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Despite its jankiness, I have some fond memories of The Forest. My summer of 2018 was filled with laughter and cries for “more bones for the bone basket” as my friends and I fought off legions of cannibalistic mutants. Those were heady days—literally filled with so many severed heads. Sons of the Forest seems to be more of the same, full of familiar terrors, but with a surprising amount of polish for an Early Access title. Sons of the Forest is a first person open world survival game with horror elements developed by indie studio Endnight. You play as an agent sent to find a billionaire on a remote island full of cannibalistic tribes and mutant terrors. Things go wrong right from the onset as your helicopter crashes, leaving only yourself and Kelvin to survive—unless you’re accompanied by friends in multiplayer. Kelvin represents one of the new changes in Sons of the Forest—companions that can help you gather materials and build structures. They won’t help you fight however. While Sons of the Forest is an open world game that tracks stats like hunger, thirst, etc, it's also a game with an underlying story. As you look for the missing billionaire and his family, you'll run into roadblocks, and you'll need to search for items to overcome them. To do that, you'll need to get into the bowels of the island -- into its deep dark caves, where all the most horrible creatures dwell, and where the island keeps its most compelling mysteries. Since you’re not looking for your son this time around, as you were in The Forest, you might not feel as guilty frolicking around with Virginia, or taking your time building the biggest and coolest base you and your friends can manage. Base building works similarly to how it did in The Forest, with a guidebook acting as a building catalog of sorts. You choose what you want to build, place an outline of the structure, and you and your companions can bring materials to complete it. Combat in Sons of the Forest is probably its weakest feature right now. While there are a whole bunch of horrific creatures to fight, using melee weapons feels weightless. Enemy AI can be interesting, however, with some enemies advancing to harass you with rocks while others sneak up behind. It would be great if there were hotkeys you can assign to weapons, but right now we’re stuck with its cool, but unwieldy inventory system. Sons of the Forest has released into Early Access, which will last from six to eight months—an optimistic estimate, since its predecessor took around four years to finish development. However, Sons of the Forest is at a high level of polish already. According to its Early Access info box on its Steam Store page, developer Endnight plan on adding more to do, discover, and build while keeping community feedback in mind. With over 2 million copies already sold, Sons of the Forest hardly needs my recommendation. I’m just excited to see how it looks when it finishes its development. I do hope that Endnight tweaks the combat system a bit, however. While it isn’t perfect, Sons of the Forest is definitely fun solo, or with up to seven friends. Sons of the Forest is out now on Steam Early Access

Thee Sacred Souls are no strangers to Chicago, especially Thalia Hall. Having played local venues quite a bit last year including the Thalia Hall Block Party, Thee Sacred Souls feel like they’re right at home at the Pilsen mainstay. And with a sound that is as deeply soulful and danceable as there is, it’s no surprise that their return garnered a pair of sold-out shows. Alongside Jalen N’Gonda, Thee Sacred Souls gifted a packed and ready to groove Thalia Hall an incredible night of soulful songs. Before Jalen N’Gonda came on stage I wasn’t entirely familiar with his sound but within moments there’s no doubt that he was about to deliver a show-stealing performance. Standing alone on the Thalia Hall stage, N’Gonda seemed completely at ease as his incredible songs grabbed a hold on the crowd. His voice was immaculate giving every song a sense of importance in grace. It honestly felt like discovering a long lost gem of a soul singer and it truly felt special hearing him perform. N’Gonda‘s setlist was a perfect combination of original songs and covers from Etta James, The Shirelles, Gene Chandler and more. At times it felt like a musical history lesson especially when N’Gonda pointed out Chicago was home to Vee-Jay Records, one of the first Black-owned record labels in the US. But it was his voice that was the true star of the set captivating everyone with its undeniable quality. “Just Like You Used To” was a clear standout in his original songs, embodying that Daptone sound wonderfully. I can only imagine what N’Gonda’s songs sound like with a full band backing him and I hope I get to hear it soon because his performance is still running around in my head. Even with a bar that high set for the night, Thee Sacred Souls were able to meet and surpass it. This evening the core group of vocalist Josh Lane, bassist Sal Samano