W♥M: Asian Invasion

05/06/2024

Minneapolis: May 20, 2024

02/13/2024

Minneapolis: March 6 to March 7, 2024

01/19/2024

Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Four

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Shaw Brothers

Now enter Shout Factory, who also has a Shaw Brothers boxset in the works, set for release on June 13, 2023. They are releasing 11 titles, with special features yet to be announced. …

As promised, here are my thoughts on the fourth, and final, Shout Factory’s excellent Shaw Brothers Classics boxsets. By far, in my opinion, this is the best set, because by the early/mid-80s the Shaw directors and writers have finetuned the kung fu movie genre.

Collected here is my favorite Shaw Brothers director Chang Cheh and his last film for the company, Five Element Ninjas (aka Super Ninjas). I’ve previously mentioned that this is my favorite Venoms film, although it’s technically not a Venoms film, as by this point in time, the Venoms have largely disbanded. Still, I considered it a Venoms, because it contains many of the tropes in a classic Venoms film.

The commentator, who described the film as Chang Cheh’s greatest hits remix, because it was. It was like Cheh knew this was his last film, so he made his greatest film… This film has it all. From his macho bare-chested heroes to wu-sha weapons (the Alliance heroes had these Swish Army Knife weapons!) to training film to epic final fight. In fact, the last 45 minutes of the film is just fight after fight after fight… until the hero sacrifices himself to take out the final boss. If you have to see one Shaw Brothers film, Five Element Ninjas is the one to see.

There’s a few other Venoms classics, like the “whodunnit” Masked Avengers and House of Traps (not my favorite film).

Unfortunately, Shaw Factory does not have the rights for Five Deadly Venoms or Crippled Avengers (aka Return of the Five Deadly Venoms), so you’ll need to get Arrow Videos’ Shaw Scope boxset.

I would love it if Shout and Arrow get together and co-release an ultimate Venoms Boxset. Boy, even though I already own all these films, I would definitely reconsider buy the Venoms set again!

I love these old kung fu films, so naturally, I had to get all the Shaw Brothers releases… For many years, we only had bootleg VHS, or had to important Region 3 DVD… but in the last five years, we finally started seeing some rare Shaw Brothers in proper Bluray 1080p full HD.

If you’re a big fan, as I am, and want collect everything (four Shout Factory sets, two Arrow Videos sets, plus a variety of single releases), you’re looking to spend around $1,000!

It wouldn’t be so bad if it was spread out in five or six years… but it is crazy that we’re getting all these films in two years (Shawscope in 2022 and Shaw Brothers Classics in 2023). If you’re a Shaw fan, what a moment to be alive!

Anyway, now that I’ve completed my Shaw Brothers set, I am very happy to have these films in my library… but my wallet is definitely lighter. If there are more Shaw releases in 2024… I’m probably not going to be first in line, but wait for a sale.

Five Element Ninjas

Read more Shaw Brothers, Bluray, Asian Invasion.

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

Posted at 11:59 PM in Asian Invasion, Bluray, DVD, Films, Kung Fu, Movies, Shaw Brothers | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/05/2024

Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Three

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Shaw Brothers

Now enter Shout Factory, who also has a Shaw Brothers boxset in the works, set for release on June 13, 2023. They are releasing 11 titles, with special features yet to be announced. …

I own all four Shout Factory’s excellent Shaw Brothers Classics boxsets, volume one to four. The company have aggressively released each boxset, starting in June, then August, then October, and finally in December. I believe the fourth boxset is the last of this Classics boxset.

Each set contains about 12 films, so you’re getting a little under 50 titles … so many films, so little time! In total, at about $150 per boxset, you’re spending about $600 to complete this collection.

I have been meaning to talk about each set… so get ready for my breakdown of the third boxset.

Up until now, this is my favorite so far. My favorite Shaw Brothers era is the 80s, because by this time, the Shaw Brothers directors and actors have learned what works and what doesn’t work and refined their kung-fu movies to the best they can produce. So many good movies from this time period (much of it will be seen in the fourth boxset).

Most of the third boxset are Shaw Brothers from the late 70s. The only 1980 film on here is Clan of the White Lotus, by far, my favorite thanks to Gordan Liu.

There are some good ones in this collection, I have always loved Killer Clans, which is one of the early re-mastered releases from Celestial.

