The last five years

Tonight marks the beginning of the end of our move from K-Town to The ‘Ville.

The closing on our house is scheduled. The packing has moved into full gear. Tomorrow night I’ll be flying to K-Town once more to reunite with Kates and Phoebe for good. And Sunday morning we'll be shipping out … I'll save those stories for another post.

This weekend will be filled with lots of reminiscing, meeting up with old friends and saying good-bye to the life we’ve known for the last six years …

Five of which have filled the pages of this blog.

So to kick off our weekend of reminiscing and celebration, I’ve searched the bowels of this blog for some of the most memorable highlights and lowlights of our life on the corner of 79th and 18th ...

Reading so many of these posts again now, the memories come rushing back. Not only do I remember vividly the events that inspired theses posts, but the scenery and emotions that enveloped me as I authored them, too ... Enjoy.

... Sept. 22, 2005: The night I nearly burned down the house.

... Jan. 7, 2006: The burglary.

... Jan. 16, 2006: The Chinese joint down the street. ... I think Kates and I single-handedly kept it in business over the years -- and this post was written early in our run.

... Dec. 1, 2006: The 17-incher.

... Jan. 24, 2007: My constant complaining about winter.

... March 26, 2007: The night we thought we needed a new vacuum.

... Feb. 6, 2008: The 22-incher.

... April 7, 2008: The night of Mario's Miracle.

... July 8, 2008: The night a car chase went by our house.

... Dec. 29, 2008: Getting sick for Phoebe's first Christmas.

... Jan. 8, 2009: The day our furnace broke. ... With this, the burglary, the tornado and all the snow -- January never was a good month for us.

... April 13, 2009: Phoebe’s first birthday. 

... Dec. 29, 2009: The living room concert.

... Feb 23, 2010: Packing up. ... The video of Phoebe ranks as one of my all-time favorites ... “Mommy do it!

Beatles for sale

All this Beatles buzz surrounding the new “Rock Band” video game and the release of their remastered albums finally got to me last night ..

I pulled out my Beatles collection on the iPod and blared it in the kitchen as we cleaned up from our dinner and started getting Phoebe ready for bed …

As we sang and danced to almost every song, I couldn’t help but smile when I realized I was wildly singing “Eight Days A Week” note for note the same way I probably sang it when I was 8 years old and mimicking a rock ‘n’ roll star on my keyboard.

It also struck me – for the umpteenth time – that not only are the songs so uber singable, but after 40-some years, they stand up amazingly well. Some of those guitar riffs could easily be pulled off today, and I'd be willing to bet their sound would still be at or near the top of the charts if it were brand new today … But the Beatles came up with that music way ahead of their time. And that is what makes them so enduring.

EW has a good ranking of the Beatles’ albums that, for the most part, is right on in its descriptions and highlights. Although I'd rank the frontrunners a little differently ...

I'd start, hands down, with "Abbey Road" at No. 1. Then I'd have to go with "Magical Mystery Tour" at No. 2, and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" at No. 3, before putting "Revolver" at No. 4 and on down the line with the way EW ranks them ...

Paste also produced worthy reviews of every Beatles album. And Chuck Klosterman has a good read about the reissues.

EW also has a ranking of the 50 best Beatles songs, complete with YouTube videos.

Adding to the unending rankings and lists, Ann Powers has been pondering what might go on a Beatles mix tape.

Without going into too much explanation, I think mine would have to go something like this -- if it were put on a 90-minute cassette tape, 45 minutes to each side ... Because a 60-minute tape would have been far too short ... Maybe I should have gone with one of those newer 120-minute tapes. Then, I'd be able to include "In My Life," and "A Day in the Life," and "Day Tripper," and ... Hmm ...

