Allow me to tell you, dear readers, of a little something that happened while I was on a trip to New York for the College Media Advisers Conference this year. It was a Thursday, still warm, but cold weather was looming. A friend and I were headed toward Times Square to meet with another member of our group when I looked up and stopped dead. I’d never been so thankful for being a tourist as I was at that moment: I saw “THE COMMITMENTS” in red on the marquee over BB King’s.

As a former member of Mr. Troy Brownfield’s Irish Culture class at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (it’s a good one!), I was familiar with the film, featuring such musical talents as Andrew Strong, the entire membership of the Corrs, and a bunch of crazy men who claimed that Elvis was a Cajun.

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There’s a longer review coming later, but for now, a three-line review of the Saviors of Soul’s recent show:

Awesome: Getting a last-minute ticket to a sold-out show in the middle of Manhattan on the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day.
Ironic: There was only one band member playing that was in the original film.
Awesome AND Ironic: It was the drummer.

More later.

Greetings and welcome to the new ShotgunReviews.com. Since 1999, we’ve done our best to give you worthwhile (and often funny) reviews and columns, and it’s time to shake off the rust and do it a little differently. We’ve kicked around a few ideas regarding how we’d do this new thing, and we hope you like what you see.

The new design comes to us from Barb Hallock, a student of mine with the appropriate attitude for this place (that is, bad). The more bloggish format puts us more on par with the current landscape. After all, we’ve been doing this almost eight full years. It was time for a big change. I think that you’ll agree that the new format, with a huge list of categories and easy searching, is a good one.

As part of that big change, we’ve brought in an influx of new talent from a variety of places. The entirety of our Best Shots team, responsible for the Best Shots column that runs every Monday at Newsarama.com, is now operating here in several capacities. You’ll also meet several talented young writers, including Barb herself, who will be tackling a variety of topics.

However, if you’re one of the rare folks that has read us since 1999, don’t get too worried. Shawn Delaney will still grace us with terrific music reviews, as will Jonathan Birdsong and the Lyrical Lounge crew. The Russ is back on wrestling coverage in full force. L.I. Rapkin’s already kicking in some culture. Eric Barker’s already opened the film vaults. And they aren’t the only familiar faces lurking around.

In the next few days and weeks, you’ll see the roster expand a little more and you’ll see some new recurring columns and features that we hope will become favorites. If you want to check out the old stuff, the old site currently still exists in its full glory under the archive button. If you want to talk about any of the stuff, old or new, visit our newly established forums.

So there’s my big speech. Enjoy yourselves, express yourselves, and invite friends. ShotgunReviews.com never went away, but we are most certainly back. Thanks for your time.

(Photo courtesy x17online.com)

Okay, besides all the obvious stuff. 

Look at Paris’ ear.  Insert caption here.  Vulcan or elf?  You decide.

 Aw, hell.  There is so much wrong with this.. that squinty eye thing both of them seem to be sporting, for example.  It’s almost Lovecraftian.

So I’m in Glenda’s last night, right? (Glenda’s, for those of you wondering, is a fine establishment in West Terre Haute, IN., where there’s karaoke every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and it’s not a bad place.)

There’s this guy sitting at the counter. I notice, offhandedly, that he’s wearing a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon shirt. Fair enough; this has caught my attention. I look closer, and there appears to be a track listing over the prism logo. Fair enough.

So I skim down the list, and down toward the bottom (in fact, the second-to-last item) said this:

Brian Damage

Let me say this again for emphasis. Brian Damage.

Am I the only person who ever wonders if others notice this sort of thing? It hurts me in my heart.

It’s been a long time coming. The violent gutting and reanimation of Shotgun Reviews is nearly complete. Look for a completely new, completely sweet experience beginning on Monday, February 26. It’s Shotgun’s re-birthday, and some shit’s about to go down.

What? You have no idea. And we’re not telling. Just come back next Monday and find out. We’ll have a ton of new content, a new look, and a whole bunch of new functionality.

It’s gonna be awesome. The kind of awesome that makes a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window.