I am also a fan of Shaolin Avengers, only because it’s another Chang Cheh joint.

With all Shaw Brothers films, they’re shot on “Shawscope”, which is 2.35:1. What that means is if you are viewing the film on an Ultrawide monitor, like my Alienware monitor… it fits perfectly. Most modern Widescreen will have black bars on the side of the monitor when displayed on Ultrawide. So if you have an extra wide monitor, Shaw Scope was made for you!

These Shaw Brothers Classics are essential to get if you’re a kung fu fan. Many of these films have never been available on Bluray in America (some of these I already own via UK’s 88 Films), and if you want to support this kind of films, and if you can afford it, buy it and vote with your wallet.

Anyway, just a quickie, we’ll talk more Chang Cheh and Venoms in the four boxset (which is the best one to get).

Shawscope: Shaolin Avengers

Read more Shaw Brothers, Bluray, Asian Invasion.

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

Posted at 11:59 PM in Asian Invasion, Bluray, DVD, Kung Fu, Shaw Brothers | Permalink | Comments (0)

12/10/2023

Shaw Brothers Presents...

Product Description

Shaw Brothers Presents: Four Films by Chang Cheh
Release date: ‎ December 12, 2023

Five Shaolin Masters

Shaolin Temple

Five Venoms

Crippled Avengers

Shaw Brothers Presents: Four Films by Lau Kar-Leung
Release date: ‎ December 12, 2023

Challenge of the Masters

Executioners from Shaolin

Heroes of the East

Dirty Ho

Shaw Brothers Presents: The Basher Box
Release date: ‎ December 12, 2023

King Boxer

Boxer From Shantung

Chinatown Kid

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Shaw Brothers

Now enter Shout Factory, who also has a Shaw Brothers boxset in the works, set for release on June 13, 2023. They are releasing 11 titles, with special features yet to be announced. …

Arrow Videos will be releasing three new Shaw Brothers collections… just in time for the Christmas holiday.

Shaw Brothers Presents: The Basher Box

Shaw Brothers Presents: Four Films by Lau Kar-Leung

Shaw Brothers Presents: Four Films by Chang Cheh

In my previous reviews of Shaw Brothers Blurays, I mentioned that the massive boxsets are too expensive. So, breaking up the boxsets to mini-collections, such as Four Films by Chang Cheh makes a whole lot of sense to me. And pricing is fair, at $50 (retail) vs the $200 asking price of the original boxset.

As a diehard Shaw Brothers fan, I would love to buy all of these, but since I already own the original two Arrow’s Shaw Scope Boxsets - there is really no good reasons for me to re-buy these films again.

If you didn’t buy the original boxsets, I think these three releases are a good value (especially the Chang Cheh set as it contains one of my favorites Crippled Avengers).

If you already own the boxsets and have the extra cash, I say go ahead and get them, as it’s currently being sold for $30 each.

The three Shaw Brothers collections come out December 12th, 2023.

Since we’re on topic, the Shaw Brothers Classics boxsets from Shout Factory will be getting all their films in four boxsets (each $170 retail) in 2023 (the last one drops December 19, 2023). I suspect that in 2024, Shout Factory may breakup some of these films in smaller collections. So if you can’t afford all four boxsets, you should wait it out. Me personally? I prefer to have all the films in the boxsets… but I would’ve liked them to space out the releases. Buying about 100 Shaw Brothers films in one year is a little too much for me… in terms of watching them all and spending too much money!

If money is a problem, some Shaw Brothers films are available for streaming for free on Amazon Prime … Current Prime prices are $139 a year. I have never considered paying for Prime, but since I’m on the family plan on my brother’s Prime account, I don’t think I can live without Prime now. Think about it, you get free two-day shipping (sometime same-day shipping) on all your orders… plus other perks like Prime Video. If my brother stops paying for Prime, I will have to pick up the tab, because I can’t live without it now.

Read more Shaw Brothers, Bluray, Asian Invasion.

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

Posted at 01:25 PM in Asian Invasion, Bluray, DVD, Kung Fu, Movies, Shaw Brothers | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/18/2023

Atarashii Gakko! at Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St Paul (16 Nov 2023)

Atarashii Gakko Setlist

SEISHUN WO KIRISAKU HADO
saisyu jinrui
CANDY
The Edge
Suki Lie
Fantastico
Pineapple Kryptonite (Yohji Igarashi Remix)
Tokyo Calling
Otona Blue
WOO! GO!
NAINAINAI

-- Encore --
Free Your Mind

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Atarashii Gakko!

