navigate the 'nac
almanac mp3 archives almanac shared mp3 archive
live show photo archive boston-area live shots on flickr
'my life or some dream'
original mp3 compilation

free mp3 compilation on club fub
bands i've been in bands i've played drums in
the 'nac faq & contact info
contact info and more

the 'nac on the 'net

the almanac rss feed
subscribe to my rss feed
follow me on twitter the almanac twitter account
become a fan on facebook the 'nac on facebook
hype machine 'nac page the almanac hype machine page
the 'nac songkick gig page the almanac songkick gig page
almanac events on sponty the almanac sponty events page
the almanac last.fm page the almanac last.fm page

the almanac archives



search the 'nac


recommended boston area events

wednesday, march 17th

joanna newsom

@ the sanders theatre, harvard


wednesday, march 17th

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the somerville theatre


thursday, march 18th

TOURFILTER DJ NIGHT!

when tourfilter's chris +

the almanac's brad (aka, me)

spin songs by bands coming to

the boston area sometime soon

9pm sharp @ river gods


thursday, march 18th

apollo sunshine

drug rug

@ the paradise


friday, march 19th

i, pistol

mascara

planetoid

forgetful jones

@ tt the bears


saturday, march 20th

the whitehaus family blastfest

needy visions, manners,

morgan shaker, avi jacob,

and many more

@ cambridge ymca theatre


saturday, march 20th

air

am

@ berklee performance center


sunday, march 21st

the clientele

field music

@ great scott


wednesday, march 24th

extraneous noise presents...

golden spurs

spirit kid

some say fire

the novel ideas

@ the middle east upstairs


thursday, march 25th

"thursday night alright!" with

the beatings

aloud

action camp

hello ninja

@ great scott


thursday, march 25th

the donnas

@ the paradise


friday, march 26th

eldridge rodriguez (the beatings)

ryan lee crosby

ted billings (age rings/hot protestants)

@ the somerville armory


friday, march 26th

basia bulat

marissa nadler

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears


saturday, march 27th

your say party! we say die!

the new collisions

static of the gods (cd release)

@ tt the bears


saturday, march 27th

the big pink

a place to bury strangers

magic magic

@ the paradise


saturday, march 27th

spoon

deerhunter

@ the house of blues


sunday, march 28th

beach house

bachelorette

@ the paradise


monday, march 29th

the soft pack

nodzzz

beaters

@ great scott


tuesday, march 30th

shearwater

wye oak

hospital ships

@ tt the bears


tuesday, march 30th

manchester orchestra

the features

biffy clyro

o'brother

@ the paradise


wednesday, march 31st

japandroids

love is all

girlfriends

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, march 31st

miike snow

delorean

@ the paradise


wednesday, march 31st

a sunny day in glasgow

pants yell!

bearstronaut

@ great scott


thursday, april 1st

girls

dum dum girls

@ the paradise


friday, april 2nd

the xx

jj (late show only)

two shows @ the paradise


friday, april 2nd

drive-by truckers

lucero

langhorne slim

@ the house of blues


saturday, april 3rd

cassavettes

the grownup noise

kingsley flood (cd release)

spouse

@ the middle east upstairs


saturday, april 3rd

black rebel motorcycle club

alberta cross

@ the house of blues


saturday, april 3rd

nada surf

dawn landes & the hounds

@ the paradise


sunday, april 4th

serena maneesh

depreciation guild

black fortress of opium

@ tt the bears


tuesday, april 6th

wilco

@ the orpheum


tuesday, april 6th

ben folds & a piano

kate miller-heidke

@ the house of blues


wednesday, april 7th

florence & the machine

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 7th

rocky votolato

brooke waggoner

@ great scott


thursday, april 8th

faces on film

hands & knees

st. claire (cd release!)