SIDE A
1. I Feel Fine
2. Here Comes the Sun
3. Magical Mystery Tour
4. She Loves You
5. Eight Days A Week
6. A Hard Day's Night
7. Ticket To Ride
8. Help!
9. Yesterday
10. Penny Lane
11. We Can Work It Out
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
13. Lucy In the Sky With the Diamonds
14. Hey Jude

SIDE B
1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Baby You're A Rich Man
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Lady Madonna
5. Lovely Rita
6. I Will
7. Hello, Goodbye
8. Octopus's Garden
9. Something

(... and I'd end it with the brilliant B-side medley from "Abbey Road" -- minus "Sun King" -- to stay within the time constraints, of course ... )

10. Because
11. You Never Give Me Your Money
12. Mean Mr. Mustard
13. Polythene Pam
14. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
15. Golden Slumbers
16. Carry That Weight
17. The End

I'm so far removed from video gaming at this point that I have no idea what gaming platform "Rock Band" is played on -- and I don't own a video game system. I also have no intentions of racing out to buy the new, remastered versions of the albums -- because I'm in the camp that thinks all the recordings I have now are perfect already, thank you very much.

But it sure is fun to "Meet The Beatles" again and again.

Great live covers

(Revised 07.29.2013)

While I was driving the other day, the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Runnin’ ” came on the radio. For me, that song will forever be linked with my first concert experience and hearing Hootie & The Blowfish do a great cover of it ...

It got me thinking: What are the most memorable live covers I've seen performed, live and in person?

So I composed a list. Here they are, counting down …

18. “Eleanor Rigby” -- The Fray (Jan. 2007, Carthage College; Kenosha, Wis.)

17. “Maggie May” -- Edwin McCain (July 2004, Summerfest; Milwaukee)

16. “Tiny Dancer” -- Ben Folds (July 2003, Summerfest; Milwaukee) … He did an impeccable Elton John impression, donning the big white-rimmed sunglasses and all …

15. “Carry On Wayward Son” -- Ben Folds Five (Nov. 1997, The Grenada; Lawrence, Kan.)

14. “Imagine” -- Blues Traveler (Aug. 1996, Sandstone Amphitheater; Bonner Springs, Kan.) … John Popper on his harmonica; a version of it appears on their “Live from the Fall” disc.

13. “Going To California” -- Train (July 2006, Summerfest; Milwaukee)

12. “Such Great Heights” -- Ben Folds (July 2007, Summerfest; Milwaukee)

11. “Long Train Runnin’” -- Hootie & the Blowfish (July 1996, Sandstone Amphitheater; Bonner Springs, Kan.)

10. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” -- O.A.R. (May 2006, Carthage College; Kenosha, Wis.)

9. “Rock n’ Roll” -- Sheryl Crow (June 2010, Summerfest, Milwaukee.)

8. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” -- Sister Hazel (June 2001, The City Market; Kansas City, Mo.) … My friend Tom and I recognized the opening riff immediately and looked at each other with “Are they really playing this!?” looks. It was A-Maz-Ing … And our friend Tad missed the whole thing because he decided a minute earlier it was a good time to make a bathroom run.

7. “For What It's Worth” -- OneRepublic (Nov. 2008, Carthage College; Kenosha, Wis.)

6. “Peg” -- Jason Mraz (Nov. 2008, The Rave; Milwaukee) … The brass made it. Here's a clip of a Mraz performance in L.A.

5. “Crazy” -- OneRepublic (Nov. 2008, Carthage College; Kenosha, Wis.) … A hopping, rock ‘n’ roll-tinged cover that the guitarist introduced with a Mariachi-styled solo.

4. “Breakfast in America” -- James Blunt (Oct. 2006, The Rave; Milwaukee) … It was so darn surprising, and so darn good.

3. “You Can't Always Get What You Want” -- Fun (June 2013, Summerfest, Milwaukee)... It was classic rock n' roll, and Nate Ruess was channeling Mick Jagger.

2. “Dream On” -- Train (July 2006, Summerfest; Milwaukee) … A highly memorable live cover at one of the best shows I’ve seen. The yellow confetti exploding over the crowd at the end put it over the edge ...

