Duran Duran with Chic

Last week we took a short trip to the Mohegan Sun casino in CT to see Duran Duran. We did do a small bit of gambling, and when I say small it's not in the sarcastic opposite way! High rollers, we are not. We stuck to the licensed slot machines: Wizard of Oz, Walking Dead, Superman (1978), Wonder Woman (TV series), and Batman '66 all of which were pretty cool. Not so cool they gave us a lot of money, but hey, that's gambling!

Now, I could probably make a list of 100 bands I've heard on the radio and nowhere near that list would be Chic. They opened for Duran Duran and it was like stepping into the 70s!

Maybe you don't know Chic by name, but I bet you're familiar with their big hits like "I Want Your Love" and "Le Freak". Of course they played these, but they also did a medley of just a few of the songs that Nile Rodgers has had a hand in writing and/or producing over the years, including Daft Punk's "Get Lucky"! Seriously, check out his Wiki page!

They did a tribute to Bowie by playing "Let's Dance". Rodgers having produced the album of the same name. In the current age of "music" we're in, there's something really cool about seeing a full on band including keyboards, sax, trumpet, and back-up dancers/singers.

They ended with "Good Times" and as Rodgers intro'd the song saying "a dance party always breaks out when we play this," a whole lot of audience members were brought on stage (above) to fully bring the party atmosphere.

If you'd asked me before this show "Hey, do you want to see Chic in concert?" I'd probably have been indifferent. But now that I've seen them, my answer would be "Heck, yeah!" They put on a great show with songs that might take you back...depending on how old you are. They're also a lot of fun!

Duran Duran opened with Paper Gods, it being the Paper Gods tour and all, and then went into Wild Boys. It's one of my favorites and it's a fantastic live song to get the crowd going. I'm not going song by song, but you can see the playlist at Setlist.

I bet you can guess this next one, which is another favorite of mine...

They brought Nile Rodgers on stage for "Notorious" and "Pressure Off". Even Simon LeBon has been quoted saying if not for Rodgers, the band may not have made it through the late 80s.

During "Pressure Off" there was confetti.
Lots of confetti!

And then in the middle of "Planet Earth" they broke into a bit of Bowie's "Space Oddity" which kinda hit me in the feels after Chic's "Let's Dance."

Here's a few more random pictures, if you want to see all 155 (!) from the show, head over to Flickr. My wife usually gets seats on John Taylor's side of the stage but this time we were on the opposite side so you'll see lots of shots of lead guitar Dom Brown.

Funko Smuggler's Bounty - Cantina

You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than the new Funko Smuggler's Bounty box! The theme for the third Star Wars sub box is Cantina, so strap you blaster on and prepare to see some things that are out of this world.

I apologize for having have to start this post out by complaining. But if the internet isn't the place to complain, I don't know where is! My mail carrier left this and my Loot Crate on the porch on a wet day. I guess it would have been too physically straining to put them inside the door that was literally inches away. Luckily, the boxes are sturdy and although the inside of was faintly damp, the goods were unharmed.

Every Smuggler's Box (and maybe every Funko sub box?) comes with a patch and pin. I was especially exicted by the pin as I dig the Cantina band. Not just the music, but the aliens themselves are one of my favorites from the movies. No doubt because of their swanky numbers and ability to hop right back into it after someone gets shot.

The first item inside the box is a pen with an itty bitty Chewbacca Pop Vinyl style figure on the top of it. It's pretty cute.

I like the Wanted poster design of this shirt featuring "Walrusman" Ponda Baba. Although I do think it's a bit odd that it has the Star Wars The Force Awakens logo on the shirt's lower right. I mean, I didn't notice any one-armed Aqualish in the movie. Maybe I'll keep an eye out the next time I watch it.

Here is the first of the two (cout 'em, two!) exclusive Funko Pop Vinyl figures: Ben Kenobi. The non-exclusive version of Ben has him with his hood up and the lightsaber in a more neutral position. This pose makes him look like he's ready to chop up some unruly Cantina patrons! I wish he'd managed to fend off whatever put that dent in his box. Funko's replacement policy is to not give a flying Falcon about the packaging and only replace damaged items. Good thing these aren't collectible or anything, huh?