and drummer Alex Garcia were joined by a nice set of musicians and backup singers to help fill out their gorgeous sound. “Overflowing” kicked things off as usual, giving the crowd a beautiful taste of what was to come. It would be easy to write off Thee Sacred Souls as just a throwback kind of band, but they really are so much more. Every track of their self-titled debut album, of which they played nearly every track, is such a poignant and pristine example of what modern soul can be. Thee Sacred Souls hearken to the past without imitating it and add enough present day swagger to make it feel timeless. No stage can truly contain the energy of Thee Sacred Souls and Thalia Hall is no different. Throughout the night Lane would find himself at the edges of the stage, just a little bit past then onto equipment or in the photo pit, and eventually into the crowd itself. Thee Sacred Souls sounds ache for that human connection and Lane was more than happy to indulge as he belted out tracks while the overjoyed audience surrounded him. And of course no Thee Sacred Souls set could come to a close without their biggest song. The first track of their album is typically the last song you’ll hear at one of their shows and for good reason. “Can I Call You Rose,” synonymous with the band, with members of the crowd constantly hoping for it to be the next song played. All that hope reaches a boiling point and once its spot in the encore comes it’s cathartic. It’s a developing song of adoration, one that gave Thalia Hall just one more reason to feel the love that night. All photos by Julian Ramirez This review was originally published at Third Coast Review. You can check out more pictures here.

The Chicago Auto Show is an institution, and one we quite enjoy. It's the nation's largest auto show, housed in the enormous and equally impressive halls of McCormick Place, and every year in February it brings all manner of amazing vehicles to the floor. Visitors to the auto show get to see the latest models of their favorite cars, skateboard with pros, take test drives and even ride through obstacle courses. There's trivia, food and giveaways, and of course, amazing concept cars, all new vehicles and a supercar gallery featuring the Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Porsches that fill up our wildest dreams. Though not an official theme, the prevailing trend was around electric and hybrid versions of the most popular vehicles on the road, from all electrics like the Cadillac Lyriq, Nissan Ariya and the Hyundai Ioniq 6 to PHEV and hybrid vehicles representing every brand from Toyota and RAM to Honda and Jeep. No matter how you like to roll, from sporty sedans to pickup trucks and trailblazers like the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, you can find a hybrid that'll save you gas and still give you the thrills you're looking for. Even if you're not shopping hybrids though, today's vehicles are packed with the latest tech, from wireless charging to large screen UIs, and a slew of safety features, some of which even allow for hands-free driving, as well as the latest in sound systems and lighting that make your ride look like it's straight out of Star Trek. No matter what your style is, the Chicago Auto Show featured some amazing vehicles and we can't wait to see them out on the streets or maybe even in our own driveways sometime soon.

I have to admit that there was a moment there that I was obsessed with Arctic exploration, especially the expeditions looking for the Northern Passage—including Shackleton’s expedition, and Franklin’s Lost Expedition (which was fictionally portrayed with supernatural elements in the first season of The Terror. I thought, therefore, that The Pale Beyond would be the perfect game to let me test my decision making against the frozen north. But while it requires you to make the hard decisions, The Pale Beyond is more about intuition and social interaction than cold calculations. The Pale Beyond is a survival game mixed with a visual novel. You have to manage resources to keep your crew alive, but you’ll also need to convince them that you’re the one making the best decisions—and then you’ll need to make the right decisions to see your crew back to safety. Locked in ice looking for a ship that met a similar fate, you’ll have to manage fuel to prevent your people from freezing, and food to stop them from starving. Gameplay in The Pale Beyond consists mostly of dialogue choices, with some resource management. If by the end of any given week you’re low on fuel or food, your crew can be put into a perilous and often deadly predicament. Despite its lack of robust media content, developer Bellular Studios somehow manages to use still images, music, and immersive sound to tell a harrowing and suspenseful tale of survival, with a mystery threaded throughout. However, I wasn’t a fan of its art style—while the hand drawn characters and scenes look great, they tend to veer a little too close to Disney or Dreamworks characters, just with grim expressions. The