Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
LMF - The Builders and the Butchers
Yeah, I know, it ain't Friday. As the man says, "Deal with it." So, my pal Trike sent me a link to these guys and I find them very interesting. They will be performing in Milwaukee on Monday night at Turner Hall. Five dudes from Alaska who relocated to Portland, OR, to try to make a go of it as a band. Their music is an interesting adaptation of pre-War American roots music, playing traditional instruments with fairly traditional song structures and rather dark themes. It is an amplified acoustic sound - Americana-style music performed in a way that it was performed 60 years ago or more, yet it has a current feel to it - maybe because it is so old that it is new again for young punks.
"Short Way Home" is kind of a cool song, and the sound is rounded out with a melodica (that weird little blow-powered keyboard) and the fat guy is cranking on the banjo like it is Slash's Les Paul. (If you like this tune, also look up "Bottom of the Lake" to see the fat guy crank on a tiny mandolin like it is... well, Slash's Les Paul.) Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I find a cool Portland band (where I've been visiting on business regularly) those bastards go out on tour. I'd have a better chance of sneaking out to see them there than I do here at home on a Monday night with family stuff going on - not to mention the old NCAA championship game.
Anyway, enjoy.
"Short Way Home" is kind of a cool song, and the sound is rounded out with a melodica (that weird little blow-powered keyboard) and the fat guy is cranking on the banjo like it is Slash's Les Paul. (If you like this tune, also look up "Bottom of the Lake" to see the fat guy crank on a tiny mandolin like it is... well, Slash's Les Paul.) Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I find a cool Portland band (where I've been visiting on business regularly) those bastards go out on tour. I'd have a better chance of sneaking out to see them there than I do here at home on a Monday night with family stuff going on - not to mention the old NCAA championship game.
Anyway, enjoy.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Shieeeeeeeeeeeeet!
I have nothing of interest to post today so I will just post one of my favorite clips of the wire, from my favorite Senator of all time, Clay Davis.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
But you *cough* TWANG IT
I dont know about you, but this is the funniest video I have seen in some time. I had to quit watching it at work 30 seconds in because I couldn't control my silent laughter anymore. I was chuckling, sweating, crying and my shoulders were bouncing so hard I might of thrown a disc. You probably wont think its that funny because your a racist. There I said it, you sir are a racist, I cant hold it back from your mom anymore. Just watch the damn video *sigh...now wheres dat hunk O'watermelon oh der idis CHOMP! smack smack*
Can A Fractured Govt Fix A Broken Health Care System?
You knew it was coming. I have tried to read over the new health care bill, and I must say it is dizzying to say the least, but let me put my two cents on this. First of all we all knew this legislation was going to get passed. As I mentioned before on this blog, I was surprised Obama did not get this passed before, but I believe the Republicans used the shift in public opinion regarding the new president to block his legislature before. However he did what any good Chicago politician would do and he bullied his bill through with and earmark and a hand out to any of those still on the fence. It is frustrating the way our govt works sometimes. What surprises me is the uproar that this has caused. If I remember correctly this has been Obama's big piece of legislature since he started campaigning and a vote for change was a vote for health care reform. Who can argue that the health care system in this country is not flawed? I don't for a second believe that this is the end to our health care problems, but I do believe it is a start.
To all my conservative friends out there, lets relax a bit on the empty rhetoric. I have been hearing a lot about how we are doomed, Obama has screwed this country, the deficits are going to be so large that are kids, children, will be paying this off years and years from now. Oh and my favorite parents are supposed to pay off the mortgage to the farm before they move on, not take on a second one. Those are not truths, that is a divisive line drawn in the sand. Basically saying the Democrats are all responsible for this, and we will stand on the opposite side of the room screaming at how wrong they are. The Republicans had their shot at modifying this bill, a vast majority of conservatives want to see Health Care reform as well, but have sat idol. Now that we have some reform I find it funny at how many conservatives are basically saying, we could have done it better. Now with that being said, this bill has created the most polarizing split in this country that I can ever remember. In all honestly I feel like about 70% of the population should look at this bill and see the flaws and be upset with it. The other 30% should be happier than shit, because this is going to provide them with world class health care provided by the govt. So I can see why so many people are upset, because it is one of the most expensive bills in our history and its true benefits will only effect roughly 25% of the population. While the entire population, especially the middle and upper classes will have to pay for it. The biggest complaint I hear is the costs and who is going to pay for this. I honestly think this is going to lead a national sales tax. Something I am completely against, but I am not naive enough to think you can rob from medicare to pay for health care to 30 million people that are currently without. If it was that easy we would have done it years ago. Either that or larger taxes on the middle and upper classes. Nobody in this country wants to see anyone go uninsured, but the middle and upper class also don't want to pay for a bill that will only benefit those who cannot afford insurance or those whom are refused health care.
