I wish I could, but I can't

So The Shins have announced their spring tour dates. ...

Not surprisingly, there's not a Kansas City date in the bunch.

There is a date in Council Bluffs, Iowa, however. Which is about a two-hour drive north. I could do it.

But it's May 31, and here's what makes that especially interesting. ...

Baby No. 2's due date is now May 30. ... I went through this before. You may remember a certain concert around the time of Phoebe's birth.

Let's recap: Phoebe's due date was April 10. The college in K-Town announced it was bringing in Counting Crows April 12. I secured tickets with the idea that I'd go if the baby was born, everyone was healthy and all was well. Or I'd get rid of the tickets if the circumstances weren't right. ... As it turned out Phoebe was born early on the morning of April 12, all was good and I caught the Counting Crows that night with some friends. I'm still amazed at how I pulled it off.

I'm not sure I could do it again. The fact that The Shins will be playing two hours away and not across town from the hospital, as the Counting Crows had done, doesn't help my case.

So I'm taking a pass. And I'll continue to think back to what might have been my best chance at seeing The Shins.

Dang.

Summertime blues

I was afraid this might happen.

In recent years, I’ve gone to Summerfest wondering whether my run might end -- the kind of feeling I suppose an athlete has when his career is in its twilight. … At Summerfest, it’s the notion that the crowds appear to be getting younger and more immature, the music sounds louder and the array of bands less appealing.

Last year, when I went to the magnificent festival for a record-low two nights, I figured maybe the time had come. I figured my youth may have finally escaped me and my concert days were waning.

I prepared myself to move on … And I have. Literally.

Then Summerfest started rolling out its lineup for this summer …

Colbie Caillat. The Moody Blues ... O.A.R.! ... Sheryl Crow!! ... She & Him!!! (... A good read about She & Him in today's Boston Globe.)

A few weeks ago when Cubs tickets went on sale, I was gritting my teeth and doing all I could to hold back on purchasing a couple seats. The mantra “Wait ’til next year” has taken a whole new meaning now.

And then today, the most painful announcement of all. The New Pornographers are playing the Pabst Theater. The announcement via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...

Indie-pop darlings the New Pornographers - made up of some of the best and busiest in the music scene - will play the Pabst Theater at 8:30 p.m. June 12. The eight-member outfit, including mastermind A.C. Newman and songbird Neko Case, releases its fifth album, "Together," in May.

The New Pornographers. Indie-pop darlings. Songbird Neko Case ...

The New Pornographers. A band that’s hovered around the top of my Concert Bucket List for a couple years now -- along with Matchbox Twenty (so close! ), Belle & Sebastian, The Weepies, Dave Matthews Band, Mates of State (whose “For the Actor” I've heard on multiple Royal Carribean commercials lately!) and The Shins (oh, oh, so close!)

Ugh.

Last night, an old friend of mine tweeted, "don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."

When I saw her statement, I smiled and thought so true, especially right now ... But it won't keep me from thinking of ways I can still enjoy the great things that came with the good.

The best band of this generation?

I'm on a Shins kick ...

And waxing nostalgia about how great the band's Letterman performance was last year ...

And how I was so sick I missed my chance to see them live. Sigh ...

Here's the classic Letterman performance and a ton of other videos here.

Sleepyhead

... So I got off my Regina Spektor kick.

And found a new flavor of the week.

Belle & Sebastian.

Quite honestly, I'm feeling ashamed for not taking notice of them sooner. I've been reading and hearing for years how great this band is. Sure, I added them to a list I keep of bands whose music I think I should hear more of, but I kept putting them off ...

Finally, over the weekend, I took the plunge.

Uh, yeah. They're pretty amazing ... I'm kicking myself for taking this long to add them to my collection.

Fresh pop hooks. Bouncy vocals. Smart, witty lyrics. Nods to '60s and '70s pop/rock. It all collides for a complete sound that is oh, oh, so sweet.

I haven't had this much fun listening to an album in a long time ... Ok, maybe since I got Wincing The Night Away, which actually compares pretty closely to Belle & Sebastian ...

