Prime Shots: Tenacious D

ISO 800 | f/2.8 | 1/500 | 38mm | -0.7 Step Exposure Bias

Jacob Zinn

Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D – often shortened to “The D” – returned to Vancouver on Sunday night, performing for a packed crowd at the PNE Amphitheatre. The comedy metal duo is touring on their third studio album, 2012′s Rize of the Fenix.

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Prime Shots: Apocalyptica

ISO 1600 | f/2.8 | 1/40 | 50mm | Increased Contrast

Jacob Zinn

Paavo Lötjönen of Finnish cello metal group Apocalyptica performs in the shadows of the Commodore Ballroom. Tuesday marked the first time since 2008 that the band performed in Vancouver.

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Hardcore Hastings – A Brief History of Punk in Vancouver

JRNL 4270 – Advanced Storytelling

The Downtown Eastside – referred to as Canada’s poorest postal code – is considered the home of Vancouver’s punk community and arguably the start of the hardcore subgenre.

Hardcore Hastings briefly looks at the culture of Vancouver punk in the Downtown Eastside from the late ’70s to the early ’80s, when acts like D.O.A. and the Subhumans took a faster, rougher sound out of Vancouver and into the world.

This short documentary features interviews with Bev Davies, renowned concert photographer; Phil Addington, bassist of the new wave band Insex; and Wendy Thirteen, concert promoter and major supporter of local punk music.

They discuss the roots of punk and hardcore in the city, the atmosphere of historic DTES venues such as the Smilin’ Buddha and the neighbourhood’s notorious reputation.

• Black & White Photos courtesy of Bev Davies
• Archival Footage courtesy of Martyn Stubbs
• Thanks to the Museum of Vancouver for access to the Smilin’ Buddha sign

Prime Shots: Van Halen

ISO 1600 | f/2.8 | 1/125 | 180mm

Jacob Zinn

David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen get up close during “Unchained”, the opener to Van Halen’s sold-out performance at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Monday. The band is touring on their 2012 album, A Different Kind of Truth, their first album with Roth since 1984′s 1984.

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Tour Alert: Aerosmith & Cheap Trick Global Warming Tour

JUN 16	Minneapolis, MN Target Center
JUN 19	Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
JUN 22	Chicago, IL United Center
JUN 27	Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
JUL 01	Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
JUL 03	Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
JUL 05	Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
JUL 07	Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater, Summerfest
JUL 17	Boston, MA TD Garden
JUL 21	Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
JUL 24	East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center
JUL 26	Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
JUL 28	Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
JUL 30	Houston, TX Toyota Center
AUG 01	Denver, CO Pepsi Center
AUG 04	Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
AUG 06	Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
AUG 08	Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome

Get out the sunscreen – this’ll be one scorcher of a summer tour.

Aerosmith will heat up U.S. audiences this June, July and August on their aptly named Global Warming tour.

“The old Aerosmith is back with a new vengeance,” said frontman Steven Tyler.

Following a string of sold-out shows in South America, the Bad Boys from Boston announced their first return to North America since 2010. They’ve scheduled 17 dates in the U.S. and one in Canada.

The hard-rocking five-piece will be supported by Illinois rockers Cheap Trick, a band that was to accompany Aerosmith on the third leg of the Rockin’ the Joint Tour in 2005 until Tyler required throat surgery.

The first leg of the tour starts in Minneapolis and wraps up in Tacoma. Tickets for most shows go on sale this weekend through Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

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Tour Alert: Dragonforce North American Tour Dates

APR 21	Worcester, MA The Palladium
APR 22	New York, NY Gramercy Theatre
APR 23	Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts
APR 25	Montreal, QC Le National
APR 26	London, ON London Music Hall
APR 27	Milwaukee, WI The Rave
APR 28	Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
APR 29	Winnipeg, MB West End Cultural Centre
MAY 01	Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
MAY 02	Calgary, AB Republik
MAY 04	Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
MAY 05	Seattle, WA El Corazon
MAY 06	Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
MAY 08	San Francisco, CA Slim’s
MAY 10	Hollywood, CA Troubadour
MAY 11	Anaheim, CA House of Blues

U.K. power metallers Dragonforce – best known for the finger-aching, ragequit-inducing fretshredder “Through the Fire of Flames” made popular by Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – announced Thursday the dates of the their upcoming North American tour this spring.

The band will be fronted by its new lead singer, Marc Hudson, on their new album, The Power Within, out April 17.

The tour starts at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival in Massachusetts and wraps up at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA, with stops at such iconic venues as Seattle’s El Corazon, Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom and Hollywood’s Troubadour on the Sunset Strip.

