The Terrible Twos

In honor of our 2nd year doing the Southpaw Cove blog we decided on a little re-design. The posts have been few and far between since June but we're going to be more diligent in getting more content up here in the future.

Remember to Forget

This morning, I went to log into my work e-mail account, only to realize that I had forgotten what my password was. I realize it's Monday and I didn't sleep much last night, but I knew the damn thing on Friday. What further concerns me is that any time I am prompted to change my password, I just go up a digit from the current one. For example, if my previous password were sparkles12, my new one would be sparkles13. (Rest assured, my password is not sparkles13... anymore).

This lapse of memory got me to thinking: Do I forget things because I subconsciously want to? For instance, I really don't want to be at work today. Nothing good awaits me in my inbox. Is my mind trying to protect me from something undesirable? Or am I just losing it?

To take it a step further, there are things I would like to forget that I can't. Or so I believe. If my theory of the subconscious acting as a gatekeeper holds water, couldn't the opposite also be true?

As much on the surface level I'd like to forget certain things, maybe my subconscious is overruling me. Maybe it wants me to remember those things. And only when I've reached a level of resolution (or at the very least, comprehension), will it allow me to cast if off.

My final thought (before I forget) is that when those things are allowed to pass through and it no longer follows you around, they are recalled much differently when you summon them back. Most times, the memory is smoothed of its jagged edges... the image gets Disney-fied.

In the song 'Time,' Tom Waits says this better than me (of course):

And they all pretend they're orphans and their memory's like a train

You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away

And the things you can't remember tell the things you can't forget

That history puts a saint in every dream

We often remember things the way that we want to, not the way they really were. We revise. The darkness gets bathed in sunlight and the villain becomes a saint.

Even if it's much harder to carry some stuff around with you, I think it's better to hold onto some of the things we would rather not.

Like your email password.

My least favorite day of the year

No need to write up a new one

Leaving the festival. Surprisingly I only saw one sitar all day.

I think this is going to be my last band of the night. Susu is on. Not overly impressed but the drummer is actually really good

The lead singer is now throwing off a Conor Oberst vibe. They have a female singer which wins me over a little. They should use her more

I think I'm seeing The Boy Bathing at Bar Matchless. They're decent although the lead singer is giving off a hint of douchey-ness. It might just be his hair

Studio B is a sweet venue. A nerd rock band is coming on next I think. We're not sticking around. Going to check someplace else out

Boo to the Heineken open bar. Stopped giving free beer with 40 minutes left. It said 5-8pm. Apparantly they only had 150 beers to give away. I don't see how that's our problem.

Heineken Open Bar...my group makes up more than half the population

Just saw Anamanaguchi. I would classify them as video game rock. Checked to see if the baseball game was on...not surprisingly soccer was instead

At Spike Hill checking out 8 NYC bands You Need To Hear showcase. Brooklyn is a cool scene. I should have done more shit like this in my 20s.

Just got to Brooklyn. Got our badges and right away we were directed to free Heineken. This is promising.

Northside Festival

I'm headed to Brooklyn today for the Northside Festival. There is only a handful of bands that I've ever heard of but I'm using this as an opportunity to go check out some live music and also as an excuse to go check out the area. I've only been to McCarren Park pool over there so it gives me a chance to explore it.

Once again I'll give mobile blogging a shot.

Star Trek?

I never wanted to give Star Trek a chance. Growing up as a Star Wars guy I felt there was a stigma attached to being a Trekkie. I wanted to no part of it and in no way did I ever imagine myself sitting in a movie theater waiting for a Star Trek movie to begin.

Funny what a film maker I trust and a kick ass trailer will do. J.J. Abrams could remake the First Wives Club and I'd at least entertain the thought of seeing it.

Being that I don't have any Star Trek fans in my group of friends, the only Star Trek knowledge I had going in is what has seeped into popular culture. And honestly, I think that enhanced my enjoyment of the experience. I didn't have myself or anyone else saying how the originals were better or I wasn't looking for references to "old" Star Trek-isms. The only part it probably hurt was during a scene like where the Enterprise comes in to view for the first time. The reveal shot was amazing looking and everything but emotionally it didn't do anything for me since I've only been invested in the Enterprise for about ten minutes at that point.

