Category: Reviews

Having a blog means having an opinion. This category groups reviews of technology, concerts, books, food – essentially all things consumable.

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Chicago 2.0: Hotel Review (Hotel Palomar)

I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t finish up my Chicago summary with a review of our hotel.

The Hotel Palomar: Chicago
Website: HotelPalomar-Chicago.com
Location: 505 North State Street

This recently completed hotel is planted in a perfect location. Right next to the red line giving you easy access to everything (and not having to carry luggage for several blocks after a flight), the hotel is perfectly positioned for people who want to experience the what the city has to offer and want to be tucked a few blocks away from the “Mag Mile” tourism.

Unlike other Palomar/Kimpton Hotels we have stayed out, this room was not the typical shoe-box space (big enough for a bed and a tv and nothing else). We had enough room for a real desk and an extra lounge chair. It was the perfect size. The hotel’s amenities included an indoor pool, a decent gym, outdoor lounge, and a nightly wine tasting.

This hotel enhanced our stay in Chicago, the staff was friendly, and the location was perfect. I highly recommend it.

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Concert Review: Wilco @ The Electric Factory (Philadelphia)

Website: WilcoWorld.net
Opening Act: N/A
Venue: The Electric Factory
Date: Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Last Wilco Review: Wilco: 7.10.2009 @ Delware

Let’s start this review by stating the obvious, I really like Wilco. The last (and first) time I saw them was in a minor league baseball stadium in Wilmington, DE. It was an excellent show, but it felt a little disconnected since it was such a big outdoor venue. When I received word about a show at the Electric Factory I jumped at the tickets. Normally I start a concert review with my thoughts on the opening act, but Wilco did not having an opener. Did I mention how much I love this band?

We attempted to get seats in the upper section of the Electric Factory but it was packed. On my way down I saw the security officer from my Cranberries review. We exchanged pleasantries and I went off to find a suitable place to stand. We found a nice spot off to the side next to another staircase.

Tweedy and company went on stage at 8:30 PM. No chatty introductions, just a quick hello and down to to the rock. They opened with “Wilco (the song)” and it became clear in those opening moments that while Wilco is Jeff Tweedy’s band, Nels Cline has become the whole show. Tweedy is certainly no slouch, churning out tune after tune (we left at the three hour mark), but Nels Cline was a sound monster the entire night.

After the third or fourth song, an older gentlemen in a red sweater and tan hat start to smoke up (weed) right on the staircase that we were all standing next to. I was kinda shocked he wasn’t trying to hide in the crowd a bit more; he was out in the open with his cheap skunk weed (and security was most definitely in force last night). The pot head was not the issue but I decided to call him “original sin” because as soon as that smoke hit the air, every degenerate loser in the place converged on the staircase next to us. A small group of middle aged women (that I am convinced didn’t even know the band) talked the entire night. Tweedy (politely) told the crowd to be quiet a few times, these women didn’t take the hint.

The band played just about every song I could think of including material from “Mermaid Ave” I love the current line up’s reinterpretation of older material (with Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche) as it sounds infinitely better: tighter, better fills, and of course more practiced.

At the 90 minute mark, the stage crew came out (with Wilco not taking a break) and added some lamps and mood lighting. The show shifted to softer, acoustically driven material. This is when the situation with the talking ladies came to a boiling point. One of the members of my group politely asked them to listen to the music and they balked. After some words exchanged, the loud mouths finally stifled themselves and we really set into a nice undisturbed grove. Going into the evening, I was secretly hoping they would play “Airline to Heaven” which I have heard only live tracks and I really like the work that Cline does on slide guitar. As we entered 150 minute mark, I didn’t think it was going to happen (because the music start to pick up the pace), but then “There’s an airline plane…” – I was now satisfied.

