Mr. Arron linked to a live Phish performance in his latest blog. I’m kind of wondering how he chose “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the song to link, even though I would have love to been there to party like it’s 1996. I know NYE at the Fleet Center on 12/31/1996 was a decent show, as I’ve got a three tape copy of it somewhere around here, but it’s not what I’d call a transcendent show just upon tape listens, such as one year prior 12/31/2005 at MSG. I wasn’t at MSG, either, but listening to the tapes for years (and finally getting a deserved official release from the band), I could find something in there to blow the Queen cover off the map.
In any case, the post got me to thinking about transcendent moments at shows and I linked in his comments to one of my all time favorites. It happened on a cold October 1998 weekend down in Tinley Park, where Nelson/Young/Mellencamp were hosting Farm Aid for the second consecutive year at the New World Amphitheatre. The year prior, much of the crowd left after a lukewarm set by Dave Matthews Band. The DMB kids took off and missed to the amazing John Fogerty set and subsequent performances by Willie, Neil, and John. WTF? In any case, I’m guessing the organizers didn’t want a repeat of that in 1998 when it was announced that Phish would be on the bill. They placed the Vermont boys at the end of the show, insuring that many of the heads would stick around through all the sets.
The day was cold and blustery as I met up with my old buddy Larry (a Neil Young aficionado) in the parking lot. We had seats in the pavilion, but they were off to the left side where the sound was miserable. Sets by Steve Earle, Wilco, Brian Wilson, Hootie and the Blowfish, and few others went by before the three organizers took their turns. Finally, it was time for Phish. The pavilion had cleared a bit, so we moved to the middle where the sound was much better. The boys played through “Birds of a Feather,” “Moma Dance” and a couple other songs and then finally dropped an awesome “Runaway Jim.” (picked up mid-song here) At a point near the end of the song, another guy walks on stage.
It’s Neil Young.
Aww yeah.
Neil straps on one of Trey Anastasio’s custom Languadoc guitars and the feedback begins. Later on we would find out this was based on Young’s “Arc” but in the moment it was pure cacophonous wonder. As it ends, John Fishman picks up a beat and a recognizable riff starts in. Larry turns to me and shouts “Down By The River!” And thus begins this intense 19 minute workout:
The amazing thing about this is that CMT had it on live. That they showed 19 straight minutes of Neil Young and Phish in one of the most intense and transcendent jams ever is nothing short of miraculous. The look on Trey’s face throughout is priceless. He’s like, Wow… Neil F’ing Young is playing MY guitar and we’re jamming to one of HIS songs!
Soon after, Willie walks onstage to wind down the show with the rest of the day’s luminaries. It was amazing. Simply amazing. I saw Phish seven more times that fall (yeah, I was in a mood to see shows and travel around a bit…Halloween inVegas, Madison, Chicago, Cincy), but I don’t think they matched this high point. Not since set two of the second day at The Great Went. Not again until they let it all hang out after midnight at Big Cypress. But those are other stories altogether.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Higher Ground
Yes, third blog post of the year. I’m on fire!
So this past weekend was packed with the fun. Saturday found the family hopping on a Blue Line CTA train into The City. But this wasn’t just any Blue Line train. It was the WALL-E train. Oh yeah. A big treat for the bambinas on their first ever CTA train experience having advertisements for the new Pixar movie plastered on the outside, inside, and even ceiling of the train car. Pretty cool, especially since they are jonesing to see the movie.
Chicago was Chicago. We hopped off at Damen and wandered down Milwaukee through Wicker Park checking in on old haunts from days gone by. Myopic Books moved to a location closer to the 6-way intersection and had a lot of people just standing around drinking coffee. Still felt like the old Myopic back in the cramped stacks of used books. After getting all the way to Division, we cut east to see if Hillary’s Urban Eatery was open for lunch. Oh No. HUE is no longer in business! Tragedy! That place was a great little restaurant. Oh well. We’ll turn around back to the newer restaurants on Division.
Finally settled on a place at Honore called Moonshine. It had a patio and a breakfast/lunch menu. Perfect. The breakfast burrito plate was incredible. About a pound and a half burrito stuffed with sausage, potatoes, and eggs. The black beans with a small amount of cheddar jack cheese on top were fantastic. And the kids rocked a fruit plate that was much bigger than a typical side of fruit. Preferable to another fast food jaunt, for sure. Plus there was a couple with a pug dog next to us and the kids had a good time going to pet him. So, in sum, Moonshine = Goodness.
