Trip Wrap Up

I cannot imagine the trip with family being any better than it was. We arrived a couple days before everyone else so I was able to spend great one on one quality time with Billy and his family and with Shirley and family.

Now let's continue from where I left off from day one.... On Friday we were able to sleep in a bit and start the day a little later than the day before. Billy's kids went to school and Trey made it to work so Jacki, Darian and I got to hang with Billy most of the day. We looked through photo albums and shared with him some of the pictures I had posted online from out last trip out there in 2002. Later in the day Jacki and I made it to De Queen to do a Walmart run. This was the first time I had driven un-aided into De Queen so it felt like a minor accomplishment.

Friday evening Billy grilled chicken, sausage and burgers. I don't know what Carly and Darian put on the burgers but they were fantastic. We had a great time eating with the kids and I was able to meet one of Billy's half-sisters, Tina, and her family. We got to talking and quickly found out both of us were at the same high school in Houston. She was a senior the year I was a freshman. Although we aren't blood related I felt like I met a new sister for the first time. Darian affectionately called her my quarter sister. Haha

At one point Earl, my grandfather's brother, showed up at Billy's unexpected asking for directions to Shirley's. He looks just like my great grandfather. Lisa and Jeff arrived and were able to join us for the end of dinner. They were staying in Texarkana so we took them down to Shirley's before it got too late. As Jacki, Lisa and Jeff visited with Shirley and Kristy I kept Katie occupied. She read me one of her Spongebob books and we chilled on the couch.

We got back to Billy's and Lisa and Jeff headed to Texarkana. And this is where the fun began. As we walk into Billy's he and Tina are sitting in front of the tv singing karaoke. Billy did a stunning rendition of Stand By Your Man which was hilarious. He had all of us on the floor laughing. Carly and Tina even did a duet together.

That night Tina, Jacki, Billy and myself end up talking for a couple of hours out on the front driveway. It felt great to really connect to Billy and will be one of those nights of visiting you'll never forget.

The next morning I got a call from Lisa right when I woke up. Their car's battery was dead so I drove down to Texarkana to pick her up. Not often that I get one on one time with Lisa. We grabbed an early lunch at Popeye's, talked to Mom on the phone to catch her up on the activities, and headed back to Horatio. We talked about ma-maw and pa on the way back and talked about the great times we had at Shirley's when we were growing up. You can't go wrong with video games and a hot tub.

A group of us headed over to Shirley's to visit with everyone. Lisa brought a painting Kristy did for me when I was a child. Now we are giving it to Katie. One of Billy's friends I hadn't seen in probably 20 years was there so I got to listen to him and Billy tell hunting stories with my Uncle Earl from Louisiana. Kristy prepared a great lunch with chicken, turkey and some seafood gumbo. Right as we finishing our plates my Dad and Rose arrived. We weren't sure they were going to make it so it was great to have so much of the family together.

I was taking people back and forth between Shirley's and Billy's. On one of the trips Carly and her boyfriend Craig rode ahead of us on a 4 wheeler. Craig has no fear and had been popping wheelies on the 4 wheeler the day before. After he dropped off Carly he was riding back towards us and was riding the wheelie like he was the day before. Then all of a sudden the bike got to upright and he flipped off to his left and the bike went off to his right. As we slowed down to help he jumped up off the ground, flipped the bike over, and gave us the thumbs up like he was ok. About 30 seconds later we got to the house and he was hurting. He ripped up his knee bad. He ended up at a Texarkana emergency room with 11 stitches.

After we saw Craig off to the hospital a few of us headed back to Shirley's. Once at Shirley's we spent the remainder of the evening sitting on the porch talking and telling stories. Another one of Billy's friends, Lawrence, also came over. Once the end of the night came it was hard to say bye to Shirley. When we talked alone Thursday night I asked her if there was anything else she wanted to do or see and she told me she would like to see Niagra Falls. When she hugged me as we were leaving she told me that maybe she will take that trip to Niagra Falls after all.

Jacki and I headed back to Billy's and got to say bye to the kids. Dad and Rose came by for a few minutes. We got a few pictures with everyone and then they left back to Texarkana for the night. After they left Tina and her husband Bobby came over to see us out. She brought over our old Lamar yearbook and we were able to confirm we were there at the same time. We got in some laughs about the big 80s hair as well as how goofy I looked.

The journey back was harder than I thought it would be. We left Arkansas about 12:30am and got to DFW a little after 4am. Along the way I had to stop a couple of times for my eyes to rest. Jacki was great and stayed up with me the entire time.

