HOUSE OF TARG ROUND 2 - HURRICANE

Seeing as we covered a couple of Steve Ritchie tables in my previous House of TARG reviews, I think it's time to look at something a little different in the form of Hurricane!

The team of Barry Oursler and the late Python Anghelo are together again on their third installment of the amusement park series. The series started with 1985's Comet, followed by Cyclone in 1988, and finally ending with Hurricane. An interesting fact is that all the tables in this trilogy were released during different technology eras; Comet was a part of the short-lived System 9 alongside Space Shuttle and Sorcerer, Cyclone was System-11, and Hurricane being in the first wave of Dot-Matrix-Display tables in 1991, hot off the heels of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

If you take a look at each of the tables in the Amusement Park trilogy, you will notice quite a few similarities throughout! It seems that Oursler used Comet's playfield as a basis for Cyclone and Hurricane and built more and more onto each installment. The most obvious influence is the center ramp.

SHUT UP AND HANG TEN! Luau or Die at the Canadian Pinball Championships 2015

Here's what I am most excited about for the 2015 Canadian Pinball Championships!

On the opening night of the Championships, Friday, July 3rd, local surf band Luau or Die are gonna be playing two wet 'n' wild sets of surf music on the stage of 3030 to kick off the weekend!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP FOR THIS!!!

For those that know me, Surf music is one of my biggest passions. I produce a monthly Surf music podcast, The Surfphony of Derstruction 2000, and attend a ton of local shows. When I'm not writing about pinball, I'm writing about Surf shows on this wicked blog, Punks Don't Think.

Of course, pinball is my other passion so to bring these two together is a dream of mine! Come on out on Friday, July 3rd at 10 PM to 3030 Dundas West to witness this amazing night! Play some pinball, listen to some awesome Surf music and have a few tasty beers. You will not be disappointed; every person I have brought out to see Luau or Die has been completely floored by the band. See for yourself what the surfer spies will have in store for you!



These are exclusive tracks that I obtained when I infiltrated the secret headquarters of Luau or Die. I also sat down and chatted with the band which you can here right here!



If you can't get enough Luau or Die, dig on their album, Dead on The Floor. Buy it, listen to it, and demand more Surf! Hopefully we can whet your appetite on July 3rd! I mean, there will be two sets so I'm sure we will. You just have to do one thing... SHUT UP AND HANG TEN!

We also have an appetizer for you! On Saturday June 20th, Luau or Die and King Beez will be playing a matinee show at Bumper City favorite Junction City Music Hall! Catch a wave from 1 to 5 PM in the Junction!

Canadian Pinball Championships 2015

It seems all I have been doing lately is promotion! I apologize about that and the lack of reviews but things are really popping in the Toronto pinball scene and I just want to make sure you keep up-to-date on all the latest happenings! Just last month, we had the first ever Beer and Ball Festival at Handlebar. Now, after a years' hiatus, the Canadian Pinball Championships are returning!

The championships are being held at 3030 in the Junction so for those who could not make it out to the last couple of years' venues, not to worry! 3030 is within Toronto and is easily accessible by TTC so you have no reason not to show up!

The games begin on Friday, July 3rd and will continue through the weekend on Saturday, July 4th, and Sunday July 5th. I highly suggest pre-registering for this awesome event to guarantee your entry in the tournament ... and also get a REALLY SWEET SHIRT!

By pre-registering for only $25, you get a sweet red-and-white shirt with customized high score initials! That is really cool. Just make sure that you pre-register before June 10th at 11:59 PM Eastern to get your hands on this exclusive offer! If that wasn't enough incentive to pre-register, you will also get extra qualifying time, a free gift bag, and door prizes!  It would be much appreciated by the organizers and myself so we can cover the costs ahead of time and ensure that the Canadian Pinball Championships go off without a hitch and provide you a most enjoyable event. If you want to pre-register, please click this link, if you haven't already clicked on the highlighted "pre-registers"!

You know that I am going to register and get MUF put on the back of my shirt haha! I probably won't be allowed into the venue wearing that... which will be a problem seeing as I am organizing Friday night's festivities! More to come on that very soon. I'm excited to bring you a real wild night with the 2015 Canadian Pinball Championships and 3030! It's going to the best of both of my worlds if you catch my drift...

BEER & BALL FESTIVAL WRAPPED UP!

That was one helluva week! Pinball all week from Monday through to Friday! For those that were not in the know... Well, ya missed out! Handlebar recently hosted Toronto's first pinball festival, the Beer & Ball Festival, from May 11 to May 15, featuring a solid line-up of several pinball machines, tournament, and music!

 I attended the festival a few times throughout the week. As much as I wanted to go everyday, that's a pretty big commitment, especially when I had bigger commitments... like seeing the new MAD MAX movie! I did drop by early in the week on Sunday afternoon to lend a hand setting up and testing the pinball machines in addition to snagging a few pictures of the machines before the crowds starting taking up the venue throughout the week.

The festival's line-up consisted of Jungle Lord, the current resident of Handlebar, as well as White Water, The Simpsons Pinball Party, Time Machine, and Pin-Up.

BEER & BALL FESTIVAL - MAY 11 - MAY 15... COMING SOON!

