folk. When the zombies break free, the towns- people just can't bring themselves to kill their friends and family so 'OWER Windows & Siding" None other than everyone's favorite proud- to-offend independent film distributor Troma! The premise of the movie is simple. A group of rebellious biker girls ride into a small town looking for some "lovin' and some partying" and then hope to head home. This particular town has an evil funeral home owner who kills local towns- folk and turns them into zombies, not because he wants revenge, not for global domination, but because he's just mean. He is assisted by his midget helper Bob who has been promised that he will one day be they ask the chopper chicks to do it for them. Hilarity ensues as the blind orphans join the chicks in the zombie slaughter. Billy Bob has a cameo as one of the chop- per chick's former husbands. Highly recommended to any netflixer who likes Troma, B-Cinema, or basically anything that's just suppose to be funny. The movie also gets bonus points for hav- ing a zombie march theme song. - Matthew Kelly Do your friends say you talk too much? Want to eam $10/r for walking, talking and having fun’? Call this number now! (610) 874-5000 ext.242 T
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