The good:
-I'll go as far as to say that the cast was awesome. The only thing that I've ever seen Chris Pine in was some movie where he was unlucky and Lindsey Lohan was lucky and they kiss for some reason and wouldn't you know it...their luck changes. So kudos to him for being able to reverse my opinion on him. I can't give too much credit to anyone casting for casting Zachary Quinto as Spock. It had to be the most obvious casting choice in Hollywood history (maybe outside Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison). And all the others: Simon Pegg, John Cho, Zoe Saldana etc were all more than serviceable.

-For actually including Leonard Nimoy in the movie in a way that worked. It didn't come off as pandering to old school Trekkies. Forcing him in the movie for the sake of having him in the movie could have backfired massively

The bad:
-Not a great villain. Eric Bana was fine with what he had to do but as an overall villain, for a big movie, I would have liked something more.

Overall I really enjoyed it. It was a fun two hours and I'd definitely continue on with some sequels. Was it enough for me to go back and start watching Season 1 of Star Trek or the first Star Trek movie? Absolutely not, I'm happy starting from here.

Live long and-----

I'm not quite there...yet.

Jon and Kate plus Eight. Yeah...I'm actually writing about this

In the midst of what would be a multiple day hangover from my bachelor party, my fiance was watching a Jon and Kate Plus Eight marathon and I was powerless to stop it.

I was aware of the allegations of Jon "stepping out" on Kate and their marital problems and had seen a few episodes here and there but not enough to pass judgement. But I have now.

I took a few psycholgy courses in college so I'm more than qualified to identify what went wrong with them.

When the show first started they thought it was a nice and interesting way to document their kids growing up while getting them material things and free vacations. I'm completely on board with that reasoning. I can't imagine how much money it costs to take a family that size on vacations and they are going to need a ton of bank to put all of them through college later.

Surprisingly, the show became popular and Kate changed gears from having the show be a means to document their kids growing up into a springboard to become a media mogul. Now Jon doesn't work anymore to stay home with the kids while Kate is off travelling to do talk shows and book tours. That coupled with Kate always putting him down and interrupting him during interviews, it's not a surprise that they are on the outs.

Now if you don't mind I have go prepare my next blog post which will be about guns, beer and sports.

Could I have gotten a better game!

Thank god it was such a good game. It gave me my 2nd wind and enabled me to finish off my 17 and a half straight hours of drinking.

It's very weird to actually be at my own bachelor party. Fenway Park is beautiful. I don't use that word often, but it's what a baseball stadium should be

I tried to do the punching bag video game. I f'd up and now my fingers are bleeding. I've made a huge mistake

o an end

Got here at 7 and have been bar hopping. Wanted to see the 9th oh the Mets/Sox game so we're tourist trapping it at Cheers right now. Lame, but a means t

Boston is awesome! I can't wait to get there. Going on my 7th hour in the car for a 250 mile trip.

I can't imagine a more nightmarish drive to anywhere. On the road at 11am and according to GPS we still have 2.5 hours...and that's with no traffic.

Bachelor Party

I have my bachelor party this weekend. The Main Event will be Mets/Red Sox at Fenway on Saturday with a lot of drinking before and afterwards. I'm a die hard Mets fan and I've never been to Fenway so I'm looking forward to it. Since it worked so well the last time, I'm going to try to mobile blog throughout the weekend. Maybe when I get back it will help me remember some things that I may have lost this weekend.

Tragically Hip Wrap Up

Obviously the mobile blogging idea didn't really work out. I have no idea what it was during the concert that made it "real." Like most times I see a Canadian band, I partook a little too much in the pregame.

Solid show though.

This concert just became real.

Pregame: Drinking some Labatt Blues on the train listening to the new Hip album. I think I might do this with every new album I get. I'm having an infinitely better listen to it in this environment than the first time I listened to it. Now I'm actually hoping they play The Last Recluse

Tragically Hip - Nokia Theatre Times Square - New York City - 5/8/09

I went to college in Buffalo. Being so close to Canada I started to develop a taste for some things Canuck like Labatts, Molsen, poutine, Sloan and Tragically Hip. I actually lost touch with the Hip since I left college. Three albums came and went without a blip on my radar.