Even better -- I found a clip of it ...



1. “Live And Let Die” -- The Polyphonic Spree (June 2008, Summerfest; Milwaukee) … It came totally unexpected and it was almost as if Paul McCartney and Wings had taken over the bodies of The Polyphonic Spree orchestra ...

Here's a video of the performance, which, of course, doesn't do it justice, not to mention it's a wee bit shaky ...

Hey, let's go to a game!

(Updated 08.22.210)

... So my good friend Matt -- and fellow baseball fanatic -- posed this question to me ...

What’s the best “Hey, let’s decide to go to a game
at the last minute, why not” payoff you had?

Here's what I'd tell him ...

No. 1: My double-header during the 2007 season ... The day I already had tickets to a Friday day game at Wrigley and then got tickets for that night's Brewers game too. Two games, two stadiums and four teams in one day.

No. 2: Aug. 21, 2010 ... The night we caught two extra inning games for $9 and watched baseball until past 1 in the morning.

No. 3: June 29, 1996 ... My family is vacationing in Colorado and we spend a couple nights in Denver. My 17th birthday was one night earlier and the Dodgers are in town to play the Rockies, and that's a big rivalry in Denver's eyes. We walk down to the stadium and walk around it, marveling at the complex. But my parents nix going to the game that night ...

But the next day ... We return to the stadium for some more investigation. We learn Coors Field has a general admission section high up in center field, called The Rock Pile. Tickets are $5 and the clerk we talk to explains the lines sometimes stretch for blocks, especially with the Dodgers in town; "You'd better get in line early," she says. It's about noon ...

I think we went to get some lunch and came back around 3. Sure enough, the line was getting long and my parents tell me, "If you want tickets, you're going to have to stand in line to get them."

"Fine," I say. They bring me a copy of the latest Sports Illustrated and go back to the hotel for some swimming. I proceed to wait in line for two hours with complete strangers ...

By the time my parents come back and the gates open at 5:30, the line stretches as far as you can see. And I'm in the front quarter of it... We get our four tickets for seats in The Rock Pile and enter ...

It turned out to be one of the most exciting games I may ever witness live. The Dodgers wailed on the Rockies. Mike Piazza hit three home runs, including a grand slam. And Eric Karros hit a home run of his own on the second pitch after that grand slam. There were nine home runs hit in the game, including three by the Rockies, which at the time, I think, was a National League record ...

Heading into the eighth inning, the Dodgers were up 13-0 -- and then the Rockies came back! As the Rockies mounted their come back, it was the loudest, most raucous crowd in which I've ever been involved. And I'll never forget the scoreboard flashing "Make some noise!"

The Rockies scored eight in the bottom of the eighth and two in the bottom of the ninth. But the Dodgers finally shut the door to win the game, 13-10.

A couple other circumstances surrounding the game: Bill Russell was the interim manager because Tommy Lasorda was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack ... Rockies manager Don Baylor was thrown out of the game in the top of the eighth for arguing a pitch ... Mike Piazza, just three years removed from his Rookie of the Year season, was leading the league with a .352 average ... The Dogers possessed a talented lineup at that time -- including Piazza, Karros, Raul Mondesi, Todd Hollandsworth, Greg Gagne and Delino DeShields -- that went on to, unfortunately, get swept out of the division lead by the Padres and lost the first round of the playoffs ... Then a phenom, Hideo Nomo pitched the next day, and the entire weekend series was a run-scoring, record-breaking bonanza that I remember being all the rage on Sportscenter that Monday.

No. 4: Sept. 2, 2003 ... The Cardinals came into Wrigley for a Friday afternoon, a makeup of an earlier rainout. ... Just a few days earlier, I bought a single ticket and got a seat several rows behind the third base dugout ...

The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead with help from a solo home run by Jim Edmonds. Then the Cubs tied it in the bottom of the fifth...

