Local Venue Review by Erilyn Daly: Eisenberg's Skatepark

Venue: Eisenberg's Skatepark

Alright, third venue of the week, and keeping with the childhood rhyme, the first would be the worst, the second the best, and this one would either have a treasure chest or a hairy chest, depending on how you used to say it. This venue comes out of Plano: Eisenberg’s Skatepark. That’s right, it’s a skatepark AND it sometimes holds concerts. I needn’t say more as to why it’s the venue of the week (because it’s a skatepark, duh), but I will!!

Eisenberg’s is pretty randomly located, its in this nice looking area of Plano, right by some railroad tracks. I drove by it twice before realizing where it was. Which, if you read last week, could just mean that I’m not very good with directions.

Anyway, I’ve only had the pleasure of making my way out there once but I enjoyed it immensely, even though the bands didn’t seem to. I went out and saw Four Letter Lie, Lovehatehero, and Of Machines; there were literally like 25 people there, and I missed Of Machines because I got there late. By the way, if you’re planning on going, know that the shows start super-early, and are usually over by 10:00. Four Letter Lie and Lovehatehero were very unimpressed with the lack of turnout, and seemed to be kind of upset about it. Four Letter Lie’s singer said it felt like band practice because of such a small crowd, and even said “I’m glad you could all make it out to see our band practice.” He also kept laughing between songs in a way like “I can’t believe we don’t have more people here.” I guess he wasn’t too impressed with us (the crowd) but everyone sure seemed pretty impressed with them. The following day, all the same bands played at the Ridglea Theater (which will be a venue of the week shortly) with like a gajllion other bands and there were TONS more people, making the show a gajillion times less intimate. This made their show at Eisenberg’s all the more special.

There isn’t a lot of room (because it’s a skatepark, duh) for the crowd, so from wherever you’re standing you’re gonna have a pretty good view of the performers, and be very up close and personal. One thing you do have to worry about is those crazy slam dancers. I almost got decapitated like 5 times. Crazy kids. The sound quality isn’t the best (because it’s a skatepark, duh) but in between bands you can watch kids skateboard!! And hopefully there will be some cool tricks going on or maybe someone will just fall and it’ll be funny (don’t judge me, you’d totally laugh, too!!). The only thing I really did not like about Eisenberg’s was the bathroom (because it’s a skatepark, duh). When you go out there, maybe try and not drink too many liquids, that way you can just avoid them all together.

So yeah, go checkout Eisenberg’s guys, and bring your skateboards, scooters, and rollerblades with you!!

-Erilyn Daly

Movie Review by Matt Arnold: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Movie: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

So you’re a 22-year-old slacker, have no job, are the bassist in a small garage band, and just got dumped by your girlfriend. What do you do now? Date a high schooler of course. Now this might not be the logical choice for most of us, but for Scott Pilgrim it is. And thus we are introduced to the video game and comic book influenced world of “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”. From here Scott becomes entranced with another girl, the mysterious newcomer to the neighborhood, Ramona Flowers. And the only thing keeping them apart, besides Scott having to break up with his current girl, is Ramona’s 7 Evil Exes… du du dun…


“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is the third movie from Edgar Wright (Director of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”, now if you don’t know either of those films do yourself a favor and watch them immediately). It stars Michael Cera (“Juno” “Arrested Development”) as Slacker Hero extraordinaire Scott Pilgrim and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Live Free or Die Hard”) as The love interest with baggage Ramona Flowers. And is based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley. I personally don’t think any other director than Edgar Wright could have done this movie. He can put multiple genres in one movie with complete ease and without making any part feel like a copout. From Action, to Comedy, to Romance, everything is handled with care and done right. Now the real standout in this film are all the little visual flourishes that happen throughout, like the lighting bolts that appear around the band as they play, or the giant KO that flashes across the screen as Scott defeats an ex. This is one of those films that needs to be experienced, it is seriously a live action comic book/video game. All of the characters were great, but the biggest standout was easily the Vegan Todd Ingram (Ex #3). Every scene he is in is classic.


YOUR TEXT HERE.It was easily one of my favorite films of the year, right up there with “Kick-Ass” and “Toy Story 3”. But the one complaint I did have with this movie lies in one person, and that is Michael Cera. I personally cannot stand him. He is been the same character in everything he has been in for eight years now. I think there are much better actors that can do the same role and have far better acting range, Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) for one. But this is more of a personal preference then anything else. This movie is extremely enjoyable for anyone who has basic knowledge of pop culture (which I’m sure we all do here in Hot Topic land) and maybe be a little out there for the older crowd (sorry Grandma, but this film is not for you).