Further wanderings into our old neighborhood on Chicago found a block transformed from when we moved away 6 years ago. The old abandoned car lot at Chicago/Wolcott is now a fancy storefront with a Starbucks and condos above. Same for the opposite side of the street. No more abandoned cleaners. New building going on everywhere, it seemed. The old Edmar just past Damen is now an upscale Dominick’s. It probably doesn’t have that old Edmar funky smell, though.
A quick bus ride on the #66 (hey, look, bus stop shelters!) got us to Michigan Avenue, where we meandered down until we finally got to Grant Park for the day’s supposed highlight: Stevie Wonder at Petrillo Music Shell. We were so far back that we could barely hear the music and we took off about an hour into the performance. Oh well. Maybe someday when we can get closer. At least we did hear “Higher Ground.”
Sunday also included some higher ground, but in a more physical sense. aham and I headed up to Wisconsin to rock the Double or Nothing metric route out of Cross Plains (6400 feet of climbing in 63 miles of riding… that’s a lot of climbing!). After warming up into the wind for about 4 miles, the hills hit. Big hills. Steep hills. Roads like Sutcliffe, Zweitler, Pinnacle, Lakeview, Mounds Park, Braun, Garfoot, Observatory, and Barlow are a big challenge for flatlanders like us, but we made it up all of them. Thankfully, the ominous clouds that hovered overhead all day never turned to rain. The climbs would have been miserable or impossible in a downpour.
The best part was aham wondering most of the ride why his Uphill Grind jersey was different than the one I had on. That tight cut through the waist. That little bit of extra room through the top. That lack of elastic at the bottom allowing the jersey to flare out oh so slightly. Upon returning for post ride caffeine, aham discovers the label his jersey says:
..M
So this past weekend was packed with the fun. Saturday found the family hopping on a Blue Line CTA train into The City. But this wasn’t just any Blue Line train. It was the WALL-E train. Oh yeah. A big treat for the bambinas on their first ever CTA train experience having advertisements for the new Pixar movie plastered on the outside, inside, and even ceiling of the train car. Pretty cool, especially since they are jonesing to see the movie.
Chicago was Chicago. We hopped off at Damen and wandered down Milwaukee through Wicker Park checking in on old haunts from days gone by. Myopic Books moved to a location closer to the 6-way intersection and had a lot of people just standing around drinking coffee. Still felt like the old Myopic back in the cramped stacks of used books. After getting all the way to Division, we cut east to see if Hillary’s Urban Eatery was open for lunch. Oh No. HUE is no longer in business! Tragedy! That place was a great little restaurant. Oh well. We’ll turn around back to the newer restaurants on Division.
Finally settled on a place at Honore called Moonshine. It had a patio and a breakfast/lunch menu. Perfect. The breakfast burrito plate was incredible. About a pound and a half burrito stuffed with sausage, potatoes, and eggs. The black beans with a small amount of cheddar jack cheese on top were fantastic. And the kids rocked a fruit plate that was much bigger than a typical side of fruit. Preferable to another fast food jaunt, for sure. Plus there was a couple with a pug dog next to us and the kids had a good time going to pet him. So, in sum, Moonshine = Goodness.
Further wanderings into our old neighborhood on Chicago found a block transformed from when we moved away 6 years ago. The old abandoned car lot at Chicago/Wolcott is now a fancy storefront with a Starbucks and condos above. Same for the opposite side of the street. No more abandoned cleaners. New building going on everywhere, it seemed. The old Edmar just past Damen is now an upscale Dominick’s. It probably doesn’t have that old Edmar funky smell, though.
A quick bus ride on the #66 (hey, look, bus stop shelters!) got us to Michigan Avenue, where we meandered down until we finally got to Grant Park for the day’s supposed highlight: Stevie Wonder at Petrillo Music Shell. We were so far back that we could barely hear the music and we took off about an hour into the performance. Oh well. Maybe someday when we can get closer. At least we did hear “Higher Ground.”
Sunday also included some higher ground, but in a more physical sense. aham and I headed up to Wisconsin to rock the Double or Nothing metric route out of Cross Plains (6400 feet of climbing in 63 miles of riding… that’s a lot of climbing!). After warming up into the wind for about 4 miles, the hills hit. Big hills. Steep hills. Roads like Sutcliffe, Zweitler, Pinnacle, Lakeview, Mounds Park, Braun, Garfoot, Observatory, and Barlow are a big challenge for flatlanders like us, but we made it up all of them. Thankfully, the ominous clouds that hovered overhead all day never turned to rain. The climbs would have been miserable or impossible in a downpour.
