W♥M

12/03/2022

Humble Bundle

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Game On: Humble Bundle I already own at least five of these games (on discs and digital), but I couldn't resist paying the average price to get these games again. When I donated, they gave me a breakdown of how ....

I’m currently a Humble Bundle subscriber since September 2022 when I got my Steam Deck. I previously joined for one year, starting April 2019 to April 2020, because it was a great way to building up your Steam library without paying too much. The only downside is that you don’t actually know what you’re going to get.

It’s a good deal, but unfortunately, because you don’t know what games you’re going to get - you may end up getting duplicate copies (if you previously own these games).

Anyway, there are some great charity Humble Bundle going on this month.

The Essential Content Creator Bundle

First, I wanted to spotlight the The Essential Content Creator Bundle, from Magix. You get six software (one of the software ProDAD mercalli v5 is only good for two years), but the clear stand-out product is the video editor VEGAS Pro 18 Edit. This is a $250 software that you can get for $25. For $25, it’s worth it just for Vegas alone.

Just a little background, but I used to use Vegas when it was own by Sony, it was one of the best video editor that rivals Adobe’s Premiere. Sometime in 2016, Sony sold it to Magix.

I own Vegas Pro 14 and I recently tried to install it on my new Lenovo Legion PC and it wouldn’t register unless I de-activate previous installations. Keep that in mind if you intend on installing the software on various computers.

When I installed it on the new computer, last month, I contemplated on actually paying $150 to upgrade to Vegas 18… but I decided against it because it’s just too expensive. I’m glad I waited, because now I can upgrade to Vegas 18 for $25.

The other amazing deal is the Black Friday Encore: Lone Wolf & Cub and More by Koike from Dark Horse. If you missed the Black Friday deal (like I did!), here’s your second chance. For $18.00 you are getting over 7,000 pages of Lone Wolf and Cub. That, by itself, is an amazing deal. You also get Kazuo Koike’s other works like Crying Freeman and Samurai Executioner. I’ve own most of Koike’s works, so was happy to see they’ve included some books I’ve never read before.

I started reading Color of Rage, and it’s a hoot. It’s about two prisoners who escaped from a slave ship. One of them is a ronin and the other is a black man. The two travel throughout Japan helping people and trying to survive. It’s about racism, it’s about a stranger in a strange land... it would make for a great television show.

I’ve been reading the manga on my iPad Pro 12.8, and although it looks fine… the battery life is terrible and reading for an extended period time on a glossy LED screen is not recommended. I’ve been giving a lot of thought on buying the new Kindle Scribe (10.2 inch) or the Boox Nova Air Color (7.8 inches) to read comic books. They’re both e-ink, but the Boox having the ability to display in e-ink color (which is what I need if I want to read digital color comics).

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

12/02/2022

Minneapolis: December 18 to December 30

12/18 Samantha Fish with The Jesse Dayton Band at Fine Line

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Samantha Fish

Samantha Fish is headlining the Cedar Cultural Center on Tuesday, in support of her new record Chills & Fever. Fish has deep Motown, soul, and R&B influence on her album, as well as edgy rock ‘n roll sound. Ken Valdez to open. 7pm, $15 ...

12/01/2022

Going for Gold XXXIV

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Meg Mac

On her last stop on the US tour with Clean Bandit was Melbourne's Meg Mac, complete with a full touring band. She's only met the session band since SXSW 2015 (about three weeks ago), but they were seasoned professional and ....

Upgrading the Steam Deck to 1TB Internal SSD

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Steam

There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

I had a little trouble trying to get a hold of the Inland 1TB m.2 PCIe NVME 2230 SSD at Micro Center over the weekend. Unfortunately, due to the Black Friday sale, the store was a mad house! I could not get any help, could not get anyone to open the secured glass display to sell me the SSD. I had to basically give up, and rescheduled my shopping on a week day (when it’s not so busy).

The good news is that I finally bought the Inland 1TB SSD and installed it on my Steam Deck.

A couple of things to address. If you’re on Windows, you need to unzip the Steam Deck recovery image. The file that you download from steampowered is in a bz2 file format ( steamdeck-recovery-4.img.bz2 ).

I didn’t have a Windows application that can unzip the bz2 file, so I downloaded Bzip2, but it did not work. I’m on Windows 11, so perhaps it’s not supported. I had to download 7 Zip, over at 7-zip.org, which seemed to work for me. I am assuming other software, such as WinZip, would also work.

