June 2008 Archives
Page of 4David Beckham and the LA Galaxy were in town yesterday, but D.C. United dispatched them 4-1 at RFK Stadium. I'm going to watch the TV broadcast tonight or tomorrow to see if I made it on TV. I actually hope I didn't, I had towels and all sort of shit draped on my head because of the heat. Not exactly the cutting edge of fashion if you know what I mean.
Best part of the game, hands down, was the return of Ben Olsen! More shots of him kicking the ball with his tongue out! It's about time.
Taking photos in the mid-day sun is unbelievably difficult. There are different lighting conditions all over the field and the shadows are really tough to deal with. I did OK, but it's not something I want to do again any time soon. Give me a game under the lights any time.
More photos of Beckham (including a topless one for all of you ladies) after the jump.
Saw a dude in a suit and sneakers skateboarding to work today. Awesome.
I'm on the West Coast until Friday, so any blogging this week will be done over on the Tumblr.
I had the best birthday weekend ever, if I do say so myself. After arriving in NYC, we hustled over to 52nd and 5th, where I scored a retro Celtics championship shirt at the NBA store, shortly before a very satisfying, although by no means socks knockingoff, performance by My Morning Jacket at Radio City Music Hall. They're close but not quite their yet as far as playing big venues. They are missing that last little bit, where they can make a big place feel real tiny. I was also a bit disappointed they didn't do anything special for the show, like break out the hula dancers or something. The new stuff off of Evil Urges sounded great though. We also had an early dinner with young Jbergs, a class act if there ever was one and who's work I have admired for quite some time. Can't wait until he's running the photo department at Rolling Stone, maybe then I can find some work.
After the MMJ show, we headed out to Billysburg to see Teddy Thompson at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It's amazing what they've done with the former Northsix space. It's all shiny and new and basically a smaller Bowery Ballroom. Very nice. Teddy was sort of a more guitar-focused Rufus Wainwright.
We started Saturday out at MOMA, taking in Olafur Eliasson's spectacular Take Your Time exhibit / collection, and it was top notch. A gelato in the Sculpture Garden was even better.
Later we tooled around SoHo, checked out the former CBGB's space (now a John Varvatos store) and then saw the Morrison Hotel's brilliant collection of rock photography by Bob Gruen. Some incredible stuff there. His shots of The Clash were very inspiring.
After that we hopped across the street to catch the second half of the Netherlands loss to Russia in a very crowded Irish bar full of ex-pats from the Netherlands (watching football in NYC is the best!) and then meet some friends for dinner.
Sunday we hustled home to take down my Artomatic photos before heading to the Pearl Jam gig. I left before the second encore and got home around 11:30. Finally made it to bed around 2 A.M. or so after editing photos. Then I worked until 8:30 last night.
Whew.
Now on to San Fran. Back to 505 and all that. Mr. Pink is not very happy with me right now.
PS - You better believe I'm making a trip here while I am there.
Read my full review over at DCist. Definitely one of the best PJ shows I have ever seen. Really intense and the crowd was amazing. Just as good as the band actually.
I respect Pearl Jam a great deal. Even more so after signing their photo waiver, which basically makes you fill in your name and publication and says "Our crew is working while you take photos. Listen to what they say, stay out of their way if they ask you to and have fun." Respect.
E-mail friend Ted Leo was awesome too. Obvs. He played some killer new songs. Can't wait to hear the recorded versions. The next album is already soundin' pretty good.
Full photo gallery after the jump.
If their new song is any indication, that is. "Love is Noise" is streaming on their MySpace page right now.
Actually, it sounds quite a bit like the M People (who were actually a big influence on Oasis).
Just another indication that 2008 is 1994 all over again.
I had totally forgotten about this photo until I started looking through Flickr for all my photos tagged "NYC."
