The Sanford Affair
I am thoroughly disappointed in the answer to the the "Mystery Of The Missing Governor". I was expecting International Intrigue, maybe a drug ring, some nuclear secrets. Nope. Just another elected official fooling around on his wife. I have to give Gov. Mark Sanford(SC) some credit. He was having an affair with a woman in Argentina. Or maybe I should give the credit to her? She must have a magic velvety envelope to hold a spell over a man on another continent.
When I first heard this story I thought, "foreign Terrorists have kidnapped an American Governor and the government is keeping it a secret so the public doesn't go apeshit." Then the whole "Hiking on the Appalachian Trail" story was fed to us by his staff. Except the Lt. Governor was clueless. A governor's job is 24/7. The governor has to be in touch with someone back home in case there's an emergency. Right? Then I discovered last Friday was National Nude Hiking Day. Holy crap! Gov. Sanford was in the woods with nothing but a backpack and hopefully a sock in case it got cold. If this was the case I wouldn't care. So your governor likes to hike naked. Big deal. Maybe one day I'll hit Mt. Wachusett in the buff. Let the boys get some mountain air. I bet that feels nice. I'm also a big proponent of streaking as a form of protest and recreation.Â
But the we learned Gov. Sanford arrived in Atlanta on a plane from ARGENTINA! He said he wanted to go somewhere exotic and take a break after a heated discussions on legislation to accept stimulus money. So while that money sits in limbo and could be helping people one way or another, you hop a plane to ARGENTINA? He said he was doing some driving down the coast. Must be nice. Hey Obama, I don't need your stinking immoral stimulus money. I have plenty of my own to jet off to Buenas Aries to get it on with my South American side action. I was hoping it was something more "exotic" like the Governor said. The only people who go to Argentina and don't tell anyone are Nazis, Bank Robbers, and Cold War informants. I thought, "Maybe he went down there to meet with former Nazis who were trying to make a come back because the most powerful country in the world elected a non-white as President. Sanford being from South Carolina, the first to fire on Union troops to start the civil war and last to fly the Confederate flag over their state house, it made sense in my pot addled mind. Maybe the Argentinians had harbored one of the old Nazi physicists who gave them the means to build a nuclear weapon that could be used to hold an American city hostage until President Obama stepped down. Or, even better, Sanford was frustrated with the secular direction the government and country is headed. So, he helped former Nazis develop an army of Zombies they learned to create through horrific experiments done on Jews and Gypsies during World War II. Sanford would funnel money received from the tobacco lobby to Argentina to arm and train the Zombie army for an invasion of Myrtle Beach on 4th of July Weekend when everybody is drunk. Then they would infect and conscript to further penetrate the continental United States and cause chaos. Which would be a distraction so the Chinese, who were secretly involved without Sanford's knowledge, to slip commando units into the west coast ports.Â
I guess I should be thankful it was just another politician who decided to leave his state in a leadership crisis while he went down to the land of the Tango to hook up with his mistress. On Father's Day Weekend. Should of went nude hiking.
Being a massive Rush geek and a Beasties fan this is just about Orgasmic. Now if we could mash up "Cygnus X-1" and "Shadrach" that would be the "tits".
For those of you that missed the interview with Maynard James Keenan from Tool, Puscifer, etc. and his partner in wine making, Eric Glomski, here is the bulk of it:
Part 1: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Talking_Wine_With_Maynard_James_Keenan_f.mp3
Part 2: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_from_Tool_talks_win.mp3
Part 3: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_from_Tool_talks_win(2).mp3
Part 4: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_and_his_wine_obsess.mp3
Part 5: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_talks_Arizona_Stron.mp3
Part 6: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_mentions_Tool.mp3
I was a bit nervous about this interview because: 1. I don't know much about wine that doesn't come in a box. 2. The first time I interviewed Maynard a few years ago he was rather "difficult". This time around he was prompt and polite. He came across as being very shy and soft spoken, as you can tell from the interview. Opposite of the crazed androgynous rock star riding the Teutonic plate collision that is Tool live. To some artists, performance is a cathartic experience. They have something inside of them, whether demonic or blithesome, that must be released or they will be constipated with manic frustration. I don't know for sure, but I think Maynard is one of those artists. On stage, a raging exhibitionist. But when he's not performing, quiet and uncomfortable in small social situations. I know, boo-friggin' hoo for the multi-platinum rock star who's pained by the pressure of massive fame. He sure wasn't to shy to use his notoriety to promote his new wine, right?  I mean, Tool and their fans got him here, he could at least tell us how the new album is progressing.  Still, for a guy who can command the attention of an arena full of people, it's strange he can't seem more energetic about something he obviously loves truly. His wine, by the way, is very good. Again, I'm no connoisseur by any means, but I enjoyed it. The Merkin Vineyards Chupacabbra at first came across as underwhelming. But as he was leaving the studio he told me to re-cork it, bring it home and it would be a much different wine when I opened it up that evening. He was absolutely right. It had much more personality, fuller flavor, more aggressive....listen to me...I sound like a cork dork. It shows how in touch he is with his creation. He said wine making was like trying to "harness chaos". I'm sure his years in Tool and A Perfect Circle conditioned him for that.  He also uses the word alchemy quite a bit when describing wine making, which can also be applied to making music.  It's also interesting that both his life's passions deal with the ephemeral. Music tangles with our minds and bodies and then it is gone, much like wine. Leaving only the experience and memories.
