Is there anything in the world more frustrating than writer's block? Usually I just start writing these things, and words of unparalleled creativity and insight come out of nowhere. But I just spent five minutes sitting here, thinking about how to intro into the second part of my catch-up post, and I've got nothing. So I'm basically going to ramble on for another sentence or two, and then end the paragraph with "..." and be done with it. That's my favorite writing technique, by the way. It's kind of like a director doing a fade-out. No matter what the scenario or subject, if you can't figure out how to wrap it up, just fade out. Similarly, when a writer gets lazy, he can just use magic dots...
Summer of Sleaze
Oh, how I wish that this in any way referred to me personally. But I'm thinking more about Hollywood, and how this Summer was hijacked by raunchy comedies. I saw Wedding Crashers with some friends a couple of months ago, and we were rolling. Even better, it's quickly becoming a popular movie to quote, which is a fundamental tenet of being a Guy. So imagine my surprise when me and some buddies went on a whim to go see The 40 Year-Old Virgin, and it surpassed Wedding Crashers in every way. I find that it always helps when I have low expectations going into a movie just because I don't know anything about it. Well, the verdict is that this movie is hilarious. However, if you're sensitive in just about any way, and/or can't stand raunchy comedy, it's probably not your style. For the rest of you morally decrepit people, find your way to the theatre ASAP.
Hot Streak
I think I'm finally finding the correct strategy for myself when around a poker table. I say this because I've won our last two monthly poker games. I've now placed in 4 of the 6 outings, so in my humble opinion, I'm doing pretty well. Just over the last two games I'm up almost $150, so I should be able to ride that for a long time. Despite bringing home some nice cash, my favorite thing about poker night is simply the fact that we get a lot of fraternity brothers together (many of whom run in different circles), to interact and bond for a night. It's really cool to see so many of my friends in one place, and I enjoy spending time with all the guys. I'm very happy that the game has gotten so strong, and I look forward to taking more of their money in the upcoming months.
Concert Craziness
A month ago, if you asked me what concerts I was planning to go to, I'd tell you that I had absolutely none in mind. Now, looking back on the last two weeks, I can't believe that I've seen Foo Fighters, Weezer, and Paul McCartney. Read on...
I figured a show like this would have sold out quickly, but I was mistaken. Not only were tickets available, but they were still selling them at the box office when we arrived at the show! Hey, too bad for all of you that missed it - it was a great show. There was another opening band, but we missed it and weren't too upset about it. Weezer was the first headliner, and as always (I've seen them 3 times) they put on a great show. Weezer is the kind of band that puts off so much infectious energy that you can't help having a great time. Like every other time I've seen them, they did an excellent set list, giving equal weight to their whole discography with a slight lean towards early stuff.
Highlight: before they left the stage the first time, Phatt noticed some random guy running towards the sound booth with an acoustic guitar. What the crap? Soon after Weezer exited, and five minutes later, a single spotlight falls on lead singer Rivers Cuomo, playing "Island in the Sun" with the acoustic on a small stage in the center of the arena. As he finishes the band jumps right into a rockin' rendition of "Buddy Holly", as the big neon W sign makes its first appearance. Good stuff.
Foo Fighters was the final act, and they were seriously rocking. Dave Grohl is a great showman and excellent musician, and he knows how to fire up a crowd. He was so intense. My only knock on FF was their setlist. Maybe it's just because I had never seen them before, but I wanted to hear a fair amount of older stuff, but their set favored heavily towards their several latest albums. What really annoyed me was that they performed my favorite Foo song, "Everlong", but they did a very slow, muted rendition that took all the life out of it. Despite all this, the show was great and seeing two of my favorite 90's bands together was well worth it.
I call him and he's down at Phillips Arena trying to sell them. At this point, I'm assuming they are as good as gone, so I tell him that we'll buy them for $60/per, but I understand if he finds a better deal. He tells me he'll call me back if he still has them later. I don't excpect to hear back from him.
Fast forward to 7:00. I'm sitting on the couch watching Prison Break. All of a sudden my phone rings. He wants to know if I still want the tickets. What kind of question is that? Sure I'll take them. I call Phatt back and he can't go, but I find a replacement (read: roommate). So we head down to Phillips arena.
I think the reason they couldn't be sold was because the seats weren't together - they were 5 rows apart. But what do I care? If it was a date that would be one thing, but I see my roommate enough that I don't need to sit next to him at a concert. Speaking of sitting - the seat was great. Second row from the floor! It was in the middle of the arena, but the stage was far left, so it wasn't like I was spitting distance from McCartney, but it was closer than just about everyone in the arena.
No opening act - just McCartney. But does Paul McCartney need an opening act? Of course not. The guy is a superhero - he played for nearly three hours, and performed a killer set that spanned his entire career, from pre-Beatle material right up to new stuff. His voice hasn't lost much over the years, and he certainly has maintained his youthful exuberance - you could tell that he really loved interacting with the crowd, and they ate him up because he was hilarious. But most of all, I can't explain how crazy it was to see a Beatle, live in concert. I mean, just look at this sampling of stuff he did:
And that's just a list of the classics that he did! Some of the songs he performed, especially "Drive My Car" and "Hey Jude", sounded so much like the original recordings that if I had closed my eyes I wouldn't have known that it wasn't the Beatles.
Highlight: "Hey Jude" and "Live and Let Die" back-to-back before the first exit, followed by an acoustic "Yesterday" to open the first encore. "Hey Jude" is one of my favorite Beatles songs, and Paul performed it masterfully, engaging the audience in an extended rendition. "Live and Let Die" was topped off by fireworks and explosions at each critical beat in the song, making for quite a spectacle. And "Yesterday" is... well, it's "Yesterday". Enough said.
Epilogue: Apparently, I read the email wrong. The guy who I bought them from hadn't paid $250 for the pair. He paid $250 for each ticket! And I got one for $60. Needless to say, I'm counting my lucky stars...
Well, that essentially brings me up-to-speed. For your sake and mine, the size of my posts should be decreasing, with the frequency increasing. Be sure to stay tuned for our next adventure, entitled: Shaun Goes To Court!
(...don't worry, it's only Traffic Court...)
Posted by sdishman at September 24, 2005 12:25 AMTrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.shaundishman.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/95