Dear Michael,
Welcome to this world. As part of the family, I feel there are a few things you need to know.
1. Your mother is so happy that you are here. She loves you and your sister and truly values family like no one else that I know.
But you should be forewarned. She has never had an unexpressed thought in her life. I'm so looking forward to when you and your sister are teenagers and start talking to her the way she talks to everyone else. I'm going to love that.
2. Your sister is adorable. She's very excited to get to know you. My heart melted tonight when she asked your mom if she could hold you and she did. Too bad I forgot the camera.
But the girl has a little bit of the devil in her. Be careful. She's not as cute as she looks.
3. Gramps is a cool guy and I hope you get to know him. He always wanted a little boy like you and so did your grandma before she passed away (side note - I can't believe he actually told me "Your mom was so depressed after she had you" and then quickly added "because you were a girl."). And I hope you learn to hunt because someday you will inherit a fairly substantial gun collection.
4. Aunt Karen is very smart. She's a little wacky sometimes, but listen to her because she will teach you lots of stuff. That's how I got to be so smart.
5. Your Aunt Tracy is a hippy. And Uncle Shawn? Yeah, he's a little scary, but don't worry. Those funny little cigarettes they smoke are strawberry cigarettes.
6. Aunt Chrissy is the coolest person you will ever meet. She'll buy you beer when you're in high school and she'll be nice to your girlfriends...or boyfriends, whatever the case may be. She's especially happy that you're here because you're taking some pressure off of her to get you some cousins. That's just way too much for her little head to handle right now. And the thought of giving up drinking for nine months makes her break out in hives.
7. As for the rest of your life, always find balance between your heart and mind in everything you do. Be a nice guy. The person who appreciates that will be well worth the ones who don't. Don't hit girls. Don't hurt animals. Don't burn things. Read lots of books. Try new things. Don't be afraid to get out into the world and live. Stand on your own two feet, but don't be afraid to turn to those you love when you need them.
8. We all love you very very much.
Love,
Your Aunt Chrissy
(the coolest person you'll ever meet)
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Painted Like the Wings of Butterflies - Queen + Paul Rodgers = Me Wanting More Queen
The show must go on...
When Paul and I were in Holland, we were flipping through the late night porn at the hotel and discovered a Queen special. At that point, Queen was already touring Europe with Paul Rodgers. There were some interviews and concert clips. Overall, we thought it sounded pretty cool and that we'd like to see it.
When they finally hit America, we learned that it would only be two shows. One west coast in Hollywood and one in nearby Jersey. Quelle chance!
Overall, the show was poorly run by the fine folks at the Continental Airlines Arena. They didn't have enough security at the door and it was a bit chaotic getting in. It was a sold out show and very crowded. Our seats were great, though, similar to what we had for Weezer/Foo Fighters, directly across from the stage, a few rows up.
Before the show, they played a really obscure dancey Queen song from the 80's, loudly, as though this was to be an indication of the start of the show. However, they didn't bother to turn off the lights! "What's this song called?" I asked Paul, the avid Queen fan. "It's called 'Turn the fucking lights out!'" So then they did. Ane even more bizarrely, the lights started moving around and through the speakers the audience was treated to sounds of....
Eminem. Fucking Eminem. "Lose Yourself." You know, that gay song from "8 Mile?" I looked around and noticed I wasn't the only person completely confused by this.
Next thing I knew it was over (thank God). And they started out with "Tie Your Mother Down," which was Paul's pick for first song (he snooped, I'm sure). There were big screens on each side and for some reason, the camera guy wanted to give Brian May a colonoscopy. The crowd was treated to the Brian May Ass Cam, just about all night.
Speaking of Brian May, he did his own set. He played "39" and "Love of My Life" (*puking*). Later in the show, he played "Friends Will Be Friends" and stood on this platform behind the drum set in front of a big screen. On the screen, they projected stars. It sounds kind of cheesey, but it looked cool on the big screens. It looked like he really was playing in outer space. Roger Taylor played "I'm in Love With My Car" and sang most of "Radio Ga Ga." He also played some song about Nelson Mandela and his crusade against AIDS. Way to bring us all down, there buddy.