Pale Beyond takes place in a world that is slightly parallel to our own, in a time period that is reminiscent of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition, which started around 1912, with a ship that became icebound, similar to the fate of The Pale Beyond’s crew. The Pale Beyond doesn’t try for historical accuracy, but nonetheless, it does a great job of portraying what arctic exploration was like over 110 years ago. If you desire a game where you can take complete control of your expedition, The Pale Beyond isn’t it. Each pivotal gameplay moment usually ends up being a dialogue choice. Beyond those branching choices, you have little other control in how the narrative unfolds—beyond, that is, making decisions to how much of your resources to use when, and who to send out on potentially deadly expeditions to procure more. While The Pale Beyond isn’t the artic exploration game I wanted, it definitely scratched that itch. At the heart of the game is a mystery, and how you proceed to unravel it is your choice—if you can get that far. However, despite multiple branching options, the story in The Pale Beyond feels linear and almost predetermined. While I enjoyed my time with The Pale Beyond, I don’t find myself wanting to get back into its freezing north anytime soon. The Pale Beyond is available tomorrow for PC via Steam. A Steam key was provided to us for this review

Today Evo 2023’s lineup was announced via livestream. With it come some brand new titles, last rides for some and even an old classic returning. The 2023 event will be held in Vegas August 4-6th with each game taking home a minimum of $25,000 prize pool. The lineup is as follows: Dragon Ball FighterZ Guilty Gear Strive Street Fighter 6 (It’s EVO debut) King of Fighters XV Melty Blood: Type Lumina Mortal Kombat 11 (Possibly its final appearance as Mortal Kombat 12 is set to be released later this year) Tekken 7 (Also possibly its final appearance as Tekken 8 is slated for this year as well) Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (A classic 2011 return for a pillar in the fighting game community) One new change is that the Top 8 has been lowered to Top 6 and Cygames will host a pre-release Granblue Fantasy: Versus Rising tournament. Check out more info at their website evo.gg.

With the fourth season of Succession premiering March 26th 2023, it’s time we catch back up with the family we love to hate: The Roys. Logan Roy: Logan has successfully received control of his company via supermajority to sell to Matsson. He did so by receiving insider info of his children's backstabbing plans from Tom (Shiv’s husband) and using his ex-wife to supersede his children’s shares. We leave the final season with him finally telling his kids that they need to be cut off and be left flapping in the wind in a dramatic confrontation. Kendall Roy: Kendall is still grieving after accidentally killing a waiter at Shiv's wedding in season 2. At his mother’s wedding, he confesses to his siblings about how disconnected he’s been from family and businesses. Kendall also gets that Roy family coup he has been clamoring for since Season 1. Ultimately, their father is two steps ahead of them as he always is. Shiv and Tom: Shiv and Tom’s relationship has had its ups and downs, whether they are open or not, they seem to finally have hit a boiling point with Tom betraying his wife to side with Logan. Being the inside mole for Logan has given him a leg up in the family business, but more importantly, has kind of solidified the relationship dynamic that Shiv has been pushing since the beginning. Business comes first, and you must be willing to sacrifice your spouse for a better position since she had previously convinced Tom to possibly go to jail for Waystar. Shiv is left seeing a rare gesture of good will by Logan to Tom, cueing her in on the betrayal. Roman Roy: Roman is initially on board with the Gojo sale of Waystar to Matsson, with promise of a cushy position in the new company, but unfortunately goes against his better judgment and ends up siding with his siblings only to be thwarted by their father Logan. Also since his failed relationship with Gerri (who also sided with their father), he is entirely lost in his father’s eyes. Connor: Connor has been feeling left out of the family business since the beginning and season 3 saw the final straw. With a dramatic outburst towards his siblings, everything seems to be going downhill for Connor until he finally convinces his long term relationship with sex worker Willa to wed him. It was a big win for Connor, but Willa seemed more exasperated than anything. Cousin Greg: Greg has possibly made a “deal with the devil” in Tom to secure his position in the company but where does that finally land Greg? One initial thought could be an accidental CEO, but the future looks bright for cousin Greg. That's mostly where we leave the Roy family. What are you looking forward to in Season 4? What are your predictions for power moves or twists for next season? Sound off in the comments!

