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Canberra electronic producer, Amastro (real name Angus Murphy) has been makig some serious waves in the electronic scene over the past months. And the energetic young producer returns in full force dropping his independently released sophomore EP titled “Insecure Demons“! The project has given Murphy the ability to explore some of his own insecurities and internal demons. Speaking to Stoney Roads about the EP, he said, “I really wanted to explore more of my spirituality and to be able to share my journey. This release includes a bunch of songs that I’ve wanted to listen to when I am chilling out but haven’t been available”. Having been on the scene just over two years now, he has had countless opportunities playing on some of the biggest and most prestigious Australian stages. With a tour set to supplement the EP release, and a supporting set during Carmada’s club tour, Australians will have plenty of time to acquaint themselves with the young producer! Check out a track-by-track review from the man himself below and stream Insecure Demons now! Tiger It was the 5th show on tour with Boo Seeka & Bootleg Rascal. Alcohol & drugs were flowing, yet for a moment in greenroom chaos, I was sober & tranquil. I felt a dark presence so I started meditating. I asked for protection for my divine light when suddenly a tiger entered my minds eye and destroyed the darkness. Inhibitions The track was inspired by the three days spent at Lost Paradise Festival, where I meditated in the forest and danced like a gypsy all night long. The track was referred to as the “mushie song” by Triple J listeners haha. Self Destruct Constantly touring and juggling both projects Gold Member & Amastro, I started to self-destruct. Thought maybe I was just crazy and that there was no greater meaning to life/nothing matters but then I found meaning in the meaningless. Pretty Scars Pretty Scars is an ode to the broken like me. It’s about the beauty you find within yourself after self-destruction. The love we discover for the scars of our experiences and the strength in our weaknesses. – Catch Amastro in a city near you soon! Source