A few weeks ago, thanks in large part to Facebook mostly, I caught up with friend from college who was still very much into them. He asked if I wanted a ticket and here I am.

I'm going to live mobile blog it tonight

Ray Lamontagne -- Shubert Theatre 4/8

In a rather spontaneous moment, I decided to purchase tickets for Ray Lamontagne from some guy selling a pair on Craigslist. The seats were second row from the stage, but all the way in the left corner. I had some concerns, namely:

-- I never purchased tickets this way before and thought I could potentially be out 200 bucks
-- what if the seats were obscured by a big amp or something
-- what if I didn't get the tickets in time for the show

To my glee, the tickets showed up at my doorstep two days prior to the show (and two days after I ordered them) and they looked legit. So, my lady and I left work a little early and ventured out to New Haven, CT -- which happened to be the closest venue he was playing at.

After some dinner and drinks at a vast, empty Italian restaurant, we walked over to the Shubert. As soon as we made it into the lobby, I was taken by two things:

1. The place was opulent (I think that means what I want it to mean). Bright, velvety, ordained with memorabilia in the form of playbills and posters from a bygone era. It was like stepping into a great room from The Shining hotel, minus the impending doom.
2. The bar service.

My girlfriend and I waited on the drink line, chatting up some other concertgoers, who touted how good Lamontagne was live. After ordering (Jack and Coke, my go-to choice when I want to maximize buzz while minimize return trips), we made our way to the seats. At this point, I'm feeling really good about my decision.

As we walked toward the stage, we kept getting stopped and re-directed. Once we reached our row, the usher pointed to the two seats tucked off in the left corner. Looking back, the first usher could have saved all the confusion by saying: 'Just sit directly in front of the HUGE F'IN AMP.'

The only two people who had worse seats that us was the couple directly in front of us. If they leaned forward, their heads would touch the amp. We all bonded over our misfortune and I think made peace with the situation.

The opening came out a few minutes later. From what I could make out, it was a three-piece band comprised of strange-looking multi-instrumentalists. The male lead singer had a somewhat collegiate look about him, sort of a mixture of coffee shop troubadour and date rapist. The female singer/bassist/drummer/washboard thingie wore something closely resembling a potato sack (made of hemp, I'm sure) with a smart red sash (possibly making that up). The emotional center of the band was the high-energy Philipino percussionist, who jumped from behind his kit to other instruments with the vigor of a... Philipino percussionist. He looked like Danny Trejo's less tatted, more musically inclined brother.

I can't remember anything about their music. I was focusing all my energy on trying to see around the amp. Not only did I want to look at them, I was also convinced that the percussionist had a scythe.

After the set, we went back to the lobby for another round of drinks and some Ben-Gay for our necks. Although the seats weren't ideal and the opening act was a bit of a downer, the vibe was still good. I just love concerts, especially at an old venue. Seeing a show with my girlfriend for the first time definitely put it over the top.

We made it back to our seats with a few minutes to spare. We noticed that the entire second row in the middle of the stage was still vacated. We agreed 'go in' together with the couple in front of us, should the seats still be empty by the third song. After a few minutes of chatting, Ray Lamontagne took the stage...

Whether you are a fan or not, one thing is without question: he is the real deal. Standing stage left with no added spotlight, the guy in the plaid shirt and long beard just starts playing. When he sings, the sounds from his voice seem to originate from his feet and flow through his entire body. There is no artifice, no affectation, no 'mailing it in.' The dude just sings his ass off. Even when he whispers a lyric, it sounds like his vocal cords are fraying.

We got so caught up in the music, we didn't realize that the couple in front of us had moved to the empty seats and were waving us over. I take it they weren't fully on board with the attack plan. Rebels. After a song or two of consternation, we decided to join them.

Best decision ever.

For the remaining hour of the show, we had the perfect seats, the perfect buzz at a perfect couples' first concert.

So I Saw I Love You, Man

Now that March has ended I finally had to stop watching college basketball. So the first Friday I was able to go somewhere where I didn't have to have a piece of paper with a set of brackets in it was to go see a "Bromantic" comedy...I hate that word.

Let me kick this off by saying that this movie would have absolutely not worked as a PG-13 movie. I respect the filmmakers for going for the R even though it probably would have done alot better box office as a PG-13.

