Friday, July 11, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
gestation of a foodbaby... pt.2
19 weeks, heirloom tomato
if you're just tuning in now, this is another entry in a series entitled, "gestation of a foodbaby" which follows the development of a fetus that is temporarily living in my friend's body (NOT MINE). please refer to the original entry for the full story.
this week's entry posed certain specific challenges. the first of which is that according to this crazy website (weekly update via my friend), a 19 week old fetus is the size of a "large heirloom tomato". but there's like 100's of types of heirloom tomatoes, plenty of them are large and i had to choose one.
which brings us to the 2nd challenge of this week's post. my personal battle with this entire series to put it bluntly has been: how many posts/weeks could i get through before i finally started making jokes about eating fetuses? see, the problem here is firmly rooted in the fact that this weekly comparison is of FOOD and FETUSES. so this isn't me being weird, i mean, if you keep comparing a fetus to food, one day i'm gonna start salivating when i walk past a planned parenthood clinic. it's classic conditioning.
what's worse is that I LOVE TOMATOES! my grandfather used to own a tomato-packing warehouse, we've grown tomatoes in our home garden since before i can remember, and i have been known to eat them as anyone would eat an apple or a peach (or a fetus) BECAUSE THEY ARE REALLY YUMMY (tomatoes that is).
so i tried to be strong. i did. i actually explained to someone last week that it was my friend's baby and i probably shouldn't make jokes about "real baby back ribs" because it might get weird and i didn't want to scare her so i needed to behave myself. but now with the tomatoes... you've got me. i'm weak.
19 weeks, heirloom tomato, looking oh-so-juicy and tasty
19 weeks old ala vodka
19 weeks old caprese salad
19 weeks old gazpacho shooters
so that's the answer to the nagging question which was- how many weeks would it take before i broke down and started making jokes about eating fetuses? the answer is: exactly 1 week...
oh, what the hell? one more!
(this is one of our garden tomatoes from a few years back- amazing-- possibly a brandywine?)
if you're just tuning in now, this is another entry in a series entitled, "gestation of a foodbaby" which follows the development of a fetus that is temporarily living in my friend's body (NOT MINE). please refer to the original entry for the full story.
this week's entry posed certain specific challenges. the first of which is that according to this crazy website (weekly update via my friend), a 19 week old fetus is the size of a "large heirloom tomato". but there's like 100's of types of heirloom tomatoes, plenty of them are large and i had to choose one.
which brings us to the 2nd challenge of this week's post. my personal battle with this entire series to put it bluntly has been: how many posts/weeks could i get through before i finally started making jokes about eating fetuses? see, the problem here is firmly rooted in the fact that this weekly comparison is of FOOD and FETUSES. so this isn't me being weird, i mean, if you keep comparing a fetus to food, one day i'm gonna start salivating when i walk past a planned parenthood clinic. it's classic conditioning.
what's worse is that I LOVE TOMATOES! my grandfather used to own a tomato-packing warehouse, we've grown tomatoes in our home garden since before i can remember, and i have been known to eat them as anyone would eat an apple or a peach (or a fetus) BECAUSE THEY ARE REALLY YUMMY (tomatoes that is).
so i tried to be strong. i did. i actually explained to someone last week that it was my friend's baby and i probably shouldn't make jokes about "real baby back ribs" because it might get weird and i didn't want to scare her so i needed to behave myself. but now with the tomatoes... you've got me. i'm weak.
19 weeks, heirloom tomato, looking oh-so-juicy and tasty
19 weeks old ala vodka
19 weeks old caprese salad
19 weeks old gazpacho shooters
so that's the answer to the nagging question which was- how many weeks would it take before i broke down and started making jokes about eating fetuses? the answer is: exactly 1 week...
oh, what the hell? one more!
(this is one of our garden tomatoes from a few years back- amazing-- possibly a brandywine?)
Monday, July 7, 2008
from the sports desk... injury report edition.
team DOOM DOOM DOOM has been rocked at it's foundations by injuries this year. it's almost the all-star break and the corpses keep dropping with no end in sight (except october). so here's a little injury list update (thanks, rotoworld):
Ryan Zimmerman-3B- Nationals Jul. 4 - 4:08 pm et
Ryan Zimmerman (shoulder) got a good review from Reds' medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek Thursday.
"Everything looked good to [Kremchek]," Zimmerman said. "Everything looked strong -- keep doing what we are doing, keep progressing. He said it looks fine." The Nats are hoping Zim can rejoin the team by late July or early August.
not horrendous since i've also got mark reynolds, cantu, and kouzmanoff- and all are hot at the moment (though reynolds took a line drive in the wrist last week... he seems to be okay now- except that he catches like a fucking girl!).
this next one will definitely hurt:
Matt Capps-R - Pirates Jul. 2 - 6:58 pm et
Pirates placed RHP Matt Capps on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis in his right shoulder and internal rotation deficit.
An older reliever would probably attempt a comeback after a couple of weeks off. The Pirates, though, will be particularly careful with the 24-year-old Capps when they have so little to gain by rushing him back. Damaso Marte can close this month and further improve his trade value in the process. While the early word is that Capps will miss two months, the Pirates may decide there's no reason to activate him in September unless everything goes perfectly in his rehab.
Matt Capps-R- Pirates Jul. 7 - 12:40 am et
Matt Capps flew to Florida on Sunday to begin rehabbing his sore shoulder.