mr. sister

@ tt the bears


thursday, april 8th

thom yorke + atoms for peace

flying lotus

@ the citi/wang theatre


friday, april 9th

midlake

@ the paradise


saturday, april 10th

xiu xiu

tune-yards

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, april 10th

ted leo & the pharmacists

obits

screaming females

@ the paradise


saturday, april 10th

pissed jeans

confines

sqrm

@ great scott


sunday, april 11th

fanfarlo

lawrence arabia

robert francis

@ the paradise


monday, april 12th

the wedding present

play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'

with openers girl in a coma

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, april 12th

titus andronicus

the babies

@ great scott


thursday, april 15th

jakob dylan with guests

neko case + kelly hogan

@ the wilbur theatre


thursday, april 15th

red sparowes

doomriders

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, april 16th

guillermo sexo

freddie t and the people

(ex-june of 44 / hoover)

travels

ghost box orchestra

@ pa's lounge


friday, april 16th

have nots (vinyl release!)

the appreciation post

razors in the night

wicked whiskey

the swaggerin growlers

@ tt the bears


saturday, april 17th

kaki king

an horse

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, april 17th

the morning benders

miniature tigers

@ tt the bears


sunday, april 18th

heavy trash (w/jon spencer)

the konks

the cobra-matics

@ tt the bears


sunday, april 18th

the thermals

past lives

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, april 19th

trans am

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, april 20th

owen pallett (aka final fantasy)

@ the ica boston


tuesday, april 20th

elvis costello & the sugarcanes

@ the orpheum


tuesday, april 20th

the low anthem

timber timbre

@ the paradise


tuesday, april 20th

quasi

let's wrestle

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, april 21st

the church

special 30th anniversary

acoustic career retrospective

@ the somerville armory


wednesday, april 21st through

wednesday, april 28th

the 8th annual independent

film festival of boston

@ various boston area theatres

including the somerville + brattle


thursday, april 22nd

the mary onettes

@ great scott


saturday, april 24th

graham parker with

the figgs

@ johnny d's, somerville


saturday, april 24th

los campesinos!

here we go magic

@ the paradise


sunday, april 25th

harlem

@ great scott


monday, april 26th

echo + the bunneymen

hatcham social

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 28th

gogol bordello

devotchka

jesse malin

st. mark's social

@ the house of blues


thursday, april 29th

frightened rabbit

@ the paradise


friday, april 30th

the everyday visuals

the lights out

the flying machines

aloud

@ tt the bears


friday, april 30th

corinne bailey ray

@ the house of blues


friday, april 30th

the album leaf

sea wolf

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 28th

little boots

dragonette

fan death

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, may 1st

white rabbits

here we go magic

@ the paradise


monday, may 3rd

yeasayer

sleigh bells

@ the paradise


tuesday, may 4th

gregory & the hawk

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears


tuesday & wednesday

may 4th & 5th

public image ltd.

@ the royale (formerly the roxy)


wednesday, may 5th

minus the bear


@ the wilbur theatre


wednesday & thursday

may 5th & 6th

jonsi (from sigur ros)

@ the house of blues


thursday, may 6th

shout out louds

@ the paradise


friday, may 7th

ok go

earl greyhound

robert francis

@ the paradise


saturday, may 8th

local natives

@ great scott


tuesday & wednesday

may 11th & 12th

dr. dog

deer tick

@ the paradise


thursday, may 13th

small brown bike

bridge and tunnel

your skull my closet

wallcreeper

@ great scott


saturday, may 22nd

killing joke

@ the paradise


tuesday, may 18th

spectrum (featuring sonic boom

from spacemen 3 + e.a.r.)