The Bottle signing at the Whole Foods later in the day was a great cross section of Tool freaks, parents buying bottles for their rock kids, and befuddled citizens of the People's Republic trying to get through the sweaty crowd just to buy their soy milk and organic tofu pups. Security was tight. They were also supplied with a mini booklet of photos of people that were not in any way to have access to Mr. Keenan. I must admit, I was surprised there wasn't more than the 4 or 5 listed. The fans waited in a long snaky line that led to an L shaped curtain barrier where the vintners sat at a table under a Whole Foods tent. It had the air of that extra part of a circus freak show that you would pay a dollar to see. Maynardites with a receipt would receive there bottle, meet the Alchemists, then leave all giddy and giggling or weeping and weak from their brush with greatness. At one point, a gang of Gothy chicks who were surprisingly fit asked if they could use our sound system to play a Puscifer song to accompany a performance. After some serious negotiations with Whole Foods management and security it was decided, "What could possibly happen in 4 minutes?" What did happen was some kind of Pagan, Gothic, Fertility dance to the song "Indigo Children". The wine buyers in line, the security guards, the old hippies all stopped and watched these ladies get their freak on in a parking garage in Cambridge. It was pretty hot.  It made me feel...funny...maybe horny. Everybody in the place erupted into vigorous applause when it ended. I don't know if Maynard caught it.  He was still ensconced in his freak tent signing bottles and not talking about Tool.
I highly recommend checking out the bio of his partner Eric Glomski. This transplant from Bedford, Mass seems like he was born to make wine. You can also listen to the new Puscifer song, "The Mission" at the Arizona Stronghold Vineyards website. The whole tale of Maynard, Eric, Wine, and Arizona will be covered in the upcoming documentary, "Blood Into Wine". Check out the trailer below:
I took my daughter to her first real "Rock" concert this past weekend. Well, maybe not exactly "rock", more like Indie-pop/Dunkin Donuts Jingle/Disney TV Show Theme Band...concert...thing. I wouldn't call They Might Be Giants a "rock" band either. But I've enjoyed their interesting a quirky music since my high school years. They have since branched out into the extremely lucrative field of Kids Music. They actually won a Grammy for some of their projects that I have been playing for my daughter the past couple of years. To me there are two kinds of kids music: the kind that creatively keeps a child's attention while not completely forgetting that there is most likely an adult listening too. The other kind is so relentlessly irritating it could (and may have) crack the most hardened Al-Queda operative to give up his mother. I'm talking about Barney, The Wiggles, Doodle-Bops, and other tools of Satan.
TMBG is in the former category. As stated in an earlier blog, I get psyched when my daughter and I share a fondness for a band. So naturally, I had to take her to see these kiddie rock legends at The Berklee Performance Center. Standing in line to get in I noticed that I was part of a club I always loathed to be a member. "The Hipster Dad Club". You know them by their uniform, Cargo shorts(to carry wet naps, juice-boxes, teddy-grams), Converse Chuck Taylor High Tops, Hip t-shirt, goatee, and an extra 60-80lb's around the waist and ass. While my daughter was getting psyched for the show singing "I Am Not Your Broom" the hipster dads were vying to see who could show off the coolest old school t-shirt that they actually got at the show back in the day. I, unfortunately, had a plain black polo. Should've dragged out the Ol' Napalm Death shirt with the headless crucifix and mushroom cloud on the front. I watched one guy try to keep his daughters from having a meltdown by bribing them with some gum and a little goofy dance while wearing a Yes t-shirt. It was another moment that reminded me how much I don't "Rock" anymore. The first time I realized the "Rock" had left was when I bought a leaf blower. I was actually trying to flash the tattoos on my arm while wiping my daughters post-sneeze booger mess on her face.
The show was great and TMBG didn't play down to the kids. There were big foam #1 fingers given out and loud confetti explosions. As well as all there kiddie hits. My daughter was dancing in the isle the whole time. Jumping up and down and screaming like a raging monkey. Again, as in an earlier blog, I thought back to all the shows I went berzerk at. My first crowd surfing experience at a Circle Jerks show, my first stage dive into a 24/7-Spyz crowd. The time I got thrown out of Filter for fighting, or that Ramones show in Williamstown where my buddy got jumped by some townies and we ended up running for our lives only to be picked up by the cops for being a public nuisance. At that point the band said something to the effect of, "Alright kids, this what happens at a big rock show, everybody rush the stage!" It was like a bunch of crazy midgets storming a stage full of Berklee nerds. My daughter was right up front and center, arms in the air, screaming and flailing. She then tried to climb onto the stage, but was too short to get her little legs up.  I was off to the side watching as she kept jumping up and pressing her little red sparkly shoes against the front of the stage, wooping and wailing, until a security guard walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. He gave her the no-no finger wave and left. She looked at me with both hands over her mouth, all wide eyed at the trouble she escaped, then continued her Tasmanian devil like dance. And I thought to myself....oh shit...
