OK The Browns have won three games in a row. Mike Holmgren is going to be President of the organization next year. People are talking like Manidiot and his staff have all of a sudden got this team playing like a playoff team. If only they could have pulled it all together earlier in the season. Well they didn't pull it together earlier in the season and do you know why? Because they were playing teams like Minnesota, Denver, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Green Bay and San Diego. Real playoff contender teams. Who have we beaten? Pittsburgh (OK that is our Super Bowl), Buffalo, Kansas City and Oakland the dregs of the NFL. Speaking of dregs we lost to Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chicago. So all we have proven is that we are better than the worst teams in the league. Hey believe me winning is a lot better than losing and I will take a "W" over an "L" every time.
People are starting to ask has Manidiot saved his job for next year? Manidiot wasn't going anywhere next year win or lose. Randy Lerner is still paying Romeo Crennel this year and next year. If Randy fires Manidiot he will be paying three coaches in one year for a losing team. The man has money but not that much money. Manidiot is here for at least two more seasons unless he really screws up next year or Holmgren sees a chance to grab a top notch coach with proven credentials. Buddy Ryan's autistic son could be gone next year and so could Duh-boll but Manidiot is here to stay.
Even in winning three games our quarterbacks still look flawed. Quinn was awful against Pittspuke 6 of 19 and KC 10 of 17 for a total of 66 yards and Anderson was 8 of 17 against Oakland.
Our running game looked good against KC and Oakland but Jerome Harrison only had nine yards on 7 carries against Pittsburgh. Jerome has had good games against Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Kansas City and Oakland. Seven out of 15 games he played good in. Good being three yards or more on average per carry. He needs to be good 15 out of 15 games. We need to find another running back to help carry the load.
Vickers and our offensive line look good against the Chiefs and the Raiders. Four weeks ago people were telling me how it was the offensive line that made Quinn look bad. No Quinn just is bad and the line is just OK. The defense still has plenty of holes to fill and Buddy Ryan's autistic son has to go. A replacement for Duh-boll would not break my heart either.
Believe me I love winning but don't start talking playoffs to me when we can only beat losing teams. When we start beating teams that finish with a record above 500 I will start praising and believing in this team.
People have said we are screwing up our draft picks. No we are not. The first three picks in the draft hamper your salary cap for at least three years. You are better off getting the fourth or fifth pick in the draft where the salaries for a rookie become somewhat palatable. At least Manidiot wont be in charge of the draft this year. We have a proven guy in Holmgren that will be keeping Manidiot in check. Go Browns!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Browns and Quinn Lovers
I don't get it. Why do my Sundays have to be interrupted by a person who admittedly "is not that into football", calling me to tell me how "Brady Quinn plays with all heart". One drive of 8 plays that results in a TD does not make a football player great or a team win.
I honestly believe that Brady Quinn is and always will be a mediocre NFL quarterback. The Browns will stick with him ad nauseum through the end of this year and all the way through next year. His years at Notre Dame were plagued with great play against inferior teams and miserable displays of inaccuracies when put up against a formidable opponent. At Notre Dame he never won any bowl games or a national championship. He looks like a Hollywood version of what a quarterback should look like. Women and gay guys think he is hot. In the NFL you can't just look good you have to produce, which Quinn has not done.
So the Browns score a touchdown and right of way my phone rings. Duuude, did you see that. How can you not like a guy like that? Quinn plays with all heart. That drive was all Quinn. If you don't think that Quinn is All Pro then the Moral Compass doesn't know shit about football. Woo Hoo maybe now Quinn will get a Fruit of the Loom endorsement and we will be able to see what a real man he is. OK, I just threw that last one in for effect.
I watched the whole game not just eight plays. Here is what I saw. 6 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 5 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 8 plays TD. 7 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 9 plays, punt. 7 plays turnover on downs. The only positives in all of this is no interceptions or lost fumbles. We had fewer penalties than the Bengals but one costly one at the end of the first half that cost us 3 points.
Quinn was 16 for 34 in pass completions for a yardage average of 3.1 yards per pass. Our running game averaged 3.2 yards per carry. How could I not see how great Quinn is? Pay me Millions of Dollars I can throw a ball 4 yards. Quinn is looking for the quick short pass he is not looking down field. Is he scared of getting hit? Is Daboll telling him to throw short? Sunday he did not look poised in the pocket.
My friend tells me that our line sucks. I don't feel that our offensive line is that bad. We could probably use an upgrade at right tackle. Quinn was only sacked once the whole game. The receivers drop the ball my friend screams. Yes I did see some dropped passes but I saw more passes that were thrown behind the receivers or over their heads or in the dirt. I saw miscommunication with a receiver running a fly and Quinn throws for the button hook. The receiver runs a button hook and Quinn throws an out pattern. And I am tired of the dinks and dunks, throw down field already. The kid just does not look sharp.
I don't blame Quinn for all of this loss. We have no number one receiver. Our Running backs are mediocre. Our corner backs and safeties suck. Our linebackers are banged up. Our offensive and defensive lines are just OK nothing spectacular. and our MVP is out leaving our punting game suspect. Get well soon Dave Zastudill.
Our team last year was not that good and Manidiot dismantled any talent we had. Dabolls play calling is horrendous. Two screen passes to Cribbs both for losses when you only need two yards, terrible. The players said that they could here the Bengals defense calling out "watch the screen". At that point shouldn't the QB call an audible rather than let Cribbs get crushed? Buddy Ryans autistic son could not stop the run if the running back only had one leg. I don't know why the Bengals even tried to throw the ball, they could have run up and down the field all day.
The Browns are the worst team in the NFL and probably the worst team ever in the history of the Cleveland Browns. Quinn is not the only questionable player on the team but he definitely is not the answer. So please do not call my house to tell me how great Quinn is until he has a couple of wins in a row under his belt. Do you think we can get McCoy for next year? We should have the first pick in the draft again next year.
I honestly believe that Brady Quinn is and always will be a mediocre NFL quarterback. The Browns will stick with him ad nauseum through the end of this year and all the way through next year. His years at Notre Dame were plagued with great play against inferior teams and miserable displays of inaccuracies when put up against a formidable opponent. At Notre Dame he never won any bowl games or a national championship. He looks like a Hollywood version of what a quarterback should look like. Women and gay guys think he is hot. In the NFL you can't just look good you have to produce, which Quinn has not done.
So the Browns score a touchdown and right of way my phone rings. Duuude, did you see that. How can you not like a guy like that? Quinn plays with all heart. That drive was all Quinn. If you don't think that Quinn is All Pro then the Moral Compass doesn't know shit about football. Woo Hoo maybe now Quinn will get a Fruit of the Loom endorsement and we will be able to see what a real man he is. OK, I just threw that last one in for effect.
I watched the whole game not just eight plays. Here is what I saw. 6 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 5 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 8 plays TD. 7 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 9 plays, punt. 7 plays turnover on downs. The only positives in all of this is no interceptions or lost fumbles. We had fewer penalties than the Bengals but one costly one at the end of the first half that cost us 3 points.
Quinn was 16 for 34 in pass completions for a yardage average of 3.1 yards per pass. Our running game averaged 3.2 yards per carry. How could I not see how great Quinn is? Pay me Millions of Dollars I can throw a ball 4 yards. Quinn is looking for the quick short pass he is not looking down field. Is he scared of getting hit? Is Daboll telling him to throw short? Sunday he did not look poised in the pocket.
My friend tells me that our line sucks. I don't feel that our offensive line is that bad. We could probably use an upgrade at right tackle. Quinn was only sacked once the whole game. The receivers drop the ball my friend screams. Yes I did see some dropped passes but I saw more passes that were thrown behind the receivers or over their heads or in the dirt. I saw miscommunication with a receiver running a fly and Quinn throws for the button hook. The receiver runs a button hook and Quinn throws an out pattern. And I am tired of the dinks and dunks, throw down field already. The kid just does not look sharp.
I don't blame Quinn for all of this loss. We have no number one receiver. Our Running backs are mediocre. Our corner backs and safeties suck. Our linebackers are banged up. Our offensive and defensive lines are just OK nothing spectacular. and our MVP is out leaving our punting game suspect. Get well soon Dave Zastudill.
Our team last year was not that good and Manidiot dismantled any talent we had. Dabolls play calling is horrendous. Two screen passes to Cribbs both for losses when you only need two yards, terrible. The players said that they could here the Bengals defense calling out "watch the screen". At that point shouldn't the QB call an audible rather than let Cribbs get crushed? Buddy Ryans autistic son could not stop the run if the running back only had one leg. I don't know why the Bengals even tried to throw the ball, they could have run up and down the field all day.
The Browns are the worst team in the NFL and probably the worst team ever in the history of the Cleveland Browns. Quinn is not the only questionable player on the team but he definitely is not the answer. So please do not call my house to tell me how great Quinn is until he has a couple of wins in a row under his belt. Do you think we can get McCoy for next year? We should have the first pick in the draft again next year.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Browns worst team in NFL
Well it is official, the Browns are the worst team in the NFL. They could not even beat the Detroit Lions.
The Browns run up a score of 24 to 10 in the first quarter and cannot hold onto the lead. This is the highest offensive production the Browns have had in over a year and the defense cannot hold up their end. At the half it is 27 to 24 the Browns are still winning but failing fast.
Fourth quarter with 1:01 left on the clock Detroit takes over on offense the score is Browns 37 Detroit 31. Detroit is on their own 29. The autistic child of Buddy Ryan implements his best defense that makes Matt Stafford look like John Elway. Stafford starts to complete passes for first downs and then spike the ball to stop the clock. The Lions march to the Browns 32 yard line with 8 seconds left on the clock. Time for one more pass to the end zone. Stafford's pass is short and intercepted by Brodney Pool in the end zone. There is a flag on the play, Defensive Pass Interference on Poteate. The pass was so short that Poteate did not have to stop Mosley from going for the ball, Mosley could not get to it anyway. It is now Detroit's ball on the one yard line with no time left on the clock. Matt Stafford gets one last chance to score from the one yard line. Stafford is acting like he has a dislocated shoulder but still completes the pass to win the ball game 38 to 37.
This game was to see who is the worst team in the whole NFL and the Browns won or I mean lose. Manidiot please do me a favor and eat rat poison. Buddy Ryan have your son committed already. Daboll your offense had a decent day but remember this was the Detroit Lions, lets see what you do against the Bengals next week. So Daboll you get a one week reprieve from my disgust.
I have had people tell me that we have to give this coaching staff two more years before we get rid of them. Bullshit, they all should be fired tomorrow. Mangini had a losing record when he came here. Rob Ryan came from a losing team that had a terrible defense. Daboll is a rookie offensive coordinator that is lost in the position. The Moral Compass predicted when Randy Lerner hired Mangini that it was a mistake. I hate it when I am right.
The Browns run up a score of 24 to 10 in the first quarter and cannot hold onto the lead. This is the highest offensive production the Browns have had in over a year and the defense cannot hold up their end. At the half it is 27 to 24 the Browns are still winning but failing fast.
Fourth quarter with 1:01 left on the clock Detroit takes over on offense the score is Browns 37 Detroit 31. Detroit is on their own 29. The autistic child of Buddy Ryan implements his best defense that makes Matt Stafford look like John Elway. Stafford starts to complete passes for first downs and then spike the ball to stop the clock. The Lions march to the Browns 32 yard line with 8 seconds left on the clock. Time for one more pass to the end zone. Stafford's pass is short and intercepted by Brodney Pool in the end zone. There is a flag on the play, Defensive Pass Interference on Poteate. The pass was so short that Poteate did not have to stop Mosley from going for the ball, Mosley could not get to it anyway. It is now Detroit's ball on the one yard line with no time left on the clock. Matt Stafford gets one last chance to score from the one yard line. Stafford is acting like he has a dislocated shoulder but still completes the pass to win the ball game 38 to 37.
This game was to see who is the worst team in the whole NFL and the Browns won or I mean lose. Manidiot please do me a favor and eat rat poison. Buddy Ryan have your son committed already. Daboll your offense had a decent day but remember this was the Detroit Lions, lets see what you do against the Bengals next week. So Daboll you get a one week reprieve from my disgust.
I have had people tell me that we have to give this coaching staff two more years before we get rid of them. Bullshit, they all should be fired tomorrow. Mangini had a losing record when he came here. Rob Ryan came from a losing team that had a terrible defense. Daboll is a rookie offensive coordinator that is lost in the position. The Moral Compass predicted when Randy Lerner hired Mangini that it was a mistake. I hate it when I am right.
Monday, October 12, 2009
GOP The Unamerican Party
The wing nuts on the right, the radical right, the ditto sheep have become totally anti American. They cheer wildly when the United States loses the bid for the Olympics and they boo and criticize our President when he wins the Nobel Peace Award. Love it or leave it you bunch of white, fat cat, rich, lying, sodomites, who are pushing for anarchy. Rush, Beck Hannity and Steele all scream that there is too much government. They wish and pray that the President fails. They side with the French and the post Hitler Germans that say Obama does not deserve the Peace Prize. Russia, Cuba and Africa are all more willing to sit down and talk about peace now than in the past eight years. There has been dialogue between Palestine and Israel. In their hatred of a Black President the Republicans have lost sight of the fact that we are all Americans and should be proud when the world recognizes America for being the greatest nation in the world by honoring our President.
The United States and the world is in an economic crisis and the US getting the Olympics would have been an honor and a positive boost to the economy. The wing nuts on the right cheer the United States failure to land the Olympics. They cheer failure and refuse to get involved in any forms of bipartisan discussions. Disgusting, it turns my stomach to think that these people are even allowed in this country.
The NRA and the Radical Right used their scare tactics on their members in order to make record profits for the gun industry. As soon as Obama was elected the NRA and the radical right started to cry that the Obama regime was going to tax bullets so that people would not be able to afford them. The Administration was going to enact a law that all ammunition was going to have to have to be marked so that it would be traceable, therefor driving up the price and making ammunition unaffordable. The Government has been so busy trying to fix the economy and Health Care that they must have forgot about the bullets. The only thing that has happened is that the Right wing has scared all of the gun owners to go out and buy ammunition which depleted the supply and raised the demand so prices have skyrocketed. If you can even find a load for your gun it has probably doubled in price. In these hard economic times the gun industry is posting record profits thanks to the ditto sheep. Thank you Right wing radical liars for doubling the cost of me killing ground hogs. Hunting season is almost here and the deer should be happy that hunters can not afford to buy ammunition for their guns because of the underhanded tactics of the Right. To take hunting away from the people of the United States is disgusting and a disgrace, the NRA and the Radical Right should be ashamed of themselves. They are not ashamed, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Unamerican Bastards.