And the second Pop is Red Snaggletooth. If you're not in the know, you may wonder, why do they call it Red Snaggletooth instead of just Snaggletooth? Well, back in the day of original Star Wars figures, there was a Snaggletooth figure based on the character's movie appearance, just like this Pop. There was also a taller blue-suited Snaggletooth that was released in a Sears exclusive playset, which is one of the more valuable figures.

Funko did something...interesting and randomly packed out Blue Snaggletooth Pop chase variant figures as a nod to the old Kenner figure. This is the version I would have preferred because of his blue suit and silver boots. Being a chase, it's now going for $80+ on the secondary market. I'm not keen on the idea of randomly packed chase figures in a sub box like this. It's one thing if there's a couple different ones and you get one or the other, but with a chase it automatically ups the value and makes it harder to get. I know, I know, that's the point of chase, right?

And that wraps up the Cantina Smuggler's Bounty box. Overall, I think it was good. These boxes don't vary that much from delivery to delivery like Loot Crate does so although there's the surprise of not knowing exactly what you're getting, you kinda know you're getting at least one Pop and shirt in every box. Considering the pose Ben is in, it would have been really cool to see the other Pop be a one-armed Ponda Baba!

Funko's Smuggler's Bounty box is an every other month subscription box that delivers nothing but Star Wars to your door. If you want to subscribe, head over to Smuggler's Bounty and sign up.
Note: I'm not getting anything from Funko for this, but if they'd like to send me something I'm more than okay with that!

Monthly Movie Recap - March 2016

If you like movies and need another social network, come find me on Letterboxd. They just put out an iOS app so you can take it on the go too.

Zootopia (2016)
Not surprisingly, this movie is a lot of fun, has heart, and some great characters. What is surprising are the themes of bullying, not judging someone based on stereotypes, and going against the odds to be what you want to be. I don't have kids, but if I did, I would want them to see this!

Cool: Having the animals maintain their normal size relative to each other makes for some great scenes and interactions.

Rating: 8/10

 

Stunt Rock (1978)
An Australian stunt man goes to LA and meets a stage magic/rock band act called Sorcery. The trailer makes it look more action packed than it is. Most of the action is just stunts, there's not much of a story or plot to the movie and there's quite a bit of Sorcery performing, which is a great thing! I liked the music so much, I picked up the soundtrack from Amazon (linked above).

Cool: Sorcery, with their mix of 70s supernatural rock and stage magic, are just as much the stars as the stunts of real-life stunt man Grant Page. If Deep Purple and Alice Cooper had a bastard son, it would be Sorcery!
Lame: There's the thinnest of plots but I didn't really mind as there's plenty of stunts and Sorcery!

Rating: 6/10

Re-Kill (2015, Netflix)
This found footage (or found on DVR) movie follows Re-Kill Division units Cops-style as they try to prevent a new zombie outbreak from happening. Since it's a found TV recording, there are fake commercials a la Starship Troopers every so often that keep it entertaining.

Cool: Plenty of bullets and blood
Lame: Shaky cam is shaky; Fast zombies

Rating: 6/10

C.H.U.D. (1984)

I've had this one on my watch list for a long time and finally got around to it. I guess I'd heard so much love for it that I was expecting more out of it. It wasn't bad, just not as good as I was hoping.

Cool: CHUD design
Lame: Not enough CHUD! End was disappointing

Rating: 5/10

Batman v Superman (2016)

Trying to to get too spoilery. The movie looks great when it's not too dark. Once we get to the Big Fight, it's good but the script reasons for it starting and stopping are not. I really liked it while watching it but the more I think about the details after the fact, the more I realize I shouldn't really think about the details.

Cool: I'm absolutely looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie now! The straight out of Arkham Knight fight scene vs the goons.

Lame: Luthor, I didn't like this characterization or how non-intelligent his plans are. Also, Supes should be more intelligent than this.

Rating: 6.5 averaging the bad writing against the action and being well shot

Month Total

 New: 5  Rewatch: 0

Year Total

 New: 17  Rewatch: 1