Who is right and who is wrong? It can never be that simple, but my thought is we are heading in the right direction. Health care needed to be reformed and it is simple as that. Do i think it is right that every person is demanded to have health care? No. In fact I think Barack and the democrats have violated the constitution by making it so, and I see that a few states attorney generals agree with me there. However I don't see this as the end of liberty as we know it. Snoopy wont be replaced by Joe Biden on the blimp. Yes govt has expanded its reach further into the private sector. Basically turning insurance companies into utilities. That is the negative. The positive is the govt will be regulating one the biggest money makers in this country. Hopefully with that regulation we see lowered overall costs on health care. Do I like the govt running what is an essence 1/6th of the economy? Of course not, however I do not see how else these major corporations could be regulated if the govt did not step in. I mean we saw with the banks that the govt does need to have the ability to come in and regulate. I didn't agree with the bank bailouts but if you have been paying attention it has worked to some degree, and most banks have paid that money back with interest. It goes for against a lot of the things I stand for but it is a reality that capitalism will only widen the gap between the rich and the poor. This is leaving the sick, the weak, the less fortunate behind, with no shot at a prosperous life, and I find nothing democratic about that. I dont want to get too far off tangent, but if I am a poor person today without any health care, I have to think that Mr Obama is doing what he said he would, and for that I commend him.
Now with all that being said, President Obama, may have signed his political death wish with this bill. As I mentioned before, it is a very interesting time for this bill to go through when the economy is just starting to recover from one of the worse recessions we have seen. The democratic party is extending its hands to all forms of the private sector from the banks, to General Motors, and now onto the insurance companies. That is a scary thought in my opinion, and something I believe that is shared with most Americans. Now is when Barack is going to have to go into heal mode, because he has angered many of those who have put him into office. If you weren't paying attention, the democratic party had to buy off many votes to actually get this bill passed, and I can guess those dems that didn't want to vote for this bill (because there constituency will have their heads!) only did so because they were ear marked or paid off to do so. I understand that is politics, but I think we will see in 10' and 12' if people still want that change they wanted so desperately years before. In my estimation, people like to hear the things that President Obama was preaching in his campaign, but in reality the costs of that change can just be too drastic. We shall see.
Finishing up this rant, I just want to say, lets wait and see. This bill is the vision of a lot smarter people than myself. I believe it has a chance to work. Obviously the reform is not done, this was just a starting point. It will continue to get modified by the next administration and the one after that, and the one after that. Hopefully at some point in my life time, the govt has fixed the problem with health care. In fact I will even say I am optimistic that this is indeed a good start. However I want to warn the democrats that their vast reach and excessive spending may be overstepping the boundaries of what the govt is meant to do. I think the American public puts an emphasis on fiscal responsibility, especially in a time when unemployment approaches 8%, and to me this administration has shown none. The deficit to me is just one concern however, as I think it will be real interesting to see what happens to the quality of health care in this country. Honestly that is my biggest concern. Will the quality of coverage suffer when the reach extends to everyone? I think that ultimately that answer will be yes. It leaves me wondering is the well being of the nation as a whole better than the well being of myself? It is hard for me to answer that right now. I think that is the question a lot of people will be asking themselves in the near future, and I will say that is a very import ideological question to look at when you go to vote this fall and again in 12'. The people in the country were begging for change, and now they have it. It has caused a polar divide that is as big as I have ever seen, and I am curious as too what the public will have to say going forward. Personally I find it hard to believe that a government so split on what is right for this country can actually think that they can fix one of the largest problems this country faces.
