Showbox is a great venue, most people like Showbox Market better which I agree but Sodo has it’s perks. Large area very open and easy to see the show. VIP upgrade gets you reserved seating with good views and waitress to bring your drinks & food. This was my first time seeing Yelawolf live for his Ghetto Cowboy Tour and he mentioned in his show having history with Seattle taking a bus up here back in the day for gig during the winter. His DJ was setup with a full size Chevrolet caprice classic trunk and rear end with working lights and trunk that opened up releasing mystical smoke. Very cool. Yelawolf came in with a strong entrance and was very energetic. Sporting his flannel shirt with large hat belting out lyrics like a hood-style hill billy straight out of a double wide in some swampy corner. Songs like “Daddy’s Lambo” he still delivered the song genuine even despite the fact he might be able to afford a Lambo now after his years in the business. He fired the lyrics out like he was still in aww of rich people with that “white bread” haha. I didn’t really have one negative thing to say about the show and when he was done there was no encore which I appreciated because it was lights out show was over. His sound is like an old rusty nail behind a bunch of tattoo’ed white boys off-roading trucks in the mud yet you know they are all strapped and down to get gangster. His style is more about hip hop with a hint of some rock that makes you feel the Kid Rock Vibe but much more hip hop esq. Fun artist and great show check him out.
Paramount Theater is among the favorite venues for me. Located in Downtown Seattle and I believe owned by the late and great Paul Allen. Historical theater with multi levels. If you pay for the Paramount membership you get VIP entrance and private lounge with great seating. Either way great seating throughout the venue. This is my second time seeing Dane Cook live at the same venue about 6 years ago. I enjoyed the show many topics were covered about social media and dating which Dane uses his mannerisms and hand movements to make the jokes funnier. One critique is that he used some segments of viral youtube videos that we already knew about but either way still funny. I also think it’s funny how he uses people in the crowd or even the security guards to produce jokes. You feel like it isn’t staged and he is just freestyling his jokes showing he has real talent of being funny without being scripted. Also he took jabs at himself and how he has been out of the biz for a while. A comedy that is good at making fun of himself is also an art. Overall a great show and worth seeing Dane if he ever is in your town for a comedy show.
So normally I hate this venue WAMU theater for it’s large open area that kills sound quality. Usually it’s never good sounds in there. However this show was surprisingly good. I still dislike the venue for it’s setup and arrangement but vocals weren’t too bad inside and NF sounded decent for sure. A friend invited me to this last minute and I never heard of this dude but looked at a couple youtube videos and gained interest before going. At first ear-glance -He first sounds like an Eminem voice but his lyrics are nothing of living a double wide talking about his mom like Eminem made himself famous for. Eminem will never get any play in my car and Machine Gun Kelly would win in an actual fight with him so fuck their battle rap. NF has some dark side to his lyrics but he sounds honest in what he is saying and his delivery is clean. He raps of He is worth checking out and good for him filling a large venue like he did. NF has the story if growing up in the shit and making it through rap as the escape. Although I think he understands that you have to keep the tracks fresh with different topics to really reach all audience types.
This was a great show and even though I am not a huge fan of this venue it was still worth attending. The WA State Fair grounds are wide open with stands in the veyr back and standard folding chairs around the stage. One bar is located to the left side and it’s usually packed. If it rains your fucked while the artists stare at you drenched under their covered stage area. Luckily this wasn’t a rainy day show. Sir Mix A lot opened for her and no matter how many times I see him he still can put new twists on his classic songs. Ciara was great, came out with the dance moves and the voice like a modern day Janet Jackson. She has many catchy songs that you just really can’t fuck up live, they still sound great. She made a couple comments about liking Seattle since she dates a football player which the crowd loved. Other than that just was a decent show and worth seeing her.
This movie is just so intense that you are locked in and glued the entire time. The fight scenes mixed with deep drama to the plot of the story told just thrashes your mind around. You feel the emotions of what is happening and that the character could almost punch straight through concrete or fight 10 dudes at the same time without ever losing no matter how bloody he got. None of your traditional mega-era movie fight scenes compare to this. No martial arts movie or anything with battle told could compete to this. Some of this is in part of the fact that Scott Adkins who plays the lead role is a real deal workout enthusiast as well as a martial arts connoisseur. Also he does all of his own stunts and we remember how popular Jackie Chan was for not only doing that but proving how realer it produces action scenes. The difference is that this on is not a typical heroic action film, this is a dark gritty reality told without any reduction in evil visuals. This story feels like you are scared of the good guy because he is really the guy forced to be the bad guy. Yet you are rooting for him like it’s your own battle. Adkins fighting scenes are flawless but so are his competitors. When the fight scene happens you think of MMA and you imagine two mutherfuckers pounding the shit out of each other but eventually the time is always up or next round etc. This movie makes you think what if that buzzer never existed. What if no ref or ambulance would ever care. What happens when two individuals beat on each other so hard they are actually using crushed knuckles against fractured broken bones. Yet the two contenders would fight through stab wounds and visually broken limbs. That would be a sight to see but I think it’s better fictional so we don’t turn into a race of weirdos paying to see people kill people. However though some of the fight scenes are beautifully theatrical keep in mind one of the directors used real facts of certain crime that happens in there country. So even though not a true story its based off real facts/events to really help you engage in the story. There are scenes where you see how vicious the character can be yet live by certain principals. Even though you feel struggle and see the road he went on, you can see some human traits remain in his character. Then quickly after you see something seemingly calm he snaps and rages while a superb soundtrack music plays in the background, almost opera metal like..and that adds to the violence. You see that Adkins not only looks menacing you see how much damage he can take without stopping. Even though I describe to you him crushes anything in his path you see every injury he gets as he pushes through the pain. No matter what part of his own body he destroys you just see his chrome teeth opened up and his eyes looking like pure revenge. Oh and he has chrome teeth because someone smashed all of his teeth out curb stomp style and the dentist put chrome ones in to be a dick to him. However it made him look even more vicious like a human battle tank in tough armor never stopping for fuel or resources just ready to fight. Great start middle and ending which is what makes any movie a classic.
The SkooB View 