But seriously. "The Blues are Still Blue," "We are The Sleepyheads," "Funny Little Frog," (Hey, isn't that the Grassroots "Temptation Eyes"?) "Sukie In The Graveyard," and "White Collar Boy" (Hello, Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" ?) are some of the coolest songs ever ...

And their videos are dang cool and imaginative too ...



Ok. I'm done gushing. For now.

* * *

Tonight, I'm basking in a reprieve. From the baseball.

I never thought I'd say this but ... I don't know if I've ever been so ready for a baseball season to end ...

These late games are kicking my butt.

I've managed to stay awake to catch every last out of all the games, including Friday's Rockies-D-Backs extra-inning thriller and Saturday's extra-innning Red Sox thrashing. And I wondered if I was the only one that was having trouble with the schedule ...

Turns out I'm not the only one, after all. Phillip Lerman's piece in the Washington Post last weekend was right on ...

The signs of fall are upon us: The days are shorter. The leaves are falling.
And dads are sitting in their basements, watching the baseball playoffs and getting ready for the World Series. Alone.

... For the last two weeks -- or however long we've been in the postseason; the days have been pretty blurry lately -- I've spent the late nights huddled in our basement, watching the small TV, and squelching my volcanic cheers so as to not wake up Kates ...

And I worry what it's going to be like for our kids.

Every time this subject comes up, I think of October 1988 ... One of the first significant baseball memories I have, that fall is also the first clear memory I have of watching any postseason baseball: The Oakland Bash Brothers and Dave Stewart's menacing stare againt the Red Sox of Wade Boggs, Ellis Burks, Mike Greenwell, Dwight Evans and Roger Clemens. And of course, it was the year I fell in love with the Dodgers -- Orel Hershiser, Kirk Gibson, Steve Sax, Alfredo Griffin, Mickey Hatcher, Mike Scioscia -- as they beat the heavily-favored Mets in seven games in the NLCS and then took down the A's too ...

Yet, I missed one of the greatest moments in baseball history, Kirk Gibsons's homerun to win game one ... because I was in bed. The memory of my parents excitedly explaining the dramatic ending while Joel and I sat, jaws agape and hanging on their every word, at the breakfast table is cemented in my brain. It's a great memory of mine in its own right ... and don't get me wrong, I can't blame them. They did what they had to do. We deserved to be in bed, and our children will likely face the same fate ...

And it sucks.


But, hey, how 'bout those Rockies.

I said it before, and I'm saying it again: These guys are a team of destiny. I called their NLCS sweep after game one. Now I understand what everyone else has been saying all year about how good Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki are. The team's defense has been as solid and dazzling as their namesake ...

How exciting was the final out of Monday night's game!?! Eric Byrnes hits a soft-roller to the left side, Tulowitzki charges it and snaps an off-balance throw to first. Todd Helton makes the stretch to catch it just before Byrnes slides headfirst over the bag ...


Last week, I remarked to a cohort about how crazy it was to see the Rockies and D-backs, two teams that didn't exist 15 years ago, facing each other in a championship series. And now, crazy as it sounds, the Rockies, a team whose expansion draft I remember racing home to watch on TV, are heading to the World Series ...

I'm having a ball watching their run right now ... and I shudder to think what an eight-day break before the World Series is going to do to their momentum. It certainly didn't help the Tigers ...

Lord also knows I'm loving watching the Indians run too, including last night's seven-run fifth inning and, well, watching Kenny Lofton swiping bases like it's 1995.

Last night, as we watched the game Kates asked who I'd cheer for in a Rockies-Indians World Series. I just threw up my arms and shook my head ...

It's gonna happen too. I'm betting the Indians close it out tomorrow night at Jacobs Field.

Good reads ...
a 6-run 4th seals fate for Diamondbacks
a Helton finally is delivered
a LINCICOME: Rockies a team broomed to glory

Summerfest '07: The End

All of my Summerfest '07 posts...

a Day 1
a Day 2
a Day 3
a Day 4
a Day 5

---

... No Summerfest tonight.

