Fall, Glimmer, Sparkle and Fade

:: Monday, July 29, 2002 ::

Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ
BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure -- No, I'm positive -- that I will never experience a concert like that again. Friday I had the privilege to see Bruce Springsteen warm up for his performance on Tuesday's "Today Show @ Convention Hall" and his upcoming US Tour. The whole environment of the show was just completely surreal. Convention Hall is the size of a gymnasium (the Jersey Shore Basketball League plays their games there) and I figured for this type of performance it would have been filled its breaking point. Instead, it was only about 3/4 full, no more that 2,000 people or so. The show was to start at 2pm, but people were still getting in at five past so they pushed back the start time. Sometime around 2:10, a mild applause starts to come from the corner of the Stage and then the place erupts when Bruce, with the house lights still up and with no introduction, just walks up to the mic as if he were walking up to a fast food counter:
"Hey. So are you guys contest winners?"
Everyone there proceeded to go nuts because... well because it's the freakin' Boss, that's why. He just came out to welcome everyone and explain what the show was gonna be like:
"We're gonna play some old songs, some new songs and just have some fun."
Again, people went ape shit. Once again, simply because it was the Boss. He then walked backstage and people continued to file into the Hall with every fifth person blurting out something to the effect of "Oh my God" when they saw how small this place was. The one thing that no one seemed to know was how long they were going to play for. The note that came with the backstage passes didn't even give specifics:
"Please meet at the Beer Garden on the 2nd floor of the Convention Hall after the performance."
Would this just be a run through of the new songs? Would they throw in a few old songs? Would they play an hour? Two hours? Could they play longer? If you've seen a Bruce show then you know he puts on ridiculously long concerts, but this wasn't your typical show. This was a bunch of radio winners from around the country sitting in a gymnasium watching a rehearsal. Almost everyone was debating how long they'd play all the way up until the lights went down and the keyboards started up.

Bruce walks on stage with the ever so talented E-Street Band and go right into the title track, and current single, from his new record "The Rising". Only one song in and everyone already knows this band certainly doesn't need to be rehearsing. They played three or four more new songs, transforming good studio tracks into phenomenal live songs. After those songs he stepped up to the mic:
"That second song we played was called 'Lonesome Day'. It was pretty good, right?"
After about 45 minutes or so, the band walks off stage to thunderous applause. Everyone knew they were coming back out. And come out they did. I didn't think 2,000 people could be any louder. That is until they started the encore off with "Born to Run". The place was so loud that I could barely hear the trademark snare drum hits for the beginning of "Born in the USA". They continued to go through another 45 minutes of songs, both old and new. After "Mary's Place", a song of the new record, everyone in the band lined up in the front of the stage and took a few bows and it seemed they were done for good this time. Come on, you didn't think Bruce would only do one encore, did you? They all go back to their instruments and play four or five more songs and again come to the front of the stage and take a handful of bows. On their way off stage Bruce walks over to the piano and starts playing a few notes. The rest of the band then retreats back to their instruments. He asks everyone to head down to the stores in downtown Asbury to help the revitalization of the City. It was one of many times during the show that he asked the crowd to support the local Asbury Park merchants. Anyone that doesn't know, Asbury Park was a beautiful place at one point (before my time) but is a bit run down now. But each year more and more people try to help turn the city around and Bruce has always been one of them. He then plays "City of Ruins" and dedicates it to Asbury Park.

Finally, Bruce asks the us if we'd mind hearing "The Rising" one more time, so they could work out the kinks. Who the hell's gonna say no to the Boss? This time it sounded five times better than the first time and for the third time the entire band came to the front of the stage to take their bows. This time they were done for good. Amazing show. I look down at my watch and the total performance time: 2:20. A performance of almost two and a half hours to one of the smallest crowds they will ever play to and a non-paying crowd at that. Amazing. Simply Amazing.

Only in Jersey.

:: Ryan 3:53 AM [+] ::
...

Nothing like a few days in Jersey to recharge the batteries. I made the 2+ hour trip to the Garden State for my sister's (HI JILL!) birthday party. Although the trip ended up taking almost four hours due to a few accidents, it's still always nice to go back home for a few days. Every summer there's at least one big party at my house and they're always a lot of fun. This one was no different. For the third straight year Jill was asleep by 1am, while her friends were up until around 5am polishing off a keg and then a thirty pack. They might be out of college, but those kids can still throw 'em back. Fun was had by all.