Both teams battled like the playoff race they were in. There were several great defensive plays, including the spectacular game-saving catch catch Orlando Palmeiro made in the bottom of the ninth. Ramon Martinez had hit a ball to the wall with the bases loaded, Palmeiro leaped against the vines and snatched it to send the game to extra innings ...

It was a quintessential afternoon at Wrigley. The sun was shining, and I was keeping score, sitting next to two elderly ladies who were equally enthralled with the game. Every time it looked like the Cubs or the Cardinals were finally going to break the tie -- only to see the scoring chance fail -- a bunch of us looked at each other, rolled our eyes and sighed. I'll never forget the rush to get bathroom breaks between innings and fans trying to get back to their seats before missing anything. It was a marathon of a game ...

Finally, in the 15th inning, Sammy Sosa stepped to the plate -- when Cubs fans still adored him -- and hit a home run into the left field bleachers to give the Cubs a 4-2 win ...

Those Cubs included Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton (coming over in a mideason trade), and Eric Karros (then in the twilight of his career) ... They, of course, won the NL Central and rode into the postseason only to have their dreams shattered by Steve Bartman, future Cubs Juan Pierre, Derrek Lee, that rookie phenom Dontrelle Willis and the Florida Marlins ...

No. 5: June 11, 2005 ... Cubs-Red Sox ... Some buddies and I went to Wrigley on that Saturday morning, determined to get tickets for the game -- but we doubted we had a serious shot. And if we did get a shot, we figured we'd have to pay dearly to get in. After all, it was, arguably, the series of the year ...

We hung around the stadium for about an hour before the game. Then, just as the game was getting underway, out of the blue, a guy steps in front of us outside the right field bleachers and offers two tickets in the 200 level behind home plate. Face value. $35.

... It was almost too good to be true. We took 'em. Had a great time. Got to see the defending World Champion "idiots", and the guys sitting behind us paid $100 for their tickets. We mused repeatedly, How interesting would it be to ask everyone in this stadium how much they paid for their tickets?

No. 6: Aug. 5, 1994 … The Seattle Kingdome, where the Mariners and Royals were supposed to play, was falling apart. So the series was moved to Kansas City … The Royals opened the entire stadium for general admission seating. Tickets were like $4 or $5. It was first-come, first served.

I remember my family getting there early and staking our place in line for a chance at good seats. Then, when the gates opened, my brother and I raced down the aisle … And ended up claiming a group of seats about three rows back from the Mariners dugout on the third base side.

The Mariners were hitting their mid-90s prime with Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and Randy Johnson; Lou Piniella was their manager. But the Royals -- whose roster was loaded with steady veterans like Gary Gaetti, Greg Gagne, Wally Joyner, Vince Coleman, Jose Lind, Brian McRae and that season’s Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin -- were hot, too …

That night, the Royals put on a hitting display and shut out the Mariners 8-0, to win their 14th straight game. The crowd was, arguably, as loud as I’ve ever heard at Kauffman Stadium ... I also remember Piniella going into one of his tirades with the homeplate umpire, and we had a front row seat when a fan got into it with Piniella as he huffed and puffed back to the dugout ...

That win was the last the Royals had during that streak. And the 1994 strike ruined the season a few days later.

Vinyl Collection

(Last updated: 09.02.15)

… Since brushing the dust off my parents’ old stereo system and turntable, I’ve been making regular stops at a nearby record shop and the thrift stores in town in search of good-sounding, good quality records at bargain prices ... I've tried not to buy anything I don’t already have on CD, cassette or some other medium, but that hasn't always been easy ...

Here's where's my collections stands ...