To all my conservative friends out there, lets relax a bit on the empty rhetoric. I have been hearing a lot about how we are doomed, Obama has screwed this country, the deficits are going to be so large that are kids, children, will be paying this off years and years from now. Oh and my favorite parents are supposed to pay off the mortgage to the farm before they move on, not take on a second one. Those are not truths, that is a divisive line drawn in the sand. Basically saying the Democrats are all responsible for this, and we will stand on the opposite side of the room screaming at how wrong they are. The Republicans had their shot at modifying this bill, a vast majority of conservatives want to see Health Care reform as well, but have sat idol. Now that we have some reform I find it funny at how many conservatives are basically saying, we could have done it better. Now with that being said, this bill has created the most polarizing split in this country that I can ever remember. In all honestly I feel like about 70% of the population should look at this bill and see the flaws and be upset with it. The other 30% should be happier than shit, because this is going to provide them with world class health care provided by the govt. So I can see why so many people are upset, because it is one of the most expensive bills in our history and its true benefits will only effect roughly 25% of the population. While the entire population, especially the middle and upper classes will have to pay for it. The biggest complaint I hear is the costs and who is going to pay for this. I honestly think this is going to lead a national sales tax. Something I am completely against, but I am not naive enough to think you can rob from medicare to pay for health care to 30 million people that are currently without. If it was that easy we would have done it years ago. Either that or larger taxes on the middle and upper classes. Nobody in this country wants to see anyone go uninsured, but the middle and upper class also don't want to pay for a bill that will only benefit those who cannot afford insurance or those whom are refused health care.
Who is right and who is wrong? It can never be that simple, but my thought is we are heading in the right direction. Health care needed to be reformed and it is simple as that. Do i think it is right that every person is demanded to have health care? No. In fact I think Barack and the democrats have violated the constitution by making it so, and I see that a few states attorney generals agree with me there. However I don't see this as the end of liberty as we know it. Snoopy wont be replaced by Joe Biden on the blimp. Yes govt has expanded its reach further into the private sector. Basically turning insurance companies into utilities. That is the negative. The positive is the govt will be regulating one the biggest money makers in this country. Hopefully with that regulation we see lowered overall costs on health care. Do I like the govt running what is an essence 1/6th of the economy? Of course not, however I do not see how else these major corporations could be regulated if the govt did not step in. I mean we saw with the banks that the govt does need to have the ability to come in and regulate. I didn't agree with the bank bailouts but if you have been paying attention it has worked to some degree, and most banks have paid that money back with interest. It goes for against a lot of the things I stand for but it is a reality that capitalism will only widen the gap between the rich and the poor. This is leaving the sick, the weak, the less fortunate behind, with no shot at a prosperous life, and I find nothing democratic about that. I dont want to get too far off tangent, but if I am a poor person today without any health care, I have to think that Mr Obama is doing what he said he would, and for that I commend him.
Now with all that being said, President Obama, may have signed his political death wish with this bill. As I mentioned before, it is a very interesting time for this bill to go through when the economy is just starting to recover from one of the worse recessions we have seen. The democratic party is extending its hands to all forms of the private sector from the banks, to General Motors, and now onto the insurance companies. That is a scary thought in my opinion, and something I believe that is shared with most Americans. Now is when Barack is going to have to go into heal mode, because he has angered many of those who have put him into office. If you weren't paying attention, the democratic party had to buy off many votes to actually get this bill passed, and I can guess those dems that didn't want to vote for this bill (because there constituency will have their heads!) only did so because they were ear marked or paid off to do so. I understand that is politics, but I think we will see in 10' and 12' if people still want that change they wanted so desperately years before. In my estimation, people like to hear the things that President Obama was preaching in his campaign, but in reality the costs of that change can just be too drastic. We shall see.
Finishing up this rant, I just want to say, lets wait and see. This bill is the vision of a lot smarter people than myself. I believe it has a chance to work. Obviously the reform is not done, this was just a starting point. It will continue to get modified by the next administration and the one after that, and the one after that. Hopefully at some point in my life time, the govt has fixed the problem with health care. In fact I will even say I am optimistic that this is indeed a good start. However I want to warn the democrats that their vast reach and excessive spending may be overstepping the boundaries of what the govt is meant to do. I think the American public puts an emphasis on fiscal responsibility, especially in a time when unemployment approaches 8%, and to me this administration has shown none. The deficit to me is just one concern however, as I think it will be real interesting to see what happens to the quality of health care in this country. Honestly that is my biggest concern. Will the quality of coverage suffer when the reach extends to everyone? I think that ultimately that answer will be yes. It leaves me wondering is the well being of the nation as a whole better than the well being of myself? It is hard for me to answer that right now. I think that is the question a lot of people will be asking themselves in the near future, and I will say that is a very import ideological question to look at when you go to vote this fall and again in 12'. The people in the country were begging for change, and now they have it. It has caused a polar divide that is as big as I have ever seen, and I am curious as too what the public will have to say going forward. Personally I find it hard to believe that a government so split on what is right for this country can actually think that they can fix one of the largest problems this country faces.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Get castrated for March Madness...
