Once again, here’s footage from a Transworld Halloween trade show, filled with animatronics, masks, props, etc.
Halloween Horrors: Transworld 2023 Show
October 20th, 2023I Saw Peter Gabriel in Austin Last Night
October 19th, 2023I saw the Peter Gabriel concert at the Moody Center in Austin on October 18. It was the third time I’d seen Gabriel perform live, and he put on a good show. We had tickets facing center stage in the mezzanine section, and they were quite pricey.
About half the songs are off the forthcoming I/O album, while the other half are from other parts of his career (“Sledgehammer,” “Solsbury Hill,” etc.). His tour ensemble was a mixture of old familiar faces (the always excellent Tony Levin, Manu Katche and David Rhodes) and new (cellist/vocalist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, who was very good).
They had an interesting multimedia setup with projection surfaces on different stage elements that they could move, as well as close-up cameras for projecting on either wing (and occasionally the giant circular moveable hanging surface that was the centerpiece of the set).
I think the best song of the concert was an absolutely killer version of “Digging in the Dirt,” which had a nasty, funky, bass-heavy sound to it. There’s not a version with great sound on YouTube, so this will have to do:
They also did an extremely good version of “Biko” as the final encore.
Here’s the set list, which seems to be constant across venues.
I think the last two shows of the tour are in Dallas tonight and Houston Saturday, and overall prices are a bit cheaper than the Austin show. It’s well worth catching if you’re a Gabriel fan.
As for the Moody Center, the sightlines are very good, the concession prices are exorbitant, and the seats are too small and not particularly comfortable.
Library Additions: Three Samuel R. Delany Firsts, Two Signed
October 18th, 2023More from that private library purchase. Two of these replace less desirable copies.
Library Additions: Two Signed James P. Blaylock Firsts
October 17th, 2023Two more books from that private collection purchase, both of which are 1-to-1 swaps of Fine/Fine signed copies for Fine/Fine unsigned copies.
I was surprised that my existing Lord Kelvin’s Machine wasn’t signed, since Blaylock was a semi-regular Armadillocon attendee in the 1990s. i will have a number of Blaylock firsts (some signed) in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Additions: Several Jack Vance Items
October 16th, 2023A private collector downsizing his library sold me some of his books, most of which was for Lame Excuse Books stock (hopefully that catalog will be out near the end of November), but there were a few things I found to add to my own collection.
Halloween Horror: Kaiju No. 8 Trailer
October 13th, 2023Not sure if this quite qualifies as a Halloween Horror, but it includes monsters, and it struck my fancy.
Basically, it’s an anime series focused on a guy who’s crappy job is to clean up after kaiju attacks.
It’s basically Damage Inc. meets Godzilla. Plus the teaser trailer is giving off a tiny bit of a FLCL vibe.
I don’t subscribe to Crunchy Roll (or any streaming service), but I’d seriously consider buying the DVD set when it eventually comes out.
Halloween Horrors: Steamed Hams as Terrifying Soviet Animation
October 12th, 2023Once again, The Simpsons “Steamed Hams” segment has inspired the Internet to produce an alternate version, this one in terrifying Soviet-style animation.
The juggling Crusty is pure nightmare fuel.
(Previously.)
Halloween Horrors: Mel’s Hole
October 10th, 2023Here’s a nicely creepy borderlands of science/urban legend/conspiracy theory video about a hole that has no bottom.
80,000 feet worth of fishing line found no bottom. Plus animals avoided it, and radios went crazy, when they weren’t picking up signals from 30 years before.
Then the government took it over.
Much more paranormal weirdness ensues
Was it real? Well, as real as anything else with a Wikipedia entry featured on Art Bell.
Good luck finding it on map…
Library Additions: Two PBOs
October 9th, 2023I guess that technically one of these is a magazine, but it looks and feel just like a paperback.
I have cover scans, but for some reason BlueHost isn’t letting me upload pics right now, so you’ll have to wait to see them…
Shoegazer Sunday: S.C.U.M.’s “Whitechapel”
October 8th, 2023I found this S.C.U.M. video in a list of Shoegaze videos, and I see them described as “Post-punk,” but what they sound like to me is 1980s-era Simple Minds. Here’s “Whitechapel.”
By the way, Simple Minds are still around and have a tour coming next year, but S.C.U.M. broke up in 2013.