The dickslap sitting next to me chose these parts of the show to get up and go to the bathroom or get more beer. I swear he got up six times, no exaggeration. The third to last time he told us that it would be the last time. When he got up again, he told us that that would be the last time and I, being the smartass that I am, pointed out that he said that last time. And of course, he got up yet another time after that. Each time he got up, he touched my arm. I wanted to kick him in the nuts.
The only thing more annoying than that was that there were way too many Paul Rodgers songs. I'm probably in the minority for not liking this, though. People really seemed to like them. I don't. I'm just not a huge fan of Bad Company or any of the other 50 bands this guy was in. After they played the yucky "Feel Like Makin' Love" *puking again*, Paul leaned over and said, "I really hate Paul Rodgers." And after "Alright Now," I leaned over and said the same thing.
One of the cooler moments of the show had to be Bohemian Rhapsody. It started out with Freddy on the big screen and his vocals, but the band played through it. Everyone seemed to like it. Brian May came out wearing the shirt that Freddie wore on the video tape of his performance. It may have been the one from Live Aid, but I'm not 100 ure. The other thing that I liked about the show was that they started the encore with "The Show Must Go On." I always liked that song.
So yeah, I guess I'm glad I got to see this. I went into it to see the band knowing that it wouldn't be quite the same. Too many Paul Rodgers songs might keep it from being one of my top 5 favorite concerts ever. But hey, there is a lot of competition. I guess I would have just preferred more Queen songs. There were so many that I love that they didn't play.
When Paul and I were in Holland, we were flipping through the late night porn at the hotel and discovered a Queen special. At that point, Queen was already touring Europe with Paul Rodgers. There were some interviews and concert clips. Overall, we thought it sounded pretty cool and that we'd like to see it.
When they finally hit America, we learned that it would only be two shows. One west coast in Hollywood and one in nearby Jersey. Quelle chance!
Overall, the show was poorly run by the fine folks at the Continental Airlines Arena. They didn't have enough security at the door and it was a bit chaotic getting in. It was a sold out show and very crowded. Our seats were great, though, similar to what we had for Weezer/Foo Fighters, directly across from the stage, a few rows up.
Before the show, they played a really obscure dancey Queen song from the 80's, loudly, as though this was to be an indication of the start of the show. However, they didn't bother to turn off the lights! "What's this song called?" I asked Paul, the avid Queen fan. "It's called 'Turn the fucking lights out!'" So then they did. Ane even more bizarrely, the lights started moving around and through the speakers the audience was treated to sounds of....
Eminem. Fucking Eminem. "Lose Yourself." You know, that gay song from "8 Mile?" I looked around and noticed I wasn't the only person completely confused by this.
Next thing I knew it was over (thank God). And they started out with "Tie Your Mother Down," which was Paul's pick for first song (he snooped, I'm sure). There were big screens on each side and for some reason, the camera guy wanted to give Brian May a colonoscopy. The crowd was treated to the Brian May Ass Cam, just about all night.
Speaking of Brian May, he did his own set. He played "39" and "Love of My Life" (*puking*). Later in the show, he played "Friends Will Be Friends" and stood on this platform behind the drum set in front of a big screen. On the screen, they projected stars. It sounds kind of cheesey, but it looked cool on the big screens. It looked like he really was playing in outer space. Roger Taylor played "I'm in Love With My Car" and sang most of "Radio Ga Ga." He also played some song about Nelson Mandela and his crusade against AIDS. Way to bring us all down, there buddy.
The dickslap sitting next to me chose these parts of the show to get up and go to the bathroom or get more beer. I swear he got up six times, no exaggeration. The third to last time he told us that it would be the last time. When he got up again, he told us that that would be the last time and I, being the smartass that I am, pointed out that he said that last time. And of course, he got up yet another time after that. Each time he got up, he touched my arm. I wanted to kick him in the nuts.
The only thing more annoying than that was that there were way too many Paul Rodgers songs. I'm probably in the minority for not liking this, though. People really seemed to like them. I don't. I'm just not a huge fan of Bad Company or any of the other 50 bands this guy was in. After they played the yucky "Feel Like Makin' Love" *puking again*, Paul leaned over and said, "I really hate Paul Rodgers." And after "Alright Now," I leaned over and said the same thing.