... Kates and I were up at 6:30 this morning and on the road by 7:30, trekking to join my extended family for 'lil Owen's baptism ... Wonderful service. Owen was cute and did well. We celebrated at the house afterward. Caught up on life. And it was good ...

We were on our way home by 2 ... and thoughts of sneaking in one more night of Summerfest were filling my mind ...

I still had a couple tickets left over, and I thought it would be cool to be there once more on closing night. Blue October was playing at the U.S. Cellular stage at 10 and I was interested in seeing them ...

I think more than anything I just wanted one more giant Summerfest cup of Mountain Dew and the perfect amount of ice ...

On the other side, it was really hot. And having to drive up to the Park N' Ride and catch yet another bus to Summerfest didn't really excite me. Same for the crowds and for the notion of another night of minimal sleep ...

(I am really dragging after all. I tried driving home this afternoon, but a third of the way into the drive I had to pull over and switch with Kates out of fear I was going to crash the car. She took over driving and I slept the rest of the ride home ...)

... I was still trying to decide whether I wanted to go right up until 7 p.m., and for a time Kates was going to go with me ... but we stepped back to reality and decided to stay home instead, cooking a pizza and watching Friends DVDs, thus easing the soul with some good laughs ...

And so it ends. Summerfest 2007, the 40th Anniversary celebration turns into a memory now. And a fine memory it will be ...

So too ends, the best 11 days I've had in a long, long, long time. Easily the best 11 days to start a new year of birth ... Lots of Summerfest, with Nostalgia Fest, a good night of baseball and Fourth of July on the beach mixed in -- nice.

My mourning period will last a few days. But don't worry I'll be OK ...

... This year, I made it to five of the 11 nights and saw a total of 17 bands -- give or take one or two, it was hard to keep track ... and from Headlights last Friday night to Scythian on Saturday, there hasn't been a year where I've had such a good time seeing the no-name/up-and-coming/pre-headliner bands ... Every night was better than the one before ...

... Above all, if you asked me to name my top four bands/musicians right now -- I’d give you Ben Folds, The Shins, Fleetwood Mac and Guster. And here I sit, having seen three of them (Lindsey Buckingham, of course, representing the Fleetwood Mac aspect) in a week's span -- I think that’s pretty darn special …

(For the record, I tried to come up with an even five for my top bands, but among the next bands I thought of -- Beach Boys, Chicago, Matchbox Twenty, Mute Math -- it was too hard to pick just one, and even then, none of them have garnered the consistent play over the last several months as my top four … )

... Actually the reminiscing began a few days ago already as I started searching YouTube for some videos from this year's Summerfest ... So here I give you some of my findings, representing a few of my favorite moments from this year's Summerfest ...

The first is a video of Lindsey Buckingham performing "Big Love" last Saturday night. The visual on it sucks, but the audio does the job ...



This one, although not from Summerfest, is of Lindsey doing "Never Going Back Again." According to the tag, this video was actually shot a few months ago in New York. But his performance at Summerfest was almost identical to this one, so here you go ...



Here's a short clip of Ben Folds doing the "Such Great Heights" cover ... man, I wish the whole thing was here! ...



... And here's a clip of the A-MAZ-ing synthesizer solo that he played at the end of "Such Great Heights" ...



Thankfully, there's a lot more of John Mayer's show. Like my favorite of the night, "Waiting On The World To Change" ...



... "Bigger Than My Body."



And "Your Body Is A Wonderland" (yeah, the crowd was this loud almost all night ...)



And of course, it wouldn't be worth remembering Summerfest without people dancing on picnic tables. This video apparently was taken last night as me and a few hundred others were waiting to see Guster ...



Summerfest reads ... cleaning out my Google alerts about all things Summerfest ...

a Heat doesn't stop the beat
a Keeping a clean smile
a Milwaukee Talks: Summerfest Chairman Howard Schnoll
a Trains, planes and guided missiles at the lake
a Summerfest grounds may get makeover
a Is this Summerfest or Oktoberfest?
a Carlin's naughty words still ring in officer's ears
a Roads traveled: 40 years of Summerfest
a Summerfest TV documentary blends history with reminiscences ... I watched this documentary. I didn't think it was that good; it didn't tell me a whole lot I didn't already know and the production quality was lacking, if not cheesy ...
a Festival shook off dust, mud to put smile on summer
a jsonline's Summerfest page

Summerfest countdown!