... ABBA: Greatest Hits (UK edition)
… ABBA: The Singles
… America: Greatest Hits
... America: Hat Trick
… The Animals: Animalization
… Annie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
... The Association: Insight Out
... Badfinger: Straight Up
... The Beach Boys: American Summer
... The Beach Boys: In Concert
… The Beach Boys: Today
… The Beach Boys: Wow Great Concert
... The Beatles: Help!
... The Beatles: Rubber Soul
... The Beatles: Rock 'n' Roll Music
… The Bee Gees: Horizantal
… Billy Joel: The Stranger
… Billy Joel: 52nd Street
… The Buckinghams: Greatest Hits
... Carly Simon: No Secrets
… Carole King: Tapestry
… The Carpenters: self-titled
… The Carpenters: A Song For You
… The Carpenters: Close To You (… I bent my rule on this one. There’s just something about the vinyl sound. And would you believe it -- the track listing on the record is different than my original cassette.)
… The Carpenters: Now & Then
… Cat Stevens: Greatest Hits
… Cat Stevens: Tea for the Tillerman
… Cat Stevens: Teaser & the Firecat
… Chad & Jeremy: Yesterday’s Gone
… Chicago II
… Chicago III
… Chicago: Live at Carnegie Hall III, IV
… Chicago IX: Chicago’s Greatest Hits (I bent my rule for this one too …)
… Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: So Far
… Crow: Best of
… Cyndi Lauper: She’s So Unusual
... The Cyrkle: Red Rubber Ball
... The Dave Clark Five: Greatest Hits
... Electric Light Orchestra: Out of the Blue
… Elton John: Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player
... Fleetwood Mac: self-titled
… Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (I adore this album so much, I’ve got three copies of it … don’t ask…)
... Frank Sinatra: Greatest Hits
… The Go-Gos: Beauty & the Beat
… The Go-Gos: Vacation
... The Mamas & The Papas: self-titled
... The Mamas & The Papas: Deliver
... Michael Jackson: Thriller ( ... I got it at a garage sale for a dollar, just weeks before his death.)
... The Monkees: self-titled
... The Monkees: The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees
... The Monkees: Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd
.... The Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed
... Nancy Sinatra: Boots
… Neil Diamond: Hot August Night
… James Taylor: Mud Slide Slim & The Blue Horizon
... James Taylor: Sweet Baby James
... Jim Croce: Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits
… John Denver: Greatest Hits
… Journey: Evolution
... Paul Revere & The Raiders: The Spirit of ’67
… Peter, Paul & Mary: The Best Of, (Ten) Years Together
… Petula Clark: Greatest Hits Vol. 1
… The Pretenders: Pretenders
... Rolling Stones: Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)
... Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed
... Rolling Stones: Still Life (American Concert 1981)
... Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack
… Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water
... Simon & Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
… Simon & Garfunkel: Sounds of Silence
… Starship: Knee Deep In The Hoopla
... Supertramp: Breakfast In America
... Supertramp: Paris
... Toto: IV
... The Turtles: Happy Together
... Van Morrison: Moondance

Movies that made me say ‘Yeah!’

(Revised 06.22.2012)

Let me start by saying I don't consider myself much of a movie connoisseur.

While Kates brags about the list of classic ‘80s movies she watched as a kid, I can count on one hand the movies my parents took my brother and I to see in a theater during our childhoods. (My first: ‘Follow That Bird,’ a Sesame Street classic …) ...

During my teens, though, I could be found at a movie theater almost every weekend -- back then ticket prices were just $4 or $5, I had the money to burn and it was the thing to do on a Saturday night. It also was a time when I thought every movie was the best thing I'd ever seen ...

These days, I’m more critical of movies than I've ever been. You can probably point to my life experiences and my work for much of that ...

Still, there's a selection of movies that I can watch over and over again, reciting my favorite lines, adoring the characters and still laugh at the same lines I probably laughed at the first time I heard them.

Here's my list of movies I think everyone should see at least once ...

