The director and writer/star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall reteam for the irreverent comedy The Five-Year Engagement. Beginning where most romantic comedies end, the new film from director Nicholas Stoller, producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Bridesmaids) and Rodney Rothman (Get Him to the Greek) looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle. The film was written by Segel and Stoller.

IN THEATERS APRIL 27TH. RATED R.

http://www.thefiveyearengagementmovie.com/

Can’t wait to see this one – has a stellar team and cast!

Love these guys. So bummed I had the flu when they played Shadow Lounge a few weeks back…sigh…

photo ©2009 geekstar.com

Cursive is currently touring the United States in support of their new album, I Am Gemini. The band will be playing at Mr. Smalls on Wednesday, March 28th with Cymbals Eat Guitars and Conduits.

I Am Gemini was recorded at Omaha’s ARC Studios and mixed at Red Room in Seattle, WA, with producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Minus The Bear, Isis).  The album tells the tale of Cassius and Pollock, twin brothers who were separated at birth. One good and one evil, their unexpected reunion in a house that is not a home ignites a classic struggle for the soul, played out with a cast of supporting characters that includes a chorus of angels and devils, and twin sisters conjoined at the head.

Recorded in the summer/fall of 2011 at Omaha, NE’s ARC Studios and mixed at Red Room in Seattle, WA with producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Minus The Bear, Isis), I Am Gemini marks the first time front man Tim Kasher, holding the completed story already in mind, wrote album lyrics in a linear fashion, in order, from song 1 to song 13.  The result is thirteen singularly cohesive song chapters that blend effortlessly into one unique narrative.

The moody and playfully sinister I Am Gemini is Cursive’s musically heaviest in years, with alternately muscular and angular guitars, pounding drums and driving bass. From the eerie introductory sounds of epic barnstormer “This House Alive” and the irresistibly catchy, insistent “The Sun and Moon”, to the searing “Double Dead” and the split personality prog-pop of “Twin Dragon/Hello Skeleton”, to the roaring, mournful closing track “Eulogy for No Name”, the album is a dynamic, mind-bending, and imaginative ride.

Cursive with guests Cymbals Eat Guitars and Conduits
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Mr. Smalls Theatre
Doors: 7pm, Music: 8pm | All Ages
Tix: $16 adv, $18 dos

Bittersweet is the word the Söderberg sisters prefer to describe their music. “We like bittersweet songs, songs that affect you differently depending on how you interpret them,” says Klara, the younger of the Swedish siblings that make up First Aid Kit. “Making the melodies and lyrics head in different directions is very deliberate,” adds big sister Johanna. “A song like ‘Emmylou’ sounds cheerful, but the lyrics are the saddest thing you ever heard.”

First Aid Kit recently released a video for “Emmylou”—the second single off their new album, The Lion’s Roar (via Wichita Recordings). The video, which was directed by Maximilla Lukacs, features sisters Klara and Johanna Soderberg as they wander through a rustic oasis of beautiful dust clouds, and sing to a blue-sky overhead.

Shot at Joshua Tree National Park in California, the dusty desert is the perfect landscape to accompany the song’s classical country affection. According to the Soderbergs, “Emmylou” is “a tribute to some of our favorite country musicians – Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, June Carter and Johnny Cash. It’s about the power of singing together with someone you love.”

First Aid Kit’s first US-recorded album, The Lion’s Roar, juxtaposes sadness and beauty in the best traditions of folk and country music. They even cite the Louvin Brothers’ cheerfully brutal version of the old murder ballad “Knoxville Girl” as the perfect example of the sweet and sour they adore. And this new carefully constructed collection deftly succeeds in setting references to their hometown of Stockholm and long, dark Scandinavian winters against a backdrop of country-rock swing.

Monster Haiku (book)  features artwork from “52 ills,” a weekly illustration blog created in 2009 by Rachel Arnold Sager, accompanied by haiku poetry by Will Rutherford. All of the proceeds from the project will benefit the March of Dimes, a national organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality.

“It’s been extremely rewarding to work on such a creative project that also gives back to the community,” said Josh Sager, founder of Second Block Studio, who happened to be born a month early. “When Will Rutherford was looking for visual inspiration for his haiku, teaming up with Rachel was a natural fit. Will’s poems are contemporary and easy to identify with. And they can be silly, just like Rachel’s artwork.”

“I’ve always loved writing haiku because there’s a challenge associated with conveying emotion in such a restricted format,” said Rutherford. “Also, getting to work with such a talented artist as Rachel on top of being able to give back to the community has been a pleasure from start to finish.”

Second Block Studio will also hold an event on April 13th, from 6pm to 9pm showcasing the Monster Haiku Project. Wildcard, located at 4209 Butler Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, will host an art show featuring Monster Haiku Vol. 1, as well as posters, cards, original paintings and selected prints from the book.

Monster Haiku
Friday, April 13
6-9 pm
Wildcard (4209 Butler Street, Pittsburgh)

Monster Haiku on Facebook and Twitter and on the web.

Gene The Werewolf
Bear Cub
Of An Empire

Friday, March 16 2012
REX Theatre (1602 E. Carson Street)
8:00 PM – All Ages

Iron City Sound, presented by Iron City Beer, presents Gene The Werewolf, Bear Cub, and Of An Empire this coming Friday night at the REX Theatre in Pittsburgh’s South Side. All three bands share Pittsburgh roots, although Bear Cub has since relocated to Nashville. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to see all three bands play together. Come experience why Pittsburgh’s burgeoning music scene is getting national attention.

Bear Cub: The Jinx

Of An Empire: What You Never Do

I pretty much freaked when I read on Twitter that Trampled by Turtles was coming back to Pittsburgh in April. I first saw the band at the Tractor Tavern while visiting an old Pittsburgh friend, James, in Seattle. We were on a blue grass rampage and had already seen seven blue grass bands play in a period of three days. James commented Trampled by Turtles was the best blue grass he had seen to date. I totally agree and still do.

The band beautifully plays the banjo, fiddle and mandolin. TBT is known for their ballads and twangy upbeat songs that get the crowd dancing and hollering. It got pretty rowdy when we saw them at The Tractor. I’m hoping the same happens at Smalls.

Paste Magazine names Trampled by Turtles one of the top 25 acts to see live in 2011.

Trampled by Turtles
Saturday, April 14
Mr. Smalls, Millvale
Concert Info Here

Just for fun…

Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston star in Wanderlust, a raucous comedy from director David Wain (Role Models) and producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) about a couple who leaves the pressures of the big city and joins a freewheeling community where the only rule is to be yourself.

George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) are an overextended, stressed out Manhattan couple. After George is downsized out of his job, they find themselves with only one option: to move in with George’s awful brother in Atlanta.

On the way there, George and Linda stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by colorful characters who embrace a different way of looking at things. Money? It can’t buy happiness. Careers? Who needs them? Clothes? Only if you want them.

Is Elysium the fresh start George and Linda need? Or will the change of perspective cause more problems than it solves?

SNEAK PREVIEW SCREENING

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 7:30 PM
AMC Loews Waterfront
West Homestead, PA 15120

GET SNEAK PREVIEW PASSES (EACH ONE ADMITS TWO PEOPLE)

Geekstar.com has a limited amount of passes. Leave a comment on this post about why you want to see this movie. Winners will be notified via email.

NOTE: One pass per winning household only and per IP address. Please ask your friends to comment from their computers if they want to win tickets, i.e. don’t comment using multiple email addresses. This way everyone has a fair chance to win tickets. Thank you for your cooperation.

Help bring the Decentralized Dance Party to Pittsburgh!

http://kck.st/rX5xOv

What is DDP?
The Decentralized Dance Party (DDP) is a portable, battery-powered Party System. It consists of hundreds of Party people, carrying boomboxes, and a DJ who wears a backpack, containing an FM transmitter. All the boomboxes are tuned into the DJ’s master FM broadcast, resulting in a mobile, synchronized sound system!

This Portable Dance Party roams the night, generating complete awesomeness, street by street and block by block, onto buses and subways, into public fountains and beyond. Inevitably interfacing with the public, together we create an infectious epidemic of fun. A Roaming Party Adventure that lasts all night long!

More than a Party, the DDP has proven to be a very interesting social experiment; clearly demonstrating that thousands of people of all ages, cultures and social groups can come together to celebrate life and get crazy in our public spaces without causing any trouble. That is why the DDP is also known as “The Party Revolution”. It is a unique force that has the power to unify and inspire people in ways never before imagined.

When is DDP Pittsburgh?
Friday, April 27 at 8 PM with location to be announced!!
CLICK TO VIEW THE FACEBOOK EVENT

BUT THE PARTY WON’T HAPPEN IF WE DON’T REACH OUR KICKSTARTER GOAL by Feb.10th!

GIVE A DOLLA (or more) THROUGH KICKSTARTER:

http://kck.st/rX5xOv

We are at $727 dollars and need to raise $1000 to make it happen! Only 6 more days left! If everyone, gives at least a dolla, we will make it happen!

THE THEME:
This is the Strictly Business Tour. That means you MUST wear Business Attire (suits, ties, cufflinks, glasses, nice shoes, sexy skirts, gel that hair, etc) and bring along as much business paraphernalia as possible (wheeled office chairs, briefcases, rolodexes, calculators, coffee machines+mugs, water coolers, filing cabinets, etc. get Creative and get Crazy). You can buy suits at Value Village and Salvation Army for like $10 so NO EXCUSES!

Give a dolla on Kickstarter Geekstar friends! Give $20 and score a sweet Fanny Pack of AWESOMENESS!

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