Capps is expected to be out until at least the first week of September, but he says he expects to pitch again this season.
probably the biggest blow to my team so far has been:
David Ortiz-DH-Red Sox Jul. 7 - 7:06 pm et
David Ortiz took batting practice Monday for the first time since injuring his wrist on May 31.
Both Ortiz and manager Terry Francona reported afterward that the BP session went well, but there's still no timetable for Ortiz's return. "It's hard, man, it's hard," Ortiz said. "You want to be out there in those series. But that said, I have to be patient. I don't want to be stupid about coming back. I don't want to come back and not be ready and get things worse."
which brings us to--- oh i dunno, who else? oh yah-
Eric Byrnes-OF - Diamondbacks Jun. 30 - 10:53 pm et
Eric Byrnes left Monday's game with a strained left hamstring.
Byrnes just returned from injuries to both hamstrings a week ago, and he's never been right at any point of the season. He reinjured himself tonight trying to steal third base, and there's a good chance he'll land back on the disabled list.
Eric Byrnes-OF- Diamondbacks Jul. 3 - 9:13 am et
According to the Arizona Republic, Eric Byrnes may require surgery to repair his injured hamstring.
Byrnes would likely miss the remainder of the season if he goes under the knife, but no decision on his status has been made yet. "Then it becomes a decision on his part, too, whether he wants to, based on the opinions he gets and listening to all the proper personnel to listen to," manager Bob Melvin said.
huzzah, eric byrnes. well played, you fucking dipshit.
in either good or bad news, i will no longer have a* player who is NA:
Clay Buchholz-S- Red Sox Jul. 7 - 4:35 pm et
The Providence Journal reports that Clay Buchholz will be called up to start Friday's game against Baltimore.
The timing of the move is odd as Justin Masterson had limited the Yankees to two runs in six innings Saturday while Buchholz gave up five runs in five innings at Triple-A. Buchholz had limited opponents to one run in 22 2/3 innings before that, though, so he'll be promoted.
team DOOM DOOM DOOM is current frontrunner for the league's "DK Award" (darryl kile) which is presented to the xmlb team that has a player die during the season. i'm totally winning that shit before lento.
that's it from the sportsdesk...
lynn, mgr. team DOOM DOOM DOOM
*because I already dropped Rich Hill when i had 2 NA's
Ryan Zimmerman-3B- Nationals Jul. 4 - 4:08 pm et
Ryan Zimmerman (shoulder) got a good review from Reds' medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek Thursday.
"Everything looked good to [Kremchek]," Zimmerman said. "Everything looked strong -- keep doing what we are doing, keep progressing. He said it looks fine." The Nats are hoping Zim can rejoin the team by late July or early August.
not horrendous since i've also got mark reynolds, cantu, and kouzmanoff- and all are hot at the moment (though reynolds took a line drive in the wrist last week... he seems to be okay now- except that he catches like a fucking girl!).
this next one will definitely hurt:
Matt Capps-R - Pirates Jul. 2 - 6:58 pm et
Pirates placed RHP Matt Capps on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis in his right shoulder and internal rotation deficit.
An older reliever would probably attempt a comeback after a couple of weeks off. The Pirates, though, will be particularly careful with the 24-year-old Capps when they have so little to gain by rushing him back. Damaso Marte can close this month and further improve his trade value in the process. While the early word is that Capps will miss two months, the Pirates may decide there's no reason to activate him in September unless everything goes perfectly in his rehab.
Matt Capps-R- Pirates Jul. 7 - 12:40 am et
Matt Capps flew to Florida on Sunday to begin rehabbing his sore shoulder.
Capps is expected to be out until at least the first week of September, but he says he expects to pitch again this season.
probably the biggest blow to my team so far has been:
David Ortiz-DH-Red Sox Jul. 7 - 7:06 pm et
David Ortiz took batting practice Monday for the first time since injuring his wrist on May 31.
Both Ortiz and manager Terry Francona reported afterward that the BP session went well, but there's still no timetable for Ortiz's return. "It's hard, man, it's hard," Ortiz said. "You want to be out there in those series. But that said, I have to be patient. I don't want to be stupid about coming back. I don't want to come back and not be ready and get things worse."
which brings us to--- oh i dunno, who else? oh yah-
Eric Byrnes-OF - Diamondbacks Jun. 30 - 10:53 pm et
Eric Byrnes left Monday's game with a strained left hamstring.
Byrnes just returned from injuries to both hamstrings a week ago, and he's never been right at any point of the season. He reinjured himself tonight trying to steal third base, and there's a good chance he'll land back on the disabled list.
Eric Byrnes-OF- Diamondbacks Jul. 3 - 9:13 am et
According to the Arizona Republic, Eric Byrnes may require surgery to repair his injured hamstring.
Byrnes would likely miss the remainder of the season if he goes under the knife, but no decision on his status has been made yet. "Then it becomes a decision on his part, too, whether he wants to, based on the opinions he gets and listening to all the proper personnel to listen to," manager Bob Melvin said.
huzzah, eric byrnes. well played, you fucking dipshit.
in either good or bad news, i will no longer have a* player who is NA:
Clay Buchholz-S- Red Sox Jul. 7 - 4:35 pm et
The Providence Journal reports that Clay Buchholz will be called up to start Friday's game against Baltimore.