So the Republicans laugh and mock our president for winning awards and receiving world wide recognition for doing good. I guess they want a President that is hated and feared around the world. And how did that work out for us in the past? They cheer that a foreign country gets to host the Olympics. The GOP scares their constituents into buying ammunition and guns at higher than market prices, resulting in huge profits for the gun industry, by lying to Americans. They say no to fixing Health Care and lie about death panels. They refuse to even get into talks about how to fix the economy and then cry bipartisanship. And when the GOP was in power lied about weapons of mass destruction so that they could start a war that has cost Trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives and achieved little.
I am glad to say that I belong to the party that has not given up on Health Care reform. Hasn't given up on trying to boost the economy. The party that doesn't have to lie and scare its constituents into voting their way so that they can make the biggest profits while the workers starve. Yes Obama has not fixed all of the problems of the United States but he has only been in office 10 months while the Republicans had 12 years to screw it up. At least Obama doesn't have to lie to the people to get his way. Mr. President, congratulations on your award the true Americans are proud of you.
The United States and the world is in an economic crisis and the US getting the Olympics would have been an honor and a positive boost to the economy. The wing nuts on the right cheer the United States failure to land the Olympics. They cheer failure and refuse to get involved in any forms of bipartisan discussions. Disgusting, it turns my stomach to think that these people are even allowed in this country.
The NRA and the Radical Right used their scare tactics on their members in order to make record profits for the gun industry. As soon as Obama was elected the NRA and the radical right started to cry that the Obama regime was going to tax bullets so that people would not be able to afford them. The Administration was going to enact a law that all ammunition was going to have to have to be marked so that it would be traceable, therefor driving up the price and making ammunition unaffordable. The Government has been so busy trying to fix the economy and Health Care that they must have forgot about the bullets. The only thing that has happened is that the Right wing has scared all of the gun owners to go out and buy ammunition which depleted the supply and raised the demand so prices have skyrocketed. If you can even find a load for your gun it has probably doubled in price. In these hard economic times the gun industry is posting record profits thanks to the ditto sheep. Thank you Right wing radical liars for doubling the cost of me killing ground hogs. Hunting season is almost here and the deer should be happy that hunters can not afford to buy ammunition for their guns because of the underhanded tactics of the Right. To take hunting away from the people of the United States is disgusting and a disgrace, the NRA and the Radical Right should be ashamed of themselves. They are not ashamed, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Unamerican Bastards.
So the Republicans laugh and mock our president for winning awards and receiving world wide recognition for doing good. I guess they want a President that is hated and feared around the world. And how did that work out for us in the past? They cheer that a foreign country gets to host the Olympics. The GOP scares their constituents into buying ammunition and guns at higher than market prices, resulting in huge profits for the gun industry, by lying to Americans. They say no to fixing Health Care and lie about death panels. They refuse to even get into talks about how to fix the economy and then cry bipartisanship. And when the GOP was in power lied about weapons of mass destruction so that they could start a war that has cost Trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives and achieved little.
I am glad to say that I belong to the party that has not given up on Health Care reform. Hasn't given up on trying to boost the economy. The party that doesn't have to lie and scare its constituents into voting their way so that they can make the biggest profits while the workers starve. Yes Obama has not fixed all of the problems of the United States but he has only been in office 10 months while the Republicans had 12 years to screw it up. At least Obama doesn't have to lie to the people to get his way. Mr. President, congratulations on your award the true Americans are proud of you.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Farm Aid St Louis 2009
September 29th I get a call from my friend Randy from Buffalo, New York, he has an extra ticket to Farm Aid in St. Louis, Missouri, for Sunday October 4th. I ask my Honey Bunny if I can go she says "sure go". She is the best wife I could ever have. I check plane schedules, too expensive to fly. I decide to drive. Map Quest says it is 9 1/2 hours to get to St. Louis. I know I can shave at least an hour if not an hour and a half off of that time.
Friday Morning I get packed. I load the Avalanches CD player with traveling music, Joe Bonomassa, Dave Matthews, Will kimbrough, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and J. Giels. Between the CD's and XM radio, I should be able to make the trip with my sole still in tact. I take my friend Michael to the airport so that he can catch a flight to Texas then to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet his wife where they will embark on a two week journey through the western landscape.
12:30 and I am on 71 South towards Columbus. Dark sky's and rain will be my companion for the first two hours of the trip. The music is blaring and I have cookies, peanut butter M & M's, Sour Dough Pretzels and water for nourishment. God help anyone who tries to get in my way now. The sugar buzz alone could kill most mortals. Add in the isolation and I am sure a madness will try and take over along the way.
I set landmarks to break up the trip. One hour to Mansfield. Another hour to I 270. A half hour to I 70. I know these roads well and can coast on auto pilot. Once on I 70 I have only been to Dayton twice in my life and Indianapolis once, after that I was in uncharted territory. Just me and my Biatch, the GPS to guide me. The rest of the trip on I 70 is just a flat out run from Indianapolis to Earth City Missouri. I can't wait to get there where I can blend in with the rest of the crazies and miscreants who have traveled from around the country to save the farmers.
Randy calls me when I am about two hours away from the hotel. He is in Chicago on a layover. He asks whether I am talking to myself yet. I tell him to beware of the bats. The bats are flying around but have not attacked yet. Randy knows Hunter so he could decipher what I was talking about. We should hit the hotel about the same time. I love when a plan comes together. I got to go, my voice is getting raspy from talking and I need it to keep singing.
I am the first to arrive at the hotel of our little foursome. Randy, Dave, Dave's cousin Karen and I will spend the next few days together playing tourist, gamblers, Farm Aid supporters and music fans, while enjoying the surrounds of St Louis, Missouri. I am only able to rest for about 15 minutes before Randy and the others arrive. We go and get some Bar B Que for dinner and head back to the hotel for a drink at the bar. The hotel is filled with many of the technical crew from Farm Aid. The TV crews and lighting personnel that we will meet in the bar will prove to be a wealth of information as far as the venue and schedule of times of the different acts to take the stage. Many of these techies have come from Memphis, Virginia, Maryland and other parts of the United States and are knowledgeable in music and seem stoked to be working the Farm Aid concert.
Saturday we wake late around 8:00. We all had to sleep in after the long day of travel. We have a group meeting in the lobby and decide that since we are in St Louis we need to go and see the Gateway Arch, tourists that we are. We pile in the truck and head East on I 70 to find the Arch. The Biatch is being temperamental and refuses to give me directions. Some day I am going to beat that Biatch like a red headed step child. So while I drive the four of us stare off into the sky until we catch a glimpse of the 640' silver arch. Now we have to figure out which exit to get off at, luckily there are signs that direct us off of the highway. We work our way through a maze of streets and find a parking lot close to the arch and under a highway overpass. No matter what city you go to there are always parking lots under the overpasses of the expressway.
We walk through the park to the Arch and go under the Arch where there is a museum commemorating the westward expansion of the United States. We finally talk Randy into taking the elevator up to the top of the Arch to view the City of St. Louis from the observation deck. We have to get into little cars that look like football helmets. Luckily I get separated from the other three and have to ride with a family that has two children about 9 and 11 years old. The kids do not take up much space, although one of them is kind of freaking out. Listen you little bastard I am not crazy about the confined space either but you do not feel me quivering from fear. Man up. Finally we are at the top.
Jesus Christ, who designed this lookout point a midget. I feel claustrophobic up here, my head almost touches the ceiling. The architect must have thought only gnomes, hobbits, trolls and ferries were going to come up here. The Arch is solid I don't feel it swaying in the wind like I expected it to and the view is pretty. OK we have had enough lets head down. Five grown ups climb into one of the Football helmets for the ride down. Let me explain Dave makes me look small. He is at least an inch taller, with size 17 feet and I can hide in his shadow. Needless to say the four and a half minute ride down was not very comfortable.
We now walk to the river and take a nice paddle wheal boat ride on the Mississippi River. The boat captain gave us a brief history of the river and the founding of St. Louis. A nice and relaxing trip. A bit cold at times but overall enjoyable. I met a veteran Farm Aid concert goer, from Maryland, on the boat. He had been to ten Farm Aid shows already. He plans his vacation around going to the concert every year. How much fun is that.
We now decide to play Lewis and Clark and walk what seems like to Kansas City. Truth be told it is about eight blocks to the Taste of St. Louis. The Taste of St. Louis is a street fair with lots of Bar B Que food, art work, trinkets and music. Admission is free and the food is reasonably priced. We eat ribs, ribs, pulled pork, ribs, pizza, ribs, beer, cheese cake a milk shake with a rolled up cookie in it and ice cream. Whew, lets head for the truck. Did I happen to mention that Dave can eat.
Back at the safe confines of the hotel Randy takes a nap, I stretch my back that is starting to bother me, Dave and Karen fall asleep. Randy wakes up and we go to the pool and swim in the cold pool water. Then hit the bar for a late night soup, salad and a Cuvasier. The techies are just getting in from their long day of setup and practice. We all start extending "howdy doos", "where you froms" and concert stories of days gone past. A schedule now appears out of a brief case that lets me know what times every group will be on stage if every thing runs on time. Randy and I decide we can miss some of the early acts, although Phosphorescent is one of the bands that I wanted to see that I will miss. If we head over to the amphitheatre around 2:30 I should be able to catch Billy Joe Shaver and the rest of the big acts. Thanks fellas for an enlightened enjoyable evening.
Sunday morning we all meet for a big breakfast and to discuss our game plan for the day. Get ready, head over to Harah's Casino for a few hours of gambling and Browns football, then off to the show. The Casino did not have a sports bar to watch the Browns so I headed to the video Poker machine. Three hands and I am up $50. I feel a big win in here today. OK I give back the $50 and the the original $20 that I put into the machine. I check the Browns score they are losing, go figure. I lose another $20. I check the Browns score they are tied. Ok I can live with that. I lose another $20. Thank God it is time to go and meet the others and head to the concert. I can't afford this place. The Browns are winning, hurray.
We get to the concert venue it is what Randy calls a "shed". A steel and concrete amphitheatre with a man made hill for lawn seating. It is not Red Rocks or Blossom Music Center, just a nondescript amphitheatre like many others spread out across the United States. We get to our seats six rows from the stage dead center, Nice. Jamey Johnson is on stage setting up. I don't like the looks of this where is Billy Joe Shaver. I look around and spot a couple that looks as though they have been there for a while and ask, "did Billy Joe Shaver play already?" "Yeah Yeah he's done" they tell me. I am bummed, so bummed, one of the highlights of my day was going to be seeing Billy Joe Shaver live. A living legend and I missed him. How do the Beatles say it "I'm down, I'm really down, I'm down, down on the ground".
Jamey Johnson starts playing and singing which lifts my spirits. Jamey Johnson has a deep voice that reminded me of Bo Cepheus. He reminded Randy of Kris Kristopherson. Country music but a good sound. I can listen to this. Jamey Johnson ends and I go for a walk to check out the vendors selling organic food, locally grown and raised by farmers. I get a pizza and a bottle of water.
Gretchen Wilson is up next, her band takes the stage. Dave and I decide to walk around and people watch and see what we can see. Young people, old people, farmers and city folk all together for a just cause or just to hear good music. Hey, I thought Gretchen Wilson was country? This band is playing "Lunatic Fringe" then they segue into "Rock You Like A Hurricane" by Scorpion. What the F is going on? Gretchen now joins her band and rocks out with "Here for the Party", "There's A Place In Whiskey" with a interlude to "La Grange" by ZZ Top. She ends her set with her big hit "Redneck Woman". All the women are singing along and dancing and having a good time.
Wilco comes out and slams Gretchen Wilson by asking "how many people here are not rednecks?" Over half the crowd applauds. Jeff tweedy the singer for Wilco explains that we are all just people here for a good cause, not just rednecks. Wilco plays a stellar set of music including the songs "Heavy Metal Drummer", "Casino Queen", which is about a casino that is across the Mississippi River in East St. Louis and "Hoodoo Voodoo". Nice guitar action between the two lead guitarists switching back and forth. I can understand why Wilco is making a name for themselves.
I guess I will stick around to hear Jason Mraz. I don't know much about him, lets see what the kids got. What Jason has is a nice kind of island, party sound. He sings a message of love and community and fellowship. I like it. I could do without the lame hand gestures he is trying to get the crowd to do, but I like it. Jason pulls out a nice rendition of "Spirit In The Sky". Much of the crowd is singing along. I like it.
The sun is starting to set when Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds start their set. I don't know who this Tim Reynolds is but I am sure going to find out. Tim can play guitar. Tim and Dave do an acoustic set playing some of Dave's music off of his new album Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King. "Funny the Way It Is" and "You and Me"Dave Matthews acknowledges that Willie Nelson's guitar is sitting behind him and just has to touch it, with one finger like a naughty little child. When Willie finally joins them on stage the trio performs a moving rendition of "Gravedigger". Dave and Tim finish the set with a great rendition of "Dancing Nancies". Dave is great with his band but he is equally good with Tim Reynolds acoustic. Dave is on the board of Farm Aid and said "The more we get behind things Willie believes in the better we'll be".
John Cougar Mellencamp takes the stage with a full band and rocks out his set. He opens with "Pink Houses", which gets the crowd on their feet. "Paper in Fire" and "Check it out " were very well done with a violin, accordian, two guitarist, a drummer and a bass player plus John. John did two acoustic songs then he brought the whole band back out to rock some more. John brought his 14 year old son out to try out for the band but he is not in the band yet, when they played a finale of "Authority Song". Mellencamp has to be about 60 years old and he still can rock and jump around on stage. Great set. I guess when you only have to fill an hour you might as well fill it with your rockingest, biggest hits.
Neil Young came on stage and said "We want our farms back". Neil Young had his regular band with him. His wife Pegi on backing vocals, Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Rick Rosas on Bass, Ben Kieth on Pedal Steel Guitar. Neil does a mostly acoustic set. He plays "Hold Back The Tears". A very soulful "Sail Away". Pegi's voice is very good tonight. Willie joined Neil and the band for a rousing rendition of "Home Grown". Willie and Neil really seemed to enjoying themselves on that one. Neil ended with "Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere". During the set Neil tore his red T shirt off exposing a green T shirt underneath saying "Family Farms". After Neil's set I went walking around and I heard some younger people talking. "Man when did Neil Young become so angry?" "Yeah, he is a grouchy old guy". I guess they have never believed in, or been involved in, a cause as much as Neil is. Kids, go figure.