with the broken river prophet

@ the middle east upstairs


tuesday, may 25th

the smittens

allo darlin'

one happy island

hearts!attack

a smile and a ribbon

horowitz

@ the lizard lounge


wednesday, may 26th

reverend horton heat

cracker

miss derringer

@ the house of blues


friday, may 28th

mono

the twilight sad

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, june 2nd

kings of convenience

franklin for short

@ the paradise


wednesday, june 2nd

ryan bingham & the dead horses

@ tt the bears


wednesday & thursday

june 2nd & 3rd

the national

@ the house of blues


friday, june 4th

brian jonestown massacre

@ the paradise


friday, june 18th

reigning sound

movers & shakers

triplethick

@ tt the bears


saturday, june 19th

james taylor

carole king

@ the garden


sunday + monday

june 20th + 21st

isis

melvins

totimoshi

@ the paradise


thursday + saturday

august 19th + 21st

tom petty + the heartbreakers

my morning jacket

@ the comcast center


visit tourfilter for more shows



Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Funspot : Game Geek Retro Freakout

A couple years ago, Matt spoke to me of a little heaven-on-earth called "Funspot"... the second largest arcade in the U.S., and more importantly, the largest collection of classic arcade games in the world. Lucky us, it's in New Hampshire of all places, just a quick drive north. I mean, how could I not want to make a trek up there? I'm a child of the 80s, raised by Taito, Atari, and Bally/Midway as much as by the TV. Visiting Funspot would be like my own personal pilgrimage to mecca.

Time passed, and though my northern intentions were always there, it's one of those things I just never got around to. Little hard to convince Amie to drive almost two hours just to play old videogames for hours on end, y'know? Can't say I blame her hesitation on that one. What I needed was an enthusiastic co-pilot. Then a recent article in the Globe prompts Heath to mention a Funspot road-trip in his Media Diet. Ah ha! A co-conspirator! A plan was hatched, a date was set, directions and coupons were printed. We met in a Cambridge church parking lot and were confronted with a sign that, at first glance, listed the "Reverend Father Asteroids", but actually said "Reverend Father Asterios". Our trip was blessed from the get-go.


Funspot's motto is perfect in it's simplicity : It's "The Spot for Fun!". Hell, I'd definitely pull my car into "The Station for Gas!", or grab a snack at "The Store for Convenience!". There's no need to get complicated. Funspot tells no lies.


Matt warned me I'd be overwhelmed as I climbed the stairs to their 3rd floor, the land of all games eighties. Lit from overhead with dim red bulbs, rows upon rows of stand-up machines, walls full of pinball machines, the songs, sounds, and bleep-blip-bloops of all my old faves blended together in a mighty chorus. I swear, I almost welled up a little there. Heath and I grabbed our tokens and got straight down to business.


Time has no meaning inside Funspot's walls. Once we'd finished playing through four (out of ten!) rows of games, we met up to check in. Three hours had completely disappeared. Not even halfway through and we'd blown three hours without no breaks. Our tentative plans for mini-golf, go-carts, and boardwalk exploring were out the window... it was all about the pixels now.

A quick break for bad food and we were back at it, picking up the pace and flying through the best of the rest in another couple hours. Five hours of gaming, eyes and brains bugging out, big smiles on our faces. I found games I'd once been obsessed with and completely forgotten (Frontline! Pleiades!), found familiar faves I was still damn good at (Scramble! Ikari Warriors!), and some of my old nemesises (nemesees? nemesissies?) that never failed to frustrate the crap outta me (Marble Madness! Battlezone!). It was worth every second of the drive, and the $20 we each spent on 130 tokens ($32.20 worth... a steal). We've still got a bunch left... time to start planning the return ...

Ready for a full-on flashback? Check out my Funspot photos here & here. Heath also writes up the trip with a few pics over at his Media Diet. Geek out!












featured mp3 download
sparklehorse
live at the paradise
in boston, mass.
on monday, february 26th, 2009

'nac twitter action

    latest live band pics



    recent posts on the 'nac...


    latest comments...


    on the mp3 player

    on the screen

    on the nightstand


    other boston-area music blogs


    boston music media


    boston live show / event info


    music blogroll


    music audiocasts


    surf-worthy


    other frequent haunts


    boston-centric


    some cele-bloggers



    Locations of visitors to this page




    Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com

    This page is powered by Blogger Pro.

    Blog Directory - Blogged