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NEWS 225 - 16 Comments
From: Ross Entered on: September 25, 2004 9:05 PM
Sweet. Have fun, man. That's some hella flying you're going to be doing.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: September 27, 2004 9:23 PM
Well, Angie and I take off to Las Vegas this Sunday thru Wednesday. We're going to see Penn & Teller so if they register on Jackassery, that's why. We're also seeing the Circa de Oreo-whatever Zoomandy show. It's supposed to be "erotic". You know what that means! BOOBIES!!!
From: Ross Entered on: September 28, 2004 9:11 AM
Have fun at P&T, Jack. I know they change their routine fairly often so I expect you'll see some things I didn't. I'd have to assume the finale will be the same (which is incredible). Penn juggling broken bottles was another highlight too, IMO.     Let me know how that Zumanji show is - it's Cirque de Soleil, isn't it? Always seemed pretty fruity to me, but hey, boobies are boobies.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: September 28, 2004 11:11 AM
We saw the Circue show Mysteri (or something close to that) a couple years ago and it was AWESOME! So we're hoping Zumanji is sweet too.
From: The Bone Entered on: October 3, 2004 12:13 AM
I just got back from Maine. It was great. The weather was nice and I ate lobster almost every day. Drank some good life too. The best part of all was my little experiment to see if I could go a whole week without whacking. I did it but I feel week and sickly right now. Going a week is too much of a shock to my system.
From: John Entered on: October 3, 2004 10:10 AM
I do it all the time, Bone. I simply don't have the free range anymore now that I'm a working man.     Bone, Did you hear Roy Jones got his ass knocked out again. Glenn Johnson knocked him out in the 9th round. From what I read it was much more harsh than when Tarver knocked him out. He was really fucked up this time. At the time he was behind on all the score cards. Johnson is the same age as Roy and cut on him for already being past his prime. It looks like Roy Jones is all washed up. I don't know that he could do shit against Hopkins right now. Also Trinidad knocked out Mayorga in the 8th round last night and now he wants to take on Hopkins again.
From: The Bone Entered on: October 3, 2004 10:42 AM
I heard about RJJ. As much as I'm glad he got knocked out, I'll give him one more fight to redeam himself. I hope Hopkins fights Trinidad and kills him. Hopkins is da man.     Tyson is looking at fighting Matt Skelton. I don't think this is the safest move for Tyson as Skelton is a big 14 and 0 hard hitting mofo with all wins by KO except one. Escpecially coming off an injury. He ought to take on Riddick "Fatmotherfucker" Bowe for an easy win by death.
From: John Entered on: October 3, 2004 9:39 PM
I must admit, Hopkins is da man. I hope he fights Trinidad and schools him again.     Tyson needs to take a safe fight so he can build up his skills as well as his confidence. Riddick "Fatmotherfucker" Bowe was actually pretty good in his prime. It'll be interesting to see what kind of comeback he can put together.
From: Ross Entered on: October 5, 2004 10:50 AM
Well I was in GR for a day or so over the weekend to see Pearl Jam, and let me tell you, the blew the roof of that dump (the Deltaplex, which even they ridiculed as being a shithole). Also, Swerb the Sonofabitch got to interview bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron! Swerb, please post a link to your article when you know what it is.
