Coming off a fantastic weekend...a long weekend due to the Memorial Day observance. Let me begin this post by paying my respects to all of my fellow men and women in uniform. To all that have gone before me...To all that serve today...and just as importantly, To their families who tirelessly support them...THANK YOU!!! The United States' Armed Forces is the world's largest all-voluntary military in the world. We selflessly make sacrifices so that our families and our country can remain a peaceful, strong, and free nation! I have the utmost respect for all of you!
This Memorial Day weekend was fantastic! We finally had decent weather here in Wisconsin as its been cold and rainy for the last few weeks. Saturday I went out and had drinks with some friends. Kind of last minute, thrown-together plans, but turned out to be a really great night. Good drinks...great company!
For the next few months, Sully Erna, lead singer of Godsmack, is doing a special tour. For each city visited during this tour, Godsmack plays one night and then Sully Erna performs his solo album, Avalon, the second night. I saw Godsmack last year, so I only bought a ticket for Avalon. Turned out a couple of friends had an extra ticket to Godsmack, so I jumped on it of course. Godsmack played on Sunday, May 29. I found humor in the stage setup. Godsmack had most of the stage curtained off, leaving about the front 6 feet of the stage for the opening bands. I thought that was funny. The first band was Losing Scarlet. I saw them back on April 8 when they opened for Egypt Central and Cold. Oh, I guess I never wrote about that show...hmmm...
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Here's a quick down and dirty on the April 8, 2011 show with Cold and Egypt Central. Had free tickets to this show and decided to go at last minute, mainly to see Egypt Central, who I was a fan of. Five bands this night...Losing Scarlet, Oceans Divide, Kopek, Egypt Central, and Cold.
Losing Scarlet was decent. Odd grouping of musicians. Big burly, mohawked black guy on lead guitar. Big goth-looking female bass player, a small white guy with goatee on drums, and a pretty hot female lead singer.
Oceans Divide weren't anything special. Lead singer reminded me a little of Glenn Danzig. There were ok. Obviously I don't remember much about them.
Kopek was the surprise of the night. I really liked their set and look forward to seeing them again. Met the lead singer after the show (see pics).
Egypt Central was great as expected. Played a few songs from their new album, which released today (yeah, I bought it). Met the lead singer afterwards as well.
Cold was nothing special to me. They had been out of the music scene for about seven years before making a new album. To be honest, I wasn't really familiar with them and they didn't do anything for me.
Here are the pics from the Cold/Egypt Central/Kopek/Oceans Divide/Losing Scarlet show.
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Back to Memorial Day...
So I saw Losing Scarlet back in April in a smaller setting. They were better then. The lead singer's voice echoed throughout the Eagles Ballroom and overpowered the band. The second band was No Conviction. They were terrible. Singer was a growler and you couldn't understand anything he was saying. No pictures of these two bands.
Headlining the evening was Godsmack. I love Godsmack! They rock! Saw them last year at Band Camp 2010 in Madison, WI. This show was a bit different. It was more of a normal Godsmack show. No drum battle. Just a straight up rock show, but they were awesome. Setlist included many of their hits like Awake, Bad Religion, Keep Away, and Voodoo. Also played several from their newest album such as Forever Shamed, War and Peace, Cryin' Like a Bitch, and one of my personal favorites, Love Hate Sex Pain. Check out my pics of Godsmack.
Monday was Sully Erna's solo show. He has a solo album out called Avalon. Let me tell you that I think this album is nothing short of AMAZING! Ever since I got it, I've listened to it nearly once a day. The musical instrumentation, lyrics, and vocals on this album surely showcase Sully Erna's outstanding musical talent. He was on stage with some world class musicians and the show was amazing and powerful! By far the best show I've seen this year...so far. So very glad that I went. Here are pics from Avalon.
What could have been a quiet and solemn weekend turned out to be a great time and a gift of music I will soon not forget!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Now that was a weekend!!
Now this has been the BEST weekend of 2011 so far. Amazingly great times and memorable moments! Going into this weekend, I knew what events were on the schedule. What I didn't know was how awesome they would play out. On the weekend's schedule: my brother visits from CT, Disturbed concert at The Rave, my graduation ceremony.
