W♥M (Archive)

Batman v Superman: Threat or Menace?

Read More Batman v Superman I really hate the title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I can understand it, it tells us that Batman will be fighting Superman... and somehow it involves the Justice League. … Wizard World Minneapolis It is pretty much all-Wizard World all weekend! W♥M will be bringing you extensive coverage of the three-day event - plus the traditional kick-off free event at the Mall of America on Thursday. …

Wizard World Minneapolis, the annual convention gathering of comics, and pop culture fun ended on Sunday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

One of the panels we attended was ‘Batman v Superman: Threat or Menace?’ with Superman’s Dan Jurgens and Spider-Man’s Danny Fingeroth.

Both Jurgens and Fingeroth did not love, but they also did not hate the film. Fingeroth compared the film with the recent Captain America: Civil War, saying that he simply answered ‘Yes’ he loved the Cap film, but with BvS, he would say ‘Yes.. but.’

I didn’t expect either one to trash the film, but Jurgens would later confessed to me that he was surprised to see the backlash to BvS, stating that he only saw massive, positive responses at two film premieres.

When the Q&A was opened, some fans expressed that they felt the film was too ‘dark’ and they had problem bringing their children to ‘enjoy’ the film with the family. They bring up a good point, for a popcorn summer blockbuster film, BvS was not.

I’ve made it publically clear, that while I was a fan of Zack Snyder’s adaptions of Watchmen and 300 ... I really hated his Man of Steel or Sucker Punch films. After watching Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I’m convinced that Snyder really need a good editor (that can say no to him).

I’ll list what didn’t work for me:

Too dark and gritty for a mainstream superhero film. Sure, this could work as an Elseworld film, but not as a flagship DC Comics film.

Misunderstanding of both Superman and Batman. Get the characters right, Superman doesn’t kill and Batman doesn’t brand people or use guns to kill people. I personally didn’t mind the re-imagined Lex Luthor though.

The trailer showed you the entire film, so Wonder Woman or Doomsday appearing in the film did not surprised anyone. The team that put together that trailer should be fired.

Too much, too ambitious, lost its focus. The Lois Lane thing went on too long, why even have her storyline in the film? Introducing the Justice League and Darkseid/Apocalypse in the film were mistakes. They should just concentrate on Superman and Batman, as the title suggested.

While I still believe Suicide Squad can redeem DC Comics/Warner Brothers, but I have little hope for the rest of the upcoming DC films, including Justice League Part One and Justice League Part Two.

The executives at Warner Bros have heard the outcry and complaints about BvS and the Hollywood Reporter said that “Jon Berg and Geoff Johns will co-run the newly created DC Films in an attempt to course-correct Warners' comic book movies...” and also Seth Grahame-Smith was let go on The Flash film.

Dan Jurgens v Danny Fingeroth at Wizard World Minneapolis (08 May 2016)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

HTC Vive

Details Vive is the first-of-its kind virtual reality system developed in partnership by HTC and Valve. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, Vive combines state-of-the-art technologies into a complete system that includes video, audio and precise motion tracking. Breathtaking visual experiences are provided by a headset that features a 110° field of view and 32 sensors for precise tracking for total immersion. The 2160 x 1200 resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate deliver detailed graphics and lifelike motion for smooth gameplay and realistic movement. Fluid interaction is provided by two wireless controllers, each with HD haptic feedback, dual-stage triggers, and multi-function trackpads. Each controller features 24 sensors for 360° one-to-one tracking that mirrors hand movements. Room-scale motion tracking is enabled by two base stations that sync wirelessly avoiding the need for additional cords. Vive's built-in convenience and safety features are seamlessly integrated for an uninterrupted experience. The Chaperone guidance system alerts you if you approach the boundaries of the play space, while a front-facing camera blends physical elements into the virtual world. These features, working in concert, allow Vive to transport users to worlds that are truly beyond the imagination. Discover Vive today, and see for yourself: THIS IS REAL. Read More HTC Vive In fact, we got a first look at the new HTC Vive VR system, courtesy of online retailer Newegg. More details on this later (we’re preparing a full review), but just quickly: it was a lot of fun. …

In the 1989 Batman soundtrack, Prince sang “I’ve seen the Future and it will be, I’ve seen the Future and it works”.

HTC Vive

As a part of last weekend’s Wizard World Minneapolis, the kind folks at NewEgg gave us a hands-on demo with the latest in Virtual Reality technology, HTC Vive, and this is truly the future to come.

Demand for any new VR product is at a frenzied high right now, with first-adopters more than anxious to own the new tech and the Vive, which went on sale April 5^th, like the similar Oculus Rift, has had some recent issues keeping up with demand.