I read some message boards and discussed this movies potential with some friends before I saw it and the biggest fear people seemed to have was that Paul Rudd was miscast as the "straight man" in this. I didn't have that fear. I don't know if it was that Paul Rudd is generally good or it was just that I didn't have any fear that it wouldn't work playing off Jason Segel. Looking back, Jason Segel was good but his character wasn't that funny. The whole movie was pretty much a one-trick pony. Segel would set Paul Rudd up with a way try and say something cool but it would come out as something nonsensical followed by Rudd kicking himself for saying it. All that being said, and I know that didn't sound like a glowing review but I thought the movie was hilarious. It worked for me. There were some funny sight gags and some scene stealing work from Thomas Lennon and JK Simmons(as always).

Lott O Excitement

Tonight's lottery is for an assload of money. Don't quote me, but I think it's something like $860 billion. I might be mistaking the amount for that new stimulus package, I'm not sure. But I'll tell you one thing: the thought of winning enough money to do whatever the hell I want, certainly stimulates my package. I literally have a giant surplus in my pants just pondering the notion of all that bank!

I thought about posting all the things that I would do if I won millions, but I'm sure it's pretty much what everyone else would do... quit the job, throw a party, take a vacation, buy a monkey, take the monkey on vacation. Instead, I'd like to point out a few reasons why I think I have a real good shot at cashing in on the dream tonight. For instance:

-- A bunch of guys in the office chipped in to buy tickets. According to my research, 40% of all lottery winners are a bunch of office guys. Math, bitches!!

(Interestingly, another 40% of lottery winners live in states that begin in a vowel: Ohio, Indiana, Idaho, etc... A bunch of office guys from Oregon could really f$*k us here.

-- We went quick pick. We let a computer decide our fate. That is such a better strategy than using your kids' birthdays combined with your favorite number or baseball player uniform. Whenever I see someone standing by the ledge of some card store, erasing and toiling over the numbers like it was the SAT, I say to myself, 'no f&*king way are you winning.'

-- The numbers were purchased at a run-down, local card shop. Lady Luck hangs out in those places like a retiree who knows the owner, so he'll just lean on the counter and talk to him all day.

-- God owes me one. I'm sure He knows what I'm talking about.

So, there it is.

Science, bitches!!

This could very well be my last post as a poor person. Will all that money change me? No, I don't think it will. Will it change the people around me? Probably. But they'll never see me again, anyway.

Revisitng The Dave Matthews Band

I used to be a huge Dave Matthews fan...HUGE. I had stickers on my '85 Buick Skyhawk, over ten t-shirts a few posters and one drunk night after an awesome DMB show I was seriously considering a Fire Dancer or Dancing 8 tattoo. Thank f'in god I didn't.

I don't exactly know what happened but it was around the Everyday album that I started drifting away. I've only seen DMB in ampitheatre type of venues and it was routinely awesome. Everyday turned out to be a huge album for them (I was only lukewarm on it) and then they started selling out Giant Stadium. I refuse to see a band in a stadium. It doesn't do it for me. Then I got my hands on The Lillywhite Sessions which I thought was outstanding and argueably my favorite DMB album (despite never officially being released).

When I heard that DMB was doing another studio album I was, again, excited. I don't know if I just wasn't as internet saavy as I am now or what but I didn't realize that Busted Stuff was just going to be re-recordings of the Lillywhite Sessions (which I didn't like half as much) with two new songs on it. I was disillusioned and little by little DMB started disappearing from my rotation.

This past week I stumbled across Two Step and Jimi Thing on the radio and really enjoyed it. It was time to go back. The Cove is rocking an all DMB playlist these past two days and I've got to say...I'm enjoying it.

Hendrix

As Axis: Bold as Love spins in the Cove 2.0, I think back to my formative years as a Jimi Hendrix disciple. I remember hanging the posters on my bedroom walls, listening to Electric Ladyland on vinyl as I pored over liner notes and raking the neighbor's yard cranking his Smash Hits through my boom box. Putting aside his well-deserved mantle as the greatest rock guitarist that ever lived, Hendrix brought this mixture of mysticism, sexuality and bad-assery that made him seem more like a Greek myth than an actual human being. He was like rock's version of a superhero: mysterious and powerful, possessing abilities never before seen. He wore costumes, had a murky past and probably even saved a few lives.