-Matt Arnold

Local Music Review by Mike Lee: Arborview

Band: Arborview
Sounds Like: Oh Sleeper, A Static Lullaby, The Bled, Haste The Day
Home Town: Dallas Tx

Hey Everyone!

This week I want everyone to go check out a band I just found on myspace. This band is awesome! They are from Dallas, Texas and called Arborview. The band has very marketable sound in the screamo genre, and have a lot of potential. Go check out their myspace and listen to the two tracks they have online. Due to the all the big hooks, harmonies, solid recording, and vocals this band is my prediction for the next big act that comes out of Dallas.

Their new track “Listen Closely” is going to be their rocket out of town in my opinion. If you are an A&R guy out there they have done their homework and understand what you are looking for. If you do not know what every A&R guys is looking for it is a look, solid songs, harmonies, hardwork, a front man people want to follow and HUGE choruses. The song has a great intro guitar riff with a drum build up that gets your attention and really lets you know something awesome is about to happen. When the song gets rolling you think the band is going to be the next Misery Signals but then the verse comes in. It is at this point you realize how amazing their singer Mark is. His harmonies and melodic choruses are why this band will be somewhere soon. He can scream and he can sing his you know what off. It is rare to find a front man that has the vocal rang, tone, and can scream. The Dude is the next Johnny Craig but better. Go listen. Add them. Go to their shows!

Mike Lee

Local Music Review by Mike Lee: Don't Shoot The Messenger

Band: Don't Shoot the Messenger
Sounds Like: Sounds like: A Day To Remember, and Forerver The Sickest Kids
Home Town: Dallas Fort Worth

Mike Says:

Hey everyone this week we are reviewing the Dallas act Don't Shoot the Messenger. They will be
playing live and signing autographs August 21st at The Hulen Mall. They are playing as a part of a huge promotion Hot Topic is doing thru out the country called Shop Till You Rock. The band has over 200,000 plays on Myspace and over 17,000 friends. Their sounds is a mix of pop punk and screamo. They have some very catchy melodies and super pop choruses. The band has an EP for sales at their shows,that was produced by Geoff Rockwell who has produced Forever The Sickest Kids. Head over to their myspace and check them out and come out to Hulen Mall on August 21st to see them live for FREE!"

-Mike Lee

National Music Review by T-Bone: The Gaslight Anthem

Band: The Gaslight Anthem
Album: Amercian Slang
For Fans of: Bruce Springsteen, Social Distortion,, Lucero, The Clash,The Replacements

With American Slang The Gaslight Anthem show that their artistic growth did not end with The ’59 Sound. While that growth is not as tremendous as what they showed on their sophomore album, it is still there, this time mixed with a layer of confidence. Brian Fallons’ voice is not drenched in reverb and this enables him to try a couple of new styles, namely the Motown vibe he throws out in The Diamond Church Street Choir. You may also notice that his vocabulary has increased tremendously, there are still references to old lovers, Miles Davis and dead friends, but they are not the main themes of the album.

These New Jersey kids have managed to blend the E-Streets Shuffle", the “heart-on-your-sleeve” style of The Replacements and the swagger of blue collar punk bands such as Social Distortion and Dropkick Murphy’s to create an album that to me is nothing but working class poetry.

National Music Review by Jeremy Thomas: Drake

Artist: Drake
Album/Release: Thank Me Later/6-15-2010

It’s been a whirlwind year for the newest addition to Lil’ Wayne’s “Young Money” imprint, Drake. 2 Grammy nods for his 7 track EP “So FarGone”, and the release of his first full length album along with a tour through North America to support it. Most people were skeptical of this follow up to “So Far Gone”, especially when the first few tracks that leaked online weren’t exactly what people expected. Despite this, Drake dropped "Thank Me Later”, and don’t be surprised when this album hits #1.