Willie Nelson came out and said "Family farmers are the first rung of economics in this country". Yes they are. The salt of the earth. The hard working men and women who make this country great. Speaking of great what a set Willie performs. Willie performed some of his greatest hits like "Whiskey River", "Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys", "On The Road Again", "Always On My Mind". He had his son Lukas join him and take the lead for a blues filled rendition of "Me and Paul" and "Shoe shine Man". Willie had Billy Joe Shaver come on out on stage since he was late and did not perform earlier. Doh! I was bummed out for nothing. Billie Joe Shaver performed with Willie "Just Because You Asked Me To" and "Fast Train To Georgia". Two legends singing together, excellent. I am totally happy or so I thought.
During the set Willie takes off his cowboy hat and frisbees it out into the audience. The hat flutters out over my head then starts back towards the stage. I leap as I high as I can. I must have looked like Shaquille O' Neal going for a rebound. I get my hands on the hat but another fan has a grip on the hat also. I give a tug and fall back into my chair, the hat is mine. A bit beat up from the tussle but mine none the less. The smile on my face has to be from ear to ear. Willie throws out bandannas at every show. I don't know how often he throws out a cowboy hat. Now I wonder if I am on the Farm Aid live broadcast? I will have to buy the DVD when it comes out.
Willie brings his Indian entourage out with any of the performers who want to come out on stage for a bit of gospel music. As a group they perform "I'll Fly Away", a wonderful version of "Amazng Grace" and anyone who is left in the crowd is singing along with "I Saw The Light". Willie was on top of his game all day. Farm Aid brings out the best in him.
A wonderful, wonderful day. Oh except for during the concert I was talking to the people sitting next to Randy and they were from Cincinnati, my Browns lost in overtime. Ahh who cares, Farm Aid was fun and I have Willies hat. I rate this a five twirl show with some moth catcher hand moves thrown in. This is an event I can scratch off of my bucket list. Maybe I will plan my vacation around it.
Monday morning load up the car and fill the CD player with some new CD's. Let's see, how about some Van Morrison, Jerry Garcia Band, Melissa Etheridge, Paul Thorn, Grace Potter and Government Mule. I have eight hours of sunshine, singing and good memories ahead. I have Willies hat on my head and I am off.
If you text the word farmer to 90999 five dollars will be donated to Farm Aid in your name and billed to your phone bill. Please try and help the small family farmer out by buying local produce and meats and donating to Farm Aid.
Friday Morning I get packed. I load the Avalanches CD player with traveling music, Joe Bonomassa, Dave Matthews, Will kimbrough, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and J. Giels. Between the CD's and XM radio, I should be able to make the trip with my sole still in tact. I take my friend Michael to the airport so that he can catch a flight to Texas then to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet his wife where they will embark on a two week journey through the western landscape.
12:30 and I am on 71 South towards Columbus. Dark sky's and rain will be my companion for the first two hours of the trip. The music is blaring and I have cookies, peanut butter M & M's, Sour Dough Pretzels and water for nourishment. God help anyone who tries to get in my way now. The sugar buzz alone could kill most mortals. Add in the isolation and I am sure a madness will try and take over along the way.
I set landmarks to break up the trip. One hour to Mansfield. Another hour to I 270. A half hour to I 70. I know these roads well and can coast on auto pilot. Once on I 70 I have only been to Dayton twice in my life and Indianapolis once, after that I was in uncharted territory. Just me and my Biatch, the GPS to guide me. The rest of the trip on I 70 is just a flat out run from Indianapolis to Earth City Missouri. I can't wait to get there where I can blend in with the rest of the crazies and miscreants who have traveled from around the country to save the farmers.
Randy calls me when I am about two hours away from the hotel. He is in Chicago on a layover. He asks whether I am talking to myself yet. I tell him to beware of the bats. The bats are flying around but have not attacked yet. Randy knows Hunter so he could decipher what I was talking about. We should hit the hotel about the same time. I love when a plan comes together. I got to go, my voice is getting raspy from talking and I need it to keep singing.
I am the first to arrive at the hotel of our little foursome. Randy, Dave, Dave's cousin Karen and I will spend the next few days together playing tourist, gamblers, Farm Aid supporters and music fans, while enjoying the surrounds of St Louis, Missouri. I am only able to rest for about 15 minutes before Randy and the others arrive. We go and get some Bar B Que for dinner and head back to the hotel for a drink at the bar. The hotel is filled with many of the technical crew from Farm Aid. The TV crews and lighting personnel that we will meet in the bar will prove to be a wealth of information as far as the venue and schedule of times of the different acts to take the stage. Many of these techies have come from Memphis, Virginia, Maryland and other parts of the United States and are knowledgeable in music and seem stoked to be working the Farm Aid concert.
Saturday we wake late around 8:00. We all had to sleep in after the long day of travel. We have a group meeting in the lobby and decide that since we are in St Louis we need to go and see the Gateway Arch, tourists that we are. We pile in the truck and head East on I 70 to find the Arch. The Biatch is being temperamental and refuses to give me directions. Some day I am going to beat that Biatch like a red headed step child. So while I drive the four of us stare off into the sky until we catch a glimpse of the 640' silver arch. Now we have to figure out which exit to get off at, luckily there are signs that direct us off of the highway. We work our way through a maze of streets and find a parking lot close to the arch and under a highway overpass. No matter what city you go to there are always parking lots under the overpasses of the expressway.
We walk through the park to the Arch and go under the Arch where there is a museum commemorating the westward expansion of the United States. We finally talk Randy into taking the elevator up to the top of the Arch to view the City of St. Louis from the observation deck. We have to get into little cars that look like football helmets. Luckily I get separated from the other three and have to ride with a family that has two children about 9 and 11 years old. The kids do not take up much space, although one of them is kind of freaking out. Listen you little bastard I am not crazy about the confined space either but you do not feel me quivering from fear. Man up. Finally we are at the top.
Jesus Christ, who designed this lookout point a midget. I feel claustrophobic up here, my head almost touches the ceiling. The architect must have thought only gnomes, hobbits, trolls and ferries were going to come up here. The Arch is solid I don't feel it swaying in the wind like I expected it to and the view is pretty. OK we have had enough lets head down. Five grown ups climb into one of the Football helmets for the ride down. Let me explain Dave makes me look small. He is at least an inch taller, with size 17 feet and I can hide in his shadow. Needless to say the four and a half minute ride down was not very comfortable.
We now walk to the river and take a nice paddle wheal boat ride on the Mississippi River. The boat captain gave us a brief history of the river and the founding of St. Louis. A nice and relaxing trip. A bit cold at times but overall enjoyable. I met a veteran Farm Aid concert goer, from Maryland, on the boat. He had been to ten Farm Aid shows already. He plans his vacation around going to the concert every year. How much fun is that.
We now decide to play Lewis and Clark and walk what seems like to Kansas City. Truth be told it is about eight blocks to the Taste of St. Louis. The Taste of St. Louis is a street fair with lots of Bar B Que food, art work, trinkets and music. Admission is free and the food is reasonably priced. We eat ribs, ribs, pulled pork, ribs, pizza, ribs, beer, cheese cake a milk shake with a rolled up cookie in it and ice cream. Whew, lets head for the truck. Did I happen to mention that Dave can eat.
Back at the safe confines of the hotel Randy takes a nap, I stretch my back that is starting to bother me, Dave and Karen fall asleep. Randy wakes up and we go to the pool and swim in the cold pool water. Then hit the bar for a late night soup, salad and a Cuvasier. The techies are just getting in from their long day of setup and practice. We all start extending "howdy doos", "where you froms" and concert stories of days gone past. A schedule now appears out of a brief case that lets me know what times every group will be on stage if every thing runs on time. Randy and I decide we can miss some of the early acts, although Phosphorescent is one of the bands that I wanted to see that I will miss. If we head over to the amphitheatre around 2:30 I should be able to catch Billy Joe Shaver and the rest of the big acts. Thanks fellas for an enlightened enjoyable evening.
Sunday morning we all meet for a big breakfast and to discuss our game plan for the day. Get ready, head over to Harah's Casino for a few hours of gambling and Browns football, then off to the show. The Casino did not have a sports bar to watch the Browns so I headed to the video Poker machine. Three hands and I am up $50. I feel a big win in here today. OK I give back the $50 and the the original $20 that I put into the machine. I check the Browns score they are losing, go figure. I lose another $20. I check the Browns score they are tied. Ok I can live with that. I lose another $20. Thank God it is time to go and meet the others and head to the concert. I can't afford this place. The Browns are winning, hurray.
We get to the concert venue it is what Randy calls a "shed". A steel and concrete amphitheatre with a man made hill for lawn seating. It is not Red Rocks or Blossom Music Center, just a nondescript amphitheatre like many others spread out across the United States. We get to our seats six rows from the stage dead center, Nice. Jamey Johnson is on stage setting up. I don't like the looks of this where is Billy Joe Shaver. I look around and spot a couple that looks as though they have been there for a while and ask, "did Billy Joe Shaver play already?" "Yeah Yeah he's done" they tell me. I am bummed, so bummed, one of the highlights of my day was going to be seeing Billy Joe Shaver live. A living legend and I missed him. How do the Beatles say it "I'm down, I'm really down, I'm down, down on the ground".
Jamey Johnson starts playing and singing which lifts my spirits. Jamey Johnson has a deep voice that reminded me of Bo Cepheus. He reminded Randy of Kris Kristopherson. Country music but a good sound. I can listen to this. Jamey Johnson ends and I go for a walk to check out the vendors selling organic food, locally grown and raised by farmers. I get a pizza and a bottle of water.
Gretchen Wilson is up next, her band takes the stage. Dave and I decide to walk around and people watch and see what we can see. Young people, old people, farmers and city folk all together for a just cause or just to hear good music. Hey, I thought Gretchen Wilson was country? This band is playing "Lunatic Fringe" then they segue into "Rock You Like A Hurricane" by Scorpion. What the F is going on? Gretchen now joins her band and rocks out with "Here for the Party", "There's A Place In Whiskey" with a interlude to "La Grange" by ZZ Top. She ends her set with her big hit "Redneck Woman". All the women are singing along and dancing and having a good time.
Wilco comes out and slams Gretchen Wilson by asking "how many people here are not rednecks?" Over half the crowd applauds. Jeff tweedy the singer for Wilco explains that we are all just people here for a good cause, not just rednecks. Wilco plays a stellar set of music including the songs "Heavy Metal Drummer", "Casino Queen", which is about a casino that is across the Mississippi River in East St. Louis and "Hoodoo Voodoo". Nice guitar action between the two lead guitarists switching back and forth. I can understand why Wilco is making a name for themselves.
I guess I will stick around to hear Jason Mraz. I don't know much about him, lets see what the kids got. What Jason has is a nice kind of island, party sound. He sings a message of love and community and fellowship. I like it. I could do without the lame hand gestures he is trying to get the crowd to do, but I like it. Jason pulls out a nice rendition of "Spirit In The Sky". Much of the crowd is singing along. I like it.
The sun is starting to set when Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds start their set. I don't know who this Tim Reynolds is but I am sure going to find out. Tim can play guitar. Tim and Dave do an acoustic set playing some of Dave's music off of his new album Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King. "Funny the Way It Is" and "You and Me"Dave Matthews acknowledges that Willie Nelson's guitar is sitting behind him and just has to touch it, with one finger like a naughty little child. When Willie finally joins them on stage the trio performs a moving rendition of "Gravedigger". Dave and Tim finish the set with a great rendition of "Dancing Nancies". Dave is great with his band but he is equally good with Tim Reynolds acoustic. Dave is on the board of Farm Aid and said "The more we get behind things Willie believes in the better we'll be".
John Cougar Mellencamp takes the stage with a full band and rocks out his set. He opens with "Pink Houses", which gets the crowd on their feet. "Paper in Fire" and "Check it out " were very well done with a violin, accordian, two guitarist, a drummer and a bass player plus John. John did two acoustic songs then he brought the whole band back out to rock some more. John brought his 14 year old son out to try out for the band but he is not in the band yet, when they played a finale of "Authority Song". Mellencamp has to be about 60 years old and he still can rock and jump around on stage. Great set. I guess when you only have to fill an hour you might as well fill it with your rockingest, biggest hits.
Neil Young came on stage and said "We want our farms back". Neil Young had his regular band with him. His wife Pegi on backing vocals, Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Rick Rosas on Bass, Ben Kieth on Pedal Steel Guitar. Neil does a mostly acoustic set. He plays "Hold Back The Tears". A very soulful "Sail Away". Pegi's voice is very good tonight. Willie joined Neil and the band for a rousing rendition of "Home Grown". Willie and Neil really seemed to enjoying themselves on that one. Neil ended with "Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere". During the set Neil tore his red T shirt off exposing a green T shirt underneath saying "Family Farms". After Neil's set I went walking around and I heard some younger people talking. "Man when did Neil Young become so angry?" "Yeah, he is a grouchy old guy". I guess they have never believed in, or been involved in, a cause as much as Neil is. Kids, go figure.
Willie Nelson came out and said "Family farmers are the first rung of economics in this country". Yes they are. The salt of the earth. The hard working men and women who make this country great. Speaking of great what a set Willie performs. Willie performed some of his greatest hits like "Whiskey River", "Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys", "On The Road Again", "Always On My Mind". He had his son Lukas join him and take the lead for a blues filled rendition of "Me and Paul" and "Shoe shine Man". Willie had Billy Joe Shaver come on out on stage since he was late and did not perform earlier. Doh! I was bummed out for nothing. Billie Joe Shaver performed with Willie "Just Because You Asked Me To" and "Fast Train To Georgia". Two legends singing together, excellent. I am totally happy or so I thought.
During the set Willie takes off his cowboy hat and frisbees it out into the audience. The hat flutters out over my head then starts back towards the stage. I leap as I high as I can. I must have looked like Shaquille O' Neal going for a rebound. I get my hands on the hat but another fan has a grip on the hat also. I give a tug and fall back into my chair, the hat is mine. A bit beat up from the tussle but mine none the less. The smile on my face has to be from ear to ear. Willie throws out bandannas at every show. I don't know how often he throws out a cowboy hat. Now I wonder if I am on the Farm Aid live broadcast? I will have to buy the DVD when it comes out.
Willie brings his Indian entourage out with any of the performers who want to come out on stage for a bit of gospel music. As a group they perform "I'll Fly Away", a wonderful version of "Amazng Grace" and anyone who is left in the crowd is singing along with "I Saw The Light". Willie was on top of his game all day. Farm Aid brings out the best in him.