Developed by HTC and Valve Corporation, the headset designed to utilize "room scale" technology to turn a room into a 3D space via two positioned sensors, with the virtual world allowing the user to walk around and use two motion tracked handheld controllers to manipulate objects, interact, communicate and experience environments.  The result is addictively immersive.

We experienced the Space Pirate Trainer game - which is just one type of VR scenario. The first-person shooter game set in space as ships soared from all sides to try and take you out- similar in some ways to being inside the classic Space Invaders game, with 360-degree visibility and a cache of weapons and shields to select from.

A cut way above Google Cardboard and other extensions attached to a smartphone, the Vive still has to compete with the Rift, Razor OSVR, and upcoming Playstation VR, due out this fall, among others.

A grouping of cables tethers you to your PC (which needs to be sufficiently bulked up with enough memory, graphics card capability, etc. to run two 1080x1200 per-eye screens and the software) which makes movement a little restrained, but still workable.

It should also be noted that the HTC Vive VR system comes with two controllers (included in the price). With the short time spent with the demo, we felt this was the superior way to interact with the software - such as selecting menus or shooting down the space pirates... or providing haptic feedback.

In real life, the controller is basically a hilt or grip with various buttons and triggers... but when viewing it in the VR environment, it can be augmented into any visual representation. For example, it can look like a gun, a shield, a sword, or anything the developers can think of.

With VR technology still so relatively new to the public, any first-adopter will want to do their research to decide which platform might be right for them.

In terms of sellers, NewEgg does offer a team of their own peer support, to answer any questions and insure you have the ample computer build or necessary tools to support the device.

Like it or not, VR is here and here to stay- welcome to the Future.

Pros Immersive experience Fully working included motion controllers and a finished overall unit, not one still in development Viewing aspect ratio of 9:5 has greater range than 16:9 in others Valve fully supports, so any VR game in the Steam library will be available Room-scale VR environment Cons $799 MSRP – higher priced than Rift ($599), Razor ($300) Sony ($399/$499) Heavier bulky headset Computer tethering needs to be less intrusive (can be a tripping hazard) Potentially throw controllers in immersive game Requires powerful PC to run Near-sighted glass wearers might have a difficult time using the Vive

HTV Vive VR Demo at Wizard World Minneapolis, Minneapolis Convention Center (06 May 2016)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Wizard World Comic Con Photos (08 May 2016)

Here are just some photographs from Wizard World Minneapolis’s Sunday show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Recap and additional photos to be added later.

Victor Danridge

Deadpool

James Marsters

Love Your Cosplay Body

The Last Airbender

Legends of Tomorrow at Wizard World Minneapolis (08 May 2016)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Wizard World Comic Con Photos (07 May 2016)

Here are just some photographs from Wizard World Minneapolis’ Saturday show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Recap and additional photos to be added later.

Area 51 Tattoos	Intro To Cosplay	Danny Fingeroth	Tekken	Hogwarts
Billy Boyd	Kristen Bauer	Jeremy Shada	Iron Woman	Victor Dandridge
Jason David Frank	Batman’s Rogues Gallery	JJ Jameson (and Peter Parker)	Geek Guide to Healthcare	Scooby Doo

Grimm at Wizard World Minneapolis (07 May 2016)

Ecto-1	Batman’s Rogues Gallery	Libre Liberators	Cosplayers	Paige
Kirk vs Raiden	Jewel Staite	Michael Golden	Beyond the SHIELD	Akuma?
Mutt Cutts	Goblin King	Vikings	Dark Souls	Undercover Ninja Turtles and Rey

Adventure Time at Wizard World Minneapolis (07 May 2016)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Wizard World Comic Con at Minneapolis Convention Center (06 May 2016)

Convention Hours Saturday, May 7– 10am -7pm Sunday, May 8 – 10am - 4pm Programming available on wizardworld.com and the Wizard World app. Read More Wizard World Minneapolis It is pretty much all-Wizard World all weekend! W♥M will be bringing you extensive coverage of the three-day event - plus the traditional kick-off free event at the Mall of America on Thursday. …

Wizard World Minneapolis, the annual convention gathering of comics, and pop culture fun officially started on Friday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

VIP ticketholders will receive an exclusive VIP badge as well as Star Wars: Vader Down #1 Wizard World Presents Comic Con Box Exclusive Variant Color and Black & White cover by Mike Mayhew. The comic books were previously only available via Wizard World’s ComicConBox subscription, which is their version of the “Loot Crate.”