Aw, the Summerfest schedule is set. 40th anniversary bash here we come!

Kates and I have long had our tickets for Ben Folds and John Mayer at the Marcus on July 3. It’ll be my ninth Ben Folds show (I think ... I'm beginning to lose count), my second for John Mayer, but a first for the Marcus …

Still the real fun, the essence of Summerfest is the ground stages, and I live for the days each spring when the schedules start seeping out. This year I found myself pulling for the Summerfest crew to reel in The Shins (whose album I'm still head over heels for ...), or Guster or Avril Lavigne (also still listening to a lot of her album ...) or even Mute Math. Some I got, others I didn't. Soon enough, the outlines began forming in my head. And eventually the picturer became clear ...

So without further ado my 2007 Summerfest to-do list…

I’m eyeing up O.A.R. on Friday, June 29 ... Saw them for the first time last year. Awesome! Fell in love with their sound and showmanship immediately. I’ve been dying to see them again. Passed on a chance to see them in Milwaukee last fall. But nothing should stop me from seeing them in a few weeks …

On Saturday, June 30, I’ll have to decide between Lindsey Buckingham or the Goo Goo Dolls. Given that I saw the Goo Goo Dolls last summer, and my fascination with Fleetwood Mac, I’ll probably end up at Lindsey Buckingham’s show …

I’ll have another decision to make on Sunday, July 1. Do I go to Summerfest and catch Sister Hazel, or do I stay closer to home and go to our city’s annual Independence Day celebration, where this year, Peter Noone and Barry Williams will be performing? That’s going to be a hard one -- I’ve already seen Sister Hazel twice, and though both shows were good, neither was so captivating that I’m yearning to see them again. Still, just being at Summerfest is enough of a pull for me … Then there’s Peter Noone, whom Kates and I had a blast seeing last February. Pack him with Barry Williams, aka Greg Brady (I’m a huge Brady Bunch fan …) performing at our lakefront park, and that might be enough to snag me … It might be a game-time decision …

I may take or leave Augustana on Friday, July 6. Same with Blue October on Sunday, July 8 …

The big one is going to be Saturday, July 7. Guster … Last year, you might remember, I also pegged Guster as my big one. And instead it was my big bomb. Things didn’t go off as planned that night, I spent much of it tying to locate a friend and by the time the Guster show started, I was so frustrated and fed up with the frat house crowd, I left for some of the other stages a few songs into Guster’s set …

Yet, in the past year, I’ve continued to adore their more recent albums. And in the months since last year‘s Summerfest, I’ve wanted so badly to be redeemed. I had an opportunity to see the Guster boys last fall when they hit Milwaukee again, but it didn’t work out for me to go. In the meantime, I held on to a flicker of hope that they’d be invited back to Summerfest, even while figuring it was a long shot. So, yeah, you can imagine my blissful excitement this spring when I discovered that Guster was indeed returning …

Yep. Summerfest. Bliss.

Motto for 2007

A guy I work with told me yesterday his motto for 2007: If it ain’t The Shins, it’s s#@%!

I burst out laughing, patted him on the shoulder and told him he was a good man.

Seriously. I bought “Wincing the Night Away” like two months ago, and no matter how hard I try I can’t bring myself to remove it from my car's CD player. And the couple nights I have managed to bring it in the house, I always wind up bringing it back with me the next morning. I’ve listened to at least a portion of the disc every day I’ve owned it. And I’m still not sick of it. It’s that great of an album …

The band rocks a bit harder on “Wincing” than it did with the acoustic, jangly pop songs that laced “Oh, Inverted World” “Chutes To Narrow,” but the signature elements remain. Singer-songwriter James Mercer’s soaring vocals often evoke thoughts of Brian Wilson in his heyday, while the light and simple melodies may draw comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel — with the edge of Weezer.

