Concert Time!

Last week, I made it to yet another concert. Wednesday night Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves made down here. I was pretty excited since he is either in the Northeast or touring in Europe. He swung through Dallas on the way to SXSW in Austin.

The concert was at a tiny venue called the Loft (it is in the same complex were I saw the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings concert last year), and there were I would guess between 100-200 people there. It was kind of a weird concert, let me put it into these terms

It would have been like if Dream Theater and The Dead Kennedys were opening up for James Brown. That is how different the three styles were between the bands.

First up was Lite, a prog rock band from Japan. Which I called in my head when I first saw them. Japan seems to embrace a lot of different music genres. They were on their 51st gig in a row, and they still brought the energy. They were really good , and all of their songs were instrumentals. The drummer was just insane, and a lot of times he was doing some head banging even when he was doing nothing else. They had a keyboard that had some pieces programmed into it for some songs. Other times the rhythm guitarist would play the keyboard. Good hard rocking music.

Next up we have Mike Watt & the Missing Men. Mike Watt is a punk rock legend. I wasn't sure who he was really, but then I remembered him from the Minutemen. Really I am awful recalling member's names in bands. It was funny when Mike Watt first walked in all I saw was a man in his 50s with a cane and knee brace and two minutes later he is up on stage getting rid for his set.

It was interesting that the drummer from Lite and the Missing Men shared a drum kit. The latter drummer just removed some of the pieces for a smaller kit, and then he went to town. It was a classic punk line-up of guitar, bass, and drums. It was also the part were I don't think I;ve heard the f-word said more during a shorter period of time. There was a short I believe in Mike's microphone and he kept getting shocked by it. Every time it happened he dropped an f-bomb, in addition to the ones that came naturally in the songs. Afterward I went to shake Mike Watt's hand and tell him how much I enjoyed it, and we shared a black guy hug. Pretty cool actually.

Finally, we got to the main attraction with Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves. They are really good, and can rock it. Eli has a lot of charisma on stage, and knows how to work the crowd. I did feel bad for him in that he broke a string on both of the guitars he brought, and they are such a small operation he didn't have any roadies to fix either of them. He did try to fix one offstage at one point but couldn't do it. He came back and apologized. They were still really good. I loved the drummer of the True Loves as well, he always had this big ol' smile on his face. Seemed to be having a really good time.

It was a high energy concert all around, and I enjoyed all three acts. I wouldn't mind seeing any of them again.

No I got them all cut!

Last week, I finally got my hair cut after a little bit over two months. It is still weird for me that Marion, my stylist for about 25 years no longer cuts it. Even after 3 years or so later. I just thought it was silly for me to pay those prices to get my hair cut, and drive about an hour out of my way to do so. On the other hand, it also made me leery to have anyone else cut my hair. Which explains the one time I went over 4 months, and that was definitely the shaggiest I ever looked. I did go though, as I finally know what I want for the most part, and they keep notes. Before I would just tell Marion to cut it short, and let her go to work. No muss, no fuss, and I would be in and out in fifteen minutes.

The young lady who cut my hair this time I actually liked in that she actually taught me some things. At one point she was asked me if I wanted it "square or round." I asked her what she was talking about, and she told me the back of my hair. I let her know that I had never been asked that question before. Apparently a square look is a men's look. Some men want a rounded back, but it is considered more feminine. I really didn't care, because I never look back there. She cut it square since mine was pretty naturally square, and it looks cleaner that way and will grow out better.

I explained that a lot of the terms used and such are foreign to me with my previous years with Marion. She said she tries to teach her clients what to ask for, and to use the terms the hairstylist will use. That way everyone is on the same page when the cutting goes down. Just for when her clients move, or if she ends up moving away.

I like the was my hair ended up, and I asked her to take a lot off the top, and by gum she did. I was shocked how much she took, but I like it. Now I can wait two more months.

A Snow Day?

I don't know if you heard about the weather we had in the Dallas area last week or not...
Anyway, I actually made to work everyday except Friday. I freely admit I can't drive on the bad roads. In my neck of the woods we had a nice 2-3 inch layer of ice on the road. Also, driving a standard makes it worse, so hard to accelerate without spinning out. I go to work Tues-Thurs though, but when the icy roads got a nice 6 inch later of snow on top of it. I decided I really didn't need to be out on the roads. The weather really is an abnormality for us here. The meterologists say it is some of the coldest weather in 30 years or so. I can never remember it being this cold for this long. Yes even in just a four day stretch.

