Month: October 2023 (Page 3 of 4)

We are creeping toward Halloween, and we have a few early-spooky events sprinkled in among the fall festivals and other cool things for you to get into around the Mountain State and a few points beyond. As I have been doing of late, this a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.

VoidCon happens this weekend at the DoubleTree Hotel on 3rd Avenue in Huntington.  This con is dedicated to the underground horror community and independent creators. Guests include Brian Keene, author of The Rising, Terminal, Ghoul and more; Mary SanGiovanni, author Alien: Enemy of My Enemy, Beyond the Gate, and more; underground filmmaker, Scooter McCrea; Kerry St. Laurent and much, much more. Plus Gringo Fantastico of TromaNow’s Fantastico Disasterpiece Theater will be filming a special LIVE screening of the classic Troma SOV flick REDNECK ZOMBIES! It kicks off at 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday, and you can find more info HERE.

Saturday at noon, the first annual Freedom Car Show happens at Haddad Riverfront Park. The Freedom Car Show features vehicles that have been modified with adaptive equipment to help people with disabilities be mobile. You can expect to see vehicle related vendors, first responders, food vendors, live music, and  trophies. You’ll be able to see cars that have been modified in ways you’ve never seen before.

The purpose of the car show is to educate first responders and the public, provide awareness, and raise money to help people with disabilities get the vehicle modifications they need to be mobile.

There are currently 28 people with disabilities on the wait list for accessible vehicle equipment totaling approximately $178,400. The goal of this event is to clear the wait visit and get these people mobile. The show is open to cool cars of all kinds.  Music will be provided by The Amos Steele Co., Travis Ranson and The Honey Bees, and that will start at 1:30 PM.

October 13 to 15 sees the Hinton Railroad Days, as the historic WV town (and lovely Amtrak stop) celebrates its railroad heritage with a big festival and lots of music, as you can see here…

Friday from 7:30 PM to 9 PM Children’s Home Society sponsors a showing of the Vincent Price classic, House on Haunted Hill at The Alban Arts Center in Saint Albans, WV.  Admssion is free with a non-perishable food donation. See the graphics block below for another cool film event at The Alban on Saturday.

Sunday From 4 PM to 7 PM at Chesapeke Town Hall, Lady D hosts the premiere of the 3rd installment of her video series, “Those Who Came Before” celebrating W.Va’s Black music makers and culture bearers. This episode features, Osage, WV native and singer, Al Anderson, The Gospel Family Affair and Multi-fest founder, Stephen Starks.

Live music will be provided by songstress, Angie Richardson and a panel discussion on the importance of “Keeping Our History Alive” will follow the video. Heavy hors d’oerves will be served. Admission – $5.00 at the door

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.  Friday Emily Burdette takes the stage. Saturday Brandon Costello performs at the beloved bookstore/cafe/art gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this week  to tell you about.  Thursday at 5:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin return with Swing for a good cause. Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour.  Friday at 10 PM YAWNi is slated to appear, YAWNi is a femme-grunge-punk with yallternative country sensibilities from Asheville, NC.  We have graphics below for the rest of the weekend shows at The Glass.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, pumpkin spice murder hornets, really heavy falling leaves, tiny squirrels with human heads and hands and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order, after the jump…

Continue reading

Monday night, I got to see Ringo Starr perform in Charleston.  It’s something I never thought I’d be able to do. I had my doubts that I’d ever see a Beatle perform live. The show was fantastic, and I will be talking about it for years. Tuesday morning, riding this musical high, it was my job to assemble the one-hundredth episode of Beatles Blast.

Serendipity and Euphoria.

I invite you to tune in Wednesday afternoon, as The AIR brings you a very special episode of Beatles Blast.  You can tune in at the website, or just stay right here and  listen to the convenient embedded radio player lurking elsewhere on this page.

At 2 PM (EDT) Beatles Blast brings you an hour that celebrates the euphoria that the music of The Beatles instills in the folks who choose to listen. I didn’t set out to do a huge milestone theme show, instead preferring to bring you a collection of solo tracks by The Beatles and a selection of other artists covering their tunes. In fact, this episode of the show doesn’t include any music by The Beatles as a group.