Between their vintage rock ‘n roll riffs and simple pop hooks, the band also wears influences of alternative, country and folk. They even insert looping hip-hop beats backed by a flute on “Sea Legs” ...

… “Sleeping Lessons” might be the best lead-off track I’ve ever heard on an album -- the way it starts with that mind-bending keyboard arpeggio intro and piles layers of instruments before that huge crescendo and burst of guitars that seem to say, “Hey, listen up 'cause this is big!”

…Then there’s the catchy “Australia,” which features a sweet base line, some great guitar work and that lyrical hook that I cannot knock from my head: “Been alone since you were 21 / You haven’t laughed since January ... ” Just watch the video ...



... Mercer's falsetto is at its best on “Phantom Limb,” and if the song isn't wonderful enough, it's made even better with the addition of Anita Robinson's lovely voice ... and the vocal duo raises the bar even higher on “Turn On Me,” which gets the nod as my favorite song on the album (barely, because they’re all good!) …

... “Red Rabbits.” Wow. Gorgeous music box chimes and a haunting violin section that makes it the perfect song for sitting on your porch and reminiscing on a lazy summer night. The first time I listened to this track, I could have sworn Brian Wilson had invaded Mercer's body ...

There’s so many smart lyrics and guitar hooks on this album, I'm discovering new pieces to the puzzle every time I listen to it. This album, my friends, is an instant classic ...

Trying to kick it

... So let me tell you about my week.

... Starting with Tuesday. Went to work with a terrible headache, thinking I could beat it. But I only felt worse as the morning wore on -- I was feeling dizzy, my whole body was aching -- and I was home by noon. Took some medicine, fell flat on the couch, tried to watch movies but pretty much slept the afternoon away. And by Tuesday night I was beginning to think I almost had the thing beat ...

Right.

Wednesday. Went to work, feeling better, but still not 100 percent. Even hosted some friends Wednesday night to watch the new "Lost" (which I thought was excellent by the way! 'Bout time, right? I enjoyed Juliette's back story, and I was glad to see some of The Others actually showing some humanity ...)

But the worst was yet to come.

... I didn't sleep well Wednesday night. I was sweating, chilled, and coughing so painfully hard I thought a lung was going to come up through my throat. But I went to work Thursday, kept coughing and I think I blew away my office's Kleenex supply ...

Oh yeah, and there was a police shootout. Which meant I had to work harder and faster than I would on an average day, no doubt worsening my condition. By an afternoon press conference I had nearly lost my voice and didn't realize how badly I sounded until I opened my mouth to ask a question. My throat was burning.

Finished my work day. Came home. Laid out on the couch again. Kates brought soup and Chinese for supper.

And today arrived.

I had to get to work today. I had to finish a weekend story for a museum exhibit. I was looking forward to following more of yesterday's police shootout. And tonight I had a ticket to see The Shins, a concert I've been sooooooo looking forward to for weeks ...

It's not happening.

Once I sat up from the bed, it took me another 10 minutes to stand up and soon I was pacing in the kitchen, now choking on the lung I probably coughed up the other day. I soooo didn't want to give in. All I need to do is get going and get in the shower and I'll be fine, I thought. But I couldn't even get that far ...

And at the time I'm usually reporting to work, I was instead calling in sick.

Dang.

A wise co-worker warned me yesterday not to overdo it. I hate this, I never get sick, I told her. "Yeah, then your age doubles and it knocks you on your ass!" she said.

Double dang.

... This isn't me. Today was the first day of school or work I've missed because of sickness in 18 years. I've made a life of rarely sitting still, late nights and early mornings, always being on the go, always working, active (hence, I'm still pushing myself to blog in this condition ...). And now I can't get myself off the couch, and it almost hurts to breathe ...

And I'm coming to the realization that I'm not going to make that Shins show tonight. 34 bucks I won't get back. That may kill me yet ...