Man, did Nirvana hate stardom. And not in the prefabricated, posturing way bands typically pretend to. There was a purity to the Seattle trio’s indifference to (or, in frontman Kurt Cobain’s case, an outright disdain for) its own success that was nearly as compelling as its already-great music. Now, almost 25 years after the band’s tragic dissolution, Nirvana’s appeal still in part stems from the ways the band provoked those who tried to glorify them. There’s the now-infamous Rolling Stone cover in which Cobain wore a shirt declaring that “Corporate Magazines Still Suck”, or the time he toyed with network censors by playing the first few bars of “Rape Me” live at the Video Music Awards. But Nirvana saved its most subversive, insolent trick for the very end. No one was ready for Nirvana to become the biggest band in the world in 1992. That goes double for Cobain, who wore his band’s worldwide fame like an itchy sweater he was dying to strip off. Nevermind did the unthinkable by tailoring ugly, underground rock for pop consumers, and it remains one of the most fascinating pop music evolutions of the past 30 years. But In Utero, the band’s third and final studio release, is amazing in the complete opposite way. If Nevermind built Nirvana into the biggest band in the world brick by brick, then In Utero was the wrecking ball they desperately tried to use to smash it all to smithereens. Forget any concerns about measuring up to the stratospheric expectations of its predecessor. This was a harsh, uncompromising rebuke of Nevermind’s polished, pop-friendly take on grunge and punk, a record that made the then-chic “alternative” moniker seem as tepid as tap water. Nirvana Rolling Stone Cover 1992, photo by mark Seliger The abrasive record Nirvana was aiming for required the right producer. The trio demoed songs extensively and considered working again with Jack Endino, who produced the band’s 1989 Sub Pop debut, Bleach. In the end, however, Nirvana enlisted the services of revered engineer and indie rock figurehead Steve Albini, who by then had developed the raw, powerful studio sound that has long become his signature. The band came into the record fans of Albini’s work, with Cobain citing the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and The Breeders’ Pod as specific influences for the kind of sound he wanted for In Utero. Albini, on the other hand, chose to work with the band out of respect for the band’s mission to push back against their own stardom. His agreement to take on the band came with an edict: There would be no label reps, handlers, or other sorted interlopers allowed during the two-week sessions. The band agreed, going so far as to pay for the sessions out of pocket to distance themselves from label interference. Recording began at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, in February 1993. Nevermind might boast Nirvana’s best songs, but nothing in the band’s catalog sounds as brutally cathartic as In Utero. The bulk of the album’s tracks were recorded live with a full band, and the results teem with propulsive energy. Dave Grohl’s drums arguably steal the show, and Albini reportedly used as many as 30 mics to catch rock and roll’s most hard-hitting drummer at full throttle. Atop Grohl’s percussive assault, primal guitar sounds and raucous distortion further took Nirvana’s sound in a decidedly less commercial direction. The band often played up to this change in approach, nowhere more so than on “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter”, a track that despite its cheeky title never stood a chance of landing on an FM dial. “tourette’s” slams with the reckless punk abandon of a bunch of misfits bashing out in their parents’ garage, while the flashes of experimental guitar on “Milk It” sound like a nod to art-damaged underground heroes like U.S. Maple and Jesus Lizard. Even the catchiest tunes on In Utero sound too dark for mass embrace. Singles “Heart Shaped Box” and “All Apologies” are great additions to the Nirvana cannon, but they’re not the anthemic rally cry that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was. But this was all precisely by design. Having reached the pinnacle of the pop music landscape, Nirvana were now trying to come crashing back down to Earth. Despite some pushback from the band’s label and management about the record’s relatively non-commercial sound (as well as additional remixes that were done after their work with Albini had finished), In Utero was released on September 21, 1993. Cobain was deliberate about his attempt to shed a good portion of the band’s fan base with In Utero, but he ultimately failed. The record landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 while critics continued to heap praise on the band. The verdict was in: There was nothing that Cobain and Nirvana could do to get out from under the success that had come to them. They had become the anointed ones, poster children for the alternative rock generation. Cobain tried to creatively bring his world back into some kind of balance to no avail, and as the pressures of fame and success continued to mount, the singer’s drug addiction and depression ultimately drove him to do the unthinkable. Cobain would be found dead in his Seattle home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 5, 1994, barely six months after In Utero’s release. Before Cobain’s death, it might have been easy to write off In Utero as some sort of chaotic ruse or the work of a band trying maybe a little to hard to sell the world on its anti-establishment bona fides. But knowing what we know now, it’s hard to dismiss the sincerity behind the record’s aggression. In Utero is the work of a truly gifted but troubled songwriter walking perilously close to the edge of his personal cliff, and the record is loaded with overt references to his struggles. Cobain touches on selling out his principles ( “Teenage angst has paid off well/ Now I’m bored and old,” he sings on album opener “Serve the Servants”), depression (“I miss the comfort of being sad,” he bemoans on “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle”), and his general confusion about his lot in life (“Dumb”). Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s hard 25 years later not to listen back on In Utero as equal parts artistic achievement and cry for help. Nevermind might be the record that Nirvana is forever remembered by, but In Utero is arguably the truest representation of what Nirvana truly was, a massive band with the principles and integrity of one half its size. Cobain’s fear of selling out drove much of his band’s final studio record, but those fears were unfounded. Nirvana’s last stand isn’t just a great record by grunge’s flagship band. It’s a difficult but ironclad document of artistic bravery. Source