We do have one live track from each Beatle, performing a group song, but we also have some of the most upbeat solo tracks that they released. We also have a set of female vocalists singing Beatle songs, and a set of diverse and eclectic covers in a variety of styles.

Check out the playlist:

Beatles Blast 100

Ringo Starr and The All-Starr Band “With A Little Help From My Friends”
Paul McCartney “Hello Goodbye”
John Lennon “Come Together”
George Harrison “If I Needed Someone”
Tina Turner “Get Back”
Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet “And Your Bird Can Sing”
Lulu “Day Tripper”
Alison Moorer “Here Comes The Sun”
Mick Kolassa & Mark Telesca “You Can’t Do That”
Nellie McKay “If I Needed Someone”
The String Quartet “Penny Lane”
The Pixies “Wild Honey Pie”
John Lennon “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”
George Harrison “My Sweet Lord”
Paul McCartney “Coming Up”
Ringo Starr “It Don’t Come Easy”

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 11 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday afternoon.

Back to Ringo and his All-Starr Band: The show Monday night was awesome. An incredible collection of top-notch musicians from around the world came together and just had fun delivering hit songs to a loving audience.

I’m almost at a loss for words myself. As a life-long Beatles fan living in a state where no member of the band had ever performed, I’m still finding it hard to believe that I really got see Ringo perform.  And having fourth-row seats meant that I was probably just thirty or forty feet away from the musical legend. The night was nearly perfect. We got there early. The seat in front of me was empty so I could sit down and enjoy the show without wearing out my ailing knee. The performances were just amazing.

I had made the decision weeks ago that I was not going to spend the evening with my phone in my hand trying to take photos. With my Myasthenia Gravis and phones not being terribly ergnomically-shaped, most of my phone photos suck. So I snapped a few blurry shots, took about a minute of video, and stuck the camera in my pocket for the rest of the night. I can’t explain how happy I am that I did that. I actually got to enjoy the music.

At some point they’ll probably release a Blu ray of one of the dates on this tour, and I’ll get that when it comes out.

The only blight on the evening was the horrible woman in seat nine, row three, who despite the repeated announcements, insisted on vaping throughout the first half of the show. I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she was extremely drunk and thought she was at a performance of Beetlejuice. I don’t know if she was making out with her date, because I wasn’t looking her way most of the night. I can avert my eyes, but not my nose.

Ringo’s band, all of whom are stars in their own right, were charming and hilarious when they took the mic for intros.  Edgar Winter, in particular was part carnival barker, part Rick Wakeman on a bender, and helped make the show tons of fun. Ringo, being Ringo, had no problems sharing the spotlight, and every member of the band had their chance to shine, whether they were singing one of their big hits, or just showing off an incredible level of virtuosity.

Edgar Winter handled lead vocals on a couple of songs, and treated the crowd to an epic rendition of “Frankenstein,” in which he not only played synthesizer, saxophone and drums, but also stepped aside to let Greg Bissonette fire off a nuclear drum solo.  Steve Lukather steered the band and sang lead on three hits by Toto.  He also ripped loose with a guitar solo so hot that a guitar tech ran out on stage right after and carried the guitar offstage, probably to dunk it in a tank of water to cool it off.

Hamish Stuart played bass most of the night (trading off with Lukather a couple of times) and sang lead on a couple of AWB songs, plus an Isley Brothers classic. Colin Hay delivered three classic Men At Work numbers.  Special note has to be made of Warren Ham, the utility man who handled vocals, percussion, harmonica, saxophone, English horn, keyboards and whatever other instruments he had tucked away on his riser. I think he might’ve had a cello and a slow cooker up there.

It was a night that I will remember the rest of my life. This show was pretty much Mel’s birthday gift to me (my birthday was back in August, but that’s when she got the tickets), and this was obstensibly a “Rudy thing,” but…after it ended, Mel looked at me, beaming, and said, “I want to see them again!”

I hope we get the chance.

It’s a joyous week on The AIR and that means it’s time for a new  Radio Free Charleston and a new edition of The Swing Shift on Tuesday! You simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.  