Showbiz National Talent Competition

Also, like previous years, Showbiz National Talent Competition was also taking place in the same building, so we had some dancers spilling over to the comic book/pop culture convention. With synchronized dancing and team costumes, they fit right in with the rest of the cosplayers.

HTC Vive

The convention seemed to have expanded their Wizard World Gaming area, almost tripling their space from previous years. The gaming area had plenty of computers or consoles with pre-loaded games.... In fact, we got a first look at the new HTC Vive VR system, courtesy of online retailer Newegg. More details on this later (we’re preparing a full review), but just quickly: it was a lot of fun.

There are some cons, of course, and its biggest road block is the pricing: HTC Vive is $800 (this includes goggles, two cameras, and two controllers - which its competitor Oculus Rift does not comes with all the extras... but costs less) and you need a current/modern computer to drive it (recommended i7 CPU and Nvidia 980 graphics card). Like many of you, my gaming computer is not up to par, so even before I consider the Vive, I would have to get a new computer. You can learn more about pricing and necessary equipment over at newegg.com/VR.

Still, this immersive HTC Vive VR system is really the next step in computer games. Although it’s out of my reach right now, I do have this on my “want list”.

Prince: The Comics Connection

The Prince: The Comics Connection panel seemed to have been put together quite quickly - but made a lot of sense considering how much the late Prince meant to Minneapolis. The panel featured Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook), Zak Sally (Low), Guy Gilchrist (Nancy), Alex Lubet (music professor at School of Music at U of M), and moderator Danny Fingeroth. The panel went through their memories of Prince and talked about Prince in comic books (and cartoons).

Cosplay Costume Breakdown

The Cosplay Costume Breakdown with Super Kayce and photographer/YouTube star Spyros Heniadis was a lot of fun and went beyond the programming listing. This entertaining “how to” photograph Super Kayce had some good thoughts and setup (including light rigs, flashes, and a laptop that automatically upload images from Spyros’ camera). Both Spyros and Super Kayce had some great tips on photographing and poses, etc.

At the end of their show, they offered anyone with a hotshoe camera (DSLR or Mirrorless) to take photos of Super Kayce.

The highlight of the show was “the Creative Mind: Top Artists on Drawing Comics” panel, featuring Dean Haspiel, Peter Gross (Books of Magic), Chaz Truog (Animal Man), Barbara Schulz (MCAD), Mikey Babinski (Deadpool), and moderator Danny Fingeroth.

The strong artist panel talked about how they go about their creative process, from rough sketches on copy paper to “blue line” full size paper. Leading by example, Chaz Truog (who famously worked with Grant Morrison on his Animal Man run) showed us how he draw Animal Man. This was given to Mikey Babinski to ink (or as he jokingly called it “tracing” - obviously a joke from Kevin Smith’s film Chasing Amy).

Honestly, the 45-minute program probably wasn’t long enough for these artists, who had a lot of stories in them... from Haspiel working with Howard Chaykin (American Flagg) to Walter Simonson (Thor) or Barbara Schulz’s various sketches she brought as show and tell.

Convention hours run Saturday, May 7– 10am -7pm;  Sunday, May 8– 10am - 4pm with the most recent guest, panel, and events updates on wizardworld.com and the Wizard World app (available on Android and iOS).

Dean Haspiel, Chaz Truog, Mikey Babinski, Peter Gross, Barbara Schulz, and Danny Fingeroth at Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis (06 May 2016)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M253: Comic May-hem

W♥M253: Comic May-hem (40 mins) Read More Wizard World Minneapolis It is pretty much all-Wizard World all weekend! W♥M will be bringing you extensive coverage of the three-day event - plus the traditional kick-off free event at the Mall of America on Thursday. …

Vu and John’s semi-regular Comic Book Podcast is back. This was recorded with the Prince-themed show, but since this is a timely-matter, we’re publishing this 40-min show now and saving the Prince show at a later date.

What we’re looking forward in the first week of May:

Star Wars Day (May 4th)

Captain America: Civil War (May 6th)

Free Comic Book Day (May 7th)

Wizard World Minneapolis (May 6th-8th)

Song of the Show: Prince’s “Batdance”

BONUS: Game of Thrones Season 6, X-Files Season X, Twin Peaks, Batman v Superman

--
W♥M Radio is available on iTunes, please subscribe!

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype, CallGraph, and Audacity.