My main priority for this show was to see the last Nine Inch Nails show in New England(until Trent has to send his kids to college). Unfortunately we missed their first 3 songs because an accident shut down 495 South and they had to air lift someone to the Hospital. Then we had to prepare physically and mentally in the parking lot of the Comcast Center without the Bike Cops shaking us down.  After the security guy touched me where my bathing suit covered, we got to our General Admission/Open air seats in time for a ripping version of "1,000,000" from the slip. This was not a "Greatest Hits" set at all. They touched on material from "Year Zero" and leaned heavy on "The Fragile" through the middle portion of the set. They brought it down to a moody ambient binge at one point breaking it down to acoustic guitar, tambourine, hand cymbals, and drums. Trent gave a brooding soliloquy about facing his suicidal feelings while making "The Fragile" to the happy place he's at today and impending marriage. Well...as happy as Trent Reznor can seem. When they were finished lulling us into a murky haze they busted out the heavy Industrial pummeling with "Wish". High intensity, unpredictable sonics, and ferocious stage presence. They went out with "Hurt".Â
In front of us the whole time were a group of five, 4 guys and one girl, getting ripped like pros. Many joints were smoked, beers were pounded, and they had somehow smuggled in an industrial size bottle of Jagermeister, which they were sucking down with pure youthful abandon. During "Head Like A Hole" they were jumping up and down while trying to drink and pass the bottle to each other, sending streams of Jager into the air and their eyes.  This demonstration of spastic alcohol assault rivaled NIN's stomping rage. By the time Jane's Addiction hit the stage with the opening chords of "Three Days" their were only two left standing...well..dancing...and by dancing, I mean shoving each other with their elbows and falling on to the Jager and whatever else laden isle. One guy was sitting quietly trying to keep his head from nodding clean of his neck. The lone girl in the bunch was seated with her hood pulled tight over her head trying to shut out the noise and the two Rock-em Sock-em Robots dancing in front of her. The last guy was passed out with his head between his legs. Later, his friends were pointing and laughing at the splattered puddle of vomit he had bathed his sneakers with. True decadence for a truly decadent band like Jane's Addiction.
Jane's started by showing a clip from "The River Wild" where the young son character comments on Kevin Bacon's Jane's Addiction hat saying, "I wish I'd seen them before they broke up", before launching into the epic "Three Days". While Nine Inch Nails is about magnifying extreme emotion with jagged industrial blade riffs, Jane's Addiction is about slipping into a warm and gooey groove that eventually gets out of control. Like coming out of a black out and realizing you're in the middle of an orgy. Jane's ignites a slow burn which builds to a tribal wall of rhythm and screaming guitars. Perry Farrel was dressed up like a gay Elvis cruise mambo instructor. All gold lame and glittery scarf. Dave Navarro looked like...well, Dave Navarro, shirtless, tattooed, impeccably groomed with eye liner and shitty attitude. Stephen Perkins looked like he had a Velcro Mohawk on top of his head, but his drumming was the catalyst for the debauched grooves. The returning Eric Avery showed how much was really missing from all those reunion shows with his punk/melodic bass playing. After ripping through "Pigs In Zen", "Whores" and "Ain't No Right" they made been caught stealing sound like a thrash voodoo tribal chant as opposed to the light funky mega radio hit it is.Â
At this point, only one of the five in front of us was left standing, trying to light a cigarette and failing miserably. At one point dropping his lighter and standing back up only to find his cigarette had disappeared. The other four were long gone, and I wondered how this one shitfaced, smoking challenged bro, would get his passed out friends back to their vehicle. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but admiration and envy for these inebriated fools. I was, in fact, leaving early because I had to get up for work in the morning. Yeah, I ROCK! I wish I could be stumbling around the Comcast Center parking lot, holding up one of my drunk buddies, looking for a vehicle I would eventually pass out in. Hopefully they made it home safely to do it all over again. I made it home safely to pay the baby sitter and set my alarm. Do it now while you can still get away with it.
If you missed it, here's Pearl Jam's Performance of the new song "Get Some" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien:
http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/musical-performance-pearl-jam-060109/1116201/
I love Mike McCready. I still claim he is one of the top 5 living guitarists in the world. I like the energy and how, even in their 40's they retain a punk spirit in their music. The guys are finally starting to look their age, but the energy is still there.  Which brings me to the next item:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/exclusive-pearl-jam-confirms-target-tie-1003978374.story
I usually don't get on a band for taking sponsorship money. I understand you can't travel in a van your whole life and some musicians have families to support. Sometimes an artist will sell their music to finance another project that is closer to their hearts. But Pearl Jam working with Target bothers me. This is the band that refused to make videos during their most commercially prosperous time. They challenged the Goliath ticketmaster and made an ill-fated foray into DIY concert promotion and ticket sails. It was ultimately a failed effort, but at least they tried and didn't just bitch about it. They took control of their merchandising and neutralized bootleggers by making all their concerts available from 2000 on. They are(or were) a loyal supporter of the Mom and Pop record stores. Their message has always been one of independence and free thought. Again, going back to financing true love; Eddie Vedder has his causes and solo work as does Mike.  Stone Gossard has solo projects and a recording studio, as does Jeff Ament. Matt Cameron is a producer and a Jazz enthusiast(which usually means very little profit). They are also getting older and may not want to pursue a Rolling Stones type financial plan of dragging the hits out every three years or so. So this is not a condemnation, just a small voice of disappointment. Not that I am a pillar of DIY attitude and rebellion. I work for a giant corporation and would sell hair scrunchies if the money was right. I also have a family to support. I guess I'm a hypocrite, but I couldn't help but cringe a little when I heard they were making a deal with Target for "Backspacer". Maybe the title refers to compromise for a greater cause. I hope so. Either way, I'll be picking up the physical CD at Target, along with my light bulbs, sneakers for my daughter and maybe a big bag of beef jerky. Of course I'll put it all on my Target Card.