Japanese all-girl group Atarashii Gakko!, the known as the full Japanese name as Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders (新しい学校のリーダーズ), translated to mean “The New School Leaders”. ....

J-Pop all-girls group Atarashii Gakko! (新しい学校のリーダーズ and stylized as ATARASHII GAKKO!) just wrapped up their first-ever North American tour… stopping by the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, in St Paul, on Thursday night (November 16).

This was a sold-out show, meaning that when you first arrive to the venue, you had to get in line. The line goes up a flight of stairs in the building… so we were directed to take the elevator to the sixth floor and then find the line on the stairs. It’s an awkward way waiting to get in the door… but it beats standing outside in the winter.

There was also no opening band, so there was a long wait time until the show begins. The dance floor quickly filled up with eager young fans who rush to the front of the stage for a good viewing spot. Many of them brought idol lights or were dressed up with the Atarashii Gakko’s official socks.

Since there was such a long wait time, some fans brough balloons with LED micro blinking lights and had some fun bouncing it around. When it ultimate pop, there was a huge gasp from the audience. Fear not, another balloon would soon go.

Atarashii Gakko finally came on stage and the crowd went wild. The “New School Leaders” are four girls: Mizyu, the cute but fierce one, Rin, the funky one, Suzuka, the glass-wearing wildcard, and Kanon, the graceful one.

As with these K-Pop/J-Pop/T-Pop bands, it’s not so much the catchy pop songs, but it’s all about the dance choregraph. It’s really a visual show with some crazy dance moves and sometime it’s acrobatic!

The fans are passionate and enthusiastic, often singing along or participating whenever the band would take a moment to ask the crowd questions… such as “Do you know Japan?”

If you are not familiar with Korean Pop or Japanese Pop groups, you should do yourself a favor and attend a show (if it’s not sold out yet). You’ll have as much fun watching the show as it is to experience it with their fanbase.

Update 11/21: Photos were finally approved.

Atarashii Gakko!

Atarashii Gakko! (Vuart)

Atarashii Gakko! at Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St Paul (16 Nov 2023)

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

Posted at 03:12 PM in Amsterdam Bar, Asian Invasion, Atarashii Gakko, Japan, K-Pop, St Paul, Vuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/10/2023

Yeule at Fine Line, Minneapolis (09 Oct 2023)

10/09 yeule with SASAMI at Fine Line

yeule Setlist

bloodbunny
Electric
4ui12
cyber meat
softscars
ghosts
Don’t Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty
sulky baby
software update
x w x
aphex twin flame
dazies

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Yeule

Singaporean songwriter and producer Nat Ćmiel, or otherwise known by the stagename Yeule, will be headlining the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis this October 9th. Yeule’s new album softscars will be out on September 22nd via Ninja Tune. .…

Sasami

Los Angeles-based artist Sasami (stylized as SASAMI) is returning to the area, at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on Saturday, April 20th. SASAMI’s debut self-titled album is available for pre-order now .…

Singaporean songwriter and producer Yeule (aka Nat Ćmiel) headlined the Fine Line Music Café, in Minneapolis, on Columbus Day, October 9th.

According to both Sasami and Yeule, the band almost didn’t make it to Minneapolis, as their tour bus broke down in Omaha, Nebraska, early in the morning of October 9th. In an emergency, they could only get a Toyota Corolla rental… which you would know is considerably smaller than a traditional tour bus. Everyone is cramped in the small car, with their instrumentals packed in a U-Haul trailer.

Somehow they were able to make it to the show, perhaps a tad later than they had anticipated, but they were happy to be in Minneapolis, at the Fine Line.

Sasami (02 Apr 2022)

Opening the show was Sasami, playing solo. She’s normally with a metal band called Barishi (all of this was previously mentioned in Apr 2022: “Sasami came on stage slightly later than advertised. She’s dressed up in this outfit, and her live band is Vermont’s metal band Barishi.”

She confessed that she was nervous, not having a band to “hide behind.” Since she has to play guitar and serves as a one-woman-show, she decided that she was going to “experiment” with brand new songs that have never been released. Perhaps some of these songs will make it in a future album.

Shortly after Sasami exited the stage, Yeule came on stage, dressed in raggy white outfit, with Sasami and a drummer, also dressed in the same theme.