W♥M252: Låpsley (01 May 2016) Vu, John W♥M251: Frightened Rabbit (05 January 2016) Vu, John W♥M250: Purple Rain - A Timeline of Prince's Final Days (23 April 2016) Vu, Langen W♥M249: You Spin Me Round (11 April 2016) Vu, John, Jamie W♥M248: So Hapa Together (15 March 2016) Vu, John W♥M247: Hero (19 February 2016) Vu, John

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minneapolis: May 6, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on May 6, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Day Wave The first time I heard "Come Home Now" by Day Wave I took an instant liking to the band. Then I heard "Drag" and realized how multifaceted each song was. … Jack and the Coax Jack and the Coax to open. The local band has a month-long residency at the Nomad World Pub every Thursday. …

DAY WAVE
at 7th Street Entry
Friday, 05/06/16, 8pm ($10/$12)
first-avenue.com

Oakland’s Day Wave recently released their hilarious music video for “Stuck”, featuring Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus.

Hoppus is apparently a big fan, having first discovered Day Wave when Apple Music's Beats 1 launched heard their song “Drag.”

Day Wave will be headlining the 7th Street Entry next Friday, May 6th, in support of their five-track EP Hard to Read.

Guests Jack and the Coax and Sleeping Jesus to open.

Tour Dates:

5/2/16 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
5/3/16 Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge
5/4/16 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
5/6/16 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
5/7/16 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
5/9/16 Columbus, OH @ Big Room Bar
5/10/16 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
5/11/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
5/12/16 Washington, DC @ DC9
5/14/16 Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Fest
5/16/16 Dublin, Ireland @ The Workman's Club
5/18/16 London, England @ Birthdays
5/20/16 Aarhus, Denmark @ Pop Revo
5/21/16 Brighton, England @ Great Escape
5/22/16 Leeds, England @ Brudenell Social Club
5/24/16 Newscastle, England @ Think Tank
5/25/16 Glasgow, Scotland @ Broadcast
5/27/16 Manchester, England @ Dot to Dot
5/28/16 Bristol, England @ Dot to Dot
5/29/16 Nottingham, England @ Dot to Dot
5/30/16 Paris, France @ Le Pop Up Du Label
6/1/16 Amsterdam, Holland @ Paradiso
6/3/16 Hamburg, Germany @ Prinzenbar
6/5/16 New York, NY @ Governor's Ball
6/7/16 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
6/9/16 Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel
6/10/16 Detroit, MI @ Pike Room
6/12/16 Kansas City, MO @ Madrid Theatre
6/13/16 Dallas, TX @ Cambridge Room (HOB)
6/14/16 Austin, TX @ Sidewinder
6/17/16 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
6/18/16 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
7/29/16 Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

^ w/ Gang of Youths

Read More Seratones 04/30 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore§ *with Car Seat Headrest †with Saintseneca ‡with Little Scream §with Seratones … Eleganza! Co-headlining will be Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires with support from Eleganza! and Supportive Parents. Tour dates: 04/12/15 Gainesville, FL High Dive 04/13/15 Jacksonville, …

SERATONES
at Turf Club
Friday, 05/06/16, 8pm ($10)
turfclub.net

Fresh off their tour with Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Louisiana’s Seratones will be stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul this Friday. The date was originally not listed on their tour poster, so it may have been added semi-recently.

The tour is in support of their debut album Get Gone, which is coming out also on May 6th via Fat Possum Records.

Fans of Janis Joplin and Mavis Staples may want to stop in to check out their frontwoman A.J. Haynes.

Eleganza! and The Carnegies to open.

Tour Dates:

5/2/16 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
5/3/16 Seattle, WA @ Barboza
5/6/16 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
5/7/16 Chicago, IL @ Hideout
5/8/16 Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
5/10/16 Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar
5/11/16 Columbus, OH @ Big Room Bar
5/13/16 Nashville, TN @ The Basement
5/14/16 Little Rock AR @ White Water Tavern
6/3/16 Richmond VA @ Friday Cheers+
7/15-7/16 Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
7/15-7/16 Birmingham, AL @ Sloss Music
8/22/16 Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow
8/23/16 Berlin, Germany @ Berghain Kantine
8/24/16 Cologne, Germany @ Blue Shell
8/25/16 Charleville-Mézières @ Cabaret Vert
8/26/16 Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
8/28/16 Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
9/1/16 London, UK @ Lexington
9/3/16 Dorset, UK @ End Of The Road

^ w/ The Dandy Warhols
+ w/The Revivalists

Read More Wizard World Minneapolis It is pretty much all-Wizard World all weekend! W♥M will be bringing you extensive coverage of the three-day event - plus the traditional kick-off free event at the Mall of America on Thursday. …

CREATOR PRO AM: DRINK & DRAW
at Pourhouse
Friday, 05/06/16, 8:30pm (Free/$5)
thepourhousempls.com

Are you going to Wizard World Minneapolis this year? If you are, your wristband will allow you free entrance to their after party on Friday night at their “Creator Pro AM: Drink & Draw” event from 8:30 to 10pm (details listed on wizardworld.com).

