Valentines and Villains

So we have once again made it through the most despised and insipid day on the calendar….St. Valentine’s Day.  Really, the attitude here is not all about being the bitter woman scorned; (although we do drive the “bitter bus” on occasion).  It is more about how ridiculous it is that a pretend holiday can cause so many people so much stress and misery. 

If you don’t have a date, you feel like a miserable loser.  If you didn’t get flowers, no one loves you. And if you do have a signifant somebody, you are guilted into running out to the florists, jewelers, chocolatiers, and card stores to try and find something, anything, so your person will still love you on the 15th. 

So is there really any good reason for all this?  Nope! We tried to dig up some dark and dirty facts about this St. Valentine’s Day thing.    And, you know what? There’s really nothing to say and no concrete history here at all.  At some point about a million years ago, there was a guy named Valentine, or maybe two or three guys named Valentine (nobody really knows for sure), who were apparently killed fighting for their cause.  (What cause, nobody really knows)  And then, one or two or all of them were made Saints.  And later on, even the Catholic Church couldn’t remember why the Valentines were made a saint, and the sainthood was renounced.

So bravo to the silly romantics and greeting card companies for making something out of nothing! 

And then there was Al Capone. He knew how to plan an event that would give this day some real history, so lovingly labeled the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.  And how fitting that a sweet man like Al would not only take out seven of his rival’s best guys in a Chicago parking garage, but make it on a day when the wives and girlfriends of these seven unfortunate souls would have to relive the  heartbreak every year on February 14th. 

We heard from an excellent source that the Florida Underground Music Festival last Saturday, Feb 11th at Bombshells Tavern was pretty awesome.  Should have been there. 

There must be something about the onset of Spring ’cause there’s lots of metal in bloom…..

February 23rd at the Haven – Conquer, From Within, An Effigy Distorted, Deviations

March 3rd at the House of Blues – Iced Earth, Symphony X, and Warbringer

March 4th at the House of Blues – Dropkick Murphys (well, okay – not metal, but we love us a little punk too)

March 17th at the State Theatre in Tampa – Metal Alliance Tour featuring Devildriver, THE FACELESS, Job For A Cowboy, Dying Fetus, 3 Inches Of Blood, and Impending Doom

March 30th at the Haven – The Spring Mutila Tour         

And finally, we are extremely pleased to see the number of views for Rose’s Damned Opinion steadily climbing.  Keep reading and give us  your opinions, and let us know who you’re listening to……