The trio wasted no time in kicking off their set with “bloodbunny”.

When Yeule put on her guitar for “4ui12”, she realized that “Someone stole my guitar picks.” Personally speaking, I do have some guitar picks in my wallet (I’ve bought them from merch or were given to me). Someone in front must’ve given her some picks, so the band could play.

You find out later that Yeule has never been to “this part of America” before. She’s referring to the Midwest, which is pretty expansive with long stretches of rolling hills and empty spaces. Basically, a lot of nothing, until you hit a major city, such as Minneapolis or Chicago.

It did sound like Yeule is enjoying her time in America, despite car breaking down and other hiccups in their tour.

Yeule’s new album softscars is out now on Ninja Tune.

Remaining tour dates:

10/10 - Chicago, IL @ Metro*
10/12 - Toronto, ON @ Axis
10/13 - Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
10/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer*
10/15 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall*
10/18 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
10/19 - Washington, D.C @ Black Cat*
10/20 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle*
10/21 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell)*
10/24 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall*
10/25 - Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory*
10/26 - Austin, TX @ Levitation
10/28 - Mesa, AZ @ The Nile*
10/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda*
12/7 - Paris, France @ Café de la Danse
12/8 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Melkweg OZ
12/9 - Berlin, Germany @ Zenner
12/11 - London, UK @ HERE at Outernet

Sasami

Yeule

Sasami

Yeule

Yeule at Fine Line, Minneapolis (09 Oct 2023)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 11:08 PM in Asian Invasion, Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, SASAMI, Yeule | Permalink | Comments (0)

Asian Invasion: Rocktober

Read more Asian Invasion and Minneapolis Music Guide.

10/14 ZHU with Noizu at Armory

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Daft Punk

Daft Punk fourth studio album, Random Access Memories, out on Daft Life/Columbia Records on May 21st, 2013. Personally, I love the French dance/techno duo, been a fan since Homework in 1997 …

10/14/2023 Saturday

ZHU
with Noizu
at Armory
armorymn.com

American (Chinese heritage) Zhu is headlining the Armory in Minneapolis this Saturday, October 14th. The electronic music producer and singer is described as “the next Daft Punk.”

Zhu’s new album Grace will be out January 19, 2024, on Astralwerks.

Los Angeles based Noizu to open.

Tour dates:

10.11 Madison, WI The Sylvee
10.12 Chicago, IL Radius
10.13 Chicago, IL Radius
10.14 Minneapolis, MN Armory
10.17 Boise, ID Revolution Concert House
10.19 Sacramento, CA Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
10.24 Spokane, WA The Podium
10.26 Vancouver, BC Harbour Events Centre
10.27 Vancouver, BC Harbour Events Centre
10.28 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
10.29 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
11.01 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
11.04 Magna, UT The Great Saltair
11.09 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
11.10 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
11.11 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
11.17-19 Mexico City, MX Corona Capital

10/18 The Rose at Armory

10/18/2023 Wednesday

The Rose
at Armory
first-avenue.com

South Korean indie rock band The Rose (더 로즈) will be headlining the Armory on October 18th. The band is composed of four members: Kim Woo-sung (vocals, guitar), Park Do-joon (keyboard), Lee Ha-joon (drums), and Lee Jae-hyeong (bass).

Tour dates:

Oct 10 Vancouver, BC, Canada PNE Forum
Oct 12 Salt Lake City, UT, US The Complex
Oct 15 Denver, CO, US Fillmore Auditorium
Oct 18 Minneapolis, MN, US The Armory
Oct 20 Toronto, ON, Canada Coca-Cola Coliseum
Oct 22 New York (NYC), NY, US The Theater
Oct 24 Fairfax, VA, US EagleBank Arena
Oct 26 Columbus, OH, US KEMBA Live!
Oct 28 Atlanta, GA, US Coca-Cola Roxy
Oct 29 Los Angeles (LA), CA, US Nine O'clock Players
Oct 31 Miami, FL, US James L. Knight Center
Nov 5 Grand Prairie, TX, US Texas Trust CU Theatre
Nov 7 Austin, TX, US Moody Theater
Nov 10 Phoenix, AZ, US Arizona Financial Theatre
Nov 12 Inglewood, CA, US Kia Forum

10/24 Talking Volumes with Viet Thanh Nguyen hosted by Kerri Miller at The Fitzgerald Theater

10/24/2023 Tuesday

Talking Volumes
with Viet Thanh Nguyen
hosted by Kerri Miller
at The Fitzgerald Theater
first-avenue.com

Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune are proud to announce the 23rd season of Talking Volumes.

