Dragon*Con 2008: A Video is worth 1,000 pictures
Our crack A/V department has put together the following video from Dragon*Con. If I look at a loss for words from time to time, it's because I'm at a loss for words. Next year I'm going to the parade.... read more
G. Love's tour diary - The Autographed Guitar
Hey y'all. Wassup Fam?!? Yesterday we played the sunny slopes of Ft Mason Park in beautiful San Francisco. With the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, it was a majestic day to get our jam on. The gig was an afternoon affair and I headed out to the waterfront for a run before the show. The San Francisco bay was perfect and Alcatraz was even looking inviting out on the island. Seeing Alcatraz (the famous "inescapable prison") reminded me of a good story.... read more
Slow Food Rocks in Saaan Fraaancisco
Lucky ol' Paste journeyed out to within view of the Golden Gate Bridge for the inaugural Slow Food Rocks music festival this past weekend. After all, we were the official magazine of the fest, part of the Slow Food Nation event going on next door, and it featured a delicious lineup inlcluding Gnarls Barkley, The New Pornographers, Ozomatli, Phil Lesh & Friends, John Butler Trio and G-Love & Special Sauce. Festivalgoers enjoyed organic foods and wines plus 8 different beers from Paste-approved breweries Lagunitas (you gotta try their Farmhouse Saison) & Sierra Nevada. But the main event was the music... read more
F Yeah Fest 2008
Above: JapantherDue to financial crises, Los Angeles' fifth F Yeah Fest nearly didn't occur, and thus this year's line-up was scaled down to a single day, a scavenger hunt acting as substitute for the Sunday Concert That Could Have Been. But Saturday's music fest was jam packed with nearly 10 hours of music and more bursts of “fuck yeah!” than one ought to hear in a single space, or four, as was the case.... read more
Rosie Thomas' wedding - Eastern Kansas - 8/22/08
When Paste got wind about what was sure to be the Midwestern indie-rock marital event of the season, we sent crack paparazzo Stephanie F. Black to discreetly cover the scene. Here's what she came up with...... read more
Dr. Horrible & The Buffy Horror Picture Show
Once more, with feeling... Having missed all panel discussions Friday at Dragon*Con (including the intriguingly titled "Lake Monsters I Have Known," "Becoming a Goddess" and "Lights! Camera! Cthulhu!"), I decided to take a break from the awesome people watching and jump wholeheartedly into the Whedon Universe. First I joined hundreds of people for a live version of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Despite the fact that Nathan Fillion was at the fest, amateur actors filled the roles of Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer and the whole Sing-Along gang, while the original video played on a screen beside the stage. The crowd indeed... read more
Best Costume at Dragon*Con 2008
OK, apologies to Lego Man, Rosie the Riveter and the Yip-Yip Martian Muppet, my vote for costume of the year at Dragon*Con 2008 (at least on Friday) goes to this Aaron Eckhart look-alike, who shaved part of his head, singed his collar and spent a couple of hours putting on his latex mask. All in the name of looking exactly like Harvey "Two-Face" Dent.... read more
20 Things I Learned at Dragon*Con 2008
I attended my first Dragon*Con (or anything remotely like it) yesterday with no idea what to expect. Here's what I learned:1. That the costumes generating the most excitement among fans are sometimes the most simple and innocent—like the Yip-Yip Martian Muppet or Lego Man. 2. That the woman walking around carrying this is very disturbed.... read more
Does a McCain/Palin ticket = Tigh/Roslin Battlestar ticket?
So, while the rest of the media world chirps over John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his VP selection, I think we are missing a crucial connection that concerns these candidates eerie similiarities to two Battlestar Galactica characters.Could John McCain and Sarah Palin really be a ticket for President Laura Roslin and Colonel Saul Tigh? You decide... ... read more
Prepping for Dragon*Con 2008
Today, I head downtown to explore new worlds, seek new life and civilizations, and boldly go where, uh... I've never gone before. I'm headed to Dragon*Con, and I'm simultaneously excited and little scared.... read more
Wolf Parade - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse - 7/28/08
Photos taken at Variety Playhouse by Stephen Lindley ... read more
Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters - Houston, TX - The Scout Bar - 7/22/08
Photos taken at The Scout Bar by Rob Inderrieden... read more
September Movies That Look Promising
I've only seen a couple of these ahead of release, but here's my premature opinion on what we've got to look forward to in September:... read more
Sweet Talk & Newport Folk Festival on CNN
... read more
Call+Response Trailer
I've said it so many times, but it still sounds surreal: There are more than 27 million slaves on this earth, more than existed in during any point in the trans-Atlantic slave trade 200 years ago. About 80% of those are women and children. No government officially condones it, but even in America, kids are trafficked from other countries or from state to state, forced into prostitution with the threat of harm or death. My own city of Atlanta is one of the Top 10 in the nation for human trafficking. There have been several good fictional films dealing with... read more
Young @ Heart Chorus
Sorry for the general abscence this summer, but Sweet Talk has been on the road doing the festival circuit. Sweet Talk was proud of bringing several artists to stages all around the country, but one of the absolute highlights was bringing the Young @ Heart Chorus to Newport Folk. They are not a novelty, they are the truest form of musical expression, full of humor, joy, passion and poignant emotion. And yes, I did cry during their Radiohead Cover of "Fake Plastic Trees": http://blog.ourstage.com/2008/08/25/youngheart-newport-folk/ ... read more
Outside Lands 2008 - Day 3
Above: Little BrotherPhotos taken at Outside Lands 2008 by April Brimer... read more
Outside Lands 2008 - Days 1 and 2
Above: BeckPhotos taken at Outside Lands 2008 by April Brimer... read more
SoCo Music Experience: San Diego
With multi-day musical bonanzas like Bonnaroo, Coachella, Bumbershoot and godfather/standard-bearer South by Southwest using massive budgets and marquee status to lure the bands of their choosing and, subsequently, hordes of music fans, single-day city festivals heavy on local acts are often seen as also-rans in the eyes of aural addicts. But the SoCo Music Experience's latest stop in San Diego, Calif., proves that's not always true.... read more
G. Love's tour diary - Back on Track
Well, I've had a bit of a rough couple weeks. I didn't want to say anything public about it but now my mood has changed and I'm gonna spill the beans on myself. Before my tour launched, I was asked by a friend nicknamed Bluefish who was paralyzed (and luckily recovered) to play a benefit for the Christopher Reeves Foundation. The benefit was at a small room in Avalon, NJ called the Rocking Chair. I was able to raise $13,000.00 for the CR Foundation and had a good time as well. However, during the course of that show, I hurt... read more