A wonderful, wonderful day. Oh except for during the concert I was talking to the people sitting next to Randy and they were from Cincinnati, my Browns lost in overtime. Ahh who cares, Farm Aid was fun and I have Willies hat. I rate this a five twirl show with some moth catcher hand moves thrown in. This is an event I can scratch off of my bucket list. Maybe I will plan my vacation around it.
Monday morning load up the car and fill the CD player with some new CD's. Let's see, how about some Van Morrison, Jerry Garcia Band, Melissa Etheridge, Paul Thorn, Grace Potter and Government Mule. I have eight hours of sunshine, singing and good memories ahead. I have Willies hat on my head and I am off.
If you text the word farmer to 90999 five dollars will be donated to Farm Aid in your name and billed to your phone bill. Please try and help the small family farmer out by buying local produce and meats and donating to Farm Aid.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Will Kimbrough Honky Tonk House 9/11/09
Jay and Tammy, the gracious hosts of Honky Tonk House Concerts, are a friendly couple who have opened their house to music lovers for an up close, personal, concert experience. The house is your typical split level home with an attached garage and a family room under the bedrooms. The house could be found in any suburb built in the 1960's. This house is located in Streetsboro, Ohio. We started our experience in the garage and driveway at 7:00PM with a smorgas board of food and BYOB drinks. The food ranged from shrimp, fried Bar B Que chicken wings, macaroni and potato salad to chips and dip. The fans were very knowledgeable in music and a pleasure to talk with.
At around 8:00 the night of Americana music started with a teenage couple who performed 2 original songs. A nice gesture on Jay and Tammy's part to offer support to some local young budding talent.
Then Chris Castle took the stage or should I say the floor there isn't a stage just a few spotlights mounted and pointed at a spot against the wall of the family room. A very homey touch but a bit crowded. Chris is a local Americana/folk singer from Norwalk, Ohio who wears suits, weighs 115 pounds and drives and lives part time in a white cargo van. He is a story teller using song to convey his message. Most of his music was pretty quiet this night. I wish he would have cranked it up a notch and rocked a little. I don't know Chris's music that well and maybe he just has a quiet style. I liked the song "Both Ends of a Gun", a sad song with an up beat tempo. Chris played for about an hour then we all took a short breather outside.
Will Kimbrough the alien, was up next. Will uses a loop where he records a back beat strumming chords on his guitar, then plays a lead guitar over the top of the back beat he just created. Will came right out of the box with one of my favorite songs "Eden Prairie" playing guitar, harmonica and singing, showing why he is a talent that I enjoy seeing over and over again. Will is a great lyricist which is evident in "Nobody From Nowhere", a saying his father used to say. The next three songs are modern Americana music at its finest, "Horseshoe Lake", "Godsend", "Hill Country Girl". Then came a funny little song about a laundry mat "Wash and Fold". "He ain't Right" is a bluesy song with lyrics from Tommy Womack and music by Will Kimbrough. Now Will starts rocking with "Another Train". Will finishes the set with "Three Angels", a new song "Wings" and "Redemption Every Mothers Son". Wow that could have been the whole concert and it was just Will's first set.
During the break I heard one man complain that Will was unplugged and not playing his electric guitar. This idiot actually left the show. Yes, I love to hear Mr. Kimbrough play his electric guitar but to hear him unplugged is still a treat. You would have to be a fool to walk out on Will Kimbrough at any time.
My Honey Bunny and I go and buy an autographed copy of Will Kimbrough's last CD "Daddy for a Second Time". Will is standing around talking to all of us and signing autographs and just having a good time.
Will comes out and jams with his guitar and harmonica on "Piece of Work". He shows off his guitar prowess on "This Modern World". He talks about past friends who get mad and hold grudges then jumps into "I Don't Like It". He has a brief interlude into the old song "Tequila" during the song "Cape Henry". Will slows down for "She came from Philadelphia". He sings about corporate corruption in "Ed McGuire". Then he sings about a 15 year old prostitute who has eyes that look like she is 65, "Rotten Apple of Daddy's Eye", nice slide guitar solo. Will's vocals really shined on "Keep Your Eye On The Road". He gets everyone involved in a sing along in the next two songs"You Made Your Bed" you got to lay in it and "Yo Yo Ma", on both of these songs he was showing off his guitar work with slide and finger pickin. He slows the show down with "Good Night".
Will Kimbrough now brings a local folk artist named Joe Linstrum up to jam with him. Joe shows he can play guitar on Hank Williams "I'll Leave You Now". They then go back and forth exchanging licks on a song, Will called, "Get Rhythm". Joe and Will dig in for "I've Got Love to Spare". I never have seen Joe Linstrum before but I would not hesitate to see him again. The young man can play.
For a finale Will breaks out a banjo and Joe Linstrum is still seated in the spotlight and for a kicker Chris Castle sits off to Wills right with his guitar. Everyone who knows me knows I love a good jam session. The three of them jam out to "Thank God I Don't Have a Gun". They finish the evening with a Tommy Womack song "Vicky Smith". I'm in heaven. There were some magical moments during this jam session.
Will was on top of his game tonight. He talked and joked with the crowd. Played his music with expert precision. Seemed very relaxed and in a good mood. Mr. Kimbrough is always polite and will talk with you if you approach him. Tonight he seemed eager to talk to people. He told some good stories about his life and his music. You got to love an entertainer like this.
It is now after 1:00 AM when they finish. A hat is sitting on the bar and you can throw any amount of money that you think the show is worth into the hat. I tossed in $40 for me and my Honey Bunny. If I wasn't unemployed I would have thrown in more money. Over four hours of music in a small intimate setting where the artist will talk with you and sign autographs. Great!
Tammy and Jay thanks for the experience.
I give the show Five twirls.
Shows are judged on a five twirl system. Moth catcher hand motions count as half a twirl.
At around 8:00 the night of Americana music started with a teenage couple who performed 2 original songs. A nice gesture on Jay and Tammy's part to offer support to some local young budding talent.
Then Chris Castle took the stage or should I say the floor there isn't a stage just a few spotlights mounted and pointed at a spot against the wall of the family room. A very homey touch but a bit crowded. Chris is a local Americana/folk singer from Norwalk, Ohio who wears suits, weighs 115 pounds and drives and lives part time in a white cargo van. He is a story teller using song to convey his message. Most of his music was pretty quiet this night. I wish he would have cranked it up a notch and rocked a little. I don't know Chris's music that well and maybe he just has a quiet style. I liked the song "Both Ends of a Gun", a sad song with an up beat tempo. Chris played for about an hour then we all took a short breather outside.
Will Kimbrough the alien, was up next. Will uses a loop where he records a back beat strumming chords on his guitar, then plays a lead guitar over the top of the back beat he just created. Will came right out of the box with one of my favorite songs "Eden Prairie" playing guitar, harmonica and singing, showing why he is a talent that I enjoy seeing over and over again. Will is a great lyricist which is evident in "Nobody From Nowhere", a saying his father used to say. The next three songs are modern Americana music at its finest, "Horseshoe Lake", "Godsend", "Hill Country Girl". Then came a funny little song about a laundry mat "Wash and Fold". "He ain't Right" is a bluesy song with lyrics from Tommy Womack and music by Will Kimbrough. Now Will starts rocking with "Another Train". Will finishes the set with "Three Angels", a new song "Wings" and "Redemption Every Mothers Son". Wow that could have been the whole concert and it was just Will's first set.
During the break I heard one man complain that Will was unplugged and not playing his electric guitar. This idiot actually left the show. Yes, I love to hear Mr. Kimbrough play his electric guitar but to hear him unplugged is still a treat. You would have to be a fool to walk out on Will Kimbrough at any time.
My Honey Bunny and I go and buy an autographed copy of Will Kimbrough's last CD "Daddy for a Second Time". Will is standing around talking to all of us and signing autographs and just having a good time.
Will comes out and jams with his guitar and harmonica on "Piece of Work". He shows off his guitar prowess on "This Modern World". He talks about past friends who get mad and hold grudges then jumps into "I Don't Like It". He has a brief interlude into the old song "Tequila" during the song "Cape Henry". Will slows down for "She came from Philadelphia". He sings about corporate corruption in "Ed McGuire". Then he sings about a 15 year old prostitute who has eyes that look like she is 65, "Rotten Apple of Daddy's Eye", nice slide guitar solo. Will's vocals really shined on "Keep Your Eye On The Road". He gets everyone involved in a sing along in the next two songs"You Made Your Bed" you got to lay in it and "Yo Yo Ma", on both of these songs he was showing off his guitar work with slide and finger pickin. He slows the show down with "Good Night".
Will Kimbrough now brings a local folk artist named Joe Linstrum up to jam with him. Joe shows he can play guitar on Hank Williams "I'll Leave You Now". They then go back and forth exchanging licks on a song, Will called, "Get Rhythm". Joe and Will dig in for "I've Got Love to Spare". I never have seen Joe Linstrum before but I would not hesitate to see him again. The young man can play.
For a finale Will breaks out a banjo and Joe Linstrum is still seated in the spotlight and for a kicker Chris Castle sits off to Wills right with his guitar. Everyone who knows me knows I love a good jam session. The three of them jam out to "Thank God I Don't Have a Gun". They finish the evening with a Tommy Womack song "Vicky Smith". I'm in heaven. There were some magical moments during this jam session.
Will was on top of his game tonight. He talked and joked with the crowd. Played his music with expert precision. Seemed very relaxed and in a good mood. Mr. Kimbrough is always polite and will talk with you if you approach him. Tonight he seemed eager to talk to people. He told some good stories about his life and his music. You got to love an entertainer like this.
It is now after 1:00 AM when they finish. A hat is sitting on the bar and you can throw any amount of money that you think the show is worth into the hat. I tossed in $40 for me and my Honey Bunny. If I wasn't unemployed I would have thrown in more money. Over four hours of music in a small intimate setting where the artist will talk with you and sign autographs. Great!
Tammy and Jay thanks for the experience.
I give the show Five twirls.
Shows are judged on a five twirl system. Moth catcher hand motions count as half a twirl.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Browns Vs Baltimore 2009
OMG! Are the Browns terrible? Yes. An emphatic YES! Braylon Edwards off sides again. Brandon McDonald too small to cover the big wide receivers again. Elan to slow to help over the top again. Brady Quin with no long passes down field again. A coach who claims to be behind his quarterback, replacing the quarterback mid stream again. No Massaquoi (Massaquoi 1 reception) or Robiski again. No containment by the defense again. Edwards our number one receiver with only three catches again(actually this is an improvement). Me, vomiting by half time again.
While I was vomiting in a trash barrel next to the couch because of the nauseating play of the Browns I heard one of the analyst say "I saw the Browns last week in person and they actually look worse in person than on TV". I am unemployed and having to pay for over priced, premadonna athletes and coaches who would not be in the BCS rankings for the national championship if they played in the NCAA makes me sick. GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY. Boy am I glad I dumped some of my tickets before the season started.
Randy, Mangini was going to be the answer to all of our football problems. You had to have him. You could not wait two or three weeks to talk to Shanahan. Noooo, Mangini is the Man. Randy, Please sell the team. You and your family have tortured us long enough. Next year you are going to have to get the Rolling Stones to play during the game if you want anyone to show up.
Our defense looks as bad as our defensive coordinator. Rob Ryan is a disgusting pig of a human being. This pregnant looking, long haired, autistic, swine of a person could not demand respect from any creature on earth much less a bunch of over paid athletes. If you don't respect yourself how can you expect others to respect you. Rob Ryan, you are disgusting, your father should be ashamed of you. Your own brother was smart enough not to hire you. Randy how could you let this goof into your organization?
Is Daboll calling for little dink and dunk passes or is it that pretty boy Brady Quinn just can't perform at the NFL level. Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, now we see why everyone else passed on this no talent hack. I can't believe that we traded up to grab this guy. Brady do us a favor and go and model underwear. You are not a NFL quarterback.
Mangini replaced almost half of last years team with his own players. Twenty four new players on a 53 man roster. He has no excuses. The players he has are the players who have the character to play for a hard nose coach like Mangini. He brought in old Jets players who were going to nurture the younger players. Doesn't look like his idea worked very well. I told you early on that I was skeptical of Mangini but if he wins I would love him. He ain't winning Lucy.
Bright spots of the game. Harrison can run and catch the ball. Zastudill, the punter, is MVP three weeks in a row. Furrey is a decent number two receiver. Too bad that we do not have a number one or number three receiver to help out. Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati. The game ended before I totally dehydrated myself.
While I was vomiting in a trash barrel next to the couch because of the nauseating play of the Browns I heard one of the analyst say "I saw the Browns last week in person and they actually look worse in person than on TV". I am unemployed and having to pay for over priced, premadonna athletes and coaches who would not be in the BCS rankings for the national championship if they played in the NCAA makes me sick. GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY. Boy am I glad I dumped some of my tickets before the season started.
Randy, Mangini was going to be the answer to all of our football problems. You had to have him. You could not wait two or three weeks to talk to Shanahan. Noooo, Mangini is the Man. Randy, Please sell the team. You and your family have tortured us long enough. Next year you are going to have to get the Rolling Stones to play during the game if you want anyone to show up.
Our defense looks as bad as our defensive coordinator. Rob Ryan is a disgusting pig of a human being. This pregnant looking, long haired, autistic, swine of a person could not demand respect from any creature on earth much less a bunch of over paid athletes. If you don't respect yourself how can you expect others to respect you. Rob Ryan, you are disgusting, your father should be ashamed of you. Your own brother was smart enough not to hire you. Randy how could you let this goof into your organization?
Is Daboll calling for little dink and dunk passes or is it that pretty boy Brady Quinn just can't perform at the NFL level. Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, now we see why everyone else passed on this no talent hack. I can't believe that we traded up to grab this guy. Brady do us a favor and go and model underwear. You are not a NFL quarterback.
Mangini replaced almost half of last years team with his own players. Twenty four new players on a 53 man roster. He has no excuses. The players he has are the players who have the character to play for a hard nose coach like Mangini. He brought in old Jets players who were going to nurture the younger players. Doesn't look like his idea worked very well. I told you early on that I was skeptical of Mangini but if he wins I would love him. He ain't winning Lucy.
Bright spots of the game. Harrison can run and catch the ball. Zastudill, the punter, is MVP three weeks in a row. Furrey is a decent number two receiver. Too bad that we do not have a number one or number three receiver to help out. Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati. The game ended before I totally dehydrated myself.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Browns Vs Vikings 2009
Well here we are with a brand new season of the Cleveland Browns. Here are some of my thoughts about the whole Browns experience on game day.