Then of course by 2PM Saturday it was 90% melted away. The amazing thing is that at my boss' house there was still a lot of ice on his front porch as of yesterday afternoon.

I went to a Super Bowl part Sunday, but really reeled in my drinking. Having done it a million times before, but I decided I didn't want to be hungover at work on Monday. When are we going to move the Super Bowl to Saturday?

As I write this we got more sleet and snow today. After being told of a "light dusting" We need to define those terms I think. So not that mound of ice on boss' porch has some sleet sitting on top of it. Awesome

Surrounding chauffeured

A quick hit I think. First, about a week ago I went to a bar called The Pub in McKinney, TX. I thought it was a pretty generic name, and made jokes like I drink The Beer, and later eat some of The Food. It was a pretty cool joint though. Me and my friends were seated at the bar, and for my lunch I had some shepherd's pie, actually made with lamb. It was pretty good if a bit on the salty side. What made this place for me though was this: they make their own pork rinds in house. They come out warm in a bog ol' brown paper bag. Get some of the Chulo hot sauce in a bowl, and dip the pork rinds in there. Oh, my goodness. The would start popping and cracking, and they tasted just terrific. I told one of my friends they were like Rice Krispies for adults. What made me laugh was about an hour later the group to my right got some pork rinds as well, and one the guys told his friends they were like Rice Krispies as well.

Catching up

This past Friday I caught up with some friends I haven't see a looong time. My friend Little Mike had his birthday the day before, and he was going to Trinity Hall Friday afternoon to celebrate. Let's knock Trinity Hall down to begin with. I had never been there before, but it was a really cool Irish pub with a decent selection of beers on tap, and whole slew in bottles (or cans). I didn't have any of the food, but everyone who tried it said it was pretty decent food, especially for bar food.

I had two Carlsbergs myself at first. Then I tried the Kilkenny Cream Ale, which was really good. It is a nitrogenated beer, made by makers of Guinness. I give it a hearty endorsement.

Besides that it was really fun to catch up with some of those guys and gals. I've only seen Mike, Roda, and Ann about 2 times in the last 4 years. Me, Mike, and two other guys joked that the four white guys were the first ones there and on time as per usual. Some of the people I hadn't seen it 6+ years: Sean, Rodney, Sun, Tammy, Duc, other Mike (sometimes Mexican Mike, our nicknames are sometimes very direct), Winnie, Ella May, and Betty. Plus, there are always new people I've never met before. Like Sun's boyfriend Don.

It was really a trip to see Duc again after all of this time. He was perhaps one of the most wheels off, crazy assed dudes I know. In the intervening years he got married, has two kids, has a job as an office manager, and he quit smoking. Wow, for some a lot has changed.

A good night, truly

Struggling for a title

New Year's: Well my New Year's Eve was pretty failed as my plans got canceled at about 9PM. by that point I just said "Screw it" and decided to not do anything. I still had people trying to get me to go over to their house or drive up to Winstar (a casino). Instead I just sat in front of the TV and watched a marathon of Lockup on MSNBC. I did at least stay up to midnight. I haven't before.

Karma: As some of you may or may not know I used to do volunteer work for the Hero Initiative. Well since there hasn't been a show near me that they have been at I haven't really done anything to support them lately. Well this year I decided to actually join them with a membership. I looked at the options and plunked down that money for the Bronze membership. 29 bucks, no problem. Just a few hours later I got an e-mail from the guy who runs the charity saying he was bumping me up to the Silver membership. Which I thought was very kind of him, and totally unnecessary. If you are a comic fan at all, I would highly recommend supporting them in some way. A donation, and they put out several books a year that are really fun. Like a collection of all of the Stan's Soapbox from I think 1968-1980.

Strapping on the feedbag.

Under No Management: We've had a a few local restaurants close down. The first was the closest Jack In the Box which I was kind of shocked closed. I figured if it would close it would have been 2 years ago during all of the construction going on. It made it nearly impossible to get there, once that was done I figured it would be okay. Nope, it was all boarded up.