The Sanford Affair
I am thoroughly disappointed in the answer to the the "Mystery Of The Missing Governor". I was expecting International Intrigue, maybe a drug ring, some nuclear secrets. Nope. Just another elected official fooling around on his wife. I have to give Gov. Mark Sanford(SC) some credit. He was having an affair with a woman in Argentina. Or maybe I should give the credit to her? She must have a magic velvety envelope to hold a spell over a man on another continent.
When I first heard this story I thought, "foreign Terrorists have kidnapped an American Governor and the government is keeping it a secret so the public doesn't go apeshit." Then the whole "Hiking on the Appalachian Trail" story was fed to us by his staff. Except the Lt. Governor was clueless. A governor's job is 24/7. The governor has to be in touch with someone back home in case there's an emergency. Right? Then I discovered last Friday was National Nude Hiking Day. Holy crap! Gov. Sanford was in the woods with nothing but a backpack and hopefully a sock in case it got cold. If this was the case I wouldn't care. So your governor likes to hike naked. Big deal. Maybe one day I'll hit Mt. Wachusett in the buff. Let the boys get some mountain air. I bet that feels nice. I'm also a big proponent of streaking as a form of protest and recreation.Â
But the we learned Gov. Sanford arrived in Atlanta on a plane from ARGENTINA! He said he wanted to go somewhere exotic and take a break after a heated discussions on legislation to accept stimulus money. So while that money sits in limbo and could be helping people one way or another, you hop a plane to ARGENTINA? He said he was doing some driving down the coast. Must be nice. Hey Obama, I don't need your stinking immoral stimulus money. I have plenty of my own to jet off to Buenas Aries to get it on with my South American side action. I was hoping it was something more "exotic" like the Governor said. The only people who go to Argentina and don't tell anyone are Nazis, Bank Robbers, and Cold War informants. I thought, "Maybe he went down there to meet with former Nazis who were trying to make a come back because the most powerful country in the world elected a non-white as President. Sanford being from South Carolina, the first to fire on Union troops to start the civil war and last to fly the Confederate flag over their state house, it made sense in my pot addled mind. Maybe the Argentinians had harbored one of the old Nazi physicists who gave them the means to build a nuclear weapon that could be used to hold an American city hostage until President Obama stepped down. Or, even better, Sanford was frustrated with the secular direction the government and country is headed. So, he helped former Nazis develop an army of Zombies they learned to create through horrific experiments done on Jews and Gypsies during World War II. Sanford would funnel money received from the tobacco lobby to Argentina to arm and train the Zombie army for an invasion of Myrtle Beach on 4th of July Weekend when everybody is drunk. Then they would infect and conscript to further penetrate the continental United States and cause chaos. Which would be a distraction so the Chinese, who were secretly involved without Sanford's knowledge, to slip commando units into the west coast ports.Â
I guess I should be thankful it was just another politician who decided to leave his state in a leadership crisis while he went down to the land of the Tango to hook up with his mistress. On Father's Day Weekend. Should of went nude hiking.
Being a massive Rush geek and a Beasties fan this is just about Orgasmic. Now if we could mash up "Cygnus X-1" and "Shadrach" that would be the "tits".
For those of you that missed the interview with Maynard James Keenan from Tool, Puscifer, etc. and his partner in wine making, Eric Glomski, here is the bulk of it:
Part 1: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Talking_Wine_With_Maynard_James_Keenan_f.mp3
Part 2: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_from_Tool_talks_win.mp3
Part 3: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_from_Tool_talks_win(2).mp3
Part 4: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_and_his_wine_obsess.mp3
Part 5: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_talks_Arizona_Stron.mp3
Part 6: http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/waaf/archive/Mike_Hsu/2009-06-18_Maynard_James_Keenan_mentions_Tool.mp3
I was a bit nervous about this interview because: 1. I don't know much about wine that doesn't come in a box. 2. The first time I interviewed Maynard a few years ago he was rather "difficult". This time around he was prompt and polite. He came across as being very shy and soft spoken, as you can tell from the interview. Opposite of the crazed androgynous rock star riding the Teutonic plate collision that is Tool live. To some artists, performance is a cathartic experience. They have something inside of them, whether demonic or blithesome, that must be released or they will be constipated with manic frustration. I don't know for sure, but I think Maynard is one of those artists. On stage, a raging exhibitionist. But when he's not performing, quiet and uncomfortable in small social situations. I know, boo-friggin' hoo for the multi-platinum rock star who's pained by the pressure of massive fame. He sure wasn't to shy to use his notoriety to promote his new wine, right?  I mean, Tool and their fans got him here, he could at least tell us how the new album is progressing.  Still, for a guy who can command the attention of an arena full of people, it's strange he can't seem more energetic about something he obviously loves truly. His wine, by the way, is very good. Again, I'm no connoisseur by any means, but I enjoyed it. The Merkin Vineyards Chupacabbra at first came across as underwhelming. But as he was leaving the studio he told me to re-cork it, bring it home and it would be a much different wine when I opened it up that evening. He was absolutely right. It had much more personality, fuller flavor, more aggressive....listen to me...I sound like a cork dork. It shows how in touch he is with his creation. He said wine making was like trying to "harness chaos". I'm sure his years in Tool and A Perfect Circle conditioned him for that.  He also uses the word alchemy quite a bit when describing wine making, which can also be applied to making music.  It's also interesting that both his life's passions deal with the ephemeral. Music tangles with our minds and bodies and then it is gone, much like wine. Leaving only the experience and memories.