Handlebar's first annual Beer & Ball Festival is soon to be under way, kicking off the week on Monday, May 11th with the first of many pinball tournaments!

This afternoon, the pinball machines were being set up in preparation for the week's festivities and so I stopped by to put the machines through some rigorous training.

So, I was a bit wrong on the suspected line-up. F-14 Tomcat was replaced by Data East's Time Machine!

No complaints there, Time Machine is an awesome and underrated Data East table. Lots of cool time travel gimmicks like a chimebox that emulates the sounds of Electro-Mechanical pinball tables.

The line-up for the Beer & Ball Festival is pretty impressive. There's a total of 5 machines all from different eras, from Pin-Up representing the 70's Gottlieb Wedgeheads to 2003's The Simpsons Pinball Party. There is something for everyone but each night is going to be dedicated to a particular table. From what I was told, one table will be selected as the "tournament" table and each entry will cost $3. You have one game to rack up one helluva score with the highest score of the night taking home the prize. There will be five nights and five different pinball machines to throw down so try to make it out at least once!

If you don't want to play in the tournament, no worries! The other tables will be available to play. They're all in fine working order and dressed up quite nice. Time Machine and White Water are all done up in LEDs. White Water also had some cosmetic work done, the backglass replaced as well as the topper plastic cover.

So, here are the full details! Beer & Ball Festival at Handlebar, 159 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market, Monday, May 11 through to Friday, May 15th. Tournament starts at 7 PM, music is at 9 PM. $3 per entry to the tournament with a different tournament table selected each night. All other machines will be available to play (but you gotta pay) every night. The line-up is Jungle Lord, White Water, The Simpsons Pinball Party, Time Machine, and Pin-Up! Hope to see you out there!

STERN'S NEXT TABLE... KISS

The latest announcement from Stern was just released today! The newest addition to the Stern roster will be KISS PINBALL!




DANG it looks awesome! There are a few teasers of the playfield in the video, showing off a couple of wild gimmicks! Nice! Yeah, sure, it's another classic rock table from Stern but if AC/DC and Metallica are anything to go by, KISS is going to be a real hit. I mean, come on, there's a giant pinball spewing Gene Simmons head! The other big gimmick has the ball climbing the back panel by magnets for a Paul Stanley solo, though it looks like that may only be on the Limited Edition and Premium versions.

UPDATE: Official pictures have been released and here they are!

Pretty wicked looking cabinet art! The table includes a hand-drawn package, which I am really glad to hear! From what I have heard, KISS was really interested in getting a new pinball made after them so I imagine Stern has a lot more to work with in regards to the licensing, similar to Metallica and it's hand-drawn art package by Dirty Donny. The artwork looks totally awesome too. Take a look at the playfield art!

 There are also a couple of throwbacks to the original '79 Bally table like the pop bumpers

Here they are on the first KISS table.

The shot through the bumper cluster looks awfully familiar... Especially with that scoop right under the right bumper.

That has to be John Borg! Let's see the rest of the playfield.

It's giving me some pretty serious Metallica vibes! The layout of the ramps, the targets on the lower left and the big ol' Gene head in place of the Snake. There's a Multiball mode where Gene spews the balls out of his mouth! There is no way to word that sentence without making it sound dirty.

Metallica has a great layout so if Borg is going along the lines of that style for KISS, it's going to be a real good table! Though that ramp on the right looks hella steep and that can be real dangerous. Also, there looks to be a ramp located smack-dab in the center for the SPACEMAN and I just know that will be a drain monster.

The music line-up looks pretty wicked too! Here it is: Deuce, Hotter Than Hell, Lick It Up, Shout It Out Loud, Detroit Rock City, Calling Dr. Love, Rock & Roll All Night, Love Gun, Love It Loud and Black Diamond. I am super pumped to see BLACK DIAMOND in the music list! It looks like KISS's ruleset is going to follow AC/DC's example where you select a song and have to complete the associated mode.

I can't say it enough but Stern is on a roll with their latest releases! KISS looks to continue the tradition with some wild new features and a fun license. I'll keep you up to date on the latest news!

BEER & BALL FESTIVAL MAY 11 - 15

The latest pinball event in Toronto is less than a week away! Starting May 11th is the Beer & Ball Festival at Handlebar in Kensington Market. 5 nights of pinball and music, Monday through Friday!

Nightly tournaments begin at 7 PM and will be $3 to enter. There will be all sorts of prizes to be won from local businesses so bring yer skills! There will also be live music after the tournaments at 9 PM. The first few nights are no cover but there will be a cost to get in come Thursday and Friday.

There is going to be 5 tables available for play during the week. According to the poster, looks like we will have...

Jungle Lord

nemesis...

 White Water!

Pin-Up

F-14 Tomcat

And The Simpsons Pinball Party!

That's one helluva line-up! If ya wanna get yer hands on any of these machines, make your way down to Handlebar in Kensington Market to take party in the Beer & Ball Festival Starting May 11 all the way through to May 15! May as well RSVP to the festival here on Facebook to stay in the know.

By the way... if you want to get a sneak preview of the tables and some practice before the tournament begins, swing by Handlebar on Sunday afternoon. The machines will be loaded in and word is there will be a chance to get a few rounds in before the week begins.