Now it's back to CT and back to work. I love both and this week should be a lot of fun. Tomorrow (later today?) I'm working the Creed show at the Meadows in Hartford and then Thursday I have to work DMB at the same place. Now I'm excited because I love both of these artists (please sense my sarcasm). I think the only band I hate more than Creed is Nickelback and while I don't hate DMB, I'm not a fan either. Both shows should still be fun and the best part is that after those shows I get to go to the shows of all shows on Friday. Just like a lot of the tri-state area radio stations, we are giving away tickets to a private Bruce Springsteen performance in Asbury Park. It's his last dress rehearsal before he starts his big US tour. I can't think of a better place to see Bruce play than Asbury Park. The kicker of that show is that I am allowed to bring someone with me. And when people at home found out about that they started bidding for the spot. Even though I already told my friend Dave that I'd give him the spot if I was indeed allowed to bring someone. One of my sister's friends offered me $250 and then raised it to $350 after I turned him down the first time. People love the Boss.

If you didn't read my last post, scroll down now and read it because I think it's hilarious. What's even funnier is the fact that Garnett was trying like hell to remove his foot from his mouth the entire day after ESPN.com printed the story. He tried to explain how his comments were taken out of context and that the reporter was a liar. How can anything that he said during that shoot be taken out of context? There aren't many ways to take "KG is the motherfucking shit". The saddest part about the whole situation is that over the past week or so other NBA players have made him look like a saint. First Allen Iverson kicks his wife out of their mansion naked and then feels the need to go looking for her with a gun. I'm sure he meant to pick up a flashlight, not a gun. I guess AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. Then this past Saturday Glenn Robinson, the No. 1 pick in the '94 draft, was arrested on charges of domestic battery, assault and illegal possession of a firearm. Robinson decided he should be inside his ex-finance's house, so he demanded to be let in and then after he was let in, he pushed and shoved her around the house. Obviously the biggest problem is the fact that both committed a form of domestic violence, which isn't acceptable under any circumstance. I don't care if you live in a trailer park or if you own 12 mansions around the world, you don't ever hit a woman. Come on, we get taught that in first grade. What I was amazed by though was the fact that both were 'allegedly' wielding a gun. I don't understand why either of these guys would need a gun. If you are a millionaire then you can hire people to do the gun carrying for you. That's one of the perks of making millions of dollars every year.

After all the stuff with AI went down, I overheard one of the more humorous things I've heard in a while in the TIC-AM newsroom:
"Did you see what Iverson did? Hell, if he pulled a gun on me I'd tell him 'Go ahead and shoot. With your shooting percentage, I like my chances'."

Now I don't mean to keep picking on NBA players, but... okay, yes I do. Here's what Drew Gooden, the first round draft pick of the Memphis Grizzlies, said after he was asked about his visit to Graceland:
"I didn't even know Elvis was from Memphis. I thought he was from Tennessee."

:: Ryan 2:52 AM [+] ::
...

I was reading an interview on ESPN.com with Kevin Garnett and thought some of it was worth sharing. You can read the entire thing here. The interview was filmed for a future And 1 commercial, but all the answers were completely unscripted. Here's part of what the 26 year-old whose present contract is worth $126,006,000 had to say:

Question: Are you overpaid?
KG: Hell no. If anything I'm underpaid, with everything I do. That's a ridiculous question. I have to do everything for this team.

Q: Word on the street is that you're soft in the fourth quarter.
KG: Fuck you talkin' about? That's not what I hear.

Q: What do you hear?
KG: That KG is the motherfucking shit. N----s know. My peers in the league know what I'm about.

Q: What have you learned about the fourth quarter?
KG: To not pass the ball if we're losing.

Q: Has Kobe ever dunked on you?
KG: That's a stupid question. No. Kobe has never dunked on me in his life.

Q: Why did you skip college?
KG: At the time I felt like going pro was the only way I was going to make something of my life. Besides, college ain't shit. It's like slavery, they're trying to fuck the kids. You gotta get your education but I made a decision for me.

I've never heard college compared to slavery before. Money can buy a lot of things, but it obviously can't buy intelligence.

:: Ryan 5:04 AM [+] ::
...

Just about two weeks between posts and there's a good reason for the gap: I've done next to nothing. Not that I usually do anything all that exciting, but at the very least something that I do will give me material to write about here. Now I'm pretty sure all of you will survive without a new post from me, but lately my traffic has increased a bit and at the very least I want to give each of you something to read and hopefully something to entertain you. I've been enjoying Deirdre and Kraig's blogs as of late. Both of them post at least every couple days and are much more entertaining than I could ever be.