Of course, you may recall that Peelander-Z was kicked off the stage because the venue had another event that same night.

According to thepourhousempls.com they have a band playing this same name: The Hook Up. Not sure if it will conflict with the Drink & Draw thing... but details below.

8:30 – 10:00PM CREATOR PRO AM: DRINK & DRAW
All artist and writers are invited to come and compete in this live drawing and writing competition! You bring the creativity and we will take care of the rest! Scenarios and scenes will be described to the artist and writers, where you will have 1 hour to compete. Stay through to the end where one writer and one artist will be selected to win amazing prizes! Including prizes from Vantage:Inhouse Productions and U Cre-8 Comics. FREE with your Wizard World wristband, 18+ over until 10pm 21+ over after 10pm.
Located at: The Pourhouse, 10 S 5th St, Minneapolis, MN 55402.
Hosted by Victor Dandridge

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minneapolis: May 4 to May 8, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from May 4 to May 8, 2016.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More The Struts Breakout U.K. band The Struts will be stopping by First Avenue this September 17th, in support of their hit Have You Heard EP (Interscope Records), with single "Could Have Been Me". … Made Violent Made Violent ended up missing their Minneapolis appearance. It is really a shame, because, as we've previously mentioned, this is an excellent band. ...

THE STRUTS
at First Avenue
Wednesday, 05/04/16, 7:30pm ($16/$18)
first-avenue.com

We’ve been following acclaimed UK rockers The Struts for a while now, and admitted that they weren’t quite ready to head their show at First Avenue in September 2015, because (at the time) the band only wanted to play a few songs for the US market. This included only seven songs (plus one encore), but they managed to fill out an hour. This is because of extended live version... plus singer Luke Spiller had three costume changes, making for a fun, entertaining show.

This time around, the band finally released their debut Everybody Wants and will be adding additional songs on their set. Recently, the band showcased a cover of The Vaccines’ “I Always Knew” and Drake’s “Hotline Bling”, combined with their single “Kiss This”.

Opening up the show will be our favorite Made Violent. We previously caught the trio (singer/bassist Joseph White, guitarist Rob Romano and drummer Justin Acee) in May 2015 and looked forward to their second appearance in October 2015.... but history would have it that their van broke down. When pressed about why they put up with the struggles of constant grinding and touring, Romano said, “We can’t wait to hop in our sh**y van and drive across the country to play for anyone and everyone. Two things really matter to us – making as much good music as we can, and touring as much as we can. We never want to stop doing this.”

Made Violent also finally released some Eps (Made Violent and Wasted Days) last year via Columbia Records/Startime International.

Tour Dates:

April 30—Frisco, TX—Toyota Stadium May 2—Des Moines, IA—Wooly’s May 3—Milwaukee, WI—The Rave III May 4—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue May 6—Kansas City, MO—Middle of the Map May 8—Concord, NC—Carolina Rebellion May 9—Johnson City, TN—Capone’s May 10—Pittsburgh, PA—Altar Bar May 12—Norfolk, VA—Norva May 13—Atlanta, GA—Shaky Knees May 15—Jacksonville, FL—Jack Rabbits May 17—Fort Lauderdale, FL— Culture Room May 18—Orlando, FL—The Social May 20—Gulf Shores, AL—Hangout Music Festival May 21—Maryland Heights, MO—KPNT Pointfest May 22—Columbus, OH—Rock on the Range May 28—San Francisco, CA—Opera House May 28—Napa, CA—BottleRock Napa Valley June 5—Mendig, Germany—Rock am Ring June 3—Nurnberg, Germany—Rock im Park June 9— Sweden Rock Festival

June 10— Pinkpop Festival June 11—Download Festival June 12—Nova Rock Festival June 16—Madrid, Spain—Mad Cool Festival June 19—Dover, DE—Firefly Music Festival July 2—Rotselaar, Belgium—Rock Werchter July 3—Arras, France—Main Square Festival July 14—Asbury Park, NJ—The Stone Pony* July 20—Reading, PA—Downtown Alive* July 21—Clifton Park, NY—Upstate Concert Hall* July 22—WayHome Music July 23—Cleveland, OH—R&R HOF* July 25—Detroit, MI—St. Andrew’s Hall* July 26—Cincinnati, OH—Bogart’s* July 29—Chicago, IL—Lollapalooza July 31—Montreal, Canada—Osheaga August 1—Portland, ME—Port City Music Hall* August 2—Boston, MA—Royale Nightclub* August 6—Washington, DC—9:30 Club* *supported by Dorothy