Tickets for most shows go on sale this weekend via Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

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Prime Shots: Megadeth

ISO 1600 | f/2.8 | 1/2000 | 50mm

Jacob Zinn

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine riffs through the band’s opening song, “Trust”, at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre Monday night on the B.C. stop of their 2012 Gigantour with Motörhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil.

Review: Megadeth and Motörhead bang heads in Abbotsford

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Tour Alert: Iron Maiden North American Tour Dates

JUN 21	Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
JUN 23	Atlanta, GA Aarons Amphitheatre
JUN 26	Boston, MA Comcast Center
JUN 27	Wantagh, NY Jones Beach
JUN 29	Philadelphia, PI Susquehanna Bank Center
JUN 30	Washington, DC Jiffy Lube Live
JUL 02	Newark, NJ Prudential Center
JUL 05	Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank
JUL 08	Quebec, QC Colisee Pepsi Arena
JUL 11	Montreal, QC Bell Center
JUL 13	Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
JUL 14	Sarnia, ON Bayfest
JUL 16	Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
JUL 18	Detroit, MI DTE Music Theatre
JUL 19	Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Centre
JUL 24	Winnipeg, MB MTS Center
JUL 26	Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
JUL 27	Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
JUL 29	Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum
JUL 30	Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre
AUG 01	Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
AUG 03	San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
AUG 06	Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
AUG 09	Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
AUG 12	Albuquerque, NM Hard Rock Pavilion
AUG 13	Denver, CO Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
AUG 15	San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
AUG 17	Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
AUG 18	Houston, TX The Woodlands

Earlier this week, British metal greats Iron Maiden announced the North American dates of their Maiden England World Tour.

This 29-stop trek (with more dates to be announced) will mimic the live concert VHS Maiden England, shot in November 1988 when the band was touring on the album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The set list will likely include most or all of the following Maiden classics:

• Moonchild
• The Evil That Men Do
• The Prisoner
• Still Life
• Die With Your Boots On
• Infinite Dreams
• Killers
• Can I Play With Madness?
• Heaven Can Wait
• Wasted Years
• The Clairvoyant
• Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
• The Number Of The Beast
• Hallowed Be Thy Name
• Iron Maiden

Lead singer Bruce Dickinson commented in the press release, “Our intention is to play about two thirds of the original track list of Maiden England, including some songs we have not played live in a very, very long time.”

Shock rocker Alice Cooper will open for Maiden on all shows up to July 21, at which time he will separately tours Europe. After July 21, Maiden will be accompanied by Coheed and Cambria.

Tickets for most shows go on sale March 2 and 3. When possible, the band will sell paperless tickets to counter scalping efforts.

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Prime Shots: Iced Earth

ISO 1250 | f/2.8 | 1/500 | 35mm

Jacob Zinn

Stu Block, the new frontman of Iced Earth, pushes his vocal chords during the heavy metal band’s set at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on Valentine’s Day. The group is currently on a co-headlining tour with progressive metal pioneers Symphony X.

Review: Symphony X and Iced Earth share stage in Vancouver

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Stuff Your Dad Likes: Power Ballads

Jacob Zinn can’t give you fatherly advice, but he can eat your girlfriend’s Valentine’s Day candy.

You know it’s coming up soon. That one day per year when you’re either in love and affectionate or you’re lonely and miserable: Valentine’s Day.

With February the 14th approaching, couples young and old are giving each other flowers, planning romantic evenings and buying lubricant by the bottle. While you might be courting someone with chocolate and roses, your dad may’ve courted your mom with power ballads.

Extreme’s “More Than Words”. Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home”. Cinderella’s “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)”. The sole purpose of these songs was to get into women’s pants. Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” may be the sappiest, most cliché power ballad of the era, but it opened a lot of… opportunities.

There’s a good chance you might have been conceived to one of these songs.

However, odds are your dad had better taste in power ballads than the hair metal ones. Aerosmith’s “What It Takes” or “Angel” might’ve been rotating on his record player.

Or maybe he was more upfront with sexually explicit and implicit songs like Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” or AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”. Perhaps he traded Warrant’s “Heaven” for a slice of that sweet “Cherry Pie”. (Oh yeah!)

Either way, power ballads got him laid. He may not like power ballads, but the down-tempo, three-chord, lyricized high school love notes were saturated with just enough passion to bring star-crossed lovers together. And if your parents got married in the late ‘80s, you can bet someone requested “I’ll Be There for You” by Bon Jovi at their wedding.

Now that power ballads are often only played as joke songs at weddings and karaoke nights, they’re no longer the genre of choice for bedding mates.

But your dad doesn’t know that. If he digs out his crate of vinyl records from the basement, it might be to set the tone of the evening.

Whether or not you have a date on Valentine’s Day, I highly suggest that you make plans to go out and stay out past curfew until you’re certain both of your parents are asleep. You’ll thank me later.

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