Rock Candy: October 2007 Archives

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Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 17:38:28

Weekending

Numero 8, featuring the Ted Ludwig Trio, the Meat Puppets, Bill Frisell, Headlights, Cory Branan and the Munks.

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Posted by Lindsey Millar at 05:38 PM | Permalink | Comments [1]

Download: Rock Candy's Halloween mix

Killah Cam Holifield

Download here. One big ol file.

Here's the tracklisting.

1. Screamin' Jay Hawkins- Alligator Wine
2. Gnarls Barkley- The Boogie Monster
3. The Specials- Ghost Town
4. The Bees- These Are the Ghosts
5. The Bats- Boogey Man
6. Otis Redding- Trick or Treat
7. The Evangelicals- Halloween Song
8. Geto Boys- My Mind's Playin Tricks On Me
9. Roky Erickson and the Aliens- I Walked with a Zombie
10. The Misfits- Skulls
11. Gentle Giant- Spooky Boogie
12. Desmond Dekker- Dracula
13. The Easys- As the Vampire
14. Ghouls Glide

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments [1]

Rap about the city you love

So within the last week or so, I've been sent links to two local pride songs. Both are silly rap tunes by non-rappers.

The video above, "Searcy (We So Fly)" by the, um, Fun Police, features a group of what must be Harding University kids rapping about how great Searcy is: Riverside Park is the makeout spot. Waffle House is always open. There's not a beach, but there's a carwash. As a native of Searcy, I can't tell you how deeply this warms my heart.

The Low Profile have a little more to work with on "City of Rock", their tribute to Little Rock and North Little Rock. Over a beat that samples from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Little Girl From Little Rock," TLP shout out pretty much every neighborhood in Little Rock (09ers, too) and North Little Rock before getting into a verse with references to Bill and Hill and Wilbur D. Mills ("more than an expressway!"). If you put your thinking cap on, I bet you can pick out the voice of one of the Low Profile dudes.

Please let this be the beginning of a contest.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments [2]

Halloween To-Do: Everything

THE LIBRAS
9 p.m., White Water Tavern. $3-$5.

The ACAC cover-up is always fun, but rarely does it fall on Halloween, which leaves us day-of-Halloween adherents in the lurch. So, it’s good of the Libras to step into the void. Lately the house band for White Water, the all-star group, composed of members of the Boondogs, Big Silver, the Easys and the Greg Spradlin Outfit, typically takes on members of the canon, covering songs by Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Elvis Costello. But this time out, they’ll dress up and play as guilty pleasures, like Foreigner, Backstreet Boys and Phil Collins. The costumed get $2 off the cover price.

607
8 p.m., Gusano’s. $10.

Never one to pass up a chance to delve into the dark side of things, local rapper 607 is hosting “Misfits in the Market,” a show where he’ll unveil several new tracks. It’s probably a safe bet, too, to expect the gothic-obsessed MC to don the bondage attire — a pantyhose-style mask and manacled wristlets — he’s worn at his last several concept shows. Despite his offbeat style, 607 enjoys surely the most diverse audience in town. Expect everyone from tucked-in businessmen to skater-style kids to street dudes with big coats.

PLUS: Here are links to all of Daniel McPherson's comprehensive reviews of local Haunted Houses. NLR Haunted Hospital (B+), the Chamber of Horrors (B), the Haunted Hotel (B), the Torture Chamber (B-), here and Emoba's Haunted Cathedral (C+).

ALSO:

For $10, you can get a pass that'll get you into six bars in the River Market — Guasno's, Deep, Ernie Biggs, Willy D's, Flying Saucer and Sticky Fingerz.

