Welcome to the Play Blog, an insider’s guide on everything from music to pop culture, local dining, drinking, art and nightlife. Alaska or Outside, it’s fair game. Who's hot, who's coming to town, who's doing something worth noticing. We're on it.
Reader input is a big part of this blog, so express yourself and post comments. And if you have gig announcements, press kits, news briefings, story ideas, MP3s, CDs and reviews please ship them our way play@adn.com.
Photo courtesy IGN.com
Borderlands, the latest in a line of video games to mix role playing elements with traditional first person shooter controls in a sci-fi setting, isn’t groundbreaking, but with a stylized presentation, thousands of items to collect, co-op and multiplayer options, it presents one of the more addicting gaming experiences in recent memory.
Photo courtesy Eminem.com
In a move that shouldn’t really surprise anyone who’s lived outside of a cave for the last 10 years, Eminem's performance during the BET Hip-Hop Awards Show last night contained statements that some found objectionable. One line about rape was censored during the television broadcast.
Photo By Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News: Dane Cook performs at the Sullivan Arena, Thursday Oct. 22.The Sullivan was packed last night for comedian Dane Cook. If you went to the show tell us what you thought by posting a comment below.
If you want to see what people in Anchorage tweeted about the show check out this Twitter feed.
You should already know that comedian Dane Cook is playing in Anchorage tonight. If you're headed to the show we want to hear your comments.
If you're on Twitter (and really at this point you should be - Play has one and Tom Selleck's mustache does too!) you can chime in and follow the conversation by using #akdanecook in your tweets.
The widget below will keep a running tally of what people are saying.
Photo courtesy Delmag: Erik Braund works the skins during a recording session.
Delmag’s Erik Braund is in the studio mastering the group’s new EP and sent me this update via e-mail:
"Delmag is releasing a new EP, our second this year, this coming Halloween. The three-song disc is called the 'Small Town Something' EP and features all new songs. It is the follow-up to June's 'Hole in the Sky' EP - whose title track has been in regular rotation on KWHL.
Photo by Bill Roth / Anchorage Daily News: Original owner Joe Connelly started Wings 'n Things with his wife Teresa and children Molly and Joey in 1983.Popular Anchorage eatery Wings 'n Things is opening another location. The restaurant, originally downtown (Fifth and I), was open for 25 years before it abruptly closed in August 2007, only to reopen in January of this year with a new owner, a new location (36th and Arctic) and hungry crowds. The same recipes led to the same tasty eats, and the Arctic Boulevard location was soon featured in an ADN wing challenge.
The local crew responsible for this video will be premiering it this Saturday at an event that runs from noon to 10 p.m. at the AT&T Pavillion, $5. More info at nobikes.com or by calling 223-6802.
Photo by Bill Roth / Anchorage Daily NewsYou should already know that we take hot wings seriously at Play Magazine. Anything involving pizza or French fries is also a big deal, but wings are especially sacred.
By Mike Dunham Emily Johnson: Kenai Peninsula-born choreographer lost the fish for the live performance of "The Thank-You Bar." The eyepiece was spoken through during one of the stories.
“Someone needs to explain to me the difference between the avant-garde and the ridiculous. I’m mystified,” went a letter to the editor in Thursday’s Daily News. The writer referred specifically to Emily Johnson’s performance art piece “The Thank-You Bar,” which debuted at Out North, also on Thursday.
Johnson’s odd little mystery play/dance/narrative may not be explicable (it does have moments of humor), but we can try to describe pieces of it as experienced on opening night.
Photo by Spencer Shroyer
A new barbecue shack recently appeared on the corner of Debarr Road and Boniface Parkway, in the parking lot of the Shell gas station. The aptly named Smoke House lures in hungry drivers with clouds of smoke from an outdoor grill and signs advertising a $5 special.
A co-worker and I hit the Smoke House’s drive-thru today (there’s no room for indoor seating – it’s just a trailer) for a late lunch. We pulled up without a wait and were handed a menu. An employee told us that the Boniface location had been open for four weeks and was operated by the same folks that run the Smoke House shack on the corner of Minnesota Drive and Northern Lights Boulevard. Here’s a Daily News review of the Minnesota location from March.
Evan Sung for The New York Times: Mr. Okamoto's karaage, ginger-and-garlic-marinated thighs in a light, puffy crust of sweet-potato starch.Two recent articles in Outside newspapers have me thinking about all things fried and crispy.
Hard at work in his East Anchorage hideout, producer/DJ Curtis Vodka has put together another mix for the White Light blog. In addition to two from Curtis, the 13-mix series also features volumes from heavy hitters such as DJ Fashen, Them Jeans and (thee) Mike B.
Guy Fieri and his son HunterEarlier this week, Guy Fieri, host of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, posted a note on his Twitter account about making the trip up to Alaska. If you haven’t seen the show, here’s the gist: Guy cruises around the states in his red convertible, stopping at restaurants to sample their fares. Normally the eateries are mom-n-pop restaurants with rabid followings and storied histories.
Adam RichmanYesterday evening, rumors were buzzing around that Adam Richman from The Travel Channel’s “Man Vs. Food” program was in town. It wasn’t a total surprise - Play food reviewer Rachael Fisher had already started working on a story about his trip up here.
When we heard that Richman would be at Humpy’s Rachael made some calls and talked to the event manager who said she hadn’t heard of it but would talk to the general manager. She called right back and said it was not true. Still, reports kept coming on Twitter, so Rachael decided to check it out.
A Dimond Boulevard pizza spot that’s changed names and management several times is now back in the hands of a former owner.
Pete Foudeas ran the restaurant at 1011 E Dimond Blvd. when it was Sorrento’s, then sold it to a former delivery driver in 2005 who changed the name to Pete’s Pizza.
The newest incarnation is called Sparta Pizza. The menu of pizzas, calzones and Philly cheesesteaks will look strikingly familiar to regulars of Milano’s, which is also owned by Foudeas. The difference is the addition of several traditional Greek dishes such as moussaka, lamb and chicken souvlaki and spanakopita. Foudeas, who is Greek, said all of the new dishes are made in-house from scratch.