Read More Silversun Pickups Having spent many times stopping in Minneapolis at smaller venues, like the 7th Street Entry, Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert was amazed at the massive crowd for Rock the Garden, that he said, "This is a big deal!" … Foals "Are you ready? Because you don't sound f****ing ready!," yelled Foals' singer Yannis Philippakis as he worked the crowd. Foals rocked hard at First Avenue in Minneapolis last night to a group of young British rock music fans. … Joywave BETTY WHO with Joywave, Great Good Fine OK at Fine Line Music Cafe Friday 10/17/14, 8pm $15: finelinemusic.com …

SILVERSUN PICKUPS / FOALS
at Myth
Thursday, 05/05/16, 6:30pm ($27)
mythlive.com

The co-headlining show of Foals and Silversun Pickups will be arriving to the Myth in Maplewood, Minnesota.

Foals recently scored their first #1 Alternative radio single with “Mountain At My Gates”, from their acclaimed fourth album What Went Down... so expect the crowd to go nuts when they play that song live. Find out why Q Magazine gave the band “Best Act in the World” in 2015.

As for Silversun Pickups, they made it on our annual favorite shows of 2015.

Special guest Joywave to open the show.

Tour dates:

04/30/16 KDGE 102.1 EdgeFest
05/01/16 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q
05/02/16 Houston, TX Revention Music
05/04/16 Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank
05/05/16 Saint Paul, MN Myth
05/06/16 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
05/08/16 89X Birthday Bash
05/09/16 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
05/10/16 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
05/12/16 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte
05/13/16 Atlanta, GA Center Stage Theater
05/14/16 Shaky Knees Music
05/16/16 North Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
05/17/16 Greensboro, NC Cone Denim
05/18/16 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
05/28/16 St. Louis, MO Ballpark Village
06/04/16 Live 105 BFD
06/06/16 Seattle, WA The Showbox
06/07/16 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal
06/08/16 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
06/17/16 Radio 104.5 Birthday
06/20/16 Chattanooga, TN Track 29
06/21/16 Knoxville, TN The Mill & Mine
06/22/16 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
06/24/16 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
06/25/16 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
06/26/16 DC101 Kerfuffle
07/22/16 Panorama Festival
07/25/16 Portland, ME State Theatre
07/26/16 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
07/28/16 Quebec City, QC Imperial Bell
07/31/16 Lollapalooza
08/27/16 Timpanogos Music Festival

Read More Wizard World Minneapolis The second annual Wizard World Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Convention Center just ended on Sunday. Compared to last year, I felt this year more fans were attending the panels... … Buffy So, today's entry is on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although they've used good music soundtracks, such as Echobelly, Curve, and Angie Hart (Frente), I'm going to . … Grimm Grimm season two is the opposite. I don't like how the main character's sidekick can now also see the supernatural characters. Also: why are there more . … Gotham Gotham is an upcoming Fox TV series (due out Sept 22) about the beginnings of Batman, his villains, a young Jim Gordon and the city that hosts them . …

WIZARD WORLD COMIC CON MINNEAPOLIS
at Minneapolis Convention Center
Thursday, 05/05/16, 6pm (FREE)
Friday, 05/06/16, 3pm ($35/$45)
Saturday, 05/07/16, 10am ($45/$55)
Sunday, 05/08/16, 10am ($40/$50)
minneapolis.org

It is pretty much all-Wizard World all weekend! W♥M will be bringing you extensive coverage of the three-day event - plus the traditional kick-off free event at the Mall of America on Thursday.

The Wizard World Comic Con’s “Kick Off the Con” event will take place at the Rotunda at 6pm and will feature Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and James Marsters (Spike, from Buffy).

Wizard has also published their Minneapolis Programming and here are some events we will try to attend:

FRIDAY, MAY 6TH

5:00 – 5:45pm Prince: The Comics Connection—“Batdance” And Beyond: With Dean Haspiel, Guy Gilchrist, Zak Sally & Alex Lubet (Room M100e)

6:00 – 6:45pm The Creative Mind: Top Artists On Drawing Comics With The Red Hook’s Dean Haspiel, The Books Of Magic’s Peter Gross, Animal Man’s Chaz Truog & Deadpool’s Mikey Babinski (Room 100e)

SATURDAY, MAY 7TH

11:30 – 12:15pm Guy Gilchrist’s Professional Creative Workshop (M100i)

12:00 – 12:45pm Protecting Star City And Oliver Queen With David Ramsey (Room 101)