From: Swerb Entered on: October 5, 2004 11:53 AM
Don't forget, I briefly met Eddie Vedder backstage, the exchange consisting of Eddie saying "How ya doin?" and me responding, "Fine, how are you?" then scurrying off like a scared bunny rabbit.     Well, the ever-asinine GR Press website doesn't have a complete version of the article, so I'll have to cut and paste it here. Keep in mind, I wrote this at 2 a.m., and it's been edited slightly, so I'm not entirely content with it:     Sunday night, Pearl Jam proved to be uniters, not dividers.   Sure, Eddie Vedder & Co. essentially are stumping for presidential candidate John Kerry on the Vote for Change tour, which stopped at the DeltaPlex for a sold-out concert. And noted leftist/Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins was on hand to play a few tunes with his band Gob Roberts. But hearing 6,000-plus Pearl Jam fans singing along to the anthems of a generation seems to transcend politics and reach into the magical ether of music, goosebumps raising along with all those voices.   And to what do we Grand Rapidians owe thanks for such an inspired performance? Maybe the band was still revved up from Saturday night's gig in Toledo, Ohio, where Neil Young and Peter Frampton joined them for an all-star jam. Maybe they were happy to play in our town for the first time. Or maybe it was last Thursday night's debate between Kerry and President George W. Bush.   "It's pretty obvious -- Kerry absolutely crushed him," Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament said backstage prior to Sunday's show. "We were on the tour bus the next day, just energized."   Regardless, Pearl Jam took the stage with fangs bared and amps cranked to 11, tearing through five blistering tunes with barely a breath between them: The overdriven angst of "Breakerfall," "Last Exit" and "Save You" rammed headlong into Vedder's howls of "Do the Evolution," followed by uptempo crowd-pleaser "Even Flow," which coalesced into a lengthy, wailing, Jimi Hendrix-esque solo by guitarist Mike McCready -- and the next thing you know, Vedder is drenched with sweat and swigging from a wine bottle.   "Here's to being a swing state," he told the crowd, before taking a gulp. "There are rewards for being undecided."   In fact, Vedder was as colorful and animated as ever. He:   -- Rolled around on stage during a face-meltingly intense version of "Blood," altering the lyrics to bash Republicans, and ending the song with a bout of crazy-man ranting.   -- Toasted almost every other act on the Vote for Change tour -- Dave Matthews, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks, James Taylor, etc. -- with a gulp of wine, and later gave a toast to the toasts.   -- Responded to a male concertgoer's request of "Marry me, Eddie!" with, "I don't think we can do that here. We'll have to go to another state or something."   -- Held up an American flag and said, "Let's take this (expletive) thing back!" and proceeded to rant about gas-guzzling SUVs driving around with plastic flags in their windows.   -- Commented on the DeltaPlex, "This is one of the most non-interesting structures I've ever seen. Then we walked in -- and it was even worse. But this has nothing to do with the building, and everything to do with the people inside."   And those adoring, appreciative people were given a two-hour-and-15-minute show crammed with memorable moments -- the slashing punk chords and disenfranchised lyrics of "Whipping"; "Not For You's" lurching riff and hackle-raising crescendo; a mini-acoustic set punctuated with powerful strummers "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" and a superb, chilling cover of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War."   The set was punctuated with quite a few cover tunes, actually, including a rip-and-tear run-through of the Dead Kennedy's "Bleed for Me," Victoria Williams' melancholy "Crazy Mary," Vedder duetting with Robbins during X's "The New World" and the Michigan political punch of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams."   So it wasn't your typical Pearl Jam set list -- although they did please fans with "Learn to Fly" and "Daughter" during the first encore, and turned the house lights on for rousing sing-alongs of "Alive" and "Yellow Ledbetter" for the show-closing second encore.   But what was typical was Pearl Jam's profound mastery of the rock craft, sounding as pure, honest and uncontrived as ever. McCready's enthusiasm was contagious as he leapt around the stage, playing the role of guitar hero, and rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Ament and drummer Matt Cameron provided an exceptional foundation for Vedder's unmistakable and efficacious voice.   I'm gushing, yes, but Pearl Jam is the exception to the rule, the only band from the 1990s to prove its importance long after the grunge revolution died. My point being, Grand Rapidians should be thankful for the chance to see one of the biggest bands in the world for any reason; agree with their politics or not, there's no denying this band's vitality.   It's no surprise Vedder was visibly winded by the end of the night. He had had a long night, performing two solo acoustic songs -- including the rarely played "Dead Man Walking" -- before the opening acts. Then he introduced Robbins, dressed up like faux U.S. Republican Senator Bob Roberts (from the 1992 Robbins-directed film), who satirically quipped to the crowd, "I've never seen a bigger group of degenerates and drug addicts in my life."   