Our long national balloon nightmare finally came to a close, where a Chinese spy balloon the size of 33 buses (or 2 Macy's day parade balloons, 2 Rockefeller Center Christmas trees, 12.5 stacked giraffes, or 400 or so Italian beef sandwiches for Chicagoans), traversed the country and was eventually shot down a few miles off the coast of South Carolina. But it wasn't long before more Americans started looking up and seeing more things floating in the sky. Rendering of a UFO over a desert mountain. Via Envato. Unexplainable things. Actual unidentified flying objects. According to the New York Times, on February 10th, less than a week after the spy balloon was shot down, a US fighter jet brought down a UFO the size of a small car over Alaska. According to the DOD, the object was not a balloon and was allegedly headed towards the North Pole. The next day, an American fighter jet shot down another UFO, this time over the Yukon territory in Canada. The object was cylindrical in shape and smaller than the Chinese spy balloon. The day after that, a third unidentified object, this time allegedly octagonal in shape with strings hanging off of it, was shot down over Lake Huron, near Michigan. According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, these objects were uncrewed, had limited capabilities, and posed no threat to people on the ground, but also lacked any obvious propulsion systems. Is it aliens? While ancient alien experts will definitely say YES, the White House said no. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing on Monday that "There is no – again, no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns." That said, other government officials first wouldn’t rule anything out. NORAD Commanding Officer General Glen VanHerck told reporters in a briefing on Sunday that he hadn't "ruled out anything. At this point, we continue to assess every threat or potential threats unknown that approaches North America with an attempt to identify it." He added "we call these objects for a reason." So far, no other concrete explanations have been given by officials, but that has not ruled out complete and total wild speculation from pretty much anyone who's ever seen 10 seconds of shaky, grainy video of something unexplainable or explainable in the sky, to a chorus of grifters and fascists trying to make both a buck and get another 15 seconds of attention. More than a few have either hinted or outright said that the UFO stories are a "distraction" from one thing or another, including the horrific train derailment and chemical spill in Ohio, to the alleged release of a client list of Jeffery Epstein, to of course, Hunter Biden's laptop. Because despite the fact that the world is a dumpster fire of multiple cataclysms, apparently more than one news story can't unfold at a time. In a Thursday press conference, President Joe Biden reiterated that the UFOs were both most likely not of extraterrestrial origin, yet still remain unexplained. He also added that they weren’t related to the Chinese spy balloon and said whatever these objects were, they were probably tied to something much more down to Earth. "We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were," Biden said, according to CBS News. "But nothing right now suggests they were related to China's spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from...any other country. The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were mostly balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research." President Joe Biden speaks at an event in Chicago during his campaign in 2019. Photo by Aaron Cynic. Biden also said that the reason more of these objects are being spotted is because the US military has allegedly increased the sensitivity of radars. "We don't have any evidence that there has been a sudden increase in the number of objects in the sky," he said. "We're now just seeing more of them partially because [of] the steps we've taken to increase our radars, to narrow our radars. And we have to keep adapting our approach to dealing with these challenges." A January report released by US Office of the Director of National Intelligence at least corroborates part of that explanation, in that it found the number of UFO sightings increased between March 2021 and August 2022. According to CNN, some 247 new sightings were reported, nearly double the amount of sightings reported between 2004 to 2021. Of about 500 “credible” sightings over the past couple decades, there were 171 that offered no explanation. The report said the rest were either balloons or other unmanned aircraft such as drones, or technical glitches or malfunctions. It’s difficult to speculate if we’ll find out anytime soon, or ever, what exactly the recent objects shot down actually are. At present, debris recovery efforts have been suspended due to poor weather conditions. There are a few other things we can be more confident of, however. The recent spate of down unidentifiable craft aren’t a “psyop,” there are plenty of things in the sky that have yet to be explained, we may never get the full or true story from government officials, and the universe is infinite, which means there’s more than likely, life out there. Whether or not it’s shown up on Earth is still unexplained.