The timing of the move is odd as Justin Masterson had limited the Yankees to two runs in six innings Saturday while Buchholz gave up five runs in five innings at Triple-A. Buchholz had limited opponents to one run in 22 2/3 innings before that, though, so he'll be promoted.
team DOOM DOOM DOOM is current frontrunner for the league's "DK Award" (darryl kile) which is presented to the xmlb team that has a player die during the season. i'm totally winning that shit before lento.
that's it from the sportsdesk...
lynn, mgr. team DOOM DOOM DOOM
*because I already dropped Rich Hill when i had 2 NA's
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
off to the glue factory with you, eric byrnes... the glue factory.
monday night led to an unfortunate turn of events for arizona diamondback's OF eric byrnes. back after approximately one month on the DL with a tear in each of his hamstrings (he was finally forced onto the DL after 2 months of struggling and "toughing it out"), byrnes finally made it all the way to 2B. perhaps his horrible mustache was working!
fantasy managers everywhere heaved a sigh of relief. that is, until he tried to steal 3B- after a quick sprint he came up lame and did a flying belly-flop to the ground like some sort of spectacular paraplegic ballerina. on-field trainers quickly diagnosed the condition as grave and did the only thing they could do in that situation... they put him down. right there at 3B, in front of thousands in the stadium and millions watching on tv.
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807013039496
it's hard to say if it was the right move, but at least it was done in a humane way. like barbaro, he's in a better place now. a place where it's 2007 all the time and he can run free in the lavender meadows with kevin brown, jeremy bonderman, nomar garciaparra, and all the rest of the injured ballplayers who expired before their time.
fantasy managers everywhere heaved a sigh of relief. that is, until he tried to steal 3B- after a quick sprint he came up lame and did a flying belly-flop to the ground like some sort of spectacular paraplegic ballerina. on-field trainers quickly diagnosed the condition as grave and did the only thing they could do in that situation... they put him down. right there at 3B, in front of thousands in the stadium and millions watching on tv.
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807013039496
it's hard to say if it was the right move, but at least it was done in a humane way. like barbaro, he's in a better place now. a place where it's 2007 all the time and he can run free in the lavender meadows with kevin brown, jeremy bonderman, nomar garciaparra, and all the rest of the injured ballplayers who expired before their time.
eric byrnes, a haiku
launching then flying
right and left both hammies pop
to pasture with you
launching then flying
right and left both hammies pop
to pasture with you
goodbye, eric byrnes. R.I.P. 1976-2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
gestation of a foodbaby... pt.1
last week i had dinner with a couple of my oldest/dearest friends and one of them revealed to the rest of us that she is with child (over empanadas- the best kind of announcement food). there is some sort of creature growing inside her. typical of this friend, everything revolves around food. a tiny asian, i've spent my life watching her eat whatever she wants in massive quantities whenever she wants (without any negative implications). so it was only fitting that she first described the size of the fetus in terms we could all understand... "right now, it's the size of a turnip." "a turnip???" i grew squeamish and slightly confused as i've never compared a fetus to turnips before (and from now on will possibly think of fetuses each time i encounter a turnip). she sensed this and chased me around holding up her hands forming the correct size and screaming, "TURNIP TURNIP TURNIP!"
so, the following day i got my sweet revenge by sending her an artist's rendering of her foodbaby... it turned out well and i've decided that (with her permission) i will be posting weekly updates of the gestation of her foodbaby. she did request that i wait until this week to start posting them because she hasn't told everybody yet. "wait until it's a bell pepper." "okay, well, you let me know when that is, but i'm still posting the turnip... you filthy turnip-breeder."
it is now with great pleasure that i present to you, the first of many posts in a series entitled, "gestation of a foodbaby."
17 weeks, the turnip (last week).
18 weeks, the bell pepper (this week).
what will the foodbaby look like next week? stay tuned to find out!
so, the following day i got my sweet revenge by sending her an artist's rendering of her foodbaby... it turned out well and i've decided that (with her permission) i will be posting weekly updates of the gestation of her foodbaby. she did request that i wait until this week to start posting them because she hasn't told everybody yet. "wait until it's a bell pepper." "okay, well, you let me know when that is, but i'm still posting the turnip... you filthy turnip-breeder."
it is now with great pleasure that i present to you, the first of many posts in a series entitled, "gestation of a foodbaby."
17 weeks, the turnip (last week).
18 weeks, the bell pepper (this week).
what will the foodbaby look like next week? stay tuned to find out!
Monday, June 23, 2008
moe., 6/16/08, highline ballroom, ny, ny
by the time i got out of my car the skies had turned black over manhattan and nature's wrath was about to have it's way with garbage littered all over the city. i just needed shelter. fortunately i parked right near the park nyc, so i walked right in, ordered a moe.jito (AHHAHAHA get it? groan.)- but seriously, it was fucking good, and called babitz (aka d.mighty, d.mouthy, darth mighty) to tell him walking 2 avenues over given the current situation was a pipe dream. he ran into hern and lisa on the sidewalk and they sought shelter at diner (which they said sucked).
i also got a margherita brick oven pizza and chilled at the bar until erika and jake made it over. once the monsoon passed, i was kept entertained by a firetruck that parked right in front of the restaurant. what is it about those overalls? so, erika and jake showed up and got some beer, shortly afterwards we were joined by dan and the hernsottos- lisa was happy to imbibe in a girly drink- she got a 'sexy bitch', which is peach stoli, pineapple juice, mango puree, and grenadine. damn. that does sound good. i might have to try one of those. we migrated over to the corner which had some built-in bookcases full of really old national geographics to page through. we convinced erika to go to moe.down and then headed out the door nicely riled up.
once again, i LOVE the highline ballroom. it's possibly the best music venue in the city nowadays. the staff are chill, the sound is great, the bathrooms are rockin', and you can see the stage from pretty much anywhere in the room. ran into salvo on the way in- totally didn't recognize him, he's like half the size he was last year! crazy! good jorb, guy!
we settled in a few people back on al.side- last year it was a nice location, so we stuck with it. they opened up with 'water' which i'm guessing was either dedicated to governor's island or the aforementioned stormfront. right into 'bearsong' which i'm not used to hearing so early in a set, but i was good and drunk early thanks to the moe.jitos (this might be a new tradition) so oddly enough, it fit. queen of everything. i LOVE this song. i've said it before but this is moe.'s 'whipping post'. it's a southern rock masterpiece and rob belts the shit out of it. AWESOME. 'jazzwank'? no fucking way!!! yes way! wtf??? babitz (sporting his '96 "looking for answers?" rock the vote tour shirt) was especially pleased with this. dan loved it so much he wanted to poop in al's f-hole! -> 'runaway overlude' -> 'mexico' (nice touch). last year's highline 'mexico' was a refreshing good time, and the same can be said for this year's. setbreak and d. mouthy said he had to leave, i guess he had answers to look for or something, but i really think it was because al wouldn't let him poop in his f-hole. maybe he thought he could find a better f-hole to poop in, but i'm telling you right now- dan, if you're reading this: you'll never find another f-hole like al's. you better get used to pooping in a toilet.
when the band took the stage for the 2nd set they brought up a few cakes that someone had made for them at a bakery in the chelsea market around the corner. one of the cakes had the 'sticks and stones' album cover and i didn't get a look at the other one, but for some reason i think it had the DEVIL TOAD on it. lick the toad, devil toad! the venue sliced and passed around the cake to all of us and it was REALLY FUCKING GOOD. vanilla/lemony with- was that some toasted coconut i tasted? yummy yummy moe. cake! i gotta find out the name of the bakery and go stuff myself silly. you think i'm joking. at some point we were joined by matt, who had given up his spot in the first row because he didn't like being compressed against the stage anymore. people are ANIMALS.
'nebraska' started and some drunk asshole behind us was singing the words louder than the band, which would have been problematic (for him) if he didn't eventually stop. -> 'blue jeans pizza'. i kind of enjoyed it this time around. i like the jam, i think the song takes some interesting turns, but i am unsure if i like the good parts enough to make up for the meh parts i'm still not in love with yet. or maybe i do like it but i don't cream myself when i hear it the way most of the people i see react when it starts. whatever. 'crab eyes', great. i totally dig 'the pit' (i didn't even do that on purpose). that song is just layer upon layer of constantly building evil. great jam. 'big world'- i love this song- on the album. the live versions have never quite met my expectations, some have bordered on sloppy even for such a precisely toned song. this one was really good in the realm of 'big world's. then, 'moth'- a song i had heard teased a number of times at governor's island. it was good fun and al handed the mic over to an audience member to turn it into an interactive version. end of second set.
the band got back onstage and al approached the microphone with a handful of papers. i screamed and begged, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! NO MORE!!!! DON'T DO IT AL!!!!! NOOO MOOOOORE!!! NOOOOO MOOOOORE!!!!!" the band laughed, rob told me to settle down, but then he joined me in begging al, "NOOO MOOORE! NOO MOOOORE!" but al did it anyways- he read the horribly annoying announcements... he's such a nice guy. and someone joked that everyone should pick up one piece of garbage on their way out. HA! fuck these things!!!
encore... 'THREW IT ALL AWAY'. holy fuck. i haven't heard this song in forever! it just snuck right up and startled the crap out of me! what a choice! GOOD SHOW!!! i had almost forgotten what a rocker jimmy page was!!! when the encore ended all i could say was "wow... threw it all away!!!! WOW!" but matt was the only one left in the running crew to say it to! everyone else took off- they were all, "ohh wahhh, it's a monday night... i have job." well, i don't, but even if i DID- i STILL would have stayed 'til the end. that's just how i roll.
moe., 6/16/08, highline ballroom, nyc, ny: 9 HUZZAHS! i was surprised i didn't hear 'timmy tucker' or 'rec chem' or 'rebubula' between the two nights, but i don't mind- it seems like they always play those in nyc so it's nice to see/hear them mix it up a bit.
i think i should have shifted some settings around more on my camera, but practice makes perfect... gotta get it right by moe.down. in the meantime- slideshow:
and here's the gallery if you'd like to view at full size or DL the hi-res pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnguppy/Moe61608HighlineBallroomNycNy
Set I:
Water> Bearsong, Queen Of Everything, Jazzwank > Runaway Overlude > Mexico
Set II:
Nebraska > Blue Jeans Pizza > Nebraska, Crab Eyes, The Pit > Big World > Moth
Encore: Threw It All Away
here's a link to the archive search results for the show. there should be a few more copies up soon:
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=moe%20highline%202008
i also got a margherita brick oven pizza and chilled at the bar until erika and jake made it over. once the monsoon passed, i was kept entertained by a firetruck that parked right in front of the restaurant. what is it about those overalls? so, erika and jake showed up and got some beer, shortly afterwards we were joined by dan and the hernsottos- lisa was happy to imbibe in a girly drink- she got a 'sexy bitch', which is peach stoli, pineapple juice, mango puree, and grenadine. damn. that does sound good. i might have to try one of those. we migrated over to the corner which had some built-in bookcases full of really old national geographics to page through. we convinced erika to go to moe.down and then headed out the door nicely riled up.
once again, i LOVE the highline ballroom. it's possibly the best music venue in the city nowadays. the staff are chill, the sound is great, the bathrooms are rockin', and you can see the stage from pretty much anywhere in the room. ran into salvo on the way in- totally didn't recognize him, he's like half the size he was last year! crazy! good jorb, guy!
we settled in a few people back on al.side- last year it was a nice location, so we stuck with it. they opened up with 'water' which i'm guessing was either dedicated to governor's island or the aforementioned stormfront. right into 'bearsong' which i'm not used to hearing so early in a set, but i was good and drunk early thanks to the moe.jitos (this might be a new tradition) so oddly enough, it fit. queen of everything. i LOVE this song. i've said it before but this is moe.'s 'whipping post'. it's a southern rock masterpiece and rob belts the shit out of it. AWESOME. 'jazzwank'? no fucking way!!! yes way! wtf??? babitz (sporting his '96 "looking for answers?" rock the vote tour shirt) was especially pleased with this. dan loved it so much he wanted to poop in al's f-hole! -> 'runaway overlude' -> 'mexico' (nice touch). last year's highline 'mexico' was a refreshing good time, and the same can be said for this year's. setbreak and d. mouthy said he had to leave, i guess he had answers to look for or something, but i really think it was because al wouldn't let him poop in his f-hole. maybe he thought he could find a better f-hole to poop in, but i'm telling you right now- dan, if you're reading this: you'll never find another f-hole like al's. you better get used to pooping in a toilet.
when the band took the stage for the 2nd set they brought up a few cakes that someone had made for them at a bakery in the chelsea market around the corner. one of the cakes had the 'sticks and stones' album cover and i didn't get a look at the other one, but for some reason i think it had the DEVIL TOAD on it. lick the toad, devil toad! the venue sliced and passed around the cake to all of us and it was REALLY FUCKING GOOD. vanilla/lemony with- was that some toasted coconut i tasted? yummy yummy moe. cake! i gotta find out the name of the bakery and go stuff myself silly. you think i'm joking. at some point we were joined by matt, who had given up his spot in the first row because he didn't like being compressed against the stage anymore. people are ANIMALS.
'nebraska' started and some drunk asshole behind us was singing the words louder than the band, which would have been problematic (for him) if he didn't eventually stop. -> 'blue jeans pizza'. i kind of enjoyed it this time around. i like the jam, i think the song takes some interesting turns, but i am unsure if i like the good parts enough to make up for the meh parts i'm still not in love with yet. or maybe i do like it but i don't cream myself when i hear it the way most of the people i see react when it starts. whatever. 'crab eyes', great. i totally dig 'the pit' (i didn't even do that on purpose). that song is just layer upon layer of constantly building evil. great jam. 'big world'- i love this song- on the album. the live versions have never quite met my expectations, some have bordered on sloppy even for such a precisely toned song. this one was really good in the realm of 'big world's. then, 'moth'- a song i had heard teased a number of times at governor's island. it was good fun and al handed the mic over to an audience member to turn it into an interactive version. end of second set.
the band got back onstage and al approached the microphone with a handful of papers. i screamed and begged, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! NO MORE!!!! DON'T DO IT AL!!!!! NOOO MOOOOORE!!! NOOOOO MOOOOORE!!!!!" the band laughed, rob told me to settle down, but then he joined me in begging al, "NOOO MOOORE! NOO MOOOORE!" but al did it anyways- he read the horribly annoying announcements... he's such a nice guy. and someone joked that everyone should pick up one piece of garbage on their way out. HA! fuck these things!!!
encore... 'THREW IT ALL AWAY'. holy fuck. i haven't heard this song in forever! it just snuck right up and startled the crap out of me! what a choice! GOOD SHOW!!! i had almost forgotten what a rocker jimmy page was!!! when the encore ended all i could say was "wow... threw it all away!!!! WOW!" but matt was the only one left in the running crew to say it to! everyone else took off- they were all, "ohh wahhh, it's a monday night... i have job." well, i don't, but even if i DID- i STILL would have stayed 'til the end. that's just how i roll.
moe., 6/16/08, highline ballroom, nyc, ny: 9 HUZZAHS! i was surprised i didn't hear 'timmy tucker' or 'rec chem' or 'rebubula' between the two nights, but i don't mind- it seems like they always play those in nyc so it's nice to see/hear them mix it up a bit.
i think i should have shifted some settings around more on my camera, but practice makes perfect... gotta get it right by moe.down. in the meantime- slideshow:
and here's the gallery if you'd like to view at full size or DL the hi-res pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnguppy/Moe61608HighlineBallroomNycNy
Set I:
Water> Bearsong, Queen Of Everything, Jazzwank > Runaway Overlude > Mexico
Set II:
Nebraska > Blue Jeans Pizza > Nebraska, Crab Eyes, The Pit > Big World > Moth
Encore: Threw It All Away
here's a link to the archive search results for the show. there should be a few more copies up soon:
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=moe%20highline%202008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
moe., 6/15/08, governors island, new york, ny
the wonderful highline ballroom, a live music venue that opened last year in chelsea, organized a series of concerts this summer that all take place on the uninhabited governors island. most people confuse governors island with ellis island and staten island, but it's actually an even smaller fortified island that the rich-ass lois lane lived on in the most recent superman movie.
what better day to stage a show on an island off the southermost tip of manhattan and only accessible by ferry, than father's day sunday! aside from the horrible traffic, it was an awesome day for it! the sun was shining and the humidity of a 2-week august heat-wave had finally broken (it was june). on an aside, last week it also snowed in the cascades and there was a tornado in burlington, vt. i hope everybody is getting used to their new climates and seasons, it's gonna be a while. YAY.
while waiting for the 5:45pm ferry (i got there after 5pm ferry departed) we took a quick walk over to the beer gardens at battery park. i really needed to pee but aside from the park restroom being absolutely atrocious (wow, there's a bathroom worse than the ny public library?), a croatian janitor screamed at me for pushing the garbage can out of the doorway to peak inside. "YOU GO! YOU NO MOVE!! NO NO!" you don't have to tell me twice, zoltan. luckily i am quite skilled at holding my pee when absolutely necessary. this includes various situations including but not limited to: public bathrooms in new york city, long movies/music sets i don't want to miss, 4am on the nys thruway 1 hour from home. the boys downed some food/bevvies, lisa ate a piece of corn with dijon mustard on it (that's fucked up), and we jetted back over to the ferry (with police entourage) and stood in a sweatbox for a couple of minutes before being whisked away to the fabulous isle of governors, roughly 5 minutes from beautiful downtown battery park! it was a cool boat ride, nice weather, good scenery, and totally surreal.
we walked around a bit, but not beyond the paved path, since the paved path was lined with nypd every 50 feet or so, at attention, ready to bust some hippie heads at the first sign of dissent. you couldn't re-enter the concert area, which was pretty fucking lame considering we probably would have checked out the cool buildings and monuments if we could have wandered freely. somebody had constructed a chain of helium balloons stretching into the sky and over part of the concert field- that was cool, our guess was this would make it easier to find the tank. a couple of the guys went to find meat and beer, i got a new sticker for my new nalgene bottle (mine BROKE!!! wtf?) and walked up towards the stage to find some land. there was a ton of space and sitting front and center, matt campbell screamed incoherently and i was like, "hey, i know that guy!" so, we went and claimed some space right in back of him and his buddy and hung out listening to some digital underground, beasties, etc. good stuff.
gullo took a great pic as the show started up...
k, first set- 'tailspin', was nice but didn't really kick in as hard as something like '32 things' would have, i see it as more of a mid-set tune. still- great set- i LOVE hearing 'tambourine' in the middle of a set (usually it's a quick encore and it doesn't get it's deserved attention). it's a great song with a country/bluegrass vibe that fluently compliments the hard rock craziness of moe.'s jams that sandwich it. kenny brooks from ratdog came out to play sax on the classic rock, 'rise' which was a cool touch, everyone was digging it. there was a quick transition into 'happy hour hero' which was great to hear with a sax- apparently they didn't play it at the saranac brewery, which i think is pretty funny- matt was very psyched to hear it. 'happy hour hero' blew me away, of course rob fucked up the lyrics, but it wouldn't be a show without that happening a few times. it makes moe. endearing. it was a perfect end to the first set as it left many of us in the crowd saying 'WOW' (at least me) and full of anticipation for the 2nd set.
after braving the port-a-potty lines (actually, this rental company was called "the royal FLUSH") i went back up from whence i came and the 2nd set started with a vengeance. 'head'-> time ed! no shit, this was GREAT. 'time ed's such a fucking weird song but you gotta love it! no joke- 'four' was like a religious experience for me- one of those times you hear a song and that exact version at that exact moment in history- its like you're hearing the song for the first time all over again- but better. 'four' was an emotional outpouring of music. the placement was perfect, it didn't drag, it just slapped you across face and said "THIS IS WHY YOU LISTEN TO moe." everything just sounded perfect. i know i'll remember that 'four' forever. that happens every so often and it stays with you. that's when i think of mr. "best timmy tucker ever" guy and i want to shake him really hard and say "YOU WILL KNOW WHEN IT HAPPENS."
sorry, i got off on a tangent there- but 'four' was great is what i am getting at. spaz medicine, great. and those teases did it again--- 'brent black' busts loose and just as it's getting intense- BOOM! stop on a dime -> 'she'. YOU SICK BASTARDS!!! i swear rob had some sort of "ha ha we foooooled you" smile on his face the second it happened. 'she' has never been one of my favorites and it took real balls to go from the madness that is 'brent black' into it and they pulled off the slow jerky vibe of the song while maintaining it's sweetness. i really enjoyed it (as opposed to resenting it for stunting 'brent black'). then they went back into and finished off a slammin' version of 'brent black'. they were really successful maintaining the energy level of the show throughout the night. just great stuff.
before i go into the details of the encore, i'm taking an official stance: i'm sick of these dreadful announcements, it's like being back at summer camp. birfdays are totally fine, but i've had it with this "_# of shows" crap (and it takes up SO MUCH TIME). it's great you love moe., it's awesome that you are supporting independent music, congratufuckinglations- here's a pat on the back, douchebag. my friends and i have personally put like 7 of vinnie's kids through college already, so save it. such announcements are completely elitist and have to go. which is exactly why i was screaming "ENOUGH ALREADY" while al was trying to read them (and got them to laugh... but i was serious!).
now for the music. never quite sure what kind of encore will pop up. could be 3 minutes, could be 40. i was kinda hoping that since we were in freakin' new york harbor that they'd summon the beast that is 'GODZILLA', but, 'i wanna be sedated' was a nice, nostalgic choice and it's still a blast.
we headed back down the cop-lined path towards the ferry line and had to wait maybe 30 minutes or so before we could board the 2nd or 3rd ferry out. as luck would have it, we were the last few people allowed on our ferry--- that was scary! didn't want to wait any longer! at midnight they let the dragons loose, the screams as we pulled away from the dock will haunt me for the rest of my life. we thought they had mistakingly dropped us off at riker's but then we realized our police escorts were probably there to protect us from ourselves. they are very thoughtful like that.
so, yeah--- what an awesome fucking moe. show!!! the band was totally solid but there were definitely stand-out moments for each of the guys. vinnie is a goddamn machine, al had a couple of rippin' solos, jim did an extended vibraphone solo, chuck is satan- but i'm not sure if it's just cuz i was standing right in front of him and it seemed this way- but rob was on fire all night... just having fun playing the shit out of each piece, calling attention to himself, being rob, and loving every second of it. ROCKIN'. left us totally salivating for monday night at the highline ballroom. the field trip to governors island was a really cool touch- kudos to the highline promoters- stellar job! moe., 6/15/08, governors island, nyc: 9.3 HUZZAHS! TOTES AWESOME!
slideshow!
and a link to the gallery page (where you can DL hi-res versions... just got a new camera and am still adjusting to it):
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnguppy/Moe61508GovernorSIslandNyc
DEFINITELY check out gullo's gallery - his pics are really effin' nice- he's all photographer-like and stuff. there's a funny picture of al in there that i think would make a great wallpaper for you al fans.
Set I
Tailspin ->
Darkness ->
Bring You Down
Tambourine
Rise* ->
Happy Hour Hero*
Set II
head. ->
Time Ed ->
head,
Four ->
Spaz Medicine,
Brent Black ->
She ->
Brent Black
Encore:
I Wanna Be Sedated
* w/ Kenny Brooks from Ratdog on saxophone
here's the archive.org page that lists versions of the show available (right now it's just 1, but i'm sure there will be a few more up soon). http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=moe%20governor%27s%20island
i leave you with a single question as old as the universe and time itself: how is it possible that one man can be oh so dreamy? i can barely stand to look at this picture.
(pic by gullo)
what better day to stage a show on an island off the southermost tip of manhattan and only accessible by ferry, than father's day sunday! aside from the horrible traffic, it was an awesome day for it! the sun was shining and the humidity of a 2-week august heat-wave had finally broken (it was june). on an aside, last week it also snowed in the cascades and there was a tornado in burlington, vt. i hope everybody is getting used to their new climates and seasons, it's gonna be a while. YAY.
while waiting for the 5:45pm ferry (i got there after 5pm ferry departed) we took a quick walk over to the beer gardens at battery park. i really needed to pee but aside from the park restroom being absolutely atrocious (wow, there's a bathroom worse than the ny public library?), a croatian janitor screamed at me for pushing the garbage can out of the doorway to peak inside. "YOU GO! YOU NO MOVE!! NO NO!" you don't have to tell me twice, zoltan. luckily i am quite skilled at holding my pee when absolutely necessary. this includes various situations including but not limited to: public bathrooms in new york city, long movies/music sets i don't want to miss, 4am on the nys thruway 1 hour from home. the boys downed some food/bevvies, lisa ate a piece of corn with dijon mustard on it (that's fucked up), and we jetted back over to the ferry (with police entourage) and stood in a sweatbox for a couple of minutes before being whisked away to the fabulous isle of governors, roughly 5 minutes from beautiful downtown battery park! it was a cool boat ride, nice weather, good scenery, and totally surreal.
we walked around a bit, but not beyond the paved path, since the paved path was lined with nypd every 50 feet or so, at attention, ready to bust some hippie heads at the first sign of dissent. you couldn't re-enter the concert area, which was pretty fucking lame considering we probably would have checked out the cool buildings and monuments if we could have wandered freely. somebody had constructed a chain of helium balloons stretching into the sky and over part of the concert field- that was cool, our guess was this would make it easier to find the tank. a couple of the guys went to find meat and beer, i got a new sticker for my new nalgene bottle (mine BROKE!!! wtf?) and walked up towards the stage to find some land. there was a ton of space and sitting front and center, matt campbell screamed incoherently and i was like, "hey, i know that guy!" so, we went and claimed some space right in back of him and his buddy and hung out listening to some digital underground, beasties, etc. good stuff.
gullo took a great pic as the show started up...
k, first set- 'tailspin', was nice but didn't really kick in as hard as something like '32 things' would have, i see it as more of a mid-set tune. still- great set- i LOVE hearing 'tambourine' in the middle of a set (usually it's a quick encore and it doesn't get it's deserved attention). it's a great song with a country/bluegrass vibe that fluently compliments the hard rock craziness of moe.'s jams that sandwich it. kenny brooks from ratdog came out to play sax on the classic rock, 'rise' which was a cool touch, everyone was digging it. there was a quick transition into 'happy hour hero' which was great to hear with a sax- apparently they didn't play it at the saranac brewery, which i think is pretty funny- matt was very psyched to hear it. 'happy hour hero' blew me away, of course rob fucked up the lyrics, but it wouldn't be a show without that happening a few times. it makes moe. endearing. it was a perfect end to the first set as it left many of us in the crowd saying 'WOW' (at least me) and full of anticipation for the 2nd set.
after braving the port-a-potty lines (actually, this rental company was called "the royal FLUSH") i went back up from whence i came and the 2nd set started with a vengeance. 'head'-> time ed! no shit, this was GREAT. 'time ed's such a fucking weird song but you gotta love it! no joke- 'four' was like a religious experience for me- one of those times you hear a song and that exact version at that exact moment in history- its like you're hearing the song for the first time all over again- but better. 'four' was an emotional outpouring of music. the placement was perfect, it didn't drag, it just slapped you across face and said "THIS IS WHY YOU LISTEN TO moe." everything just sounded perfect. i know i'll remember that 'four' forever. that happens every so often and it stays with you. that's when i think of mr. "best timmy tucker ever" guy and i want to shake him really hard and say "YOU WILL KNOW WHEN IT HAPPENS."
sorry, i got off on a tangent there- but 'four' was great is what i am getting at. spaz medicine, great. and those teases did it again--- 'brent black' busts loose and just as it's getting intense- BOOM! stop on a dime -> 'she'. YOU SICK BASTARDS!!! i swear rob had some sort of "ha ha we foooooled you" smile on his face the second it happened. 'she' has never been one of my favorites and it took real balls to go from the madness that is 'brent black' into it and they pulled off the slow jerky vibe of the song while maintaining it's sweetness. i really enjoyed it (as opposed to resenting it for stunting 'brent black'). then they went back into and finished off a slammin' version of 'brent black'. they were really successful maintaining the energy level of the show throughout the night. just great stuff.
before i go into the details of the encore, i'm taking an official stance: i'm sick of these dreadful announcements, it's like being back at summer camp. birfdays are totally fine, but i've had it with this "_# of shows" crap (and it takes up SO MUCH TIME). it's great you love moe., it's awesome that you are supporting independent music, congratufuckinglations- here's a pat on the back, douchebag. my friends and i have personally put like 7 of vinnie's kids through college already, so save it. such announcements are completely elitist and have to go. which is exactly why i was screaming "ENOUGH ALREADY" while al was trying to read them (and got them to laugh... but i was serious!).
now for the music. never quite sure what kind of encore will pop up. could be 3 minutes, could be 40. i was kinda hoping that since we were in freakin' new york harbor that they'd summon the beast that is 'GODZILLA', but, 'i wanna be sedated' was a nice, nostalgic choice and it's still a blast.
we headed back down the cop-lined path towards the ferry line and had to wait maybe 30 minutes or so before we could board the 2nd or 3rd ferry out. as luck would have it, we were the last few people allowed on our ferry--- that was scary! didn't want to wait any longer! at midnight they let the dragons loose, the screams as we pulled away from the dock will haunt me for the rest of my life. we thought they had mistakingly dropped us off at riker's but then we realized our police escorts were probably there to protect us from ourselves. they are very thoughtful like that.
so, yeah--- what an awesome fucking moe. show!!! the band was totally solid but there were definitely stand-out moments for each of the guys. vinnie is a goddamn machine, al had a couple of rippin' solos, jim did an extended vibraphone solo, chuck is satan- but i'm not sure if it's just cuz i was standing right in front of him and it seemed this way- but rob was on fire all night... just having fun playing the shit out of each piece, calling attention to himself, being rob, and loving every second of it. ROCKIN'. left us totally salivating for monday night at the highline ballroom. the field trip to governors island was a really cool touch- kudos to the highline promoters- stellar job! moe., 6/15/08, governors island, nyc: 9.3 HUZZAHS! TOTES AWESOME!
slideshow!
and a link to the gallery page (where you can DL hi-res versions... just got a new camera and am still adjusting to it):
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnguppy/Moe61508GovernorSIslandNyc
DEFINITELY check out gullo's gallery - his pics are really effin' nice- he's all photographer-like and stuff. there's a funny picture of al in there that i think would make a great wallpaper for you al fans.
Set I
Tailspin ->
Darkness ->
Bring You Down
Tambourine
Rise* ->
Happy Hour Hero*
Set II
head. ->
Time Ed ->
head,
Four ->
Spaz Medicine,
Brent Black ->
She ->
Brent Black
Encore:
I Wanna Be Sedated
* w/ Kenny Brooks from Ratdog on saxophone
here's the archive.org page that lists versions of the show available (right now it's just 1, but i'm sure there will be a few more up soon). http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=moe%20governor%27s%20island
i leave you with a single question as old as the universe and time itself: how is it possible that one man can be oh so dreamy? i can barely stand to look at this picture.
(pic by gullo)
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