Next, one we lost was Lenny's Sub Shop. I didn't go there a whole lot, but I did like their version of the philly cheesesteak, as they had this really good spicy relish they put on it. This place actually lasted longer than I thought it would, because it was never busy there.

Finally, Andrea's Pizza closed. This one hurts the most. It was a local mom and pop place and when I did get a pizza it was usually theirs. They had such an awesome thick crust pizza that was just a little sweet. Definitely not the cardboard variety. It was really good pizza at a decent price. Plus, I hate to see little local shops like this close to the chains.

Christmas eating: A little Christmas info. Here is what my step-mom made for three people:

1. a nearly 12lb turkey
2. mashed potatoes
3. stuffing
4. gravy
5. green beans
6. carrots (did I mention this was for three people?)
   
7. creamed peas
8. 2(!) Jello Salads - which I don't usually eat. Nor did I this time.
9. plus for dessert, also for three people. Cheesecake with strawberry sauce
10. Bread Pudding
11. Pumpkin Pie

There was so much food, my step mom bought some containers just for me to take leftovers home. Plus, I took a whole pumpkin pie.

Milling About

Saturday, my friend Jake had his annual party at his house. Jake is the guy who runs the comic book shop I go to, and we get along great. It is one of the few parties that I am guaranteed to get wasted at, as Jake and his girlfriend are kind enough to let me sleep over. Anyways, pretty much the who point of this post was watching this one guy hit on this one girl, and the crap he was saying.

He was saying stuff like this:
"That movie had some of the best cinematography I have ever seen."
"My favorite composer is doing the score of that movie."
"I like that scarf on you, it makes you look like an aviator."

I just wanted to jump up and tell him, "Dude, you are so full of sh*t!" I didn't though. I held my tongue. I was pretty proud of myself. A few years ago I probably would have ripped him.

Other highlights:
A dude picking up an acoustic guitar and doing a very neat version of Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again". I thought it was funny.
Talking to a kid who used to play college football at Utah State. He quit fairly early, because even at rinky-dink Utah State it was "no longer a game. It was a career."

The absolute lowlight was when I finally left Sunday morning. Apparently it was the day of the White Rock Lake marathon. I drove around for 45 minutes before I finally found a way out, and escaped. I tried north first, and then west. I knew east would be no good as that was the direction of White Rock Lake. I finally got headed south, and kept going south, while constantly looking to the west, and seeing I was still hemmed in. I finally made it to a highway and got home. It was not a fun drive. A fun night though.

The Right Decision

Pretty much all season long, and especially since Wade Phillips has been fired the talk around DFW is not if, or when, but which Super Bowl winning coach should the Cowboys hire to replace him. Sure Jason Garrett won his first game, but nothign would make the populace happier than getting John Gruden or Bill Cowher. Maybe even Brian Billick. It is something I've been thinking about as well. The question is, is it worth it?

The short is answer in the history of the NFL (Super Bowl era at least) is no.

We can delve into the longer answer. Basically only Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren really got close. Winning one with one team, and they both took another team to championship. Two others lost the big game, and then went on to win (Dick Vermeil, and Don Shula). Vince Lombardi won at Green Bay and never did much with the Redskins. Hank Stram won at Kansas City and then only posted 7 wins as the head coach at New Orleans. So basically just don't go too crazy about signing that big name coach with a Super Bowl win under his belt. It hasn't worked yet, but then again maybe they are due.

World Series...who? Me?

Well boys and girls I actually got to go see Game 5 of the World Series on Monday. How did I get to go? Well, back during Game 1 me and some buddies were watching the game, and the they asked me then if I wanted go in with some tickets with them. I had just gotten four new tires, an alignment, and brake pads installed on my car, so spending almost $500 for a World Series ticket wasn't in the cards for me. I regretfully declined. Monday rolls around and my boss, who had bought a ticket wasn't feeling well. About 1:30-2:00 in the afternoon he just asks,"If I don't go to the game, do you want my ticket? It's already paid for." Of course I would, so that is how I got to go. Or as I said at the time, "I just fell ass backwards into a ticket."

The actual game? I don't know what I can really say about it. It was an awesome experience. Charlie Pride sang the national anthem, with fireworks and a fly over. I don't care how old you are, the fly over is cool. Another really neat thing was having the the upper part of the stadium chant "Texas!" and the bottom part "Rangers!" and it sounded great in the stadium, and people have told me it sounded like an international soccer game on the TV.

Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum both pitched great games. Lee had one bad inning, and according to Benjie Molina it was because Lee didn't want to pitch around Renteria to get to Rowand who could barely get on the field. Lincecum was just phenomenal. One of my friends just looked at me as the Rangers went down in short order, and I said,"Yeah, Lincecum is still good."

I had a whole slew of Giants' fans in front and to the right of me. They weren't annoying or anything, and were pretty cool. One even shook my hand and wished me good luck during the ninth. The Rangers lost of course, and the fans around me all just got in a group hug and jumped up and down. In the end it was a great season, and the Rangers overachieved this season. I do realize it is possible this was a once in a lifetime possibility, so I just wanted to enjoy the moment. There are no guarantees in sports, and especially baseball. The Rangers may never get back in my lifetime, and I am so glad I got to go.

P.S. I am now 0-3 at post-season games.

P.P.S. A picture from my other blog where you can see me at the game. That blog gets updated more often as it is less text intensive.

Concert 2 and 3?

Just a few short days after the Sharon Jones concert I went to another concert. This time it was with a group of about 10 people, a much bigger venue (the Superpages center by Fair Park), and a much more well known act: Rush. My biggest complaint it just that we were really far away, but then again closer tickets would have cost an arm and a leg.

The concert was basically broken up into three parts, and had video interludes through out. The first part was just an opening set with song from the past, some newer stuff, and a song or two from an upcoming album. The second part was the main reason I was there. They did the entire Moving Pictures album, and that was awesome. Song which include Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ. I loved it, it was great. The third part started off with Neal Peart's drum solo. That was worth the price of admission alone. It too was broken into three parts: a rock solo, then he played on an electronic drum set that was programmed with different sound effects and such, and the final part was a jazz solo. They also played the song 2112 in it entirety, all 20+ minutes.

Then I started running out of steam on the guys. They played quite a bit more after that, and it was over 3 hours or so. That is more than I can really take of any one band. I had had a enough really. Last thing on the concert: musically the guys sounded great and I really liked it, the problem was that Geddy Lee was having a hard time hitting those high notes on some of the older songs,a nd he tried to over compensate by screaming. That made his voice warble quite a bit.

3rd Concert? Well not quite. A few days after the Rush concert the original lineup of Guided By Voices was playing in downtown Dallas. After two trips to downtown in just a few days, I couldn't get my dander up to make a third one. Especially having to work the next day. I kind of regret not going, as after the concert there was an after party with the band. Plus, I missed Tim DeLaughter (lead singer of the Polyphonic Spree) getting kicked out. Oh well.

It's Just Banter

This is a local radio guy who Zach Galifianakis'd Zach Galifianakis. He said he wasn't sure if he was going to go this way with the interview, until when he first met him he hit his head on the overhead mike. Then he decided to just go for it. Good stuff.

First Concert (of the year)

#1: I believe it was three weeks ago that on a spur of the moment decision I went to the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings concert. I didn't even know they were playing until the night before, and made my decision to go about 2 hours before showtime. I called one friend who I thought would be interested, but he was unable to go due to a prior commitment. No worries, I'm not afraid to fly solo. The show was at the Palladium Showroom. The Palladium has two different places for shows: the Ballroom and the Showroom. This one was at the Palladium Showroom which is the smaller of the two.

The show was supposed to "start" at 7:30. Now I'm not naïve enough to actually think the concert will start then, but I do expect the doors to be open. They weren't, and the doors to the place are down a long 4 foot wide tunnel surrounded by brick walls. Brick walls that had been taking the Texas sun all day. It was almost a 30 minute wait to get inside and the heat was brutal.

The actual concert though was absolutely fantastic. The opening act was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. They were a great band that seems to cross several genres in their music, and Grace Potter is quite the honey. They were throwing down an unusual look. Grace was wearing a Tina Turner like outfit, and the Nocturnals looked like a '70s garage band.

Now I had never seen a picture of Binky Griptite of the Dap-Kings, but once I saw this dude come out in a maroon suit with a fedora cocked on the side of his head, I knew exactly who it was. I was right. The Dap-Kings sang a few songs by themselves before Sharon Jones came out.

Binky played up to the crowd a bit with,"You know I've been in Texas for two days now, and I ain't heard no one say 'yee-ha', so how is everyone out here tonight?" With the crowd giving a resounding "YEE-HA!" Including me.

Once Sharon Jones did come out the energy just amped up. She is just so enthusiastic. I told one of my friends that I hope to have her energy when I am her age, but I don't even have that level now. During a couple of different songs she brought people up on the stage with her. I was literally 3 feet from the stage, and it was electric. Smaller venues like that really do it for me.

PS Within 5 seconds of Sharon Jones appearing on the stage I could smell the weed.

so long...

Well, over the Labor Day Weekend, my former boss, Kazy passed away. I still don't think I have fully processed it yet. He was found in the store laying on the counch after 11 AM last Tuesday, which meant they employees were working there for over and hour before they discovered the body. They went looking for him, because he hadn't called them yet, and they were concerned.

So, there was a bunch of madness on Tuesday. That evening I was fielding phone calls, texts, and messages on Facebook while trying to draft a team in Fantasy Football.

We always had a volatile relationship. Seeing as how my tenure at the store didn't end well (I ended up being fired). I did work there for 12 years though including the entirety of my 20s and I always loved and respected the man. So, I felt I should at least pay my last respect by going to his funeral.

One at the funeral it was packed, and I was running a bit behind. I did meet an old co-worker there, and everyone else was to nervous (scared?) to walk by everyone to sit in the overflow seating, so I led that group over there. The actual ceremony was unlike one I have been to before. The minister only said a few words, while butchering all of the Japanese names, and then opened up the podium for some eulogies. We got 4 pretty solid ones from people who knew Kazy from different times or interests.

Afterwards there was the social gathering in the back which was another surreal time for me. Sure, it was sad, but it was also neat seeing a bunch of people I hadn't seen in literally years. Old co-workers, customers, and friends. I felt like I was running for office I shook so many hands and hugged so many people. I was surprised that his daughter seemed to be handling it better than his son. He was understandably pretty out of it.

Anyways, rest in peace Kazy. You definitely deserve it.

If it feels good, do it.

Call me: I've been contemplating getting a phone for a couple of months now for two main reasons. 1. I want one with a keyboard for texting. 2. The battery life on my current phone has gone to crap. I usually get my new phones directly from AT&T's website. So, my plan of action on Friday was this: find a phone with a keyboard (duh), and one that was free*. After perusing my options I decided on the Palm Pixi Plus. It got stellar reviews, but the main complaint is that the battery life seems a little low, but I think I can live with that. The keyboard was the main thing. When I placed the order I got huge notice saying there are no deliveries on weekends or holidays, so imagine my surprise when I got home Saturday and it was already in. Score one for me!

*Free after you sign a 2 year commitment, but that is no biggie for me. I wasn't planning on leaving anyways.

Gatekeeper: As I have mentioned before, I work out of my boss' house. This school year his neighborhood has decided to keep the gates to the neighborhood closed. And man is that screwing some people up.

First, they made this decision then end of last school year, and the the first day they kept the gates closed? The first day summer vacation. Good one. Then last week I was going to eat lunch, and as I left two cars drove by expecting to cut through and one lady just stood there staring at the gate and keeping me from turning into the street. When I cam back from lunch, another lady almost took the gate all, and came to a screeching halt when she didn't realize the gate would be closed.

The thought that occurred to me this week is school busing. I don't know where they go now to pick the kids up. Last year I would drive by three different locations in the neighborhood that had pick-ups for the kids, and now I wonder were they go, or if their parents are forced to drop them off at school now. Hmmm.


Thank you: I got a nice compliment from my roommate a week or so ago. I do enjoy watching a lot of the cooking "reality" shows: Hell's Kitchen, Iron Chef America, and Top Chef. I don't watch them every week, but if I catch them on I will watch them. anyways, my roommate told me,"You know these people make all of these sauces, and foams, stuff. But you make food I would actually eat."