Rufus

Steam recommended Rufus (rufus.ie), which is what I used to write the IMG file… however, in the past, I have used Etcher (balena.io), which I think has a better user interface.

You’ll need a USB memory stick, at least 8GB in size. I had a free 32GB stick that I got from Micro Center a few years ago that I used to create the Steam Deck boot drive. I think perhaps I will permanently use this 32GB stick as sort of a recovery backup.

Because the Steam Deck only has one USB-C input, you will have to get a USB-C adapter, or if you have the Steam Deck Dock, you can use this as well. Once you have the USB Memory Stick plugged in, you need to hold the Volume Down and Power Button at the same time. When you hear the bootup chime, let go of the Volume button and you’ll see the Boot Manager on your screen. Use the EFI USB Device option.

Using the trackpad and trigger buttons, you can pick “Re-image Steam Deck”, which will perform a full factory reset and replace it with the stock SteamOS.

Warning: It will seem like forever when it’s reimaging the Steam Deck. Once it install the original Steam OS, it will want to update to the latest version. This, again, will seem like it takes forever. Let the Deck do its thing. If you think you are stuck on a installation screen, you can hit “B” and then “A” and try again. This happened to me during the update process.

Now that I’ve gotten my Steam Deck back in action, complete with a 1TB internal storage and 1TB MicroSD external storage… I’m ready to move some games from the slower external SD card to the internal storage. This will seem like it takes forever… again, just have a little patience, it should be able to move your games to the faster NVME storage.

Since it’s a fresh Steam Deck OS, I had to re-install Decky Loader. If you want to install this, you have to turn on Developer Mode (System -> System Settings toggle Enable Developer Mode). Now you should see Developer option, go there and under Miscellaneous, enable CEF Remote Debugging. Reboot.

Next, switch to Desktop mode (Power -> Switch to Desktop). Launch the terminal (“Konsole” under System). Set your password, type in “passwd”.

Copy and paste (or type in):

curl -L https://github.com/SteamDeckHomebrew/decky-loader/raw/main/dist/install_release.sh | sh

Reboot and click on on the Quick Access menu (the “…” button). Find the Plug In icon and Find and install VibrantDeck. Set your Saturation to 250 and now your Steam Deck looks amazing.

I also had to install my custom Pip-Boy startup video. Head over to GitHub for the instructions:

curl -o - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BunnyStrike/deck_revealed/main/boot_videos/pipboy/install.sh | bash -

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

11/30/2022

R.I.P. Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac vocalist / keyboardist)

Fleetwood Mac- classic lineup

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Fleetwood Mac

Also, the funniest thing is that witch Misty Day is a massive Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac fan, because, according to Day, Stevie Nicks is a White Witch.

(Read more Musicians who died in 2022)

Longtime Fleetwood Mac vocalist and keyboard player Christine McVie has just passed away at the age of 79. Her family shared the news earlier via a statement, noting she passed away at a hospital "following a short illness”.

Following the news, McVie’s bandmates shared a joint statement to their official Twitter page. “There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her.”

Christine Anne McVie was born in Lancashire England in 1943, marrying band co-founder John McVie in 1968 then joining Fleetwood Mac as a member in 1970, also going on to release three solo albums and a recent collaboration with bandmate Lindsey Buckingham.

Eight of her songs, including "Don't Stop", "Everywhere" and "Little Lies", appeared on Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits (1988) album.

McVie would leave the band in 1998 (related to increasing fear of flying) but rejoined again officially in early 2014. In 1999, Fleetwood Mac and McVie were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

Fleetwood Mac have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's all-time best-selling bands. In 1979, the group was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 2018, the entire band received the MusiCares Person of the Year award from The Recording Academy in recognition of their artistic achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy.

John (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 03:24 PM in Christine, Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham, Musicians Who Died, RIP, Stevie Nicks | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Christine McVie, Don't Stop, Fleetwood Mac, John McVie, Little Lies, Mick Fleetwood, musicians who died, r.i.p.