My brother flew in for the weekend to celebrate my graduation from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. I picked him up at the airport on Friday night. Went to Mo's Irish Pub down the street to have a few beers and shoot the breeze. Now, whenever my brother and I get together, which isn't that often as he lives in CT and I'm in WI, we always have a great time. Never used to be that way, but now we know how to have a good time. I introduced my brother to some of Wisconsin's finest craft beer and he enjoyed them. I think he likes New Glarus' Spotted Cow the best so far. Anyways, we closed Mo's.
Saturday was a chill day. I showed him some more of Milwaukee as the last time he was here it was snowing. Took pictures with the statue of the Fonz and had a few beers. As the afternoon rolled into evening, we went to meet a couple of friends for dinner. On the way, my brother noticed the Coyote Ugly Saloon and said we must stop in. There was maybe a dozen people in there. We played a drinking game. The first challenge was to write down with chalk on the bar as many dirty words as you can think of in like 60 seconds. There was a four-way tie and I was one of the four. Should I be embarrassed about this? Nahhh. The tie breaker was a stick figure sex position challenge in which I had to draw as many sex positions as I could in 60 seconds. Well, I won hands down. Now, if I shouldn't be embarrassed about the dirty word challenge, what about this one? Hahahaha.
We had dinner and then headed to The Rave to see Disturbed in concert. Wow! What a hell of a show! Amazing performance from beginning to end! The first band was Art of Dying. I've only heard a couple of their songs, which I liked, so I was looking forward to them. Solid band. Great vocals. After them, Nonpoint took the stage. I've seen Nonpoint before at Summerfest 2008. I remember they played at 6:30 and thinking they should have been an 8:00pm show. Nonpoint may never be the type of band that will headline big shows, but they certainly now how to deliver an energetic show. They finished with what is probably their biggest hit, Bullet With A Name On It. The night's headliner was Disturbed. I had never seen them before, having missed previous opportunities to see them live. All I have to say is AMAZING! Kicked a$$!!! I was blown away by their sound. Definitely glad I didn't miss them this time. Check out pictures.
After the concert, we went back downtown. My brother wanted to experience Coyote Ugly when it was in full gear. I wasn't that impressed. Aside from all the hot ladies in there, it really didn't do much for me. Not necessarily my kind of club to hang out in. Check that one off the bucket list...done.
Back home at about 3AM again and we had to get up early. Sunday morning was my graduation ceremony. After eight long years of juggling work, school, and some semblance of a social life, I earned my degree, Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Technology. You are never too old to learn. Feels so great to finally have finished. It's really only just starting to sink in. Now to make this shiny new degree work for me.
If this weekend is just a sign of what else is to come in 2011, it's going to be one hell of great year!
My brother flew in for the weekend to celebrate my graduation from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. I picked him up at the airport on Friday night. Went to Mo's Irish Pub down the street to have a few beers and shoot the breeze. Now, whenever my brother and I get together, which isn't that often as he lives in CT and I'm in WI, we always have a great time. Never used to be that way, but now we know how to have a good time. I introduced my brother to some of Wisconsin's finest craft beer and he enjoyed them. I think he likes New Glarus' Spotted Cow the best so far. Anyways, we closed Mo's.
Saturday was a chill day. I showed him some more of Milwaukee as the last time he was here it was snowing. Took pictures with the statue of the Fonz and had a few beers. As the afternoon rolled into evening, we went to meet a couple of friends for dinner. On the way, my brother noticed the Coyote Ugly Saloon and said we must stop in. There was maybe a dozen people in there. We played a drinking game. The first challenge was to write down with chalk on the bar as many dirty words as you can think of in like 60 seconds. There was a four-way tie and I was one of the four. Should I be embarrassed about this? Nahhh. The tie breaker was a stick figure sex position challenge in which I had to draw as many sex positions as I could in 60 seconds. Well, I won hands down. Now, if I shouldn't be embarrassed about the dirty word challenge, what about this one? Hahahaha.