The best part was aham wondering most of the ride why his Uphill Grind jersey was different than the one I had on. That tight cut through the waist. That little bit of extra room through the top. That lack of elastic at the bottom allowing the jersey to flare out oh so slightly. Upon returning for post ride caffeine, aham discovers the label his jersey says:
..M
WOMEN
Hilarity ensues in coffee shop.
No matter, though. He’s a good sport and I’m glad he offered to drive up there. It’s much easier to climb when there’s someone else suffering, too. And he had Arby's on the way home. CyLowe is a bad influence on people.
Enough for now.
Hilarity ensues in coffee shop.
No matter, though. He’s a good sport and I’m glad he offered to drive up there. It’s much easier to climb when there’s someone else suffering, too. And he had Arby's on the way home. CyLowe is a bad influence on people.
Enough for now.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Jealous Again
Look at that, sports fans. Less than a year between posts!
So I'm throwing another hilly route together in Wisconsin for sometime in July. I use the word hilly in a serious, yet fraudulent, way. You see, the flatlander BFNIC crew get to savor the wonderful riding west of Wisconsin a few times a year, yet just when we think it can't get any better than that, we see a post like this over at BikeForums.net.
Hilly in our world somehow seems kind of flat.
This is what we think is a tough climb (really, 900 feet of climbing in 3 miles is no joke for most folks).
This is Blue Mound in Wisconsin.
Then we see someone who has just done this insanity in Italy.
This is the Passo Stelvio.
Very jealous.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Back. Century style.
Well, it was only something like 15 months ago that I last posted here. Anyway, I look to keep this a bit more updated going forward, as others I know have been blogging away contentedly and I'm slipping behind the curve.
Quickly. Today I rode 102.2 miles, 99 of which were with a few guys from the bikeforums.net BFNIC crew. Psimet and Rowdy and me headed out a bit after 5:30 am from the Forest Preserve near my place. Psimet looks at the dawning sky and says, "Red sky in morning..." to which I finished "...sailor's warning." Yep, we got rained on, but not for a while.
First off headed back to casa de CyLowe because Psimet forgot to pump up his tires. No big deal as it wasn't far off the intended course. We did take note of skies off in the distance to the northwest where it looked like rain was coming out of clouds, but we were headed west and then south, so holding out hope that we'd stay dry.
After a quick rest stop in Maple Park, the raindrops started falling. Miles 55-65 or so were soggy wet, but it wasn't a storm. More of a gentle rain that got the roads wet enough for us to be rooster-tailing water on the person trying to draft. The rain relented and the roads dried up, but the crud was on the bikes and the shoes were waterlogged. Ugh.
We finished in sunny, but increasingly muggy weather and the others did a quick ride through the subdivision to top off their odometers at 100 miles. Gotta get that C-Note!
Good ride. My odometer says 1042 miles for the year.
More if I get around to it. If not, wait another year.
Quickly. Today I rode 102.2 miles, 99 of which were with a few guys from the bikeforums.net BFNIC crew. Psimet and Rowdy and me headed out a bit after 5:30 am from the Forest Preserve near my place. Psimet looks at the dawning sky and says, "Red sky in morning..." to which I finished "...sailor's warning." Yep, we got rained on, but not for a while.
First off headed back to casa de CyLowe because Psimet forgot to pump up his tires. No big deal as it wasn't far off the intended course. We did take note of skies off in the distance to the northwest where it looked like rain was coming out of clouds, but we were headed west and then south, so holding out hope that we'd stay dry.
After a quick rest stop in Maple Park, the raindrops started falling. Miles 55-65 or so were soggy wet, but it wasn't a storm. More of a gentle rain that got the roads wet enough for us to be rooster-tailing water on the person trying to draft. The rain relented and the roads dried up, but the crud was on the bikes and the shoes were waterlogged. Ugh.
We finished in sunny, but increasingly muggy weather and the others did a quick ride through the subdivision to top off their odometers at 100 miles. Gotta get that C-Note!
Good ride. My odometer says 1042 miles for the year.
More if I get around to it. If not, wait another year.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
And you will know me by the overly bright shirt...
It's getting warmer (well, this week's impending cold-snap notwithstanding) and that means more time on the road. It's slow going when the weather is unpredictable. Was going to ride on Sunday morning, but decided to wait for a friend who was coming back from a southern suburb. By the time he got home, the wind had kicked up to 25+ mph sustained and rain was starting, so I forced myself onto the trainer out in the garage.