One of the cooler moments of the show had to be Bohemian Rhapsody. It started out with Freddy on the big screen and his vocals, but the band played through it. Everyone seemed to like it. Brian May came out wearing the shirt that Freddie wore on the video tape of his performance. It may have been the one from Live Aid, but I'm not 100 ure. The other thing that I liked about the show was that they started the encore with "The Show Must Go On." I always liked that song.
So yeah, I guess I'm glad I got to see this. I went into it to see the band knowing that it wouldn't be quite the same. Too many Paul Rodgers songs might keep it from being one of my top 5 favorite concerts ever. But hey, there is a lot of competition. I guess I would have just preferred more Queen songs. There were so many that I love that they didn't play.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
I'm Just Not Cut Out To Be A Geek
My CIS homework is painful. I have no motivation to write this paper and I'm having a really hard time concentrating. There's just so much going on in my tiny little brain that I can't fit anything else in there right now. Thank God all I'm doing is just spitting out useless dribble. And I want to actually cut my fingers off every time I type something like "the interface is user friendly." Buh? What does that even mean? Where does this shit come from?
I was told this paper should take 10-12 hours to write. Keep in mind that I wrote my entire honors thesis (about 20 or so pages) in a day. I did an entire semester's work (researched to writing) within three days. I wrote it a week after it was due (I just upped and disappeared with the debate team to Illinois and didn't bother telling anyone like my advisor or the head of the honors program...oops! Slipped my mind!) and still managed to get a B+ (the lowest grade I've ever received on a college paper).
But this? No...this is mind numbing and soul sucking. I actually got up early today to work on this and will be working on it all day until I get ready to leave for the Queen concert in Jersey tonight.
I'm going to crack.
I was told this paper should take 10-12 hours to write. Keep in mind that I wrote my entire honors thesis (about 20 or so pages) in a day. I did an entire semester's work (researched to writing) within three days. I wrote it a week after it was due (I just upped and disappeared with the debate team to Illinois and didn't bother telling anyone like my advisor or the head of the honors program...oops! Slipped my mind!) and still managed to get a B+ (the lowest grade I've ever received on a college paper).
But this? No...this is mind numbing and soul sucking. I actually got up early today to work on this and will be working on it all day until I get ready to leave for the Queen concert in Jersey tonight.
I'm going to crack.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
A Fool for the Last Living Rock King - Hot Hot Heat, Weezer and the Foo Fighters - 10/13/05
For the last month or so, I've had this weird obsession with the Veruca Salt song "Shutterbug." I've played it almost every day at least once. I'm digging it because of the lyrics and the bass line.
What does this have to do with last night's concert you might ask? Well, it's rumored that the song is about a love triangle between singer Louise Post, Dave Grohl and Winona Ryder (because Winona Ryder really needs to bang more hot rock stars, right?). In the song, Post allegedly refers to Dave Grohl as the last living rock king. This sparked some debate between me and Paul. I've been joking and cynically saying that about Dave ever since I learned about the song's meaning, not totally believing it. But last night, he won me over.
Let's start at the very beginning...
Hot Hot Heat opened and we got there late. We only got to see the last three songs, none of which were "Bandages." I'd love to say that this was the biggest disappointment of my day, but in the big picture it was no big deal. I'm sure I'll get to see them again another time. What I did see was great. I like Hot Hot Heat in that weird kind of way. Our seats were great. We were exactly center to the stage on the other side of the floor, tenth row.
So after that we walked around the concourse. Lots of nerdy geeky types were hanging around. These people have no idea how to walk through a crowd. I had enough and we went back to our seats. The stage had changed by this time and was set for Weezer.
They came out and played a lot of stuff that I knew and liked. Rivers came out to a little platrom right in front of us and sang "Island In the Sun" accoustic. Then they pulled some guy up on stage to play the acoustic part of "The Sweater Song" while Rivers made his way back to the stage. The guy was okay, but he was a little slow. At another point in the show, Rivers said that his father was in the audience and seeing the band play live for the first time ever. They broke into "Say It Ain't So" and I think I blew out my vocal chords. That was the song that got me to like them. I really hadn't liked anything of theirs until that song came out. They covered "Big Me" and Blur's "Song 2." At another point in the show, the stage changed a little and showed these lights that looked like stars. I was a little bummed that they didn't play "The Good Life" but again, not the most disappointing thing about my day. Overall, I'd say not a bad show. Paul said that he wouldn't want to follow that act, but I had every ounce of faith in "the last living rock king."