As I mentioned, at the three hour mark, we decided to go. I heard every song I wanted to hear and then some. The band sounded unbelievably great. I also want to mention Pat Sansone who is Wilco’s other guitarist and while he may be overshadowed by Cline, he is a tremendous guitar and keyboard player, I was watching this guy all night and he was working his ass off. If you haven’t seen the band play live via concert or the multitude of DVD’s that are available, you don’t know this band. I would tell you to go out and get tickets, but they are probably sold out. Go buy this

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Movie Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Six weeks ago, I saw a commercial for a promotional website for the movie “Hot Tub Time Machine” (Kicksomepast.com); the commercial mentioned getting a free screening of the movie for you and some friends. I quickly went to the site and I actually got the free passes. Since then, I have been doubting if these promo tickets were legit, and I was worried about asking my friends to show up on a Monday night to a theater in the city and we would get turned away. That didn’t happen. Not only did the Ritz honor the Eventful promotion – we actually got a bunch of free stuff too.

While the premise of the movie was equally ridiculous yet hilarious sounding – I had my concerns that all of the good stuff would be showing in the trailer. Didn’t happen. Without giving too much away, the movie’s self-referential mocking was outstanding (how are you going to do a movie about the 80’s and skiing and not reference Cusack?). There is also a glorified cameo that will make lovers of time travel movies wet their pants. Was the script the next “Citizen Kane”? No. But it was one of the funnier comedies in the last 18 months. While I think the movie would have benefited from an original “Army of Darkness”-style ending, the neat little bow wrapped up at the end was satisfying.

This movie comes out March 26th. Go see it. Watch out for the squirrel.

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Concert Review: The 88 @ The North Star Bar, Philadelphia

Location: North Star Bar
City: Philadelphia, Pa
Date: March 4th, 2010
Opening Act: (Don’t know the name)

[Opening Acts]

The last time I stepped foot in the North Star Bar was about a decade ago and I happened to meet John Mayer before he got huge. I was excited to return to the venue to see the excellent, yet under-rated band The 88. We walked into the stage area (which holds no more than 100 people) and saw the merchandise table. My friend Mark struck up a conversation with the girl running the table and she ended up hanging with us for most of the night (she was a good sales person because I ended up buying 2 CDs and a t-shirt for my wife). She let us know The 88 was going to be the third act of five hitting the stage and she didn’t know the first two.

I don’t know the names of the acts, and for their sake I am glad. The first band was an odd collection of college students. A mostly female band with a big burly lumberjack looking guy playing bass. No guitar or piano player, but they had a girl playing a xylophone (or something close to it). The lead singer had a voice similar to Corinne Bailey Rae – it was beautiful, but the songs were terrible avant-garde, self indulgent, and messy. I think the singer could really make something of herself if she ditched the noise and found a more mellow, melodic act to work with.

The second band was called “Bla” or “Bla Bla” or something like that. The act was comprised of a large greasy looking fellow in a cloth trench coat looking thing and a girl that played tambourine. She did some spoken word poetry while he played the keyboard. He then took the lead and sang a series of increasingly terrible songs. I had the distinct feeling that I wasn’t in on a larger joke because nobody could be that bad by accident. Kudos to them for having the balls to get on stage and do it, especially before an act that was actually talented. All I can say is good luck with whatever it is you think you are doing (besides wasting people’s time).

[The 88]

After enduring the two openers, The 88 quickly came on and melted my face off. The kid running the sound board had the band SUPER LOUD (my ears are still ringing). For the first few tunes, it was very hard to pick up any of the nuances of the music since it all mushed together. The sound engineer improved things a bit when the band played a slower tune.

The 88 focused on songs from what I am guessing to be their most popular album “Over and Over”. That suited me just fine since I knew those songs the best. My friend Mark kinda knows the band (this was the third time he had seen them in the last 8 days). He let me know the new material they were trying out. Tunes like “Nobody Cares” and “Hide Another Mistake” were the high-points for me, but the new material sounded great. Even though there was maybe 20-30 people in the bar, lead singer Keith Slettedahl worked his ass off, dancing around the stage and hitting his trademark high notes.

The set was short and sweet, as the band had to make time for the two other acts. Keyboardist Adam Merrin quickly struck up a conversation with Mark and I got a chance to talk to him and Keith. Adam politely listened while I told him my boring story about how I discovered the band through the TV show “How I Met Your Mother”, interestingly enough Adam mentioned that show star Josh Radnor was really a big fan and might have had something to do with their songs being used. Adam and Keith were very nice and gracious people and as we walked outside to get our cab, we saw Keith quietly getting back on the bus to (presumably) prepare for another show (they played 27 out of 30 days in the last month).