There is no denying the contribution the Sweat It Out label has had on the local and global music scene, and the announce of a new vinyl release paying tribute to founder and DJ god AJAX and his legacy to the Australian scene music is a bloody good reason to celebrate. Sydney DJ AJAX was instrumental in it’s origins and provides on-going inspiration of the label we know today with the bucket load of talent that has been released a testament to that. With the amount of releases ticking over a cool 217 the team have been hard at work and this, an opportunity to highlight some of the most memorable originals and remixes on the label. What the first side of the vinyl will deliver on is the older tracks that were likely a result of AJAX himself. You will be treated to an unreleased song from him named ‘I’m Hot’, which is a major throwback to the genres and sounds that started the label. Also included will be the last promo piece from AJAX, in the form of a vinyl booklet, on the release of Parachute Youth and their unforgettable track, ">Can’t Get Better Than This, which was the second track to go global – the first being, ">We Speak No Americano, by Yolanda Be Cool. Side C and D has some of the later and bigger releases Sweat It Out has had to offer. Synonymous with the success they have had, it will feature ">‘Take Me’ by RÜFÜS DU SOL, then named RÜFÜS, and include their 2014 signing Motez and his club hit ">‘Promise Me’. Also featured, will be the track that was recently #1 on the ARIA Club Charts for 9 weeks, in the form of Dom Dolla & Go Freek’s track ">‘Freek’. Finishing the smorgasbord of hits, we head to the colossal song ">‘Jaguar’ by What So Not in all its splendor, and a rightful closure to the songs that have represented Sweat It Out in its innovative 10 years of existence. You can clearly hear the evolution of the sounds and influences of the music through the years, but the indelible tribute to the man who shaped the formative years of Sweat It Out’s music will always be the same. The vinyl is set to be released Friday the 2nd of November but you can pre-order it here. Check out the tracklisting below; 1. Ajax – I’m Hot (Mixed) 2. Midnight Juggernauts – Shadows (Ajax Remix) (Mixed) 3. Twinsy – Back Of My Car (Mixed) 4. Northbrook – Move Your Body (Ajax Remix) (Mixed) 5. Gameboy Gamegirl – Sweaty Wet / Dirty Damp (Mixed) 6. Monkey Safari – Those Dancing Days (Mixed) 7. Danny T – Mean Baby (Mixed) 8. What So Not – 7 Dollar Bill (Mixed) 9. Rüfüs – Take Me (Mixed) 10. Parachute Youth – Can’t Get Better Than This 11. Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – Soul Makossa (Money) (Mixed) 12. Indian Summer – Grand Rapids (Mixed) 13. Crooked Colours – Come Down (Mixed) 14. Dom Dolla & Go Freek – Define (Mixed) 15. Motez – Promise Me (Mixed) 16. What So Not Jaguar (Mixed) Source

You can’t currently have a discussion about Australian festivals without talking about Pitch Music & Arts. For the last two years, their 4-day camping event has featured the sort of lineups you would expect to see in Europe. Well, they are back and not only have they announced the return dates to be from the 8th of March to the 11th of March, but they have also announced that Daniel Avery is the first act to be officially announced for next year’s event. The Brit announced himself in 2013 via his debut LP Drone Logic, an album which shaped a fresh and exciting new groove into dance music and secured its position as a bona fide scene classic. Not only is he moulding the sound of modern day techno, but he is also adding his flair to the global scene via Phantasy Records, a label he co-runs alongside fellow taste maker Erol Alkan. Together they are responsible for releasing some of the most cutting-edge dance music available today. We are just a little bit excited to hear who might be next. Stay tuned to the Pitch Music & Arts socials for more info as it happens… Source

Dickey Betts, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, is in critical condition following “freak accident” at his Sarasota home. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the 74-year-old Betts “while playing with the family dog, slipped and cracked his head, causing bleeding from the brain.” His manager, David Spero, said Betts is currently listed as being in “stable but critical condition.” He’s set to undergo brain surgery on Friday to relieve swelling. “It was just a few days ago that Dickey was telling me how excited he was to get back in front of the fans,” Spero added. “It is very unfortunate, for all involved, that we need to cancel those shows. Please add Dickey into your thoughts and prayers. I’ll keep everyone updated on his expected progress.” (Read: The 10 Best Bands With Siblings) The canceled dates in question were originally supposed to be with his group, The Dickey Betts Band. Known for being the mastermind behind Allman Brothers classics like “Ramblin’ Man” and “Blue Sky”, Betts returned to the stage this summer for the first time in three years following the retirement of the Allman Brothers in 2014. However, he was forced to cancel some of those summer dates after suffering from a stroke in August. In May 2017, Allman Brothers co-founder Gregg Allman passed away from complications from liver disease. Dickey Betts 2018-2019 Tour Dates: 11/01 – Augusta, GA @ Bell Auditorium 11/03 – Pompano Beach, FL @ Pompano Beach Amphitheater 11/05 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall 11/09 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino 01/06 – Carribean @ Southern Rock Cruise Source

KISS appeared on America’s Got Talent on Wednesday night (September 19th), performing “Detroit Rock City” on the show’s season finale, but the big news came in the form of a major announcement. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band revealed they will embark on a final tour. “All that we have built and all that we have conquered over the past four decades could never have happened without the millions of people worldwide who’ve filled clubs, arenas and stadiums over those years. This will be the ultimate celebration for those who’ve seen us and a last chance for those who haven’t. KISS Army, we’re saying goodbye on our final tour with our biggest show yet and we’ll go out the same way we came in… Unapologetic and Unstoppable,” said KISS in a statement. [Read: The Time KISS Released Four Solo Albums in One Day] Dates have not yet been announced for the trek, which is being dubbed the “End of the Road World Tour”, but a press release states that KISSonline.com will have updates in the weeks to come. KISS have embarked on farewell tours in the past, but this time it looks like it’s for real. Check out their performance on America’s Got Talent below. Metallica’s Top 5 Songs Tool’s Top 5 Music Videos Behemoth's Top 5 Songs Alice in Chains' Top 5 Videos Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” Annotated Video Source

Sydney glitch producer William. has just shared ‘The Rat King’, a heavy, withering new track for those wanting a change in listening their listening habits. First thing to do is to go into a little bit of the history about the Sydney artist and what has made him hit hard time and time again. What you will first notice with his songs is his meticulous use of textures that have been a theme since his remix of Flume’s Wall Fuck two years ago now, that are used in such a way that you have likely never heard of before, and still incredibly current to the scene. His very strong melodic sense as to how to hold your interest through diverse rhythm in his tracks he has been doing consistently releasing over the last few months. Then in what is probably his most forward thinking attribute to electronic music, William. uses is his very bold technique of pitch bending the end of melodic progressions in songs like recent song Telekinesis that puts you in awe of what you are listening to, and did just that very thing to What So Not recently, as seen in this video. Getting into the track, it has a potency to it that is laced with excitement with every element chosen in the song. Playing with a bouncing sample that is timed with an unassuming kick and bass pattern, the track increasingly introduces menacing melodic rhythm to grittier and grittier bass sounds that you have no option but focus on. Paying close attention you notice the finer elements of how he masterfully increases the blending of the original sample with melody, by chopping and changing melodies and samples alike with finesse into the crescendo of the last chorus. I wouldn’t hold your breath to wait on this artist before he gets big, so get around the track and be very watchful for when the next gig is out so you can hear this large track live. Stream the track below and let us know what your thoughts are on the song. Source

You know it’s going to be a good year when Cashmere Cat teases new music with the Norwegian producer slipping one past fans from a recent show. The unreleased number, the first music since the release of his debut album ‘9’ in April last year is pumped full of sparkly Cashmere goodness and a reminder you don’t need a filthy drop to get a crowd moving. Fans were quick to point out the similarities between this and XXXTentacion’s “MOONLIGHT” in terms of chords which might suggest it’s a remix of sorts but we’re sure all will be revealed. Check out the two tracks below! ✨ playing a new song pic.twitter.com/oKUbHcix4A — cashmere cat (@CASHMERECAT) September 18, 2018 Source