You gotta love the ingeniuity of the American entrepreneur at work. Apparently, clinics around the country that provide the unpleasant service of vascectomy have found success marketing that surgery as part of March Madness.
Personally, I don't like the idea of mixing that kind of pain with something I enjoy, but you have to hand it to them. The concept is relatively simple: When you have a vascectomy, it is generally recommended that you refrain from working for a couple of days, and pretty much sit around with ice on your ballsack. The American worker - read sucker - has been convinced for some time that the standard is to have this procedure done on a Friday morning, then you suffer through the weekend and drag your sorry ass back to work on Monday - minimal disruption to your employer.
Well, a group of genius surgeons shared at a conference that they had great success with the sales pitch: Get snipped at 8 a.m. on the opening round of the NCAA tournament, get 2 days off work and sit on the couch with your nuts in a sling and watch every single game! I guess it beats a ruined weekend. Now, it's catching on all over.
Here's an article about a Chicago clinic that is marketing this medical "strategy," and even combined it with a local pizza place - get snipped, watch the games, and get a free pizza delivered to your door. They even throw in a free bag of frozen peas to cradle your swollen, throbbing gonads.
Line up, you soon-to-be-neutered bastards.
Personally, I don't like the idea of mixing that kind of pain with something I enjoy, but you have to hand it to them. The concept is relatively simple: When you have a vascectomy, it is generally recommended that you refrain from working for a couple of days, and pretty much sit around with ice on your ballsack. The American worker - read sucker - has been convinced for some time that the standard is to have this procedure done on a Friday morning, then you suffer through the weekend and drag your sorry ass back to work on Monday - minimal disruption to your employer.
Well, a group of genius surgeons shared at a conference that they had great success with the sales pitch: Get snipped at 8 a.m. on the opening round of the NCAA tournament, get 2 days off work and sit on the couch with your nuts in a sling and watch every single game! I guess it beats a ruined weekend. Now, it's catching on all over.
Here's an article about a Chicago clinic that is marketing this medical "strategy," and even combined it with a local pizza place - get snipped, watch the games, and get a free pizza delivered to your door. They even throw in a free bag of frozen peas to cradle your swollen, throbbing gonads.
Line up, you soon-to-be-neutered bastards.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day
If you did not know I am of Irish decent. Yes as a Mulhern I am descendant of Irish Catholics, i.e. alcoholics. I have been using this as my excuse for many years. I remember plenty of drunken crazy St. Patty's days from my days in college. However I think this year may trump all. See today I am leaving for Scottsdale AZ on a spring break. I know I am not in school and it is lame to call it spring break, but I like to use that term because that is how I am treating this vacation. Just like if I was 19 years old again heading to Panama City Beach. It is going to get wild. It is going to get crazy. I dont plan on many of the stories to even be able to be posted on a forum like this. But to give you a little idea of what tonight is going to entail as I set foot in beautiful Phoenix. See below.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Humpday: Tumblr is Pretty Cool (NSFW)
LINK
click link
insert keyword into search engine (try "bedtime")
Enjoy! Trust me you will thank me later.
click link
insert keyword into search engine (try "bedtime")
Enjoy! Trust me you will thank me later.
R.I.P. Corey Haim (1971-2010)
Wow, I was quite suprised when I turned on my computer this morning, to see that the poster child for my generation passed away last night. It looks to be an apparent drug overdose. Haim, starred in a couple of my favorite movies growing up, The Lost Boys and Blown Away (I still crack it to imagery of Nicole Eggert). Though once considered a childhood acting star he never was able to really make much out of an acting career. He was able to turn that fame into enough hookers and blow to live a very fun 39 years, tragically it looks like he had a little too much fun.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Life and Times of Big Ben
As you have probably heard by now, Superbowl winning Steeler QB, Ben Roehtlisberger, is being accused of Sexual Assault outside a night club in Georgia. Big Ben has hired the same lawyer that kept the Ravens Ray Lewis out of prison when he was with a group of guys that stabbed and killed a man. Now I don't pretend to know all the details of what happened, and for all I know Big Ben did sexually assault this poor college student. However, I do have an opinion for all those people that say, Roethy should have known better, and not put himself in this situation.