The Bottle signing at the Whole Foods later in the day was a great cross section of Tool freaks, parents buying bottles for their rock kids, and befuddled citizens of the People's Republic trying to get through the sweaty crowd just to buy their soy milk and organic tofu pups. Security was tight. They were also supplied with a mini booklet of photos of people that were not in any way to have access to Mr. Keenan. I must admit, I was surprised there wasn't more than the 4 or 5 listed. The fans waited in a long snaky line that led to an L shaped curtain barrier where the vintners sat at a table under a Whole Foods tent. It had the air of that extra part of a circus freak show that you would pay a dollar to see. Maynardites with a receipt would receive there bottle, meet the Alchemists, then leave all giddy and giggling or weeping and weak from their brush with greatness. At one point, a gang of Gothy chicks who were surprisingly fit asked if they could use our sound system to play a Puscifer song to accompany a performance. After some serious negotiations with Whole Foods management and security it was decided, "What could possibly happen in 4 minutes?" What did happen was some kind of Pagan, Gothic, Fertility dance to the song "Indigo Children". The wine buyers in line, the security guards, the old hippies all stopped and watched these ladies get their freak on in a parking garage in Cambridge. It was pretty hot.  It made me feel...funny...maybe horny. Everybody in the place erupted into vigorous applause when it ended. I don't know if Maynard caught it.  He was still ensconced in his freak tent signing bottles and not talking about Tool.
I highly recommend checking out the bio of his partner Eric Glomski. This transplant from Bedford, Mass seems like he was born to make wine. You can also listen to the new Puscifer song, "The Mission" at the Arizona Stronghold Vineyards website. The whole tale of Maynard, Eric, Wine, and Arizona will be covered in the upcoming documentary, "Blood Into Wine". Check out the trailer below:
I took my daughter to her first real "Rock" concert this past weekend. Well, maybe not exactly "rock", more like Indie-pop/Dunkin Donuts Jingle/Disney TV Show Theme Band...concert...thing. I wouldn't call They Might Be Giants a "rock" band either. But I've enjoyed their interesting a quirky music since my high school years. They have since branched out into the extremely lucrative field of Kids Music. They actually won a Grammy for some of their projects that I have been playing for my daughter the past couple of years. To me there are two kinds of kids music: the kind that creatively keeps a child's attention while not completely forgetting that there is most likely an adult listening too. The other kind is so relentlessly irritating it could (and may have) crack the most hardened Al-Queda operative to give up his mother. I'm talking about Barney, The Wiggles, Doodle-Bops, and other tools of Satan.
TMBG is in the former category. As stated in an earlier blog, I get psyched when my daughter and I share a fondness for a band. So naturally, I had to take her to see these kiddie rock legends at The Berklee Performance Center. Standing in line to get in I noticed that I was part of a club I always loathed to be a member. "The Hipster Dad Club". You know them by their uniform, Cargo shorts(to carry wet naps, juice-boxes, teddy-grams), Converse Chuck Taylor High Tops, Hip t-shirt, goatee, and an extra 60-80lb's around the waist and ass. While my daughter was getting psyched for the show singing "I Am Not Your Broom" the hipster dads were vying to see who could show off the coolest old school t-shirt that they actually got at the show back in the day. I, unfortunately, had a plain black polo. Should've dragged out the Ol' Napalm Death shirt with the headless crucifix and mushroom cloud on the front. I watched one guy try to keep his daughters from having a meltdown by bribing them with some gum and a little goofy dance while wearing a Yes t-shirt. It was another moment that reminded me how much I don't "Rock" anymore. The first time I realized the "Rock" had left was when I bought a leaf blower. I was actually trying to flash the tattoos on my arm while wiping my daughters post-sneeze booger mess on her face.
