Local Music this Weekend (7/1-7/4)

Friday, the jazz greatness of Confusatron (just announced winners of best jazz group in the Fort Worth Weekly, congrats Lucas!) will be jamming at the WreckRoom on 7th Street in Fort Worth. Thanks Brian for updating the Wreck's website, much more eye-pleasing now...

Saturday, Alice Cooper's former guitar player, the best blues singer/songwriter/guitarist in the metroplex, John Nitzinger performs at the 6th Street Grill at 9:00 (right off of 7th St. near downtown FTW).

Monday, July 4th...none other than Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan on the same stage! Need to find some folks going to this one. I don't know if I could live with myself without seeing Dylan live.

Johnny Chan wins record 10th World Series Bracelet/Jennifer Tilly Wins No-Limit

The Man had to go heads up against none other than the 'Unibomber', Phil Laak.

Final hand:

Laak dealt KJ
Chan dealt QQ (Siegfried & Roy, the bitches)

Flop comes J-5-5

Laak is trapped, pushes, Queens hold up... details here

I kinda feel sorry for Laak because he made the sound decision, didn't know Chan had the stronger overpair.

And yeah, you read it right, Jennifer Tilly (the actress) won the ladies no-limit bracelet after beating out 600 contenders! (btw, she dates Phil Laak)

HOP, I have a plan!

I'll place you on Mockingbird or wherever (street of your choice, not Harry Hines) and we'll get you some numbers! I'll even take the scraps...

Date

Top 10 Unbreakable Sports Records, Economists supporting the legality and taxation of Mota

I stumbled upon this list of the Top 10 Unbreakable Sports Records. It fails to list DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak (#1 on my list/which I think will never be broken) but it at least mentions it in the leading paragraph. (BTW, who is the woman at the bottom of page 2?...hello)

For those of you that don't know, my degree in college was in economics and I look at the subject with fascination. Funny thing is that in high school I got a 39 on my first economics test but continued to pursue it after trying the pre-vet route in college. I realize that many people out there hated those macro and micro classes they were forced to take with a bored sigh. I'm more into the 'macro' aspects of the subject, the real life examples, arguing with people who insist on raising the minimum wage...I could go on forever.

This article is pretty cool too. I don't smoke 'the pot' myself but I believe this country should focus on bigger problems rather than busting Joe the Hippie or some elderly woman that uses marijuana to treat glaucoma. Evidently, some of my peers agree. Benefits versus Costs people.

Poker attire, Weekend

Read this post about poker players "uniforms", pretty darn funny...

Flying extremely under the radar this weekend. Wouldn't mind checking out the "real" FWWeekly music awards deal tomorrow but I bet I'd have to twist Cindy's arm to get the scoop. Supposedly it's a "private" function...elitists. Her comment about us accepting an award for an out-of-town band is excellent though. If that was going to go down, would I have to bust some Garnier Fructis in my hair and rockstar it out??? No, I think I'd show up with an ascot and one of those cool retro cigarette filters...that would be pimp. I could put on my Onion shirt that reads "Your favorite band sucks", would that be stand-offish???



Oh yeah, the above would be my album cover if I had one coming out. Pretty freakin' funny and cool! BTW, they're Slovenian babies listening to Mozart. Peace out.

Early listen: Coldplay - X&Y

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a big fan of the "ambient" background of Coldplay's music. I call it "omni-esque" or something to that effect, straight out of the library of Atmosphere. However, if they wanted the U2 comparison composition-wise, they've earned it. There are so many similarities I kind of place X&Y between Achtung Baby and Zooropa, from nuevo-disco beats to acoustic guitar. It's a love-hate relationship to me. They aren't pushing new ground ala U2, but it's easy to listen to. I ran across a review from Joe Tangari of Pitchfork Media that pretty much nail my sentiments of Coldplay's latest release:

"Guitarist John Buckland does his part to bring life to the proceedings: He's an encyclopedia of Will Sergeant and Johnny Marr-isms, and even if most of his window dressings are little more than a distillation of tricks learned from better bands, he does a nice job of providing the illusion of a grand gesture for songs like "Square One" and "White Shadows". Martin's vocals, meanwhile, rarely command attention, content to melt into the string synthesizer and guitar reverb as if he hopes he's not imposing on you. Listening back to an earlier track like "Shiver" proves he's capable of more.