Time moves much slower when riding a bicycle that is attached to a trainer. A half an hour on it is akin to that last half hour before school lets out on a sunny day. It just draaaaaagggggsss. Tell yourself, okay, I'm going to kick up the gear and put in a full minute of intense effort. The minute hand turns and it's go time. And the minute never ends! The song in the headphones has to have gone on long enough for a minute, right?
Wrong.
By the time 30 minutes elapses, I'm reduced to just spinning and sweating and wondering why..... why.... wondering why what? It's numbing.
A half hour on the road at least goes by. Actual distances are traveled. Cars and trucks skimming by make the ride visceral and heighten the senses. Wind taunts and teases. Folks give funny looks. Once in a while another lone rider will glide past in the other direction, a quick hand raised in acknowledgement that this ride is necessary in the scheme of things. Necessary for when temperatures get warmer, hotter, and sweltering.
Here's my latest jersey for when the warmth kicks in. Should be bright enough out on the road. I'm expecting to hear fun comments on big group rides, just like with the Fat Tire jersey. Beer is good. Beer from Kalamazoo is even better and Bell's Oberon is a near-perfect one for summertime.
Time moves much slower when riding a bicycle that is attached to a trainer. A half an hour on it is akin to that last half hour before school lets out on a sunny day. It just draaaaaagggggsss. Tell yourself, okay, I'm going to kick up the gear and put in a full minute of intense effort. The minute hand turns and it's go time. And the minute never ends! The song in the headphones has to have gone on long enough for a minute, right?
Wrong.
By the time 30 minutes elapses, I'm reduced to just spinning and sweating and wondering why..... why.... wondering why what? It's numbing.
A half hour on the road at least goes by. Actual distances are traveled. Cars and trucks skimming by make the ride visceral and heighten the senses. Wind taunts and teases. Folks give funny looks. Once in a while another lone rider will glide past in the other direction, a quick hand raised in acknowledgement that this ride is necessary in the scheme of things. Necessary for when temperatures get warmer, hotter, and sweltering.
Here's my latest jersey for when the warmth kicks in. Should be bright enough out on the road. I'm expecting to hear fun comments on big group rides, just like with the Fat Tire jersey. Beer is good. Beer from Kalamazoo is even better and Bell's Oberon is a near-perfect one for summertime.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Navel Gazing
Ahhh, nothing worse than a lazy narcissist.
So yesterday on a bulletin board there was a conversation about blogs. Among the responses were several that were quite hostile to the whole idea of blogs. They are too boring, narcissistic, etc. This from folks who will fill up the ether with empty posts on a public bulletin board. Surprising. The majority of opinion was okay with blogs as a way to keep friends/family informed of goings on, or to make community connections by sharing experiences. I read several blogs from time to time, but most are specific to a subject, such as book reviews or cycling adventures. If someone wants to use it as a place to gather thoughts for future recollection, as mine seems to be shaping up, then that’s great. Blogs are the journals/diaries of today. It’s just that anyone anywhere can read your thoughts, no matter how boring, insightful, or even inciteful they may be.
As for my resolutions in the post from two months ago, I’m working through the book list and have completed several. Right now I’m about 2/3 of the way through Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. So far it has been an interesting read. What happens to the old gods brought to a new land once the old gods are forgotten? What happens to the mythological figures raised up to tell the story of a land when the land no longer tells their tales or venerates their adventures? Those gods and myths fight to remain alive and viable even as their names are known, but they are not given the attention they once knew. A bit fantastical, but something I would expect to find in the Literature section as opposed to the SF/F section of a library or bookstore.
Here’s another thought on music from the car ride in to work today.
“Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads. The faded in agitated acoustic guitar picking leading into the spooky synth line leading to the heavy drum beat. The percussion on this floors me. And the final minute of the drums, the slow synth line loping along, and the rhythm guitar line rising and falling. There is no singing in that final minute, which I now realize is unusual for a song that hit the charts. I’m wondering how many Top 40 DJs just talked right over the outro back in the day. I guess when I was 10 this song just was fun because of the goofy lyrics, but 24 years on it holds up as a great musical piece.
