Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - 09/09/2006 HOB San Diego

The night started out with Neil, the guitarist, playing a 30 minute solo set with Ryan joining in on drums for the second part. At one point he even went over and played the piano, but no singing. It was a good opening set to get you ready for the full band to come.

Ryan and the band came out and did a little improve about San Diego, sort of a fun way to kick off the night. From there they tore into Please Do Not Let Me Go followed up by A Kiss Before I Go. They played through a couple more songs when Ryan was really into his solo. He got down on the ground and played on his knees. Somewhere along the way as he jammed he ended up getting cracked in the head by the head of the bass. He did quite a number on himself. He stepped off stage to get some ice. Then came back to play a great version of Rescue Blues and then into To Be Young. At that point he needed a break and took off to mend his head.

He came back sortly after to play a few songs solo on the piano. He played Elizabeth to start, but was getting really annoyed by the crowd. People continued to talk and about half the people wanted to listen while the rest, a bunch of drunk idiots, continued to talk and disrupt the show. Ryan seemed pissed as many of us were too. it really was a shitty crowd. There were a lot of people who really didn't know Ryan Adams, they were just there to drink. It was really a disappointment.

He played for approximately 2 1/2 hours playing some classics in the second set like Magnolia Mountain, Cold Roses and Beatiful Sorta. It was getting late and I was really hoping he would pull out a Grateful Dead tune. There it was finishing off the set with a great version of Wharf Rat. He played it better than I've heard Phil or Bobby do with Jerry gone. They finished with a little reprise of the San Diego Improv and the show was over. It was a great show minus the crowd. Certainly well worth seeing.


Setlist San Diego - HOB 09/09/2006:
Set 1:
-------
San Diego
Please Do Not Let Me Go
A Kiss Before I Go
Blue Hotel->
Shakedown on 9th Street->
Door To The Pyramid Jam->
What Sin
The End
Rescue Blues
To Be Young
Dear Chicago

Set II:
--------
Elizabeth
Don't Get Sentimental On Me
Everything Dies
Nightbirds
Sylvia Plath
Trains
Peaceful Valley
Cold Roses
Magnolia Mountain
Beautiful Sorta
Games
Two Hearts
Easy Plateau->
Jam->
Wharf Rat
San Diego Reprise

The Miracle Match - aka - The Beautiful Game

So I picked up this movie last week on DVD. It played briefly in theaters last year and didn't last for more than about a week. So for me it was a matter of wanting to see this because it is a film about soccer. Here's my brief review:

This film is about the coming together of the 1950 US Men's National Soccer Team. There really wasn't a lot of funding in those days for the sport and its popularity was big among the European immigrants. The team was made up mainly of players from St. Louis and New York. Gerard Butler plays the leader of the St. Louis Boys Frank Borghi and Wes Bentley plays Walter Bahr, the leader of the East Coast team.

The movie is more about the building of the relationships of the teammates than it is about the game itself. There were plenty of struggles getting it together. The US Men's National Team played a few warm-up matches that they struggled through. Gavin Rossdale, former lead man of Bush and Husband of Gwen Stefani, plays the English top player Stanley Mortenson. Mortenson brings a team over to the US that just rips them apart. Because of this the US are basically not even recognized in the 1950 World Cup as a contending team. Odds makers didn't even give them a slight chance.

As we already know the US drew England in the first round and basically didn't stand a chance. Against all odds the US team played "The Game of Their Lives." People should already know this as it's in the description of the film so I don't think I'm spoiling anything.

John Harkes, former US player, plays one of the teammates and Patrick Stewart plays the narrator and former player in current day.

It was a good film. It really was more of a movie of the relationships leading up to the final match than it was about soccer. There's some good soccer action, but funny to see Bush frontman playing a top player for England. It gets a little slow at times, but hang in there, it's a good story.

Awesome Picture - What A Cute Kid She Is!

Madeline just wanted to say Hi!

