Def Leprechaun Bring The Rock!

For the first time in my drinking life I went out on St. Patrick's Day. As rule I always try to avoid drinking holidays with the exception of New Year's, but so-called holiday's like St. Paddy's, Mardi Gras, and Cinco De Mayo are a no-go for me. But this year I was drawn out of my boycott by the specter of a band called cover band called Def Leprechaun playing at the Sunset Tavern mere blocks from my Ballard home. Would this mean a tiny Joe Elliott impersonator? One could only hope!

I was joined by my friend and former co-worker Layne. Layne is a legitimate metal fan not a trader in metal nostalgia like myself. The first album Layne ever purchased was Def Leppard's Pyromania, while my first album was either Lionel Richie's All Night Long or Wang Chung's Mosaic. The man knows his metal.

It was weird being out on such a busy night. There were a lot more people on the street. All the bars on Ballard Ave were packed and there were a lot of people completely blotto at 9PM. "Amateur night" indeed!

The show itself was pretty close to awesome. Layne and I both expected Def Leprechaun to be dodgy at best. And I was well prepared to suggest getting drinks elsewhere a few songs if they sucked. But they started off with a double shot of Loverboy with "Working For the Weekend" and "The Kid is Hot Tonite" back-to-back I knew we'd be staying.

There were no little people in the band which was good because the Sunset has a very low stage; just guys in silly wigs and fake beards. The Loverboy double shot was followed by some great songs by the likes of Journey, Cheap Trick ("Surrender"!), Styx, The Cure, Night Ranger, Kiss, and of course Def Leppard ("High & Dry" and a surprisingly awesome version of "Pour Some Sugar On Me").

Towards the end of the set a few Seattle Fireman started roaming around to make sure everything up to stuff and not overcrowded. The Firemen were clearly digging the set and waited until the end to leave. They closed with a back to back Van Halen tunes "Jump" and "Panama". I left totally impressed with the band. They played together pretty tightly and had some real chops; not the amateur stuff I was expecting. They rocked Ballard hard tonight.

Top Ten Films of 2005

1. Me and You and Everyone We Know - Strange, weird and totally affecting. I knew I'd probably like this but I waited until DVD because it seemed too serious. But to my surprise this movie was totally serious and really funny. Weird funny but still funny. Surreal, real, and sweet all at the same time.

2. Where the Truth Lies - I'm always a sucker for Atom Egoyan. This movie rather blindsided me since the concept is rather hokey: Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth as Martin and Lewis stand-ins involved in murder that ruined their careers and all based a pulpy mystery novel by Rupert "The Pina Colada Song" Holmes. But it works flawlessly.

3. The Squid and The Whale - Divorce in the 1980s, fuck yeah! I have rarely seen a truer or darkly funny film about things I experienced as a child and worst of it made me relive the shame of past as a teenage intellectual. Billy Baldwin almost steals the show as Ivan.

4. Munich - My favorite critic Jeffrey Wells let me down on this one he poo-poo'ed it and I kind of avoid it. Thanks to the Geekdrome podcast and Headstart's enthusiasm I finally saw it this weekend. Powerful stuff.

5. A History of Violence - Cronenberg! Straight forward and Sci-Fi free but still totally Cronenberg. You'll never stink of stairwell sex the same again.

6. In Her Shoes - I love this chick flick unashamedly. This is one of those Ohana movies for me. Toni Collete was robbed of an Oscar!!

7. Brokeback Mountain - Worst Oscars ever! Crash had no business winning let alone being nominated. Brokeback was all it promised and more.

8. Broken Flowers - Jim Jarmusch and Bill Murray apologize for that Cigarettes & Coffee mistake with this bit of understated brilliance.

9. King Kong - This movie should have been a disaster but instead its best thing Peter Jackson has done since Heavenly Creatures.

10. Layer Cake - Daniel Craig is going to be an awesome Bond.