Talking Volumes is hosted by award-winning journalist Kerri Miller, who will be interview/talking to Vietnamese/American author Viet Thanh Nguyen at the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul, on October 24th.

Tour dates:

Oct 10, 2023 Los Angeles @Barnes and Noble at the Grove
Oct 16, 2023 Philadelphia at Parkway Central Library
Oct 17, 2023 Cambridge— Harvard University
Oct 17, 2023 Harvard University Norton Lectures
Oct 18, 2023 Brooklyn at St. Joseph's University
Oct 20, 2023 New York at 92nd Street Y
Oct 21, 2023 Harrisburg Book Festival
Oct 22, 2023 Washington DC at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Oct 23, 2023 Chicago at American Writers Museum
Oct 24, 2023 St. Paul at The Fitzgerald Theatre

BONUS:

11/09 to 11/22 SHIGETO KOYAMA CCMS experiment OBAKE at NowHere NYC

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Anime

Red Comet aka Andy Denk next took the stage with heavy beats and Japanese anime which seemed to electrify the crowd whenever they saw their favorite characters …

11/09/2023 to 11/22/2023

SHIGETO KOYAMA CCMS
experiment OBAKE
at NowHere NYC
nowhere-nyc.com

If we were in New York City, we would be checking out the SHIGETO KOYAMA CCMS experiment OBAKE. The inaugural solo exhibition will debut on November 9th (and runs until November 22nd) at NowHere NYC.

All this is courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (SMEJ), as part of their new “Art × Entertainment” project, which aims to expand the appreciation of art in previously unexplored directions, honor unique talents, and create a platform for the artistic essences of key contemporary artists.

Shigeto Koyama (HEROMAN, Rebuild of Evangelion, Kill la Kill, Gundam Reconguista in G, and Promare) will present a range of work from his critically acclaimed animated projects and expound on the creative processes at their genesis, though to him this is, “Not an ‘exhibition’ but an ‘experiment.’”

Mr. Koyama will also host a pair of talks at the gallery. The first will be on Saturday, November 11, from 2pm to 4pm EST and will be free. The second will be ticketed, and held on Monday, November 20, from 6pm to 8pm EST. More information can be found here.

If you were wondering what CCMS is, it is a group of creators formed CCMS in 2010. The members are Shigeto Koyama, Tsuyoshi Kusano and Ai Nonaka. The three, known as professionals in animation and design, began producing original works through a series of zines called "dojinshi," which are derivative works of their original creations.

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

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

Posted at 01:31 PM in Anime, Asian Invasion, Japan, Korea, Rocktober, The Rose, Vietnam, Zhu | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/27/2023

Babymetal and Dethklok at the Fillmore, Minneapolis (25 Sep 2023)

09/25 Babymetal and Dethklok with Jason Richardson at Fillmore

Babymetal Setlist

BABYMETAL DEATH
Gimme Chocolate!!
PA PA YA!!
Distortion
BxMxC
Mirror Mirror

Monochrome
METALI!!
Megitsune
Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
Road of Resistance

Dethklok Setlist

Deththeme
Briefcase Full of Guts
Birthday Dethday
Awaken
Bloodlines
🎥 Concert Etiquette
The Gears
Hatredcopter
Dethsupport
Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle

🎥 Concert Tips

Aortic Desecration
I Ejaculate Fire
The Duel
Murmaider
Thunderhorse
Fansong
SOS
Go Into the Water

Jason Richardson Setlist

Intro: King of the Hill Theme

Tendinitis
Ishimura
Sparrow
Titan

Retrograde
Upside Down
Hos Down

Tour Dates

9/27 - St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park
9/28 - Omaha, NE - Steelhouse
9/30 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
10/1 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
10/3 - Vancouver, BC – PNE Forum
10/4 - Seattle, WA - WAMU Theater
10/7 - Sacramento, CA – Aftershock *~
10/8 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort
10/10 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
10/11 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater

*Not a Live Nation Date
~Festival Date

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Babymetal

Babymetal’s new concept album The Other One is out now on Cooking Vinyl. …

Dethklok

Japanese metal band Babymetal and Metalocalypse’s Dethklok are on a co-headlining “Babyklok” tour. The two bands will stop by the Fillmore on September 25. …

The incredible Babyklok tour just made their stop at the Fillmore, in Minneapolis, on Monday night. This tour is co-headlined by Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal and comedic satirical band Dethklok of Metalocalypse; both bands brought their respective fans to a sold-out tour.