It would be great to get Billy and kids out to LA at some point. We are hoping Trey gets to come out to LA in the near future to check out some of the music scene and to hang with Darian. It was pretty remarkable how similar their taste in music was and how well they got along. For now I leave you with many of the pictures we took. For me this trip will hold some great memories and we can't wait to get back to see everybody again.

Arkansas Day 1

We got in late Wednesday night / Thursday morning around 1am and ended up talking to Billy until about 4:30am. It was great catching up with him. Jacki made the comment the next morning that she and I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time. That's my brother!

We got up around 9am, and Billy and I took Carly to school in Horatio. Once back at the house I was able to see all the dogs Billy is raising. Everything from hunting dogs, to Jack Russell terriers and other house dogs. I was most impressed with the beautiful Chesapeake Retrievers. We took one named Dixie to the pond to train for retrieving. Billy could have Dixie sit, he threw the dummy, and then he would tell after it hit the water to fetch. It was pretty cool to see such an obedient dog. I took some great pictures of Dixie leaping off the bank to retrieve. Shelby, Trey, and Jacki also came down to the pond. Shelby fished and Trey roamed the pond in the boat.

We took the clan including Jacki, Darian, Shelby, Morgan and Trey into De Queen for lunch at Sonic and then a group of us went to see my Aunt Shirley in the afternoon. When we got to her house Earl, Shirley's husband, and my cousin Kristy greeted us. Kristy's little one Katie was there as well. Shelby and Katie ended up playing while Jacki and I visited with everybody. Shelby and Katie played so well together.

Shirley looked good and was in good spirits. It was great to see her and Kristy. We ate lasagna for dinner at Shirley's and got back to Billy's around 8:30pm. They pulled out an old Rubik's cube and put me up to the challenge. I was able to solve it several times but I definitely don't have the touch like I used to.

It's been a great visit so far and I'm kicking myself for not coming up sooner. Shirley made the comment to me about how close our family is even though we hardly see one another. That is so true. At one point I feel hesitant about showing up here thinking no one will know me but once I get here all I feel is love from my family.

Tomorrow Lisa should be arriving. This will be the first time she and I have been here at the same time in probably 10 years. We have two more full days here before I have to return back to reality.

The Big 60

Today is my Dad's 60th birthday. I'll get to see him this weekend in Arkansas to remind him just how much older he will always be than me. Happy Birthday Dad!

Just so you aren't confused he's the old guy on the right :-)

Radiohead...What's It Worth To Ya?

News was published over the weekend that Radiohead is offering their new album for as much as you think it is worth. I just went to their site and preordered their new album. During the ordering process it asks you how much you want to pay. Not being a Radiohead fan but intrigued I went ahead and ordered their new album for free.

It looks like it took the order and even sent me an order confirmation email. We will see on the 10th if they will honor my free order.

Try it for yourself here.
http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/Quickindex.html

Nikki Sixx

On September 18 the family went out to a Nikki Sixx book signing for his new book The Heroin Diaries. It chronicles a year of his life from Christmas of 1986 through the end of 1987. Needless to say this isn't a G-rated book and walks through one of Nikki's bouts with drug addiction.

The signing was at Borders one block from my office so I didn't have an excuse to skip out. The line was enormously long and once Nikki arrived it took a good 2 1/2 hours to get the autographs. When it was all said and done I had spent close to 4 1/2 hours waiting.

You never know how these events will go, and considering Motley Crue was one of my favorite bands growing up you don't want to get a bad impression of the artist if you do get a chance to meet them. As we approached Nikki's handlers were trying to fly us through. I have an original Motley Crue Stick To Your Guns / Toast Of The Town 7" single I had to get signed. His people were saying he would only sign the book and would not sign anything else. After a brief argument with his people I was able to show Nikki the single and he told them he had to sign it.

I have been on a bit of a mission with this single with the autographs. I had Tommy Lee sign it in 1987, ironically the year Nikki documents in his book, at an in store in Houston. I had Vince Neil sign it outside the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta in 2005 and now Nikki in 2007. Now if I can only get a chance to meet Mick Mars I can complete this 20 year mission to get this single signed!

Into The Wild

Go see this movie. Emile Hirsch is great in the lead role and the music of Eddie Vedder perfectly complements the movie. Jacki and I just got back from seeing at the Arclight and we both enjoyed it. Be forewarned that you may not have a dry eye by the end.

