Posts

Posted on

Chicago – Days 3 and 4

Our last full day in Chicago found us scrambling to get in as much as possible; the city is truly packed with things to do and 3 night were not enough to take it all in. The weather for the duration of our trip has been outstanding – I could not have asked for better bluer days and with those clearskies in mind, my top priority on Friday was to find my way on the water. I had read a lot about the famous Chicago river boat tours and was eager to be a tourist for one of these educational jaunts down the river…

Before we could get to the river, Allison and I had to visit the Chicago Center of Tourism right on Chicago & Michigan Streets. As I mentioned on my Day 2 summary, they have a booth that sells half priced tickets, we snagged seats for the High Fidelity play at 8 PM and we wanted to see Chicago comedy at Second City; thankfully they had tickets to “Stud Turkel’s Not Working” at 11 PM. Now that we had plans for the evening, we ventured down Michigan towards the river tours.

When we arrived, most of the tours were sold out. The “most famous boat tour” – the Architecture tour – was sold out until Saturday, but there was another company running a similar tour for $5 bucks less (and 30 minutes longer). We went for it not expecting great things, but it turned out the extra 30 minutes were for a boat ride on Lake Michigan itself – it was a PERFECT day for a boat ride and we had seats right in the front. The tour was educational – ORDERED CHAOS FACT: Chicago has wider “sofa shaped” buildings instead of the “wedding cake” (famous in New York) because there was more land available. The reason they do the cut outs was because when the buildings were put up, not every section had electricity so they needed more windows to let the light in.

After a great tour we caught a cab (the first time we used one the whole trip) to the Museum of Science and Industry. I had been fascinated with this building since reading Erik Larson’s “Devil in the White City”. The Museum was built as the centerpiece of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and it has withstood the Chicago winters to become a premier attraction in the city. The complex is massive – big enough to easily contain an entire train, a Nazi U-Boat, a full sized Boeing 747 and several un-used space vehicles. For Philadelphians , the Museum feels like a much bigger version of the Franklin institute. We arrived at 3:00 and were informed after waiting in line for 20 minutes that the museum was closing at 4:00 PM. We still paid full price and ran around like lunatics. This is a great place to take a kid, not so much for adults (but there were several attractions closed for renovations or due to it being late in the day). I wouldn’t mind giving the Museum of Science another go – but I will wait until I have kids who can really appreciate it.

Coming out of the museum, some drama occurred: I wanted to check out the grounds since it was on the site of the former World’s Fair. After walking around and taking pictures, we decided to skip the bus and take a taxi back and we hopped into the nearest one. As we were leaving, another taxi blocked our path. It seems that the taxi drivers expect customers to walk to the front of the line (which is a city block, maybe two) and take the taxi in the front. At first I was going to comply not wanting to break a social norm, but as another taxi driver demand my wife get out of taxi, I started to tell the other driver blocking our way to fuck off. This empowered our driver to hop the curb and get around them. Our taxi driver was a nice guy and we spent the rest of the trip discussed the Chicago climate.

Back at the hotel, I researched places to eat near second city and decided on Adobe Grill which was right next door to the second city theaters. A quick cab ride (it was a $6.00 fare) over to Wells Street and we were quickly seated. Before I knew it, our server was presenting us with delicious margaritas and had a girl come out and make guacamole right at our table – excellent. I took the waiter’s suggestion had a sampler of their lamb and marinated beef for dinner. The meat was cooked perfectly and the portions were just the right size. Allison and I ended the meal with a tres leches desert which was a nice way to cleanse the palate.

We went next door and waited for High Fidelity to open. While we were waiting, we heard and saw a man on his cell phone talking about the play’s finances (or lack there of). We saw the actors coming into the theater (you could just tell they were actors) and we both were amazed how late they were coming in. 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start and they open the doors and a crowd finally shows up (there were probably 30 people in total). My thoughts on the play? Here is my review:

*** High Fidelity: The Musical – Route 66 Production Company ***

Official Web Site: High Fidelity – The Musical: Chicago

When I purchased tickets for the show, I didn’t realize it was a musical; I thought it was a play – I hate musicals. The subject matter is near and dear to my heart, but I was getting bad feelings when I overheard the lead’s phone conversation about bouncing checks. Regardless, I cleared my head and went into the show with an open mind.