For a while now (at least since high school) I've been a night person. My sleeping habits are so incredibly off the wall, just check out some of the times that I post. For example, last week I went to sleep at 6am and got up at 5pm. Obviously I can't keep those hours during the school year because of class. Luckily both of my jobs allow me to sleep in virtually everyday because neither requires any pre-noon effort. Usually if I'm in bed before 4am, it's been an early night. Staying up until the wee hours of the morning have led me to one major conclusion: There is NOTHING on TV after 3am. The only reason the 2-3am hour isn't bad is because SportsCenter is still running. Every so often I can find solace on Comedy Central or TBS' "Late Night Movie", but even those two offer very little overnight programming (read: Battle Bots and Steven Segal movies 'respectively'). MTV and VH1 both start playing videos at 3am usually, but MTV's playlist at night tends to lean more towards hip-hop (I am down with neither the hip, nor the hop) and even when I can deal with seeing Sheryl Crow's 'Soak up the Sun' twice an hour, VH1 throws in a couple Celine Dion, Puddle of Mudd and Nickelback videos to make their channel completely unwatchable. I've seen the Christian Children's Fund commercial so many times I'm really starting to think I should sponsor a starving child for only pennies a day.

The lack of any decent late night programming forces me to find my entertainment on the Internet. Despite the suggestions of more than a few people that I should spend my time checking out all the 'hot' porn sites the net has to offer, porn isn't my thing. No, really, looking at "pictures" of a naked Britney Spears honestly does nothing for me. So unlike the many porn enthusiasts out there, I started to search for something other than "Hot Young Teens XXX" to keep me entertained. After a few games of Collapse, I realized online gaming wasn't quite gonna cut it. After a short while of searching I came to another conclusion: there are millions -- literally millions -- of sites that claim they can teach you how to do anything. From how to become a great cook to how to master being a rodeo clown. Many of those same sites claim that you can earn a degree in just a few short weeks! That's right, you too can earn your hotel management degree from the comfort of your own home! I was amazed at how many hits these pages got and even more surprised at the number of 'testimonials' many of the sites boast. So I decided I should try and find out for myself if you really can learn how to do anything you want via the internet. I have no desire to be a good cook and I'm gonna put off being a rodeo clown until after college, so I had to find something that A) I'm not very good at (lots to choose from) and B) I actually want to learn how to do (not that much to choose from).

If you were going to learn how to do something, what would it be? I think we all have something we wish we were good at or at least knew how to do. At first I thought I'd teach myself how to sing, that way I could become a rock star and people could start worshipping me (see previous post). But I sing to myself everyday, as I imagine most people do, and I wanted to pick something that isn't a part of my every day routine. Then I thought back to when I was a kid and if there was anything I've wanted to be able to do since then. It hit me almost immediately. From the minute I knew that Baseball existed, I've wanted to know how to pitch. I remember playing in the leagues when kids first got to pitch -- as opposed to tee ball and then the coach's pitching-- I was actually allowed to pitch because I was the only one with a strong enough arm to throw strikes consistently. It wasn't about throwing it hard or striking people out, it was just about being able to get the ball over the plate from the mound and that I could do. When I was in one of those 11-12 year old leagues, I pitched when I was 11 and then since I couldn't hit or field or do anything else, I stayed in that league as opposed to moving up to the 12-13 year old league, but the catch (no pun intended) was that they didn't let the 12 year olds pitch. So they moved me to catcher, again because I was the only one that could consistently throw to second base and because catcher requires the least amount of skill in little league: squat, catch the ball, throw it back to the pitcher, repeat. Over the next couple years I tried to get people to teach me how to pitch but since I was the fat kid that couldn't hit, no one wanted to bother. So I never really got a chance to pitch on a consistent basis and due to my lack of ability I stopped playing organized baseball once teams started making cuts and were concentrating on that whole 'winning' thing.

Over the last couple days I've started reading up on how to pitch and again have been amazed at just how many sites are dedicated to this one specific thing. Since I haven't played in a competitive baseball game since 6th grade I figured if I make any significant progress then this little experiment -- as I like to call it -- will be a success. I think we should take a poll and/or bets on how I will fare and more importantly how long before I blow my elbow or shoulder out. Remember, every day people that have been playing Baseball their entire life and who get paid a lot of money to do it blow out their arms -- If I throw the ball around for twenty minutes every couple days it's a lot and I'm not getting paid a dime. The fact that there could be real health consequences should make this experiment that much more legit because I could have picked learning how to speak Japanese, never taken any time to actually learn it and labeled 'internet learning' a waste of time. This way I'm forced to, at the very least, learn how to pitch properly or run the risk of seriously injuring myself. Tomorrow will be my first time throwing off a mound since I started reading up on how to pitch and I'll be sure to keep this site updated with my progress each step of the way. I'm sure you'll all be on the edge of your seats.

See what happens when you don't go to bed at night?

:: Ryan 5:17 AM [+] ::
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