It's very apt. I turn Paul Pierce years old today. In order to celebrate, The Future Mrs. Leaf and I are spending the weekend in NYC. You can bet one of our first stops in the Big Apple will be at the NBA Store, where this photo was taken in 2007. I need me some 2008 Champs gear.
Also, My Morning Jacket at Radio City tonight!
Talk about best evs. My new favorite blog, The Big Picture, has all sorts of photos from today's Celtics victory parade in Boston. Incredible.
I love the second photo of Ray Allen in Game Six. He's running down the court to get back on defense, all pumped up, while the Lakers bench looks on in abject horror. Kurt Rambis's face says it all.
It's over. The Celtics are back where they belong. On top of the world. And so am I.
It's going to be a long time before tonight's game gets erased from the record books.
Been getting a bunch of texts throughout the game and I kept telling everyone the same thing. I feel like I just won the lottery.
Celtics win and everything I've ever written about Danny Ainge (except for maybe this) gets affirmed. Thank you Danny. This was all because of you.
The Celtics were the first sports team I ever started rooting for. My grandfather Kenny, who died earlier this year, started me down this path. He was a fan so I became one too. There was no other option. They've pretty much sucked since I started college (I remember Alonzo effing Mourning hitting that jumper in the playoffs my freshman year to send them home in the first round) but that has made tonight (and this season) so much sweeter.
I was never a Michael Jordan fan, so that time period was tough for me to follow. It was Paul Pierce that made me fall in love the the Celtics and the NBA all over again. And for him to go through everything he's endured during his career, it makes me so happy for him. After PP got stabbed in 2000 and made his comeback (honestly, he never went away) I kept telling everyone that would listen that Paul Pierce was atonement from the Basketball Gods for Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. Deep down I knew that he wouldn't have made it through that ordeal if there weren't bigger things in store for him and the franchise. It took some time and a rotating cast of teammates, but we finally got to the finish line.
And to see your favorite basketball player on the planet become the best basketball player on the floor in the NBA Finals for all the world to see? That's special.
All the time I spent on celtics message boards for the last five years talking about the team, the money I spent on the NBA package so I could watch them every night when they were going 30-52 or whatever it was, all the money I spent seeing them in Boston, in L.A. and here in D.C. It was all worth it.
The Boston Celtics are NBA Champions again! And I got to see Game One in person! We came a long way from this.
Time for me to pop some champagne.
I just realized that the Boston Celtics are trying to win the franchise's 17th title on June 17th.
Good omen?
I certainly hope so.
THE MARS VOLTA have just announced a show on September 21 at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, MD. Tickets for this show go on sale this Saturday, June 21st, at noon. They will cost you $35.00 in advance and $39.50 at the door.
However, if you want to get in on the pre-sale action, I have the exclusive details:
The pre-sale runs 10 am to 10 pm on Friday, June 20th (which also happens to be your favorite bloggers birthday) via the Rams Head Live & Ticketmaster websites.
The password is GOLIATH.
Have at 'em.
I have a co-worker that will not shut up about these guys, so I will most likely be making the trip to see this show.
DCist and Washingtonian have the details.
Thursday, July 24: Statehood
and
Thursday, Aug. 7: Julie Ocean
and
Monday, Aug. 11: These United States, Jukebox the Ghost
are all looking good to me.
Oasis and Paul Weller on the same day! My head might explode.
Get ready Canada. You're gonna have to clean it up if so.
That would have been my mood if I had gone to see one of my favorite bands and had the experience ruined by rain. Oh wait...
Seriously though, it appears that NYC had their "Radiohead @ Nissan" moment over the weekend. Severe weather royally screwed up the R.E.M. show @ Jones Beach on Long Island. Apparently lightning actually hit the venue during the changeover after Modest Mouse's set and the venue staff were telling different people different things as to if the show would indeed go on. Some people were told to leave the venue, others were told to stay and general chaos ensued.
But wait. It gets worse.
Fluxtumblr: "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Disturbance at the Heron House,” “Life and How To Live It,” and “Harborcoat” from the setlist."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG. I would have been inconsolable.
OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but that would be like someone telling me:
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “High and Dry,” “Been Thinking About You,” and “Black Star” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Lowest Part is Free,” “Web In Front,” and “Harnessed In Slums” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “There's No Other Way,” “She's So High,” and “Parklife” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Sally Cinnamon,” “This is the One,” and “Driving South” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Over the Wall,” “Never Stop,” and “Altamont” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Well I Wonder,” “This Charming Man,” and “Barbarism Begins at Home” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Say Something,” “Ring The Bells,” and “Sit Down” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “This Time Around,” “Slide,” and “Beautiful View” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Motorcycle Emptiness,” “Faster,” and “La Tristesse Durera” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Bengali In Platforms,” “Break Up The Family,” and “Your Gonna Need Someone On Your Side” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “D'You Know What I Mean?,” “Cast No Shadow,” and “Slide Away” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Two States,” “Westie Cannot Drum,” and “Fight This Generation” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Car Radio,” “30 Gallon Tank,” and “Everything Hits At Once” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “Frisbee,” “Bad Behavior,” and “Dacw Hi” from the setlist."
- "You should’ve stayed! It was amazing, and the only thing I have to complain about is how the rain delay forced them to cut “December,” “Verisimilitude,” and “Star Sign” from the setlist."
I only wish I knew early GBV well enough to do one for them. Anyways, you get the point. On the plus side, Stipe & Co. did open the show with a cover of CCR's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain."
Is there some way to get bands, venues and promoters to agree that putting people's lives in danger probably means you should postpone the show?
We had our chances but couldn't put the Lakers away tonight. The three three's Ray missed late in the third and the two free throw's KG missed in crunch time and the missed tip-in at the end really hurt. The Lakers didn't play great but they got the job done. Some sloppy play down the stretch on our part didn't exactly help. I think we need mo' Powe in Game Six.
The phantom fifth fouls on PP and KG surely don't help the whole "the NBA is fixed" mentality out there right now.
Lost during the euphoria of "The Comeback" was this incredible move by Ray Allen with around 3 minutes left in the game. Watch how he goes up for the shot, pulls it down when he sees Pau coming, goes back up and pulls it down because of the rim and then lays it up on the other side while avoiding the block from Lamar Odom. I'm not necessarily surprised that Ray Ray isn't getting more props for this move, but if it was Kobe that did this, they would still be showing the replays. Just sayin'.
Have I ever mentioned I have a Tumblr? I know it's a love/hate thing out there, but I love the functionality. My crack code team is working on ways to get the content to publish here as well, so it might be a good way to blog when I'm swamped. Be easy.
That was some great defense by "The Machine," huh? Ray Allen ate your lunch, punk.
Did you hear PP after he made his first free throw with 48 seconds left?
"Ice."
"I want it."
Can't wait until Sunday. One win away from # 17.
Real quick like, the R.E.M. show last night at Merriweather was great bordering on pretty fucking awesome. Band was spot-on in every way, except for the setlist, which had 63% less early stuff than the Raleigh show the night before. BTW, Dumbek, I am totally jealous that you went to that show. Jerk.
Highlights:
- "Pop Song '89" Rock! Stipe even did the little shimmy dance he did in the video.
- "Driver 8" - As an intro, Stipe said "This next one is a request. From me."
- "Let Me In" acoustically. Pretty great.
- "Orange Crush" - Well, if they're not going to play half of Reckoning like you did in Raleigh, at least they played this. And it was absolute sonic-godhead. Buck just killed it.
- "These Days" - Seriously, this was one of the best things I have ever heard at a concert. Absolutely incredible.
- "Rockville" - Mills sang it and it was awesome. It was great to hear this song in "D.C." The entire audience sang along.
Lowlights:
- "Houston" - I am all for bands writing about "The Bush administration's pathetic response to Hurricane Katrina," but this song might as well be called "Bathroom Break."