You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with tons of replays throughout the week.  This week we have three full hours of glorious free-format radio with lots of local acts mixed in with independent artists from around the world and a few classic tracks from major artists, just to keep you on your toes.

We open with a newly-remixed song from the legendary first group that Todd Burge was in. He’s retooled a 1980s album by his legendary first band, 63 Eyes.

We also feature new releases from Hello June, Trevor Rabin, The Anchoress, The Paranoid Style, Guitarmy of One, Klaus Nomi, Sgt. Van and the Highway Dogs, Duck City Music, Sideshow Villians, Buni Muni and more.

Sideshow Villains come to us courtesy of our friends in Chicago and they have a big show coming up on October 22.  It’s Sideshow Villains’ Deviant Cabaret as the band and their nefarious friends will be performing live in Chicago on Sunday, October 22nd at 6 PM at the ALHAMBRA PALACE Restaurant Main Hall, 1240 W Randolph St, Chicago. If you are in the area, stop by and indulge in the deviated spectacle.

As usual, our show is all over the map, musically, with new music, old music, local acts, independent acts, former Beatles and more. It’s three hours of quality music, crammed into three hours!

Check out the playlist below to see all the goodies we have in store. Live links will take you to the local and indie artist’s pages (where possible)  so you can find out more about them, buy their music and find out where to see them perform live…

RFC V5 149

hour one
63 Eyes. “9th Grade Child”
Hello June “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
Astrodot “Damage Over Time”
Trevor Rabin “Oklahoma”
Roger Waters “Breathe”
The Anchoress “Enjoy The Silence”
William Matheny “Bird of Youth”
The Paranoid Style “I Love The Sound of Structured Class”
Jerks “M.I.A.”
Guitarmy of One “Kolchak Meets The Sea Mobster”
Matt Mullins and The Bringdowns “Hoot Owl Blues”
John Entwistle “Drowning”
Ann Magnuson “This Nothing Life”
Duck City Music x CHJ x NdaKut X DiagNosis “In My Veins” ft. DoItAll, Duke Johnson

hour two
Todd Burge “Don’t Listen To This Song”
Denny Laine “Go Now”
Brian Diller “Last Goodbyes”
Sean Richardson “Cerulean”
The Wearing Hands “This Box of Mine”
Milla Jovovich “Bang Your Head”
The Rolling Stones & Lady Gaga “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”
Klaus Nomi “Nomi Song (Vince Clarke Remix)”
New Dance Orchestra “Rainbow’s End”
Buni Muni “Paper Doll”
Galen and Paul “Mi Camino”
Steven Wilson “The Harmony Codex”
Puddles Pity Party “Everybody Hurts”

hour three
Sideshow Villains “Suitcases”
Miniature Giant “Circlejerk”
Suicide “Rocket USA”
Red Audio  “Robotomy”
Payback’s a Bitch “The Devil’s Advocate”
Kerosene Stars “Single Self”
The Konks “TV’s Killing Me”
The English Beat “Twist And Crawl”
YES “Don’t KIll The Whales”
The Pixies “Monkey Gone To Heaven”
Golden “Defeated”
Paul McCartney “Slidin'”
Hellblinki “Sanjula’s Junk”
Sgt. Van and the Highway Dogs “Things That Smell Like Fish”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight,  and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM we offer up a brand-new episode of The Swing Shift. This we bring you a mixtape without a cause. It’s a random, yet exquisitely-curated collection of Swing Music from the last century that jumps and jives and hops out with a few surprises.

Check out the playlist…

The Swing Shift 149

Quincy Jones “Boogie Stop Shuffle”
Joe Jackson “He’s A Shape In A Drape”
Fletcher Henderson “King Porter Stomp”
Duke Ellington “Stepping Into Swing Society”
Adrian Raso ” Beelzebaby Swing”
Swingaria “Dirty Club”
Don Redman “Reefer Man”
Dinah Washington “Big Long Slidin’ Thing”
Woody Herman “Woodchopper’s Ball”
Lavern Baker “St. Louis Blues”
Casa Loma Orchestra “Limehouse Blues”
Louis Jordan “Run Joe!”
Raphael Fays “Menilmontant”
Marvin Gaye “My Kind Of Town”
Mickey Jupp “Some People Can’t Dance”
Misty Blues “This Life We Live”
Nina Simone “My Baby Just Cares For Me”
Paul Carrack “I’ll Always Be In Love With You”
Jimmie Lunceford “What’s This Thing Called Swing”

You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.