We had dinner and then headed to The Rave to see Disturbed in concert. Wow! What a hell of a show! Amazing performance from beginning to end! The first band was Art of Dying. I've only heard a couple of their songs, which I liked, so I was looking forward to them. Solid band. Great vocals. After them, Nonpoint took the stage. I've seen Nonpoint before at Summerfest 2008. I remember they played at 6:30 and thinking they should have been an 8:00pm show. Nonpoint may never be the type of band that will headline big shows, but they certainly now how to deliver an energetic show. They finished with what is probably their biggest hit, Bullet With A Name On It. The night's headliner was Disturbed. I had never seen them before, having missed previous opportunities to see them live. All I have to say is AMAZING! Kicked a$$!!! I was blown away by their sound. Definitely glad I didn't miss them this time. Check out pictures.
After the concert, we went back downtown. My brother wanted to experience Coyote Ugly when it was in full gear. I wasn't that impressed. Aside from all the hot ladies in there, it really didn't do much for me. Not necessarily my kind of club to hang out in. Check that one off the bucket list...done.
Back home at about 3AM again and we had to get up early. Sunday morning was my graduation ceremony. After eight long years of juggling work, school, and some semblance of a social life, I earned my degree, Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Technology. You are never too old to learn. Feels so great to finally have finished. It's really only just starting to sink in. Now to make this shiny new degree work for me.
If this weekend is just a sign of what else is to come in 2011, it's going to be one hell of great year!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Winter rolls into extended Winter which rolls into...Where the hell is Spring?
Not a lot has happened since my last entry. The Wisconsin weather has been unfair so far in 2011. It's May and we may have hit 60 degrees three times, if we are lucky. On top of that, it's been raining all the time. April showers spilled over into May. I'm not complaining though as it could be worse. In a way I'm glad it's been cold and rainy because I have an injured foot. An injured foot means I can't golf or run. When the weather is nice, that's a difficult pill to swallow. My foot is getting better and hope to be on a golf course and back running within a couple weeks. Which is good, because I'm scheduled to run Summerfest's Rock n' Sole 10K and I need to get in some training for that. I'm not worried. I'm looking forward to that challenge.
I'm sure I mentioned that this was my last semester at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Yeah buddy! Just finished with my last class and I'll be walking across the stage to accept my diploma in just over a week. So, so elated to be finished with my degree! It's been a long eight years.
Let's see, what else has been going on? I've been really focused on school. I've also taken some time out to have a little fun. I saw a couple of concerts. Back on April 23, I saw Chris Cornell perform an acoustic show at the Pabst Theater. That was a great show. Chris played a variety of songs from Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, and his solo stuff. He threw in some covers too...Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, Led Zeppelin's Thank You, The Beatles' Ticket to Ride, and finishing with John Lennon's Imagine. A very powerful performance. Check out some pictures of Chris on stage.
Summerfest has released their stage headliners for each of the 11 days. I'm not overwhelmed with the bands that have been booked. As it is, I may go every other day. We'll see if that holds true once they release the rest of the lineups. This may very well be a year for the early bands. I am excited to see Rise Against, 10 Years, and Hollywood Undead. Stay tuned for more on Summerfest 2011.
Next weekend, my brother comes to Milwaukee to attend my graduation. Going to be great to see him and hang out. We'll be hitting The Rave to see Disturbed. We are going to have a great time!
I'm sure I mentioned that this was my last semester at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Yeah buddy! Just finished with my last class and I'll be walking across the stage to accept my diploma in just over a week. So, so elated to be finished with my degree! It's been a long eight years.
Let's see, what else has been going on? I've been really focused on school. I've also taken some time out to have a little fun. I saw a couple of concerts. Back on April 23, I saw Chris Cornell perform an acoustic show at the Pabst Theater. That was a great show. Chris played a variety of songs from Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, and his solo stuff. He threw in some covers too...Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, Led Zeppelin's Thank You, The Beatles' Ticket to Ride, and finishing with John Lennon's Imagine. A very powerful performance. Check out some pictures of Chris on stage.
Summerfest has released their stage headliners for each of the 11 days. I'm not overwhelmed with the bands that have been booked. As it is, I may go every other day. We'll see if that holds true once they release the rest of the lineups. This may very well be a year for the early bands. I am excited to see Rise Against, 10 Years, and Hollywood Undead. Stay tuned for more on Summerfest 2011.
Next weekend, my brother comes to Milwaukee to attend my graduation. Going to be great to see him and hang out. We'll be hitting The Rave to see Disturbed. We are going to have a great time!
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