- Would it have killed them to play "Harborcoat?"
- On "Little America" any mention of Jefferson Holt was erased. Poor Jefferson.
- Traffic. It was bad. Real bad. 2 hours to get there.
- Modest Mouse - Johnny Marr aside, they really suck. Marr was incredible though.
Stipe was very energetic last night. Running all over the place. Good times. And I got some kick ass photos if I do say so myself.
More on this show later. Possibly. Read the Chris's awesome review over at DCist soon.
More photos after the jump.
I had a super-mega brilliant R.E.M. post all laid out in my head last night, ready to write during Game Three, when a big storm came through the area and knocked out the power to my building until after 11 p.m. So that will have to wait for another day.
In the meantime I will say this.
- R.E.M. was one of the first "indie" band I started listening to (along with Buffalo Tom, Matthew Sweet and Teenage Fanclub). Everyone else on the tennis team listened to them so I figured I needed to check them out.
- One of the English teachers at my high school used to be R.E.M.'s tour manager. Echo & the Bunnymen too! Imagine the impact of that on a young leafblower.
- I have a photo pass for tonight. Yay! More Johnny Marr! Perhaps he will even venture out from behind the mic stand tonight. One can only hope.
- After seeing the set list from last night, I am super, super excited. "Harbor Coat" & "Orange Crush?" Yes please!
- I will be even more excited if they play "Life and How To Live It."
[mp3] R.E.M. | Cuyahoga (live)
[mp3] R.E.M. | Disturbance at the Heron House (Acoustic)
[mp3] R.E.M. | Tongue (live)
But I kind of agree with this:
I liked your first three novels quite a bit—Survivor, Fight Club, and Invisible Monsters, I thought, made kind of a trilogy of ridiculous, and somehow bighearted, American nihilism—and while your next novel, Choke, was a misfire akin to other novelists' sophomore slump, you were clearly trying to struggle free from the cynicism that had enveloped your work. You were trying to grow.
So what was it that irrevocably stunted your growth as a writer? Why did you start releasing horrible novels with one-word titles—Haunted, Lullaby, Diary—every year like clockwork? Those three, the second Palahniuk trilogy, were generic gross-out thrillers, and they cemented your reputation as the Jean-Claude Van Damme of novelists; you were a victim of your own formula.
The last novel, Rant, was as perfunctory as an Elvis movie. The plot—something to do with car crashes causing people to time travel—was laughable, and everything that made your first books so exhilarating was by now the equivalent of a literary Starbucks. To write a Palahniuk novel, one just needs a taboo subject, a cast of five main characters who are secretly tied to one another far beyond the reach of reasonable coincidence, and then a string of trivia about an obscure topic like how to clean bodily fluids off of household items.
And here comes Snuff, about five people filming a gangbang who are tied together through secret connections. There's lots of information about porn films. There's a litany of trivia about Hollywood actors who nearly died while filming their roles. And there's a climax so intentionally outrageous that it couldn't have been written with a straight face. No doubt, people will love it because it is—like Mountain Dew and Dane Cook and various other safe and overpackaged products—extreme.
I still haven't picked up Snuff yet, although I will sooner or later. I'm just not that excited about it. I didn't even go to Chuck's reading/lecture event here in D.C. last week (mostly because I refused to pay the $30 cover charge, which I found quite ridiculous). I listened to the audio book version of Rant a few weeks ago and was practically bored to tears. I guess Chuck's stuff is not aging very well for me. By continually trying to shock everyone, he's sort of playing it safe. But I still love me some Survivor.
On the left, 16 Horsepower's Live, March 2001. Released May 6th, 2008. On the right, The Big Sleep's Sleep Forever. Released February 19th, 2008. D'oh.
16 Horsepower were really good back in the day. I used to rock out to "Black Soul Choir" all the time in college. The Big Sleep, however, are really good right now. They ruled when I saw them earlier this year.
