The Gift of Music

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!

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!

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!

Just what was needed

It's hard to believe that last night was my first concert of 2011.  Feel like I'm slacking a bit, but it was just what was needed to give this year a little kick start. There is absolutely nothing better than watching a great live rock show! Get's the adrenaline and the blood flowing. Clears the mind and let's you escape reality for a few hours. It's good to stretch the rock legs and get ready for another year full of music.

Opening band last night was My Darkest Days. I wasn't too familiar with them, only really knowing their song 'Pornstar Dancing'. I wasn't overly impressed with them, but it was a decent show. Seemed a bit gimmicky as each of the band members had a certain stage move they liked to perform after each song. I did think the band's wardrobe covered a wide spectrum. Drummer was in typical muscle shirt and jeans. Keyboardist looked like he was straight out of the Cure with dark eye makeup and a scarf. The lead singer and the bass player both wore jackets and button down shirts with the bass player adding a hat. Then there was the lead guitarist, shirtless with the skin tight snakeskin-patterned pants and a foot-high multi-colored mo hawk a la The Exploited. The band members looked like they were all thrown together from various other bands. Interesting.

Headlining was Three Days Grace. This is my third time seeing them and this might be the best show yet. I was close for the opener, but as soon as the push started, was right even closer to the stage. Was more of a push than a mosh, though small mosh pits broke out here and there. No, I didn't get in the pits, but it is fun to push drunken fools into them. On to the show... Three Days Grace delivered! Opened with 'Burn' and rolled right into many of their other favorites...'Break', 'The Good Life', 'Pain', 'Get Out Alive', and 'I Hate Everything About You'. Then played 'Home' and after jamming that song for a bit, they slipped right into a cover of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'. Sweet!  Couple songs later, they brought out one of the roadies/tour managers and did a cover of Limp Bizkit's 'Break Stuff'.  TDG rounded out the night with a drum solo and a few other tunes, finishing with 'Riot'.  Excellent show!!  Check out the pictures.

It doesn't matter if it's a local band like the 5 Card Studs at Cafe Lu Lu or a more polished act like Three Days Grace, I love a good show! Shows on tap...I am going to see Chris Cornell perform an acoustic show later this month; and I'm seeing Disturbed in May with the possibility of a few other shows sprinkled in between now and Summerfest 2011.  Rock on!

It's going to be a great year!

In the words of Rock N Roll Legend Joe Walsh...

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
(Everybody sing) I'm cool (He's cool)

I can't complain but sometimes I still do

Life's been good to me so far

2010 was a really good year for me. Chock full of good times and great memories. I've seen a slew of concerts, starting the year with Bullet For My Valentine. In June there was the first ever Verge Music Festival, a new alternative two-day music festival. Among the bands I saw there were Crash Kings, Eagles of Death Metal, AFI, Three Days Grace, and Weezer. Just a few weeks later I did what many of my friends said couldn't be done and attended all 11 days of Summerfest - 311, Skillet, Scorpions, Hawthorne Heights, Chevelle, Red, Silversun Pickups, and many, many more. What a great time that was! WJJO Band Camp (an all-day metal show people!) in August and several other concerts. If you've been following this blog, I've written about these events and shared my experiences. In July, I attended my 20-year high school reunion and had a fantastic time. Daniel Tosh show in November. Brewery tours. Wii Rock Band parties. 

I finished the year strong with a trip to Boston to visit a good friend. We took in the Patriots vs. Packers football game and drank lots of beer, but that's nothing new. Then I drove down to CT to spend the holidays with my family. It wasn't all smiles and laughter as my grandfather passed away the week before Christmas, but we made the most of it. Back in WI, New Year's Eve was a great time.  Spent the evening with friends and made some new ones. We drank and danced our way into the new year.

So far a lot of good things have happened in 2011. I started my final class in pursuit of my Bachelor's degree. I'm very excited about finally finishing! I found out some great news regarding my WI state veterans eduction benefits. I, along with a few friends, went on the inaugural Milwaukee 2 Madison Beer Run, a bus tour from Milwaukee to Madison with stops at three WI breweries. There was the Church Pub Crawl. Yes...churches and beer...but it's better than it sounds. We toured churches, which were very educational as well as historical, and stopped at pubs in between. The jury is still out, but I might be coming off of the best weekend of the year. More about that another time. 

It was during my trip to CT that my brother and I proclaimed that 2011 was going to be a great year for the both of us. It's certainly off to a great start!  So what's up next? Not sure, but I'm definitely looking forward to a great year!

What would holidays be without family?

The Christmas holidays have always been a special time, just as every other holiday throughout the year. The one constant with every holiday is family. Our own personal level of enjoyment changes as we grow up. As children, we enjoy the mystery of Santa Claus and the excitement of opening presents. As teenagers, the gifts may change from toys to cool gadgets and clothes. When we are grown and there are no more little children to spoil and no more little smiley faces to light up the room, the gifts don't matter as much. Family is what matters. Whether you live close and spend every holiday and most other days with your family, or if you live far away and only see them a few times a year, the holidays are always special when you are with family.

Everyone's family has a certain level of dysfunction and mine is no different. But I love them all the same. I left my home town, and my family, more than 15 years ago. I have traveled the world and have lived in many different places. I do make it back home from time to time...maybe not often enough. My family and I may not know each other as well as most, but that doesn't mean I love them any less. Knowing they are there for me...for each other...can be comforting.

This year's Christmas was going to be special. You see, my family was planning a big Christmas party and we were going to gather all of the family that we could and celebrate with my grandfather one last time. My grandfather, if you've been following, is the 94 year old Pearl Harbor Survivor that I wrote about earlier this month. The plans were in place. I was coming home. My aunt was coming from New York. It was going to be great...   Only my grandfather didn't make it.  He passed away the weekend before Christmas. (If you'd like, read this article about him in the local newspaper). He went quickly and painlessly from what I was told. He has been finally reunited with his wife, who left him 12 years before. While his passing is sad, I am happy for him. He is a hero, a local celebrity, and an important part of our family...an important part of my life. He has lived a very long and full life. Hell, I hope I live to be 94 and be as capable as he was at that age. So my family's Christmas plans had changed, but we were still together. I had the honor and privilege of being a pall bearer. My brother and I, both military veterans, folded the American flag that was draped over our grandfather's casket and then I presented it to my dad. A moving moment to say the least and probably the most emotion I saw out of my dad. The holidays continued only with one less seat at the table, but we were still together.

Whether your family is close or if they have drifted apart, enjoy the time you do have together. Cherish those moments. Make efforts to connect with new family members or reconnect with those you've lost touch with, even if it's only for a few minutes. Put aside your differences and any negativity and enjoy each other. You never know when that holiday might be the last one with them.

Two years later, things are looking good!

I was just reminded (not sure how I could forget) that it has been two years since I really took control of my life and really started to live it for myself. I ended an unhealthy relationship that was holding me back and making me miserable. Since then, the last two years have been, for the most part, all about me. Not in a completely egotistical selfish way either. I've been going down a path of self-evaluation and self-improvement. I've spent a lot of time getting to know who I was, what I enjoyed, what my passions were, and what made me happy. I have focused on continuing my education and plan to graduate in Spring 2011. I'm discovering what some of my hidden talents might be as many of my friends are pointing out things they think I do well. I have a big heart and I'm passionate about helping others and giving back. I try to do that as often as I can, but know I could do more.  My life is moving forward and I like the direction it is headed. There opportunities out there for me, and even more will open up next Spring. Although I may not know where my path is taking me, I do know that the decisions are mine. I like that!