As everyone knows good and well, Deadmau5 is one of the worlds most renowned DJ’s as he was one of the first artists to release EDM music and since then has made a huge impact unlike any other. It was just a matter of time until he expanded his career, and he’s doing just that. Just yesterday, Netflix and Constantin Film announced that Deadmau5 will create his first ever film soundtrack for Polar which is set to release next year. According to the main press announcement, “Polar is based upon the Dark Horse action noir graphic novel Polar: Came From the Cold by Victor Santos. The world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla, aka the Black Kaiser, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he fins himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, faster, ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to have him silenced.” The entire film soundtrack will be produced by Deadmau5 himself. “The Constantin Film/Bolt Pictures co-production, in association with Dark Horse Entertainment stars Mads Mikkelsen (Doctor Strange, Rogue One), Vanessa Hudgens (Spring Breakers, Beastly), Katheryn Winnick (Vikings)and Matt Lucas (Alice In Wonderland, Doctor Who, Little Britain). It is produced by Constantin Film’s Robert Kulzer (Resident Evil franchise), Jeremy Bolt (Resident Evil franchise, Death Race), Hartley Gorenstein (Room) and is Executive Produced by Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz, Mads Mikkelsen, and Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg.” Netflix is set to release the film in 2019 but wont be seen in Canada, Germany, and China. The post Deadmau5 to Make Film-Score for Netflix Movie appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

On paper, Ticketmaster has long opposed ticket scalping. In the terms and conditions on its website, the Live Nation subsidiary clearly indicates ticket limits for buyers, and the company even has gone so far as to sue online ticket brokers like Prestige Entertainment for allegedly using bot software. In an interesting turn of events, however, it appears that Ticketmaster has had its own pockets in the scalping business all along. In an investigative report, CBC and Toronto Star uncovered evidence that Ticketmaster has been operating its own secret scalping scheme. Both Canadian outlets sent journalists posing as scalpers to the Ticket Summit industry conference held in Las Vegas back in July. It was there that the two were allegedly approached by Ticketmaster and briefed on the company’s seedy reselling scheme. The scam sees scalpers purchasing tickets from Ticketmaster, then reselling them at a higher price on Ticketmaster’s own secondary market platform TradeDesk. Under this scenario, Ticketmaster successfully inflates ticket prices and successfully profits not once, but twice — first on the fees of the initial ticket sale to scalpers, then on the fees captured during the pricier resale transactions made on TradeDesk. According to the undercover report, not only is Ticketmaster recruiting these scalpers into its secret program, but it is also actively turning a blind eye to actions that violate the company’s own terms of service. The Toronto Star writes that scalpers face little to no consequences when it comes to the ticket buying process, such as when they initially purchase beyond the stated ticket limit: “If we identify breaches of these limits … we reserve the right to cancel any such orders,” read Ticketmaster’s general terms and conditions. “Use of automated means to purchase tickets is strictly prohibited.” But ticket resellers who break those rules have no reason to be concerned, the sales executive reassured. A blind eye will be turned. “We don’t spend any time looking at your Ticketmaster.com account. I don’t care what you buy. It doesn’t matter to me,” said the Trade Desk sales executive. “There’s total separation between Ticketmaster and our division. It’s church and state … We don’t monitor that at all.” This isn’t the first time Ticketmaster has come under fire for supposedly being in bed with scalpers. When Prestige Entertainment was sued by Ticketmaster last October, the online ticket broker shot back with counterclaims of its own. Its main argument was that Ticketmaster was itself guilty of trying to game the ticket buying system. “However, TM fails to mention that, on information and belief, many tickets for each show of Hamilton were in fact never placed onto the primary ticket exchange, but went directly to the secondary ticket market for resale at significantly higher prices,” Prestige commented in a statement. Ticketmaster has yet to issue a public statement, but wrote to CBC, saying “that as the world’s leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists and venues, we believe it is our job to offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets.” Below, watch uncover footage from the Las Vegas Ticket Summit: Source