Legion Sketchbook #34

Ah, the great Tellus appears this time. Tellus was drawn by Nate Bramble. I think his cartoony style fit Tellus perfectly.

This is actually the last of my Legion sketches for now. There is a show in just two weeks, so hopefully I will get some more done then. If not, I have some other things in store.

Sports Edition

Dateline Arlignton: Well last week the auction of the Rangers finally came off, and in the end I didn't care who ended up owning them as long as Tom Hicks didn't any more. In the end the Ryan/Greenberg group won the auction after like 15 hours from Mark Cuban and his team. Remember the important part: no more Tom Hicks. After losing his shirt in so many other ventures I am just glad to see him go. I got tired of hearing how good the concession sales were at the end of the year, but merchandising was down at the end of the season address. The fans don't care; we want to know what you are going to do to make the team better. This new group has already talked about it. The day after the auction Greenberg was on the radio talking about how they are going to really go after Cliff Lee (oh thank you). Resigning Josh Hamilton, etc. With Hicks as owner, for the past several seasons, the payroll was always going to be the same as the year before or lower. The Rangers are a top 5 market team with a bottom 5 market salary. All you need to know about Tom Hicks as an owner of a sports franchise is this: Hicks also owns the Dallas Stars, and he said the worst thing that happened to them was they won the Stanley Cup. What a penny-pinching jerk.

One thing that did bother me about the auction was afterwards Mark Cuban said he did what he came there to do. Didn't he go there to win the franchise? He didn't, and if he did what he planned to do what was that? To drive up the price of the franchise? For what purpose? Some accuse him of driving up the price since he actually own some of the Rangers' debt. Yet, he owns such a small portion he spent more on his lawyers on this than what he will make from the owning the debt. I just wonder what it was.

A final thing about the sale that worries me is GM John Daniels. There is a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if the Rangers change ownership. A bunch of people think he might bolt to the Mets the team of his childhood. Hell for the Mark Teixeira trade alone he should get like 10 years of immunity.

Quick bonus: Congratulations to the great Norm Hitzges, who today is celebrating his 35th year of doing sports radio in Dallas. He has hosted numerous shows, worked for ESPN, and has worked for just about every pro team in the are outside of the Dallas Stars. That is a good long while, a true icon around here.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Nolan!!!

UFO Spotting

Last week 2 friends of mine, Steve and his cousin Paul, came up to Dallas to visit for the weekend. Friday night he hung out with me and another friend of our, Sam. Saturday was going to be family day. After some negotiations for dinner (we agreed not eat eat dinner together) we finally decided to meet at the Flying Saucer. If someone wanted me to take them to the best place to drink beer it would be the Flying Saucer. They probably have a couple of hundred different beers available. It is the only place I know of in Dallas that has Newcastle on tap.

About 10 minutes after I arrived the power was knocked out for about 30 seconds due to the very unseasonable July thunderstorm. I was of course the first one there, even though I was the furthest away. Driving in the rain. During rush hour. It was great to see the guys again even if we are pretty lame now. Every discussion begins:
"What have you been up to?"
"Work. How about you?"
"Work."

We had a pretty good time for a couple of hours. The Steve and Paul decided they were ready to go to the topless bar. Which, there reason for going, amused me. Together they blamed another cousin who wasn't there as being the one who really wanted to go. When Paul went to the restroom Steve said it was actually Paul who was pushing to go. When Steve went, Paul said it was Steve. Now, I have nothing against those places, and I have been known to go to them before. But, I knew the one they were going to was a skank bar, plus I didn't relish the thought of driving back to my place about an hour a way after we were done with wet roads and drunk drivers. Not to mention the cost of going to one of those places. So, men and Sam went to another, more upscale bar, BJs to finally get some eat and chit-chat at bit more. Sam wouldn't have been able to go to the topless bars anyways since he forgot his wallet and would not have been able to get in.

A pretty fun Friday night to catch up with some good friends.

Legion Sketch #33

In this edition:


We get the lovable, hugable Gates. This was done at the last show I went to in January, by Brock Rizy. A nifty little sketch I think.