What I liked:
1. They managed to change the plot to make most of the story occur in the music shop. This worked out well and the minor differences were enough to make it feel different.
2. The two actors playing Dick and Barry (the Jack Black role) were excellent. The guy playing Barry was doing an impression of Jack Black but it was a good one and the guy who played Dick was a good singer and guitar player.
3. The stage set up – it worked out well for a small theater
4. The gentlemen playing Ian made me laugh, but my wife hated him – he seemed like he was having a lot of fun.

What I didn’t like:
1. The lead actor – every time he repeated a Cusack line from the movie it made you realize how much of a poor man’s John Cusack he was. In all honestly, this guy had all of the charm of a date rapist. The dude playing Dick would have been much better in the lead.
2. The songs – some were okay, most were not. A particular gripe – the song “Laura”
3. Most of the women in the play were not so good – the one exception was the girl playing Allison Ashmore/Ana Moss (duel role) – she had a good voice and seemed to be more natural.
4. The length: The play was longer than the movie – about 2 hours.

When the show was over, I was glad to get the fuck out of there. But my escape wasn’t very far because our next show was just a floor below…

*** Second City Players: Stud Turkel’s Not Working ***

I knew nothing about the show, the people in it, or who Stud Turkel was before seeing the performance and that was just fine. Stud Turkel was a real person – he was a Chicago humorist and radio star that passed away a few years ago; the show had nothing to do with him, they just named it after one of his books because the theme of the show was about the Chicago lifestyle, but it easily could have fit into any urban setting (not much was lost in translation to this tourist).

The show was a mix of sketches and improve with the audience and it was hilarious. The cast was excellent as they made funny and acute commentary on local and national affairs. I didn’t recognize any of the staff, but I wouldn’t be shocked if I saw any of these actors onSNL in a year or two. I could go into greater details, but I wouldn’t want to give the jokes or the improve surprises away should you happen to be in Chicago and catch the show. Just take my word for it, it is worth going to see.

*** End Reviews ***

By the time the shows were done, it was 1 AM and Allison and I had to be at the airport by 8 AM to catch our flights home. So back to the hotel for packing and a few hours sleep.

When the morning came, we grabbed our stuff, checked out of the Avenue Hotel, walked a few blocks to Chicago & State to catch the red line. We got off a Roosevelt to catch the orange line back to mid-way. It took 40 minutes but I don’t think a cab would have been much faster.

The luggage check-in lines were huge, but thankfully they moved quickly. We managed to get through check-in and security in about an hour and got to the gate with an hour to spare. I watched Drillbit Taylor as we waited for the plane and one of the little boys in the movie reminded me of my godfather’s son Antonio, but that has been happening a lot lately. The flight was without incident and I am now home to finish this post.

I am going to summarize my thoughts on Chicago tomorrow, but I will end this post by saying Chicago is one hell of a town and I can’t wait to go back. Thanks for reading, here are the last of the pictures I took (most are from the boat tour).

Posted on

Chicago – Day 2

Thursday morning found us feeling more refreshed thanks to an early nights sleep. We got up early and headed up to the hotel’s “sky lounge” for breakfast. I was hesitant to start putting items on my plate once I saw the instant eggs, stale bread, and mini boxes of cereal – been to too many hotels to fall for this scam – but my wife had already started. After a brief breakfast with a lovely view and $50 dollars later, we were on Michigan Avenue trying to figure out how to kill a few hours until the Cubs game.

We happened upon the Old Water Tower and the adjoining pumping station. The water tower was a bit of a let down (we weren’t allowed in the Tower part) and the pumping station didn’t let us get far in it’s innards, but it was next to Chicago’s Tourism Department and they sell half price tickets to shows. We managed to pick up tickets to the play form of High Fidelity and have to go back this morning to snag ticket for a Second City show after.

After getting the tickets we went to the John Hancock Center to catch the crazy views of Chicago that the city of skyscrapers is known for. The building did not disappoint. It costs $30 bucks to get to the top which makes it an official tourist trap, but it was still and excellent view. After taking some pictures we came back down and headed back to the hotel to dump our stuff and head to the game.

Once again we used the city’s excellent sub-way system (the Red Line) and managed to get to Wrigley Field before the game started. Sadly the Cubs were defeated by the Brewers… there were a lot of Brewers fans in the house. Why can’t the Cubbies get love in their own stadium? It was a fantastic day to see a game and we had an official Chicago style foot-long which Allison had to take the peppers off of.

