Bob Dylan is getting old.  His voice, never the most pleasing or melodious to begin with, is now very raspy and hard to understand.  It is obvious too, that he no longer has the energy he once had.  However, Dylan, one of the greatest poets and songwriters of our time is not giving up yet.

I saw Dylan live last night at Starlight theatre here in Kansas City.  A long time fan of his work and enormous contributions to twentieth century music, I was very excited to see him perform — but I was not without my reservations.  I saw Dylan singing on TV a few years ago, and between his failing voice and his lack of energy, I was afraid he could no longer put on a show worth seeing.

However, Dylan surprised me.  Rather than doing what I thought I wanted, and what most of the crowd expected, Dylan did not spend his time on stage reciting all his old classics and pandering to his past.  Instead, he focused on his newer works, songs that much of the audience had not heard, and he put everything he had into them.  While at first I was disappointed, I was soon drawn in and bought the performance entirely.  I think Dylan put it best last night when he sang “Spirit on the Water” from his 2006 Album “Modern Times”:

You think I'm over the hill
You think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whopping good time

Order of the Phoenix is the darkest Harry Potter movie yet, especially in the sugar coated sadistic bureaucracy of new teacher Dolores Umbridge — one of several fantastic cast additions. Though much of the book got cut, fans of the previous movies will still likely love this one.

Last night I saw Rasputina in concert at the Record bar in the Westport area of Kansas City. A favorite band of mine, Rasputina has a very unique sound produced by a pair of electric Cellos and one drummer. The music has a classic rock/progressive feel, and in fact the band does a few excellent covers of Led Zeppelin and Heart. Though I love their music even off the stage, their live show is incredible. The two cellists dress in vintage clothing, sport very somber expressions throughout the performance, quip with snarky or eccentric commentary between songs, and play their instruments with a vigor and energy I have not seen in many performers. If you have not heard any music by this group, I highly recommend them.

Though Rasputina was the headliner, they were preceded by Alacartoona (and one other girl singer/songwriter which was not worth a mention) who describe themselves as a modern cabaret group. They put on a very energetic show and though I am not a big enough fan of the music to purchase their album, I would gladly attend any concert they are at for the quality of their live show.

Transformers is an action movie based on a series of toys and an 80s action cartoon, which should have been horrible. However, Michael Bay’s insanely beautiful special effects laden action sequences and the inclusion of enough humor to balance out the absurd plot make this a fantastically fun summer movie.

I just got back from my trip to Otaku Omaha last night, and while I will be posting photos and information about the con later, I thought I would make a quick post about the hotel the con was at.

Without a doubt the Carlisle Hotel (a Days Inn) is the worst hotel I have stayed at in a long time.  The hotel is obviously old judging from the architecture and decor and the state of repair and neatness of the hotel suggests that there has been no maintenance or cleaning done to the premises since it first opened.  The EPA should categorize the place as a Superfund site and seal it off for the betterment of all mankind.

Hit the jump for more info and some pics.

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