While in 2023, there still exists a subset of people who fail to see video games as art, and instead condescendingly relegate the work of countless artists over the past 5 decades to something only basement dwellers enjoy or understand, the reality is that video games are art, and the more astute among us have known that to be true for decades, having grown up with the medium as it emerged, evolved and ultimately, became what it is today – an art form that not only stands out for its unparalleled ability to immerse players in a narrative or directly involve them in the action, but also one that’s dominated more traditional art forms to become more lucrative than the music and film industries combined. Over 40 years ago, a filmmaker named Steven Lisberger got a glimpse of breakout Atari success Pong and was immediately inspired by a then-emerging medium – video games. He was so excited by Pong that he immediately started dreaming up a concept for an animated movie called Tron. After quite a few iterations, quite a few changes (including a jump from an animated film to a live action film), it found its way to Disney and the rest is history. Tron was released on July 9, 1982, and would go on to be a cult favorite, with stunning visuals and an engaging narrative that would even garner a few Academy Award nominations. It also inspired its own video game based on the film which hit the arcade scene due to local video game company Bally Midway’s infatuation the same year the film came out. Image courtesy Chicago Gamespace But that was just the beginning of the Tron legacy, with a decades-long fascination with that original concept turning into more games, more films, and some truly fantastic artifacts. This legacy represents the emerging art of video games capturing the nation’s imagination and the way that video games and film could inspire one another. As the franchise hit 40, the folks at Chicago Gamespace, an educational and interactive museum dedicated to preservation and education about video games as an art form, were inspired to bring the Tron legacy to light in a brand new way, with their exhibit Light Cycles: 40 Years of Tron in Games & Film. This is a unique opportunity to not only learn about the history of the franchise by examining artifacts and walking the timeline in person, but to actually get a chance to immerse yourself in a carefully curated recreation of Flynn’s arcade, which includes some of the games inspired by the film, like TRON: Legacy Pinball by Stern or Discs of Tron, all generously provided with the assistance of the Logan Arcade, so you can experience Tron in a brand new way while learning all about its history. Image Courtesy Chicago Gamespace Light Cycles' special opening night preview at Chicago Gamespace is set for tomorrow night from 5-7 pm at with an afterparty to follow at the Logan Arcade. Public hours for Light Cycles will be Saturdays and Sundays from February 17th through May 7th. If you’d like to book a visit, buy tickets or find out more, click here.

They don’t make them like they used to—and developer and publisher Dotemu is well aware of this. That’s why they’ve made a name for themselves by revitalizing old games either through sequels, or in the case of Pharaoh, a remake. Developed by Triskell Interactive, this revitalization of Pharaoh is exciting for retro city builder enthusiasts, but I don’t think this remake is going to bring Pharaoh to a much wider audience. Pharoah: A New Era is a city builder and management game based in Ancient Egypt. In it, you play as an architect trying to please his Pharaoh and balance the needs and desires of the people to create prosperous cities. As with any city builder, the goal is to efficiently juggle multiple different resources, including money and people, while expanding or completing objectives in the campaign mode. What makes Pharaoh so unique—and beloved—are its systems that deal specifically with ancient Egypt. Not every city builder has you managing flood plains while appeasing gods, and eventually creating giant Pyramids to honor the Pharaohs. There are a few ways to play Pharaoh: A New Era: in its sprawling 100+ hour campaign mode. Play individual missions or challenges, or play in sandbox mode. Campaign mode works as both a tutorial and a challenge mode. Missions in the campaign range from establishing settlements, to creating military strongholds, spanning over 50 different missions. The missions included in Pharaoh: A New Era includes those that were originally included only in the Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile expansion pack. There is also a sandbox mode that allows you to create your Egyptian city as you see fit, under conditions that you control. Developer Triskell Interactive did a lot to bring Pharaoh into the modern era. For a game originally released in 1999, it looks pretty good with its new high resolution graphics. Each building was redrawn by hand and even certified by an Egyptologist for historical accuracy. The UI has also been redesigned and streamlined for better quality of life. This includes an overhaul of the overview screens—it’s now much easier to get information on your city and its citizens. Much of the city building in Pharaoh: A New Era relies on roads. As such, each city ends up being extremely grid-based—and that means dense cities. A lot of the newly made assets are lost in the clutter. I didn’t play Pharaoh when it originally released, so I don’t have nostalgia goggles coming into this review. I found Pharaoh: A New Era to be a little rough around the edges. The quality of life improvements really help to make Pharaoh: A New Era feel more modern, but it never quite manages to feel like a modern game. Overall, developer Triskell Interactive did a fantastic job updating this classic city builder. However, Pharaoh: A New Era is a niche game that will probably appeal most to those who enjoy city builders and retro games. Pharaoh: A New Era is a beloved classic for a reason, and is worth checking out by a modern audience—even if it does feel a tad archaic. Pharaoh: A New Era is available today on PC via Steam. A Steam key was provided to us for this review