Jason Richardson

Opening the show was mostly instrumental guitarist Jason Richardson. The guitarist is known for his works in Born of Osiris and joined All That Remains after Oli Herbert passed away. We’ve seen both bands, but neither time had Richardson in the band, we’re always too late or too early it seems.

Richardson did not have live band, so instead the percussion or vocals (Spencer Sotelo of Periphery on “Retrograde”) were pre-recorded and played as a backing track. It does sometime come off somewhat like a guitar Karaoke, but all that can be forgiven because of the amazing guitar-playing by Richardson. I’ve seen some very good guitarists, this is one of the best guitarists out there, in terms of playing technique. He’s very fast, his fingers would fly from the top to the bottom of the guitar’s neck. It’s inhuman, what he’s doing.

He does know that he needs to get his name and music out there, as asking the audience if they’ve never heard of him, you can see that most people raised their hands. Perhaps he could use a good stagename to stand out.

Dethklok

Next up was co-headliner Dethklok. Like Gorillaz, Dethklok is a fictional animated band. Originally appearing on the Metalocalypse cartoon show (on Adult Swim). All the music created for Metalocalypse was created by Brendon Small, and they released his music in the debut album The Dethalbum (as Dethklok) in 2007. Now in 2023, they have a fourth album, Dethalbum IV.

If you’re wondering why it took so long for the new album (an 11 year absent since Dethalbum III in 2012), it’s because it has partially due to the copyright ownership of the Dethklok name by Adult Swim. They must have come to a mutual agreement, because Dethklok is back, and stronger than ever, based on seeing the response from the audience.

Throughout their set, you can see animation clips from Metalocalypse, and if you’re a fan of the show, none of the brutal cartoon will surprise you.

Between blocks of songs, Facebones (the animated Dethklok logo) would give fans tips about concert etiquette and concert tips. It serves as a nice break before more death metal.

Japanese band Babymetal (ベビーメタル) closed out the night. This is a wonderfully unique band that combines the cuteness of Hello Kitty, the carefully choregraphed dancing of K-Pop (or rather J-Pop), and the darkness of heavy metal. It shouldn’t work, at least on paper, but when you see it for yourself, it does appeal to a certain fanbase.

The main singer is Su-metal (Suzuka Nakamoto) with two backup singers and dancers, Moametal and Momometal (she is the newest member, replacing Yuimetal). The three girls are the main attraction, and they are backed up with real live music by the Kami Band, who wore demon masks.

Since each song had a special dance, the timing has to be impeccable. That also means that each set had to be exactly the same night after night… so seeing a show in Las Vegas will be the same as Minneapolis, which is good for someone seeing the show for the first time.

For someone seeing the show for the first time, it’s all very entertaining and comes highly recommended for this 2023 Babyklok tour.

Babymetal’s The Other One is out now.

Babymetal and Dethklok at the Fillmore, Minneapolis (25 Sep 2023)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 11:24 AM in Adult Swim, All That Remains, Asian Invasion, Babymetal, Born of Osiris, Dethklok, Japan, Minneapolis, The Fillmore | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/02/2023

Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Two

Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Two

Product Description

This spectacular box set comprises 12 classic martial arts films from the famous Shaw Brothers' library, featuring some of their greatest stars—Cheng Pei-pei (Come Drink with Me), Lo Lieh (King Boxer), Sammo Hung (Wheels on Meals), Ti Lung (A Better Tomorrow), and David Chiang (The Boxer from Shantung). Many of these films are debuting for the first time on Blu-ray. Get ready for some exciting thrills and chills as heroes meet villains in a duel to the death!

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Shaw Brothers

Now enter Shout Factory, who also has a Shaw Brothers boxset in the works, set for release on June 13, 2023. They are releasing 11 titles, with special features yet to be announced. …

As you know, I am a huge Shaw Brothers… particularly their martial arts/kung fu movies. While we have exhausted all of Arrow Videos and 88 Films (so far), Shout Factory has stepped in to release even more Shaw Brothers titles to the American market.

Although I purchased Shaw Brothers Classics Volume 1 on June 13, 2023 … I just haven’t had the time to watch them all. And looking at the aggressive schedule of Volume 2 to be released last month on August 15, 2023, and Volume 3 set for October 25, 2023… it’s become a really expensive hobby for me, at $160 a boxset.

Originally, I wasn’t going to buy Volume 2 until I fully watch enjoy all of Volume 1, but with the sudden free $260 money from the state of Minnesota… I thought why not order Volume 2 and be done with that.

So, the problem is that Amazon misdelivered my Volume 2 package! This is the second time that it happened for me in the past few months. It was so upsetting that going forward, I’m having everything deliver to an Amazon Locker.

Anyway, after getting a replacement shipped to a secured locker, I’m finally watching Volume 2.

Between Volume 1 and Volume 2, the first boxset focused on pre-1970 Shaw Brothers films, with the earliest titles from 1967 with The Assassin and The Thundering Sword.

Many of these late-1960s titles are of the wuxia / some fantasy and emphasis on martial weapons, such as darts in Killer Darts (1968), daggers in The Flying Dagger (1969), or swords in The Golden Sword (1969).

The majority of these films were never officially released in America, so it’s awesome to watch them for the first time (and in HD!), but unfortunately, many of these titles did not have the English dub… which is disappointing, but understandable, since these films were never marketed to America or the UK.

I do appreciate that we got audio commentary on many of these older films, and I think Shout Factory did a great job on the boxset… but, again, I did not really love many of these early Shaw Brothers titles. I’m sorry, the Shaw Brothers haven’t perfected their Kung Fu formula yet.

To me, the golden age of Kung Fu films didn’t happen until Five Fingers of Death in 1972, so I prefer films released after that time period.

The only film that I really enjoyed in Volume 1 is the revenge flick called The Bells of Death (1968). The film made the boxset worth it, as for the first time, we’re seeing this in Bluray format (at least in America).

I first saw the film on DVD when I visited the China town in Canada about 20 years ago. The plot is simple, it’s a story of a wood cutter who searches town to town for the killers of his family… wearing the bells bracelet of his family around his neck. I really like this one, mostly because, for the first time, to my ears, I’m hearing the English dub of the film.

Thankfully, Volume 2 collects early 1970s films, with The Dragon Missiles being the latest at 1976. This film is pretty delightful, with the Dragon Missiles clearly being inspired or ripped off from The Flying Guillotines (1975)… which is also included in this boxset.

I’m almost certain that the early Shaw films, collected in Vol 2, such as Lady of Steel (1970), The Crimson Charm (1971), The Devil’s Mirror (1972), The Bride From Hell (1971), were never released in America.

I haven’t watched those early films (in both Vol 1 and 2), so I can’t really say they’re good or not.

I’ve already own Brothers Five (1970), The Shadow Whip (1971), The Delightful Forest (1972), Man of Iron (1972), The Water Margin (1972), and Heroes Two (1974), but I would like to re-visit and check out the special features in this new release. Most of these titles have audio commentaries, so it should be interesting to see what critics have to say about these films.

As for Volume 3, it’s coming out in October… so I do have a little time to enjoy Vol 1 and 2 before Volume 3 comes out… based on the titles, such as The Shaolin Avengers, The Deadly Breaking Sword, Clan of the White Lotus, it’s going to be a mid-1970 to 1980 collection. This is my favorite era: 1972 to 1984, so I’m actually way more excited about Volume 3.

If you’re collecting Shaw Brothers films, as I am, I should also point out that there are two Shout Factory-exclusive releases: The Brave Archer Collection (2023-04-18), an Alexander Fu Sheng four-film set for $70, and The Ti Lung / David Chiang Collection (2023-09-26), a massive collection for $170.

If you didn’t know Ti Lung, David Chiang, and director Chang Cheh, became known as “The Iron Triangle”, due to their successful films, such as Have Sword, Will Travel (1969), Vengeance (1970), The Deadly Duo (1971)… and many others.

Read more Shaw Brothers, Bluray, Asian Invasion.

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

Posted at 12:00 AM in Asian Invasion, Bluray, DVD, Films, Kung Fu, Shaw Brothers | Permalink | Comments (0)

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