Frog Level

The family will be making an unexpected trip to Arkansas next week. My Aunt is in poor health so we will be going up to see her. This will also be my first time to see my brother and his kids in 3 years. As with these types of things it will be great to see family, but you wish it was under better circumstances. This next week is also my Dad's birthday so it will be good to see him as well.

Van Halen

We got our tickets to the December 14, 2007 show at Staples Center. This has to be the hottest concert ticket this year.

Rainy day in LA

Rain doesn't come often in LA especially with the lightning and thunder we've had tonight. It is odd how you almost look forward to a little rain out here.

Jason Falkner at the Roxy

Thursday night I saw Jason Falkner here in LA. My good friend Dean Truitt continues to be in his band. He is actually getting ready to do a small tour of Japan as part of Jason's touring band next week.

I arrived at the show around 9:45. The first band was a female solo artist named Annie Stela. She was backed by bass and drums. She had both good songs and a good voice. The only critique is the band needed a guitar player. The songs sounded a little empty with keyboards as the primary instrument.

The second band up was Castledoor. They were entertaining and had a great full sound. The had some unique instrumentation including xylophone/bells. I liked their up tempo songs more so then the laid back ones.

Jason Falkner hit the stage right at 11:30 and played an hour and a half set. I stood in front of Dean for most of the set and was able to get some good pictures at the start of the show. I think I worried Dean's girlfriend because I was taking pictures of only Dean and not Jason. Probably thought I was some gay stalker of Dean's, haha!

Since I left my camera's memory card on my desk at home, I was limited to a small number of pictures.

Highlights for me included the songs The Neighbor, and They Put Her In The Movies, I Don't Mind, and Stephanie Tells Me. I can still vividly remembering hearing Dean play the little keyboard riff on guitar at the Viper Room the first time I saw Falkner perform They Put Her In The Movies. A great song.

A good portion of the set consisted of new material so after few songs into the set I walked over to the merch booth to get the new disc. I am not that familiar with Jason's older material other than the Bliss ep but I find I like the newer songs more so than his older material.

The show was great, definitely the best of the three times I've seen them. Jason's voice was spot on and the band was tight. This was also the first time I had been to the Roxy where the sound was crystal clear. Always a treat to be at a great sounding show!

Jason Falkner
September 13, 2007
The Roxy Theatre
Los Angeles, CA

This Time
NYC
The Neighbor
Stephanie Tells Me
The Put Her In The Movies
Runaway
Anondah
Komplicated Man
The Knew
Princessa
Holiday
Contact
I Don't Mind
All God's Creatures
Honey

Encore
This Life
Goodnight Sweet Night
Gimmi Gimmi
Miss Understanding

I met Dean's girlfriend during my picture taking and was able to talk to Dean for a bit after the show. While we talked Jason's mother came over and said hi to Dean. She mistakenly thought I was the guitar player so I had to point her towards Dean. While talking with her and Dean I found out that Jason's brother is the dancer in Beck's touring band. And to think we watched the Beck Saturday Night Live performance over and over because of the dancing.

I ended up talking with Dean and his friends until the club kicked us out. I got home a little after 2am.

Steve Vai at the Wiltern

Last Tuesday I went to the Steve Vai show at the Wiltern. The first opening act was Orianthi, a female singer/guitarist from Australia. She was a good looking girl in her early 20s that could shred on guitar but I was put off by her not acknowledging her band and her repeated references to this is "my" song, and this is the last song "I'm" going to play. I suspect the band were hired guns for the tour but regardless it turned me off. She was still developing her own identity but the crows liked her and she looks to have a bright future in the US.

Second act was Zack Wiesinger. Very entertaining. He played his set solo during the set change, so while crew was on stage removing the first acts gear he was going from mic, to guitar, to amp that was available at that time and playing. Covers included The Munsters theme, James Bond theme, and Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). He also sat in on guitar during some of Steve's set.

Right as Steve's set was about to start I spotted John 5 in the balcony on the first row. Steve's set lasted right at 2 1/2 hours with virtually no breaks. With two violin players, and the arrival of a new bass player I wasn't sure what to expect. The start of the set was unfamiliar to me which was surprising considered I've followed his music very closely since the mid 80s. As he settled into the set things were familiar once again and he had good cross section of material including selections from two of my favorites Real Illusions: Reflections and Fire Garden Suite.

Highlights for me were Firewall, including a great reading of the intro lyric by Steve, The Crying Machine, Bryan was able to play some killer bass, the intro to Damn Good, and as always For The Love Of God.