Minneapolis: December 17

12/17 The Jayhawks with Golden Smog at Palace Theatre

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The Jayhawks

The show was advertised as Gary Louris and Friends. For those that don't know Gary, he is one of the founding members of the Jayhawks. They have a new CD coming in September, which involves the reunion with Mark Olson. …

11/29/2022

Mclusky postponed 2022 USA tour

Mclusky 2022 Tour

Postponed Tour Dates

11/30 – Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
12/1 – Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
12/3 – Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
12/4 – Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit Hall
12/6 – Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
12/7 – Detroit, MI - Loving Touch
12/9 – Chicago, IL - Metro
12/10 – St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
12/12 – Nashville, TN - Basement East
12/13 – Atlanta, GA - Masquerade (Hell)
12/14 – Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
12/16 – Washington, DC - Black Cat

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Mclusky

Welsh-band Mclusky (often stylized as mclusky), returns to North America for the first time in 18 years for a special 2022 American tour. The band broke up in 2005, but reformed as Mclusky* (asterisk in reference to missing members) to play The Garage in London …

Welsh-band Mclusky announced a delay to their 2022 United States tour (it would’ve been their first appearance in 18 years).

Band leader Falco explained that he has ear issues that is preventing the band from the USA tour.

Read message below:

hey guys – i’m afraid we’re going to have to postpone – until further notice – our US shows – and give serious consideration to our Australian dates in january. following an innocuous, fun rehearsal three weeks ago – during which, as usual, i wore ear protection – i’ve been plagued by various ear issues, tinnitus and apparent hyperacusis amongst them, and am totally unable to perform, barely able to exist in the world as we speak (the idea of getting onto a flight is particularly f***ing terrifying, and i’m not just talking about the vegetarian meal options). i have taken advice from ENT doctors, audiologists and my GP and have spent more money than i’ve ever spent on anything before trying to fix this issue but so far, no dice.

we want to reschedule the dates as soon as possible, of course, but for anyone who wants one refunds are available at point of purchase. it feels mad to type those words, and i hope i never have to again, but there we are. i feel particularly bad for anyone coming to the oakland date – i’m not accustomed to cancelling to any shows at all, let alone one twice. when we make it back i’ll make everyone a fucking cake or something.

i am so, so sorry that this has happened, for all of you, for the people who have booked travel and made arrangements, for jack, damien, our wonderful crew, and everyone who wanted this to happen so much – for the other bands who we were delighted to be playing with, for our friends we haven’t seen for so long (or in some cases haven’t even met yet), for the memories we wanted to make.

the best chance we have of doing this – and doing this properly – again is for me to take the time to rest up and get as better as I can. believe me, this is not a decision which has been taken lightly – the financial fallout of this for us and me in particular is devastating, which coupled with the unlikelihood of being able to make a living doing the only thing i can do is so terrifying that i can’t even think of a joke to end this pretty long sentence. costs still need to be met, unfortunately, so i may be having a bit of a merch/poster/equipment sale soon, mostly to benefit our crew, so please, if you’re able, stay tuned for that. i was happy to say that we had been planning an album for next year (we had songs and a title AND EVERYTHING) but now, of course, that’s on hold – though not cancelled, f*** that, we’re going to do this thing, and do it right.

falco x

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 08:23 PM in Mclusky, News, Tour | Permalink | Comments (0)

We♥KC- November 29-December 4, 2022- Upcoming Shows (Kansas City / Lawrence, KS)

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

The final month of the year is already here! After a full weekend of food, football, and shopping, it’s time to get back to live music, even though shows are ramping down for the holidays.

The Royals put the feels out for a proposed $2 billion-dollar downtown ballpark, so expect more summer concerts there if/when that gets built, and Metallica just announced a new album, and two-night stadium stands (incl. Aug 2024 in Minneapolis) but no KC dates for this leg.

Here’s what’s happening in the Kansas City metro November 28th-December 4th

(Several artists are still requiring precautions for entry, so check with the venue and/or assume vaccination proof, might still be required)

Monday Nov 28

Tuesday Nov 29

Five Finger Death Punch, Brantley Gilbert, Cory Marks, Nov 29, T-Mobile Center, $25.50-$125.50

A seemingly odd pairing on paper, the two main acts actually first brought their worlds of hard rock and country rock together when they partnered on 2019 hit, “Blue on Black”. That track also featured Brian May, the song’s original performer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and was in support of The Gary Sinise Foundation, to benefit first responders. The song has over 110 million YouTube views and 62 million Spotify streams, proving that this Afterlife Tour should not be missed by fans of either artist.