The question is, is it really that good? Simply stated, yes. He is a solid MC, great lyricist, and an outstanding personality in general, but there is something to be said for the fact that he has changed up his style a bit since he started working closely with Weezy. Auto-tune signing for choruses, off-beatflow, and a signature “Young Money” sound is a bit different from what people remember from his old mixtapes “Heartbreak Drake” and a few others as well. This CD is definitely an evolution from those earlier works, which started with “So Far Gone”. However, this is not a bad thing. His voice and flow fits very well with the new music that he is putting out. Laid back, always sounds relaxed, never seems like he is out of his element. From up beat songs to slow jams, he always nails it. Not to mention, cameos from the likes of Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, and of course Lil’ Wayne, this album definitely packs a ton ofstart power and talent into 14 tracks.

The highlights of this album are truly classics. “Show Me a Good Time” has a great beat, and really shows of Drake’s versatility as an artist. There’s not really a good way to describe this track other than it all fits. Everything flows together very well, nothing sounds out of place or over the top, as can be a problem when there this many instruments going on. The first single “Over”, is the complete opposite, but it still manages to work. The beat and vocals almost sound they belong on separate songs, but some how work together enough to make this track interesting.

That’s not say this record doesn’t have its missteps. “Fancy” is a song produced by Swizz Beats, featuring T.I., and just overall misses.The beat went for something a bit different for this record, and just ends up sounding annoying. T.I. doesn’t make the song any worse, but he definitely doesn’t help it out either. Also, “Find Your Love” is a Kanye produced track that could have been ripped straight out of “808’s and Heartbreaks”. If you really liked that album, you’ll really dig this song, but come on, really? Did anyone really like “808’s”? It suffers the same issues as “808’s”. Boring, doesn’t go anywhere as a song, and this isn’t what Drake is good at. He’s a rapper, not a singer, and it shows.

In general, there isn’t a better way to say that this album just works. He took what he was good at and evolved it into something that people can’t get enough of. Personally, it satisfies the 2 basic pieces of my musical taste: 1. Is it well played/performed? 2. Is it enjoyable to listen to? This record is full of songs people will be dancing to in clubs, and elitist jerks like me can over-analyze to find that even a rapper can be technically proficient. To me, that’s a great record.

Local Band Interview by Erilyn Daly: Sound of Sulfur

Band: Sound of Sulfur
Hometown: Southlake

No pillow talk this time, let’s just jump into the local band of the week. This week it’s a band called Sound of Sulfur, out of the entitled town of Southlake. What does sulfur sound like?? Why I reckon I don’t know; even thought I got an A in chemistry, it was never my strongest subject. However, the band name isn’t what sulfur sounds like, they explain it as “Music is something that brings us all together whether it be in pain, love, different cultures, enjoyment. Having a small percentage of sulfur in our bodies, I called it the Sound of Sulfur, joining sulfur and music together into one name. Why I picked sulfur was because it just had a catch to it and it was something different. As a result, Sound of Sulfur's songs encompass people, relationships, and/or society involving personal experiences and perceptions/hopes/goals of life. ”

So for all The Bled fans out there who recognized their groovy song, they weren’t copying them. Anyway, Sound of Sulfur has a very alternative vibe, not cutesy enough to be considered pop punk, in my humble opinion. They have been around for three and a half years and, like most rock groups, have gone through some lineup changes, including three guitarists over the years, but they are holding strong now at their four-piece rock-ensemble. They all met in high school and originally started out as friends before making tunes together.

These rocker gents re-released an EP this month that had been released in 2008,just in time for their mini-tour. They just got off the “Rock Yourself to Sleep Tour” which also featured There For Tomorrow, Sing It Loud, The Secret Handshake, and Every Avenue,some pretty big bands. This tour brought them to land previously untraveled by the band and introduced them to new venues, including one of their now favorites: Crocodile Rock in Pennsylvania. Although it does not appear their singer is comfortable making that statement, saying “Personally, I'm not the front man to judge a good show on the venue or stage because I always enjoy a stage where I'm the same level as the crowd, since I LOVE getting the crowd going, feeling/seeing their reaction and truly connecting with them. I love stages like Allentown, PA or The Door, Dallas, just because I can be with the crowd as opposed to an elevated stage. But so long as there is a show where I've truly connected and made the crowd go crazy with our music, then I'm happy.” It’s always nice to see humble musicians in today’s music scene.

Keep an eye on these guys, they wanna make it all the way to the top, and if they do, you can say you knew them way back when (maybe even because of yours truly.) Until next week, keep on keepin’ on, my fellow rockers.