Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Of course, Redd Kross were totally amazing at Amoeba last night. What you might not have expected is that they’d play for about an hour! The set was heavy on the supremely catchy and totally ripping new songs (“Downtown,” “Uglier”) which will grow on you like fungus, but dug back to the very oldest and rawest cuts (“Linda Blair,” “St. Lita Ford Blues”) for the old timers who saw the McDonald brothers when they were teenagers. Me? I’m in the middle somewhere, having discovered them on the Neurotica (“Frosted Flake”) tour when they played a free lunchtime show at UCLA.
Even under the bright lights of Amoeba at the ungodly hour of 6:00, they rocked like hell and how could they not? Jeff and Steve McDonald (not to mention returning monster drummer Roy McDonald from The Muffs with Celebrity Skin ripper Jason Shapiro sitting in for the mighty Robert Hecker) were obviously born to rock with smiles as big as their chops. Over the decades, the band has cranked out the most awesome punk, glam, garage, and pop, and their first LP in 15 years concentrates it all into 2- or 3-minute doses of perfection for your earholes. While the dark and loud record-release show at The Roxy was the group’s official homecoming, last night’s in-store at Amoeba was more like a reunion where old friends and conspirators could spot each other and catch up. Such a rad set! So many friends! You had to be there. But if you weren’t, here’s a little extra video from the front row. If you are moved by rock ‘n’ roll in any manner, don’t miss Redd Kross at FYF next weekend or various other festivals, shows, and special appearances.
Chen Kaige’s latest movie has the impeccable look and measured pacing of a historical epic but the intensity and feel of I Spit on Your Grave or Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Roughly divided into two, the first section of Sacrifice comes across like Shakespearean tragedy, with double crossing, throne seizing, and the massacring of a scapegoated royal family. It’s as beautiful as it is brutal, with just enough bloody swordplay to balance the layers of plot twists.