Live, there’s a small amount of collaboration during show and prepare for respective favorites as well as covers by the likes of Bad Company and Hank Jr. Opener Cory Marks revs up a classic Steve Miller song as well.

Wednesday Nov 30

Paige Hernandez’s Liner Notes, Nov. 30, Lied Center. $11-$30

An educational, multi-generational and interactive musical experience inspired by the civil rights movement during the 50s and 60s. The show features songs that will get you dancing, like Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say,” protest songs like “A Change is Gonna Come,” and spirituals like “This Little Light of Mine.”

The Corner Store Jazz Quintet plays in front of a multimedia design that includes album artwork and original video design. Over the course of the performance, liner notes are read from the original albums, including the artistic statements of John Coltrane and Sam Cooke and a post-performance discussion will follow the show.

Charley Crockett, Nov 30, Uptown, $35-$45

For anyone that missed him previous at the Granada in Lawrence, Crockett has added new tour dates making for an extensive, coast-to-coast autumn trek around his new album, The Man from Waco.

He previously jumped on Willie Nelson’s traveling Outlaw Country Fest and also supported Willie ahead of Farm Aid in Raleigh this September before heading across the pond for a UK/EU run. Country music that is both traditional and modern, it’s a chance to see this prolific artist before he plays even bigger venues.

Thursday Dec 1

Friday Dec 2

The Doo Wop Project, Dec 2, Kauffman Center, $45-$90

Ring in the holiday season with this new ‘Holiday Pops’ concert with the Kansas City Symphony! Featuring Broadway stars of Jersey Boys, Motown: The Musical, and A Bronx Tale, this new symphony experience combines their celebration of one of America’s signature music genres with everyone’s favorite holiday hits, sung in true “Doo Wop style.”

In this holiday concert, symphony audiences will enjoy the harmonies of holiday favorites like “Please Come Home for Christmas,” “All I Want for Christmas,” plus familiar classics by legends like The Crests, The Del Vikings, The Belmonts, Smokey Robinson, Frankie Valli and more!

TenThing Brass Ensemble, Dec. 2, Yardley Hall. $5-$42

Formed in 2007 by Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth as a fun and exciting collaboration between musical friends, the 10-piece, all-female brass ensemble has firmly established itself on the international scene. tenThing is celebrated for a diverse repertoire that spans Mozart to Weill, Grieg to Bernstein and Lully to Bartók. The group works closely with Norwegian guitarist and arranger Jarle Storløkken on scores, which enables them to play pieces using a variety of instrumentations.

tenThing first established itself in performances across its native Norway, by opening the 2011 Norwegian Grammy Awards. In 2017, the ensemble embarked on its American debut tour and also made its Paris debut at the Saint-Denis Festival. Following previous success, the ensemble returned to the US in 2019 and is now again, on their third visit, performing holiday-themed songs from Europe and the US

Saturday Dec 3

Cannibal Corpse with Dark Funeral and more, Dec. 3, Granada. $27.50

The death metal veterans will close out 2022 with a North American headlining month-long tour, running through December 10 in St. Petersburg, FL, with support provided by DARK FUNERAL, IMMOLATION and BLACK ANVIL. The trek also includes a headlining performance at the first annual Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Denver on December 2.

Shiner, The Ship, $17-$20

KC’s own Shiner will hold a special holiday headlining show at the relatively small venue The Ship. The band released Schadenfreude (DeSoto Records Records), which is their first new album since 2001’s acclaimed LP The Egg. The new album has drawn comparisons to QOTSA and Soundgarden and landed on “best of the week” lists at Under The Radar and Brooklyn Vegan.

Tim O’Brien with Jan Fabricius, Dec. 3, Lied Center. $16-$30

Multi-Grammy winner and folk multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien has traveled the world and delighted audiences since 1975 with his distinct vocals, string wizardry and heartfelt original songs. His latest recording, He Walked On, maps a pathway through today’s world. In duet with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals, expect rootsy acoustic instrumentation and harmony singing, interspersed with O’Brien’s self-deprecating humor.

Sunday Dec 4

Disney Princess: The Concert, Dec. 4, The Midland. $29.50-$80

A show that features Broadway stars performing familiar songs from screen and stage. Concertgoers (who are encouraged to dress up in their best royal attire) will have the opportunity to hear the song live in addition to more than 30 favorite songs, including classics like "Part of Your World," "Let It Go," "A Whole New World," "Colors of the Wind," and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes."