Chevy Chase was the first breakout star to be born on Saturday Night Live. Despite his swift rise in Hollywood, he always regretted leaving after just a year and a half of the program. “I’d do it again in a minute,” he said in a newly published The Washington Post profile. He probably wouldn’t do it with the current cast, though, as he had some exceedingly harsh words for the modern SNL in the very same interview. Speaking with the Post’s Geoff Edgers, Chase offered up some words about SNL “off the record” — despite the fact that a microphone and recorder were sitting right in front of him. “First of all, between you and me and a lamppost, jeez, I don’t want to put down Lorne or the cast, but I’ll just say, maybe off the record, I’m amazed that Lorne has gone so low,” he said into the aforementioned microphone. “I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn’t f—— believe it.” When Edgers pointed out that the current SNL cast is actually very popular with millions of viewers, Chase replied “That means a whole generation of shitheads laughs at the worst fucking humor in the world… How could you dare give that generation worse shit than they already have in their lives? It just drives me nuts.” (Read: Why I Have a Hard Time Watching National Lampoon’s Vacation) In Chase’s mind SNL hasn’t been the same since those first two landmark seasons. “Why am I saying that? Because I was in it? I guess. That’s a horrible thing to say,” he said anyway. “But certainly I never had more fun. I really loved it and enjoyed it. I didn’t see the same fun thing happening to the cast the next year.” He had further unflattering appraisals for some of the show’s recent stars, including Will Ferrell (“Just not funny”) and Tina Fey (“I didn’t see what all the folderol was about. She was good”). Keeping in mind that this is the same interview where he tried to explain away racist comments he made to Donald Glover on the set of Community as “jokes,” Chase had this to say of Eddie Murphy: “I thought Eddie Murphy was funny. Gumby. I found that funny and people loved that. . . . Stevie Wonder, he did well. [Pause.] It’s not that hard, for Christ’s sake. Your skin’s the same color. You just put on some sunglasses and do this.” Elsewhere, he talked about bumping into Glover backstage during last year’s SNL season finale. Recalling the incident — again, just sentences away from downplaying his racial insensitivity — Chase said, “I never saw a guy turn white so fast.” Yikes. The whole Wash Post piece is a fascinating look at Chase’s career, poor reputation, and hopes for a third resurgence now that he’s sober. Read the whole thing at The Washington Post. Saturday Night Live returns for its 44th season on September 29th. Kanye West will be making his seventh appearance on the show as musical guest, while Adam Driver will serve as host. Source

Techno artist Maceo Plex I have been fortunate enough to have seen a lot of shows. Festival shows, techno and house shows, much of which are at local casinos or clubs. Point being, I have not been luck enough to see something like this. A full DJ set on a boat. DJ Maceo Plex, Eric Estornel, performed a high energy set on the Hudson River overlooking New York City. Maceo Plex on Hudson River for Cercle First of all, performing on any boat is one thing, but when perform it on a river in one of the most visited places in the world, it is extra special. As you can see, fans braved some rainy conditions to rave with the Cuban-American DJ. The video, presented by Cercle, is shot from a drone providing beautiful views of the New York City skyline. Cercle is a live stream platform priding itself on showcasing and promoting unique DJ sets in unusual places. Mace0 Plex has been a longtime perform all over Ibiza, so he is no stranger to performing at cool venues all over the world. If you would like to see him perform you can check him out at Hi Ibiza in Spain and Fix Factory in Greece on September 20th. Click here for additional tour dates and don’t miss you chance to experience a Cercle event. Enjoy Maceo Plex’s set on the Hudson River for Cercle.  Follow Maceo Plex: Facebook | SoundCloud | Instagram | The post Maceo Plex Spins Intimate Deep Techno Set on Hudson River appeared first on EDM | Electronic Music | EDM Music | EDM Festivals | EDM Events. Source