1:00 – 1:45pm Adventures In Middle Earth With Billy Boyd (Room 101)

1:00 – 1:45pm Blood On The Bayou With Kristen Bauer (M100e)

1:30 – 2:15pm Inside The World Of Independent Comics With Billy Dogma’s Dean Haspiel, Mcad’s Barbara Schulz, Sammy The Mouse’s Zak Sally & Origins Unknown’s Victor Dandridge (Room M00i)

2:00 – 2:45pm Spider-Man: Menace Or Super-Menace? Hosted By J. Jonah Jameson (M100e)

2:30 – 3:15pm From Thumbs To Prints: Creating Your Own Comic Book With Koolasheck (M100i)

3:00 – 3:45pm Storytime Is Over: David Giuntoli, Bitsie Tulloch And Sasha Roiz (Room 101)

4:00 – 4:45pm Rise Of The Penguin: Robin Lord Taylor (Room 101)

4:30 – 5:15pm Security Gaps In Hogwarts (M100b)

5:00 – 5:45pm Intro To Cosplay With Wizard World Cosplay Guest Hannah Eva (M100e)

5:30 – 6:15pm Creating “The Crow” With James O’barr (M100i)

6:30 – 7:00pm Inside The Ring With Wwe® Superstar Paige™ (M100b)

7:30 – 9:00pm Wizard World Costume Contest Sponsored By Bandai Namco (Room 101)

SUNDAY, MAY 8TH

12:00 – 12:45pm Their Time Is Now: Falk Hentschel And Franz Drameh (M100e)

12:30 – 1:15pm Secrets Of Comics Writing Revealed! With Superman’s Dan Jurgens, The Red Hook’s Dean Haspiel, Albert The Alien’s Trevor Mueller & Spider-Man’s Danny Fingeroth (Room M100b)

1:00 – 1:45pm Out For A Bite With James Marsters (M100e)

1:30 – 2:15pm Batman V Superman: Threat Or Menace? With Superman’s Dan Jurgens & Spider-Man’s Danny Fingeroth (Room M100b)

3:00 – 3:45pm Wizard World Kid’s Costume Contest (M100b)

You can pay per day, but you’ll save money by purchasing all three dates at $75.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Upcoming: Wizard World Minneapolis (May 6-8, 2016)

Read More Wizard World Minneapolis The second annual Wizard World Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Convention Center just ended on Sunday. Compared to last year, I felt this year more fans were attending the panels... …

May is really a wonderful time for comic book fans in Minneapolis. We have three major comic events coming up: Wizard World Minneapolis (May 6-8th), Free Comic Book Day (May 7th), and MSP ComiCon (formerly SpringCon) (May 14-15th).

So, we’re pretty excited about Wizard World Minneapolis, its eight comic con event in 2016 and the third year in Minneapolis. Once again, it will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

We will be breaking down some of the programming highlights closer to the date. In the meantime, here are just some of the celebrities confirmed to attend:

David Giuntoli / Bitsie Tulloch / Sasha Roiz (“Grimm”)

Robin Lord Taylor / James Frain / Cory Michael Smith (“Gotham”)

Diva Paige (WWE)

Jewel Staite (Firefly, “Serenity”)

Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)

Falk Hentschel (“Legends of Tomorrow”)

James Marsters (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)

Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”)

Kristin Bauer (“True Blood”)

Jason David Frank (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”)

Sean Schemmel (voice actor: “Dragon Ball Z”)

Jeremy Shada (voice actor: “Adventure Time With Finn & Jake”)

For comic book fans here are the artists and writers attending at this year’s Wizard World Minneapolis:

Gerhard (“Cerebus”)

Dean Haspiel (“American Splendor,” “X-Men”)

Neal Adams (“Batman,” “Green Lantern”)

Tom Cook (“He-Man,” “She-Ra”)

Michael Golden (“Batman,” “Spider-Man”)

Clinton Hobart (Disney fine art)

Ken Kelly (“Kiss” album covers, “He-Man”)

James O’Barr (“The Crow”)

Guy Gilchrist (writer/cartoonist, “Nancy,” “Muppet Babies”)

Mark Kistler (PBS Television , “The Secret City”)

Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies” “Army of Darkness”)

Other artists attending: Peter Gross (“The Simpsons,” “Muppet Babies”), Danny Fingeroth (group editor, “Spider-Man”), Tim Seeley (“Revival,” “Ant Man & The Wasp”), Allyn Jensrud (“Monkey Man Labs”), Phil Juliano (“Twin Cities Comic Collective”), Jeremiah Lambert (“Transformers,” “Tonka Truck”), Victor Dandridge (“Vantage: Inhouse”), Tim Lundmark (“Hell Has Become Our Home: A Poetic Narrative on the Duality of Marriage”), Mike Maydak (“1782: The Year of Blood,” “The Blackbeard Legacy”), Jim Mehsling (“Into the Void,” “Bounty Hunter: The Interview”), Robert “Bob The Artist” Luedke (“Eye Witness,” “A Fictional Tale of Absolute Truth”), Jeff Greenwalt (producer/head writer/ cast member “Rabbit Ears”) and many others.

