Blahg

25 November 2005

Ah. From the second row off the stage at Paul McCartney's show to second row from the ceiling for The Rolling Stones. It was because of the immense happiness I felt at Macca's concert that I figured I simply had to check out the Stones as well. Those $400 floor seats were a big turn off from the day tickets went on sale, but a $60 obstructed view ticket a couple weeks before the show suddenly became an offer I couldn't refuse.

And I'm glad I didn't. I've added to my list of life's missions a new goal: To keep up with Mick Jagger. The man's still got it; he struts his stuff and belts out the songs like it was still the '60s... or at leas the late '70s. After the show, just about everything was exiting the Pepsi Center trying to strut around like Sir Mick.

It was also a major joy of scientific wonder to watch Keith Richards. Ever since Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp and Keith will forever be intertwined in my mind. Keith is a fascinating man... and I'm not sure why.

Highlights from the night: A fantastic rendition of Ray Charles' Nightime Is the Right Time, Ruby Tuesday, Slipping Away, Miss You, Start Me Up, Satisfaction, Sympathy for the Devil, and that Mattopian anthem, You Can't Always Get What You Want. (Actually, in retrospect, it's surprising how many Stones tunes qualify as Mattopian anthems.)

Some of the new songs were also quite good, including Infamy, Rough Justice, and Rain Fall Down.

As for the staging, from my limited vantage point, they took full advantage of the massive, spacious stage. As a bonus, Mick favored my side, taking to the stage-left catwalk quite often. The mobile center stage that crossed the arena floor was also excellent - and explains why sooooo many tickets were priced at $400.

BUT, and there is a very big BUT regarding the show, it was a little off-putting seeing the plugs for all the major sponsors of the show. A banner for a national mortgage company, strategically placed above the left side of the stage, effectively blocked my view of the opening act, Jason Mraz. While Mraz turned out to be better than I expected, I'll never patronize that mortgage company. (There were cheers from my section of the arena, by the way, when that flippin' banner was taken down before the Stones took to the stage.)

The crass marketing (there was even a mini blimp for the mortgage company floating around the arena before the show) was the polar opposite of the relatively tasteful sponsorship of a financial management company for Macca's show. At least they played off how Paul's living the dream... and they can "help" you do the same.

One other thing: The band played for almost precisely 2 hours. Considering they don't play again until Sunday, in Phoenix, they could've easily turned the Thanksgiving show into more of a blowout. But I'll give Mick credit for his custom jokes - such as one about the pilgrims. If they had killed a cat instead of a turkey, we'd all be eating (you know what) for Thanksgiving.

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18 November 2005

Picked up a copy of Marx & Lennon: The Parallel Sayings by Joey Green last night. It's a funny little book about all the things Groucho Marx and John Lennon have in common.

I was surprised to read - and ashamed to have not known this earlier - that Lennon considered himself a citizen of the country of Nutopia.

Wow. Great minds.

We all really do think alike.

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12 November 2005

Depeche Mode put on a great show last night. The songs from Violator still pack a punch; Policy of Truth, Personal Jesus, and Enjoy the Silence were outstanding.

And the new stuff, particularly John the Revelator and Damaged People, also proved to be effective rockers. Dave Gahan's voice, as always, was remarkable.

While the souvenir program is light on text (and there are a couple typos to boot), it's nice to see that all the photographs were by Anton Corbijn.

The opening act, The Bravery, was decent but odd. The lead singer sings with some kind of poser British '80s pop star accent, but the band's from New York. The guy's singing voice really got on my nerves after a while. However, when he spoke, there was no hint of British flair, or of a New Yorker's brogue, for that matter.

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25 October 2005

Sent some words to one of the columnists at The Denver Post about Bill O'Reilly. He had been bullying her around. Here's an edit for the ol' blog:

I prefer to think of Bill O'Reilly as merely a "human spitball." He's gross, all wet, and sticky. In my book, the man has no credibility whatsoever. After all, he was an "anchor" on Inside Edition. I remember watching O'Reilly host that show when I was a kid; even then he struck me as a loser who thrived on sensationalism.

What is most disturbing is that O'Reilly was a local news anchor (Channel 7) before moving on to the big leagues of trash TV. Regardless of those humble beginnings, O'Reilly has moved to the "dark side," his ego fed to such bloated proportions there is no way the journalist within will ever be revived.

It's sad that he has been able to parlay a stint in tabloid TV into the mainstream media, but it is the media circus and hunger for ratings that has made legitimate this man who is nothing more than another Jerry Springer. At least Springer knows he's a fraud and plays off that persona on occasion.