It’s Valentine’s Day and no matter where you fall on the spectrum from “absolutely against” to “bring on the glittery hearts” it’s unavoidable. All around us strawberries are being dipped, flowers sold, and people anxiously awaiting the closing bell at the office so they can jump into their cars for some prix-fixe dinners in their date night finery. And honestly? Every love story begins with an awkward first date, so on our end we say “Love is love! Go get all glittery and goofy!” And if you didn’t want to do that in person, or on a “manufactured holiday” you can always do that from the comfort of your home with a controller in your hand and your partner or friend or even kitty cat beside you. Ten Dates is an “interactive rom-com” (read: Full Motion Video adventure) and follow up to Wales Interactive’s Five Dates, which followed a similar format but took place during the COVID lockdown and only included virtual dates. In Ten Dates, predictably, you’ll be going on a few dates. You play as either Misha, portrayed by Outlander star Rosie Day, or her best mate Ryan, played by Charlie Maher, as they attend a speed dating event, in person for the first time since the lockdown. Ryan, bamboozled by Misha, is more resistant to the idea, while Misha’s in it for fun and adventure. Screenshot: Ten Dates Whomever you choose to play as will fill out their dating profile in an app for some reason (though the speed dating event is in person) and then begin the round robin of speed dating. If you’re playing as Misha, you’ll go on about 5 mini-dates with a lineup of people who represent a few different larger archetypes - jocks, nerds, intellectuals, etc. Though at the top of the game it seems like you’re pigeonholed into straight dating, there are some opportunities to divert from that presented to you as you continue to play. We’d have loved for a game touting its diversity and inclusion to have included an option to have all 5 first round dates be of the preferred orientation for LGBTQIA+ folks as well, but could appreciate that every playthrough at least made it accessible. As dates progress, you’ll get asked questions about a variety of things, from who your character is as a person to what they believe. This brings in the interactive part of Ten Dates. A timer pops up, and you as the player can select one (and only one) option. The choices you make affect the rest of the date and in fact, the rest of the playthrough, and, in an interesting add by Wales Interactive, can be viewed as you go. Questions range from the mundane to the big questions- like whether you approve of one night stands or want someone to stay at home with potential kids. Your answers dictate how the rest of the date and the game goes. One big compliment we’d give Ten Dates is that the acting is genuine, not only for the main characters, but for the supporting cast. Very few if any characters are actually totally unlikeable. In addition, transitions based on your answers are remarkably smooth and don’t seem awkward overall, as they do in some FMV titles, so conversation flows more naturally and this makes the game more believable overall. One of the only things that Ten Dates does suffer from that’s common amongst both FMV games and video games in general is that the answers you select may have context you didn’t intend - and sometimes that can cause a disconnect between you and the dater you’re playing. For example, you might choose to answer that you prefer a good book to a movie only to find this means your character starts saying something negative about film in general that you didn’t intend. Luckily this didn’t happen often and didn’t cause too much strife in the dating scene, though we were also glad to see the chance to challenge your dates and even make innocent jabs at them, which led to a flirtier atmosphere that makes dating more fun in games and IRL. Screenshot: Ten Dates Once the speed dating night has wrapped up and you’ve exchanged socials with those you are interested in who were also interested in you, you go back to your flat and eventually, have a chat about it with your best friend. At this point in the game, you can pick people to go on second dates with, and you’ll be presented with their social media accounts, which you can scroll for further insight. You can also like their pictures, which can come up in conversation later. You’ll then move to your second date round, where the questions become higher stakes, and the opportunity to make your moves arrives. If that goes well, after another download with your bestie, you can choose to try to hook that third and final date, after which you’ll reach some sort of conclusion, good or bad. We had a lot of fun with Ten Dates. Well casted and acted parts meant that even those people who really didn’t match our type could be surprising, and characters were set apart from their defined archetypes. For example, the “lad” who’d just come from a stag-do (jock, bachelor party for the non English among us) did have stories about calculated vomiting and drunken escapades, but also had a surprising amount of depth, character and charm. Likewise, Ryan’s hairdresser date though aggressive, had a softer side and was also an investor and artist. Screenshot: Ten Dates It’s also a lot more fun that we’d realized to play Ten Dates with a partner or spouse, and laugh together over dates gone wrong and awkward moments. Overall, our time with Ten Dates both reminded us why dating could be fun, but also why it could be terrible, and thus ended up being pretty realistic, but very low stakes. If you think you’d have fun with a fictional foray into flirtation, pick it up and take the plunge! Ten Dates is available now on Steam as well as Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, iOS and Android.