For the current and full list, head over to wizardworld.com/comiccon/minneapolis

In addition to the guests, the attending cosplayers are also part of the fun.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Comic Book Convention Season Kick-Off and a rewind to C2E2 2015

Read More C2E2 A road trip should be considered for Chicago’s C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo), happening at McCormick Place April 24-26th. This massive show is very comic book-friendly …

Snow is melting, the days are longer, and clocks are about to spring forward—

The In Store Convention Kickoff

In addition to winter nearing an end, it also marks the beginnings of Comic Convention Season, with a virtual event to officially kick off the season.  For the second year, and now with distributor Diamond’s support, The In Store Convention Kickoff is an all-day event, happening TODAY at participating retailers.

The eight-hour-long live broadcast featuring interviews and specials with your favorite creative team and special guests, and hear about upcoming projects from Marvel, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and more. It'll be like going to a whole day's worth of comic-con panels but without the lines, tickets, or crowds...and you can hang out with all your friends from your local comic shop.

For the collector, the event is also offering exclusive Convention Kick-Off Variant Covers for purchase on the following new releases- Boom Studio’s Jonesy, Marvel’s Power Man and Iron Fist, and DC’s Batman: Arkham Knight – Batgirl and Harley Quinn, as well as an exclusive gold Star Wars bank from Diamond.

C2E2 (18-20 March 2016)

The actual convention season kicks off big next week, with Chicago’s C2E2 (happening a little earlier than usual this year), our favorite of last year’s shows and the largest convention in the Midwest.  Held at the expansive McCormick Place (an even bigger area than the NYC Comic Con), last year’s show attracted 70,000 fans and the highlights were plentiful.

Wrestler-turned-writer CM Punk was announced as the Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff, Drax writer at the show, and remains on the book, with issue #4 out just recently. M. Night Shyamalan was on-hand with lead actor Matt Dillon, to give everyone a first look at the acclaimed 'Wayward Pines' mini-series.

Sylvester McCoy and Neve McIntosh provided plenty of humor at their Dr. Who panel, perhaps the most fun of the weekend, Hayley Atwell and Ming-Na Wen's panel called the "Kick-Ass Women of Shield" was the hardest to get into,  and Jason Momua mesmerized the crowd with his Games of Thrones tales and hints of his take on the Aquaman character he is set to portray in upcoming movies.

Stan Lee at C2E2 (2015)

93-year old Marvel Comics legend  Stan Lee was on hand as well, for a light-hearted and informative Q+A, with Lee retaining all of his unmissable personality, though his hearing is admittedly declining.

Lines were long to meet the most popular creators, with writers such as Scott Snyder, Rick Remender, and Jonathan Hickman, being among the most popular (which is a recent change, as comics are a primarily visual medium with artists traditionally getting most of the attention).

This year’s C2E2 is packed with guests as well—entertainment guests include Chicago native John Cusack, Melissa (Supergirl) Benoist, and several from the cast of Agents of Shield, along with the usual bevy of wrestlers, reality stars, and famous cosplayers.

Comic creator guests include the Batman creative team (soon to leave the book though) of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, famed X-Men writer Chris Claremont, longtime fan-favorite Art Adams, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.

If you can’t make it to Chicago for C2E2, there are several area comic shows happening as well—pack your pull list, wallet, and patience—comic convention season is officially here!

Upcoming area comic book-related shows so far announced include:

Mar 12 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
Mar 20 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
Apr 8-10 - Wizard World – Madison, WI
April 16 – ComicCard- Bloomington, MN
May 6-8 – Wizard World - Minneapolis, MN
May 13-15 - Wizard World – Des Moines, IA
May 7 – Free Comic Book Day – participating retailers
May 14-15 - MSP ComicCon (formerly SpringCon) – Falcon Heights, MN
June 19 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
July 23 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
Sept 11 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
Oct 8 - MSP MicroCon (formerly FallCon) – Falcon Heights, MN
Nov. 5 - ComicCard- Bloomington, MN
Nov 19 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN

C2E2 2015 Saturday admission crowd (25 Apr 2015)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic