[The Weekly Swarm] 5/25 - 5/31
Happy June 1st! We're almost at the half-way mark of the year, yet you wouldn't know if it you live in Chicago thanks to last week's uncharacteristically cold weather. Just last night, I had to turn the heat back on so my roommates and I wouldn't freeze in our sleep. Thanks, Mother Nature.
Nevertheless, we were able to end May on a high note thanks to some amazing content last week. The biggest of note was the surprise release of Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's debut album, Surf, and if you haven't listened to it yet, I highly recommend putting aside an hour to really digest it. Other notable posts from last week include news that the Power Rangers film reboot has been delayed to January 2017, Kung Fury debuted to amazing reception, Robert Rodriguez will be directed a live-action Jonny Quest film, our review of Pitch Perfect 2, Twin Peaks' 18-episode order with David Lynch back on board, and the teaser trailer for the upcoming Starz TV series, Ash vs. Evil Dead. Of course, Riot Fest also released their lineups for the upcoming dates in Toronto, Denver, and Chicago. Find all of this and more in this latest installment of The Weekly Swarm.
Power Rangers Reboot Delayed to January 2017
Failed Justice League Film by Mad Max Director Getting Documentary Treatment
Robert Rodriguez Directing Live-Action Jonny Quest Film
[Trailer] Point Break
[Review] Pitch Perfect 2
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Inglourious Basterds, Before I Disappear
[Trailer] Pixels
Kung Fury is Nostalgic '80s Action/Comedy Done Right
Bruce Campbell is Groovy in Ash vs. Evil Dead TV Teaser
Riot Fest 2015 Lineups Revealed
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment: "Surf"
[This Week In TV] The Flash; Supergirl; Late Show With David Letterman
Robert Rodriguez Directing Live-Action Jonny Quest Film
Twin Peaks Revival Expands to 18 Episodes, Reunites with David Lynch
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Inglourious Basterds, Before I Disappear
Bruce Campbell is Groovy in Ash vs. Evil Dead TV Teaser
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment: "Surf"
After numerous teases and releases, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's Surf has finally been released. We'll have a more comprehensive review of the album next week. For now, enjoy Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's debut release, Surf! You can also download the album (for free) on iTunes here.
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Riot Fest 2015 Lineups Revealed
It's been a busy month for Riot Fest organizers as they went from facing problems with Humboldt Park to being named USA Today's top summer music festival to eventually relocating to Douglas Park for their flagship Chicago festival. Finally, after incessant badgering on Twitter, the first wave of the Riot Fest 2015 lineup has been revealed. Some of the announced headliners are a bit surprising, considering the festival's typical M.O. However, it just further illustrates how large and popular the festival has grown over the past few years.
Riot Fest Chicago highlights include a few bands performing full albums like Rancid playing ...And Out Come the Wolves, Snoop Dogg playing Doggystyle, Ice Cube (and guests) performing NWA's Straight Outta Compton, The Academy Is... performing Almost Here, and The Dwarves performing Blood Guts and Pussy. Other musical highlights include No Doubt, Tenacious D, Modest Mouse, Motorhead, Less Than Jake, Modern Life is War, Lifetime, Cypress Hill, and local acts like Alex Wiley, Into It. Over it., and Psalm One.
Riot Fest Toronto highlights include Alexisonfire, Wu-Tang Clan, Tyler, the Creator, and Coheed and Cambria.
Riot Fest Denver highlights include Modest Mouse, Iggy Pop, Flogging Molly, Alkaline Trio, and Pixies.
Pre-sale tickets are already sold out, but you can still find 3-day passes for Chicago, Denver, and Toronto.
[The Weekly Swarm] 5/18 - 5/24
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. I hope you all spend the day with loved ones, copious amounts of barbecue and beer, and enjoy the last days of spring. For this installment of The Weekly Swarm, we're highlighting our critical look at the lack of female superheroes in Hollywood, a feminist analysis of the amazing Mad Max: Fury Road, the Red Band Trailer for DOPE, reviews of The Wombat's Glitterbug and Pet Symmetry's Pet Hounds, and a look at Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video. Find all of these articles and more below.
Damsel in Distress: The Lack of Female Superheroes in Hollywood
Chance the Rapper Puts Faith in Action to Save Chicago
Damsel in Distress: The Lack of Female Superheroes in Hollywood
[Trailer] Amy
Mad Max: Fury Road - Fear of a Feminist Action Movie
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Fruitvale Station
[Trailer] Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
[Red Band Trailer] DOPE (NSFW)
[Review] The Wombats: "Glitterbug"
30 Years of Death Metal: 1995-2004
Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" Video is All Kinds of Good
Riot Fest Chicago is Moving to Douglas Park
[Trailer] Amy
[Review] Pet Symmetry: "Pet Hounds"
Chance the Rapper Puts Faith in Action to Save Chicago
[This Week In TV] Mad Men; Arrow; Wayward Pines
WWE Payback 2015: Results and Match Reviews
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Fruitvale Station
Chance the Rapper Puts Faith in Action to Save Chicago
Photo by Bryan Allen Lamb
Holiday weekends during nice weather don't typically go well here in Chicago. It's a sad story told week in and week out, but when the heat rises, so does violence throughout the city. However, Chance the Rapper is doing his part to ensure the Memorial Day weekend goes smoothly without any unnecessary violence.
Following last year's initiative, the highly-influential rapper is once again using his celebrity to bring peace to the city, if only for three days, by promoting various events throughout the city to keep Chicagoans safe alongside Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. I implore anybody reading this to attend one of the many events taking place, or at the very least, help spread awareness by using the hashtags seen in the proceeding tweets.
S/O #FaithInAction #PutTheGunsDown #SaveChicago and whoever else is tired of holiday wknds in the summer meaning multiple shooting deaths
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) May 21, 2015
We finna party and protest and protect all wknd. I watched the city go 42 hours without a reported shooting this same wknd last year — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) May 21, 2015
You can find a map of participating parks and businesses here.
[Review] Pet Symmetry: "Pet Hounds"
The Chicago three-piece of Pet Symmetry have their music slightly more under-the-radar than their folk-punk, punk rock counterparts, but with their newest release of their first full-length, Pet Hounds, that will likely change. With their comical puns (get it, Pet Hounds? The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds... you get it) and lengthy track names, it's apparent the group are in it for the fun of things. Yet, the members of still active bands such as Kittyhawk, Into It. Over It. and Dowsing have shed their former selves for the debut record of Pet Symmetry; even for only a moment (Into It. Over It. is already out on tour for 2015).
Starting off with the opening track “My Exhausted Month (of May)” sets the precedent for the rest of the album: an emo-revival structure (if emo ever left, that is) with a punk rock roof and a pop punk floorboard. Together, Pet Symmetry have a place to showcase their talents and their ability to reach out to more than one genre in the scene; Pet Hounds fits comfortably in anyone’s record collection.
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The single “Give Thanks (Get Lost)” is a perfect blend of heavy melody, clean vocals and guitars that don’t muddle with the lyric prowess of the song. Like a punk tribute to any Green Album song from Weezer, “Give Thanks (Get Lost)” is flawless. “Go Outside (Stare At The Sun)” is reminiscent of bands similar to Pet Symmetry (e.g. other bands on Asian Man Records like Joyce Manor, Antarctigo Vespucci, etc). “Class Action Force (Useless Tools)” brings punk highlights back to Pet Hounds and showcases the go-to of pop punk (e.g. lyrics about sad boys walking around the park), but in a mature state of affairs. “Gone, Gone, Gone (Even Further Gone)” is a ballad-worthy parting song on the record before the outro and longest track, “Salad Daze (Seein’ Cred).” A play on words of Minor Threat’s popular song, “Seein’ Red,” the track is very shoegaze-y and has a Death Cab for Cutie vibe with heavier guitar breaks.
A solid record, I advise anyone who enjoys punk, pop punk, emo or folk punk to pick this album up. It’s unclear if the group will be going on tour anytime soon (other than fests), but when they do, go see them. This is a side project I hope to see turn into much more. With less than 7,000 fans on Facebook (and more than 50,000 for their more notable bands), Pet Hounds should add to the band’s low hype, as it is much deserved.
[Trailer] Amy
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By now, we're all mostly familiar with the tragic story of Amy Winehouse. It's hard to believe that almost four years have passed since her untimely death, yet the story about the talented songstress is still being shaped to this day. Amy, directed by Senna director Asif Kapadia, utilizes unseen footage to serve as the definitive story of Winehouse's short life.
However, the documentary has received minor backlash from those close to Winehouse, with many who initially supported the documentary now distancing themselves following the doc's premiere at Cannes earlier this year. A statement released by a spokesperson for Winehouse's family reads:
They feel that the film is a missed opportunity to celebrate her life and talent and that it is both misleading and contains some basic untruths....There are specific allegations made against family and management that are unfounded and unbalanced.
Nevertheless, Amy promises an intimate look at Winehouse's life with nearly one-hundred interviews conducted to dictate the documentary's objective look at the Grammy award-winning singer's rise. Amy follows the release of another notable music documentary in Montage of Heck, which examines the life of departed Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain through private home videos and support from Cobain's widow, Courtney Love.
Amy will be in theaters on July 10th.
Riot Fest Chicago is Moving to Douglas Park
The dust has settled and the official verdict is in: Riot Fest is saying goodbye to Humboldt Park and hello to Douglas Park.
Mike Petryshyn, co-founder of the recently named Best Music Festival in the US, released a statement about the festival's move to North Lawndale:
In my very first meeting with Alderman Cardenas, I was happy that we were discussing logistical details and how we could enrich the community. Quite frankly, I was silently ecstatic. He gets it and it was genuine. Our goal has always been to leave a positive impact in the community we call home by helping local independent businesses, hiring ward residents and making an impact year-round. We did that in our previous home and plan to do the same — if not more — in the community surrounding Douglas Park and the 12th Ward.
As soon as we started discussing community, it was refreshing to see George get up from his desk and start pointing on the ward map to the local businesses we need to meet and have a formal introduction. He was excited and so was I. To have an an elected official see clearly how we can bring good things is humbling. To be appreciated for who we are—as people running an indie company and a festival—by the him and all of the supporters has been inspiring.
The strife between Riot Fest organizers and Alderman Maldonado of the 26th Ward (where Humboldt Park is located) has been well-noted since last year's festival that left the park with thousands of dollars in damages. And while the festival is committed to repairing the park, Maldonado and other Humboldt Park residents were vocal with their opposition to the festival's return despite overwhelming support that resulted in over 8,000 signatures (ours included) to keep the festival in Humboldt.
Riot Fest also announced the lineup for this year's festival will be released next week, ensuring a busy Riot Fest-related news month ends on a high note.
You can read the festival's official announcement here.