The show was great and TMBG didn't play down to the kids. There were big foam #1 fingers given out and loud confetti explosions. As well as all there kiddie hits. My daughter was dancing in the isle the whole time. Jumping up and down and screaming like a raging monkey. Again, as in an earlier blog, I thought back to all the shows I went berzerk at. My first crowd surfing experience at a Circle Jerks show, my first stage dive into a 24/7-Spyz crowd. The time I got thrown out of Filter for fighting, or that Ramones show in Williamstown where my buddy got jumped by some townies and we ended up running for our lives only to be picked up by the cops for being a public nuisance. At that point the band said something to the effect of, "Alright kids, this what happens at a big rock show, everybody rush the stage!" It was like a bunch of crazy midgets storming a stage full of Berklee nerds. My daughter was right up front and center, arms in the air, screaming and flailing. She then tried to climb onto the stage, but was too short to get her little legs up.  I was off to the side watching as she kept jumping up and pressing her little red sparkly shoes against the front of the stage, wooping and wailing, until a security guard walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. He gave her the no-no finger wave and left. She looked at me with both hands over her mouth, all wide eyed at the trouble she escaped, then continued her Tasmanian devil like dance. And I thought to myself....oh shit...
My main priority for this show was to see the last Nine Inch Nails show in New England(until Trent has to send his kids to college). Unfortunately we missed their first 3 songs because an accident shut down 495 South and they had to air lift someone to the Hospital. Then we had to prepare physically and mentally in the parking lot of the Comcast Center without the Bike Cops shaking us down.  After the security guy touched me where my bathing suit covered, we got to our General Admission/Open air seats in time for a ripping version of "1,000,000" from the slip. This was not a "Greatest Hits" set at all. They touched on material from "Year Zero" and leaned heavy on "The Fragile" through the middle portion of the set. They brought it down to a moody ambient binge at one point breaking it down to acoustic guitar, tambourine, hand cymbals, and drums. Trent gave a brooding soliloquy about facing his suicidal feelings while making "The Fragile" to the happy place he's at today and impending marriage. Well...as happy as Trent Reznor can seem. When they were finished lulling us into a murky haze they busted out the heavy Industrial pummeling with "Wish". High intensity, unpredictable sonics, and ferocious stage presence. They went out with "Hurt".Â
In front of us the whole time were a group of five, 4 guys and one girl, getting ripped like pros. Many joints were smoked, beers were pounded, and they had somehow smuggled in an industrial size bottle of Jagermeister, which they were sucking down with pure youthful abandon. During "Head Like A Hole" they were jumping up and down while trying to drink and pass the bottle to each other, sending streams of Jager into the air and their eyes.  This demonstration of spastic alcohol assault rivaled NIN's stomping rage. By the time Jane's Addiction hit the stage with the opening chords of "Three Days" their were only two left standing...well..dancing...and by dancing, I mean shoving each other with their elbows and falling on to the Jager and whatever else laden isle. One guy was sitting quietly trying to keep his head from nodding clean of his neck. The lone girl in the bunch was seated with her hood pulled tight over her head trying to shut out the noise and the two Rock-em Sock-em Robots dancing in front of her. The last guy was passed out with his head between his legs. Later, his friends were pointing and laughing at the splattered puddle of vomit he had bathed his sneakers with. True decadence for a truly decadent band like Jane's Addiction.
Jane's started by showing a clip from "The River Wild" where the young son character comments on Kevin Bacon's Jane's Addiction hat saying, "I wish I'd seen them before they broke up", before launching into the epic "Three Days". While Nine Inch Nails is about magnifying extreme emotion with jagged industrial blade riffs, Jane's Addiction is about slipping into a warm and gooey groove that eventually gets out of control. Like coming out of a black out and realizing you're in the middle of an orgy. Jane's ignites a slow burn which builds to a tribal wall of rhythm and screaming guitars. Perry Farrel was dressed up like a gay Elvis cruise mambo instructor. All gold lame and glittery scarf. Dave Navarro looked like...well, Dave Navarro, shirtless, tattooed, impeccably groomed with eye liner and shitty attitude. Stephen Perkins looked like he had a Velcro Mohawk on top of his head, but his drumming was the catalyst for the debauched grooves. The returning Eric Avery showed how much was really missing from all those reunion shows with his punk/melodic bass playing. After ripping through "Pigs In Zen", "Whores" and "Ain't No Right" they made been caught stealing sound like a thrash voodoo tribal chant as opposed to the light funky mega radio hit it is.Â
At this point, only one of the five in front of us was left standing, trying to light a cigarette and failing miserably. At one point dropping his lighter and standing back up only to find his cigarette had disappeared. The other four were long gone, and I wondered how this one shitfaced, smoking challenged bro, would get his passed out friends back to their vehicle. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but admiration and envy for these inebriated fools. I was, in fact, leaving early because I had to get up for work in the morning. Yeah, I ROCK! I wish I could be stumbling around the Comcast Center parking lot, holding up one of my drunk buddies, looking for a vehicle I would eventually pass out in. Hopefully they made it home safely to do it all over again. I made it home safely to pay the baby sitter and set my alarm. Do it now while you can still get away with it.