We decided to visit the Art Institute of Chicago on our way back from the Cubs game. Once again my feeling is that while it was a wonderful museum, they aren’t as good as Philadelphia’s. There was a whole wing dedicated to modernist paintings (aka color splotches) – which I am completely convinced is a total scam. To each their own. After a solid two hours, it was time to go back to the hotel.

Knowing red meat was in my immediate future, I decided to hit the treadmill and my legs were like jelly from walking around the city all day. After a shower, my wife informed me that we were going to Boston Blackies. Our friends Jack and Lorraine recommended this establishment as one of the best burgers they have ever had. That was enough for me. The burger was outstanding, the onion rings were tasty, their own amber ale brew had me buzzing and our waitress was wonderful. At one point she sat down with us and talked Chicago politics and told us what “true Southies” thoughts were about the city and the new president. Outstanding.

It was dark, so we decided to head back to the hotel to plan the next day because if things go according to plan, it is going to be a long day packed with Chicago theater and tourist attractions.

To Be Continued….

Click here to read Part 3

Posted on

Chicago – Day 1

We had to wake up earlier than I had mentally prepared myself for yesterday and that cost me on our first day in the Windy City. The guy we use for airport service was booked solid and had to pick us up at 5 AM. When he says 5 AM, he normally means 5:30, but in this case, he meant 5. I couldn’t get to sleep before midnight so I was left with exactly 4 hours and 15 minutes of rest. I was tired when I woke up and I wouldn’t shake that feeling all day.

The Philadelphia airport was relatively empty and provided no obstacles (this is our of character for our fair city’s only major airport), so we actually manged to land in Chicago 15 minutes early. After reading very complimentary articles of Chicago’s public transit system, I wanted to forgo using a taxi from the airport, but Allison had her doubts… until her uncle Rusty (who has traveled to Chicago often for work) not only encouraged it, he said it was the best way to get to the hotel – Allison agreed. The train leaving from the airport is the Orange line and we found it with no issues. It cost $2.25 to get on (and this includes any transfer). Once we reached the loop, we had to get off and board the red line (which is a traditional subway) – we managed this very easily (well my wife did since she didn’t have to carry the heavy suitcase). Once we got off at Chicago Ave, Allison – who was acting as a navigator, got a little confused and we ended up going several blocks in the wrong direction. After 6 blocks of lugging the suitcase, I hailed a cab – by this point we were way off – so the taxi was a good idea. Five minutes and $5.68 later we were at our hotel. I should note that a taxi from Midway to the heart of the city is $50.00 flat fee and we ended up paying $10.18 and it was much faster (this city is all stop and go traffic).

We got to the hotel at 10:00 AM central time and they didn’t have our room ready. Instead of aimless wandering, I suggested we hit one of the museums, so the clerk told us how to take the bus to the Field Museum on Lake Shore Drive. The bus stop was around the corner from the hotel and a very helpful girl informed us which bus we had to take (the 146 line for those keeping score at home). Being on the bus, I got a feeling for Chicago traffic in the city and I think having a car in downtown would be impossible. The subway and train system is the way to go. The bus took about 30 minutes to get to the museum which reminded me very much of the Philadelphia art museum in appearance and in the interactive displays (but I think Philadelphia’s museum is better than the Fields – sorry Chicago).

The exhibits were great and we actually visited on a free basic admission day. One thing I didn’t like about the museum is that all of their special exhibits were extra cost (individually I might add). I think they should just charge you the cost to get in to see everything. We opted for an exhibit about pirates. It starts with their origins in slavery and the slave trade and then takes you through to the end of the “Golden Age” of pirates. It was educational and interesting. I felt that as a whole – the museum tries to hard to be interactive and kid friendly, Philadelphia does a better job at being interesting but letting the pieces speak for themselves. But as a whole – excellent start to the day.

Walking around for a few hours – and I was exhausted. It was almost 2:00 and I was hoping our room was ready, so back on the bus and to the hotel. Once we got back, our room still wasn’t ready, so we went into the attached bar for a drink or two to wait. And hour later, our rooms were done. Allison managed to get us an upgraded suite which is awesome and has panoramic views of the city. I decided to rest for a while, so I popped in a movie and vegged out (Watched Knowing based on a friend’s suggestion – FTP – we got to talk).