This week’s art is a smallish pastel crayon drawing (with acrylic highlights) on paper for pens of a large planter I saw on the streets of Chicago during our most recent visit. This was just an exercise in getting my fingers working a few weeks ago, and I decided to finish it up the other day for use here. There’s nothing deep about it, just practicing my technique.

I did have to slip a piece of acetate in between it and the scanner, and did a little post-scanning color correction to make up for that. I probably should have called it “street planter,” but that didn’t sound as poetic.

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Over in radioland, Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you encores of a recent episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM a recent edition of Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM. You can hear two classic episodes of the show Sunday at 2 PM.

At 8 PM you can hear an hour of the weirdly funny music of Barnes & Barnes on last week’s episode of The Comedy Vault.

Tonight at 9 PM the Monday Marathon presents ten hours of Beatles Blast because, in case you haven’t heard, RINGO’S IN CHARLESTON MONDAY NIGHT AND I’M GOING TO GO SEE HIM, plus, it’s John Lennon’s birthday!

Monday night Ringo Starr brings his All-Starr Band to Charleston, and I think this is the first time that any Beatle has ever performed in West Virginia.

I’ll be there, and as a life-long Beatles Freak, I’m really excited.

So, as a bit of a preview, above you see a concert by Ringo’s All-Starr Band from twenty years ago. It’s not the same line-up we’ll get Monday, but we will get to see Ringo and Colin Hay. This version of the Band also includes John Waite, Paul Carrack, Sheila E. and Mark Rivera.

The song line up in this video:

01 It Don’t Come Easy
02 Honey Don’t
03 How Long
04 Down Under
05 When I See You Smile
06 Love Bizarre
07 I Wanna Be Your Man
08 Yellow Submarine
09 Living Years
10 Who Can It Be Now
11 Missing You
12 Glamorous Life
13 Don’t Pass Me By
14 Boys
15 With A Little Help From My Friends

This ought to whet your appetite. Peace & Love, everybody.

Radio Free Charleston 47, “Ted Petty Shirt” is back for another play. This July 2008 edition of the show brings you music from The Diablo Blues Band and Mark Bates and The Vacancies. We also have a taste of episode 48’s tribute to Quick And Dirty’s late lead singer, Randy Lee Walden and animation from Frank Panucci.

The Diablo Blues Band had a one-off reunion last week to raise money to buy a tombstone for their late drummer, Tommy Fontaine, who can be seen in this show.  Mark Bates, in the years since this performance, has become a member of The Carpenter Ants.

You can find the original production notes HERE.

The PopCulteer
October 6, 2023

While I have covered a lot of toy shows in 2023, I have not really done many in-depth reviews or had much in the way of news on cool new toys here in PopCult. I intend to do better, and there’s no better time to start than now.

So today The PopCult Toybox returns with one photo review, one toy/comics Kickstarter plug and the long-awaited return of Cheesy Toy Knockoff.

So let’s Dig in, shall we…

The Member’s Mark Elite Adventure Corps 4-Action Figure Pack
Exclusive to Sam’s Club
$19.99

Lanard Toys has been a bit of a phantom presence in the toy aisles of late. They produced toys based on a few movie properties that Walmart procured th elicenses to a few years ago, and they have a very “Jurassic” line of figures vs. dinosaurs sets that turns up at various offbeat retailers, but their signature lines, The C.O.R.P.S. and its 12″ counterpart, Ultra C.O.R.P.S have been largely absent from store shelves for quite some time.

Even their website hasn’t been updated for almost two years, and I’m a big fan of this company, so it was a relief to finally see something new from them turn up.