Setting the Stage: Modern Life Is War may just be the most accessible hardcore band of all time. To the cultists of heavy, that might sound like a bad thing; a big appeal of punk and metal subgenres is their inaccessibility to the larger music culture, a secret shared by weirdos in sweaty basements all across America. Modern Life Is War succeeds in being both a band you can lose your teeth to and a gateway into melodic hardcore music. They are proof that we can have both. Their show on Saturday, September 15th, in Denver, Colorado, also marked the reopening of the Marquis Theater, a venue near and dear to my heart which has been closed for a short period due to renovations following their acquisition by Live Nation. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about this transition. Would they book less punk shows? Would they put a barrier in the front of the room to prevent stage diving? Would they even still have pizza? Why won’t anyone think of the pizza?! The rumors I had heard of the new Marquis resembling a Chili’s turned out to be unfounded. Aside from the security who would pat me down every time I reentered the venue and the worrying lack of pentagrams, they preserved more of the original venue than I had expected. Small victories. Taking the Stage: I’ve grown to expect less from bands that are nearing their second decade, and rightly so. Who can really expect bands to permeate the same energy that they did when they were 16, but Modern Life Is War is one of those bands that proves to be above growing old. As soon as the first song began, the stage exploded in movement; bodies climbing on top of bodies, elbows being sent in semi-calculated orbits and large men pacing around the perimeter of the pit, two-stepping and stomping and throwing their weight into their fellow concertgoers. As is with any good hardcore gig, the crowd participation contributed to overall quality of the show rather than hindering in it — good ol’ non-malicious violence. A fine line that hardcore in the past few years has struggled to maintain, but was a centerpiece in almost all of the bands’ conversations onstage. The setlist was a good mix of classics off of their 2005 album, Witness, new releases and deep cuts including sharing the stage with Faim lead singer Kat Lanzillo, whose history with the band runs deep. Her participation made the entire set feel like friends reuniting — it gave me a moment of nostalgia that didn’t belong to me, a feeling that outside of this moment, the band refused to indulge in. Modern Life Is War’s live show and their new music never gives you the option to look back, only to throw yourself forward. Solid support: The show featured an strong local lineup. Line Brawl, a band that instills visions of hockey fight compilations and two-stepping through parking lots, played a fast, aggressive set and it maintained that energy throughout. Faim (pronounced Femme), a female led hardcore punk outfit which seamlessly blends violently wailing vocals with well structured beatdown hardcore progressions and vocal melodies. Existing somewhere between hardcore, grind and crust, Call of the Void play unforgivingly dark music, and with one of the most consistent sets of the night, they are quickly becoming one of Denver’s strongest bands. The opening lineup was consistently strong and optimistic with their stage banter. All touching on the point of accessibility in hardcore, and how in part Modern Life Is War’s music had helped shaped those ideas in them. Source

With Oscar season beginning to rear its starry-eyed head, Amazon Studios is hoping for some early awards buzz for Beautiful Boy, their upcoming indie drama starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, showing off the pair’s considerable talents in a new trailer. Directed by Felix van Groeningen (Broken Circle Breakdown), Beautiful Boy adapts Nic Sheff’s memoir of the same name into a sensitive awards-season tearjerker, telling Sheff’s (played by Chalamet) true-life story of meth addiction and the efforts of his father (Carell) to help him through. The trailer puts the two actors front and center, with clips of anguished outbursts amidst heartfelt moments of tenderness. “I had such grand plans,” Carell’s concerned dad says in the trailer. “He’d graduate from college, do something amazing. And now I just want him to not die.” Beautiful Boy recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month to enthusiastic praise, and no small amount of awards buzz for Chalamet, Carell and Maura Tierney, who also co-stars as Chalamet’s stepmother. The two leads are no stranger to Best Actor Oscars consideration, either; Carell was nominated for 2014’s Foxcatcher, while Chalamet is fresh off a nod for last year’s Call Me By Your Name. Beautiful Boy comes to theaters October 12th. Watch the trailer below. Source

With LeBron James now firmly planted in LA, the long-rumored Space Jam sequel is finally coming to fruition. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James has recruited a pair of big name talents to join him on the project: Black Panther director Ryan Coogler will produce the film, while Terence Nance, creator of HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, will server as director. (Read: Projecting Space Jam 2’s Monster Squad) “The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie,” James told THR, “It’s so much bigger. I’d just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don’t just give up on their dreams. And I think Ryan did that for a lot of people [with Black Panther].” Production is scheduled to begin in 2019 during the NBA offseason. The original Space Jam, released in 1996, starred Michael Jordan and the cartoon cast of Looney Tunes. Rumors of a sequel starring James have run rampant for several years, with a number of different directors and writers having been attached to the project. At one point, Fast & Furious director Justin Lin was set to direct, but those plans have obviously changed. pic.twitter.com/Ay6wRaB915 — SpringHill Ent. (@SpringHillEnt) September 19, 2018 Source