( #OtisRedding, #Motivation )
Credit: Jason Lazarus
Otis Redding Motivational Poster
Boston 2010: Day 2
( #Boston, #Travel )
Our second day of vacation in Boston started with a trip to the local YMCA. This is the second time I have used a YMCA in a major city and both times it has been excellent. Clean, lots of good equipment, and they had a local community basketball that I could watch while I was doing cardio. Great gym experience.
[Harpoon Brewery]
Address: 306 Northern Avenue
Website:
Boston 2010: Day 1
( #Boston, #Travel )
I woke up this morning with the sky still dark to embark on my journey to Beantown. I was pleasantly surprised to find the proprietor (Al) of the local transport service pulling up to my house with a stretch limo instead of the usual green towncar (he couldn’t get back home in time to switch cars).
The Philadelphia airport was pretty painless this morning. The line for baggage check-in was around the building, but we only had a small carry-on and did pre-boarding, we got to skip right to security. In the security line, the girl allowed us to jump in a new line and we went through in 10 minutes tops. The flight itself was undersold, so we had plenty of room.
Once in Boston we opted to get a cab; I was not happy about dropping $30 on a 3 mile drive, but we didn’t do any homework on the subways. At the hotel (DoubleTree), we were greeted by a rather rude gentlemen. At 8:45 AM, I had no expectations that I was going to get my room, but he didn’t offer to take our bags (I had to ask) and he looked put out by the whole process. I asked him of a nice local place to grab breakfast and he recommended a diner 20 minutes away. We are in Chinatown and this asshole couldn’t find a dim sum place to recommend. Luckily, Allison did some research.
PS: I will probably do a much bigger rant about this hotel, but they also charge $13 per day for Internet in the room.
[Mike and Patty’s]
Address: 12 Church Street
Website: Mike and Pattys
This little corner shop is TINY. Only one table tiny (the whole place couldn’t be more than 200 sq ft.). But I loved the neighborhood and the food was good. I enjoyed the spunky gal slinging eggs and hash-browns in the kitchen (I could have reached over and cooked my own).
The place got crowded (meaning 6 people in line) fast, so we ate quickly and made room for the next group.
[Freedom Trail]
Website: Wiki: Freedom Trail
Since we had time to kill, I thought the fabled Freedom Trail in Boston’s historic district would be nice way to spend a morning. It wasn’t. While the whole area is historic, the trail (which is actually 2.5 miles one way) seemed to run people through stores and restaurants (which were mostly closed in the morning) instead of interesting historic places. For the legit sites, you have to pay to really see the building. I found the whole thing disappointing, but I think it might be better to do it later in the day while the businesses are open, so you can pop in, have a drink or snack.
By the time we got to the USS Constitution, my feet were beat. We took a cab to Boston Common because my wife wanted to take a picture at the duck statues at Boston Common. Funny thing happened in the cab – we had the same driver from the airport – totally random! We walked around the park for a half-hour and then back to the subway so we could check in at the hotel.
On an up note, Bostonians are a friendly people. A gentlemen stopped us in the street because we had a map and asked us if we needed help. His name is Arnie Marcus and he runs a gift shop in Faneuil Hall called “Greetings from Boston” (website). Go over there and buy some postcards because he is a really nice guy.
[The Green Dragon Tavern]
Address: 1 Marshall Street
Website: Green Dragon Tavern
At the hotel we met up with our friend Jess and then headed out for a late lunch at The Green Dragon Tavern. Typical bar food, nothing outstanding, but nothing wrong with it. For some reason people took a lot of pictures of paintings in the bar. I finally asked someone about it and they said, it was historic, but didn’t know why.
I will have to dig up more about that.
[Joe’s Tavern]
Address: 181 Newbury Street
Website: Joe’s Tavern
We met up with Allison’s cousin Pat on Newbury street and had a light dinner after walking around window shopping. Newbury street is a very nice area to walk around, commercial, but very ncie. The food was good (but I don’t think a salad is representative of a restaurant). After a nice chat and dinner, we headed back to the hotel.
Crappy hotel aside, we had a very nice first day in Boston and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure (it’s actually tomorrow – but whatever…).
Reflections on the Tour De Philly (2010)
( #Philadelphia, #TourDePhilly, #JosePistolas )
My friend Tom started the Tour De Philly in 2004. We were young, single, and (mostly) ready to mingle. Over the years, the tours has reflected the changes in our lives. Girlfriends and wives (and husbands) became part of the team and those favorite old college bars started to get replaced with Center City bars. Regardless of the location and the people, a good time was always had. The 2010 edition of the TDP was no different: good friends came out and we had an excellent time, but as I clicked glasses filled with various compounds, I knew the era of the Tour De Philly was coming to a close (for us).
Before we even started the tour, the decision was made to reduce the number of bars. The last few years, the constant jumping made it hard for those falling behind to catch up and it was really hard to get drinks unless you stayed a while. So I made the executive decision to cut it down to three core bars (McGillins, Ladder 15, Jose Pistolas). This year was extraordinarily hot and the Philadelphia bars struggled to keep their businesses cool for the masses; this made the crew eager to jump to the next place, which had the effect shorting the duration of the tour.
While mostly everyone was pleased to start a McGillins, once the call for car bombs was made and the waitress informed us that they didn’t serve Guinness, the crowd wanted to move on. Ladder 15 wasn’t crowded and had plenty of seats. It was nice in there for about 30 minutes, but then the place started to fill up (and get warm) with people younger than I wearing flip-flops. One of the bar employees asked my friend who was wearing a jeff cap and a kilt to take off his hat (it was okay for kids to wear sandals and baseball caps, but Ladder 15 was too cool for the guy in the kilt). I was ready to leave.