In between sets, we sat around and watched these people about two rows ahead of us that were stoned on some weak shit (I don't even smoke and I could tell) and kept high fiving excessively. They kept buying these big tubs of popcorn. One chick got a little crazy and tried to throw some at some people several rows back and hit me. I didn't get mad. Afterall, we all get our turn to be the wasted asshole. I'm sure my turn is coming soon.
Then the stage was set. There were these chopped up looking screens, more fiber optic lights (c'est trendy) and a background that just looked like a bunch of speakers. Dave screamed through the first song. I don't know what it was, but I fell in love. The energy was amazing. Then they broke into more familiar stuff and played just about all the songs that you would know. I also finally got one right and predicted that "Monkey Wrench" would be the last song of their encore which also featured CCR's "Born on the Bayou."
Dave also talked to the audience a lot, sometimes referring to us as "idiots." I'll forgive him. He played a song for the people in the nosebleed section and said, "I might seem far away right now, but tonight I'll be in your dreams giving you a big hickey on the side of your neck. Free hickeys for the nosebleed section!" He also had some commentary on the recent issues regarding Philly losing its only alternative music station, which was really cool. He stage dived and crowd surfed to an exit and ran to the platform where Rivers stood during their set and did the dueling guitar thing. There he was, only 10 rows away. *panting* He mentioned that the secret to sreaming like a rock star is a Coors Light and some Crown Royal and that he felt like the guy who sits around at the party, drinking beer and talking too much when really he should just turn up the music. For the last song of the regular set, he played "Everlong" for his wife, starting out slow and soft and then the band kicked in at the end. They put a spotlight on her and a spotlight on him. It was sweet. He also played a song for his mother during the encore and said, "If it wasn't for Mamma Jean, none of us would be here tonight." I love him!
We got out of there and came home relatively late. No bootleg t-shirt guys in the parking lot, unfortunately. I had to get up early today to travel to a different office, leaving me pretty drained today.
But it was all so worth it. The distraction was much needed.
What does this have to do with last night's concert you might ask? Well, it's rumored that the song is about a love triangle between singer Louise Post, Dave Grohl and Winona Ryder (because Winona Ryder really needs to bang more hot rock stars, right?). In the song, Post allegedly refers to Dave Grohl as the last living rock king. This sparked some debate between me and Paul. I've been joking and cynically saying that about Dave ever since I learned about the song's meaning, not totally believing it. But last night, he won me over.
Let's start at the very beginning...
Hot Hot Heat opened and we got there late. We only got to see the last three songs, none of which were "Bandages." I'd love to say that this was the biggest disappointment of my day, but in the big picture it was no big deal. I'm sure I'll get to see them again another time. What I did see was great. I like Hot Hot Heat in that weird kind of way. Our seats were great. We were exactly center to the stage on the other side of the floor, tenth row.
So after that we walked around the concourse. Lots of nerdy geeky types were hanging around. These people have no idea how to walk through a crowd. I had enough and we went back to our seats. The stage had changed by this time and was set for Weezer.
They came out and played a lot of stuff that I knew and liked. Rivers came out to a little platrom right in front of us and sang "Island In the Sun" accoustic. Then they pulled some guy up on stage to play the acoustic part of "The Sweater Song" while Rivers made his way back to the stage. The guy was okay, but he was a little slow. At another point in the show, Rivers said that his father was in the audience and seeing the band play live for the first time ever. They broke into "Say It Ain't So" and I think I blew out my vocal chords. That was the song that got me to like them. I really hadn't liked anything of theirs until that song came out. They covered "Big Me" and Blur's "Song 2." At another point in the show, the stage changed a little and showed these lights that looked like stars. I was a little bummed that they didn't play "The Good Life" but again, not the most disappointing thing about my day. Overall, I'd say not a bad show. Paul said that he wouldn't want to follow that act, but I had every ounce of faith in "the last living rock king."
In between sets, we sat around and watched these people about two rows ahead of us that were stoned on some weak shit (I don't even smoke and I could tell) and kept high fiving excessively. They kept buying these big tubs of popcorn. One chick got a little crazy and tried to throw some at some people several rows back and hit me. I didn't get mad. Afterall, we all get our turn to be the wasted asshole. I'm sure my turn is coming soon.