If you missed it, here's Pearl Jam's Performance of the new song "Get Some" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien:
http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/musical-performance-pearl-jam-060109/1116201/
I love Mike McCready. I still claim he is one of the top 5 living guitarists in the world. I like the energy and how, even in their 40's they retain a punk spirit in their music. The guys are finally starting to look their age, but the energy is still there.  Which brings me to the next item:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/exclusive-pearl-jam-confirms-target-tie-1003978374.story
I usually don't get on a band for taking sponsorship money. I understand you can't travel in a van your whole life and some musicians have families to support. Sometimes an artist will sell their music to finance another project that is closer to their hearts. But Pearl Jam working with Target bothers me. This is the band that refused to make videos during their most commercially prosperous time. They challenged the Goliath ticketmaster and made an ill-fated foray into DIY concert promotion and ticket sails. It was ultimately a failed effort, but at least they tried and didn't just bitch about it. They took control of their merchandising and neutralized bootleggers by making all their concerts available from 2000 on. They are(or were) a loyal supporter of the Mom and Pop record stores. Their message has always been one of independence and free thought. Again, going back to financing true love; Eddie Vedder has his causes and solo work as does Mike.  Stone Gossard has solo projects and a recording studio, as does Jeff Ament. Matt Cameron is a producer and a Jazz enthusiast(which usually means very little profit). They are also getting older and may not want to pursue a Rolling Stones type financial plan of dragging the hits out every three years or so. So this is not a condemnation, just a small voice of disappointment. Not that I am a pillar of DIY attitude and rebellion. I work for a giant corporation and would sell hair scrunchies if the money was right. I also have a family to support. I guess I'm a hypocrite, but I couldn't help but cringe a little when I heard they were making a deal with Target for "Backspacer". Maybe the title refers to compromise for a greater cause. I hope so. Either way, I'll be picking up the physical CD at Target, along with my light bulbs, sneakers for my daughter and maybe a big bag of beef jerky. Of course I'll put it all on my Target Card.
there's an emergency. Right? Then I discovered last Friday was 
it made sense in my pot addled mind. Maybe the Argentinians had harbored one of the old Nazi physicists who gave them the means to build a nuclear weapon that could be used to hold an American city hostage until President Obama stepped down. Or, even better, Sanford was frustrated with the secular direction the government and country is headed. So, he helped former Nazis develop an army of 
For those of you that missed the interview with Maynard James Keenan from Tool, Puscifer, etc. and his partner in wine making, Eric Glomski, here is the bulk of it:
Part 1: 
interview. Opposite of the crazed androgynous rock star riding the Teutonic plate collision that is Tool live. To some artists, performance is a cathartic experience. They have something inside of them, whether demonic or blithesome, that must be released or they will be constipated with manic frustration. I don't know for sure, but I think Maynard is one of those artists. On stage, a raging exhibitionist. But when he's not performing, quiet and uncomfortable in small social situations. I know, boo-friggin' hoo for the multi-platinum rock star who's pained by the pressure of massive fame. He sure wasn't to shy to use his notoriety to promote his new wine, right?  I mean, Tool and their fans got him here, he could at least tell us how the new album is progressing.  Still, for a guy who can command the attention of an arena full of people, it's strange he can't seem more energetic about something he obviously loves truly. His wine, by the way, is very good. Again, I'm no connoisseur by any means, but I enjoyed it. The Merkin Vineyards Chupacabbra at first came across as underwhelming. But as he was leaving the studio he told me to re-cork it, bring it home and it would be a much different wine when I opened it up that evening. He was absolutely right. It had much more personality, fuller flavor, more aggressive....listen to me...I sound like a cork dork. It shows how 
in touch he is with his creation. He said wine making was like trying to "harness chaos". I'm sure his years in Tool and A Perfect Circle conditioned him for that.  He also uses the word alchemy quite a bit when describing wine making, which can also be applied to making music.  It's also interesting that both his life's passions deal with the ephemeral. Music tangles with our minds and bodies and then it is gone, much like wine. Leaving only the experience and memories.
The Bottle signing at the Whole Foods later in the day was a great cross section of Tool freaks, parents buying bottles for their rock kids, and befuddled citizens of the People's Republic trying to get through the sweaty crowd just to buy their soy milk and organic tofu pups. Security was tight. They were also supplied with a mini booklet of photos of people that were not in any way to have access to Mr. Keenan. I must admit, I was surprised there wasn't more than the 4 or 5 listed. The fans waited in a long snaky line that led to an L shaped curtain barrier where the vintners sat at a table under a Whole Foods tent. It had the air of that extra part of a circus freak show that you would pay
a dollar to see. Maynardites with a receipt would receive there bottle, meet the Alchemists, then leave all giddy and giggling or weeping and weak from their brush with greatness. At one point, a gang of Gothy chicks who were surprisingly fit asked if they could use our sound system to play a Puscifer song to accompany a performance. After some serious negotiations with Whole Foods management and security it was decided, "What could possibly happen in 4 minutes?" What did happen was some kind of Pagan, Gothic, Fertility dance to the song "Indigo Children". The wine buyers in line, the security guards, the old hippies all stopped and watched these ladies get their freak on in a parking garage in Cambridge. It was pretty hot.  It made me feel...funny...maybe horny. Everybody in the place erupted into vigorous applause when it ended. I don't know if Maynard caught it.  He was still ensconced in his freak tent signing bottles and not talking about Tool.
