Bob Dylan/Foo Fighters Concert Review - Click Here

Welcome back! If you actually clicked on the title of this post you can read the review of the Bob Dylan/Foo Fighters show from last night. I have a different opinion from the Star Tribune, however. When the Foo Fighters hit the stage for thier first acoustic show of the tour, we were so excited. That band can truly put on a great show. Dave Grohl knows how to work the audience with humor and stories. The music, of course, was also fabulous. A+ show from the Foo Fighters. Once Bob Dylan came on, the tone of the concert changed a bit. He was not playing his guitar rather he was standing in front of a keyboard for the show. I love his music, but I really had a hard time figuring out what song he was playing most of the time. The words to his songs came out with little rhythm and were really very raspy, making it hard to follow. I was looking forward to listening to the legend engage the audience with a bit of Dylan verbage, and again was dissapointed. Well, now I can say that I saw the man live and continue to listen to his music through recorded mediums. I am curious to those who are reading this post...What was the absolute best concert you have ever been to? Give me all of the details.

Nieces

I just wanted to show all of you the two cutest little girls in the whole world. On the left is Alexandra (Carrie and Matt's daughter) and on the right is Brooklyn (Cub and Amber's Daughter). I thought these cute pictures would bring a smile to your face and maybe make your day a little better. I love them both a ton. Have a great day.

POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS

I don't know about any of you, but I am overwhelmingly tired of the political ads running all over the television and radio. It would seem as though politics has lost sight of the true issues and have focused in on berating opponents. The ads take aim at the other party by digging into past personal issues, quotes that were said 10 years ago that are long expired, and almost child-like name calling. All of this in hopes to sway the "middle-of-the-road" voters who are not affiliated with a party. I will vote, it is my duty. However, these ads need to go away. On a side note, we watched "Meet The Press" last weekend. They are featuring Senate Candidates from different states. I was excited to see Mark Kennedy and Amy Klobuchar spar on issues. I was seriously dissapointed however. I am a republican, and Mark Kennedy did a poor job of defending himself, explaining himself, and debating topics. Klobuchar was much better in this arena. Granted, Kennedy is an accountant and Klobuchar is a trial attorney. I just hoped he would have showed a little better verbal sparring skills. Oh well, I know where he stands on issues. Any thoughts?

Hawaiian Earthquake

You may or may not have heard, but the Hawaiian Islands had an earthquake that hit 6.6 on the richter scale. That is a large sized earthquake and in any other place in the world there would have been an enormous amount of damage. Proving that Hawaii is the perfect place, the worst that happened from this disaster is the bottles of liquor at the liquor store got rattled off the shelves. I love that place.

Shooter Review

Wow, was that fun. We got down to the venue at about 1900 hours and decided to have a bite to eat at the famous Whiskey Junction. The burger was not that good but we didn't care. Once we got into the Cabooze for the show, we ran for a table and scored a nice spot. Jessica and Amber (Cub's wife) bought us beers and on came Tim Sigler. He was so damn good. He played a bunch of old school country, which got us all ready for Shooter. Tim Sigler is a local country artist who actually plays quite often at Floyds Bar, very ear our home. If you would like to see him go to www.mncountry.com. Shooter came on and the crowd went crazy! The show was fantastic. His band, the .357's were great too. If you have a chance to see him live, I highly reccomend it.

SHOOTER!

We are exactly 4 hours away from seeing one of the greatest concerts of the year! We are going to a small venue in Minneapolis called the Cabooze to see Shooter Jennings. The son of Waylon, true new Outlaw Country! I will post a review tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Ok, People!

When you come here to our blog, I am now requiring you to at least leave a "Hi" in the comments. Show yourself please!

My...eh hem...Heritage

I have been receiving complaints from various sources about my lack of posts lately, apologies. So, with that said, we had a very interesting experience on Saturday night. My paternal Grandfather is not in the best of health and with his 80th birthday there had to be a gathering of relatives. His brothers, sister, spouses, and children made the journey from Parkersburg, West Virginia for the party. I have not seen many of them since I was a very young kid. My thoughts of that side of the family being completely disfunctional has been dispelled completely. They were wonderful people with wonderful stories. I was told stories of ourselves as kids that were truly entertaining. My Uncle Everett kept Jessica and I entertained with stories and philosophy. They treated us like family, insisting on hugs and inviting us to their homes. Parkersburg is on the border of Ohio just into West Virginia. Our family lived there for a short time when we were very young. They are still hillbillies, but they are proud of it as they should be. How about you? Any stories of the weekend? Any relatives who are crazy?

Weekend of Work

Well, while my buddies are out in Vegas at a bachelor party, I will be spending the weekend at work. If you are interested in seeing what my company does feel free to click on the title above and you wil go to our web site. We just released 17,000 direct mailers and the response has been good. I will be spending most of Saturday taking care of that. Jessica also has to work this weekend! We still have the Vikings to look forward to. The team will go stomp the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Since my brother doesn't think this is exciting, I am going to ask you a question that I am requiring a response to. What are you doing this weekend everyone?