It's Time You Two Twats Move On! Prison Break S1 Review

No movement in the Cashley Cole or Jose Anonio Reyes transfers so far. with all the media hype and now other players are finally getting tired of it. Emmanual Adebayor has come and said that Reyes should just leave. He was quoted as saying "Maybe his family have put pressure on him but in that case he should go because we don’t need unhappy players bringing down our spirit". He's right. The guy might be pretending to be happy at practice, but the reality is he wants nothing to do with the team and this will hurt them if he stays.

Cashley Cole's new book isn't even out yet and it's already set to be in the bargain book section. Hell, it might not actually get published. Here's the sysnopsis of Ashley Cole's My Defence: Winning, losing, scandals and the drama of Germany 2006: His phenomenal skill on the pitch and the controversy which has plagued him off has made Ashley Cole one of the most talked about players in recent years. Here, from inside the England dressing room, he tells the full inside story of their bid for World Cup glory in 2006. But this is also much more than a World Cup diary. Cole talks openly about the 2005 'tapping up' scandal, when he was fined GBP 100,000 by the FA following a meeting with Chelsea's Mourinho and Kenyon in a hotel room, and the media storm that followed. He reveals the ups and downs of his 2005 season at Arsenal, the last at Highbury before the move to a new stadium, and his struggles with injuries and form. And he also, of course, discusses his relationship with Girls Aloud's Cheryl Tweedy and the run-up to their wedding just after the World Cup.

My opinion without having even turned a page of it- CRAP! Don't even waste your time reading this little publicity stunt by Cole. He wants people to think that they will learn the dirt on Arsenal. Complete Bullshit, you need to respect the team you play for and not pull a stunt like this. I think he's just a puppet being handled by his wife Cheryl Tweedy from some crap girl group called Girl's Aloud. He's trying to be too much like David Beckham and won't be able to pull it off.

In non-football news, today we will do a quick review of Prison Break - Season One. This serious which debuted on Fox in the 2005 season became an instant hit. Now the 2nd Season is ready to start on Monday, August 21st and the release of the 1st seasons DVD came out just in time to catch up.
Prison Break is the story about one brothers struggle to save his brother from being executed in the electric chair. Michael Scofield is the brother of Lincoln Burrows, who is on death row. Scofield is a genious and has a very elaborate plan on how to get his brother out. This story is intense from the very first episode all the way to the season finale. You find out about various coverups and conspiracies going all the way up to the top of the political chain. You really can't trust anyone in this show. There is so many twists and turns along the way, you'd wish you had 22 hours to watch this straight through.

August 21st will the start the 2nd season and I can't wait. I highly recommend this one.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Talladega Nights Review

In non-football related topics - I saw Talladega Nights this past weekend. If you are a NASCAR or not this moving is pretty damn funny.

The movie stars Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby who out of nowhere becomes the hottest racer on the NASCAR curcuit. His childhood buddy is played by John C. Reilly and is as equally funny in the movie as Ferrell.

This movie has your typicall Ferrell humor like Anchorman or Old School. Lots of good one liners and a great cast of people including Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G) as Ricky's rival. Cohen plays a former Formula One French champion who has decided to make a move to NASCAR. Without giving anything away, lets just say he's very funny and has Andy Richter as a sidekick at parts to add more humor to it. Leslie Bibb (Crossing Jordan, ER) plays Mrs. Ricky Bobby and looks as good as ever. Michael Duncan Clark is the crew chief and puts in a good performance as well.

The movie has some good funny moments and some of those typical plot stupid moments as well. Overall it kept me laughing throughout and finished off with outtakes that were as funny as the movie. I recommend seeing it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Wire & Glass a Review of The Who

The Who released a mini-opera called Wire and Glass a couple weeks ago. This EP is actually segments of the six songs that make up Wire and Glass. The full CD will be release later this year.