I highly recommend checking out the bio of his partner 
I took my daughter to her first real "Rock" concert this past weekend. Well, maybe not exactly "rock", more like Indie-pop/Dunkin Donuts Jingle/Disney TV Show Theme Band...concert...thing. I wouldn't call 
relentlessly irritating it could (and may have) crack the most hardened Al-Queda operative to give up his mother. I'm talking about Barney, The Wiggles, Doodle-Bops, and other tools of Satan.
TMBG is in the former category. As stated in an 
Taylor High Tops, Hip t-shirt, goatee, and an extra 60-80lb's around the waist and ass. While my daughter was getting psyched for the show singing "I Am Not Your Broom" the hipster dads were vying to see who could show off the coolest old school t-shirt that they actually got at the show back in the day. I, unfortunately, had a plain black polo. Should've dragged out the Ol' Napalm Death shirt with the headless crucifix and mushroom cloud on the front. I watched one guy try to keep his daughters from having a meltdown by bribing them with some gum and a little goofy dance while wearing a Yes t-shirt. It was another moment 
that reminded me how much I don't "Rock" anymore. The first time I realized the "Rock" had left was when I bought a 
My main priority for this show was to see the last Nine Inch Nails show in New England(until Trent has to send his kids to college). Unfortunately we missed their first 3 songs because an accident shut down 495 South and they had to air lift someone to the Hospital. Then we had to prepare physically and mentally in the parking lot of the Comcast Center without the Bike Cops shaking us down.  After the security guy touched me where my bathing suit covered, we got to our General Admission/Open air seats in time for a 
ripping version of "1,000,000" from the slip. This was not a "Greatest Hits" set at all. They touched on material from "Year Zero" and leaned heavy on "The Fragile" through the middle portion of the set. They brought it down to a moody ambient binge at one point breaking it down to acoustic guitar, tambourine, hand cymbals, and drums. Trent gave a brooding soliloquy about facing his suicidal feelings while making "The Fragile" to the happy place he's at today and impending marriage. Well...as happy as Trent Reznor can seem. When they were finished lulling us into a murky haze they busted out the heavy Industrial pummeling with "Wish". High intensity, unpredictable sonics, and ferocious stage presence. They went out with "Hurt".Â
In front of us the whole time were a group of five, 4 guys and one girl, getting ripped like pros. Many joints were smoked, beers were pounded, and they had somehow smuggled in an industrial size bottle of Jagermeister, which they were sucking down with pure youthful abandon. During "Head Like A Hole" they were jumping up and down while trying to drink and pass the bottle to each other, sending streams of Jager into the air and their eyes.  This demonstration of spastic alcohol assault rivaled NIN's stomping rage. By the time Jane's Addiction hit the stage with the opening chords of "Three Days" their were only two left standing...well..dancing...and by dancing, I mean shoving each other with their elbows and falling on to the Jager and whatever else laden isle. One guy was sitting quietly trying to keep his head from nodding clean of his neck. The lone girl in the bunch was seated with her hood pulled tight over her head trying to shut out the noise and the two Rock-em Sock-em Robots dancing in front of her. The last guy was passed out with his head between his legs. Later, his friends were pointing and laughing at the splattered puddle of vomit he had bathed his sneakers with. True decadence for a truly decadent band like Jane's Addiction.
Jane's started by showing a clip from "The River Wild" where the young son character comments on Kevin Bacon's Jane's Addiction hat saying, "I wish I'd seen them before they broke up", before launching into the epic "Three Days". While Nine Inch Nails is about magnifying extreme emotion with jagged industrial blade riffs, Jane's Addiction is about slipping into a warm and gooey groove that eventually gets out of control. Like coming out of a black out and realizing you're in the middle of an orgy. Jane's ignites a slow burn which builds to a tribal wall of rhythm and screaming guitars. Perry Farrel was dressed up like a gay Elvis cruise mambo instructor. All gold lame and glittery scarf. Dave Navarro looked like...well, Dave Navarro, shirtless, tattooed, impeccably groomed with eye liner and shitty attitude. Stephen Perkins looked like he had a Velcro Mohawk on top of his head, but his drumming was the catalyst for the debauched grooves. The returning Eric Avery showed how much was really missing from all those reunion shows with his punk/melodic bass playing. After ripping through "Pigs In Zen", "Whores" and "Ain't No Right" they made been caught stealing sound like a thrash voodoo tribal chant as opposed to the light funky mega radio hit it is.Â
At this point, only one of the five in front of us was left standing, trying to light a cigarette and failing miserably. At one point dropping his lighter and standing back up only to find his cigarette had disappeared. The other four were long gone, and I wondered how this one shitfaced, smoking challenged 
bro, would get his passed out friends back to their vehicle. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but admiration and envy for these inebriated fools. I was, in fact, leaving early because I had to get up for work in the morning. Yeah, I ROCK! I wish I could be stumbling around the Comcast Center parking lot, holding up one of my drunk buddies, looking for a vehicle I would eventually pass out in. Hopefully they made it home safely to do it all over again. I made it home safely to pay the baby sitter and set my alarm. Do it now while you can still get away with it.
If you missed it, here's Pearl Jam's Performance of the new song "Get Some" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien:
