Thanksgiving filter

Green Bay
@ Detroit
Pick: Green Bay -6.0

Miami
@ Dallas
Pick: Miami +7.0

San Francisco
@ Baltimore
Pick: San Francisco +3.5

Week 10 picks

Dallas
@ Washington
Pick: Dallas -9.0

Cincinnati
@ Baltimore
Pick: Baltimore -7.0

Tampa Bay
@ Green Bay
Pick: Green Bay -14.0

Jacksonville
@ Cleveland
Pick: Jacksonville -1.0

Oakland
@ Minnesota
Pick: Minnesota -1.0

Buffalo
@ Miami
Pick: Miami -1.0

Lot of favorites so far, not a good sign.

Carolina
@ Detroit
Pick: Carolina +7.0

Arizona
@ San Francisco
Pick: Arizona +9.5

Seattle
@ St. Louis
Pick: St. Louis -2.5

San Diego
@ Chicago
Pick: Chicago -3.5

Tennessee
@ Atlanta
Pick: Tennessee +6.0

Philadelphia
@ New York
Pick: New York -4.0

Bye: Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburgh

Last week: 7-8

Season: 66-66-5

Hanna

I had coffee with McCauley half an hour ago!

The second night of my drinking, I was looking for my car

And as luck would have it, I found it parked outside my favorite bar.

I toyed around with the title of this post for quite some time. One I thought about using was "Come back baby, rock and roll never forgets." Another one was "Turning mountains into oceans, putting people on the moon", which is very close to what I feel the Drive-By Truckers did tonight.

The House of Blues is an establishment in itself. And for me, to experience the Truckers there the first time I enter, it is a feeling I cannot describe. Right from the get go with "Used to be a cop" and "Three dimes down", Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood show why they are the songwriters they are, and not to forget, why they play such good guitar.

This is the second time I've seen DBT. First time was out in the sticks, in Norway, back in 2008. This time around, their show was more rock'n'roll. Way more. We were treated to heavy guitar riffs, solos and drumming, we got to see singing from Mike and Patterson almost 50/50 (the lovely Shonna Tucker treated us to a few tunes, including the absolutely gorgeous cover of "Where's Eddie". If you have not heard their rendition of this song yet, I strongly advice you too, regardless of your musical preferences. It is simply a masterpiece of a song), and we got a decent number of encore songs.

It was good to see they guys play a lot of stuff from "...Opera" and "Dirty South", and I was obviously ecstatic when "Zip City" came on for the encore. But it was also a pleasant surprise to hear "Women without whiskey" and "Where the Devil won't stay", not to mention "The fourth night of my drinking". Such was the show that I am having a hard time picking high points.

Bottom line is, if you are a rock and roll fan, and you have not seen the Drive-By Truckers perform yet, you have missed out. Some might say they play country music, some might say they are boring. To those people, I say fuck you. DBT are one of the few bands that stay honest to the medium, they perform like it's the last show they will ever play, and their song repertoire is unprecedented. Songwriting like no-one else.

I did want to hear "Dead, drunk, and naked" and "Assholes", but with that much good stuff from "...Opera" and "Dirty South", not to mention the stuff they played off "Go-go Boots", I really can't complain. Well worth the money, and I hope it's not three years till next time.

PS: I had Denver +4.5 tonight.

Milestone? Again?

This is post #400 here at Zip City. It's been 3 years and approximately 3,5 months since I first pretended I could be a blogger on the world wide web. A lot has changed in my life since then, but this has been one of the things that I have kept with me at all times: my own, my retreat. I can't say that I have been highly political, highly relevant or highly entertaining. But for me that does not matter. If you want to read what I post you read. If you don't then find yourself a different blog. Simple, easy logic.

Thank you.

Week 10 picks

Who would have thought that Oakland would win last night? I mean, San Diego has to be one of the most confusing teams this year, right? In other news, great time with everyone down in Philadelphia, but a special shout to Billy and Roggz who made the trip to Boston and spent a few days here. Even though the Pats lost, it was a lot of fun hanging out with you and going to the game.