Steve Vai
September 11, 2007
The Wiltern
Los Angeles, CA

Now We Run
Oooo
Building The Church
Tender Surrender
Band Introductions - with a James Brown Bit with Steve saying in a James Brown voice I gotta kiss myself.
Firewall
The Crying Machine
Dave's Solo
I'm Becoming
Die To Live
Freak Show Excess w/ bass solo
The "Vai-oi-lins" Solo w/ excerpt from Crossroads

Acoustic Set
At start of set Steve mentions 9/11
Damn Good intro ->
All About Eve
Steve and Jeremy (drummer) banter with Jeremy showing off "The Beast"
Angel Food
Drum Solo
Audience Is Listening
The Murder
Juice
Whispering a Prayer
Taurus Bulba

Encore
Liberty
Answers
For The Love of God

I received a meet and greet pass through a promotion on his website. So after the show I headed to the meet and greet line. The line was extremely long by the time I found where I needed to be so it took a little over an hour just to say hi to Steve. I also had his most recent cd signed and was able to get a picture with him.

While waiting I was able to talk to Bryan Beller his new bass player. Bryan remembered me from seeing and talking to him at many of the Keneally shows. He was telling me about now that he has both moved to Nashville and is on tour with Vai he is getting more gig offers in LA than he ever had previously. Feast or famine for the musicians. He seems to be having a great time and I also saw him catching up with many of his LA friends after we talked. He said he'll be back in LA for some gigs at the start of the year but will be booked on Vai's tour until then.

It was a long night but well worth it.

Rocky Mountains

On the final day of our trip the family ventured out to Rocky Mountain National Park. I had mis-booked our flights so when I attempted to reschedule the flights on Labor Day were booked so we had an extra day in Denver. Unfortunately Jacki wasn't feeling well so she tried her best to support Darian and I on our outing.

We set off around 10am towards Estes Park. Along the way we drove through Boulder and made it to Estes shortly after noon. The road between Boulder and Estes Park was full of bicyclists. Some of the cyclists were cruising along and others looked as though they were struggling to make it up some of the hills. Needless to say I would have been in the struggling camp. I was surprised that they shared the road with cars driving 55-65 mph.

Once in Estes Park Darian and I ate at a KFC/Taco Bell combo place, and we picked Jacki up subway. While waiting in the parking lot I took a picture of some lightning from a storm that was passing through. We waited the storm out and then got back on the road to the park.

Our first stop was the Park and Ride to Bear Lake. Jacki stayed in the car and slept and Darian and I took the bus to the Lake. We walked around the entire lake and took quite a few pictures. It was an overcast day with drizzling so it wasn't as picturesque as I was hoping. On the way back we walked through Glacier Gorge and then took the bus back to the park and ride.

Our next stop was Sprague lake. Park buses didn't take visitors so there was a lot less traffic and people walking around. In some ways that made this a better lake to visit. The pictures also came out better at this lake then at Bear Lake. Darian kept Jacki company. As I walked the 1/2 mile around the lake I saw a chipmunk and some ducks. Once I got back to the car Jacki was feeling better.

Our next stop was Fern Lake. The guide I printed off of the internet mentioned we may even see some Elk. On the way to the lake we noticed a number of cars pulled over to the side of the road. We decided to stop and noticed that there were two giant elk in the meadows. The horns on these elk looked as large as some of the small trees they were standing by. No one ventured close and kept their distance and took photos. They had to have been at least 50-75 yards from the road.

Further down the road we drove through a pack of close to 10 female elk. There was even a smaller baby elk in the herd. They were eating leaves from trees that lined the road. After driving through I walked back and took some more pictures. We were able to get within about 10 feet of these elk. Jacki said seeing the elk made the trip worthwhile.

As we headed back to US 34 we saw a coyote running on the top of a small hill close to where the two male Elk were that we originally spotted. Darian said the coyote runs and looks like a dog. We got back onto US 34 and drove through Deer Junction. Jacki spotted a deer running on one of the hills. Giant antelers but looked a little on the thin side.

Once up the road we accidentally made a wrong turn and ended outside of the park. After a u-turn and a visit to the information area we got back on track for Old Falls road. The family wasn't all that fond of driving up a one way dirt road in the rain on the side of a mountain, although I found it easier to navigate than the roads on Pike's Peak.

At the end of the 10 mile road we made it to the top of one of the peaks. I took some cool pictures and then we were off to our final destination in the park, Millner's Pass at the Continental Divide. The divide is the point where bodies of water drain to. On one side of the divide about 50 yards from the sign the water drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other side with a small lake about a 100 yards away the lake drains into the Pacific Ocean.