Robbins eventually shed his togs and grabbed a guitar, leading the four-piece Gob Roberts through "Complain" and "Drugs Stink" (both from the "Bob Roberts" soundtrack) and a cover of Fear's "Let's Have a War." The singer/actor ended the set by quipping to the crowd, "If you don't like this, go enlist."   Death Cab for Cutie was comparatively nonpolitical, the Washington state band sticking to its low-key, indie-rock stylings.         THEN, here's a brief (edited, of course) Q&A I had with Jeff and Matt:     Q: Do you think this election is a choice between the lesser of two evils?   Ament: I questioned Kerry (prior to the debate) -- things were so bad, we were all in the mindset that we've got to get rid of Bush, and the only answer is Kerry. We had no other option. After the debate, he really separated himself from Bush, and said, 'I'm not going to do things the way you do things' -- those are the things you want to hear.   Cameron: The debate really made it clear that Kerry was able to take the heat, and he had really good composure. He was saying stuff that I wanted to hear, as a voter.   Q: I didn't see (anti-George W. Bush song) "Bushleaguer" on your set lists for this tour. Why?   Cameron: We're lazy. (laughs)   Ament: We started rehearsing it in Boston, but our soundcheck got cut off early... But we have a lot of other songs that are at least as venomous.   Q: Are you working on a new album?   Ament: On Nov. 1, we start rehearsals ... hopefully, we'll finish it in the spring.   Q: You famously split with Epic Records last year. What label is going to release the new album?   Ament: We're not 100 percent sure yet. ... It depends on how the record turns out, if it has some really good songs with potential. It's great not having the dark cloud over your head. Although Sony let us do our thing creatively, they took a much larger piece of the pie.   Q: So, have you written any new songs yet?   Ament: Everybody has some ideas. The first part of the rehearsals, we'll try to write some things together -- we did that a little bit with "Save You" on the last record, and for me, that's one of the most gratifying songs on that record, something we all (worked on). ... It would be great if we could write a few songs like that.
From: Ross Entered on: October 5, 2004 12:01 PM
Fucking sweet, man. However, the PJ fans are liable to yell at you for misnaming "Given to Fly" as "Learning to Fly" :)
From: The Bone Entered on: October 5, 2004 12:44 PM
I've been a fan of PJ since about 91 or 92 yet somehow they have managed to play everywhere but where I am. I have yet to see a concert. One of these days I'm, going to have to make an extra special effort.
From: Swerb Entered on: October 5, 2004 2:14 PM
Bert - re: my song title gaffe: the precise reason for my disclaimer. Not that I'm making excuses, but this kind of thing happens when you're writing at 2 a.m. to meet deadline, and are propping your eyelids open with toothpicks. My initial response is, however, a simmering "goddammit."
From: Ross Entered on: October 5, 2004 3:27 PM
No harm done. I, at the very least, know that you're enough of a fan that it's not along the lines of "Gossard? Who's he? How do you spell that?"
From: Ross Entered on: October 6, 2004 9:39 AM
Yes, Pearl Jam is one of those bands that is really not popular to like anymore but I defy anyone to attend a show and still say they suck.     However, Swerb, I want to revisit a comment made by a coworker of yours a long while back, before their latest album was released and only the single "I Am Mine" had just been released. The guy said something along the lines of the solo at the end feeling "tacked on." Call me a lunatic, but I think of that comment often when I hear the song, and how a person could possibly be so wrong about any given thing. It is nothing less than one of the greatest solos Mike McCready has ever recorded. It's so great that it gives me chills half the time. The only flaw - and it is a big one - is that it's just way, way too short. But other than that, that dude has his head up his ass, it's official.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: October 7, 2004 4:41 PM
I'M BACK FROM VEGAS!!!     Not to be outdone by Bert, we met Penn and Teller also and got their autographs and took pictures with them. They were sweet. Rio is pretty cool, but what happened to the super hot outfits the cocktail waitresses used to wear?!?!     ZOOMANJI was SWEET! What can I say? The Cirque de Soleil are ninja sweet! Especially the girls swingin' around wildly above our heads. With their boobies out.     I found my favorite one-of-a-kind machine again: an electronic roulette game. It was located at Excalibur and was the only thing Ang and I could win money with. Day 1: made a $100. Day 2: $150. Day 3: $475.     And then Day 4 came and I got seriously F'ed in the A! My worse case scenerio played out and I lost all that I had won the previous 3 days. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. I have a betting system that works really well most of the time. But when it doesn't work -- it REALLY doesn't work! -- resulting in serious process fornication.     Don't even get me started on the hotties all over Vegas. It got so ridiculous that even Angie was pointing them out ("You gotta see this woman's tits when she comes out of the bathroom, Jack!").     I'll post a Vegas pic when out film gets developed.