So yesterday on a bulletin board there was a conversation about blogs. Among the responses were several that were quite hostile to the whole idea of blogs. They are too boring, narcissistic, etc. This from folks who will fill up the ether with empty posts on a public bulletin board. Surprising. The majority of opinion was okay with blogs as a way to keep friends/family informed of goings on, or to make community connections by sharing experiences. I read several blogs from time to time, but most are specific to a subject, such as book reviews or cycling adventures. If someone wants to use it as a place to gather thoughts for future recollection, as mine seems to be shaping up, then that’s great. Blogs are the journals/diaries of today. It’s just that anyone anywhere can read your thoughts, no matter how boring, insightful, or even inciteful they may be.
As for my resolutions in the post from two months ago, I’m working through the book list and have completed several. Right now I’m about 2/3 of the way through Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. So far it has been an interesting read. What happens to the old gods brought to a new land once the old gods are forgotten? What happens to the mythological figures raised up to tell the story of a land when the land no longer tells their tales or venerates their adventures? Those gods and myths fight to remain alive and viable even as their names are known, but they are not given the attention they once knew. A bit fantastical, but something I would expect to find in the Literature section as opposed to the SF/F section of a library or bookstore.
Here’s another thought on music from the car ride in to work today.
“Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads. The faded in agitated acoustic guitar picking leading into the spooky synth line leading to the heavy drum beat. The percussion on this floors me. And the final minute of the drums, the slow synth line loping along, and the rhythm guitar line rising and falling. There is no singing in that final minute, which I now realize is unusual for a song that hit the charts. I’m wondering how many Top 40 DJs just talked right over the outro back in the day. I guess when I was 10 this song just was fun because of the goofy lyrics, but 24 years on it holds up as a great musical piece.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Setting some goals
Well, what's a new year without some goals. These aren't 'resolutions,' as those imply some change in lifestyle. They are more a statement of things I really would like to accomplish, or at least keep in my mind to work on as the year progresses.
Books:
The books below present a challenge, as finding time to escape without interruption makes it slow going. If I get to half of them I'll be happy. I have a bit of a guilty chip in the back of my brain that says that if I'm at home, then I should be helping out with the kids. Even when I get some time to leave the chaos, I feel that obligation to help out creeping in, so a lot of the reading gets done on lunch breaks at work, or just before going to bed at night after the kids are down. But I've discovered that I read much faster and with more comprehension in the morning, so night time reading usually ends up only a few pages or a chapter at best. (Oh, if only I knew I was a morning person back in college! The things I could have accomplished!!)
The reading stack:
The Winter King - Bernard Cornwell (Book One of The Warlord Chronicles)
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch (Book One of The Gentlemen Bastard series)
The Mutineer - Rants, Ravings, and Missives from the Mountaintop, 1977-2005 - Hunter S. Thompson (Third and final volume of letters - to be released soon!)
Moby Dick -- or The Whale - Herman Melville
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
The Pale Horseman - Bernard Cornwell (Book Two of the King Alfred trilogy)
The Lords of the North - Bernard Cornwell (Book Three of the King Alfred trilogy)
The Darkness That Comes Before - R. Scott Bakker (Book One of The Prince Of Nothing trilogy)
1776 - David McCullough
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Prachett
The Once and Future King - T.H. White
The Mists of Avalon - Marion Bradley Zimmerman
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Cycling:
The cycling rides listed pose a different challenge, as once on the road, there is a commitment. The obligations are tugging at my brain, but keeping upright, or better yet with a group of riders helps to center the focus. With these, making a commitment is somewhat easier when there are entry fees paid in advance, or there are other riders expecting you to show up.
The Riding Goals for 2007
Start regular rides around neighborhood with the family. This would be awesome for me and hopefully fun for all four of us.
Get 500 road miles ridden before the first century in May. This means getting out on the bike for lots of small lunchtime rides and several 40-50 mile rides. If a few can be done in February, that would be great, but would like to get ramping up in March and April. The base miles will make the rides later in the Spring much more pleasant with less chance of falling off of the pace.
Joliet Sudden Century (100 miles) - May, Joliet, IL
Udder Century (100 miles) - Early June? - Union, IL
Horribly Hilly Hundreds (200k route) - June - Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
RAIN: Ride Across INdiana (160+ miles) - July - Terre Haute to Richmond, IN
Dairyland Dare (200k route) - August - Dodgeville, Wisconsin
Cream City Cycle Century (100) - August? - Waterford Wisconsin
More rides will be added, especially when consulting with folks from the Bike Forums site
Home improvement:
Housework is yet the other challenge for the year. Painting a bedroom, planting, and hopefully getting a patio put in before summer are the primary goals. Those involve getting off my lazy arse and making them happen. Sometimes it's a bit too easy to just ignore the home improvements until tomorrow.
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