At this point the sun was going down and entering into dusk. We drove through the backside of the park, saw a few more elk, and believe we saw some moose as we exited the park. After dinner in Winter Park we made it back to Denver. When it was all said and done it was right at a 12 hour day. By 10:30pm we were back in our hotel room packing for our flight the next morning.

Pictures from our trip to Colorado

Here are pictures from our weekend in Colorado. The first album are pictures from the wedding events of Brett and Sandy McGarity. Including rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.

Brett And Sandy McGarity Wedding

The second album includes pictures from Pike's Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Colorado Mountains

Kings Of Leon at the Greek

The entire family ventured out Friday evening to the Greek Theatre to see Kings Of Leon. I left work a little early to pick up D. After sitting in traffic for over an hour we met Jacki for a quick dinner at Chipotle and then headed to the show.

Kings Of Leon
Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
September 7, 2007

started at 9:17pm
intro music
Black Thumbnail
Charmer
Taper Jean Girl (?)
King Of The Rodeo
My Party
Soft
True Love Way
Fans
Arizona
McFearless
Molly's Chambers
The Bucket
Milk
On Call
California Waiting
Spiral Staircase
Trani

encore
Knocked Up
Four Kicks
Slow Night, So Long
Ends 10:37pm

I mistyped Taper Jean Girl on my Helio so I'm not positive I have it in the correct place in the set list. It either came before Charmer or after Charmer. I think I have it in the right place based on previous KOL set lists.

Opening acts were Manchester Orchestra and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Manchester was from Atlanta and we only caught their last song. BRMC played a solid set but probably didn't make any new fans. The lighting made it next to impossible to see the band and their energy level on stage didn't extend to the crowd.

KOL has now reached the big time in the US. I remember seeing them play a small tent at Bonnaroo back in 2004 and now they are packing the Greek in LA that holds 6000+. The band still has a bad habit of playing with their backs to the crowd but Caleb has become a much better front man and no longer looks intimidated by the audience.

They had a minimal headlining stage that featured the light bulb from their new album cover. They had 4 giant light bulb tapestries that were evenly spaced on stage behind the band and amps. They even brought a set of 4 disco balls out on tour that lowered a couple of times during the show. Oddly they didn't put a spotlight on the disco balls so it didn't become part of the light show. The stage backdrop featured a giant Kings Of Leon logo in the same style as that on the Aha Shake Heartbreak album.

Although their energy level wasn't as high as when I had seen them previously, they did perform a strong show that had the audience rocking along for the entirety of their short 80 minute set.

Brett and Sandy

We just wrapped a weekend of wedding festivities for Brett and Sandy. We took a lazy Saturday and headed to the rehearsal shortly after lunch. We did two full run throughs of the the ceremony so we could see what the cues were as well as see how things would be laid out. I had a reading near the beginning of the ceremony. I read the following piece, and after the wedding ceremony I received many compliments for the piece, although I did not choose the selection.

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.
And when it subsides you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness,
it is not excitement,
it is not the promulgation of eternal passion.
That is just being “in love,” which any fool can do.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,
and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground,
And when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches,
They find that they are one tree and not two.
(Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres)

After the rehearsal we drove around, checked out Red Rocks, and then headed to the rehearsal dinner at Cool River Cafe. Brett and I went to Cool River Cafe years ago when I was in Denver for business so it was neat to see he selected the same place for rehearsal dinner.

There were many tributes to Brett and Sandy from friends and family. Of course I was expected to say something and ended up being the emotional one for the evening. Well at least I tried to speak from the heart. After the dinner Mac, Brett's dad, took a small group of us out to Dave and Busters for some beers and to shoot pool.

The big day was Sunday. The morning started early with a wedding breakfast. The group was a little larger than the dinner the night before and I was able to see Nicole, a college friend of Brett's, who I hadn't seen in years. I also met her husband and they ended up sitting with us at the breakfast. The breakfast provided a good opportunity to talk to Linda, Brett's mother, about the infamous fire incident. After all these years she had never heard that story. I was also able to catch up with many other of Brett's family and friends. My mom and Marvin were also there so they were making the rounds with Jacki. Brett showed up early and left after about 30 minutes and Sandy showed up after Brett left for the last half.

The wedding was in the afternoon. We arrived about 30 minutes before the wedding. Mac escorted Jacki to her seat and Darian was escorted as well. I followed them and we were seated on the third row. Frank, a friend of Brett's from highschool, also sat on our row. The ceremony went off without a hitch, I was able to get through my reading without problem and then Brett and Sandy were officially married. It was great to see how happy the two of them are.