We made a detour into Fado and it was packed. I left anyone who wanted to stay in there and made my way over to Jose Pistolas. Even though the AC wasn’t at 100%, Joses is always worth the sweat. Universally beloved (by my entire social circle) Buddy was working the bar on the main floor and I enjoyed a brief conversation and a good drink. As the Fado slackers started to shuffle in, they took over the 2nd floor of the bar. I stayed downstairs with Buddy until he told me the AC worked better up there. My friends ended their night eating and drinking, the way all TDPs should.
Sounds like a pretty good night right? Yup. But the passion is gone. The tours have been ending earlier every year and getting home via train and other safe means is becoming a headache. Additionally, who the hell wants to drink themselves into oblivion and feel like crap for the next 3 days. You are witnessing forced maturity boys and girls. It’s time for a new crop of young people with disposable income to run around the city getting completely trashed, I am too old for this shit and got stuff to do the next morning.
When this doesn’t look fun, it’s time to run
Concert Review: Chris Isaak @ Longwood Gardens (Philadelphia Area)
( #ChrisIsaak, #LongwoodGardens, #ConcertReview )
Opening Act: Marc Broussard
Main Event: Chris Isaak
Location: Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa (Philadelphia Area)
Date: Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
[Venue]
I have never been to Longwood Gardens before and wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to a rock and roll show; I discovered Longwood Gardens is a great place to see a concert. The grounds are beautiful, the staff is really nice, and there wasn’t a bad seat in the house (or botanical garden in this case). The concert stage was situated right in front of a big fountain which added a nice backdrop to the show.
[Opening Act]
My friends were very happy that Marc Broussard was listed as the opening act, so that amped up my expectations of this singer. Sadly, instead of the rough and rowdy blues act (that my friends had witnessed a few years ago), Marc focused on generic ballads (yawn).
The last song was a swampy blues number which was absolutely the best of the set. It’s a shame Broussard decided to leave his nuts backstage, because the guy is talented and has a great band, just lame material this time around.
[Chris Isaak]
Chris Isaak put on a fucking show tonight. The weather was hot and sticky, but that didn’t slow down this seasoned performer. Isaak walked on stage with a neon pink sequined jump suit: that’s hell of a statement to make in this heat.
The backing band was fantastic. All of these guys can play well and fill out the sound on the stage. Music aside, they all seem to have a really good time playing to the crowd and goofing around. Chris leaned on the whole band to to dance, shake, act as a 60’s soul back-up singers, and an “olde-time” church revival… let’s just say these cats were versitile.
Isaak immediately won the crowd over with his banter and high energy. He showed no fear in knocking out his trademark high notes several times per song. All of his popular tunes sounded note perfect (“Somebody’s Crying”, “Wicked Game”, “Forever Blue”, “Bad Bad Thing”). My favorite line of the night is when he remarked on the heat by saying “I am sweating more than a whore in church.” Damn right.
For the encore, Isaak decided to take his sweating up a notch by donning a mirrored suit (it had to weigh at least 30-40 lbs). He last few tunes were very high energy including a great rendition of the Roy Orbison classic “Pretty Woman” (he sounded exactly like Orbison). A fantastic show by a great performer; other musicians should go see Isaak and take notes – this is how you do rock and roll baby!
Concert Review: Jack Johnson @ Camden Entertainment Center
( #JackJohnson, #Philadelphia, #Camden )
Main Event: Jack Johnson
Opening Act: G Love
Date: Sunday, July 11th 2010
Location: Camden, NJ (Susquehanna Bank Center)
[Opening Act]
I can’t say one thing about G Love because I completely missed his performance. My wife and I left our house at 6:00 PM for the 7:00 PM show (we live about 20 minutes from Camden). Everything was smooth until we got about 1/3 of mile to the Camden Entertainment Complex exit (5A); we were stuck there for the next 100 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to get forced into a $25 parking lot.
As you could imagine I was pretty pissed off getting into the concert, but thankfully I didn’t have to wait in line to get into the show.
[Main Event]
I have never seen the Camden Entertainment Complex (it’s called the Susquehanna bank center but this place changes names every 18 months, so screw it) so packed. The lawn area was an absolute sea of people (this show was definitely oversold). There was no room to put down blankets. This was one massive standing room only concert. In addition to the crowds, the PA for the lawn area was underpowered. You could hear the music, but not well (you don’t normally read me complaining a concert was too low).
Overall, Johnson sounded really good (like he always does). He put on an earnest yet laid back show. G Love came out to jam on a few songs (I was glad I got to see him play). Jack’s band was very good tonight; especially his multi-instrumentalist (mainly keyboard instruments). I don’t know the guy’s name, but he made slower songs like “Banana Pancakes” pop.
To be honest, we cut out at 11 PM because we were terrified of getting stuck for another two hours in Camden and it was so tight on the lawn that you couldn’t scratch your eye without elbowing somebody in the back. While I am a little annoyed at the concert conditions, Johnson is donating all profits from the tour to charity, so I felt good about my money going to good causes.
I keep saying it, but I really do think I am done with the big concert venue shows and any kind of open seating situation: they are expensive, the sound is usually not great, and there are ALWAYS a small group (or pockets) of people that ruin the show for everyone else.
Here’s hoping Johnson does a winter tour in small venues!