RIP: Mr. Softee

The man is dead, but his jingle will live on forever!

Gary Cherone, Rock Putz

This week, a new Who tribute comes rolling into town. Amazing Journey: A Tribute To The Who features Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, Paul Gilbert from Mr. Big, Billy Sheehan from Mr. Big, and Gary Cherone from both Van Halen and, of course, Extreme. They're at BB King's tomorrow night.

Blabbermouth.net reports their stellar setlist, but more importantly, notes the following:

Gary Cherone — caught up in the moment during the "smashing" encore of "My Generation" at the Whittier performance — decided to do a full body dive into Mike Portnoy's obliterated custom-made drum set. Unfortunately, the back of his head landed (or so it is believed) on one of the lug nuts on the drums.

CalProg security manager Gruno reports the event as follows: "Gary flipped over the drums and his back landed on a mic stand and one of the bass drums. The back of his head landed flat against the back of the toms. He was knocked out briefly (maybe three seconds max) as I was on stage left and he had this bewildered look when he came to. He sat motionless for another few seconds. After they exited the stage, I had to get Portnoy's stick bag for him and there was blood all over the drums. He was okay with some ice and towels in the dressing room."

Nice.

My Who buddy Mike Starcke reports that this isn't the first time Cherone has hurt himself trying to look cool: back when he was with VH, he jumped over an aisle railing and landed on his balls. (I can't find confirmation of this: Googling "Gary Cherone testicles" and "Gary Cherone injures nuts" didn't help.) Anyway, enjoy:

Photo of Gary Cherone being a putz

Video of Gary Cherone being a putz

Guest Blogger: Trish Pottersmith, "10 Reasons To Love Boulder In The Springtime"

Today, I'm proud to feature a post by a dear friend of mine, Trish Trrish Pottersmith. Trrish is one of my very favorite Who fanatics (and when I say she's a Who fanatic, I mean it). She is one of the most giving people I know, and has boundless energy and love. I've been fortunate enough to share in some great Who events with her and her family in the NYC area (here's me, Trrish and her husband Scott ("Ozzie") at the Rihga Royal in 2002). Trrish now lives in Boulder, CO, and has written a great list of the top 10 things she loves about Boulder during this time of year. I've never been to Boulder, but after reading her list, I wanna go. And you should too.

So without further adieu...here's Trrish's list, 10 Reasons To Love Boulder In The Springtime (or anytime, really):

Here is a shameless plug for what I have come to love about what I think of as my hometown (for 16 years now.)

And that list is:

#10: The Zip Code Guy. I run into David at the vegan cafe a lot. He is representative of the freaky talent you find on the Pearl Street Pedestrian mall. You tell him your zip code, he'll tell you all about the town. It's freaky. He auditioned for Letterman and was too freaky even for them. Ozzie used to do face-painting next to his spot on the mall, so I got to know him.

http://www.dbi.org/index.php?load=visitors&page_id=19


#9: KBCO and 99.5 The Mountain. Two radio stations worth having. One was bought by Clear Channel (watch out for Charles!!), the other is independent. While I disagree with KBCO's playlist at times, and the jocks on The Mountain sometimes make me want to slap them, overall I love them for what they are. Both are Who-loving, and both have enough local flavor and NORMAL jocks who don't shout at you making bad attempts at humor.

#8: The Flatirons: http://jdlphotos.com/mercantool/mtool.pl?command=productpage
_show&product=28&category_ID=4


#7: Open Space Program. An intentional program by Boulder county to preserve land from being developed (and yeah, driving real estate prices sky-high. They don't call us the People's Republic of Boulder for nothing). However, the payoff is pretty impressive. Boulder is surrounded by pockets of "open space" that are public parks and trails for use by all. The hiking here is phenomenal. I've never been anywhere that is so...active. Rock climbing, hiking, bike riding, mountain bike riding, marathon training. It's something. When I first decided to move here, I dreamed that they wouldn't let me in because my thighs were too flabbly. Seriously. I dreamed that. I still worry.