The reception ended the night with dinner and dancing. For those of you that know me well I'm not much of a dancer. I enjoy myself by taking pictures and just hanging back. Well after much prodding by my family and even Brett I had to give in when the last song of the night ended up being "I Could Not Ask For More" by Edwin McCain. This was mine and Jacki's wedding song and afterwards we talked to Brett and he mentioned that he liked that song from our wedding and wanted it to be their first song at his wedding. Sandy ended up picking the first song so Brett made it the final dance of the evening. It was very touching to know that we had touched his wedding in such a special way.

We said our goodbyes to Brett, his family, and to my Mom and Marvin. A very rewarding trip and we are grateful to have been included in both the wedding itself and all of the weekend's festivities.

The top of Colorado

Yesterday we ventured out in Colorado. We took a drive up to the top of Pike's Peak yesterday. The summit is 14,110 feet. It was a stunning view from the top although at the high altitude I felt both light headed and sluggish. At one point I nearly feel trying to get into the car. Darian had no problems and Jacki felt a little like me just not as severe.

I also learned I don't know how to drive a giant SUV down a mountain. We rented a Trailblazer for the trip. At the break check about 1/3rd of the way back down the mountain they had us pull our car over because the brake oil was over 450 degrees. They said they stop cars over 300 degrees. We hung out for about 20-30 minutes and then proceeded to drive in first gear the majority of the trip down to the bottom.

After Pike's Peak we went to the Garden Of The Gods. This was the coolest looking exposed Red Rock I have ever seen. The write ups in the tour guides don't do it justice. We saw a picture on a postcard at the top of Pike's Peak and decided we needed to check it out. The shapes of the rock were very unique and it was remarkable that all of this occurred naturally. This is highly recommended if you ever make it to the Denver or Colorado Springs area. Many of the grounds around the red rock was landscaped with both hiking trails and sidewalk trails that also had the same color as the red rock.

We walked around for about an hour and checked out some of the different areas of the park. After a quick trip through the vistor's center we headed back to Denver.

We met up wtih my Mom and Marvin for dinner at Old Chicago and afterwards I was able to meet up with Brett and catch up. It was good to have some one on one time to catch up before all of the wedding activities. Today we have the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and tomorrow is the big day.

Now we are off to get ready.

To Denver

We are currently sitting at the airport heading off for a wedding and brief vacation. One of my best friends Brett is finally getting married. I'm looking forward to catching up with him tomorrow since it has been nearly 5 years since we've seen one another.

More later...

Zappa Plays the Wiltern

This past Thursday Jacki and went to the Wiltern to see the second year of the Zappa Plays Zappa tour led by Dweezil Zappa. As we were driving up to the show we saw a former co-worker of mine, JT, walking down the street about a block from the venue. After a quick hello through the car window we headed to the venue to get parked.

Once inside we did a quick run through merch. I purchased the recently released cds, The Dub Room Special, MOFO Project / Object, and Buffalo and saw they had a number of autographed tour programs so I also purchased one of those.

Once inside the venue we made our way down front. Our tickets were for the pit section right in front of the stage. The Wiltern security gives the pit people a wrist band and then they take your ticket. At the end of the night they return tickets randomly so you don't get the actual ticket you purchased. The scan to the right is of our purchased ticket.

We picked our place against the rail just to the left of center stage. Prior to the show we saw world famous guitar tech Thomas Nordegg tuning guitars and performing last minute prep on stage. We also saw Joe Travers, drummer for ZPZ, standing on the side of the stage. He recognized Jacki and I and waved to us from the wings.

The show started shortly after 8pm. Dweezil walked out alone and then the rest of the band quickly took their places on stage. As I saw some other reviews mention the special guests of last year were both highlights of that tour and a distraction from the show. This year Ray White was the only special guest and played an integral part of the show. As a result this show was all about Frank's music.

I was familiar with only 1/3rd of the set. I knew more of last year's material so this year's set list will be a good jumping off point to discover more Zappa. The band was much tighter this year. Up against the stage we could hear a combination of the side fills, the live percussion from the stage and Dweezil's amps that were only 10 feet in front of us. This was one of the first times where I could tell that the tone coming from the live amp was integral to the music being performed. Another surprise was Dweezil is a much better player this year. Although when Dweezil is trading off leads with Frank (on the big video screen), Frank still has the upper hand, both in tone and in the creativity of the solos.

