Let’s GO! Fubar and Firebird November 17 – December 4

You Know, a Funny Thing Happened to Me…

I was thinking of my cousin’s band yesterday, He Who Dredz, who I know have a show coming up on the twenty-eighth of November, when I realized: I didn’t know at what time or where they were playing.

I thought they were playing at Pop’s. I was wrong.

Which, incidentally, is how I came to know of Fubar, in Midtown Alley, and of Firebird, in St. Louis, which I will, from now on, bring to you news of upcoming shows from both monthly.

Billed the “Best All-Ages Venue,” by the Riverfront Times, Fubar is located in in the historic district between Compton and Cardinal at 3108 Locust, St. Louis, MO 63103.

Firebird, on the other hand, bills itself as “St. Louis’ Best New Music Lounge. Firebird used to be known as Bluebird, before it closed for a few weeks in January for upgrades, and was reopened as Firebird. It is located close to Fubar, at 2706 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.

Both, while closer to Lindenwood than Pop’s, are also farther away than The Pageant, but unlike either Pop’s or The Pageant, cater exclusively (so far as the schedules say) to local and underground talent. You’re not going to see Megadeth or Skillet here, as you would at the other two.

Of course, this also means that prices are more manageable, for the Broke-Ass College Student (BACS) budget that’s usually got us up against the financial wall.

As well, it gets us away from the mainstream tractor beam that always seems to hold us in such awe. (I am, sadly, within firm grasp of it.)

Situation: FUBAR

The shows at the Fubar include:

• Tuesday, November 17, 2009: FREE Acoustic Show in Lounge, featuring Stian Skaaden, Mike Vinopal, Pat Baum, Morgan Nusbaum of The 75, Jon Dittmer, and Riley James

• Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Auternus, Latin, Lesser Key, SOMA, N.Nomurai, + guest

• Thursday, November 19, 2009: Jeff Gorski, Off Course, Katherine Knight, Action Noun Action, Hearts Like Lead, Gay Breakfast, Jesse Ives & Guests
• Friday, November 20, 2009: Slave to the MetalFest hosted by Mistress Juliya, featuring Buried Beneath, Deadlife, My Name is a Weapon, Colors From a Cannon, Call Me Goliath, Powerhead, The Ship of Fools, Compelled to Destroy, Hollowed Point Heroes, Bare Knuckle Conflict, Inimical Drive, D-Railed, and Walk of Ignorance

• Saturday, November 21, 2009: Slave to the MetalFest hosted by Mistress Juliya, featuring The Tards, Modern Counter Culture, Mans Laughter, Drag the Dead, Paradigm Grip, Seven Year Existence, Humanities Dusk, Hope Can’t Save the Dead, Ashes of Scorn, Gigglefit, and Headchange

• 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 23, 2009: Dead Swans, Mother of Mercy, Nothing On Nothing, Feeding Lies, and Head For the Mountains

• 10:00 p.m., Monday, November 23, 2009: SPEEDWOLF, Zuul, Die Wasted, and Terra Caput Mundi
• Tuesday, November 24, 2009: The White Tie Affair, Every Avenue, Stereo Skyline, Runner Runner, and The Chain Gangs of 1974

• Friday, November 27, 2009: November MetalFest featuring Shotgun/Bayonet, Invictus, Scavenger, Lyluth, and more.

• Saturday, November 28, 2009: Days of the New w/ special guests Three Fortys, Bullshed, Take a Number, and Off Course

• Monday, November 30, 2009: Broadcast the Nightmare, Corpus Christi, and Whisteria Cottage + Locals -  Divide the Past and Walk of Ignorance + 1 TBA
• Thursday, December 03, 2009: The Captain Midnight Band and The Pat Sajak Assassins, with guest

Burn, Baby, Burn

At the Firebird, the performances include:

• Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Caporetto w/Engine Orchestra, and Tilts
• Thursday, November 19, 2009: Daytrotter Presents- Ezra Furman & The Harpoons w/Rachel Goodrich and Peasant

• Friday, November 20, 2009: Anders Parker w/Jon Hardy & The Public and The Dive Poets
• Saturday, November 21, 2009: Headlights w/Pomegranates and Fractured Army

• Wednesday, November 25, 2009: Local H w/Kinch and One Lone Car
• Thursday, November 26, 2009: Grand Buffet w/Celery, Humanoids

• Friday, November 27, 2009: Lengrand w/Pirate Signal, Sleep In Sundays and Falsetto Boy
• Saturday, November 28, 2009: EARLY SHOW – Raising Kane, He Who Dredz, Icon For Hire, Pinkleef, and The Drama Score

• Saturday, November 28, 2009: LATE SHOW – Season To Risk w/Gold Tooth, and The Unmutuals
• Sunday, November 29, 2009: We All Have Hooks For Hands w/Target Market and Tarlton

• Tuesday, December 01, 2009: Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs, Kentucky Knife Fight, TBA
• Wednesday, December 02, 2009: Big D & The Kids Table w/Sonic Boom, BAMF!, and Disturbing Lou

• Thursday, December 03, 2009: The Gorge, TBA

Remember to check both Fubar’s and the Firebird’s websites for updates to shows with TBAs or for shows that were unbooked, and thus could not be reported on.