Champ Car This Weekend - Click Here

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this coming weekend. My brother Jacob (Cub), our great friend Tom, and myself are jumping in my truck to take the 5 hour journey out to Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconisin to watch the Champ Car race. This is not your Nascar crowd, this is much more educational and exciting with much fewer mullets. The best part is, we are staying at a hotel that we have been on a waiting list for 5 years! This hotel is called Siepken's Resort and is where all of the drivers and teams stay while in town. We will be partying with Paul Tracy, A.J. Allmendinger, and maybe even Mario Andretti. This track is so large that we bring mountain bikes to get around to different corners. It is a beautiful facility set back in the woods. I can't wait to leave on Thursday afternoon. Jessica will be spending the weekend at home with her family in town helping her sister get ready for her wedding. She has been very busy with work and trying to keep her friends shuttled to and from the airport. Have a great weekend everyone.

Bob Dylan new CD and Tour

Recently, we had a chance to see the documentary " No Direction Home" directed by Martin Scorsese, provided by my good friend Joe. It was the story of Bob Dylan from growing up in Hibbing Minnesota to his present life. There were amazing interviews, great rare clips, and concert footage. Soon after that it was annouced that Bob Dylan would be coming to St. Paul, and get this, with the Foo Fighters playing acoustic. We got tickets with a presale code, and it is gonna be fantastic. Click on the title above to check out Bob Dylan's site. Buy some tickets and get to the show!

Happy Labor Day

We have made it into September, and that in itself is amazing. Summer just flew by, but Jessica and I had tons of fun. We did some boating, some fairs, some sunning and funning. Did anyone do anything crazy this summer that you normally would not do?

Gov't Mule in Studio

I recently got the new Gov't Mule disc. It is titled "High and Mighty" and dear lord is it great. If you click on the link above you can actually watch one of the best guitarists on the planet go through the recording process. Warren Haynes plays with the like of the Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks Band, as well as sings an slings his axe for Gov't Mule. This man has more talent than any current guitar player I have heard. I highly recommend picking up the new disc "High and Mighty" today. You won't be dissapointed.

Check out the fair!

Well, last weekend we had a great time up at the family cabin. Got some much needed r & r in. Jessica and I work in stressful environments at times, so any chance we get to relax is always important. I recently acquired a new video iPod and will be passing on my 1st generation iPod to Jessica and is she ever excited about it. This weekend we are heading to the big Carver County fair in our hometown. We will be spending some time at the beer garden where we can usually catch up with people I knew from high school.
If you pay attention to baseball, and I have to admit I have been only recently, the Minnesota Twins have been doing great. We are enjoying watching them and are hoping for the Wild Card in the American League. Jessica loves watching the Vikings (as do I) and we will be watching closely as we get closer to regular season games. That is the latest with us. Check back often, I will update as often as I can.

Last/This Weekend

Apologies for taking a while to post lately. Last weekend Cub and I went golfing for a tournament put on by his boss. It was unbelievably hot, but water and a few beers kept us alive. Jessica had her Mother in town so they kept busy as well. This weekend may be spent being lazy at the family cabin in Brainerd. We spend time fishing, relaxing, and cocktailing most of the time. I have received a few new CD's in the mail that I would love to recommend to you. There is an artist who has been around a while called Gov't Mule. The lead singer and guitarist name is Warren Haynes and he is an amazing song writer. I would classify this music as bluesy/dirty rock with a little jam band mixed in. It is fabulous. If you were to only order one of their discs, go for the self titled "Gov't Mule." Their site is www.mule.net. I also received the 2004 release by Social Distortion called "Sex, Love, And Rock 'N' Roll." I love Social D, they are a little punk and a little dirty rock. Mike Ness is the lead singer and he has an interesting past that comes out in his songwriting. If any of you have suggestions for new music, I am open to hearing new artists.

Need Music?

Click here to get any of my CDs for $1

In the last few months one of my good friends, Joe, got me all excited about a new "beta" site called lala.com. If you have not heard of this, you will. The concept is simple. You sign up through thier website ( go to lala.com ) for free. You go through your CD collection and list the ones that you have. You can also search an enormous database of artists listed and when you find a CD that you want, simply click "want" under the disc. Here is the best part: any CD you purchase costs ONLY $1.49 with shipping. In theory, you could have any CD you have ever wanted and some you have never heard of but heard samples while searching for $1.49. Lala.com will send you out hard cases and envelopes (like Netflix) to mail your CD's out when others request them. Another great thing they have done is take 20% of all profits and donate it to musicians health care. It is completely legal, and works great. I am not in sales for them, I just love the idea of finding new music for such a small cost. Check it out!

Theater

Well, the entire family went out last night. We went to the Orpheum in downtown Minneapolis and saw Wicked. If you unaware of this show, it is the story about the good witch and the wicked witch from "The Wizard of Oz" before they turned into witches. The storyline was good, the singing was good, I was still a bit bored. I have come to the conclusion that I simply cannot enjoy musicals. Jessica enjoyed it more than I did.
Here is a review:
http://www.startribune.com/121/story/553243.html
Here is the site:
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/

Welcome to our Blog

Hello, and welcome. We have created this page just to keep all of our extended family up to date on our lives, times, and interests. Come back often as we will try to keep up as best we can. Enjoy.