I enjoyed the concert and really respect The 88’s stage presence and work ethic. Check them out if you get the chance.

Here is a small clip from my crappy cell phone camera:

Here is video for a better idea of their sound:

[A Side Story]

The girl running the merchandise table had a very “Philadelphia” attitude and I immediately thought “she would be perfect for my friend Sean“. I have never tried to pull this move for him before, but a girl that I knew who I have been thinking about hooking him up with recently started dating someone, so I decided to not miss another chance. I casually mention him and then pulled up a picture on my phone, she then proceeds to tell me she preferred the company of women and I felt like a total scumbag. The girl could not have handled herself with more class but I felt like I knob. Serves me right for not minding my own business.

🙂

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Concert Review: John Mayer @ The Wachovia Center, Philadelphia Pa

Headline Act: John Mayer
Location: Wachovia Center
City: Philadelphia, Pa
Date: February 21st, 2010
Opening Act: Michael Franti and Spearhead

[Pre-Concert Logistics]

Having been to concerts at the Wachovia Center before, the only issue I had was when I purchased the tickets, my only delivery option was will-call which meant we had to stand in line to get them (I bought the tickets months ago). The long line moved fast so it wasn’t a big deal. We were lucky to get good seats (third row) and getting down to the floor to our seats also was not as easy as it should have been, but again, not a big deal. One last thing: I have to throw in my gripe about people standing in the front rows so you have no option but to stand if you want to see. Now that it was said, I will move on.

[Opening Act]

I have never heard of Michael Franti and Spearhead before tonight. The band had several backup singers and a high energy vibe. They reminded me of a summer bar band: bright summery tones, an eclectic mixture of musicians who just seemed to enjoy playing. Franti ran out into the crowd several times and brought up little kids on stage to dance. Nice friendly people, good tone. In between sets, the band came to the front of the stage to sign autographs, which was pretty classy.

As for the music itself, as I said – summery pop music with island influence. They weren’t the greatest band I ever saw in my life, but they were very good. I appreciated that the booking agents didn’t hire some Mayer singer-songwriter wannabe to bore the crowd. I would like to see this band outside and near water – I can see the summer concert series at the Pier in their future.

[John Mayer]

John Mayer came on at 9:30 PM. He kicked the show off with a song from the newest album – “Heartbreak Warfare” All of the tunes from “Warfare” sounded better live (with the exception of the “Crossroads” cover which should just be buried). By the third or fourth song, Mayer started to banter with the crowd and read a sign near us that said “I can play Belief”. The sign was held up by a boy no older than 11 (his name was Austin). Mayer brought him right up and to the delight of the crowd, Austin totally nailed it. After a few minutes, he allowed the kid to leave but gave him a cherry red Fender guitar to take home. I always thought John was a decent guy and that was a very cool thing for him to do.

The night continued with Mayer showcasing his extraordinary guitar skills and light banter with the crowd. Every song and every jam was excellent. At one point he teased playing “Stop this Train” but the crowd pushed for “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” (which was great) – I was bummed that he didn’t play the other song because it is one of my favorites, but the crowd must be appeased.

I can’t say enough good things about the show. Mayer is a professional and gives the audience a fantastic show. We left at 11:20 PM and he was still going. I don’t know what time he finished but I was pleased and satisfied with the two hours I watched. Take my advice: Stop reading the tabloids and just listen to the guy’s music, go out and buy his live DVD to see what kind of musician he really is. You won’t be disappointed (unless you want to be).

UPDATE: I also want to make note of one of Mayer’s other guitar players Robbie McIntosh. McIntosh played with a slew of bands including the Pretenders and Paul McCartney. He is an excellent guitar player that (of course) gets overshadowed by Mayer. If you happen to catch future shows, watch this guy play, he is fraking fantastic. Mayer also scores massive points for bringing Steve Jordan from the Trio project on the road as his primary drummer. That guy is AWESOME!