And, apparently, his Kryptonite was in sleeping pill form.

Even though he's known more for harnessing fury in a re-strung Fender, I think his greatest recorded achievement is Little Wing. It's just a beautiful song, plain and simple. It's also one of those songs that leave you wanting more... like you wish there was just one more verse before it fades out. The only other song that comes to mind that is like that is The Smiths' Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (the title is only slightly shorter than the song).

I think the Cove 2.0 should invest in a Hendrix poster. It would give us instant cred.

The Cove is Back!!!

441 long days ago we had to move out of the office that was Southpaw Cove.

Today...it's back.

The office is in a different location but it's the same CD rack, same printer, same monitor and same awesomeness.

Favorite Three-Letter Words

din
ply
vie
mar
lay
bog
sop
ale
cog
yes

My Biggest Regret

OK it's not my biggest regret, but one of the biggest regrets I have in my life thus far is that I didn't live in New York City for any period of time. Living on Long Island my entire life I've been there hundreds of times but I generally keep to Madison Square Garden, my 5 or so favorite city bars and concert venues. I don't think I've ever actually gone in just with the agenda to explore and just get to know it. So I'm considering it a New Year's Resolution to make a few extra trips to the city this year with absolutely no agenda other than walking around and checking stuff out.

My Morning Jacket - Madison Square Garden - New York City - 12/31/08

New Year's Eve is usually the most overrated holiday of the year. People stress out about trying to do something "extra special" but the payoff is rarely worth it. I finally had one that lived up to the hype.

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I've liked this band for a few years, but 2008 became the year I became borderline infatuated with them. My fiance can attest to me probably making more "Devil's Three-Way" jokes (involving me, her and Jim James) than is comfortable.

I'm not going to spend a ton of time on the concert itself because I'm almost positive that these guys are incapable of putting on a bad show and since it'll probably read alot like the one from September, so I'll just mention a few highlights:

-HORN SECTION!!!

-I'm not a huge covers guy but the Marvin Gaye song with Nicole Atkins was really good.

-I feel very fortunate that I've seen MMJ twice and both times I got Phone West West and Cobra. The first time I saw them they played Cobra and I honestly had never heard it before. I was more prepared this time around and it is a great song to hear live.

-Get Down On It cover. It's my 2nd favorite disco song so I got a kick out of hearing it covered.

-The countdown, confetti and balloons. It just looked cool.

-You'd be hard pressed to find a better closer than One Big Holiday.

Biggest regret of the night was not picking up a concert poster. Limited production and now going for a few hundred on eBay. That's not even mentioning that it's just a sweet poster.

Setlist (from the MMJ Website)

1. Move On Up (Curtis Mayfield)

2. Evil Urges

3. Off The Record

4. Gideon

5. The Way That He Sings

6. Thank You Too!

7. I'm Amazed

8. Golden

9. Librarian

10. You're All I Need (Marvin Gaye)

11. Express Yourself (Charles Wright)

12. What A Wonderful Man

13. Lay Low

14. Phone Went West

15. Look At You

16. Dondante

17. Smoking From Shootin

18. Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.2

19. Run Thru

20. The Wanderer (Dion)

21. Dancefloors

22. Magheetah

New Years!!!

23. Celebration (Kool & The Gang)

24. Get Down On It (Kool & The Gang)

25. Wordless Chorus

26. Highly Suspicious

27. Cobra

28. Islands In The Stream (Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers)

29. Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke)

30. Cold Sweat (James Brown)

31. Anytime
32. One Big Holiday
33. Auld Lang Syne

Special Guests:

NYE Horns (2, 3, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28 , 29, 30)

Will Johnson (8)

Nicole Atkins (10, 28)

BEST...NEW YEARS...EVER

Just got home from the My Morning Jacket at the Garden. Awesome setlist which will be coming soon along with some more detail about my experience.

I always fancied New Years as a "couples holiday" so kudos to my fiance who gave me this one. To see what is most likely my favorite live band, on New Years and in the Worlds Most Famous Arena was as good as it's ever been on a December 31st.

Happy New Year