The City of Cleveland needs to enact a law that says, any parking facility that charges $20.00 or more needs to supply 1 porta potty for every 35 spaces in their parking facility. The parking lots and this includes City owned and County owned lots are raping the people on game day. That's fine, it is capitalism at its best, supply and demand economics. But to pay $25.00 and have to smell urine from all of the people peeing between cars or in bushes because there are no bathroom facilities is disgusting. You can't expect people to come downtown and start tailgating at 9:00 AM and not have to relieve nature until they get into the stadium at 12:30. People are publicly urinating all over the parking lots. In the middle ages people did not have lavatory facilities and disease ran rampant. I park in a City of Cleveland Parking lot where the old Naval Reserve station was. I pay $25.00 to park and the closest bathroom is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. C'mon Cleveland lets be a little proactive on this issue. If anyone knows who I should contact on this issue at the City of Cleveland please let me know. I have written the Browns back in April about this very issue, obviously to no avail.
Well the what I like to call the Romeo Mangini era of Browns football has begun. Mangini was going to implement a tougher more disciplined form of football in Cleveland. I still see stupid penalties being made, wide receivers should never be called for off sides that's Romeo Ball. I see a discord between quarterback and receivers, QB's throwing out patterns and wide receivers running in patterns. Dropped passes all over the place, Edwards 1 for 6, Royal 3 for 7, yeash. Where is the discipline? I know it is just one game but it looked a lot like the past nine years.
I am no football genius but when the Browns get to the six yard line and Jamal Lewis smashes for three yards on first down leaving you second and three don't you try that play again in some form or another. Not Mangini, he has no confidence in his offense, he goes to his trick play and lines up in the "wildcat". OK try the "wildcat" once but once it was stuffed so bad don't you go back to regular football. Not our boy Eric he tries it a second time. As soon as I saw Cribs in the back field I started groaning, I knew that the play was going to be stopped. It had no chance of succeeding the first time why would you try it again. How about a role out where the QB can run or pass the ball. How about smashing Jamal Lewis off Tackle again, where he gained three yards before. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Brian Daboll offensive Coordinator could prove to be a problem.
All I have been hearing for two years is Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn. OK, OK enough already Brady Quinn is no Mark Sanchez. I was a Derek Anderson man myself, but in the preseason I admitted that the team seemed to run smoother with Quinn at QB. How is it that your starting Quarterback is not a captain on your team? The Quarterback needs to be your leader. Quinn does not look for the deep ball. Quinn is dinking and dunking, short passes. Good for a QB rating, terrible for winning games. The defense never got stretched out Sunday, they only had to cover 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. I believe only two balls were thrown and caught longer than 15 yards, disgusting. There were two other pass plays that netted more than 15 yards but they were short passes that Jamal and Furrey then turned into long gains with their running abilities. I heard one guy on the way out of the stadium yelling at people with Quinn jerseys on telling them to take him back to Notre Dame. A little harsh for this early in the season. Just remember that a lot of teams who needed QB's passed on Quinn on draft day.
After the first half of football I thought that the Moral Compass was going to have to eat crow, squawk. HA, Ha I don't have to, Rob Ryan's defense fell apart in the second half. Boy in the first half our defense looked all world, holding Adrien Peterson the best running back in the NFL to just 25 yards rushing, sacking Brett Favre with cornerback blitzes. Wow, I am impressed. But then in the second half Minnesota made some adjustments and the Browns defense made none. Yep the idiot son of Buddy Ryan showed his true self to the world. The Browns defense became the sieve that we have come to know and expect in Cleveland.
Look, I have been saying all along, "if Mangini wins I will love him but, he has done nothing so far to show me that he knows what he is doing". A rookie offensive coordinator, a losing defensive coordinator and a head coach that wants to be Bill Belicheck but does not have the brains. I am expecting a season for disaster. After seeing the first game I am still holding to my 6 and 10 prediction. I also predict that we will see some good football from the Browns but our coaching will end up blowing a few more games for us. Hey we all know the Cleveland Cheer "NEXT YEAR".
The City of Cleveland needs to enact a law that says, any parking facility that charges $20.00 or more needs to supply 1 porta potty for every 35 spaces in their parking facility. The parking lots and this includes City owned and County owned lots are raping the people on game day. That's fine, it is capitalism at its best, supply and demand economics. But to pay $25.00 and have to smell urine from all of the people peeing between cars or in bushes because there are no bathroom facilities is disgusting. You can't expect people to come downtown and start tailgating at 9:00 AM and not have to relieve nature until they get into the stadium at 12:30. People are publicly urinating all over the parking lots. In the middle ages people did not have lavatory facilities and disease ran rampant. I park in a City of Cleveland Parking lot where the old Naval Reserve station was. I pay $25.00 to park and the closest bathroom is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. C'mon Cleveland lets be a little proactive on this issue. If anyone knows who I should contact on this issue at the City of Cleveland please let me know. I have written the Browns back in April about this very issue, obviously to no avail.
Well the what I like to call the Romeo Mangini era of Browns football has begun. Mangini was going to implement a tougher more disciplined form of football in Cleveland. I still see stupid penalties being made, wide receivers should never be called for off sides that's Romeo Ball. I see a discord between quarterback and receivers, QB's throwing out patterns and wide receivers running in patterns. Dropped passes all over the place, Edwards 1 for 6, Royal 3 for 7, yeash. Where is the discipline? I know it is just one game but it looked a lot like the past nine years.
I am no football genius but when the Browns get to the six yard line and Jamal Lewis smashes for three yards on first down leaving you second and three don't you try that play again in some form or another. Not Mangini, he has no confidence in his offense, he goes to his trick play and lines up in the "wildcat". OK try the "wildcat" once but once it was stuffed so bad don't you go back to regular football. Not our boy Eric he tries it a second time. As soon as I saw Cribs in the back field I started groaning, I knew that the play was going to be stopped. It had no chance of succeeding the first time why would you try it again. How about a role out where the QB can run or pass the ball. How about smashing Jamal Lewis off Tackle again, where he gained three yards before. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Brian Daboll offensive Coordinator could prove to be a problem.
All I have been hearing for two years is Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn, Brady Quinn. OK, OK enough already Brady Quinn is no Mark Sanchez. I was a Derek Anderson man myself, but in the preseason I admitted that the team seemed to run smoother with Quinn at QB. How is it that your starting Quarterback is not a captain on your team? The Quarterback needs to be your leader. Quinn does not look for the deep ball. Quinn is dinking and dunking, short passes. Good for a QB rating, terrible for winning games. The defense never got stretched out Sunday, they only had to cover 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. I believe only two balls were thrown and caught longer than 15 yards, disgusting. There were two other pass plays that netted more than 15 yards but they were short passes that Jamal and Furrey then turned into long gains with their running abilities. I heard one guy on the way out of the stadium yelling at people with Quinn jerseys on telling them to take him back to Notre Dame. A little harsh for this early in the season. Just remember that a lot of teams who needed QB's passed on Quinn on draft day.
After the first half of football I thought that the Moral Compass was going to have to eat crow, squawk. HA, Ha I don't have to, Rob Ryan's defense fell apart in the second half. Boy in the first half our defense looked all world, holding Adrien Peterson the best running back in the NFL to just 25 yards rushing, sacking Brett Favre with cornerback blitzes. Wow, I am impressed. But then in the second half Minnesota made some adjustments and the Browns defense made none. Yep the idiot son of Buddy Ryan showed his true self to the world. The Browns defense became the sieve that we have come to know and expect in Cleveland.
Look, I have been saying all along, "if Mangini wins I will love him but, he has done nothing so far to show me that he knows what he is doing". A rookie offensive coordinator, a losing defensive coordinator and a head coach that wants to be Bill Belicheck but does not have the brains. I am expecting a season for disaster. After seeing the first game I am still holding to my 6 and 10 prediction. I also predict that we will see some good football from the Browns but our coaching will end up blowing a few more games for us. Hey we all know the Cleveland Cheer "NEXT YEAR".
Monday, September 7, 2009
Todd Rundgren Akron Civic 9/7/09
My friend Pooch took me to the Todd Rundgren "A Wizard A True Star" concert at the Akron Civic Theatre tonight. What a wonderful theatre. The theatre has been reconditioned and looks just beautiful. The first time I ever saw Todd was at the Akron Civic Theatre back in 1974, Todd did most of the A Wizard A True Star album solo, just Todd and a real to real on stage. He just blew me away that night. This show was good but not great.
Todd and part of the band play the first set in front of the stage curtain. Kasim Sulton on bass, Roger Powell on keyboards and Prarie prince on drums. The band is dressed in white T shirts and black pants. The first song is "On the Road to Utopia", Todd sings he is barely audible, the sound is terrible. OK sound men usually take a song or two to get the sound right. Kasim Sulton sings "Libertine", the sound is bad. Roger Powell sings the next song the name might have been "vacant city"? I don't know it. Sound is still bad. "Fist Pump" sounds terrible. "Landslide" is just OK.
First set the sound men screwed up bad. Todd was best when he was the front man with a band behind him. When he tries to be a band and highlight other members of the band it comes off weak. The firsts set was a bunch of Utopia songs that never were my favorites to begin with then throw in a bad sound man and it becomes terrible. Todd has no repartee with the audience. The band just played and sounded bad. Thank God for the break.
The curtain opens with "International Feel" playing. The stage is all in smoke Todd is in an astronauts suit and three keyboard players,Gregg Hawkes, Bobby Strickland who also plays sax and flute and Roger Powell, a drummer Prarie Prince, a bass player Kasim Sulton and a guitarist Jesse Gress, are on platforms at different elevations dressed in all white tuxedos with tails. There is a movie screen above the stage that will show images pertaining to the album or individual songs through out the night. Three keyboardists are on one side of the stage with the rest of the band on the other side of the stage leaving Todd the middle of the stage for his theatrical performance. Remember that AWATS came out about the same time when theatrical performances were the norm for rock bands. Bowie was doing Major Tom and The Spiders From Mars. Genesis was into costume changes in the blink of an eye. Alex Harvey was doing his theatrical performances of his music. Jethro Tull was performing "Thick as a Brick". So this is an old time concert with music and a theatrical performance as well.
Todd tries to sing "Never Never Land" but his microphone is not working. He finally grabs Kasim Sulton's microphone and finishes the song. "Tic Tic Tic" is played but the sound quality is bad. "You Need Your Head" again the microphone keeps cutting out. For "Rock and Roll Pussy" Todd has on a green velvet jogging suit but his pants keep falling down and he keeps struggling to pull them up, it is very distracting. For Todd to be the Wizard of technology that he is, his crew is failing miserably at the technical side of the production.
"Dog Fight Giggle" finally is a song that comes off without a hitch. The screen above the stage is flashing pictures of the right wing and left wing reporters such as Rush Limbaugh, Steven Colbert, John Stewart, Sean Hannity, George W and Obama. I think it is pretty funny.
Todd comes back out on stage in a red velvet smoking jacket, the band misses its cue to start playing and Todd stops them. "Start on my down beat" he tells them. "I thought this is the show we would do last night" he tells the audience. I take it that he is referring to all of the mistakes being made. Mistakes that should have been corrected the night before. A one, two, and they start into "You Don't Have To Camp Around". "Flamingo" has the screen above the stage shooting flamingos out of everywhere. Out of Todd's mouth, big ones, small ones, dancing across the screen. "The Zen Archer" brings Todd back out in a partially uncovered top with gold feathers running down his arms. Another costume malfunction as Todd sings and fixes the medallion on his chest at the same time. "Just Another Onion Head" and "Da Da Dali" have an obese Todd in a ball cap, bow tie and suspenders.
for some reason at this point "When the Shit Hits the Fan/ Sunset Boulevard" and "Le Feel International" are not played. These are the first songs not to be played in order of the album.
"Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel" is done beautifully. Kasim comes down off of his platform and sings "Does Anybody Love You?". Todd reenters the stage in an orange tux befitting of Bill Murry doing his lounge act on Saturday Night Live. The Medley of songs is a highlight of this concert. Todd's voice is as good as ever. He sings, "I'm So Proud", "Ooh Baby Baby", "La La La Means I Love You" and "Cool Jerk". They ask everyone to dance like cool jerks at the end. "Hungry For Love", has Todd in a chefs outfit with a mustache. "I Don't Want To Tie You Down" has Todd in a red robe on a smoke filled stage, back lit so all you see is his silhouette.
Todd comes out for "Is It My Name" in a silver shiny outfit straps on a Gibson guitar and begins to wail on his guitar. Todd saved the missing songs for this part of the show so that once he strapped on his guitar he could rock out until the end of the show. Here is where he plays "When The Shit Hits The Fan/Sunset Blvd" and "Le Feel International". Wow we are smoking now. The concert is finally in full swing and it is almost over.
The encore of course is the only song left. But first Todd introduces the band and his wardrobe girl Michelle. Michelle Rundgren perhaps? The anthem for any one growing up in the seventies, "Just One Victory" is then played. Of course the guitar tech forgets to bring out Todd's guitar. Michelle has to run off stage a couple of times to try and get Todd's guitar on stage. Todd finishes and exits the stage.
I would not want to be back stage right now. Todd seemed very perturbed when he was exiting the stage. Heads should roll for this show. The sound was bad, miscues from the band and the guitar tech, inexcusable. This show was being filmed for a DVD, what a disaster. There were some highlights but there were a lot of mistakes.
I have to rate this a three twirl show. Sorry Todd I expect more from you. The tickets cost top dollar the show should be top notch. The concept is great and some of the music was performed exquisitly but overall too many distractions from the poor technical quality.
Todd and part of the band play the first set in front of the stage curtain. Kasim Sulton on bass, Roger Powell on keyboards and Prarie prince on drums. The band is dressed in white T shirts and black pants. The first song is "On the Road to Utopia", Todd sings he is barely audible, the sound is terrible. OK sound men usually take a song or two to get the sound right. Kasim Sulton sings "Libertine", the sound is bad. Roger Powell sings the next song the name might have been "vacant city"? I don't know it. Sound is still bad. "Fist Pump" sounds terrible. "Landslide" is just OK.
First set the sound men screwed up bad. Todd was best when he was the front man with a band behind him. When he tries to be a band and highlight other members of the band it comes off weak. The firsts set was a bunch of Utopia songs that never were my favorites to begin with then throw in a bad sound man and it becomes terrible. Todd has no repartee with the audience. The band just played and sounded bad. Thank God for the break.
