The Face Melting Extravaganza or aka the Iron Maiden Concert

This week guys and gals I have brought you something special since it's the beginning of the season of ghouls and spooks...I found you a special spook that has been a famous mascot for years know as "Eddie"! This week I took a field trip to the heart of country music in Nashville, Tennessee at the Bridgestone Arena to watch the best metal I've ever seen in my life (and trust me I seen quite a few) the Iron Maiden show!

Now I'm sure you're asking yourself what about Megadeth since their name is up on that marquee too! Honestly I missed the entire Megadeth show which was the only opener that went on before Maiden and they hit the stage super early... and were completely done by 8:00 pm. I could kick myself for not getting to see them! Please don't make my mistake if you already have tickets for the tour get there early! I've seen Megadeth twice in the past and they are amazing so I repeat GET THERE EARLY!

 

Now back to the headliner Iron Maiden!

 

This band has been around as long as I've been alive! I can remember listening to the them when I was an angsty teenager and my "cares" would all seem to fade away back then...(haha what cares did we really have back then...no bills, no taxes, no psycho dates!) This tour the band didn't reinvent the wheel trying to create a new sound to keep up with the times, but instead they decided to do what they do great and present you with their best hits and perform the shit out of them! They played a lot of songs off of the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album and my cares of today were also melted away at the show! 

 

 

The stage show was equally as amazing as the musical show at this event! My pictures are kind of shotty due to the lighting and my quality of camera. Regardless of my photos there wasn't a bad seat in the house! When there was an explosion on stage or fire you felt it all the way up to the nose bleeds! The sound even though it was an arena venue was incredible all the way down to the most intricate tap on the guitar!

 

  

The Eddie's (yes that's plural) at the show got snuck throughout in all forms sometimes on the backdrop some in animatronic form. My personal favorite to watch was Bruce Dickinson (as I've always wanted to secretly front a metal band) throughout the show! This cat was the most agile front man I've ever seen on an arena sized stage! I could hardly catch him on film because he moved so fast from the top on the stage to the front monitors in the matter of seconds...at one time he was standing on the front monitors with his arms out to his side and pretended to fall forward straight bodied and stepped out of it and never missed a beat!

 

As you can barely seen in the above image Bruce is standing at the top of the built up portion of the stage above drummer Nicko McBrain. On the backdrop you may also get a little glimpse of Eddie.

 

 

This show the band really reached out and connected to their audience and played all of their crowd favorites such as "The Trooper" (my personal favorite), "Run to the Hills", and "2 Minutes to Midnight" along with other surprises! The music sounded as crisp as the recordings and there was no mistaking what song you were listening to throughout the show! Another thing that wow'd me was the total change of backdrop between every song a new mural was presented to reset the stage to capture the feel of each and every song. There were also so many people there that night and the comradery for the love of metal was something I haven't experienced in a long time!

 

 

 

This show definitely will leave you wanting more and then some as all of the performer were amazing which also included Steve Harris- bass Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers- guitars! Maybe at some point in the future I can snap a glimpse of Ed Force One to document as this band is still unparalleled by any modern rock band and their ingenuity keeps them moving forward!

 

Long Live Metal!

 

With all that said I'm leaving you with a Monster Tune of the week to set you back on the right track for your work week!

 

 

"The Trooper"

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uq6Ax-zzkQ

 

 

I strongly urge you to not miss this tour as you can see I'm still on cloud 9!

 

til next time dearies...sweet dreams- Kat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Elvis Week 2013

 

This week I put my usual horror film watching on hold to pay respect to the "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley! Even though Elvis was never in any horror flicks he still paved the path of my other love and that being "Rock and Roll". A young Presley got discovered in Memphis, TN by a lady named Marion Keisker who was the assistant to Sam Phillips at Sun Records. This brilliant woman saw the potential in the young Mr. Presley in which she influenced Mr. Phillips to let him record a couple of songs in the studio and one being his first big hit "That's all Right".

 

 

 

I'm sure as you all know after that hit was released the greatest star I believe history may have seen yet was born!

 

This past week from August 10th-18th Graceland kicked off it's annual "Elvis Week" 2013. This is the week Elvis fans from all over the world travel to Memphis to pay their respects in various events as well as a memorial service at Meditation Garden right next to his mansion. This year I myself visited a couple of sites and even got to see the final resting place of this remarkable individual.

 

This week I'm sharing with you my Elvis Week experience of Graceland 2013!

 

On the evening before Elvis was pronounced dead the candlelight vigil is held at the gates of Graceland with everyone who attends this week is present, and that's where my pictures begin.

 

The mansion

 His final resting place!

 

This is also a week where Elvis impersonator near and far gather to compete for the best performing impersonator title.

 

The performer in this pic is named Lady E who is surprisingly female and I'm disappointed that I didn't get a chance to see her perform.

 

This impersonators name is Travis Powell

 

 

The Plane "Lisa Marie"

 



 

Flight "Hound Dog One"

aboard the plane

 

Elvis's dressing area on the Lisa Marie

 

Shrines people made out on Elvis Presley Blvd.



 

That concludes my touring this week, but I'm certainly not going to let you leave empty handed as Elvis Week comes to a close this year. In tribute to "the King" we shall salute him with his favorite cocktail the "Blue Hawaii

 

 

 

 

 

First you'll want to grab a couple of these ingredients:

 

-Glass full of ice

-Vodka (I really like Kettle One)

-Rum (I used a dark rum but you may want to use a coconut flavored lighter rum)

-Blue Curacao (it's going to give the drink its color)

-Sweet and Sour mix ( I used limeade it's pretty similar)

-Pineapple juice (you really don't need but just a small amount)

Pineapple to garnish

 

 

First make sure your glass is filled to the rim with ice

Next add about a half ounce of each of your higher volume spirits (vodka and rum)

Next pour in your pineapple juice

Splash in sweet and sour mix to almost fill up your glass (leave about a half ounce worth of room)

Float about a half ounce of you curacao over the top and watch the color fall to the bottom

Lastly put your pineapple garnish on the side!

 

 

 Your finished product ought to look close to this!

 

Lastly saddle up to your favorite bar as we salute "The King" a warm farewell with your favorite Elvis tune playing!

 

 



 

RIP Elvis!

"Are you going to close the beaches"?

 

 

Hello to all you horror movie lovers! Sorry I've been on sabbatical this summer and haven't been able to catch up with things I love to do which is cooking and watching terror! Nevertheless I figured this was the week to get back at it and it's especially one of my favorite weeks of the summer "Shark Week"!

 

This week I've picked a predictable flick that is fitting to this week's theme...

 

 

 

This movie was the first of it's kind tapping into our inner psyche and reining in every one's deepest fear when we risk all by taking a dip into the ocean. This movie was first a novel written by Peter Benchley that a year later became a hit by the legendary Steven Spielberg in 1975. Even though this movie was made with a large animatronic shark that haunted Amity Island and not a real flesh eating behemoth it still tricks me to this day every time I see it! Another thing that took me for a spin in this movie was the simplicity of the era from the movie of the only form of communicating was a telephone connected to the wall and town meetings. Haha I don't believe I've ever been to a town meeting to get updates about my community. This movie  also was a vehicle of probably one of the most memorable movie scores in history...I can't remember the last time I swam in the ocean without the theme song from Jaws playing in my mind!

 

 

  

 

 

This week I've cooked up a simple bite to go along with our "dinner and a flick". As much I'm sure shark fin soup tastes delicious I can't cook one of these predators as they hold a small place in my heart to not be eaten...so instead of shark I prepared swordfish which kinda resembles the taste of shark a little bit minus the tougher texture.

 

All you need-

 

-swordfish steaks (up to as many people as you serve)

-a good marinade (I used a garlic infused olive oil with a hint of vinegar

-your favorite shake on seasoning

-butter or oil

-charcoal for the grill

 

First marinade your steaks in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (be sure to flip your steaks over halfway between the time if your marinade doesn't completely cover them up)

 

 

Once your steaks are marinated then remove your steaks to a new dish so and shake on your seasoning (be sure you shake it on both sides...nobody likes one sided flavored food!)

 

 

 

Next grill your steaks with a little extra oil or butter up to your favorite temperature from rare-well done!

 

 

 

I cooked mine close to medium...

 

 

 

Here is my finished meal ( I added a salad and risotto as my sides, but you can add whatever is clever!)

 

 

Now not to give the movie away for those of you who have lived in cave and never seen it, but I want you to notice what I find to be the real creepy element that unsettles me when I watch it. It's the lack of music throughout the film except obviously the theme song, but it's the songs that are sung by the actors that have a hauntingly morbid effect starting with the little boy sitting on the beach after the opening scene. Also my hero of this movie sadly gets eaten which is the mysterious Captain Quint... I've always been a huge fan of the underdog!

 

I hope you enjoy your dinner and your flick!

 

 

Lastly Happy "Shark Week" and sweet dreams!

 

 pin-ups by-Toy Robot Photography