Once the movie was over, I felt rested so I hit the gym for a little cardio knowing that Chicago style pizza was next. A nice run and a shower later, we were off to the famous Gino’s East. It takes 45 minutes for a pizza to be made and there is always a line (our hotel clerk gave us a special skip to the front card – which I felt like an asshole for using, but I wasn’t standing in a line if I didn’t have to). 50 minutes later the monster came out. After eating one, I have trouble calling it pizza. It is excellent and tasty, but I think it is a meat pie not a pizza, but that is just me – I will also calling it filling – I could only handle two slices before I tapped out.

We walked back to our hotel and went to bed pretty quickly to rest up for the day head…

TO BE CONTINUED

Click here to read Part 2

Posted on

Concert Review: Neko Case @ The Kimmel Center

Concert: Neko Case
Open Act: Jason Lytle
Concert Date: July 29th, 2009
Venue: Kimmel Center – Verizon Hall

I got turned on to Neko Case through her side project The New Pornographers. Truth be told, I never took the time to single her out and find out if she did any solo work until her most recent album “Middle Cyclone” was released. I noticed a review in Rolling Stone Magazine and it was very positive (although I am now under the impression that they never give completely negative reviews anymore, but that is for another day) – so I checked it out and agreed. I noticed a poster in the city last month promoting the concert and that brings us to the review….

[The Venue: Kimmel Center – Verizon Hall]

Both Kimmel venues that I have seen shows at were beautiful in their own way. The Verizon hall is modern and clean. We had a great view of the stage. Nothing bad to say except for the little Nazi usher lady who yelled at me for checking my cell phone during the opener (she stayed and watched me shut the phone off and put it in my pocket like I was in 2nd grade).

[Open Act: Jason Lytle]

In my musical reviews, I have been trying not to be overly negative because it overpowers the writing and it calls into question my mental state during the time of the concert (perhaps I was having a bad day to have such a negative reaction, etc etc). I was having a fine day yesterday when I sat down for the concert and I will say Mr. Lytle’s band and music were not to my taste. The reasons:

1. The entire set was sad bastard music – droning and whining
2. The whole band was sitting – their music was so soul sucking that even they didn’t have the energy to get through a 40 minute set
3. Lytle used some kind of drum machine/backing track in between songs that was annoying, this device was also used during the songs which I thought was a cop out.
4. The guitar player in the band didn’t look like he had much to do. He put in a couple of fills, but it was clear to me that this guy was lazy AND the songs didn’t have the bones for any layers.
5. The lyrics were terrible: Rhyming sky with why and dry… very 2nd grade.

On the positive side, his drummer looked like the dude from the hangover:
Hangover Guy:

Drummer:

In this clip that someone on youtube posted, at least the man is by himself and doesn’t have a lazy band or terrible drum machines to distract the audience. It still isn’t good.

Jason mentioned that he made a point to watch Neko Case and her band every night which I thought was nice, but it is obvious he isn’t learning anything.

[Main Event: Neko Case]

It took a while for the stage crew to get out all of the band’s equipment (I counted 13 guitars and 1 stand-up bass) and get them tuned and set up. The wait was worth it: Case came out ready to sing. Belting out many tracks from her newest album, the aforementioned “Middle Cyclone”, Neko was in top form. In the reviews I have read, it seems that backup singer Kelly Hogan is considered the secret weapon of the show… I disagree; it is steel guitar player Jon Rauhouse that controls the sound and mood on the stage. Regardless of who the secret weapon is, Case’s band has many bombs they can drop.

The set list was focused on Case’s most recently material for the most part, which was good, but I would have liked to have heard this band’s interpretation of Neko’s older country flavored tunes. While her archival material may have been missing, they were not without, I think I counted 36 songs performed- which considering the way Case and Hogan were singing was pretty impressive. The stand out performance of the night was “This Tornado Loves You” which closed the set before a round of encores.

The banter between Case and Hogan was entertaining and lightened up the mood between some of the heavier songs (take note Jason Lytle – they knew how to mix up the tone for the audience). The crowd was also very respectful to the band which enhanced my enjoyment of the night. Bottom line – if you want to see a female singer who can actually sing her ass off and write excellent songs (and knows how to assemble a damn fine band) – go see Neko Case.