http://www.co.boulder.co.us/openspace/


#6: The Boulder Food Co-op. The co-op's cafe, Cafe Prasad, is one of a handful of places in the country that runs a true vegan cafe, and supports the "raw food" community with gourmet style. I'm serious. You have to see it to believe it. It just ended up in the top 10 list of vegetarian restaurants in the US according to the Alternative Medicine journal. I think you'd have to go to San Francisco to beat the quality. I am a frequent visitor - probably
three times a week. I tend to think of myself as a "lipstick vegan". I like the diet without the dreadlocks...

http://www.bouldercoop.com/


#5: The LC. The Lesbian cafe, or actually, The Walnut Cafe. I say this with the utmost respect, not as a snark. The cafe is run by a prominent local woman who is active in the community and makes some great pies!!! Seriously, you just have to try them. She also happens to be lesbian, and there tend to be a number of lesbian waitresses. I find that the female quotient adds to the nurturing style of the cafe and I can't think of any place I'd rather hang out
for lunch. Caters to all types of diet (a big issue in Boulder) and is safe for vegetarians, a little iffy for vegans. I like to think of myself as a "lipstick lesbian wannabe"!!

#4: The Bolder Boulder. The 2nd largest running race in the US, and raises money for loads of local charities. Where 50,000+ runners take to the streets of Boulder, ending up at Folsom Field (U of Colorado Football Stadium) where 100,000 spectators greet them.

Each year for the past 10 or so, my family has participated. While everyone else in Boulder is wondering "will I beat my time from last year??", the Pottersmiths are wondering.. "Can we get to the stadium before 11:00 am this year????" Last year we beat our previous times by 10 minutes - a world's record!!! This year, Dagny wants to run...oh no, what is that going to do to our slacker tradition???

http://www.bolderboulder.com


#3 The Trivial Bowl (Recently moved to the fall, but who's counting). Originally modeled after TV's GE College Bowl, the CU Trivia Bowl became the largest non-athletic event in CU's history. It was featured nationally in the press in its heyday. It was a multi-media event, with audio and video questions.

These days, the student body doesn't have the enthusiasm anymore, but the trivia teams still show up and play each other with great joy. A number of contestants have gone on to win the big bucks on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Jeopardy". It has spawned "The Basement Bowl", to which my teammate Paul and I were invited to this winter. After which we felt incredibly...honored?? Pumped up?? Intelligent?? Witty??? No, actually we felt incredibly stupid. These guys are 1000 times better at it than we are. Ok, so we were a bit honored. Here's an article on the Basement Bowl. It certainly gives you the flavor of the stifling geekiness of the whole thing. And ya'll know how I love stifling geekiness. And you all know I say that with love. I like to think of myself as a "lipstick geek".

http://www.westword.com/Issues/1994-04-20/news/feature3.html

#2 Kinetics!!!

There's not way I can explain this one. Suffice to say, it's an opportunity for crazy people to act legitimately crazy for a week. It's one of those things that I just marvel at. I marvel that first, anyone would think of such a thing in the first place. And B), that everyone shows up to participate!!! It's just too much fun. Plus, music. This year, Los Lobos, John Butler Trio, and Mike Doughty and Yonder Mt. String Band at the Ball. Next year, my family are going to be volunteers.

http://www.comfortableshoes.com/content/boulder-kinetics.cfm

#1 The Conference on World Affairs

This week-long conference hosts participants who are experts in their field - at their own expense!! They come to Boulder, shack up with a local who's volunteered their spare bedroom, pay for their own meals and sit around and hold sessions on the world's problems for 5 days in a row. It's an intellectuals dream. This is the event where Roger Ebert has come for the past 30 years to do his "cinema interruptus" with a different film each year. I wouldn't miss it for the....world.

http://www.colorado.edu/cwa/


and also coming in at #1 - hey folks, we have a tie,

The Weather!!! Did you know that Boulder has something like 325 sunny days a year?? Seriously. It's amazing. Those rumors you've heard about the tough winters?? HA!! It's just a ruse to get all those Texans not to move here (hi Alan!!!). Yeah, there are *maybe* 10 bad snow days a year. But the next day, it's sunny again.

Every spring, I realize again how genuinely happy I am to be here. The only other place that truly has given me pause for thought in comparison is the Big Island of Hawaii. Pretty hard to pull off, though (hi Seth!!).


Can you tell for the last few weeks at work I've been arranging site visits for my colleagues from other universities to come here to meet with us about a huge upcoming project I'm working on?? And that I have tons of energy today that I don't know what to do with?? I should be out mountain biking. Shame on me.

trrish

Trrish, thank you for allowing me to share this list on Plagiarist! No doubt we'll spend some time together this Fall, broke and happy....but after that, I'm coming to Boulder.

Pete Townshend Wants Your Corporate Money, Y'all

If you are a corporate sponsor considering sponsoring the Who in this mammoth FIRST EVER tour webcast venture, get your head out of your arse and walk towards us. We are about to take off.

Pete outlines "The Master's Plan" for the upcoming Who tour at his website. I gotta give credit where credit is due: most of the money from the projects he mentions is going to charity.

According to the Who section of the website, the band plan to come and take bags of my money between September 7th and October 10th, & November 5th and December 5th. I don't know when the NY shows will be, but undoubtedly they'll conflict with a birthday or Jefitopalooza or something. I think a set of Thanksgiving shows would be pretty awesome.

But will they play "Won't Get Fooled Again," the most conservative song in rock n' roll? Only time will tell. (I think so.)

Billy Joel: 12 Gardens Live, But Lower

So Billy has a new live disc coming out very soon. 12 Gardens Live will be released on June 13. Clearly, Sony is hurting for new Billy Joel product, since he won't give them the pop stuff they want. And it never hurts to release live greatest hits, even though out of the 30 songs, 13 14 according to Mark were released on his last live album, 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert.

I'll still buy the disc, because I had the opportunity to see his final show on 4/24, and it was phenomenal. After walking away disappointed from a show I saw in 1999, I vowed I wouldn't waste the money again. But the reports about both Billy and his band were strong this time around, and they didn't disappoint.

What's interesting about 12 Gardens Live is that the songs are going to sound slightly different to your ear. Billy has transposed most of the songs on the discs down at least a half step, if not a whole step. I don't have perfect pitch, but I can tell when a song is being performed in a key different from the original. I hate it.

I fully understand why Billy changes the keys. As a performer, you have two options: you can keep the songs in their original keys and just change the melodies to accomodate your shrinking vocal range (Elton John), or you can lower the keys and still deliver a melody that is familiar - one that people can still sing along to. As an audience member, the latter is a better choice.

There is one key change that didn't bother me, though: Billy lowered "An Innocent Man," and was thus able to finally sing the chorus on his own again. For years, he's taken the "I am" and the "Oh yes I am" phrases and relegated them to Peter Hewlett or Crystal Taliefero. I love me some Crystal Taliefero, but it always cut the emotional impact of the song for me. I'm glad to hear him singing the full chorus once more.

On one of the Billy Joel message boards that I frequent, one extremely astute member named Mark has listened to a sample of each song on 12 Gardens Live, and noted when songs have been transposed into lower keys. Poor Mark has perfect pitch and must be going nuts whenever he hears these songs in adjusted keys. Anyway, here is Mark's list of all the songs on 12 Gardens Live, and their new keys. Quite interesting - I had no idea how many had been adjusted for Billy's voice.

Half Step Lower Than Original Key:
Prelude/Angry Young Man
My Life
Zanzibar
Miami 2017
The Great Wall of China
Allentown
She's Right On Time
Laura
Movin' Out
She's Always a Woman
The River of Dreams
A Matter of Trust

Whole Step Lower Than Original Key:
Everybody Loves You Now
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
The Entertainer
Vienna
New York State of Mind
Goodnight Saigon
An Innocent Man
The Downeaster Alexa
Keeping the Faith
Only the Good Die Young
Piano Man (yes, it's down to B flat now)

Still in its Original Key:
The Night is Still Young
Don't Ask Me Why
We Didn't Start the Fire
Big Shot
You May Be Right
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
And So It Goes

KURT COBAIN, LAST DAY

Jeez, I haven't the foggiest idea where these things come from...

what happened the last day of Kurt Cobain's lifewhat happened in the time of his death till the police werecalled in? I recived an unsigned letter in the mail with a confession. Now here on FLICKR is the exclusive story

its a sad sick tale that ended more horrible than you know or could imagine Kurts story is truly tragic. What could of saved him? no one will ever know

Here's the last day of KURT COBAIN

Kurt broke into the hospitals medicine stock room before he left the rehab
it was full of every kind of pill and drug you could dream of
a candy
store
a junkies dream
he stuffed his pockets and filled bottles and
dragged them home
now he sat n smoked popping pills like candy
as the
world around him faded
and the voices in his head stopped screaming
even
his loudmouth deranged wife
Courtney Love
I jusst wanna die groaned and
slurred Kurt
I..J U S T W A N N A D I E
as he slowly slid to the floor

Real Plagiarist Talk.

If you haven't read it already, stop by Mike's excellent Down With Snark! and read his latest entry, "On 'the new plagiarism.'" People seem to have a really hard time figuring out what the word means (some more than others); Mike breaks it all down for you.

(and yes, I did think about just posting his article here completely, without attribution, but that would make me a real, y'know, plagiarist.)

The Tennessee Waltz

Okay, for some reason I had this song pop into my head.. so I googled it and this is what I found that was of interest. I never thought that someone would and could actually describe a set of music as "Fred Sanford."



The Tennessee Waltz
listen lo fi / listen hi fi

composed Stewart; arranged Thompson

Album: One For the Team more info

Inspired by a recording by Lou Donaldson, this arrangement is best described as "The Tennessee Waltz meets Fred Sanford."

McCartney Divorces, Reporters Go Wild

So, as you probably know by now, Paul McCartney and his wife of four years, Heather Mills McCartney are separating. And naturally, reporters have had a field day in their creation of headlines.

These are all real:

Sir Paul Joins Lonely Hearts Club
She Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Right
They Can't Work It Out
Linda casts shadow over long and winding road to break-up
She's Leaving Home
Hello, Goodbye to McCartney's Marriage
Money can't buy you love
Heather's Grabby Road
So yesterday for McCartneys (nice! Even includes a Hillary Duff reference!)
She Won't Still Need Him When He's 64

Mike and I came up with these:

Heather Mills McCartney on The Run
Debt (ooo,ooo,ooooh!) (to the tune of Jet)
Half! (ooo,ooo,ooooh!) (same tune)
You're Gonna Give Me Your Money
Heather Says Goodbye, Heather's Divorce Lawyer Says Hello

Are there any we've missed?

Alex in Gothamist

A buddy that I went to high school with, Alexander Zalben, is profiled in today's Gothamist Interview. Way to go, Alex. I don't know why you forgot to mention that I was in your production of "All's Swell That Ends, Will" back in high school, but I'm sure Gothamist will issue a correction.

Straw Art

I keep meaning to post this... pretty wild what one can do when you have lots of time. 

Happy Birthdays at YouTube

if you want something more exciting... well...

Scary...

Tenacious D Sings Happy Birthday!

Sexy... (could be scary too!)

Paris Hilton sings Happy Birthday

Evolution of Dancing

Well the evolution of dance is pretty interesting, not to mention just a good mix. I didn't think that you could get some of these songs to actually mix together but here they are.

Of course, where does finger breakdancing fit in?

Foolish dance steps that I don't know how they relate but heck, since it's dance stuff... I thought to include it. Make sure to check out the "Elaine ripped me off" dance.

I'll Miss You Mr. Hooper

From Michelle's You Can't Make It Up blog: Crystal Meth and Muppet Death

I was too young to remember Will Lee's (the actor who played Mr. Hooper) untimely death in 1983. The producers of the show, instead of skirting the issue of his passing, instead dealt with it head on in one of the show's most famous episodes.

"Unpaved" has a transcript of the scene. The first time I read it, I was hysterical. And because I am a sick maniac, I would read it to friends, and we would just cry and cry. At the Museum, I decided I had to see this tragic scene played out first hand. Part of me feels cruel for posting this video, because I'm convinced it's the muppet version of 9/11, but another part of me really thinks you all should see it. It was recorded soon after his passing, and the neighborhood gang is genuinely tearing up. Poignant and heartbreaking.

I'll Miss You Mr. Hooper (Classic Sesame Street)

You can read the transcript here. Needless to say, wearing eyemakeup today was a pretty bad idea.

damn. i don't recall him passing away. but damn, yeah well if i had makeup today it would have been a bad idea too.

pass the tissue.

Robot Chicken: Darth Vadar Collect Call

If you haven't spent the time watching Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network you are missing out on some really good humor. Check out some other clips. Some of the most interesting ones, Napoleon Bonamite, Real World Metropolis, Optimus Prime with Prostate Cancer, Ode to the Nut Shot (one of the best ones!) Scooby Doo, Who Killed Santa?, Beavis & Butthead meet Teen Titans, Waxing Morning Wood.

One of the interesting bits is that Mila Kunis and Sarah Michelle Gellar both get some odd credits at the end of the show.

Virtual Singer

I don't know how I found this page, what possessed me to install this application called Harmony Assitant, but when Mike mentioned that the leek swinging anime character was scatting, I had to look up Jazz Scat (do not just google scat, it will not be a good thing, trust me on this one!)

I happened to grow up near where Scatman Crothers lived and would see him from time to time at the grocery store. I always enjoyed his performances in TV shows, but I did especially like listening to him scat. I had forgotten how much I did enjoy it.

Harmony Assitant not only lets you do musical notation and harmony, but one of the plugins Virtual Singer allows one to have virtual singers in many languages and abilities, scatting being one of them. So far I've listened to 4 part harmony Italian Opera, Elvis, Sinatra, Gregorian Chant, and Scat Jazz!

Rock'n'Roll Fantasy Camp

Seems that Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy camp is coming to NYC.

It's like the rockers are coming to Springfield:
Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello and Brian Setzer have joined the lineup of guest voices for the season premiere of The Simpsons, which will air on November 10th. They join previously confirmed guests Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

In the episode, "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" -- which kicks off the animated series' fourteenth season -- Marge sends Homer to a rock & roll fantasy camp to fulfill his dream of becoming a rock star.

Headlining Talent: Dickey Betts, Jon Anderson, Levon Helm, Joe Satriani, George Thorogood, Dr. John, MARK FARNER, Max Weinberg, Dee Snider.

Camp Counselors: Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis, JACK BLADES, Gary Burr, Fred Coury, Spencer Davis, Sandy Genaro, Barry Goudreau, Kelly Keagy, Simon Kirke, Bruce Kulick, Michael Lardie, Jerry Renino, Mark Slaughter, Kip Winger, Peter Tork.

Really the only fantasy I have for being a rock star was all the groupies and the tawdry debaucherous times. I'm all about the Sex, Drugs, Rock'n'Roll part, especially for the screaming mimi groupies!!!

Cost: Full Camp: $8499, Add on Spouse Package: $499. (Umm unless she's a groupie... duh! and get your own lodging because it's not included!)

But of course to pay homage to the blog owner, there's got to be some Daltry videos.
Dropping in on rehearsing campers, Playing on stage with campers, and what Roger has to say about RnR Fantasy Camp

Sponsored by:

Catchy tune

A little jazz, a little anime...

catchy tune though.

anyone know who or what it is?

While Jason's away, some mp3 blog love

The following were posted on the last few days and found (where else) on Hype Machine. MP3 blogs are transient, git em whilst they last.