More details after the jump:

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Haunted House Survey: The Torture Chamber

THE TORTURE CHAMBER
$12
1605 Benton Parkway (Benton)
501-315-8300
Last night!: 6:30-midnight

Length: 10 minutes

Synopsis: When people go to a haunted house, they want to be entertained as much as they want to be scared. This house has a good mixture of both. Suspense is the best ingredient here. Something fairly scary happens, so you think its time to go to the next room. Then the intended terror presents itself, causing men to scream like girls and girls to scream like…well, girls. Be prepared to duck, feel and crawl your way through this maze of mayhem. No tour guide is present (which would have made it stronger), but many rooms cannot be exited until the house is ready for you to leave, ensuring that groups will not run into each other. Ghouls also find many creative ways for making their presence known, the best job I have yet seen. The Torture Chamber would seem more authentic if the outside had been decorated to match what lurks behind their walls. Entering a building marked “Party Central” is not so intimidating, unless, of course, you are driving a carload of kids on a sugar high. Once inside, though, the outer parameters are pretty much forgotten.

Final Thoughts: The admission is slightly more than it should be, but not so much that this is one to avoid. The innovative staff makes additions to their scare tactics each night, enabling a brood of new screams every 24 hours. Add some gothic Styrofoam structures to the outside and this haunted house gets a much higher grade. As it is, the Torture Chamber is still well worth your time.

OVERALL RATING: B-

—Daniel McPherson

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 14:16:50

Haunted House Survey: NLR Haunted Hospital

NLR HAUNTED HOSPITAL
$10
#1 Pershing Circle, North Little Rock (Former Baptist Hospital)
October 11-13; 18-20; 23-27 (6 p.m.-11p.m.); 29-31 (6 p.m.-midnight)
501-744-5404

Length: 20 minutes

Synopsis: The majority of haunted houses one can visit are over-flowing with monsters, skeletons and famous horror movie characters. This one is too— along with about 25 mental patients. Combine that with an institution where death was once common and actual ghost sightings have been claimed, and you are in for one fright-filled evening. A tour guide takes each group along a bloodstained path, where plenty of the hospital’s inhabitants are ready to pop out and say hello. But this guide does not simply lead the way. He or she acts as your personal storyteller, informing you of the hospital’s history and current status. If you get hungry, the tour goes through the kitchen where the hospital’s mad butcher will have a meal ready and waiting. If you need a place to lie down, some of the spaces in the morgue are still available. And if you’ve ever wanted to watch a scary movie with a bunch of crazies — you’ll get to. Worried about bringing the kids? They’ll be well taken care of…some of the patients are probably their age. And never mind the patients that follow you throughout the hospital’s corridors. It’s the ghost of Mary Lou — the hospital’s real-life apparition — that you should be most afraid of meeting.

Final Thoughts: While I wish they could have incorporated all six floors, great use is made of the facilities unique to the hospital setting. I strongly applaud them for using their tour guide as a narrator, a feature all haunted houses should have. Come for the scares, stay for the entertainment, and leave with all of your appendages attached.

Overall Rating: B+

—Daniel McPherson

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Releasing: Levon Helm solo album, the complete 'Twin Peaks

Levon Helm- "Dirt Farmer"

Marvell native Levon Helm releases his first solo album in 25 years today. Helm, who was told he wouldn’t sing again after a 1998 bout with throat cancer, gives a strong, if grizzled, reading of five traditional songs and eight covers of songs by the likes of Steve Earle and A.P. Carter on “Dirt Farmer” (Vanguard). Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter and a member of the Americana outfit Ollabelle, performs with her father along with multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell.

Finally, "The Definitive Gold Box Edition of Twin Peaks," with the original and European (who knew?) versions of the pilot, and every episode of the first and second seasons, all newly remastered with 5.1 surround sound.

Or, for the completist in your life more bent towards angsty teen dramas: "My So-Called Life" is completely available in one neat package.

ALSO:

The soundtrack to that new, bizarre-looking Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There," with indie-heroes like Sonic Youth, Jeff Tweedy, Stephen Malkmus and the Hold Steady. You can stream the album here.

The Renaud brothers' "Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later" is out on DVD.

So is "Heavy Metal Parking Lot."

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments [0]