Posted on

Reflections on Tour De Philly 2009

Hype and disappointment share different sides on a very fickle coin. In the flash of a milli-second you can go from bummed out to pumped up. That has been theme going into the TDP 2009. Many of the long term tourers couldn’t make it this year (which got us all down), and we saw the return of a TDP legend (brought us back up), then we had two heart breaking last minute cancels (down again), but when the dust settled last night… we had several surprise guests that raised our spirits and our glasses.

Like last year’s TDP, I organized the tour around the center city bars. We are too old for the college bars and the Old City hot spots are too crowded too bring in groups of 15 (although the center city bars proved to be crowded themselves last night). Personally speaking, I started my day drinking water and resting for the long night. I needed to head into the city a little early to drop off paperwork to Casey @ Jose’s for another event I am planning. Every interaction I have with the guy proves to me he is a class act. After an appetizer for the girls and a few new brews, we headed off to Fergies for the first official bar of the tour.

Getting to Fergies was a little daunting as I picked the wrong direction going out of Joses and walked 5 blocks before I realized it (Pistolas packs some strong beers). Once the correction was set, we quickly arrived to see a group of smiling faces. Four of our mighty group had arrived including TDP Founder Tom McCabe. Fergies had a live Irish Band jam session which was cool, but the band took up a good portion of the limited seating in the bar. We decided quickly to move on to the next bar because people wanted to eat dinner at McGillins (which was a late add to the tour agenda).

We quickly headed over to McGillins and it was packed. The group was split up for a round until a family left and we managed to steal a large table. The drinks were cheap and the food is popular among my friends so we spent more time in there than I had planned. I have to mention we had a very plucky waitress and I couldn’t decide if she was being funny or a bitch. She found a forgotten purse that one of the girls left at another table which earned her a good tip immediately, but she was kinda mouthy – which I thought was funny, but I don’t know if she intended it to be that way. The Mongolian was running late so I figured it would be best to stay in one place so he could link up. The A-Team brought a surprise guest star – Liz from our Zane Patrick’s Day adventure. This is the second time this woman has met me and both have been at drinking events, I am sure she has a very high opinion. We ended up staying at McGillins for 90 minutes putting the tour behind schedule. But it was good to have the A-Team and another TDP legend, Tee into the fold. We left McGillins with bellies full of drink and food and went over to Nodding Head

The Head was packed and once again our group was split into two. It took a while for our waitress to find us, which led to one of the A-Team to break off and find his own beverage. Eventually she came and took our orders. I decided to go with a beer I used to drink in college and I will just say it was a mistake for older Joey (it had ginger in it – yuk!). The other table had warm beer… this isn’t England and our American beer palettes require beverages to be chilled, especially on hot summer nights. We left very quickly. As we were walking out, Tom had a conversation with a gentleman in the street, in Tom’s own words:

[Potential Homeless Person]:”What do you call a horse with it’s left side chopped off?”
[Tom]: I don’t know
[Potential Homeless Person]:”Alllll right. Can I have a dollar?”
[Tom]: “Ok….. that joke really was worth a dollar”

Guess you had to be there.

Our next stop was the Raven Lounge. I had never been to this bar, but I was trying to be economically focused for my friends and I read they had decent specials on Saturday night and it was on the path for the tour. $2.00 PBR Pounders pleased the men while the women delighted in the board games the bar provided for patrons. I had expected a one and done situation at Raven, but we stayed a while playing Jenga and Hungry Hungry Hippos. Tour founder Tom McCabe had to leave to check in with work and we all decided it would be a good time to move along.

At this point, I was hearing people talk about trains and times and decided it might be a good idea to nix the Misconduct Tavern and head back to Jose’s to end the night. We already had people waiting for us there: One TDPer’s long lost cousin and my buddy Pete (with his hilarious brother Paul and his girlfriend). I rushed over to Pistolas because there were lines for the restrooms at Raven and I needed to go badly (and I wasn’t going to pull a Republicaster and just piss on the sidewalk). Pete and his crew already beat me there and I politely (I think) rushed past them. Once I got back down, we managed to take over the whole back portion of the bar. Several of my friends were new to Jose’s and I pimped their fantastic nachos which earned much deserved praise. I partook in a few shots with the new tourists and had wonderfully incoherent conversations. At midnight approached our friends left to catch trains, the Mongolian disappeared with Pete, Paul took off when I turned my head (I saw him leaving out the window), and my wife told me there was a 12:05 train we could catch so we closed up the tab and said goodnight.