From the always excellent WFMU "Beware of the Blog" (who brought us Janet Greene and her fascist folk music, 37 versions of Stairway to Heaven. Let me repeat that: THIRTY SEVEN VERSIONS OF STARIWAY TO HEAVEN. The jokes practically write themselves don't they?

From "The Rich Girls Are Weeping" - My motivation for putting this post together was seeing this and making sure Jason didn't miss the posting of muppet/sesame street mp3s while he was away. The highlight is of course "Pinball Number Count" by the Pointer Sisters (i.e. onetwothreeFOURFIVE sixseveneightNINETEN elevenTWELVE). The other tracks are great as well.

From one of my favorite sites "The Late Greats" - Maybe I am biased, but it is my opinion that everyone should own as many versions of 1952 Vincent Black Lightning as they can get their hands on (not available here, my favorite version, by the DelMcCoury Band).

Last but by no means least, far be it from me to interfere with the burgeoning mutual mancrush between Jason and Jefito, but if you are not a regular visitor to Jeff's site, you should be. He's currently featuring Beatles bootlegs, Little Feat mp3s and multiple cuts from the Bruce Willis album that doesn't have Respect Yourself on it.

The New Search for WMDs

Cyn opsis: Weekender
05/04/06

The New Search for WMDs
by Dave Zornow

        The search for WMDs continues. Despite a lack of evidence proving they are a threat, our leaders continue to make statements -- un-supported by research -- to scare their constituents.
        The industry fervor over Weapons of Media Destruction (WMDs) began two years ago when Nielsen first announced plans to segregate “live” viewing from DVR playback ratings.
        Stoked by agencies fears that viewers would stop watching commercials, some agencies have campaigned to discredit commercial exposure during DVR playback and only accept live ratings. Last week another industry leader proclaimed that “live plus seven” (DVR playback within a week of recording) is a non-starter for media negotiations. Yet, not a shred of evidence exists that advertising is any less effective in playback than it is when broadcast “live.”
        So, being a patriotic and advertising-friendly American, I decided to do my own WMD research. Knowing that first impressions are often lasting ones, I executed a self-funded ethnographic study with a 16-year old male whose family had just installed their first DVR.  His identity is confidential, so I’ll just use the name “Jeremy Zornow.” (Any similarity between the respondent’s last name and mine is purely coincidental. Btw, my wife would be the first to tell you he was a very cute baby.)

Q: How has having a DVR changed your TV viewing?

A: “I can watch my favorite shows whenever I want. (Duh!)”      

Q: Are you watching fewer commercials?

A: “I watch more commercials now that we have a DVR. Now, when I play back programs, I don’t need to change the channel to skip commercials. I *have* to watch the commercials while I zip through them.” 

Q: Are commercials just as impactful at high speed?

A: “If you see the commercial once, you can recognize the logo or the storyline and you remember what it was about. Isn’t it more important that I watch it at high speed then not at all? What makes people think that I need to watch all 30 seconds to every time to get the message?”

        Of course, interviewing one teenager about DVR behavior isn’t legitimate research. But until someone fields an advertising effectiveness test which proves that DVR playback ratings are any less effective than live ratings, it’s just as legit as any of the unproven claims of the WMD theorists. ##
--Dave Zornow is President/TNG Research, a media research consultancy and applications development company that works with media sellers and research providers.

Pearl Jam Surprise!

Pearl Jam play surprise show in NYC

Pearl Jam will play a surprise show this Friday (May 5th) at a yet-to-be-announced location in New York City, according to Blabbermouth.net. Free tickets to the show will be available only to those in the city who line up at midnight tonight (May 1st) at the downtown Tower Records in Manhattan to purchase the band's new self-titled album, which comes out tomorrow (Tuesday, May 2nd). Pearl Jam will also perform a mini-concert on Thursday (May 4th) at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in Manhattan just after taping an appearance on Late Show With David Letterman there. The concert will be broadcast online at the Late Show website.