My favorite moment of the set was when Dweezil and Frank were trading solos in Cosmik Debris during the solos. Dweezil's solo was one of his best of the show and then for Frank to close out the song was surreal. The integration between the live band and the video footage of Frank was much better this year. Other highlights included the improv section of Dupree's Paradise, Uncle Remus and Joe's Garage. During the improv Scheila performed a stunt where she was playing to saxes at the same time holding a low note on one and soloing with another. Dweezil even tried to add a flute to the mix but she wasn't having it. Another highlight during the improv was when Jamie Kime started riffing on this great funky guitar. It didn't build nearly as long as it could have but was a great run during the improv section.

At the end of the show when the band came out for their final bow Joe came out and handed me one of his drumsticks. A beat up Vater 5a stick. It was nice to see he remembered us from the numerous Keneally shows we've seen him at over the past two years.

The show was a solid effort by the band. They played 3 hours with no breaks. The playing was better this year as were the improv sections. We can only guess who the special guests will be next year. And let's hope Dweezil keeps the same band line up in place for next year.

Zappa Plays Zappa
August 23, 2007
The Wiltern
Los Angeles, CA

Black Napkins (w/ Video of FZ)
Tiny Lights
Advance Romance
Dumb All Over (w/ Video of FZ)
Baltimore
Carolina
Dog Meat
Suzy Creemcheese
Brown Shoes
America Drinks
Peaches En Regalia
Pygmy Twylyte
Dupree's Paradise
Uncle Remus
Willie The Pimp
Joe's Garage
Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station
San Berdino
I'm The Slime
Illinois Enema Bandit
Wild Love
Yo Mama

Encore
Cosmik Debris (w/ Video of FZ)
G Spot Tornado
Muffin Man (w/ Video of FZ)

A special thanks to the fan that came up after the show and gave me his email address for some pictures. The picture of Dweezil was taken by him. The security people were being camera nazis so we weren't able to get any good pictures during the set.

Poison, Ratt and Vains of Jenna in Irvine

Saturday night after Jacki and I returned from the movies I logged into Ticketmaster and saw they had just released a batch of tickets 7 rows behind the pit. This ended up being 12th row center. After a brief check that everyone could go I purchased tickets for the family. The very next night we headed down to Irvine to see the show. I had wanted to see the show in LA the night before but poor seat selection and high ticket prices kept me from going. We were able to get 3 tickets in Irvine for the price of a single ticket in LA.

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine is about 60 miles from where we live in Santa Monica. Never one to underestimate the unpredictability of LA traffic we headed out about 4:30pm for a 7pm show. Fortunately the traffic wasn't bad and we arrived at the venue around 5:45pm. A quick bite at Burger King, the only open restaurant near the venue, and then we were off to the show.

The venue was a nice outdoor venue. I assumed there would be covered seating, instead it was an open air venue with a pretty steep slope for the seats, a bit steeper than the Hollywood Bowl. Since the sun was already setting behind the hill we didn't have to worry about Jacki getting sun burned. We were sitting 7 rows off the floor nearly eye level with the bands. These were fantastic seats and a nice surprise considering the last minute ticket purchase.

First up was Vains of Jenna. Our expectations were set high for a band we had never heard. There is a good buzz in the LA hard rock scene for these guys from Sweden. Their set was short and sweet and even included a surprise cover of Tom Petty's Refugee. Now its time to order their cds.

Next up was Ratt. Stephen Pearcy's voice was much better than at Rocklahoma and the band seemed pumped to be playing to a full house. Towards the end of the night Warren broke a string right before starting You're In Love. One chorus in he finally had a break in the guitar parts to be able to do a quick switch out of guitars. Their set was non-stop hits. You can't beat the back to back combination of Lay It Down and You're In Love.

Ratt

August 12, 2007
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Irvine California

Intro Music (We Will Rock You - Queen)
Dangerous But Worth The Risk
I'm Insane
You Think You're Tough
Wanted Man
Slip Of The Lip
Way Cool Jr.
Nobody Rides For Free
Back For More
Lovin' You's A Dirty Job
Lack Of Communication
Lay It Down
You're In Love
Body Talk
Round And Round

Next up was Poison. These guys know how to entertain a big crowd. The last couple of years I've seen them they have put on a consistently good live show. The crowd in Irvine stayed on their feet for the entire set. Bret mentioned that one of Poison's historic highlights was filming the Ride The Wind video at this venue when it was called Irvine Meadows. At the end of the Poison set I saw CC throw a guitar pic into the crowd. The crowd didn't seem to see it so at the end of the show I walked to the general vicinity of where he threw the pic and was able to find it. A nice score considering we were out of pic throwing range.

