"Crisco Fist (Vessel of Hope)" now up for auction! PLUS Jazz Cafe party

You may have heard that the "Vessel of Hope" art installation/performance commentary by Jerry Vile was being auctioned on eBay, with the proceeds to go to the city of Detroit (or charity of the city's choosing).

It was up and then it was down and now it's up again. So now is your chance at owning your very own piece of history, not to mention some of the "Best Street Art in The World 2013" (Buzzfeed.com).

Jerry Vile (Detroit Vessel of Hope) Big Blue Fist Can StreetArt Agitprop

Giant Shortening Can Detroit Bankruptcy Symbol

In addition, there will be a celebratory party on Wednesday, August 14, at the Jazz Cafe, with live bidding available...and who knows what other madness.

The last 3 hours of the auction will be live at Jazz Cafe.

WiFi Hotspot friendly in the Cafe for bidding.

Media welcome. 

Jerry Vile will be in attendance.

Jazz Cafe at Music Hall

350 Madison

Detroit, MI  48226

(313) 887-8532

jazzcafedetroit.com

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Zombie Con Comes Our Way!

It is no startling revelation that zombies are kind of a big deal these days. Between the Walking Dead and the latest new zombie movie that hits the theaters every month, zombies have established themselves as more than just the scare in a film, they have become their own genre. So it is only fitting we have a convention coming our way solely devoted these shambling, flesh-eating icons. Brought to you by Motion Picture Institute, Zombie Con (Z-Con) is a two-day event that brings together Zombie, and Horror Fans, Creators, Artists, Novelists, Film Makers at Michigan’s premiere film school; MPI at 2040 Crooks road in Troy, MI. –August 17th and 18th. The convention includes a two-day film festival with the World Premiere of Anchor Bay’s zombie vs. robots epic Battle of the Damned not due in theaters until 2014. Z-Con will also have the Michigan Sneak Preview of the award winning documentary Birth of the Living Dead about the making of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead being shown ahead of its worldwide release from First Run Features. Synapse Films are screening the critically acclaimed Japanese zombie film Undertaker that has never been shown in the US. Z-Con also has Special Guests like Courtney Gains (Malachi from Children of the Corn). Courtney can currently be seen in the zombie role playing flick Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead.
Z-Con is also celebrating the 35th anniversary of the original Dawn of the Dead with stars David Emge and Scott Reiniger in attendance. There will be panel discussions with Rue Morgue magazine’s Editor-In-Chief Dave Alexander, Film Journalist Mike White (the Projection Booth, ParaCinema), author David Hayes (Cinema Head Cheese) and Jonathan James (Daily Dead) and many others. There will be a special fx seminar on How To Make a Zombie by Creature Division FX (28 Days, Crazies),  and the much talked about Ms. Zombie Con Pin Up Gal Contest that will be judged by radio personalities. And for those who like to dress up and play zombie there is a Zombie role playing game based off the hit Anchor Bay zombie film MIMESIS: Night of the Living Dead. One of the stages at MPI will be converted into a haunted attraction where guests who come as their favorite screen zombie get to wander the halls interacting with unsuspecting patrons. The Con will feature art work by renowned zombie artists Gary Pullin (Rue Morgue), Mark Hammermeister (Walking Dead) Matt Busch (Star Wars) and more. Tickets to Zombie Con are available in advance via Event Brite. Check out the official Z-Con website and Facebook event page  for more announcements.

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Are You Ready to Travel Back to 1993?

Resurrected Detroit metal band Raw Image will perform its first official live show in twenty years next Saturday, August 17, at the The Ritz in Warren.

Raw Image brilliantly mixes heavy and catchy riffs with melodies that rival the work of more well known acts such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Singer Eric Johnson belts out vocals that make you wonder why he isn't internationally known, while guitarists Mike Paytas and Mick Morris come at you with a dual attack that features shredding, harmonies, and riffs that take you back to the glory years of heavy metal. Not to be forgotten is drummer Lenny Doss who, after all these years, still attacks you with a battery that rivals his more well-known (and younger) counterparts.

For the metal inclined, this is a show not to be missed. Raw Image holds down the old-school local metal sound with the best of them. Also, word on the street is that there may be some Toxic Waltz(ing) going down. Bring your earplugs!

The Ritz - http://theritzbarandgrill.com/
Raw Image - http://www.facebook.com/rawimagedetroit

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Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog






Wild At Heart


After seeing the new film by director Gordon Green, “Prince Avalanche” (loosely-based on the 2011 Icelandic film “Either Way”), I can’t help but thinking of the Talking Heads song ‘Road To Nowhere’ as this film really is designed not to really end up anyplace. Gordon really impressed me with his film “George Washington” and I did enjoy the quirky “Pineapple Express” and this film falls somewhere inbetween.

The film introduces us to Alvin (Paul Rudd) and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance (Emile Hirsch) as they leave the pressures of the city to work a summer job mulching gardens that had been ravaged by wildfires. Cinematographer Tim Orr does a good job bringing out some interesting landscapes as the two men, forced by the desolation of their location come to learn more about each other and themselves. There are no big issues here being dealt with, just the common every day concerns that we find ourselves dealing with every day.

We have a couple of oddball characters that occasionally break into their world from a truck driver who shares his liquor with them to the woman looking for her pilots license in her burned out house, but they are more distractions as the story itself should really be the bonding of the two leads. Alvin is the more adult yet meditative man while Lance is more the insecure, childish character. This is the appeal as they try to find common ground while rebuilding this area back up.

The film is very low key in its humor so don’t go in expecting the same energy as “Pineapple Express” but more like films as “Greenberg” or “Henry Poole Is Here”. The movie uses the introspection of their lives interlaced with subtle humor to bring more a smile than a heart-wrenching laugh.

However, this film really relies on the actors truly bringing it home. Paul Rudd is truly amazing in the film and really embodies his character bringing out Alvin’s as sometimes awkward, funny, meditative and unsure of himself. It is a nice understated performance from Rudd that is unfortunately not held together enough by Hirsch who truly seems unable to fully capture his characters slacker roots. That is not to say there are not some truly touching and funny moments here, but the film doesn’t really separate itself from similar, and better, films.

If you are looking for a film to just chill out to, this might be right up your alley, but if the films mentioned above bore you then I cannot recommend this for you. However, if those films are your cup of tea, then sit back and enjoy. I would give the film a C+.

Explosions In The Sky provides a nice soundtrack as the perfect band to score a film like this.

"Prince Avalanche opens at Landmark’s Main Art Theatre on August 9th.

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MCB FLYER DUMP + FREE TICKETS to BLONDIE = kickass weekend kickoff - Pierogo Festival, Crazy Hat Party @ Northend Studios, Pewter Cub daytime show at DIA, Rockabilly Formal Prom @ Smalls, Eleanora @ Northern Lights Lounge, Electric Corpse, CrashDollz do Detroit Live Mag Summer Showcase, The Long Long Trailer @ Redford Theatre

Well finally some freaking sunshine out there right?

That's our cue to close up the MCB office and hit the pool but not before the MCB flyer dump

email motorcityblog@earthlink.net for you shot to win a pair of tickets to the upcoming Blondie/X show at ROMT on September 12th

Get tickets here

email motorcityblog@earthlink.net for you shot to win a pair of tickets to the upcoming Blondie/X show at ROMT on September 12th

Get tickets here

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TONIGHT~ SHAINA KASZTELAN//HEIDI BARLOW "EVERYTHING HAPPENS SO MUCH" ~ TONIGHT

SHAINA KASZTELAN//HEIDI BARLOW "EVERYTHING HAPPENS SO MUCH"

 

TONIGHT! 8.9.13 ~ 7:00pm

 

"Global capitalism is nearly there. At the end of the world there will only be liquid advertisement and gaseous desire. Sublimated from our bodies, our untethered senses will endlessly ride escalators through pristine artificial environments, more and less than human, drugged-up and drugged down, catalysed, consuming and consumed by a relentlessly rich economy of sensory information, valued by the pixel. The Virtual Plaza welcomes you, and you will welcome it too." -Adam Harper, Dummy Mag OPENING: August 9th @7:00pm LECTURE: August 15th @7:00pm CLOSING: August 23rd @7:00pm

--

5101 Loraine Street

Detroit, MI 48208

www.northendstudiosdetroit.com

 

 

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Aidan Knight@Garden Bowl

Aidan Knight

Friday, August 9th, at the Garden Bowl

FREE

Victoria BC quintet Aidan Knight and their namesake songwriter who will make their Detroit debut, Aug. 9th at the Garden Bowl in support of their U.S. debut album, Small Reveal, which arrived in stores July 23rd.  Small Reveal is a gorgeous and lush album that swoons and swells around Knight's captivating baritone.  As a songwriter, Knight explores the minute details of life, and the middle stories, plunging the listener into the midst of the lives of others.  The album presents the themes of inward thought and creativity, escapism, longing for success, and belonging.  Small Reveals was written over a fortnight in a rural cabin in British Columbia, then recorded in ten days in ten different locations throughout Victoria, with producer Jonathan Anderson, each providing a unique charm and character to the song.  Released in Canada in late 2012, the album garnered critical acclaim across the country.  The nationally syndicated Sun Media stated, “Knight’s delicately restless self-explorations resonate on a much larger level…brilliantly executed.”  While Under The Radar declared, “Their songs have impressive depth for such humble scale… Shearwater fans should instantly find their appeal.” 

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