-- About Schmidt
-- Air Force One
-- A League of Their Own
-- American Beauty
-- Apollo 13
-- Armageddon
-- Back to the Future (The entire trilogy)
-- The Bank Job
-- Big
-- The Bourne Identity & The Bourne Supremacy
-- Cast Away
-- Christmas Story
-- ConAir
-- Crash
-- The Cure
-- Dead Poet's Society
-- Down With Love
-- E.T.
-- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
-- Eye for an Eye
-- Face Off
-- Field of Dreams
-- For Love of the Game
-- Forrest Gump
-- Frequency
-- Freedom Writers
-- The Fugitive
-- Garden State
-- Good Will Hunting
-- Hairspray
-- The Help
-- Home Alone
-- Honey I Shrunk the Kids
-- The Incredibles
-- Independence Day
-- Jerry Maguire
-- Juno
-- The Karate Kid
-- L.A. Confidential
-- The Last Kiss
-- Little Miss Sunshine
-- The Lorax
-- Love Actually
-- The Matrix
-- Magnolia
-- Major League
-- Mean Girls
-- Million Dollar Baby
-- Moneyball
-- Monsters Inc
-- Mr. Holland's Opus
-- National Treasure
-- The Natural
-- Notting Hill
-- Ocean's Eleven
-- Once
-- Over The Hedge
-- The Perfect Storm
-- Pleasantville
-- The Pursuit of Happyness
-- Ratatouille
-- Ray
-- Remember The Titans
-- Rent
-- The Rock
-- The Rookie
-- The Sandlot
-- Serendipity
-- Shakespeare In Love
-- The Shawshank Redemption
-- Shrek I & II
-- Sister Act I & II
-- Spanglish
-- Speed
-- Star Wars (The original trilogy)
-- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
-- Stand By Me
-- Tangled
-- Team America
-- That Thing You Do!
-- Titanic
-- Toy Story (The entire trilogy)
-- The Truman Show
-- Vanilla Sky
-- Walk The Line
-- Wizard of Oz
-- World Trade Center

Meetings and interviews

(Revised: 11.22.2011)

A list of some of the notable people I’ve met and/or interviewed during the course of my life and career ...

(And for more on why people like me tend to name-drop, read this from Stuff Journalists Like.)

… Ben Folds, Darren Jesse, Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five)
… Frank Thomas (baseball player, Chicago White Sox)
… Jennifer Knapp (singer)
… Claude McKnight (Take Six)
… Bernie Miklasz (sports columnist)
… Michael Wilbon (sports columnist)
… Bob Holden (Missouri governor)
… Herman Boone & Bill Yoast (the real-life coaches made famous by “Remember the Titans”)
… Mike Kroeger (Nickelback)
… Al Molinaro (actor)
… Paul Ryan (United States congressman)
… Paul & Morgan Hamm (Olympic medalists)
… Jim Doyle (Wisconsin Governor)
… Jenn Wertz (Rusted Root)
… Kirk Hinrich (basketball player, Chicago Bulls)
… Dawn & Drew (podcast pioneers)
… Peter Tork (of the Monkees)
… Toby Lightman (singer)
… Joe Esposito (Elvis Presley’s best friend)
… Mo Rocca (comedian, TV personality)
… Richard On (O.A.R)
… Imogen Heap (singer/songwriter)
… Jimmy Stafford (Train)
… Brian Rosenworcel (Guster)
… Tracy Lawrence (country artist)
… Bob Feller (baseball hall of famer)
… Ron Santo (Chicago Cubs legend, broadcaster)
… Rollie Fingers (baseball hall of famer)
… Buzz Aldrin & Jim Lovell (astronauts)
… James Blunt (singer)
… Paul Meany (Mute Math)
… Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits)
... Barry Williams (aka Greg Brady, The Brady Bunch)
... Billy Williams (baseball hall of famer)
... Ferguson Jenkins (baseball hall of famer)
... Andy Pafko (pro baseball player, 1943-1959)
... Regina Spektor (singer/songwriter)
... Hillary Clinton (former First Lady, New York Senator, 2008 Presidential candidate)
... Charles Kelly (Lady Antebellum)
... Chris Culos (drummer, O.A.R)
... Marty Stuart (country singer)
... Ingrid Michaelson (singer / songwriter)
... Don Newcombe (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1956 Cy Young and MVP winner)
... Sam Llanas (The BoDeans)
... Todd Mohr (Big Head Todd & the Monsters)
... LeRoy Butler (former Green Bay Packers All-Pro)
... Tom Hamilton (bassist, Aerosmith)
... Windell Middlebrooks (actor, "Miller High Life deliveryman")
... Harold Ford Jr. (former congressman, NBC analyst)
... Celine Cousteau (filmmaker, explorer, granddaughter of Jacques-Yves Cousteau)
... Shawn Johnson (U.S. gymnast, Olympic gold medalist)
... Meghan McCain (political activist, writer, daughter of U.S. Sen. John McCain)
... Blake Mycoskie (Founder of TOMS shoes)
... Frank Warren (Founder of PostSecret)