Larger than life animations and visuals accompanying the music will immerse the audience in trademark Disney magic. Based on the touring production Broadway Princess Party, which began as a cabaret show in NYC in 2015, this new venture is co-produced by Disney Concerts.

"K-Love Christmas Tour" feat Natalie Grant Danny Gokey Brandon Heath, Dec 4, Sheffield Family Life Center, $27-$50

The reason for the season- join Natalie Grant, Danny Gokey, Brandon Heath this Christmas season for an unforgettable night at the K-LOVE Christmas Tour! A portion of ticket sales & any additional generosity helps provide needed resources to the show’s charity partners as well.

Winterlude: Doug Talley Quartet, Dec. 4, Polsky Theatre. $17-$35

Formed in 1995, the quartet has performed at numerous festivals, concerts, clubs and schools throughout the Midwest. Doug Talley has performed with jazz luminaries Jay McShann, Randy Brecker, Gary Foster and more and appeared at the Kansas Jazz and Blues Festival, Spirit Festival, Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival and many others. His discography includes four recordings for the Triology and Boulevard Big Bands, as well as the Doug Talley Quartet’s four CDs.

Pianist Charles Williams has been performing in KC for over 40 years and has been with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra since day one. As a trombonist in his early years, Williams performed with such jazz legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, and Cannonball & Nat Adderley, along with many more.

Tim Brewer has appeared with many artists, including Bobby Watson and Eddie Harris. Locally, he also performs with Triology and Boulevard Big Bands, the New Kansas City Seven and Trinity Jazz Ensemble.

Keith Kavanaugh is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and has performed with Diane Schuur, Phil Wilson, Joshua Breakstone, Scott Robinson and Ritchie Cole, among many others.

john c (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 01:05 AM in Cannibal Corpse, Charley Crockett, Christmas, Jazz, John, Kansas City, Lawrence, Shiner | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Brantley Gilbert, Cannibal Corpse, Charley Crockett, concert previews, Cory Marks, Danny Gokey, Dark Funeral, Disney Princess Concert, Doo Wop Project, Doug Talley, Five Finger Death Punch, Jan Fabricius, K Love Christmas, Kansas City, KC Jazz Orchestra, Lawrence KS, Liner Notes, Natalie Grant, Paige Hernandez, Shiner, tenThing, Tim O'Brien, Triology, Winterlude

11/28/2022

Morrissey: Washington, DC is now cancelled

11/28 The Anthem, Washington, DC (cancelled)

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Morrissey

As you know, I used to be a devoted The Smiths and Morrissey fan. Like many of you, I have grown up and may have been a little disenchanted by singer Morrissey’s beliefs and personality... but I still love the music .…

It’s not looking good for the Morrissey 2022 Tour. Band illness extended to Washington DC… this is right after the Minneapolis and Milwaukee shows were postponed.

I thought the worst was over… but at this rate, it’s starting to look like the rest of the tour might be cancelled. Four more dates left on the tour.

Here is the official statement:

Regretfully, we announce the cancellation of tomorrow’s show in D.C

This is due to an extended recovery period. We appreciate the love and loyalty shown during this unfortunate time.

Refunds are available at point of purchase, the next show in Brooklyn will go ahead as scheduled.

Morrissey 2022 Tour.

Nov 11 Ontario, CA - Toyota Arena
Nov 12 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre (abbreviated)
Nov 14 El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia
Nov 15 El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia
Nov 18 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
Nov 19 San Francisco, CA - Castro Theatre
~~Nov 22 Salt Lake City, UT - The Union~~ (canceled)
~~Nov 23 Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre~~ (canceled)
~~Nov 25 Minneapolis, MN - Fillmore Minneapolis~~ (postponed)
~~Nov 26 Milwaukee, WI - The Riverside Theater~~ (postponed)
~~Nov 28 Washington, DC - The Anthem~~ (canceled)
Nov 30 Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre
Dec 1 Newark, NJ - New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Dec 3 Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia
Dec 4 Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Read more Every date that Morrissey has ever canceled.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 08:07 PM in Morrissey, News, The Smiths | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minneapolis: December 11 to December 14

12/11 Giant Rooks at Varsity Theater

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Suzanne Vega

I remember the first time I saw Suzanne Vega, she was on television, defending her song "Luka", which was about an abused child. What I thought was interesting was that the song.…