The curtain opens with "International Feel" playing. The stage is all in smoke Todd is in an astronauts suit and three keyboard players,Gregg Hawkes, Bobby Strickland who also plays sax and flute and Roger Powell, a drummer Prarie Prince, a bass player Kasim Sulton and a guitarist Jesse Gress, are on platforms at different elevations dressed in all white tuxedos with tails. There is a movie screen above the stage that will show images pertaining to the album or individual songs through out the night. Three keyboardists are on one side of the stage with the rest of the band on the other side of the stage leaving Todd the middle of the stage for his theatrical performance. Remember that AWATS came out about the same time when theatrical performances were the norm for rock bands. Bowie was doing Major Tom and The Spiders From Mars. Genesis was into costume changes in the blink of an eye. Alex Harvey was doing his theatrical performances of his music. Jethro Tull was performing "Thick as a Brick". So this is an old time concert with music and a theatrical performance as well.
Todd tries to sing "Never Never Land" but his microphone is not working. He finally grabs Kasim Sulton's microphone and finishes the song. "Tic Tic Tic" is played but the sound quality is bad. "You Need Your Head" again the microphone keeps cutting out. For "Rock and Roll Pussy" Todd has on a green velvet jogging suit but his pants keep falling down and he keeps struggling to pull them up, it is very distracting. For Todd to be the Wizard of technology that he is, his crew is failing miserably at the technical side of the production.
"Dog Fight Giggle" finally is a song that comes off without a hitch. The screen above the stage is flashing pictures of the right wing and left wing reporters such as Rush Limbaugh, Steven Colbert, John Stewart, Sean Hannity, George W and Obama. I think it is pretty funny.
Todd comes back out on stage in a red velvet smoking jacket, the band misses its cue to start playing and Todd stops them. "Start on my down beat" he tells them. "I thought this is the show we would do last night" he tells the audience. I take it that he is referring to all of the mistakes being made. Mistakes that should have been corrected the night before. A one, two, and they start into "You Don't Have To Camp Around". "Flamingo" has the screen above the stage shooting flamingos out of everywhere. Out of Todd's mouth, big ones, small ones, dancing across the screen. "The Zen Archer" brings Todd back out in a partially uncovered top with gold feathers running down his arms. Another costume malfunction as Todd sings and fixes the medallion on his chest at the same time. "Just Another Onion Head" and "Da Da Dali" have an obese Todd in a ball cap, bow tie and suspenders.
for some reason at this point "When the Shit Hits the Fan/ Sunset Boulevard" and "Le Feel International" are not played. These are the first songs not to be played in order of the album.
"Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel" is done beautifully. Kasim comes down off of his platform and sings "Does Anybody Love You?". Todd reenters the stage in an orange tux befitting of Bill Murry doing his lounge act on Saturday Night Live. The Medley of songs is a highlight of this concert. Todd's voice is as good as ever. He sings, "I'm So Proud", "Ooh Baby Baby", "La La La Means I Love You" and "Cool Jerk". They ask everyone to dance like cool jerks at the end. "Hungry For Love", has Todd in a chefs outfit with a mustache. "I Don't Want To Tie You Down" has Todd in a red robe on a smoke filled stage, back lit so all you see is his silhouette.
Todd comes out for "Is It My Name" in a silver shiny outfit straps on a Gibson guitar and begins to wail on his guitar. Todd saved the missing songs for this part of the show so that once he strapped on his guitar he could rock out until the end of the show. Here is where he plays "When The Shit Hits The Fan/Sunset Blvd" and "Le Feel International". Wow we are smoking now. The concert is finally in full swing and it is almost over.
The encore of course is the only song left. But first Todd introduces the band and his wardrobe girl Michelle. Michelle Rundgren perhaps? The anthem for any one growing up in the seventies, "Just One Victory" is then played. Of course the guitar tech forgets to bring out Todd's guitar. Michelle has to run off stage a couple of times to try and get Todd's guitar on stage. Todd finishes and exits the stage.
I would not want to be back stage right now. Todd seemed very perturbed when he was exiting the stage. Heads should roll for this show. The sound was bad, miscues from the band and the guitar tech, inexcusable. This show was being filmed for a DVD, what a disaster. There were some highlights but there were a lot of mistakes.
I have to rate this a three twirl show. Sorry Todd I expect more from you. The tickets cost top dollar the show should be top notch. The concept is great and some of the music was performed exquisitly but overall too many distractions from the poor technical quality.
Monday, August 24, 2009
I'll Take Jail.
In the past month I have heard of two different people who chose going to jail over paying there fines. I am scratching my head and thinking "what the f*** are you thinking".
When I was 30 years younger I did spend a few days in jail for some minor misdemeanor stuff. I hated it. I was locked in a cell with 10 to 15 other inmates depending who was bailed out or moved to permanent residence. I was scared to death by the big black fellow that everyone in the holding cell deferred to. He liked me and I still did not want to make a long lasting friendship with the man. It was cold at night with only a thin sheet to cover yourself with. The mattress was a 30 year old thin bed roll with lumps the size of your fist. No pillow. The food was miserable tasting, white bread with peanut butter, no jelly, salty chicken noodle soup and watered down Kool Aid. The next day we had Bologna on white bread with butter and watered down Kool Aid. Breakfast was a treat, salty scrambled eggs, burnt toast and watered down orange Kool Aid. You had to get up early or the other inmates would eat your eggs. No TV, just stimulating conversation from the other inmates sitting around a hard picnic table in the center of the cell, telling you how they got screwed by the system or the "man". Not one guilty man in the whole cell. I know I was wronged by the Police Officers who beat me up in order to get me to go to jail. The rest of the guys I think were just lying about their innocence. Except for the big black guy, he said he shot his bitch of a girlfriend and was mad that she did not die. That dude scared me. After three days I had had enough. I shoved my way through some of the other guys, got to a telephone, called my attorney and said "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE".
One of the people I know who has elected to take jail time over paying his fines I will call Clem. Clem was supposed to spend 28 days but only spent a week incarcerated then was let out early. He went back in front of the judge a week later who asked him to pay his fine and Clem refused. The judge told him to take a week and see if he could raise the money. Clem said even if he had the money he would not pay the fines he would rather work off his fines by spending time in jail. When I asked Clem why he doesn't just pay the fines his answer was. " Jail isn't so bad. I get fed, I don't have to do anything and they have cable TV. I get to have smoke breaks outside and when I finally get out I have a bunch of interesting stories to tell my friends. Besides it's a principle thing, I know it costs them more to lock me up than what the amount of the fines are. They are losing money on me". Clem went back to jail and spent the remaining 21 days on a low rent vacation. Semi private room at night and a large living room with couches during the day. It did not cost him a dime. It cost the taxpayers plenty.
The other person who chose jail over paying the fines I will call June. She only had to spend a week incarcerated then she was released early for good behavior. She knows how to work the system. She knew going in that they usually don't make misdemeanor cases spend the full time locked up because of over crowding in the jail system. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut and sit on the couch and watch cable TV and she would be cut loose eventually. One week later, three days early, she was paroled. When I asked her why she took the jail time over paying the fines her response was, "I was laid off from work so I had the free time. I could sit at home and watch TV or I could sit in jail and watch TV. Whats the difference?" Whats the difference? Nothing I guess.
This whole Prisoners Rights bullshit has got to stop. The ACLU has made it so nice in jail that people don't mind going to jail. They would prefer to go to jail than to pay a fine. These country clubs for the wicked are being financed by the honest hard working people of America. Believe me I am all for incarceration for the guilty. Lets go back to the days like when I was in jail where it was not an easy time to spend. Get rid of the couches put back in the wooden benches. Cut out TV completely or turn the TV to the religious channel. No semi private rooms just big holding cells. Make it a punishment to go to jail not a vacation. No smoking in public buildings needs to be enforced so that you can not smoke until you get out of jail. No going outside every fifteen minutes for a smoke break. Lets punish the guilty not just separate them from the rest of society for a short time. P U N I S H, make them miserable so that they do not want to go back to jail ever again. If they are miserable they will reflect on what they did wrong. If they are sitting around watching TV and it is not that much worse than sitting at home they won't learn a thing and they will be back for another vacation in a year or so. The Penal system should penalize wrong doers. The House of Corrections should correct bad behavior.
I heard Clem and June were adding up their Crime and Punishment points to see when they will be able to cash in a one night free coupon. Enough is enough.
When I was 30 years younger I did spend a few days in jail for some minor misdemeanor stuff. I hated it. I was locked in a cell with 10 to 15 other inmates depending who was bailed out or moved to permanent residence. I was scared to death by the big black fellow that everyone in the holding cell deferred to. He liked me and I still did not want to make a long lasting friendship with the man. It was cold at night with only a thin sheet to cover yourself with. The mattress was a 30 year old thin bed roll with lumps the size of your fist. No pillow. The food was miserable tasting, white bread with peanut butter, no jelly, salty chicken noodle soup and watered down Kool Aid. The next day we had Bologna on white bread with butter and watered down Kool Aid. Breakfast was a treat, salty scrambled eggs, burnt toast and watered down orange Kool Aid. You had to get up early or the other inmates would eat your eggs. No TV, just stimulating conversation from the other inmates sitting around a hard picnic table in the center of the cell, telling you how they got screwed by the system or the "man". Not one guilty man in the whole cell. I know I was wronged by the Police Officers who beat me up in order to get me to go to jail. The rest of the guys I think were just lying about their innocence. Except for the big black guy, he said he shot his bitch of a girlfriend and was mad that she did not die. That dude scared me. After three days I had had enough. I shoved my way through some of the other guys, got to a telephone, called my attorney and said "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE".
One of the people I know who has elected to take jail time over paying his fines I will call Clem. Clem was supposed to spend 28 days but only spent a week incarcerated then was let out early. He went back in front of the judge a week later who asked him to pay his fine and Clem refused. The judge told him to take a week and see if he could raise the money. Clem said even if he had the money he would not pay the fines he would rather work off his fines by spending time in jail. When I asked Clem why he doesn't just pay the fines his answer was. " Jail isn't so bad. I get fed, I don't have to do anything and they have cable TV. I get to have smoke breaks outside and when I finally get out I have a bunch of interesting stories to tell my friends. Besides it's a principle thing, I know it costs them more to lock me up than what the amount of the fines are. They are losing money on me". Clem went back to jail and spent the remaining 21 days on a low rent vacation. Semi private room at night and a large living room with couches during the day. It did not cost him a dime. It cost the taxpayers plenty.
The other person who chose jail over paying the fines I will call June. She only had to spend a week incarcerated then she was released early for good behavior. She knows how to work the system. She knew going in that they usually don't make misdemeanor cases spend the full time locked up because of over crowding in the jail system. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut and sit on the couch and watch cable TV and she would be cut loose eventually. One week later, three days early, she was paroled. When I asked her why she took the jail time over paying the fines her response was, "I was laid off from work so I had the free time. I could sit at home and watch TV or I could sit in jail and watch TV. Whats the difference?" Whats the difference? Nothing I guess.
This whole Prisoners Rights bullshit has got to stop. The ACLU has made it so nice in jail that people don't mind going to jail. They would prefer to go to jail than to pay a fine. These country clubs for the wicked are being financed by the honest hard working people of America. Believe me I am all for incarceration for the guilty. Lets go back to the days like when I was in jail where it was not an easy time to spend. Get rid of the couches put back in the wooden benches. Cut out TV completely or turn the TV to the religious channel. No semi private rooms just big holding cells. Make it a punishment to go to jail not a vacation. No smoking in public buildings needs to be enforced so that you can not smoke until you get out of jail. No going outside every fifteen minutes for a smoke break. Lets punish the guilty not just separate them from the rest of society for a short time. P U N I S H, make them miserable so that they do not want to go back to jail ever again. If they are miserable they will reflect on what they did wrong. If they are sitting around watching TV and it is not that much worse than sitting at home they won't learn a thing and they will be back for another vacation in a year or so. The Penal system should penalize wrong doers. The House of Corrections should correct bad behavior.
I heard Clem and June were adding up their Crime and Punishment points to see when they will be able to cash in a one night free coupon. Enough is enough.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
George Taylor Morris
George Taylor Morris passed away on Saturday August 1, 2009 from throat cancer. For those of you who are not familiar with GTM he was the morning DJ on the best radio program to ever grace the airwaves, Deep Tracks, on XM satellite radio. Between GTM in the morning and Earle Bailey in the afternoon and evening, radio did not get any better than this. George had this low gravely voice that wrapped around you like a familiar hug from an old friend. When he talked you listened because he was teaching you something about Rock and Roll music that you never knew before. He was a Rock and Roll historian. But unlike most DJ's he only spoke when he had to. He didn't talk just to hear himself talk like Pat St. John, or Pat Suck John as I like to refer to him.
Many mornings while I was driving to work I would think boy I haven't heard a certain song in years and within the next couple of days GTM would play the song. It was like he could read your mind and know what you wanted to hear. My hour to two hour trips to the construction sites I was working on were some of the most enjoyable hours of my day because of George Taylor Morris.
In the early years of Deep tracks I could write GTM and Earle Bailey an e-mail requesting a song and tell them when I would be listening and low and behold my song would be played. Yes, this was a magical time for music aficionados. We had a station playing the underground music that we wanted to hear without commercials. We had two voices that were comforting to listen to and we were gaining knowledge of Rock and Roll from two of the great historians of our time. This was a dream come true for George Taylor Morris and for his listening fans.
George also hosted a radio segment called "Artist Confidential" where he would have different bands join him in the studio. George would interview the bands and let them play their music. George had a way of coaxing the best out of the musicians. He would get them talking about subjects that fans wanted to hear about. Since George was so knowledgeable about the different bands he could ask questions that produced a certain flow between the artists and George. The conversations always felt as though it was just two old friends sitting down and having a beer and discussing Rock and Roll. George always seemed as though he was friends with the artists, he was on the inside with them. Not just an outsider trying to get an interview. Artist included Paul McCartney, Graham Nash, Faith Hill, Bob Weir, Willie Nelson, Odetta, Pink and Little Feat plus others.
GTM played the music that we all wanted to hear. If the song was being played on FM radio you did not hear it on Deep Tracks. If you heard a band on FM radio, Deep Tracks would play the band but a "B" side cut that you had forgotten about that was good. George also played new music that you could not hear anywhere else ie. the Stone Coyotes and Gov't Mule. Yes George you are one of the greats in the music industry.
