saved by a wonderful Saturday night

it was a beautiful night of schizophrenic television last night. at any given time i was flipping between the Global Citizen music festival, the Southern Ground Music and Food festival, the New York Yankees, Ohio State, LSU vs. Georgia, and Mexican soccer. later on, toss in Saturday Night Live, ROH. Austin City Limits, and some late night college football. i finally ran out of gas at 3:30 in the morning. and of course, i was back up 4 hours later.

some quick thoughts...

Global Citizen - i really enjoy this music festival. could be timed out a little better with the social messages and the music, but that's only a minor complaint.

Southern Ground - i love the Zac Brown Band and i love that their musical tastes are so varied. that was a wonderful thing to watch.

i was so happy that the Yankees won yesterday and did so with Andy Pettitte pitching a complete game to do it. he now becomes the only pitcher EVER to pitch more than 15 seasons and NEVER have a losing season. that's a nice way to leave the game for good. i highly doubt i will watch any of the game today. though, if i do get a feeling that Mo is playing CF, i will have to check that out.

Ohio State started fast last night against Wisconsin. the defense really halted their running game, which is one of the best in the nation. to me, that was the difference in the game. that and Braxton Miller reminding everyone that he is the most athletic person on the field at any given time. quite the winning streak going on. may it continue for a few more months.

LSU vs. Georgia was one of those shootouts that make me truly appreciate college football. and it also reminds me why i gave up gambling.

Saturday Night Live was great last night. i enjoyed the segments on the new cast members. i am familiar with 2 of them. hopefully the other 4 do something that allows me to remember them. it will be interesting to see which old cast members fill the most reliable spots that had the same guys in it for almost a decade.

the Arcade Fire special after SNL was bizarre, in a good way. i enjoyed it much more than i thought i would.

ROH was the semi-finals from the heavyweight tournament. since i already knew the results and had seen most of the action, i was in and out of it all hour long.

as for tonight, basically between 9 PM and 1 AM i will be between HBO and Showtime. Boardwalk Empire, Eastbound and Down, and Hello Ladies. then the west coast feeds of Homeland and Masters of Sex. i figure mom would appreciate me watching that last one after she goes to bed.

the rest of the day will be on the NFL. both of my fantasy games won't be finished until after the Monday night game. i'm hoping that i have leads in both of them going into tomorrow.

got the results of my fantasy hockey draft. i am pleased as most of the guys drafted i have had before and know their tendencies and whatnot. so now it's simply a matter of handling injuries and winning the waiver wire wars. and i am fully aware that i do so good in these fantasy leagues because i have the time to devote to them. at the same time, you can understand why i get so fucking pissed when i lose.

that's all for me. the trash is picked up and the cats are fed. i figure i will get my ass down in the chair before it starts raining and before i start scrambling to check injury reports. hope everyone is in the middle of a great weekend. and if you're not, have yourself a drink. it always works for me.

music:

Jason Isbell - Southeastern
Kid Rock - Rebel Soul

"I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true." - Truman Capote

the bitter taste of mediocrity

when David Moyes got hired at Manchester United, what i truly feared was United becoming Everton. a good club, some wins, some losses, but in the end, average. or how i think of it, mediocre. watching Manchester United lose this morning at home to West Brom (a team that hasn't won at Old Trafford since 1978) was a tad bit disheartening to say the least. Nani and Wayne Rooney were the only players that at least acted like they gave a shit today. i don't even feel like watching them this Wednesday in Champions League play. on the road nonetheless. i know he was Sir Alex's choice and all, but if he doesn't figure this out soon, he will have to be removed before some fan tries to kill him. perhaps Moyes will figure out soon that United fans take this as religion, as life and death. not advocating anything by the way, just stating the obvious.

a thank you to Thom Young for the comment left on my last post. i appreciate it.

i did watch a little of the Yankees game last night. they actually won even though Joba tried his hardest to shit it away. hopefully his ass finds a new team next year. i might watch a little tonight given that it is Andy Pettitte's last career start. i figure Mo might end up pitching in this game as well. hopefully they can get another win.

Ohio State plays Wisconsin tonight in a big game. under the lights at the shoe for the whole country to see. hopefully OSU gets a big win tonight. would go a long way in proving to people they are for real. and i could use the victory beer.

also tonight is the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. as well as ROH. as well as two music festivals i'm interested in watching. so, yet another sunny Saturday that i will spend indoors.

that's all. i'm a bit fucking bitter and pissed off right now. hopefully a good lunch and a long shower helps change my mood a bit. i'm not counting on it.

music:

Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
Metallica - Garage Inc.

"They call me a sinner, but I am at peace with myself." - Brigitte Bardot

white people dancing

this blog post is brought to you by episode #28 of The Sam Roberts Show Online. you can find the show by going to ITunes, Stitcher or notsam.com.

had a really good time at the Downtown Dayton Revival the past 2 days. saw a ton of great music and below are some musings.

Day 1 (my sister's birthday by the way. she's now 35. i reminded her it's really all downhill the rest of the way. enjoy it.) showed up fashionably late with my mother and sister. caught the end of Bronze Radio Return (pretty good). then, headed over to the Monster Stage and saw The Right Now (great sounding band i had never heard of). next, down a few blocks to see Kristy Lee (an incredible voice, a new favorite). hung around there and caught The Werks (really needed a joint at this point). we then headed back to the main stage and caught a good portion of Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk (really great band). next, a little high energy from Cowboy Mouth. then headed back to the Monster Stage to catch Jordan Hull (remember his name. for his age, this kid is scary fucking good). then, we caught one of the three most influential bands in my life, Guided By Voices. one of the best sets I've ever seen them play. and thankfully, i hung around for the six song encore. most people, my mother and sister included, went off to go see John Legend. i wasn't in that big of a hurry to do that. by the time i got to the main stage to catch John Legend, quite the mind fuck as he was doing a cover of The Beatles at the time. he's a great performer, totally enjoyed his show. all told, about 10 hours or so of music, food and white people dancing. 2 out of 3 weren't bad. I'm sure you know what I'm putting in the bad column.

Day 2 after showering and scrambling to get my fantasy football lineups in order, we were off to the show. got there a little earlier because i wanted to see Heartless Bastards. holy shit, they didn't disappoint. first time I've seen them live. count me as a fan. next, we went down to see Red Wanting Blue. they sound even better live than they sound on CD. what a great band. next, at the recommendation of Heartless Bastards we went to see Buffalo Killers. before they came on we got some food, my sister was stalked by a family that swore she was an exact double of their sister off in Japan and i was asked to take a picture with a gnome as i was wearing my Big Lebowski "ABIDE" shirt. i was kind of shocked i didn't get called Dude more actually. just your average festival day 2 shit. as for the band, i had never heard of Buffalo Killers. holy shit, what a great sounding band. i will definitely do some digging on them here soon. then, we headed over to see Rusted Root. a great mind fuck for my sister as she hasn't listened to them since college. they sounded really good. sadly, no pot in the air. kind of disappointed. we left that stage a little early as we all wanted to get good spots to see The Ohio Players. they went on 20 minutes late but it was totally worth it. still sound as great as ever. all the big hits, some stories about growing up in Dayton, still funky as fuck. my mother went to go see Tony Lucca afterwards as my sister and i hung around to see Robert Randolph & The Family Band. first time i had ever seen them play after years of hearing only good things. they totally blew me away with their sound and energy. i will definitely try to see them anytime they are in the area from now on. all 3 of us were spent by the end of that show (mom showed up maybe halfway in) and decided to skip out on Train. none of us were interested and the Steelers were playing at the time (my sister is a huge fan). so, out of there, hit a pizza joint and back to the house to catch the 4th quarter on TV. let's just say my sister didn't go to bed happy about the outcome.

all told, incredible festival for the first time. no crazy shit went down other than some travel delays for artists on day 2. the layout was really easy to navigate. the bands were great. the porta potties were aplenty and clean (SHOCKER). hopefully, next year will be even better.

and all of this coming from a guy who hates crowds and being out in public in general. let alone being subjected to seeing white people dance. but, my love of music outweighs all of them. hopefully, that never stops.

a little football before the thunderstorms please

with all 3 of my fantasy football teams having players playing tonight, thankfully the NFL season can, at least for one night, allow me to think certain things don't exist. like the fucking Yankees for example. nice work pissing away a 10 game lead in a matter of 48 days. not that i keep track of shit like that or anything.

and with one of the players i have tonight being injured, my ass will be glued to this chair checking injury reports and rumors and twitter bullshit to get the latest news. not exactly sure what i'm going to do this weekend when i'll be at a music festival while the games are on. i lost one fantasy championship 2 seasons ago basically because i didn't have a cell phone to be able to check my team and make a needed change. it's not as easy as you think living life as a stubborn asshole.

if i can go my whole life without a cell phone a part of me will be more proud than (insert your insanity, hilarity or inane bullshit here please).

for any gamblers out there, the home team has never lost any of these midweek season openers. just a little nugget to think about.

and now for an uplifting story from my hometown to leave you with, please go here to understand why i never allow any of the pets inside.

music today:

Beck - Mellow Gold
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Foster The People - Torches
Shooter Jennings - Family Man
Metallica - ...And Justice For All

"People aren't interested in seeing themselves as they really are." - Jim Woodring

the other side of happiness

the good news from Nerve Cowboy was totally unexpected. the thing is they normally only publish me every 7 years. this breaks that streak by about 5 1/2 years. a nice pat on the back for me. what sucks about the poem they chose to accept, "checked back into place", it's a poem about the muse. and seeing how the muse and i haven't spoke in almost a month and have no intention of ever speaking again, there's a bit of sadness that goes along with that poem now. though the poem itself is fucking funny as hell. just sayin'...

that being said, if anyone is interested in being the next muse, feel free to contact me. email, letters, smoke signals, your choice.

with the Yankees being off today, i decided to do a little shopping on amazon.com. needed to get my sister's birthday gift and of course a few things for myself. if everything arrives in a week, i'll be a happy boy.

speaking of my sister's birthday next month, i'm really looking forward to the music festival that falls on the same date. a ton of great acts and i'm actually going. should be a fucking blast. if anyone else is planning on going, let me know and maybe we'll meet up somewhere around downtown. for more info, check out http://www.downtownrevival.com/.

and while i'm plugging things, go check out The Sam Roberts Show Online at http://www.notsam.com/. i highly recommend episode #24. be sure to listen to the whole thing and hear my name mentioned near the end of the podcast. always kind of weird when someone a hell of a lot more famous than i think i am knows my name. i believe the podcast is also available at iTunes and Stitcher as well.

my usual Thursday night of television is on tap for this evening. i may sprinkle in a few moments of the Olympics as well. shaping up to be a good day for team USA. of course, i won't be choosing gymnastics over a talking dog and Louis C.K.

music today:

Father John Misty - Fear Fun
Of Monsters And Men - My Head Is An Animal
Sonic Youth - Washing Machine

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." - Twyla Tharp

Friday the 13th, who gives a shit

i always laugh at people who think of some crazy shit just because it's Friday the 13th. do yourself and the world a favor and think of crazy shit all the time.

i will admit though, today is pretty fucking weird. only because i find myself totally agreeing with something Dane Cook said. hell might have just froze over. it was in regards to the whole Daniel Tosh bullshit (rape jokes) going on, the world's most over-hyped comic ever tweeted out that anyone who is easily offended should kill themselves. i raise a glass and say bravo. now, if he would only put himself at the beginning of the line.

thin the herd.

getting the itch to check out some music festivals this summer. only time will tell if that itch is greeted with a credit card or not.

baseball gets back in the swing of things tonight. hopefully the Yankees can start off the second half on fire and put this damn division to bed early. the 6 game home stand to start off won't be easy. playing the Angels and Blue Jays in that bandbox has home run derby written all over it. or better, beer league softball. as long as they win, i couldn't give 2 shits how.

shout out to Ben on the kind words regarding my writing. totally appreciate it. maybe one day the rest of the world will understand.

went a little heavy on the music this morning

Anthrax - Sound of White Noise
Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
Tool - Undertow
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

"He who angers you conquers you." - Elizabeth Kenny