* * *

… If there was a highlight today -- between nearly choking to death this morning, spending the morning stuck on the couch and missing the Shins concert -- it was finally being able to watch The Royal Tenenbaums …

That one had been on my list since it was appearing in theaters and the first time I saw that dazzling trailer. The image of Ben Stiller leading his two curly-haired boys in matching red jogging suits is embedded in my mind for every time the subject of the movie comes up.

… Kates and I rented the DVD not long after it was released and tried watching it one Saturday night, but -- go figure -- I fell asleep about five minutes into it …

So several weeks ago I caught it in the TV listing and set the DVR to record it. Today, I finally had a chance to watch it. And I didn’t fall asleep.

I liked it. But it won’t rank among the best films I’ve ever seen; the story dragged. On the upside, it might be one of the most beautifully shot films I’ve seen.

Sunday reading

A sampling of the interesting stories I came across during the last week ...

a ‘Naked Brothers’ are keeping it real ... I did catch a bit of this while I was flipping through channels yesterday. That was enough for me ...

a Hollywood Royalty: Oscar roundtable ... The only Oscar film Kates and I have seen is "Little Miss Sunshine" (... and I think Steve Carell was far more deserving of an Oscar nod than Alan Arkin ...). We'd better get cookin' ...

a The Shins' 'Wincing': A New Sound, but Not Dumbed Down ... They were wonderful on 'SNL,' sharp on Letterman on Tuesday night, and I spent most of this week with repeated listens of their first two albums. I spent parts of Wednesday streaming the new stuff on their MySpace page. And yesterday I punched my ticket to see them live in two weeks. Can hardly wait.

a America returns with old and new tunes ... These guys were pretty darn good in their Letterman appearance a couple weeks ago too.

a Here Comes Windows Vista -- Like It or Not

Sunday reading

... The Shins strong -- and overdue -- showing on SNL last night inspired me to pull out my Shins CDs this afternoon. Great stuff ...

Here's some good reading (and cartoons, courtesy of Cagle's Cartoons) that caught my eyes this past week ...

Entertainment buzz ...
a What does Oprah believe?
a It's Not All About the iPods, Oprah
a You'll likely read more about Britney in '07
a Comedy writers aren't laughing about 'Studio 60' ... I have to agree: It's a show about a comedy show, but the comedy in the show that the show is about isn't funny at all!! ... I so wanted it to do well, but at this point NBC would be wise to let it fade away ...
a Who's that 'Studio 60' nominee? ... whatever. I've admired Sarah Paulson long before Studio 60 came along ...
a Matthew Fox talks about his dark side
a Vieira Settles In, and 'Today' Gets Ready to Go Long
a Tween actress' sex scenes raise ire ... Oh, Dakota, why must you grow up so fast? Please don't become a ruined child star ...

Music ...
a Ain’t it odd? Song lyrics defy grammar rules music ... Get over it, English teachers. Alanis Morrissette's ironic is one of the greatest songs ever, whether you like it or not ...
a Will compact discs go the way of the LP? ... Whatever. I'm still buying them -- heck I'm still buying LPs. The sweet cover art, liner notes and that feeling of tearing off the wrapping -- like opening a new toy on Christma morning -- is a big part of what makes certain music so special and enduring ...

News & trends ...
a Theme party ideas for February's major events ... As cheesy as some of these suggestions are, these parties could be a lot of fun to host! Who's in?
a After laughter, action ... Great column. So true.
a Too Casual To Sit on Press Row? Bloggers' Credentials Boosted
a 1870s dead horse photo sparks mystery ... Great story!! from Sheboygan!!
a Is there a new calling for Apple? ... My friend Sean appears to be obsessed with the iPhone; his eyes looked as though they were going to pop out every time the mega-hyped gadget was mentioned this week. I, on the other hand, prefer to use my phone as a phone and for calling people only, thank you very much.
a Kathleen Parker: Clicking on death ... So true.

Baseball ...
a Suppan joins Brewers after dinner, $42 million contract ... Now let's hope he holds up. If he does, it could be a very good Brewers season ...
a Don't Expect Hall Call, Big Mac