I have no idea what it is like to be rich in famous. But I am guessing it is pretty damn cool. Instead of sitting at home playing Call of Duty until the wee hours of the morning, you can call up your buddies, meet at some college bar, kick everyone that doesn't have a huge rack out of the club, and have some good ol fashion fun. It is so easy for a person to say man Ben should have used better judgement. I keep hearing "nothing good happens after 12 AM", "these athletes need to start using there heads", you cheat on your wife, you should expect to get McNaired". In my mind Ben Roethlisberger was doing what any guy in that position would do. Instead of being at home updating his twitter account, he was out cashing in on that fame. Now please don't take this as me trying to say it is ok to sexually assualt a women if you are rich and famous. I am not saying that at all, what I am saying is that these types of situations are unavoidable for proffesional athletes. You think a 2 week stint in rehab is going to cure Tiger woods obsession with strange? I sure as hell don't. Yeah i know he has a super model at home, a beautiful family, all that jazz. Yeah but he is Tiger Woods, quite possibly the 2nd most powerful black man in this country and with that comes a sense, of I can do whatever the fuck I want. You know why he feels that way? Because he can, he is fucking Tiger woods. Give me what he has, and I will have seven families in five different states all more beautiful than the next. People expect these guys to learn from the mistakes of others, and I am telling you that is impossible.
Now Big Ben has a big mess on his hands, and it is probably a good idea for him to lay low for a while. But once the smoke clears, I fully expect him to be back at the college bars with the boys, enjoying everything that comes with being a Superbowl winning QB. I sure as hell know I would.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Future of Sports
Its been a while since the book Money Ball came out, but its effect on sports is still being felt in a big way. The book written took a look at how MLB general manager Billie Beane took a much different look at statistics, and how they should be valued. Beane and his colleagues thought that many of the games statistics, were out dated and didnt really determine what was most valuable. They used statistics like on base percentage and slugging percentage were the best statistics to measure how valuable someone is offensively. More importantly it opened the way for new statistics to be openly accepted and it was a way for a simple game to be examined through many highly advanced statistics. This is often referred to as sabermetrics, and I doubt you will find many baseball teams that don't employ some sort of stat head to examine to take advantage of this new phenomenon.
I have read bits and pieces of the book, and I don't find all the numbers to be that exciting. I do however think that this empirical way at looking at sports is very exciting, and I feel like it is changing the ways sports are being played. Recently I have been following this mans blog. His name is Wayne Winston, he is a former math professor, and recently worked for the Dallas Mavericks trying to examine how statistics can be better used to gain an advantage. He came up with a plus/minus system that looks at which line-ups play the best together. His contention was that there are a lot of statistics that measure how good a player is offensively, but very few take into account how good a player is while playing with other players. In basketball you have to play both offense and defense, so just looking at offensive stats by themselves will probably not be the best way to build a team. By taking a look at how good a player is over the average player you can see just how effective that player is. Again the numbers can be dizzying, but I find it amazing that this type fo stuff is just starting to become the norm. Have the old statistics in sports become outdated?
I remember a few months ago. Bill Belichek was taking a bunch of heat for going for it on the 4th down in his own territory in a game that they were winning against the rival Colts. I am almost certain that Belichek looked at the numbers when making that call, and ignored what was certainly going to be a shit storm, by not playing it by the book and punting the ball. The play ended up not working and they lost the game, but I believe that Belichek made a call based on statistics that most people just couldn't understand. I think he was way ahead of most of his counterparts in this regard, as much of the NFL is still called the way it is written the so-called "book". However those days may soon be over.
Over the weekend MIT held there annual conference on how analytic's can be used in sports. The link that conference can be found here. Some of the most innovative owners and GMs were in attendance including Billy Beane, Mark Cuban, Daryl Morey, Bill Polian, and Jon Kraft. There were some fascinating articles written on topics that range from how valuable an assist is to whether or not you should go for it on 4th and short in your own territory. I think the big thing to take from this is statistical data is being looked at in an all night light, in the last few years. No longer are the days when a simple box score is used to tell the story. Now in almost every major sports owners and GMs are looking for new ways to understand value. I find this to be a very smart and innovative way of doing business, and I think in the near future nearly every professional teams will be employing stat geeks to help make these tough decisions. I mean it is crazy to think that Tony LaRussa or Bill Belichek would go over in the middle of a game to talk to some MIT graduate on what call he should make, but I think the days of that are coming. Well maybe not that extent, but I do think advanced statistics will have a much bigger role in sports in the days moving forward.