TDP 2009 offered genuine surprise moments and guests, a family reunion (I think – I was too “distracted” to notice what the hell was going on), and a night of good times. There is talk of expanding the brand next year and opening it up to people we don’t know. I think the TDP has all the makings of a legendary public bar crawl, but I hope it doesn’t lose anything in the transition. Either way, I want to thank all those who took the tour this year and hope they come back because you know you will regret it if you don’t.

Posted on

Concert Review: Wilco with The Mystic Valley Band @ Wilmington, Delaware

I am going to start this review by letting you know that I had a fantastic time last night. There will be no pissed off rants about venues, crowds, sound systems, or a band’s attitude. This was the complete opposite experience to my last concert, so if you are looking for angry I suggest you move on, you won’t find it here today my friends. Simply put, The Wilco and Mystic Valley Band concert last night at the Bluerock’s stadium in Wilmington Delaware was an absolute joy to go to. I hit no traffic during rush hour, the parking was free, the stadium was clean and full of families and respectful concert goers, the sound was outstanding, and the bands were both in top form. Let’s get down to it.

[Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band]

I reviewed the MVB’s latest album last week in my Sunday Leftovers column and I mentioned that I didn’t really enjoy Oberst’s work under the Bright Eyes name and had overlooked his other work. Let me repent now: this guy is an excellent musician, song writer, and entertainer. On top of that, the bastard knows how to surround himself with good musicians. The Mystic Valley Band players are all top-notch; excellent tone, harmonies, and timing. I honestly thought that they sounded better than Wilco last night (and Wilco sounded great).

The band did a solid 50 minutes and kept to the more upbeat and fast moving tunes from Oberst’s last two albums “Conor Oberst” and “Outer South” which I respected. This was an outdoor show in a minor league baseball stadium – keep it rocking! He snuck in a few slower songs like “Cape Canaveral” and gave the revelers time to catch their breath. I have been getting on the Mystic Valley Band bandwagon pretty hardcore the last month and this performance sealed the deal. I hope Oberst doesn’t ditch the band and manages to keep this sound and concept going because it’s really good.

Behold the power of terrible phone video…

[WILCO]

When we walked into the stadium, we were give an official Wilco touring program free of charge. This book was put together very nicely and features art by the band, profiles of the road crew, and an interview of Jeff Tweedy by his two sons (which was great). I mention this because as I looked around I saw kids everywhere… and they were all well behaved, chilling, and listen to the music. Wilco has become a family friendly band (or have they always been one?) and it suites them and it suites me. I enjoyed the vibe they created and I felt like they really appreciated people coming out to listen. The whole experience makes me feel like when I have kids I can take them to shows like this and we can all have a good time.

Back to Wilco. They had a very good night. Nils Cline is my new guitar hero: we have been watching Wilco DVDs the last few weeks (which prompted us to look for tickets and finding they were playing Delaware two nights before the concert) and this guy is a fucking stud. Tweedy is a damn genius for recruiting this guy into the band a few years ago – I hope he never leaves! Wilco began with “Wilco (the song)” which is also the opening tune on the new CD. Solid opener that was upbeat and they kept the tempo going for the 95+ minutes (we heard that it was hard to get out of the venue so we opted to cut out a little early). I was very satisfied with the tunes and the variations they introduced. Personal standouts were Hummingbird, Impossible Germany (which some lady kept screaming for until she was appeased), You are my face, and my favorite Handshake Drugs (thanks to Cline’s ass-kicking guitar solos).

Tweedy engaged the crowd and looked like he was having a good time playing for the people. The Bluerocks have a celery stick for a mascot (both he and I questioned the meaning – something to do with Buffalo wings – I don’t get it), Mr. Celery was the butt of many jokes throughout the night. At one point he mentioned that seeing the celery stick made him hungry and the crowd, not missing a beat, tossed up some food which he and Nils gladly consumed.

I don’t know if eating your vegetables and rocking out with eight year olds captures the true heart of rock and roll, but it sure does sound good. If you get the chance, go see these bands, it will make the world great for a few hours.

Here is another terrible phone camera clip: