Features Aquabats, Phenomenauts Save the Day in Baltimore
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THE RETRIEVER Month Day, Year 15 Features Aquabats, Phenomenauts save the day in Baltimore JULIE SAGER the Aquabats in amusement. Presenting audience members Retriever Weekly Editorial Staff themselves as interstellar travellers, space to steal the posses- suits and all, the band managed to win the sions of annoying In a stunning display of cartoonish hearts and ears of practically everyone in crowd-surfers to antics and musical prowess, California the audience not just with their catchy, sell on eBay. It was superhero rockers the Aquabats took the shout-along rock and roll, but with an irre- brutally hot in the stage at the Ottobar last week for a sold-out sistible stage show including fog machines, venue and extraor- show. The show was rescheduled from a guns that launched toilet paper into the air, dinarily crowded, previous attempt in July, which had been and a giant inflatable globe that was passed and it would have unsuccessful due to a lack of electricity in around the audience until it exploded in a been quite miser- the venue. Known for their catchy blend of burst of glitter. The only trouble with this able if not for the ska and a fun sort of new-wave punk rock, set lay in certain members of the audience, band itself. Their an amusing stage show, and egotism-tinged a few of whom got it in their heads that stage presence was senses of humour, (fans can often be seen mosh pits are apparently appropriate for all magnetic- there are sporting t-shirts with slogans such as “The music, regardless of genre. few bands in this Aquabats are the greatest band in the Girl-punk band the Eyeliners played world who can world”), the band is, in the words of one of third, which placement was quite possibly exhort their fans to my cohorts, “most intent on having fun.” the first major mistake of the evening. After flap their arms and First onstage that night were straight- the extraordinary, high-energy fun of the caw like birds, forward punk rockers Time Again. While Phenomenauts, many audience members among other Julie Sager [Retriever Staff] talented, the band seemed practically nor- seemed uncomfortable with sitting through things, with any Wannabes: A group of Aquabats fans wishing to be known identifying them- selves as the “Ska Robot Army.” Note the suits, and signature Aquabats cap mal and boring compared to what the audi- another plain old punk rock band, no mat- degree of success. and mask. ence knew was to come, and also lacked a ter how good they were. It didn’t help that During the encore, certain originality: the guitarist was wearing the band’s presence only encouraged the the band brought a Rancid t-shirt and had a matching sticker “moshing is always appropriate” attitude. some of their younger, (and I mean, ages in obnoxious kid elbowed me in the face, it on his guitar, and that image approximately After a wait that seemed far longer than the single digits), fans onstage, eventually was overall some of the most fun I’ve had at describes the band’s sound. If you’re going it should have, during which the audience tossing one of them off in what was likely a show in a long time. The Aquabats and to wholeheartedly imitate a punk band, entertained themselves with chants, sing- to be a memorable crowd-surfing experi- the Phenomenauts in particular are both a Rancid is probably one of your better picks. alongs, bursts of profanity, and band-relat- ence. very worthwhile live music experience, if But while their members are all still alive ed hand signals, the Aquabats took the you don’t mind a little silliness. and touring, it seems somewhat redundant. stage. Clad in spandex and fake facial hair, The verdict? While some of the bands Following Time Again was my second our heroes accomplished the rare challenge were out of place, the wait for the headlin- Julie Sager is the assistant editor for The experience with the Phenomenauts, a very of battling evil while simultaneously play- ers was a tiny bit ridiculous, and I was ready Retriever Weekly. You may reach her at strong rockabilly band whose shtick rivals ing very catchy music and encouraging to commit an act of violence if one more [email protected] Four Brothers transcends revenge film genre SARAH PEVNER Retriever Weekly Editorial Staff A good revenge movie is hard to come by. Either they’re too bloody, too convoluted, or some weird combination of both. Plot devel- opment is minimal, gun play and bloody guts are overwhelming, and at the end, it usually isn’t worth all the work it took to get there. While Four Brothers is not a perfect movie, it definitely transcends its genre to become something more interesting, a little more thoughtful, and a lot funnier than expected. If you’ve seen the trailers for Four Brothers thean you probably understand the plot: four adopted sons come back to their hometown of Detroit to bury their mother, Evelyn Mercer, and avenge her killingmurder. Initially, her death looks like just an unfortu- nate run in with the kind of thugs that seem to own the motor city, but a little digging reveals that this was clearly an intended hit. But who would want to kill a kind old woman who saw that hundreds of foster children, save the four worst offenders, were placed in good homes? The ones she couldn’t place, she adopted her- self and straightened out. It’s these four Mercer boys, Bobby, Angel, Jeremiah and Jack, who make it their in-town duty to see that vengeance is extracted against the ever- growing list of suspected murderers. While each of the boys once engaged in less-than-legal behavior, from drug dealing to male prostitution, they have since reformed, and the men that come back to avenge their mother are, it seems,appear to be law abiding citizens. Led by Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), the Four Brothers quickly realize that the murder was actually a hired hit, and they follow the trail of money through the Detroit police and into the world of organized crime. It isn’t long before Bobby is leading Angel (model-turned-actor Tyrese Gibson), Jeremiah (Outcast’s Andre Benjamin), and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) to increasingly violent and desperate places. What director Jon Singleton (Hustle and George Kraychyk [Paramount Pictures] Family business: When their adoptive mother is murdered, the notorious Mercer brothers – (left to right) family man and businessman Jeremiah (André Benjamin), hard rocking Jack (Garrett Hedlund), hotheaded Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), and ladies’ man Angel (Tyrese Gibson) – reunite to track down her killer see Four Brothers, page 16. in Four Brothers..