Below you can find a link to the True Hoop blog, they did a great job of covering this years MIT convention.
Link
I have read bits and pieces of the book, and I don't find all the numbers to be that exciting. I do however think that this empirical way at looking at sports is very exciting, and I feel like it is changing the ways sports are being played. Recently I have been following this mans blog. His name is Wayne Winston, he is a former math professor, and recently worked for the Dallas Mavericks trying to examine how statistics can be better used to gain an advantage. He came up with a plus/minus system that looks at which line-ups play the best together. His contention was that there are a lot of statistics that measure how good a player is offensively, but very few take into account how good a player is while playing with other players. In basketball you have to play both offense and defense, so just looking at offensive stats by themselves will probably not be the best way to build a team. By taking a look at how good a player is over the average player you can see just how effective that player is. Again the numbers can be dizzying, but I find it amazing that this type fo stuff is just starting to become the norm. Have the old statistics in sports become outdated?
I remember a few months ago. Bill Belichek was taking a bunch of heat for going for it on the 4th down in his own territory in a game that they were winning against the rival Colts. I am almost certain that Belichek looked at the numbers when making that call, and ignored what was certainly going to be a shit storm, by not playing it by the book and punting the ball. The play ended up not working and they lost the game, but I believe that Belichek made a call based on statistics that most people just couldn't understand. I think he was way ahead of most of his counterparts in this regard, as much of the NFL is still called the way it is written the so-called "book". However those days may soon be over.
Over the weekend MIT held there annual conference on how analytic's can be used in sports. The link that conference can be found here. Some of the most innovative owners and GMs were in attendance including Billy Beane, Mark Cuban, Daryl Morey, Bill Polian, and Jon Kraft. There were some fascinating articles written on topics that range from how valuable an assist is to whether or not you should go for it on 4th and short in your own territory. I think the big thing to take from this is statistical data is being looked at in an all night light, in the last few years. No longer are the days when a simple box score is used to tell the story. Now in almost every major sports owners and GMs are looking for new ways to understand value. I find this to be a very smart and innovative way of doing business, and I think in the near future nearly every professional teams will be employing stat geeks to help make these tough decisions. I mean it is crazy to think that Tony LaRussa or Bill Belichek would go over in the middle of a game to talk to some MIT graduate on what call he should make, but I think the days of that are coming. Well maybe not that extent, but I do think advanced statistics will have a much bigger role in sports in the days moving forward.
Below you can find a link to the True Hoop blog, they did a great job of covering this years MIT convention.
Link
Damn, I Wish I Would Have Caught This
Zach G was on SNL over the weekend. I haven't watched this on Demand yet, but it looked to be pretty funny.
Friday, March 5, 2010
LMF - Justin Townes Earle
Justin Townes Earle played the High Noon Saloon in Madison last Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. The High Noon sold to capacity (approx. 400) well before showtime, and Mr. Earle did not disappoint the sell-out crowd. Following the earnest and poetic, yet down-to-earth folk stylings of Chicago's Joe Pug - who deserves his own ink - Earle's set danced back and forth seamlessly between old-time country, swing, pre-war folk and blues and gospel-based songs, ranging in tone from sad desperation to genuine country-boy rowdiness. While his recordings are somewhat subdued and brooding at times, his live show is a rollicking good time, worthy of any boozy honky tonk. Earle, all 6'5" of his scrawny frame, clearly enjoys himself on stage, exuding the energy of a nerdy-yet-naughty country boy using an "aw-shucks" charm to take the sting out of his shenanigans. It works for him.
He pleased the crowd with selections from all of his releases, including the 2008 EP Yuma ("Yuma," "I Don't Care"), his 2008 full-length debut The Good Life ("Hard Livin'," "Lone Pine Hill," "South Georgia Sugar Babe," "What Do You Do When You're Lonesome," "Ain't Glad I'm Leaving") and the critically acclaimed 2009 release Midnight at the Movies (title track, "Mama's Eyes," "They Killed John Henry," "Poor Fool," "Someday I'll Be Forgiven For This," "Walk Out" and a tasteful cover of The Replacements' tune "Can't Hardly Wait"). For good measure, Earle threw in a couple new, yet-to-be released tracks from an anticipated album, which found inspiration in gospel music. Earle half-confessed and half-bragged that his love of gospel and other church music "don't mean God wants me in his house." Don't worry, Justin, I think He'd make an exception if you brought your guitar.