We’re just over a decade of Tomorrow Never Knows festivals and they just keep getting better. TNK takes over a nice collection of local venues every January (save for that one COVID year) and has always been a pretty good barometer of the indie music scene. This year continues that with some amazing shows on the lineup. For night one of this year’s TNK I go tthe chance to see some favorites of mine at Schubas: V.V. Lightbody, Free Range, and Tomberlin! Vivian McConnell, or V.V. Lightbody as music fans know her, started off the night almost giddy with excitement to let the crowd know she walked on stage to a song from Zelda: Ocarina of Time (“Zora’s Domain”). That energy completely radiated off of her and had the crowd enamored with her set, as they rightly should be. McConnell’s songs are incredible and her opening set really let them shine. “If It’s Not Me” is one of her standout tracks and definitely seemed to be the crowd’s favorite of the night. A song about poise and understanding in the midst of breakup, McConnell maneuvers through its complex emotions with deftness. She isn’t afraid to get personal with her songs, delving to so much throughout the night including the light spats one has with their partner (which she kindly calls precious moments). I think it’s that honesty that gives her onstage aura a completely welcoming hue, especially when her friend Jordan Reynold of Rose Hotel joined her onstage. The pair, who both reminisced about performing together for the first time right there at Schubas a few years ago, serenaded the crowd for a couple of songs before McConnell walked off stage. Once again it was a Zelda: Ocarina of Time song, this time around “Gorgon City.” Free Range, the project of Sofia Jensen, took the middle spot of the night with an impressive set. She began the set remarking on the evening’s lineup “Three solo singers, that’s my kind of set. I was made for this.” And sure enough ,they were right. Jensen’s voice and guitar had the spotlight to themselves and were more than strong enough to get the crowd completely in their feels. Performing songs from the upcoming Practice (which has a release show at Schubas on 2/24), Jensen seem completely at ease on stage. “Want to Know” certainly felt like the centerpiece of the set with Jensen joking around about the car donuts she was pulling off the song’s music video. The song itself is a really pristine example of Jensen’s direct and inviting folk style. Tomberlin took the headlining spot at Schubas and as always, was an absolute marvel. I most recently saw her open for Tegan and Sara in November and while that was a great set, a sinus infection was taking its toll. This time around though Sara Beth Tomberlin was in full force, delivering my favorite sets of hers I’ve had the chance to experience. The opening chords of “Any Other Way” range out into the packed Schubas crowd with all the sincerity that song needed. It’s a hefty track full of sad and tender emotions of someone that is unsure of their place in the world. “You said that I was brave, but I just feel insane” sings Tomberlin with an understanding that exudes empathy. You can’t help but feel every word she sang. “Ever date an alcoholic?” she asked the crowd, “I don’t recommend it but you might get a few songs out of it. Here’s one of them.” Despite that bit of sarcastic self deprecation, Tomberlin’s songwriting soared in “Wasted.” Even when Tomberlin is pushing away her experiences in her intro to songs, her songwriting defies it and lets you in on so much. Lines like “I know I’m not Jesus, but Jesus, I’m tryin’ to be enough” off “Born Again Runner” lets a bit of her wry wordplay mess with your expectations and delivers a strong and powerful song. “Do you guys ever disassociate? … Anyway here’s another song about my little problems,” she remarked before delving into one of my favorite newer songs of hers: ” Tap.” It’s a song that makes it easy to just lose yourself in as Tomberlin lets her lyricism get loose as her voice dances along the lines.. “I’m not a singer I’m just someone who’s guilty,” she gently sings, once again showing just a little more of her unease despite being so damn talented. Tomberlin closed out her set with a cover of “Natural Light” by Owen Ashworth, who you might know better as Advance Base or Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (and happens to be playing a TNK show at Schubas on Saturday 1/21) . She mentioned how often people remark it’s their favorite song of hers, another moment where she relishes in joking at her own expense. But as you hear the song emerge from her, she makes it all her own. Tomberlin’s voice turns the song of a past relationship all the more devastating as its final lines float away “I found a picture from before the fight. We’re in natural light and you’re sitting on my lap like everything’s all right.” It tied a truly beautiful, albeit sad, knot to a night full of deeply emotional songs. All photos by Julian Ramirez This review was originally published at Third Coast Review. You can check out more pictures here.