Then the stage was set. There were these chopped up looking screens, more fiber optic lights (c'est trendy) and a background that just looked like a bunch of speakers. Dave screamed through the first song. I don't know what it was, but I fell in love. The energy was amazing. Then they broke into more familiar stuff and played just about all the songs that you would know. I also finally got one right and predicted that "Monkey Wrench" would be the last song of their encore which also featured CCR's "Born on the Bayou."
Dave also talked to the audience a lot, sometimes referring to us as "idiots." I'll forgive him. He played a song for the people in the nosebleed section and said, "I might seem far away right now, but tonight I'll be in your dreams giving you a big hickey on the side of your neck. Free hickeys for the nosebleed section!" He also had some commentary on the recent issues regarding Philly losing its only alternative music station, which was really cool. He stage dived and crowd surfed to an exit and ran to the platform where Rivers stood during their set and did the dueling guitar thing. There he was, only 10 rows away. *panting* He mentioned that the secret to sreaming like a rock star is a Coors Light and some Crown Royal and that he felt like the guy who sits around at the party, drinking beer and talking too much when really he should just turn up the music. For the last song of the regular set, he played "Everlong" for his wife, starting out slow and soft and then the band kicked in at the end. They put a spotlight on her and a spotlight on him. It was sweet. He also played a song for his mother during the encore and said, "If it wasn't for Mamma Jean, none of us would be here tonight." I love him!
We got out of there and came home relatively late. No bootleg t-shirt guys in the parking lot, unfortunately. I had to get up early today to travel to a different office, leaving me pretty drained today.
But it was all so worth it. The distraction was much needed.
This Deserves Its Own Post
More "house cleaning."
I had a fairly decent road trip to Chicago last weekend. Many of our other road trips have been more eventful, but I've been fucking tired from all the stress.
Anyway, we started driving after work on Friday, stopped somewhere in Ohio and rolled into Chicago Saturday afternoon. We stayed with the other Paul and his roommate Bill. At first we sat around and watched My Super Sweet 16. We all decided that Paul and Bill should have their own MTV show and special Super Sweet 30 episode where they discuss their Simpsons action figures. These guys are so funny.
We then went to the movies to see the Wallace and Gromit movie. It was cute and had some adult humor mixed in. We sat behind the most annoying people in Illinois, but enjoyed it all anyway. Then we grabbed pizza at Barnaby's. It was fun.
Then we were off to see Paul's play. If you happen to be in or near the Chicago area, please check it out. My friend Paul plays Bobby the retarded zombie and he's really funny. Seriously people, go see it. After the show, Paul and I waited for the other Paul at a bar down the street then went back and passed out at Paul's. I was so tired.
The next day we hung around for a little while. Paul made me some cool CDs - some Rollins, some Strongbad stuff and this other CD with some silly stuff. He gave us a t-shirt for the play. He's so nice! We went to the diner down the street from his house and then we went on our way.
We made it back all in the same day. I mostly slept on the way home while Paul listened to football. It was nice to get away for a little while.
I had a fairly decent road trip to Chicago last weekend. Many of our other road trips have been more eventful, but I've been fucking tired from all the stress.
Anyway, we started driving after work on Friday, stopped somewhere in Ohio and rolled into Chicago Saturday afternoon. We stayed with the other Paul and his roommate Bill. At first we sat around and watched My Super Sweet 16. We all decided that Paul and Bill should have their own MTV show and special Super Sweet 30 episode where they discuss their Simpsons action figures. These guys are so funny.
We then went to the movies to see the Wallace and Gromit movie. It was cute and had some adult humor mixed in. We sat behind the most annoying people in Illinois, but enjoyed it all anyway. Then we grabbed pizza at Barnaby's. It was fun.
Then we were off to see Paul's play. If you happen to be in or near the Chicago area, please check it out. My friend Paul plays Bobby the retarded zombie and he's really funny. Seriously people, go see it. After the show, Paul and I waited for the other Paul at a bar down the street then went back and passed out at Paul's. I was so tired.
The next day we hung around for a little while. Paul made me some cool CDs - some Rollins, some Strongbad stuff and this other CD with some silly stuff. He gave us a t-shirt for the play. He's so nice! We went to the diner down the street from his house and then we went on our way.
We made it back all in the same day. I mostly slept on the way home while Paul listened to football. It was nice to get away for a little while.
Monday, October 3, 2005
I Want to Shout, But I Can Hardly Speak - Stones and Beck at Hershey 10/1/05
Go ahead. Just try to convince me that I spent way too much money on my tickets for last night's show. I won't tell you what I paid, but let's just say that they were good seats, not the best, but about 27 rows from the stage and over to the right. For the last few weeks, some of you have taken your jabs at me for this. But you know what? I had a really good fucking time last night. And you can't put a price on that. I've been listening to the Stones since I was practically still in diapers and I love them like a fat kid loves cake.
We were smart this time. Usually, coming out of a show, I'm really thristy. We brought a cooler this time and stopped at Sheets for Pomegranate Green Tea (I need the antioxidents to prevent the lines under my eyes). Mmmm...yummy. Then it was off to Red Robin for lunch/left overs for after the show and some browsing at the Hershey outlets. I finally found a copy of Dick's Picks Volume 20, so that was kinda cool.
We made our way into the stadium. The stage was freakin' huge! It had levels for seating and fiberoptic beaded curtains similar to what U2 had. I bought a shirt and then we made our way to the seats. We just kept getting closer and closer to the stage. I knew this was going to be good and silently hoped that it wouldn't be another Oasis incident. I kinda figured it wouldn't be since there were actual chairs and a lot of security keeping people out who did not belong there.
We were just taking everything in, people watching and digging the pregame music when suddenly the unmistakenable guitar chords for Beck's "Loser" brought me out of my daze. At first I was thinking, "Oh yeah, this song! When I was a senior in high school, I used to cruise around coal region towns listening to it." And then I realized that Beck was actually on stage performing. We could see fairly well, but for some assistance, there was also a big screen in front of us. I decided then and there that Beck is the coolest person alive. I'm not usually one for little skinny blond guys, but he was actually hot. He also had "his friend Brian" jumping around the stage dressed in a dress shirt and tie. Weird. Very weird. He played a bunch of his songs and then his band sat down at this table on stage and started eating dinner. "We were going to invite the Stones for dinner tonight," he said. "But we figured they had other things to do." Then he broke into "No Expectations" solo. It was great. At the end of the song, the band started banging on glasses of water on the table and they broke into "Clap Hands." When it was all over, I was sorry to see him go.
So, then there was intermission. I considered fighting the crowds to go to the bathroom, but thought better of it. The Stones came out at about 8:45 and played for about two hours. I saw Keith first and couldn't believe how great the view was. It was such a thrill.
Here is their setlist:
Start Me Up, It's Only Rock & Roll, Shes So Cold, Tumblin Dice, Rough Justice, Back Of My Hand, Midnight Rambler, All Down The Line, Night Time Is The Right Time, The Worst, Infamy, Miss You, Oh No, Get Off My Cloud, Honkey Tonk Woman, Sympathy, Paint It Black, Brown Sugar, Jumping Jack Flash, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Satisfaction
I'm a little disappointed because at the show at Pittsburgh, they played "Rocks Off" and since Pearl Jam opened, Eddie
Vedder came out and sang "Wild Horses" with them. But overall, it wasn't so bad. I got to hear "She's So Cold" which made me happy, even though I take a lot of ragging for liking that song. They played a lot of new stuff, which I guess is okay. The new album isn't awful, I guess.
Some other highlights:
~During "Miss You" part of the stage turned into a boat and took them down to the second stage in the middle of the crowd via the catwalk down the middle. There were also catwalks down each side of the stage and when Mick or Keith walked on the one on our side, they were so close! It was really cool.
~During "Honkey Tonk Woman," they were still on the second stage and the roadies inflated this gigantic flowered tongue and lips on the main stage for when they got back. That was kinda cool.
~At another point in the show, Mick Jagger actually said, "I hear we have people from Mechanicsburg in the audience."
~They paid tribute to Ray Charles with "The Night Time is the Right Time" and their gorgeous back up bimbo came out and sang. She was great. But she was teetering around on these necker shoes. I thought she was going to tip over.
~The setlist was posted around Charlie's drums and when they showed him on the big screen, you could almost read it. We knew that the last two songs were going to be "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Satisfaction."
I'm sure there are a lot of other things I'm forgetting. But I assure you it was fantastic. I didn't even mind sitting in the parking lot for an hour before we ever even got on the road to go home.
Anyway, back to reality today. I better get moving on my homework and laundry.
We were smart this time. Usually, coming out of a show, I'm really thristy. We brought a cooler this time and stopped at Sheets for Pomegranate Green Tea (I need the antioxidents to prevent the lines under my eyes). Mmmm...yummy. Then it was off to Red Robin for lunch/left overs for after the show and some browsing at the Hershey outlets. I finally found a copy of Dick's Picks Volume 20, so that was kinda cool.
We made our way into the stadium. The stage was freakin' huge! It had levels for seating and fiberoptic beaded curtains similar to what U2 had. I bought a shirt and then we made our way to the seats. We just kept getting closer and closer to the stage. I knew this was going to be good and silently hoped that it wouldn't be another Oasis incident. I kinda figured it wouldn't be since there were actual chairs and a lot of security keeping people out who did not belong there.
We were just taking everything in, people watching and digging the pregame music when suddenly the unmistakenable guitar chords for Beck's "Loser" brought me out of my daze. At first I was thinking, "Oh yeah, this song! When I was a senior in high school, I used to cruise around coal region towns listening to it." And then I realized that Beck was actually on stage performing. We could see fairly well, but for some assistance, there was also a big screen in front of us. I decided then and there that Beck is the coolest person alive. I'm not usually one for little skinny blond guys, but he was actually hot. He also had "his friend Brian" jumping around the stage dressed in a dress shirt and tie. Weird. Very weird. He played a bunch of his songs and then his band sat down at this table on stage and started eating dinner. "We were going to invite the Stones for dinner tonight," he said. "But we figured they had other things to do." Then he broke into "No Expectations" solo. It was great. At the end of the song, the band started banging on glasses of water on the table and they broke into "Clap Hands." When it was all over, I was sorry to see him go.
So, then there was intermission. I considered fighting the crowds to go to the bathroom, but thought better of it. The Stones came out at about 8:45 and played for about two hours. I saw Keith first and couldn't believe how great the view was. It was such a thrill.
Here is their setlist:
Start Me Up, It's Only Rock & Roll, Shes So Cold, Tumblin Dice, Rough Justice, Back Of My Hand, Midnight Rambler, All Down The Line, Night Time Is The Right Time, The Worst, Infamy, Miss You, Oh No, Get Off My Cloud, Honkey Tonk Woman, Sympathy, Paint It Black, Brown Sugar, Jumping Jack Flash, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Satisfaction
I'm a little disappointed because at the show at Pittsburgh, they played "Rocks Off" and since Pearl Jam opened, Eddie
Vedder came out and sang "Wild Horses" with them. But overall, it wasn't so bad. I got to hear "She's So Cold" which made me happy, even though I take a lot of ragging for liking that song. They played a lot of new stuff, which I guess is okay. The new album isn't awful, I guess.
Some other highlights:
~During "Miss You" part of the stage turned into a boat and took them down to the second stage in the middle of the crowd via the catwalk down the middle. There were also catwalks down each side of the stage and when Mick or Keith walked on the one on our side, they were so close! It was really cool.
~During "Honkey Tonk Woman," they were still on the second stage and the roadies inflated this gigantic flowered tongue and lips on the main stage for when they got back. That was kinda cool.
~At another point in the show, Mick Jagger actually said, "I hear we have people from Mechanicsburg in the audience."
~They paid tribute to Ray Charles with "The Night Time is the Right Time" and their gorgeous back up bimbo came out and sang. She was great. But she was teetering around on these necker shoes. I thought she was going to tip over.
~The setlist was posted around Charlie's drums and when they showed him on the big screen, you could almost read it. We knew that the last two songs were going to be "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Satisfaction."
I'm sure there are a lot of other things I'm forgetting. But I assure you it was fantastic. I didn't even mind sitting in the parking lot for an hour before we ever even got on the road to go home.
Anyway, back to reality today. I better get moving on my homework and laundry.
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