Don't get wrong, Earle is a very entertaining stage presence with a quick wit, an almost nervously energetic vibe, a solid country voice and a growing talent for handling the guitar. Still, his songwriting talent is the real star of his shows. There are plenty of good players and singers out there, but when a songwriting effort is expertly executed through a traditional structure, but with a little twist of originality and wit on top that make it sound all but completely new, you can immediately recognize that you're hearing something that is just plain lacking in 99% of the music that is bought and sold. While being the son of the aptly nicknamed "Hardcore Troubador" and country songwriting legend Steve Earle, and being named after the almost mythical songwriting persona that was Townes Van Zandt, Earle carefully walks a fine line, managing to honor and appreciate that heritage without hiding behind it or riding its coattails. In short, JTE is legit. His dry songwriting wit and often painful honesty, coupled with a remarkable ability to pay homage to century-old traditions while simultaneously innovating and creating is more than enough to warrant our attention and respect, regardless of that weighty bloodline.
We were there with some new friends and some old friends, including my pal Trike who was celebrating a birthday. Justin graciously honored the occasion with a smiling photo-op, which Trike will frame and cherish, no doubt. I didn't find the same opportunity, but I did purchase the cocktail that Trike is holding in the photo, so I feel like I'm in the frame in spirit.
Every show has a defining moment for the interested observer. Mine turned out to be his performance of "Mama's Eyes," a redemption ballad that hits close to home for me. However, there was another memorable event that came shortly after that. Near the close of his primary set, the bourbon and I were rather rudely shouting out for him to play "Yuma," a sad, slow suicide ballad from his first EP. There were a couple of other drunks with the same idea. For a guy who has played as many shows as Earle, it wasn't difficult for him to shut us down. He responded to us quite directly, with a feined stern look and a good-natured scolding, "Don't tell me what to do!" Even so, he played the song in the middle of his short encore. (I'd like to take credit for it, but Youtube and show review evidence reveals that he has played the song on other tour stops this month as well.)
Perhaps the best praise I can heap upon this show is simply to say that I had been looking forward to the show for several weeks, and had very high expectations going in, yet I was far from let down and walked out of the High Noon an even bigger fan than when I went in.
Bottom line: The next time he's in town, I'll be buying a ticket again.
Here's about the best video of the show that I could find...
Monday, March 1, 2010
I Can Stop Caring About Hockey For Another 4 Years...
I am sure a lot of you caught the Gold Medal game yesterday in which Canada edged the US 3-2 in overtime to win the gold. It was a great game, and I literally could not turn away from the tv for the last 10 minutes of regulation and overtime. Though I knew the names of many American players, and knew the teams in which the ones with Wisconsin ties played for, I can honestly say my interest in Hockey will be absolutely zero until the next Olympics. Yes I may watch a playoff game if Golden Boy Crosby is matched up against the Alexander the Great. I may even tune into a few of the NHL finals, but to think that anybody is really going to care about NHL because of the success the Olympic team had is foolish. The NHL is a long way behind, the NFL, MLB, NBA, Nascar, and even Golf in this country, and even a great showing by the US over the last two weeks cannot change that. I will say this, the game can be fun to watch if you have a rooting interest, and I plan on following Bucky as they try and get through the WCHA tournament, and hopefully as they get back to a frozen four. But if you dont have a team to follow or if there isn't a gold medal on the line, there is no reason really to have any interest. I think part of that reason is the nobody knows the stars of the NHL besides the two mentioned above. I mean this first i had heard of Ryan Miller or Zac Parise was about 2 weeks ago, and they nearly carried the US to gold. I am not sure how the NHL goes about getting its brand out there and getting people to care about hockey (my thought is to contract the league some, and shrink down the overall talent pool), but I think it is going to take more than that great game to get people to tune in. I hope I am wrong because like I said it is a sport I do enjoy, but after the game yesterday I had completely shifted focus to NCAA bracketology and not whether or not San Jose has enough to win the cup. I am curious as to how everyone else feels?
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