When you’re reaching 30 years as a band and you have as much in the tank as Modest Mouse, you should count yourself as lucky. While there have been elongated breaks between the last few releases, Modest Mouse is not about to start slipping. Last year’s The Golden Casket reassured fans that Modest Mouse was still in that game and ready to deliver a great album. Every release is as anticipated as the last, but there is just something special about the tried and true favorites. Thankfully Modest Mouse know this and with the 25th anniversary of The Lonesome Crowded West, that meant a tour playing the album in its entirety was on! The Lonesome Crowded West is one of those undeniable albums of the ’90s, truly capturing a moment in time and making it feel everlasting. It’s an album full of all the anxieties and the inevitable disillusionment we all face (and so many on the road/wanderlust metaphors) while shifting from gentle and sad sounds to pulse -ounding ragers. In December at the Riviera Theatre, Modest Mouse reminded the packed crowd just how special that album continues to be. Barring the encore and special VIP pre-show, the set stuck faithfully to The Lonesome Crowded West as promised. Seeing a full album, especially one as diverse and as enthralling as The Lonesome Crowded West is always a treat. There’s just something about mixing the at-home experience of listening to a beloved album track list with the live show theatrics. Then when you take into account Isaac Brock’s commanding stage presence that was on from the start, you have a show that was as relentless as it was cathartic. “Teeth Like God’s Showshine” obviously kicked things off as Modest Mouse threw the diehard crowd headfirst into the show. Despite knowing exactly where they were going next, Modest Mouse‘s set felt lively and special. There was a rush knowing that after the raw and rollicking “Doin’ the Cockroach” and “Cowboy Dan” would be the heartbreaking “Trailer Trash.” That three-song portion of the night that fell right in the middle of everything showcased just how eclectic and powering The Lonesome Crowded West is. The anger of a tiresome existence in “Doin’ the Cockroach” and the feeling of futility in “Cowboy Dan” lead in wonderfully to the vulnerable “Trailer Trash.” The line “And I guess that I miss you and I’m sorry if I dissed you” rang out with all the sadness it needed. The same could be said about every song that evening. No song felt like it got the short end of the stick. instead every track felt like it got the exact amount of vigor it called for, both from Modest Mouse and the excited crowd. “Out of Gas” and its chant-like cadence had the crowd mesmerized. The rapid fire rage of “Shit Luck” was coupled with flashing lights and audience members letting their frustration out, screaming along. Brock’s dark ode to depression “Polar Opposites” echoed along with the Riviera during its labored chorus “I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’ to drink away the part of the day that I cannot sleep away.” The show came to a close with a three-song encore that took a little side tour of Modest Mouse‘s catalog. A cover of The Flaming Lips (“Five Stop Mother Superior Rain”), a current tour staple but rarely played before “Edit the Sad Parts,” and an older but perennial classic in “Night on the Sun.” It was a nice little cherry on top of the evening and even if the band had played some more of their hits throughout the night, I still think the heart of the show would have the enduring quality of The Lonesome Crowded West. All photos by Julian Ramirez This review was originally published at Third Coast Review. You can check out more pictures here.