The are two parts which include five 1.5 minute segments called Wire and Glass and a full version of the song "Mirror Door". I had a listen through the whole EP a couple of times to get a grasp of the sound they were going for. It's part Quadrophenia and part A Quick One.

The track listing is as follows:
1. Sound Round
2. Pick Up The Peace
3. Endless Wire
4. We Got A Hit
5. They Made My Dreams Come True
6. Mirror Door

I really enjoyed listening to "Sound Round" as it jumps right in and starts strong. From there "Pick Up the Pieces" really continues the beat and rocks. Both with Roger Daltrey on vocals are good songs. I can't wait to hear the full versions of both of them. Next is "Endless Wire" sang by Pete Townshend. This one is a good song, but seems a little out of place unless you are looking at the whole story. The beat slows down and drags on. Now we jump back into "We Got Hit" that is up temp like the first songs. Daltrey back on vocals just rocking out. Now we step back again to a ballad like song sung by Townshend "They Made My Dreams Come True". Again a little more mellow and Townshend, as much as I love the guy, just sounds a bit flat. Hopefully they will re-work this a bit in the final stage. "Mirror Door" is the final song on the EP. It's about a four minute cut. Good sound, good tempo has a bit of a Face Dances feel to me. Still good stuff over all.

I look forward to hearing the full CD along with potentially 4-6 other songs on will be added. "Mike Post Theme" is one of those that they have been playing on tour. Still haven't heard "Man In a Purple Dress", but it is said to be an accoustic song with Roger on vocals and Pete on guitar and no other accompanying them. Keep your eye out for the future release of this cd and check out the US tour coming soon http://www.thewhotour.com/.

Goal! The Dream Begins

GOAL! The Dream Begins was first released in theaters in England about a year ago and didn't have much success there. Well it didn't have much success in the United States either.

This film directed by Danny Cannon (Judge Dredd, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) tells the tale of a Mexican boy who jumped the fence and snuck across the boarder into the United States along with his father. Like many people who did this, they made their way to Los Angeles to start a new life. Santiago Munez was his name. He worked hard for his fathers landscaping company and loved to play soccer. All he dreamed about was making it in the big leagues one day and then a scout saw him play.

I actually enjoed watching this film even though it resembled the likes of Rudy and Hoosies, just not taking place in Indiana. It's one of those rags to riches stories about the boy who wants to play professional soccer and gets the opportunity but struggles along the way. There's nothing fantastic about the movie, it's just a good fun soccer movie to watch. The downside of the whole thing is that alan Sheerer makes a cameo and I really can't stand the guy even if he is one of the best players.

This is the first in a trilogy of GOAL movies. The second movie will be out in 2006 and takes place with Santiago playing for Real Madrid. GOAL 3 is said to take place with him playing in Argentina, but no confirmation on that yet.

The movie will be out on DVD on September 12th. You can always pick it up or buy it at http://www.amazon.com looks like it will run you $19.99.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Ashburton Grove Opens

Well the new season is ready to kick off and 20,000 fans were invited to members day to enjoy the opening of the stadium and see the team for the start of the new season.

Photo is courtesy of Rick B. Here's a quote from Rick regarding members day: "Not really too much to say about this event. It's a typical training session but in front of a load of fans and schoolkids. Certainly wasn't 20,000 there though!!! It was nice to see Rosicky in a Arsenal shirt for the first time. Aliadiere looks very keen, Barnet as well - lets hope he stays fit.

Stadium - well I suppose it looks ok, the seats are great I'll give them that and I sneaked into the Club Level to see the carpets again - nice. It actually surprised me that when the fans clapped the players, the sound did stay in the stadium, does that mean at least we will get a good atmousphere? We will see on Saturday......" - Thanks Rick for your review.



So there you have it, Saturday is Dennis Bergkamp Day v Ajax. Should be a good time for all those who will be attending. Let's see Dennis off in style.

It will be good to see Rosicky play a match for Arsenal. Wonder if any of the Dutch players will show up this weekend. Can't wait to see how it goes.