Sold under the Sam’s Club brand, Members Mark, this is a set of four 11.5″ action figures: An Outdoor Explorer; An Airborne Ranger; A Fire Fighter; and A Space Explorer.

Honestly, they had me at the Space Explorer. I’m old enough to have grown up with Major Matt Mason and Billy Blastoff, and as soon as I saw photos of this set turn up on social media, I knew I wanted it.

The figures themselves are typical of current 1/6 scale action figures aimed at kids. They have eleven points of articulation, molded-on clothes, and not a great range of motion. They are poseable and have lots of play value for kids, but they also have a lot of customizing potential for adult hobbyists who are willing to be creative.

The headsculpts appear to be exisiting sculpts that Lanard has been using for over twenty years on their Ultra C.O.R.P.S figures (although they could be new sculpts by the same designers). The bodies are hollow with limited articulation, and painted-on detail. Being hollow, they don’t have much heft to them. They’re very light, but seem sturdy enough for kids. Some of the figures have very loose joints, particularly in the elbows.

The headsculpts are good, but have been used before. The paint detail ranges from really nice and tight on the Space Explorer to a bit sloppy on the Outdoor Explorer. None of the figures have paint detail on the back.

All four figures have gloved, gripping hands which are sturdy and flexible. Each figure also comes with headgear or a helmet, three of which have working visors.

And there are accessories. Each figure gets three or four accessories, which are wrapped in tissue paper, tucked away in a small box in the middle of the packaging, and they are decent, if not remarkable.

The Outdoor Adventurer appears to be a Mountain Climbing rescue guy. Curiously enough, two of his four accessories, an angled flashlight and a walkie-talkie, are also painted on his vest. He also comes with a pocket knife and a pick axe. He’s a brightly-colored figure. His climbing helmet does not fit his headsculpt very well. He comes with molded, spiky hair and it’d work better on a guy with a buzz cut.

The Airborne Ranger comes with a pilot’s helmet AND a headset with a microphone. He can’t wear both at the same time. He also has a walkie talkie (same mold) and a Bowie knife. His flight suit is military green, with yellow webgear painted on. That helmet is worth another look.

This is the most military-looking figure of the lot, and his helmet is really cool and fits well. It might work on other companies’ figures if you try. This is also a good place to know that there’s some nice diversity at play in this set. Two of the figures are White, and two are Black.

The Fire Fighter comes in a tan fireman’s outfit and has appropriate headgear, with a visor. He comes with an axe, a pry bar and some kind of Jaws of Life type tool.

The Space Explorer comes with a really cool helmet that click-fits onto the body and has a working visor. He also has three space-tools: a space pick, some kind of grabbing tool, and either an oxygen tank or a laptop. It appears to be up to your imagination. He’s why I got this set, and I’m very pleased. The world needs more 1/6 scale astronauts.

For the price, this is a really good deal. Five bucks a pop for a 1/6 scale figure with way better articulation that the Marvel Titan Series is great, and the fact that they have accessories is gravy.

To be honest, I would’ve grabbed a set if they were all four astronauts, and the idea of them doing different colored space suits, like they had in 2001: A Space Odyssey, is really appealing, but it’s probably an easier sell to have a sort of “Adventure Team” with four totally different figures.

This set is listed at the Sam’s Club website, but at least for me, it cannot be ordered online. However, they did have a pretty healthy supply at the local store the last time I was there.

Please don’t ask me to pick one up and send it to you. It’s in a huge package, and the postage would probably double the price, and if I run around picking up toys to mail out I’ll never get around to writing reviews on the medium-sized mountain of toys I’ve acquired so far this year.

The Member’s Mark Elite Adventure Corps 4-Action Figure Pack is NOT a high-end collectible for adults. It’s a nicely-priced kid’s toy that may appeal to some adult collectors who aren’t obsessive about detail, accuracy or articulation.

GHOST Agents/Metropolis and the Max Almond Action Figure

Okay, this Kickstarter Alert is not only about an action figure. It’s about a really cool treasury-sized comic book project AND an action figure of one of the main characters, which will be made using the Super Joe Unlimited body. Plus it involves a classic movie!

I met Rocko Jerome, the writer/producer of GHOST Agents at Kentuckiana last July, and I was knocked out by his cool comic book project. Coincidentally, that’s also where I met Jason from White Elephant Toyz, who will be producing the figure, so you know it’ll be high-quality.

As the PR says, “Published by Cosmic Lion Productions, GHOST Agents is an art-forward anthology series made up of short, self-contained pieces; where every story exists in the same world, and characters reoccur throughout the centuries spanning narrative. If you read it all, a rich overarching storyline will emerge, but you aren’t required to do that, and readers are encouraged to dip in as they please.”

It’s got terrific art, great shorter-length stories and it’s printed on newsprint in an oversized format, which is near and dear to my heart.

And with this newest edition, they plan to up the ante by including an adaptation of Fritz Lang’s now-public-domain classic film, Metropolis, which will be integrated into the GHOST Agents universe.

Check out the trailer…

And read these paragraphs, liberally-quoted from the Kickstarter page…

As with previous releases, this latest volume comes in the iconic treasury-sized format on newsprint paper – measuring a whopping 8.7 x 13.3 inches! Fans who are new to the series can pick up the earlier volumes (Apocalyptico and Crimson Reckoning) as add-ons to the campaign, in addition to exploring a whole host of new tiers and unique offerings that will suit all tastes and budgets.

“One of the most exciting things about this new campaign – other than the introduction of Metropolis – is the debut of our very first GHOST Agents action figure in collaboration with Super Joe,” adds Jerome. “This 9-inch depiction of Max Almond: Agent X-44 explodes onto the scene with wild, fully poseable energy. Will he battle your other toys… or seduce them? YOU DECIDE!”

I’ve been trying to cut back on the number of Kickstarter campaigns I support, but THEY KEEP DRAGGING ME BACK IN. You can find out all about this project HERE.

Max Almond: Cool spy action figure. The next-best thing to astronauts!

Marvel’s Dark Knockoff Knight Returns

Longtime PopCult readers may remember that, more than a quarter-century ago, way before blogs were even a thing, I wrote an action figure column for the much-missed Toy Trader Magazine. My favorite part of writing that column was the Cheesy Knockoff of the Month.  I’ve covered a few knockoffs here in PopCult, but I’ve fallen behind a bit. However,  I saw this absolute winner at a local retailer who shall remain nameless because I don’t want to get them in any trouble. It’s a bootleg toy, made by a nameless Chinese company without clearing the proper copyrights, and then illegally brought into the country and sold to unsuspecting (or uncaring) discount retailers.

And I eat up crap like this with a giant grin and a big ‘ole wooden spoon. Now, you may be asking yourself how I know that this is a bootleg toy.

Well…just look at it.

It’s an action figure and child-sized mask of that famed member of The Avengers, Batman.

You remember The Avengers in the Infinity War movie, right? Thor, The Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Batman!

So, that was a bit of a dead giveaway. In case you never read comic books, Batman is published by DC Comics, while The Avengers are published by Marvel, and in the movies, barring something amazing happening, never the twain shall meet.

let’s look at the back of the package…

As you can see, Superman, Spider-man and Thanos are also apparently in The Avengers. Looking at some stuff like this online, I discovered that there are also sets with The Flash and Aquaman. “Different Experiences” indeed!

The figure itself is about ten inches tall. Here it is next to the Lanard Space Explorer so you can see how tall he is, and also how teensy his little head is…

I should also point out that the joints on this figure are looser than a marionette. Another reason he’s standing next to the Space Explorer is because he can’t stand up on his own.

The box promises light and sound features. There are no sound features. If you push a button on his back (under the nylon cape), a little red diode on his chest lights up. This is not something that Batman really does, but it is a special feature on many craptastic action figures sold in exotic and far away “everything’s a dollar” stores.

The few paint ops are slapped on in an amusingly sloppy manner, and for some reason, Batman’s eyes are red.

Hmmm…his eyes are red and he can’t stand up.

Go home Batman, you’re drunk.

Adding to the peculiarity of this cheesy knockoff are the hands, which are shaped like they’re meant to hold a pole or something, but aren’t flexible, and don’t really even look human. Also, the seams on this figure barely meet, and it’s held together with screws. No sonic welding or glue for this sucker.

One last bit of fine cheesiness is Batman’s famed utility belt. Not only is it a paper sticker…it only goes half-way around him, just enough so you can see it from the front.

I’m not gonna tell you where I found this unpolished gem of a turd, because you don’t need it. I paid too much for it. So basically I took a bullet for you guys.

You’re welcome.

And that is the return of The PopCult Toybox in this week’s PopCulteer. Check back for fresh content every day, and all our regular features.

This is a first for PopCult. In the eighteen-plus years that I’ve been writing this blog, I don’t think I’ve ever plugged an audiobook before. I don’t really listen to them because I’m not driving long distances that frequently, and I can’t listen to them while I write because I tend to just transcribe what I’m hearing instead of writing my own words.

But I made time to listen to the new Audible Audiobook presentation of Anita O’Day’s 1981 autobiography, High Times Hard Times, (written with George Eells) because not only is it an unabridged recording of a book that should appeal to any regular listener of The Swing Shift (one of the shows I host on The AIR ), but it’s also read by my artistic hero, Charleston’s own Ann Magnuson.

Anita O’Day was a legendary singer who began her career in the heyday of the Big Band Swing era, singing with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton before outlasting Swing and becoming a highly-respected Jazz vocalist, admired for her uncanny sense of rhythm and her outspoken views. She lived the life of a Jazz musician with wild musical adventures, drug abuse and brushes with the law, and she laid it all out in this book.

The early part of the book reads like an oral history of the Big Band era, with O’Day encountering a “Who’s Who” of the days of Swing.  Then the story veers into tales of drug addiction, near-death experiences and a triumphant comeback.

Ann does a terrific job giving voice to O’Day’s story, and she quickly inhabits the role. You get lost listening to O’Day’s story told in her own words, and forget that she’s not reading them herself.

Ann’s reading of High Times Hard Times is an Audible book, which means that it might be less expensive to sign up for a trial membership than it would be to buy it as a non-member. As someone who has only listened to three or four audiobooks in my life, it seemed like an odd thing to do, but since I’ve got Prime, I was able to get a free trial (I just need to remember to cancel before the trial is over).

I have to admit that I hate the Audible experience since I NEVER listen to anything on my phone, and the PC interface is a bit wonky to figure out at first. But it was worth going through all the hassle to hear this book.

If Audible sold hard copies, I’d be holding off on this until The PopCult Gift Guide, but they don’t, so it only exists as a digital file. If you want to hear Ann’s reading of this remarkable book, you can find High Times Hard Times  HERE. Highly recommended for fans of Anita O’Day and Ann Magnuson (and folks like me who are fans of both).

Here we are, heartily enveloped in Fall, and we have hit Fall Festival season, with tons of cool shenanigans to get into around the Mountain State and a few points beyond. As I have been doing of late, this a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.

In Charleston, Tsubasacon, West Virginia’s Anime, Gaming, and Cosplay Convention. begins Friday and runs through the weekend the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center. Tsubasacon is West Virginia’s first Anime, Gaming and Cosplay convention.  Originally founded in 2004 in Charleston, the convention switched hands a couple years later, moving to the Big Sandy Superstore Arena and Conference Center, where it spent quite a few years bringing anime, gaming and cosplay once a year to the residents of Huntington.  In 2019, Tsubasacon returned to Charleston, and brought with it 2,000+ attendees to celebrate the weekend with anime, gaming, pop culture and of course, cosplay. It’s The Mountain State’s fandom Utopia.

Milton’s famed Pumpkin Festival begins Thursday and runs throughout the weekend, and if the idea of pumpkinry excites you, get thee to Milton, where they celebrate such things. I suppose that it’s The Mountain State’s Pumpkin Utopia.

At Tamarack Marketplace, in Beckley, it’s time for their Fallfest, which sports a stellar lineup of local musicians from right here in Appalachia. The fun starts at noon, Saturday.  It’s all free and a lot of the names on the performer list should be familiar to listeners of Radio Free Charleston:

LIVE MUSIC LINEUP
Main Stage:
12 – 1 PM: Bad Keys of the Mountain
1 – 2 PM: Jared Stout
2 – 3 PM: Alabaster Boxer
3 – 4 PM: One Eyed Jack
4 – 5 PM: Matt Mullins & the Bringdowns
5 – 6 PM: Redline Band

Courtyard Stage:
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Randy Gilkey
1:30 – 2:30 PM: Ginger Wixx
2:30 – 3:30 PM: Andrew Adkins
3:30 – 4:30 PM: 18 Strings
4:30 – 5:30 PM: The Carpenter Ants

These are outdoor shows, so bring a lawn chair and dress accordingly.

Saturday at 11 AM in Princeton, celebrate the birthday of The Princeton Railroad Museum. There will be free birthday cake/cupcakes and drinks. At 2 PM you can see a play by Bramwell Players titled Dusk to Dawn. Be warned that there will be an appearance by Abraham Lincoln and Seltoee, a Native American.

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.  Friday Steve Himes takes the stage. Saturday a sterling talent, yet to be determined performs at the beloved bookstore/cafe/art gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this week  to tell you about.  Thursday at 5:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin return with Swing for a good cause. Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour.  We have graphics below for the rest of the weekend shows at The Glass.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, wayward motions to remove, rabid attack fleas, Pumpkin Spice Zombies and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order…

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Continue reading

Tuesday on The AIR  we offer up a bit of a  patchwork edition of Radio Free Charleston. The fates conspired to rob me of my normal production time for the show on Monday, so I decided to punt, and re-present three hours of fantastic local music from five years ago in the form of three long-unheard episodes of Radio Free Charleston Volume Four.

We’re going back to October, 2018 to splice togther a show that’s jam-packed with three hours of great local stuff. You simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay on this page, and  listen to the cool embedded player over at the top of the right column.

At 10 AM and 10 PM you can hear this combination of RFC volume 4, episodes 90, 91 and 92.  Thats three consecutive episodes from the fall of 2018, which seems sort of like a lifetime ago, don’t it?

Due to time constraints, I can’t do the live links for this show, either. While this is a great collection of music, you’re only getting it because Monday was such a beeyotch.

Check out this playlist.

RFCV5 148

hour one
Karen Allen “Satellite”
William Matheny “Blood Moon Singer”
Mark Beckner “Proverbs”
Stonebeard “Time”
Tom Rader “Angels”
Half Batch “Either Way”
Todd Burge “Don’t Water My Whiskey Down”
Mind Garage “Paint It Black”
Holly and The Guy “Love Runs Out”
Axis Everything “Stymie”
Poor Man’s Gravy “Let Me Go”
Speedsuit “Forever, Never Mind”
Jay Parade “Jimmy”
The Stars Revolt “Goodnight, Goodnight”

hour two
William Matheny “Moon Over Kenova”
Jim Wolfe “The Goober Special”
Atomic Cafe “The Trax”
Blue Million “Everything Inside Out”
Brian Diller and the Ride “Don’t Stop at Anything”
Sasha Colette, John Lilly and Jonathan Glen Wood “Walking Cane”
Hitchcock Circus “I Want You”
Karen Allen “Shake Me”
From The Future “For Jaco”
Io and the Ions “There’s a Light”
Trielement “Seven Dirty Words”
Stephen Beckner “Falling Star”
Paul Calicoat “Trampled Flowers”

hour three
The Stars Revolt “All For Show”
Go Van Gogh “I Am The Walrus”
Miniature Giant “Dawn”
69 Fingers “Die Happy”
Time And Distance “Copperfield”
Whistlepunk 2.0 “Satellite”
Don Baker “Keep On Walking”
The Hey Days (Doug and Paul) “I Never Slept With Alan Ginsburg”
Professor Mike “Greater Good”
The Big Bad “The Omen”
HarraH “Blood Moon”
A Place of Solace “Sing”
Against “My Better Half”
Scooter Scudieri “The Price We Pay”
Stephanie Deskins “Nothing Left To Lose”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight,  and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM we offer up two recent episodes of The Swing Shift.  You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.