O'Reilly's "spin-free zone" is an embarrassment and there should be more of an outcry as to how he treats guests and how he conducts himself as a person. I can guarantee you this: he couldn't stand up to any degree of scrutiny. When a person's chief weapon is sarcasm and a short fuse, they've got nothing. Heck, I learned that in high school; it's a shame FOX's strong point is playing to that high school bully mentality.

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18 September 2005

Thanks to a mental block that had me thinking Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were going to be at the Gothic, I arrived at the Bluebird just as Cat Martino took the stage.

Not at all the type of opener you'd expect for BRMC, she was singing the traditional Irish song She Moved Through The Fair. Wow! What a voice! Flashbacks to Dublin filled my head.

Cat had me hooked from the start. Then Mark Gardener joined Cat on stage. Who's to say who was really opening? It was, basically, a trio of artists, all three of them with CDs out or on the horizon. Cat's, here now, is already available and I took a copy home. Mark's, These Beautiful Ghosts, will be released 11 October.

(The third player's name escapes me... It's nothing personal!)

The music was mostly mellow, but good. Darn good.

I'm still trying to figure out what Cat's all about. I was stunned to find out this beauty with a gorgeous Irish lilt is actually from Brooklyn.

As for BRMC, they were truly impressed with the crowd's size and enthusiasm. The Bluebird was nearly packed. They even commented that it was the best night they've had on the tour so far. Very cool.

They were plagued by some odd audio problems, but they did put on a fine show. It was good to see 'em again.

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11 September 2005

Saturday night was something of a quadruple threat: Wendy Woo Sophie B. Hawkins The Walnut Room and the truly beautiful, hot young lesbians making out and dirty dancing all night long.

Wow. It was sssssmokin' in there!

The audience alone was worth the price of admission; being one of maybe three guys along with a crowd of roughly 100 women was great. It's just a shame those women were attached to other women.

But let's get to the music.

Wendy Woo has one of the best voices I've ever heard and she knows her way around a guitar. She put on a great acoustic set and now I'm hooked.

As for Sophie, she was fantastic opening for the Corrs last year. On her own, she's an even bigger treat. In such an intimate setting as the tiny Walnut Room, she was able to banter with the crowd, joke around on a virtually face-to-face basis, and she even signed autographs after the show. I overheard her comment that she's never had a big following in Denver. We're lucky she keeps coming back anyway.

As for the Walnut Room, the place has Guinness on top and it offers a nice, comfy bar. It's basically an overlooked venue that I'll be keeping tabs on for future events.

One suggestion, though: Get rid of the chairs.

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6 September 2005

Still haven't had a chance to pick a pup.

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27 August 2005

So I picked up a copy of Nintendogs at Best Buy. The store by my house only had the Chihuahua and Friends edition, so I grabbed a copy and considered myself lucky, considering the hype surrounding the virtual pets.

But, after visiting Nintendogs.com and seeing the other breeds available, I decided I really needed to go with the Dachsund and Friends edition. It just so happens the Best Buy near work had the breed in stock and I exchanged the Chihuahua for the Dachsund (yeah, they all contain all the breeds, but I don't have time to "unlock" 'em all; I need to start out with my breed of choice).

Perhaps this should be chalked up as yet another instance of my flirting with the "Dork Side" in 2005; it's been a particularly dorky, but highly entertaining, year. I must say, however, the girls at the customer service desk at Best Buy cooed and gushed over how cute the Nintendogs were as if they were the real thing. They all wanted their own Nintendog!

Gosh. All those stories about owning a dog and meeting girls are already coming true. Maybe I should've gotten a real dog years ago.

Still haven't picked my puppy, though. I'm a little daunted by the responsibility for the care and feeding of a cyber pet. Must choose wisely.

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15 July 2005

I have a question.

Why hasn't a fatwah been issued for Osama bin Laden?

The powers that be made, in the past, Salman Rushdie the subject of one. As a recap, he's a writer - and a fantastic one at that. His book The Satanic Verses was a satire that crossed geographic and philosophical lines. It starts off with an airplane getting blown up by members of a certain religious sect; that episode and other comments made in the book warranted the Muslim death wish, although the fatwah was ultimately dropped.

My point is this: Osama bin Laden and his ilk have done more damage to the Muslims and their religion on a global basis, in the name of Mohammed, than Salman Rushdie ever intended in the name of free speech.

It is by shame, and not by war, that these bastards will be obliterated.

The People's Republic of Mattopia is not afraid.

Neither is the rest of the world.

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