Now tonight we have Oregon-Stanford in about 2 hours. Should be a great game; I like Oregon, and I like watching Andrew Luck. 4 vs 7.

New Orleans
@ Atlanta
Pick: New Orleans -1.0

Pittsburgh
@ Cincinnati
Pick: Pittsburgh -3.5

St. Louis
@ Cleveland
Pick: St. Louis +2.5

Buffalo
@ Dallas
Pick: Dallas -5.5

Jacksonville
@ Indianapolis
Pick: Jacksonville -3.0

Tennessee
@ Carolina
Pick: Carolina -3.5

Houston
@ Tampa Bay
Pick: Houston -3.5

Arizona
@ Philadelphia
Pick: Philadelphia -14.0

Washington
@ Miami
Pick: Miami -4.0

Denver
@ Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City -3.5

Baltimore
@ Seattle
Pick: Baltimore -6.5

Detroit
@ Chicago
Pick: Detroit +2.5

New York
@ San Francisco
Pick: New York +3.5

Minnesota
@ Green Bay
Pick: Minnesota +13.0

Last week: 9-4

Season: 59-58-5

Thursday night special #1

God I hate these.

Oakland
@ San Diego
Pick: San Diego -7.0

Week 9 picks

Tampa Bay
@ New Orleans
Pick: New Orleans -9.0

Cleveland
@ Houston
Pick: Houston 10.5

New York
@ Buffalo
Pick: New York +1.0

Atlanta
@ Indianapolis
Pick: Atlanta -7.0

Seattle
@ Dallas
Pick: Dallas -11.5

San Francisco
@ Washington
Pick: San Francisco -3.5

Miami
@ Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City -4.5

Denver
@ Oakland
Pick: Denver +9.0

Cincinnati
@ Tennessee
Pick: Cincinnati +3.0

St. Louis
@ Arizona
Pick: Arizona -1.5

Green Bay
@ San Diego
Pick: Green Bay -5.5

Baltimore
@ Pittsburgh
Pick: Pittsburgh -3.0

Chicago
@ Philadelphia
Pick: Philadelphia -9.0

Bye: Carolina, Detroit, Jacksonville, Minnesota

Last week: 5-7

Season: 50-54-5

There are many things to talk about

I don't know what I should say today. When I got home I was upbeat and in a very good mood. Right now, it feels shallow and broken. And I'm really not sure what the difference is. This is the part where I usually say 'fuck it', but I'm older now, I should have the core established, the requirements fulfilled, the dreams chased. The glass is always half-full, except when some asshole drank the fucker. It seems that he is drinking more than can be expected. Or maybe I'm just having an awful hour right now. I really can't tell. I guess adjusting to real life is more than an exercise. Here's to hoping I didn't realize too late.

All is quiet on the Western front!

That is, if you don't count the absolute spectacular firework of a concert put on tonight by the Australian Pink Floyd Show. In an old-school theatre packed to the brim, the Aussies put on a show for almost 2 and a half hours, playing a wide variety of Floyd favorites, and even an older, banned Syd Barrett song. Very encouraging to see so many young people at such a small venue.

Most of you know that I went to see Roger Waters in Hartford last fall. While his show was more gargantuan, more epic, grandeur and generally an awe-inspiring performance, the Aussie crew is not something to be embarrassed about. The vocals are the biggest difference, but it really doesn't bother you at all cause you get so many different songs and so much good guitar and bass play that the hairs on the back of your neck start rising. Coupled with the circular video screen and one of the best light designs I have ever seen at a rock concert, you have a very true and worthy tribute.

Highlights include 'What do you want from me' from Division Bell; the band majestically close out the show with a power-performance of 'Run like hell' as their one and only encore (they did 'Comfortably numb' right before). But my absolute favorite of the night was 'The great gig in the sky' when they took one of their three magnificent backup-singers (all ladies) and she belted out one of the best vocal performances I have ever witnessed. Seriously, I will die a happy man because I got to see, hear and feel her rendition of, in this fans opinion, one of the underrated songs of not just Dark Side...but of the entire Pink Floyd repertoire.