Concert sightings

(Updated: 03.02.2014)

Here's a list of the bands I've seen since, or at least the ones worth remembering ...

... Ben Folds, 10 times (including five with the 'Five')
... Blues Traveler
... Toad the Wet Sprocket
... Rusted Root
... Counting Crows (three times)
... Jars of Clay
... Take Six
... Jennifer Knapp (... a sweet acoustic performance to celebrate her debut release ...)
... Five for Fighting
... The Proclaimers
... Barenaked Ladies (twice)
... Dave Matthews (in an acoustic show with Tim Reynolds)
... Sister Hazel (twice)
... Nelly Furtado (... it was early in her career and it wasn't great.)
... Edwin McCain
... Guster (five times)
... John Mayer (twice)
... Avril Lavigne (... I watched from backstage while she performed acoustically in a mall.)
... Rufus Wainwright (... thought he was awful)
... Shawn Colvin
... Steve Winwood
... Gin Blossoms (July 2005 and July 2008)
... Toby Lightman (Nov. 2005)
... The Fray (twice)
... Alanis Morissette
... O.A.R. (four times)
... Imogen Heap
... John Kay of Steppenwolf
... The Go-Gos
... Pink
... Toto
... Mat Kearney
... James Taylor (twice)
... James Blunt
... Mute Math
... The Grass Roots
... The Buckinghams
... Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone (twice)
... Lindsey Buckingham
... Augustana
... Dashboard Confessional (twice)
... Regina Spektor
... Stevie Wonder
... The Polyphonic Spree
... The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
... Ingrid Michaelson (twice)
... The Hush Sound... OneRepublic
... Jason Mraz
... Death Cab For Cutie
... Sheryl Crow
... Goo Goo Dolls (three times)
... Parachute
... Michelle Branch
... America
... Mates of State
... Fun.

My first-ever concert was an oldies concert sponsored by one of the local stations in Kansas City that my dad got tickets to. It featured The Buckinghams, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, The Turtles and Three Dog Night ... By the time I saw them, they were has-beens. But it was the night was a thrill nonetheless.

My first modern concert would have been R.E.M. during their Monster tour in spring '95 ... But my mother put the kebosh on that one because there was a tornado watch in our area. It never rained a drop, it turned out to be a beautiful night and I was stuck at home (I love you, Mom!) ...

Truly, my first modern concert was a Hootie & the Blowfish show in summer '96.

My Lists

I tend to make a lot of lists ...

And I've published a lot of them during the life of this blog ...

So here's your one-stop-shop for My Lists ...

a Movies I recommend

a Notable people I've met and/or interviewed

a Vinyl record collection

a Concert sightings

a Great live cover songs

a Albums I really, really dig

a Best “Hey, let’s decide to go to a game at the last minute, why not?” payoffs

a Phoebe's Rock 'n' Roll Playlist

a Phoebe’s Lullaby playlist