Check back in after December 11 for more shows to see at Fubar and the Firebird for your holiday break. ‘Cause there’s nothing like sampling the local music cuisine!

Let’s GO! Pop’s: November 16 – December 6

Once again, it’s time for your monthly serving of shows happening at local concert venues. This time, I’m sending my attention back to Pop’s Nightclub Concert Venue in Sauget, Illinois, just off of the Poplar Street Bridge on Highway 3 South.

I know it’s the last four weeks of the semester, but if you ever need a break from studying, papers, and last minute exams, then Pop’s has some great acts to see during this time. These include a beer pong tournament with a chance to earn a trip to The Flamingo in Las Vegas to win $50,000, Insane Clown Posse, Trivium, and Megadeth! Local acts include Opposites Attack, Silent Doom, Persona Crown, Slabcity Gorillaz, Incineration, and Make Me Break Me.

The dates for the shows are as follows:

• November 18, 2009: The Point Beer Pong Contest featuring Opposites Attack, Coma, Make Me Break Me, and Black.
• November 19, 2009: A Local Music Showcase featuring TBA
• November 20, 2009: Silent Doom, Search Party For My Ex-Wife, and TBA

• November 21, 2009: Persona Crown, Operator 303, Burning Down Oceans, The Vanguard Party, and Rockface Barband

• November 22, 2009: Slabcity Gorillaz, Trent Smith, and TBA
• November 24, 2009: Incineration, Pariah, Blood of Heroes, Survive The Flood, Creative Diversion, and The Blackout Agony

• November 27, 2009: Flobots w/Kinetix and Midwest Avengers

• November 28, 2009: Insane Clown Posse w/(hed) p.e.

• November 29, 2009: An Honest Upset, and TBA
• November 30, 2009: Psychostick w/Make Me Break Me, From Skies of Fire, and Bonneville

• December 03, 2009: A Local Music Showcase featuring TBA
• December 4, 2009: Trivium w/Chimaira, Whitechapel, and Dirge Within

• December 6, 2009: Megadeth w/Suicide Silence. Warbringer, and Arcanium.

Remember to check the Pop’s website for new information on any date listed with TBA, as these slots and dates are currently being booked. Also, remember that national shows like Megadeth will be much more expensive than local shows, which are usually seven dollars.

Pop in sometime after Thanksgiving for another edition of Let’s GO! Pop’s, where I’ll expand on more December shows for your holiday break and into 2010!

GameFAQs: When Making Your Own Decisions Is Not Good Enough

Let’s Suppose…

You go to your local game trader (GameSpot, for example). You see a new game (Borderlands, perhaps?) that the THEYs (magazines, websites, G4TV, government spooks) have been praising.

You also see three or four older, cheaper games (WWE Day of Reckoning, Worms 3D and Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem?) that have been out for years. You have always wanted to play them, but never had the money for them when they were new.

Now, altogether, they cost the same as the new game, but you can’t decide which one to purchase. Four mediocre games just aren’t the same as one awesome one. You need an Nth opinion, but where can you get one?

FAQs, Reviews, Et Cetera, Oh My!

GameSpot has a separate website called GameFAQS, in which the content within is contributed by the users. The primary function of the website is to provide reader-written reviews and walkthroughs of video games, from systems such as the Atari 2600 all the way up to the Nintendo Wii.

In addition, you can download saves for use in your Action Replay or other game modification device (when available), check prices at GameStop, EBGames and Amazon, even ask questions about the game and answer other peoples questions about it (registration required)! As well, GameFaqs features an active message board community, if texting people is more your thing.

Continue? Of Course I Want to Continue!

However, as with all community-contributed websites, the quality and quantity of the content is wholly dependent on the interests of said community. Fortunately, GameFAQs has such a wide and far-reaching fan base, that most games have all the information you should need in making your decision.

So whether you need advice on how to make it through Streets of Rage 3 PERIOD, or you just need a little reassurance that you should not regret buying Prototype over inFamous, GameFAQs has all the FAQs laid out for you.