Lending to the uninspired nature is lead single "Speed of Sound"'s uncanny resemblance to "Clocks". Certainly, it rarely hurts to stick with what works, but this is not just a near-exact replica of its successful predecessor; it's also a less memorable song riding a piano hook that has so deeply infiltrated the pop-culture landscape that I've become numb to it. In fairness, the track's vocal melody outperforms the one from "Clocks" by a hair, but without a strong hook, the song fails in the one category it needs to succeed in: replay value. It's symptomatic of the rest of the album, and indeed, much of the band's catalog to date: Like Coldplay's two previous albums, only more so, X&Y is bland but never offensive, listenable but not memorable. It may be pointless to hate them, but with this album, they've almost certainly become the easiest band on the planet to be completely indifferent to." -Joe Tangari, June 7, 2005

Coldplay - X&Y: **1/2

Amen: Bradley to retire, Rangers get swept, Gm 7

There is nothing I can cover here that the great Bob Sturm hasn't covered on his blog regarding the Shawn Bradley retirement/buyout, but it is happening, thank you Lord!

Bob's Blog



Kenny loses game 3 and the Rangers get swept by Anaheim or Los Angeles or whatever...gotta pick this stuff up at Houston, sweep the Astros for the silver boot. I am by no means writing off this season but the Angels sure showed the Rangers their place in the West for sure. When the Gambler ain't winning, something's wrong.

NBA Finals, game 7...is there any more to say??? I guess I'm rooting for San Antonio because they're from the Westen Conference. If Timmy D steps it up in the 4th call church on this one. Prediction: Spurs by 10.

BTW, I'm poor

This would rock! (but will Iha agree?)

This could all be smoke and mirrors but Billy Corgan has mentioned that he wants to reunite The Smashing Pumpkins. I want to say good luck but after reading some of his entries on billycorgan.com about James Iha after their breakup, it'll be hard. I'll be the first in line for this, possibly the greatest band of the 90's.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

BTW, Billy's playing the Gypsy Tea Room soon, take a look...

How to plan on doing one thing and end up at another

What a weird weekend: First, planned on going out to Lone Star Park for the horses and some Cross Canadian Ragweed but after a lot of buddies bailed, I followed suit. Instead, I decided to go to a friend's house to chill, grill out and enjoy a beverage or 30 and payed for it the next morning. Which leads me to Saturday...can you say golf on tv all day??? I pretty much mailed it in that night because I would've been hospitalized for liver failure if I went out.

Sunday, Father's Day: Day's all about pops, grill him some steaks with the new grill and I think I cooked them a little too long. The night ends up lasting way longer than I expected so I didn't make it out to the supposed Ft. Worth Weekly Music Awards. BTW, I just checked out Cindy's excellent site this morning (TexasGigs.com) and she notes that it was merely a "showcase", not an actual performance, handout awards variety deal. The actual awards go out this Saturday (25th) at a "private" location...hmm...weird. I really wanted to beat myself up about not being able to go last night cause the excellent Old 97's and Collin Herring were playing but damnit, the Weekly straight up tricked everyone. I looked at their site this morning again and it listed last night's hoorah as the "Fort Worth Music Family Reunion". It should have been a little more forthcoming but visit the site here or at TexasGigs for an update about this Saturday, the "real" awards show...

Music Downlow in Funkytown (6/17-19th)

Friday: I think I'm making it out to Lonestar Park in Grand Prairie with a few buddies to watch the horses and see the filming of a live dvd of Cross Canadian Ragweed. I've seen these guys many, many times and there's a reason they're so well received...

Saturday: May go to the Confusatron show at the Ridglea Theater to see Lucas on the drumkit but I've also got to save the funds for:



Sunday: The Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards show at the Ridglea. I don't really understand the booking on Father's Day but the show can't be passed up, especially with the Old 97's headlining.

Maybe in a year or two I'll be up on stage again at the Ridglea to take home an award, gotta keep writing and find other band pieces though. A man can dream...

Weekend (River, Rangers slide, All-A MLB)

The gang had a pretty great time on the Guadalupe River, nobody got 3rd degree burns like I did last year and the riverhouse was pimp-style, got to stay there again next year. Remind me next time though to find sandals so that I don't slice my big toe when getting out. How I'm going to run 100% for our first softball league game is beyond me. Can anyone say catcher??? I can say peroxide and neosporin.

The Rangers certainly have dropped some games of late but they're still only 2 out of the Los Lobos. Now they have Vlad back and we have Soriano so it's on...They play the Atlanta Braves at 7:05 tonight. The big bag of Astacio is the starting pitcher for Texas.

Saw this on Bob Sturm's site (from BaD Radio) and it's pretty funny: The All-Ahole MLB team...

Poker: Young Blood

From PokerLizard.com:

The ‘E-Fro’ Show!Eric Froehlich becomes youngest WSOP winner ever!

Last year, Gavin Griffin [from TCU, one of my buddies plays cards with/knows him] became the youngest player in history to ever win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. With so many young people now turned on to poker, however, it seemed just a matter of time before a younger star would emerge and eclipse the record. That moment came at precisely 4 am Tuesday, after an all-night poker marathon lasting 16 hours.