George I have missed you since Sirius took over and you retired. Sirius ruined your station by hiring DJ's that want to talk to much and have nothing to say. Their voices are irritating. They play music that belongs on a station called Light Tracks or Lame Tracks not Deep Tracks. Since when did REO Speedwagon and Kansas belong on Deep Tracks? Sorry George, but radio will not be the same without you. I am really going to have to consider whether I am going to renew my contract with XM, Sirius radio. They are killing a good thing.
George I loved you for all of the joy you brought into my life by playing the music I wanted to hear. My condolences go out to George Taylor Morris's family, friends and fans. I wish I could hear the interviews George is doing now with the likes of Hendrix, Harrison and Joplin. Rest in peace George.
PS. If you can catch the tribute to George Taylor Morris by Earle Bailey do so. Earle did a fantastic job of catching the essence of George Taylor Morris and what Deep Tracks was all about.
Many mornings while I was driving to work I would think boy I haven't heard a certain song in years and within the next couple of days GTM would play the song. It was like he could read your mind and know what you wanted to hear. My hour to two hour trips to the construction sites I was working on were some of the most enjoyable hours of my day because of George Taylor Morris.
In the early years of Deep tracks I could write GTM and Earle Bailey an e-mail requesting a song and tell them when I would be listening and low and behold my song would be played. Yes, this was a magical time for music aficionados. We had a station playing the underground music that we wanted to hear without commercials. We had two voices that were comforting to listen to and we were gaining knowledge of Rock and Roll from two of the great historians of our time. This was a dream come true for George Taylor Morris and for his listening fans.
George also hosted a radio segment called "Artist Confidential" where he would have different bands join him in the studio. George would interview the bands and let them play their music. George had a way of coaxing the best out of the musicians. He would get them talking about subjects that fans wanted to hear about. Since George was so knowledgeable about the different bands he could ask questions that produced a certain flow between the artists and George. The conversations always felt as though it was just two old friends sitting down and having a beer and discussing Rock and Roll. George always seemed as though he was friends with the artists, he was on the inside with them. Not just an outsider trying to get an interview. Artist included Paul McCartney, Graham Nash, Faith Hill, Bob Weir, Willie Nelson, Odetta, Pink and Little Feat plus others.
GTM played the music that we all wanted to hear. If the song was being played on FM radio you did not hear it on Deep Tracks. If you heard a band on FM radio, Deep Tracks would play the band but a "B" side cut that you had forgotten about that was good. George also played new music that you could not hear anywhere else ie. the Stone Coyotes and Gov't Mule. Yes George you are one of the greats in the music industry.
George I have missed you since Sirius took over and you retired. Sirius ruined your station by hiring DJ's that want to talk to much and have nothing to say. Their voices are irritating. They play music that belongs on a station called Light Tracks or Lame Tracks not Deep Tracks. Since when did REO Speedwagon and Kansas belong on Deep Tracks? Sorry George, but radio will not be the same without you. I am really going to have to consider whether I am going to renew my contract with XM, Sirius radio. They are killing a good thing.
George I loved you for all of the joy you brought into my life by playing the music I wanted to hear. My condolences go out to George Taylor Morris's family, friends and fans. I wish I could hear the interviews George is doing now with the likes of Hendrix, Harrison and Joplin. Rest in peace George.
PS. If you can catch the tribute to George Taylor Morris by Earle Bailey do so. Earle did a fantastic job of catching the essence of George Taylor Morris and what Deep Tracks was all about.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Health Care Reform
While the Donkeys, Red Elephants and the Blue Dogs try to wrangle out a Health Care Plan that everyone can live with, I thought that I would throw out some facts to consider. H. R. 3200 is under consideration right now. The Elephants say that Obama and the liberal Democrats want to do away with private insurance. Why would that happen now if it hasn't happened yet?
Do you realize that 30% of Americans are on government sponsored health care? That is right 30%. Between Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and the VA for our military men, 30% of Americans are on the governments dime already.
54% of Americans are on employer sponsored insurance or purchase individual insurance. I know the plan that was offered to me at my last job wasn't very good. I was lucky that my wife had really good coverage that I could be covered under. I was told that my last employer was paying $7,000.00/year for each employee and the coverage wasn't that good. High deductibles on office visits and medications. Spotty care unless you wanted to pay extra.
16% of Americans have no health care insurance at all. That is 46 million people. This 16% of Americans is who I thought HR 3200 was trying to cover. You can keep your employer sponsered plan or individual plan if you want. The Government is working to cover the 46 million people who have no coverage. If your employer decides not to cover your health insurance any longer, do not blame the government for your immoral employer. Just as the banks are claiming that they must hand out bonuses to their best employees in order to hold onto them, employers will have to offer a good health care plan in order to hang onto their workers. Insurance companies are just going to have a bit more competition.
I remember a decade or so ago the insurance companies claimed that if every driver in the State of Ohio had Auto Insurance the cost of Auto Insurance would go down. Would not the same hold true for Health Insurance? If hospitals and Doctors are not stuck picking up the bills of indigent people, they should be able to lower their costs to insurance companies, who then could lower the cost of insurance premiums to individuals and companies.
Here are a few other statistics to consider. The United States is ranked 37 out of 191 industrialized countries in the world for their health care. We should have the best and be ranked number one. People like Republicans and Blue Dogs argue that this number is misleading because it takes into account items that favor socialized medicine. OK here are two facts that I don't think you can argue with. 1. The United States is ranked 24th in the world for total life expectancy. 2. The United States is ranked 2nd (hooray) in total expenditure on health care as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (Oh Boo). So we spend more but we don't live longer. Isn't that what it is all about, quality of life.
Radical, Right Wing, Alarmist, are claiming that HR 3200 Section 1233 is making doctors council old people into stopping nutrition so that they will die sooner and not cost the new government sponsored insurance extra money. I read Section 1233 and it sounded to me like a provision for the insurance company to cover a discussion about a Living Will or a Durable Power of Attorney with your doctor. I recommend to all of my readers even if HR 3200 does not pass please go out and get a Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney filled out and put on file with your Primary Care Physician. I do not want to be kept alive on machines just because Science can do it. Let me die rather than be a vegetable. But someone else might want to be kept alive at all cost. That is their right. Before you become incapacitated you must have your wishes spelled out with a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney. The hospital will abide by what you decided while you were still of sound mind. This is a good thing, not something to be alarmed about. This is what Section 1233 is about.
The United States is by far the best country in the world. We spend millions of dollars helping other countries with their health care. Before we help others shouldn't we have the best health care for all legal American Citizens first? Our system of health care works for the rich but it needs to be tweeked so that it works for the poor too. Don't be scared by the Radicle Right into not provideing health care coverage for 16% of Americans. Remember this Radicle Right fought against Social Security, Womens Rights, Civil Rights and Medicare because they would be the downfall of America. Here we are still going strong. Lets help 46 million Americans afford health care.
Do you realize that 30% of Americans are on government sponsored health care? That is right 30%. Between Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and the VA for our military men, 30% of Americans are on the governments dime already.
54% of Americans are on employer sponsored insurance or purchase individual insurance. I know the plan that was offered to me at my last job wasn't very good. I was lucky that my wife had really good coverage that I could be covered under. I was told that my last employer was paying $7,000.00/year for each employee and the coverage wasn't that good. High deductibles on office visits and medications. Spotty care unless you wanted to pay extra.
16% of Americans have no health care insurance at all. That is 46 million people. This 16% of Americans is who I thought HR 3200 was trying to cover. You can keep your employer sponsered plan or individual plan if you want. The Government is working to cover the 46 million people who have no coverage. If your employer decides not to cover your health insurance any longer, do not blame the government for your immoral employer. Just as the banks are claiming that they must hand out bonuses to their best employees in order to hold onto them, employers will have to offer a good health care plan in order to hang onto their workers. Insurance companies are just going to have a bit more competition.
I remember a decade or so ago the insurance companies claimed that if every driver in the State of Ohio had Auto Insurance the cost of Auto Insurance would go down. Would not the same hold true for Health Insurance? If hospitals and Doctors are not stuck picking up the bills of indigent people, they should be able to lower their costs to insurance companies, who then could lower the cost of insurance premiums to individuals and companies.
Here are a few other statistics to consider. The United States is ranked 37 out of 191 industrialized countries in the world for their health care. We should have the best and be ranked number one. People like Republicans and Blue Dogs argue that this number is misleading because it takes into account items that favor socialized medicine. OK here are two facts that I don't think you can argue with. 1. The United States is ranked 24th in the world for total life expectancy. 2. The United States is ranked 2nd (hooray) in total expenditure on health care as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (Oh Boo). So we spend more but we don't live longer. Isn't that what it is all about, quality of life.
Radical, Right Wing, Alarmist, are claiming that HR 3200 Section 1233 is making doctors council old people into stopping nutrition so that they will die sooner and not cost the new government sponsored insurance extra money. I read Section 1233 and it sounded to me like a provision for the insurance company to cover a discussion about a Living Will or a Durable Power of Attorney with your doctor. I recommend to all of my readers even if HR 3200 does not pass please go out and get a Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney filled out and put on file with your Primary Care Physician. I do not want to be kept alive on machines just because Science can do it. Let me die rather than be a vegetable. But someone else might want to be kept alive at all cost. That is their right. Before you become incapacitated you must have your wishes spelled out with a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney. The hospital will abide by what you decided while you were still of sound mind. This is a good thing, not something to be alarmed about. This is what Section 1233 is about.
The United States is by far the best country in the world. We spend millions of dollars helping other countries with their health care. Before we help others shouldn't we have the best health care for all legal American Citizens first? Our system of health care works for the rich but it needs to be tweeked so that it works for the poor too. Don't be scared by the Radicle Right into not provideing health care coverage for 16% of Americans. Remember this Radicle Right fought against Social Security, Womens Rights, Civil Rights and Medicare because they would be the downfall of America. Here we are still going strong. Lets help 46 million Americans afford health care.
Border Patrol
Recently Two women hiking along the North Korea border were picked up and jailed for crossing over the border into the North Korea territory. Now Iran has picked up and imprisoned hikers who accidentally crossed over their border. What is wrong with these numbskull's. An American walking any where near these hostile countries is just asking for trouble. I feel we should let these highballs sit in jail so that they don't try anything this stupid again. How many hundreds of thousand of dollars are going to be wasted on trying to retrieve these dunderheads? Let them rot.
You have to hand it to Iran and North Korea they patrol their borders and keep Illegal Immigrants out of their countries. I wish our country would patrol our borders this feverishly and treat any illegals caught as harshly as North Korea and Iran do. Maybe if we acted like these two countries we would not have the national security risks that we have. Lets get some control over our borders.
You have to hand it to Iran and North Korea they patrol their borders and keep Illegal Immigrants out of their countries. I wish our country would patrol our borders this feverishly and treat any illegals caught as harshly as North Korea and Iran do. Maybe if we acted like these two countries we would not have the national security risks that we have. Lets get some control over our borders.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Dave Mason Streetsboro 7/31/09
I was a bit confused and startled when I heard that Dave Mason of Traffic was going to play a free concert at the Streetsboro Home Days. A great guitarist, songwriter and vocalist coming to little Streetsboro for a free concert? Wow! I notified some friends and we agreed to meet there for hopefully a night of good music and fun. I must say that the night turned out to be most enjoyable.
I arrived at the venue just as Dave Mason and his band began to play "Empty Pages" the first song of the night. Pooch called me and I found him and Caserock under the basketball hoop stage left. The sound was a bit muddled for this first song but became better actually fantastic in a few tunes. For being outdoors and having a small sound system the mixer actually got it right. Every voice and instrument was heard crisp and clear. Clear as the starry 70 degree night that embraced us along with the music.
The star of the evening was Shar's 5 and a half year old daughter and the prettiest little rock and roller in the crowd, Lauren. Dressed in her peasant dress and sandals she danced the night away to the delight of the crowd. She shook and shaked to hits such as "Feelin Alright", "Forty Thousand Headmen", "We Just Disagree", Dear Mr. Fantasy", "All Along The Watchtower" and others. This little girl did not stop for the entire hour and a half that the band played.
The band consisted of Dave Mason on guitar and vocals, Gerald Johnson on bass, Johnne Sambataro on guitar and vocals, Alvino Bennett playing drums and Anthony Patler on keyboards. A very capable band that played the music so true that I could have sworn at times they were "Milli Vanilliing" it. They also showed that they were accomplished musicians on some of their extended jams. Short jams compared to some of the Jam Bands that I go to see but a jam none the less.
Hoss and Basha danced on top of a picnic table to the expertly played music enjoying the music and thanking me repeatedly for turning them onto such a good time. At 260 pounds I did not trust the picnic table so I just danced in the grass, safer, less risk. I even tried to teach Lauren some moth catcher moves and she just stared at me like I was crazy.
Good music, excellent sound quality, fun friends, beautiful night and FREE. Kind of like a soup line for music listeners in these tough economic times. Yeah, I will have to rate it a four twirl evening with some moth catcher hand moves thrown in.
I feel bad that some of my friends missed this show but they have a bad taste in their mouths from being stood up by Dave Mason on a few other occasions. Dave has a tendency not to show up to events at times. He showed up last night and made it a memorable evening.
I arrived at the venue just as Dave Mason and his band began to play "Empty Pages" the first song of the night. Pooch called me and I found him and Caserock under the basketball hoop stage left. The sound was a bit muddled for this first song but became better actually fantastic in a few tunes. For being outdoors and having a small sound system the mixer actually got it right. Every voice and instrument was heard crisp and clear. Clear as the starry 70 degree night that embraced us along with the music.
The star of the evening was Shar's 5 and a half year old daughter and the prettiest little rock and roller in the crowd, Lauren. Dressed in her peasant dress and sandals she danced the night away to the delight of the crowd. She shook and shaked to hits such as "Feelin Alright", "Forty Thousand Headmen", "We Just Disagree", Dear Mr. Fantasy", "All Along The Watchtower" and others. This little girl did not stop for the entire hour and a half that the band played.
The band consisted of Dave Mason on guitar and vocals, Gerald Johnson on bass, Johnne Sambataro on guitar and vocals, Alvino Bennett playing drums and Anthony Patler on keyboards. A very capable band that played the music so true that I could have sworn at times they were "Milli Vanilliing" it. They also showed that they were accomplished musicians on some of their extended jams. Short jams compared to some of the Jam Bands that I go to see but a jam none the less.