Our celeb sighting was when Jacki and Darian spotted Dilana from the RockStar Supernova show.

Poison
August 12, 2007
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Irvine, California

Intro Music (Highway To Hell AC/DC)
Look What The Cat Dragged In
I Want Action
Ride The Wind
I Won't Forget You
What I Like About You (Romantics cover)
CC Guitar Solo (Ray Charles Tribute)
I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine (CC on vocals)
Something To Believe In
Your Mama Don't Dance
I Need To Know (Tom Petty cover)
Rikki Drum Solo
Unskinny Bop
Every Rose Has It's Thorn
Fallen Angel
Talk Dirty To Me
Encore
Nothin' But A Good Time

Oddly both the Ratt and Poison setlists were slightly shorter than at Rocklahoma. Ratt cut three songs from their set but retained the same set list order. Poison had dropped the Marshall Tucker cover Can't You See, otherwise their set was identical. Another surprise at the show is who would have thought you would have heard two Tom Petty covers at a hard rock concert. Having Stephen nail the vocals for Ratt at this show made their set sound much better than Rocklahoma. Poison seems to never disappoint and put in another great effort. And thanks to the sound guys for making a great sounding show, I dread going to arena shows these days because the sound is often poor but they had this place set up as if you were listening on a great home stereo.

Dinner and movie

Jacki and I took in a movie and dinner Saturday night. Darian had run off with friends to see her new favorite band Take The Crown. So on our night alone we took in Ratatouille at my favorite theater in LA the Arclight. The movie is highly recommended as Pixar never disappoints. The digital animation keeps getting better as do the story lines. And seeing a movie at the Arclight with their caramel popcorn is always a treat.

After a quick run to Amoeba Music we decided to try out something new to eat on the Sunset Strip. We ended up at Carney's, a train that has been converted into a long hot dog stand. Jacki and I agree that this may be the best hot dog we've had in LA.

Earthquake

D and I just felt an earthquake. There is nothing quite like having the entire house rock back and forth. A magnitude 4.5 about 10-15 miles from where we live.

A night at Molly Malone's

Last night Jacki and I went to Molly Malone's to see Smug. We first heard about Smug because their guitarist Rick Musallam plays with Mike Keneally, and held double duty playing both with Smug and later in the night with Mike's band.

As their debut cd was approaching release Jacki befriended their singer/bass player Bret Helm via email. She was looking forward to meeting him since their cd had finally been release. We walked in and saw him standing near the back of the room, went over introduced ourselves, and were able to talk for a few minutes before the next band started.

He stated he wished the album had come out sooner and plans to have a new Smug disc out before the end of the year. His description of the new music was interesting. He described that instead of the sound going more outward, it would instead be a more focused forward sound, and more lo-fi. He said think White Stripes and Beck. At least it made sense when he was telling us about it.

The first band we saw was Loop!Station. A female singer, a cello player and a bunch of loops recorded in real time as part of the performance. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, the creation of loops on the cello isn't something you see everyday, but after about 20 minutes of their set I was ready to see what we had come for. They had a good response from the audience and seemed to have brought the biggest crowd.

Unfortunately after their set the crowd thinned significantly. At one point during Smug's show Bret made the comment about how he thinks there are more people in the audience than on stage.

The other times we've seen Smug they came off more as an indie rock heavily influenced by punk. Tonight their set was less punk and included some elements of improvisation with extended jams during several of the songs.

Their set was awkward at times with silence between songs, although about half way through their set they loosened up and were able to allow for some of the extended jams to breathe. But just as they got going their 45-50 minute set was over.

Highlights included a great impromptu bass performance of Happy Birthday by Bret. What Jimi Hendrix did for the Star Spangled Banner, Bret did for Happy Birthday. During one of the awkward moments of silence someone suggested the band sing Happy Birthday while waiting for Rick to re-tune his guitar.

Other highlights included Jacki's favorite 3 States, It's Me and Most Of All. Check out the pic of Bret using the mic stand for slide bass!

Smug
August 5, 2007
Molly Malone's
Los Angeles, CA

Short Jam (Instrumental) ->
Doubtful
Graham & Liz
Passing You By
(Happy Birthday - Bret on bass)
3 States 6 Days 1200 Miles
Shoulda Wrote A Ballad
It's Me
Most Of All
Passin You By
???

More photos available at
http://picasaweb.google.com/dhoward/SmugMollyMaloneS