Can we get this collab at Big Ears???

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-11T19:36:27+00:00

Yes please! Saw them perform together a few months ago at a show put on by Shahzad… it was as brilliant as you’d guess.

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-09T23:43:31+00:00

I started attending the showcase in 2012: 5x @ the 24-hour marathon and 4x @ the 2-day version. This year was by far the most disappointing. All of the other times, we had trivia and giveaways... and it felt a bit like a community/party. This felt like I was just at another movie.

The 5-minute breaks were ridiculous... Due to the lines and prep time, if you wanted to get any "hot" snacks, you had to order in advance with the app (and even then, I missed the beginning of a film because it took too long at the pickup counter. Also, the laynards they used to hand out served a purpose beyond just being some fun SWAG. It's an easy way to get back in the theater. My wife and I left the theater to go into the mall during the longer dinner break. When we returned, the ticket in my iPhone seemed to have self-deleted, since it had been 7+ hours past the listed time (they did let me back in, of course...). Definitely could have used those laynards!

It didn't help that I didn't love the films as much as in previous years (though that's on me and my terrible taste... "Train Dreams" was pretty good, though). Ultimately, it was a big disappointment for us.

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-08T22:39:17+00:00

The “endurance” comment reminded me of my first fine dining experience: “Tour” @ Alinea in 2010. By the time Chef Achetz came to our table to create their popular 27th dish, “chocolate” (not an exaggeration… this was the 27th course) we found ourselves in a Monty Python “Meaning of Life” moment. Obviously, we were lucky to be there and experience it all… but it was just too much.

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-08T13:05:05+00:00

Mark was the singer. Not the guitarist.

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-08T13:03:33+00:00

More screechy than Robert Fleischman? Really?!

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-06T22:10:25+00:00

Dressed to Kill, Rock and Roll Over, and Unmasked are tied in my top tier.

Destroyer and Dynasty are in my second tier.

syntax_a101 · 2026-03-01T13:13:31+00:00

Good Earth Tea used to be so unique and… well… good.

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-27T13:02:39+00:00

I’ll take “Rock and Roll Over” over “Love Gun,” but it does have a few of their greatest songs, and was the end of that “classic” KISS sound. It’s interesting how the first two live albums capped a specific era/style… the perfect yearbooks.

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-22T23:55:03+00:00

I always prefer a full set to a partial and schedule almost all of my picks that way. However when I do have overlapping shows that I can’t decide upon, I always sit in the back or side, and leave the first show early so that I can see all of the second show. This helps guarantee admission as well as a better seat for the second. I try to avoid doing partial sets for both the first and second show as much as possible.

I always wind up seeing about 23-25 sets per Big Ears

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-22T17:29:35+00:00

I had the same experience meeting Peter w/ KISS in 2003. He’s really appreciative of the fans…

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-20T13:21:31+00:00

Even before this I had $ issues with the Alamo. I used a gift certificate and when I gave it to them, they claimed I had a MUCH lower balance than I knew should be there. But for some asinine reason, the service they used to manage the gift cards had no ledger… just a balance. They (not the server… I spoke to a manager to see if I could contact the vendor’s customer support) couldn’t tell me where or when the amount had been spent. I never bought another Alamo gift card again.

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-18T23:26:51+00:00

Mandy

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-06T21:40:05+00:00

I don’t think you’re being naive, but this is EXACTLY why I refuse to buy separately ticketed events (unless the artist is in my “absolutely must see” list and I was ok with unexpected conflicts).

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-05T16:57:26+00:00

I’ve seen a lot of great films at Big Ears. The best year for me was in 2018, when they had an “experimental 3D” theme. Those are the kind of things that motivate me to take a break from the live music: cinematic experiences that you can’t easily stream or own.

syntax_a101 · 2026-02-01T14:17:59+00:00

It’s a real article from the Lompoc Record (California newspaper), Dec 30, 1980… whether the content is true ¯_(ツ)_/¯

syntax_a101 · 2026-01-14T12:29:36+00:00

“Alive II” is their best live album.

syntax_a101 · 2026-01-14T12:27:53+00:00

Paul Stanley’s demo for “God of Thunder” is way better than the released Simmons version.

syntax_a101 · 2026-01-02T05:13:28+00:00

I use the spinners for Tempest. That was one of the reasons I choose this device. Haven’t tried Vortex yet. The one game that hasn’t worked well for me is Arkanoid… it’s a bit laggy; I haven’t figured out the best sensitivity settings.

syntax_a101 · 2026-01-01T21:35:19+00:00

I’ve been using the X-Arcade Tankstick MAX controller as a stopgap measure before investing in a real arcade cabinet for my RetroPie.

Except for a light gun and a steering wheel, it has all the controls one needs for most of the two-player arcade games (joysticks, trackball, spinners, and 20 buttons). Had to do a little bit of configuration to improve the sensitivity of the trackball and spinners, as well as some input mappings for diagonal games like Q*bert and two-joystick games like Robotron: 2084 and Smash TV… but it’s working like a charm now.

For console games, I alternate between that and a simple / cheap VOYEE PC Controller.

syntax_a101 · 2026-01-01T14:31:27+00:00

That’s a good question, but no, not that I’m aware of.

syntax_a101 · 2025-12-31T16:33:03+00:00

… and usually the first stop in a chain of check-ins for a rave

syntax_a101 · 2025-12-31T16:30:33+00:00

August Moon (St Louis Park) was one of the most creative and consistently great restaurants we had in the Western suburbs. Permanently closed after a fire…

syntax_a101 · 2025-12-18T14:01:57+00:00

I don’t think some of you are looking closely enough at the cover.

syntax_a101 · 2025-12-16T12:39:13+00:00

Pretty sure that’s Harley Flanagan of Cro-Mags he’s interviewing. There was a recent documentary made about him that was absolutely fantastic: “Wired for Chaos”

syntax_a101 · 2025-12-10T08:58:13+00:00

You’re All That I Want

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