Hoss and Basha danced on top of a picnic table to the expertly played music enjoying the music and thanking me repeatedly for turning them onto such a good time. At 260 pounds I did not trust the picnic table so I just danced in the grass, safer, less risk. I even tried to teach Lauren some moth catcher moves and she just stared at me like I was crazy.
Good music, excellent sound quality, fun friends, beautiful night and FREE. Kind of like a soup line for music listeners in these tough economic times. Yeah, I will have to rate it a four twirl evening with some moth catcher hand moves thrown in.
I feel bad that some of my friends missed this show but they have a bad taste in their mouths from being stood up by Dave Mason on a few other occasions. Dave has a tendency not to show up to events at times. He showed up last night and made it a memorable evening.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Dave Matthews Band Blossom 7/29/09
Big Joe and I had a great time at the Dave Matthews Band Concert at Blossom Music Center last night. All day it rained and rained and rained. Around 4:30 the rain started to let up but we were supposed to get hit again around 9:00 with another storm. We had plastic to sit on and ponchos to wear. Although once DMB started there was no more sitting, everyone was up and moving for the rest of the night. The rain never came back, it was a beautiful night. Joe and I got a great parking space with a little help from 4 wheel drive. We had no problem getting out after the show. The show ended at 11:00 we were on the back roads heading home by 11:17.
The band consisted of, of course Dave Matthews guitar and vocals, Boyd Tinsley violin, Carter Beauford drums, Stefan Lessard bass, Rashawn Ross trumpet and horns, Tim Reynalds lead guitar, Jeff Coffin saxophone in place of the deceased Leroi Moore. I believe Leroi Moore was playing the weather. Thanks Leroi
They played 17 songs in about two and a half hours. Something tells me that if Blossom did not have an 11:00 curfew they would have played longer. Eight songs were off of their new album that I think is just superb. DMB opened with "Funny The Way It Is", a great song off of the new CD. Then came "Pig" with a Dave solo. "Squirm" is off of the new CD. "Crush" started a master jam session between first Boyd Tinsley taking the lead and then playing back and forth between Tinsley and Tim Reynalds. The jam finished with a small drum solo by Carter Beauford. "Spaceman", off the new CD, featured Rashawn Ross on trumpet. Proving that they are the best at what they do they played "The Best Of Whats Around". The crowd goes wild as the first notes of "Grey Street" are played. "Seven" another song off of the new CD was next.
Then a song about a prophylactic, "Jimi Thing". During "Jimi Thing" there are extended solos and interplay between all the members of the band except Dave, he is standing stage left not even playing his guitar. Jeff Coffin is playing two different saxophones at the same time! Dave steps up to the microphone and does a bit of scat that would make Mel Torme jealous. Whoa, Dave is showing off some dance moves. Yes he is a white man. And the band sings together on a new ending to "Jimi Thing" by harmonizing the lyric "sexy mother fucker shake that ass", over and over and over again. The crowd joins in. Wow that was a lot jammed into one song.
Big Joe does not care for "Lying In The Hands Of God". I personally like the song. DMB added a kind of spacey jam for the stoners to space out to in the middle of the song. It was mellow kind of nice. Dave throws on an electric guitar and plays one of my favorites "Louisiana Bayou". They smoked it. I love the Yuus. They burst, and I do mean burst, into "Why I Am" off of the new CD with a hot guitar solo by Tim Reynalds thrown in. Dave goes back to his acoustic guitar for "Rhyme Or Reason". "Dancing Nancie's" is next with a Tinsley solo. I love "You And Me" off of the new album. I sing it to my Honey Bunny all the time, maybe that is why she doesn't like the Dave Matthews Band. "Two Step" starts out slow with Boyd playing the violin like a mandolin. The crowd goes crazy when the song kicks into high gear. Tim Reynalds plays an excellent slide guitar solo and fades out to a Carter Beauford drum solo. The band heads off for a brief break before the two song encore.
Dave and Tinsley do a little acoustic song called Rye Whiskey. I can't find a version of the song listed on any albums. And for the Grand Finale off of the new CD a cute song Shake Me Like A Monkey. Dave must like monkeys he sing about them often.
Over all a good show. Their seemed to be a lot of moving around on the lawn which is some what distracting. I seemed to remember in the old days people sat and listened to the music. I know DMB makes you want to dance but do you have to stumble and run through the crowd all night long? Maybe I am getting old? Lights, movie screens and sound were all good. Music was excellent. Hanging with big Joe loads of fun. I give it four twirls. I was not familiar with a few of the songs, which is my fault, but that might be why I could not give it five twirls. Yes, I will go back and see them again. It is a fun crowd to mingle with.
Twirls are based on a five twirl system. The highest ranking is Five Twirls with some hand moves thrown in.
The band consisted of, of course Dave Matthews guitar and vocals, Boyd Tinsley violin, Carter Beauford drums, Stefan Lessard bass, Rashawn Ross trumpet and horns, Tim Reynalds lead guitar, Jeff Coffin saxophone in place of the deceased Leroi Moore. I believe Leroi Moore was playing the weather. Thanks Leroi
They played 17 songs in about two and a half hours. Something tells me that if Blossom did not have an 11:00 curfew they would have played longer. Eight songs were off of their new album that I think is just superb. DMB opened with "Funny The Way It Is", a great song off of the new CD. Then came "Pig" with a Dave solo. "Squirm" is off of the new CD. "Crush" started a master jam session between first Boyd Tinsley taking the lead and then playing back and forth between Tinsley and Tim Reynalds. The jam finished with a small drum solo by Carter Beauford. "Spaceman", off the new CD, featured Rashawn Ross on trumpet. Proving that they are the best at what they do they played "The Best Of Whats Around". The crowd goes wild as the first notes of "Grey Street" are played. "Seven" another song off of the new CD was next.
Then a song about a prophylactic, "Jimi Thing". During "Jimi Thing" there are extended solos and interplay between all the members of the band except Dave, he is standing stage left not even playing his guitar. Jeff Coffin is playing two different saxophones at the same time! Dave steps up to the microphone and does a bit of scat that would make Mel Torme jealous. Whoa, Dave is showing off some dance moves. Yes he is a white man. And the band sings together on a new ending to "Jimi Thing" by harmonizing the lyric "sexy mother fucker shake that ass", over and over and over again. The crowd joins in. Wow that was a lot jammed into one song.
Big Joe does not care for "Lying In The Hands Of God". I personally like the song. DMB added a kind of spacey jam for the stoners to space out to in the middle of the song. It was mellow kind of nice. Dave throws on an electric guitar and plays one of my favorites "Louisiana Bayou". They smoked it. I love the Yuus. They burst, and I do mean burst, into "Why I Am" off of the new CD with a hot guitar solo by Tim Reynalds thrown in. Dave goes back to his acoustic guitar for "Rhyme Or Reason". "Dancing Nancie's" is next with a Tinsley solo. I love "You And Me" off of the new album. I sing it to my Honey Bunny all the time, maybe that is why she doesn't like the Dave Matthews Band. "Two Step" starts out slow with Boyd playing the violin like a mandolin. The crowd goes crazy when the song kicks into high gear. Tim Reynalds plays an excellent slide guitar solo and fades out to a Carter Beauford drum solo. The band heads off for a brief break before the two song encore.
Dave and Tinsley do a little acoustic song called Rye Whiskey. I can't find a version of the song listed on any albums. And for the Grand Finale off of the new CD a cute song Shake Me Like A Monkey. Dave must like monkeys he sing about them often.
Over all a good show. Their seemed to be a lot of moving around on the lawn which is some what distracting. I seemed to remember in the old days people sat and listened to the music. I know DMB makes you want to dance but do you have to stumble and run through the crowd all night long? Maybe I am getting old? Lights, movie screens and sound were all good. Music was excellent. Hanging with big Joe loads of fun. I give it four twirls. I was not familiar with a few of the songs, which is my fault, but that might be why I could not give it five twirls. Yes, I will go back and see them again. It is a fun crowd to mingle with.
Twirls are based on a five twirl system. The highest ranking is Five Twirls with some hand moves thrown in.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Plain Dealer
The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland is claiming it is losing customers to the world wide web, to electronic information systems that spread news instantly, to 24 hour news programs on cable TV. This is all probably true but, you knew there was going to be a but, it is also because of their lack of customer service.
Today I did not receive a newspaper delivered to my house. This is just one of many instances in the past year where the Plain Dealers lack of customer service has been evident. I called my carrier at 7:30 AM, of course my call was forwarded to voice mail. I wait and wait and wait, no return phone call and no newspaper. So at 9:30 I call the Plain Dealers Customer Service Desk. I go through the automated system which doesn't give me the satisfaction of bitching. I'VE BEEN WRONGED HERE AND I WANT JUSTICE. So I call back to the Plain Dealer at 9:35 AM and wait on hold until 9:44 AM until I get to talk with a real person. I wonder how many operators they have and how many complaints they get that it takes them nine minutes to answer the phone. I am told that it is to late for me to receive a newspaper today but they could deliver it tomorrow or just credit my account for 1 newspaper. Why would I want today's newspaper delivered tomorrow? I can just go to the world wide web or a 24 hour news program on cable. Hey a light bulb just turned on, I don't need the Plain Dealer delivered to my house I can get all the news I need electronically.
There is something very tactile about sitting at the kitchen table holding the newspaper and reading it together with my Honey Bunny, passing sections back and forth and making side comments to each other about the article that we are reading. Our morning ritual is about to come to an end due to poor customer service. Not the Internet, not the cable TV but poor customer service.
I remember as a kid sleeping out in my back yard, getting up at 4:30 in the morning with my friend Dickmo and Hoss and jumping on our bikes and going to deliver the Plain Dealer for Dickmo's paper route. Dickmo who wasn't known as Dickmo at this time of our lives, he didn't get the distinction of the name Dickmo until later on in life. I digress. Dickmo would ride his bike down the middle of the street barking orders like "Side door, milk chute, front porch skip the next two houses and then side door." You see that WAS customer service. A person did not even have to leave the confines of their home to get the newspaper.
The Plain Dealer then decided that kids no longer would be able to deliver the news paper. Adults would deliver the paper and not to your doorstep but to your drive apron. We as customers put up with this lack of personal service because it was supposed to keep costs of the newspaper down. Now the adults are getting so lazy that they can't even hit my 20' wide driveway. I find my paper in the drainage ditch, on the backside of snow piles, on the wet dewy grass, everywhere but in my driveway. I used to be able to go get my Plain Dealer in my big, fluffy, bright red, Ohio State slippers. Now I have to put on water proof work boots, carry a flashlight, a cell phone in case I get lost, a side arm to keep the vicious woodland creatures away and a fishing net to get the paper out of any ponds it might be floating in. Going for the newspaper has become an adventure, a safari a pain in my ass that I can no longer accept quietly. When I get back to the safety of my castle I usually find at least one if not more pages wet with morning dew, rain or deer and critter piss. I want the newspaper delivered in my driveway. The Horror.
I pay my bill one year in advance. I used to be a 20% tipper. You would think that they would want to keep a customer like me happy. This past billing cycle I tipped nothing, zero, nada, zilch. I have complained to the Plain Dealer and the carrier three times in the past year. You would think that someone would get the hint that I am unhappy with their service. They don't. The Plain Dealer has been writing articles about how bad the customer service of the Cleveland Water Department is. Trust me the Water Department is terrible. Maybe just maybe the Plain Dealer should look inside their own glass house before they start throwing stones.
Today I did not receive a newspaper delivered to my house. This is just one of many instances in the past year where the Plain Dealers lack of customer service has been evident. I called my carrier at 7:30 AM, of course my call was forwarded to voice mail. I wait and wait and wait, no return phone call and no newspaper. So at 9:30 I call the Plain Dealers Customer Service Desk. I go through the automated system which doesn't give me the satisfaction of bitching. I'VE BEEN WRONGED HERE AND I WANT JUSTICE. So I call back to the Plain Dealer at 9:35 AM and wait on hold until 9:44 AM until I get to talk with a real person. I wonder how many operators they have and how many complaints they get that it takes them nine minutes to answer the phone. I am told that it is to late for me to receive a newspaper today but they could deliver it tomorrow or just credit my account for 1 newspaper. Why would I want today's newspaper delivered tomorrow? I can just go to the world wide web or a 24 hour news program on cable. Hey a light bulb just turned on, I don't need the Plain Dealer delivered to my house I can get all the news I need electronically.
There is something very tactile about sitting at the kitchen table holding the newspaper and reading it together with my Honey Bunny, passing sections back and forth and making side comments to each other about the article that we are reading. Our morning ritual is about to come to an end due to poor customer service. Not the Internet, not the cable TV but poor customer service.
I remember as a kid sleeping out in my back yard, getting up at 4:30 in the morning with my friend Dickmo and Hoss and jumping on our bikes and going to deliver the Plain Dealer for Dickmo's paper route. Dickmo who wasn't known as Dickmo at this time of our lives, he didn't get the distinction of the name Dickmo until later on in life. I digress. Dickmo would ride his bike down the middle of the street barking orders like "Side door, milk chute, front porch skip the next two houses and then side door." You see that WAS customer service. A person did not even have to leave the confines of their home to get the newspaper.
The Plain Dealer then decided that kids no longer would be able to deliver the news paper. Adults would deliver the paper and not to your doorstep but to your drive apron. We as customers put up with this lack of personal service because it was supposed to keep costs of the newspaper down. Now the adults are getting so lazy that they can't even hit my 20' wide driveway. I find my paper in the drainage ditch, on the backside of snow piles, on the wet dewy grass, everywhere but in my driveway. I used to be able to go get my Plain Dealer in my big, fluffy, bright red, Ohio State slippers. Now I have to put on water proof work boots, carry a flashlight, a cell phone in case I get lost, a side arm to keep the vicious woodland creatures away and a fishing net to get the paper out of any ponds it might be floating in. Going for the newspaper has become an adventure, a safari a pain in my ass that I can no longer accept quietly. When I get back to the safety of my castle I usually find at least one if not more pages wet with morning dew, rain or deer and critter piss. I want the newspaper delivered in my driveway. The Horror.
I pay my bill one year in advance. I used to be a 20% tipper. You would think that they would want to keep a customer like me happy. This past billing cycle I tipped nothing, zero, nada, zilch. I have complained to the Plain Dealer and the carrier three times in the past year. You would think that someone would get the hint that I am unhappy with their service. They don't. The Plain Dealer has been writing articles about how bad the customer service of the Cleveland Water Department is. Trust me the Water Department is terrible. Maybe just maybe the Plain Dealer should look inside their own glass house before they start throwing stones.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)