Eric Froehlich, a 21-year-old professional poker player, won the $1,500 buy in Limit Hold’em championship. At exactly 21 years, 3 months, and 3 days of age, ‘E-Fro” established a new all-time benchmark for the youngest poker champion.

The final table was a brutal exercise of patience, skill, and discipline. The chip lead changed several times and shifted back and forth when play was heads up. By the time the final hand was dealt, the standing-room-only crowd that had packed the Rio Pavilion had dissipated, leaving E-Fro to bask in his glory amidst a zonked out ESPN TV crew and a hoarse-voiced Tournament Director, John Grooms. Poker glory usually comes in fickle flashes. It didn’t seem to matter that E-Fro had climbed poker’s equivalent of Mt. Everest, and there wasn’t anyone around to witness the spectacle. The important thing was the view. For at least a while, E-Fro will be the latest chapter in poker history.

Damn, I'm approaching elderly status in this game...

3rd Degree burns this time???

Someone please remind me to put sunscreen on my legs this weekend. I can't bear the thought of having to lube up with lidocaine again and take steroids for a week. One thing's for certain, I will shine of whiteness when Saturday rolls around. Hopefully I won't get the Sars again and feel horrible like I have the past 4 days. Pre-emptive allergy medication will be in full effect.

Some Questions from Indigo Steve....

1. What are your favorite venues in DFW to see music? They would definitely have to be the 6th Street Grill or The Moon on Berry. The Axis is a pretty cool venue but it's kind of far away so you've gotta watch yourself if you've been throwing any back.

2. How do you think the Cowboys will do this season? I think they'll probably go 7-9. As much as I want Bledsoe to prosper at QB he's a blitz target. Our 2 top defensive draft picks will pay off well into the future though.

3. Ft. Worth vs. Dallas and why? I'll take Ft. Worth just for the sake of traffic. You've also got to be very careful about who and where you hang out in Dallas. If JohnnyCabs, like those in Total Recall, were used in Dallas by everyone, I might change my mind.

4. Which Panic song do you enjoy dancing to the most? Probably "Papa Johnny Road", especially because it has one of the greatest lines ever written: "I've got a real good mind...to beat you senseless".

5. Which radio station do you listen to most often and why? 107.5, the Oasis. I hardly ever listen to FM. I guess I just prefer melodic music rather than 'hipper' bands that have very vanilla tunes. Of all the bands that you won't hear on 107.5, I like Pat Metheny, Tool, King Crimson and Rush to name a few.

Go visit Indigo Steve's blog here. Thanks for the questions!

If you want to participate in the above I will come up with five questions for you if you put "interview me" in my comments along with an email address or a blog. Then, post these questions with your answers on your blog.

It all makes sense now...

See any similarity there Scott??? I think I've figured it out why he frequently visits the Hawaiian Spa in Dallas. Remember Arden's costume from Debbie's party...there you go. A secret infatuation with Ms. Moore??? Oh yeah, I'm good. BTW, had fun at lunch ladies...

Nitz at the Grill, softball and party at your mama's house

Yes sir, the greatness of John Nitzinger will be lighting the guitar on fire at the 6th Street Grill tonight. I catch a lot of heat when I tell buddies that I'm going to 6th Street but that's because they're dumbasses and don't appreciate local blues. F 'em I say. You might not find the tail you'd see at other hip bars (i.e. The Library, 8.0's or Pour House), but seeing as none of my friends are huge macks anyway...

So the first softball practice was yesterday at Lockheed, my legs are sore and I throw like a girl. I did make a couple nice Jeter plays with popflies but that's it. Don't know what our teamname is but you're more than welcome to come out and throw down a beer once I know what the schedule's like. I think our first game is Tues., June 21st.

Listened to Widespread Panic's awesome instrumental, 'Party at Your Mama's House' on the way to work today. Holla...

Rangers streak ends, Spurs roll, weekend

Ryan Drese pitches pretty well for the Rangers last night but with Bonderman pitching for the Tigers the streak seemed destined to end. I'll take 9 straight any freakin' day. Like I said before, those 7 games against the Lobos are for marbles...don't lose June focus, please

Timmy D and Ginob busted the smack down on the Suns last night ending the series. Funny, or stupid, I predicted the Suns to go to the Finals. I guess the Mavs just wore them down, wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was.

Come out and see John Nitzinger tomorrow night (Fri.) at the 6th Street Grill. I'll be hanging with my favorite barkeep Angie listening to some bad ass blues. If you haven't seen Nitz before, he used to play with Alice Cooper and is just an overall good dude.

Is Kitos a contributor anymore??? Kitos Corner???