To see the concert, go to cbs.com/latenight/lateshow on May 4th at approximately 5:55 P.M. ET, when the performance is expected to begin.

The group's Late Show appearance will also air that night on CBS.

Pearl Jam begins a North American tour on May 9th in Toronto, Canada, with dates stretching into late July. Six of its shows, in late June and early July, will be with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Midgets Eating Lunch

Gothamist points out the new George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress. Over 40,000 images from the good ol' days. I absolutely love any photos of NYC from back in the day, and have been really enjoying this collection.

While searching on "Central Park," I came across this image:



That's right. It's 3 midgets eating lunch, sitting on the grass. How can I be so sure? Because the picture caption is:

TITLE: Midgets eating lunch - May party - Central Park. Three midgets sitting on the grass.

Just fascinating that I didn't even go into this searching for midgets, yet somehow came upon them.

Check out the collection. It's great.

Bad Plagiarist! BAD!

I am terribly sorry for the lack of Plagiarist content at the moment. Work has been extremely busy as of late, and I haven't had any time at all to write anything worthwhile. I can update you, however, on a few interesting things that have happened lately:

• Stood next to Peter Frampton in the security line at the Las Vegas airport;
• Saw an excellent Billy Joel show, where he played so many obscurities that people were trampling each other to escape towards the beer line. Will somebody tell me why this is the first image that comes up when you search for "Billy Joel" on Google?
  
• Found the following concerts I really want to attend - which, interestingly enough, are all more than one artist that I enjoy: Steely Dan/Michael McDonald, Bill Frisell/Petra Haden, Hem/Over The Rhine, Guster/Ray LaMontagne. And, of course, Tommy Muthafuckin' Emmanuel. June 12. I am all over that show. I was not smart enough to purchase the "VIP" tickets before they sold out, however. Not that I care that much about the meet-and-greet or the poster, but I sure would have loved reserved seating up close. Getting good seats at BB King's is one of the most stressful experiences ever. I hate that venue - despite a very good sound system, there's no way to enjoy a show there in good seating without spending at least an extra $50 on food/drink.
• Speaking of concerts, found out that George Michael is touring in Europe and sold out all the shows in about 2 hours. One day, I'll tell you about how the 8/15/88 "Faith" concert at Madison Square Garden still remains one of my greatest concert memories ever. Yes, I'm serious, bitches.
• Listened to Survivor's Reach numerous times. Can't get the actual song "Reach" out of my head. Thus continues my love/hate relationship with the brilliance that is Jefito.
  
• Found this great article on the great Live Concert Moment. I've been holding on to this article for the past few weeks in hopes of fostering a good discussion about it, but I don't have the time to really go into it at the moment. So I post this mainly for my music peeps (Jefito, Ace, Mike) because I keep thinking about you when I read it, and maybe we can discuss it when I have more time or when Plagiarist debuts its forthcoming changes, whichever comes first (and at this point, I'm not sure).

That's all for now. I'm out of town on business for the rest of the week, pretty much, so hopefully I'll have something exciting to report upon my return. Enjoy and thanks for checking in.

ImprovEverywhere Mission: Best Buy

Best Buy on Vimeo

This is one of those ImprovEverywhere deals.



In order to participate you must arrive adhering to a very specific dress code:

1) Blue Polo Shirt. Short sleeved. Any brand. Preferably with no logo. As Close to Royal Blue as possible. As close to this exact shirt as possible.

2) Khaki Pants. Any shade of khaki is fine. No shorts.

3) Belt. Any belt is fine.

Other Instructions:

-If possible, please wear black shoes. This is not required, but please wear them if you have them.

-You must also bring a NEWSPAPER (Any newspaper is fine--just grab a free one on the street.)

-If possible, do not bring a backpack or any type of bag. This is not a huge deal, but it will work better without bags.

-Do not bring any type of camera. This mission is, as all IE Missions should be, participatory. We are covering it with our own small staff of camera people and do not need any more cameras or journalists. Only show up if you are wearing the proper dress and ready to participate and have fun!