It was a lot closer than it needed to be (focus guys, focus!) but we're still heading to L.A. up two game to none. I wonder if this wasn't the best case scenario for Boston though. No way they can be happy with this win, no matter how well they played through the first three quarters. I don't see complacency setting in here. But I'm still waiting for Kobe to go crazy. Look for the Lakers to try and push the tempo out in L.A.
PS - Leon Powe!!!
Led Zepplin (minus Robert Plant) played with the Foo Fighters in London.
New Radiohead
The Rip
Super Collider
Radiohead's catalog is available on iTunes.
The most dedicated, least rational rock fans.
R.E.M., the book.
At some point in the very near future I hope to put my experiences from last night -- which, going forward, will officially be known as "One of the Greatest Nights of My Life" -- into words. What I can remember of it anyways. I spent most of the night KGing as much as possible, yelling "Beat L.A." with all the other people dressed in green and all the while downing, not drinking - downing, beers as fast as possible. But that recap will not come tonight. I have driven over 1,000 miles in the last 48 hours and I face another 700 this weekend as I head to NC for a wedding. Sigh. My friends need to move closer to me. Or stop getting married during the NBA Finals.
For the record, even though the first half was close, I knew we were going to win. We had a good omen at the bar. I was sitting right next to Gerald Henderson, Sr. (you remember him, right?) and his son, Junior. Best Evs.
And we're off. NBA Finals, here we come! Sever weather be damned.
Here's what my view will look like tomorrow night:
Related:
Bob Ryan layeth the smack down on the Sports Guy.
Bob Ryan's Top 10 games from the Celtics-Lakers rivalry.
NBA.com's Top 20 Celtics-Lakers Finals Moments.
Ranking The Best Players Of The 2008 Playoffs.
Go Celtics!
What the Wind Will Never Tell, the new album by D.C.'s own Nethers, is out digitally on iTunes and eMusic. Go get that shit! The physical release comes later this month.
Stream the new My Morning Jacket album Evil Urges. It's out 6/10. MMJ also did their own Black Cab Session.
[mp3] The Futureheads | Broke Up The Time
Now album This Is Not The World out now.
New tour dates for Dizzee Rascal:
July 18 NEW YORK, NY Highline Ballroom
July 19 CHICAGO, IL Pitchfork
July 20 TORONTO, ON Rogers Picnic
July 21 AUSTIN, TX Emo's
July 22 DENVER, CO Cervante's
July 24 LOS ANGELES, CA Echoplex
July 25 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Mezzanine
[mp3] Dizzee Rascal | Where Da G's At?
[mp3] The Stills | Being Here
[mp3] The Stills | Rooibos / Palm Wine Drinkard
New album Oceans Will Rise out in August.
Rob Dickinson, former lead singer of the Catherine Wheel, is re-releasing his album Fresh Wine For The Horses with a bonus disc of re-recorded Catherine Wheel tunes.
Here are some tourdates. Buffalo but not DC? Seriously?
June 10 – Los Angeles, CA The Viper Room
June 17 – London, ONT Call The Office
June 18 – Toronto, ONT The Mod Club
June 20 – Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
June 22 – Cambridge, MA T.T. The Bears
June 23 – New York, NY Mercury Lounge
[mp3] Rob Dickinson | End of the World
[mp3] Ratatat | Mirando
New album due out July 8th on XL Recordings.
You already knew that. But here is something you did not know.
So Am I!
Yes sir! A friend and I got to talking on Saturday, and to make a long story short, this long-time Celtics fan decided to spend a chunk of his tax rebate check on a trip to Boston for Game One on Thursday night. I never thought I would get the chance to see an NBA Finals game in person, much less in Boston against the Lakers, so this opportunity was too good to pass up. Can't wait!
Pre- and post-game drinking spots are still being worked out, so if you have suggestions or want to meet up, holler at me.
Go Celts! Beat L.A.!
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