Neil Young rocks the free world and Death Cab For Cutie rocks no one...

I was wrong. See I am not afraid to admit it. Once or twice in a lifetime it happens. Whether I like it or not. Back when I was in the forest service, 1987, there was this guy. I think his name was David. I can't remember. I might have a pic of him around here somewhere. I will look for it. Okay yup I found a pic of him. Here he is circa 1987 after a softball tournament in Orofino Idaho. I have an embarassing photo of me to share from that same day I will share at the bottom.

Anyway, he was a huge Neil fan. In fact he was just in the process of discovery of Neil. Every time I would see him he would have a new cassette, you remember them don't ya? All that tape hiss and fast-forwarding to the song you want to hear? Cassettes sucked. Anyway, he would rant and rave about how great Neil Young's music was and how great the lyrics were. On and on and on.

I of course being the music supremist(did I just invent a word?) that I was, would make fun of him and tell him he should listen to something from this century. I was such a cool guy. I would not give him any credit. I just wanted him to put in LL Cool J or Run DMC and get off my back so I could Rock the Bells. Yup I was hip hop totally to the core.

Well, I should have listened to him back then and took the time to examine Neil's body of work. It truly is amazing. Oh, and he is Canadian. Not sure how that works in to the equation but he is.

Fast forward to 2008 and on last Saturday I had the extreme pleasure to attend a concert. It was Neil Young with Death Cab for Cutie opening up. There was some other band named Everest that played also. Which I might add had shirts at the merch table for $45. Now, who in their right mind is going to buy a shirt for a band they have NEVER heard of? That shit was crazy.

You all know that I truly enjoy listing and ranking things. In fact I did a whole post back in the day about my top 10 concerts EVER. Needless to say after Saturday night I think I may have to alter that list a bit.

I was right about one thing when I was giving David shit, Neil Young is old. He was old then and is older now. There I said it. He is ancient. In fact, his guitar tech is even older. Wilfred Brimley is what we were calling him. I will tell you though, all these new jacks out there can take a few notes from this old guy. Neil Young can wail. Wail he did on Saturday. He played a few new songs and lots of old stuff. It was cool to hear the man sing Hey Hey, My My, Rockin' in the free world, Old man, and my personal favorite Needle and the damage Done. Which he killed.

I also noticed that there were no cel phones being held up instead of lighters at this show. Mostly because most of the old dudes in the house had lighters so they could smoke their funny cigs. There was sooooo much pot in the house I thought I was high. And I have no idea what being high feels like.

I can't say enough how great this show was. After Rockin' he left the stage for the prerequisite 'break' before the encore. When he came back out he did A Day In The Life by the Beatles. Now you might think a guy who is as old as he is might just come out and kick an old hit just to satisfy, but you would be wrong thinking that. He tore this song up. At the end he broke all the strings on his guitar and was tapping them on the frets just making all this killer feedback. Then he just walked off the stage leaving us all there to wallow in that feedback. That my friends, is how you end a show. Just walk off and let us wallow in your awesomeness. He did come back out to take a bow but to just walk off that kinda says to me that Neil is telling us that it don't matter how many articles you get in FHM or Vibe magazine or what you are wearing all these new jacks ain't got shit on him. Rock on Neil. Oh and David, sorry for being a dick back in 1987. I was wrong.

The only thing I missed was I would have liked to have heard This Note's for You and Fuckin' Up, but he has so much material somethings are gonna be missed.

Now there was some bad at this show. That bad came in the form of Death Cab for Cutie. Man they sucked. I knew the show you are watching is bad when me and Trev started talking about movies and what was going on at work. They just sucked. No stage presence, no charisma, nothing. They have some good songs but they just did not transfer live. I was dissappointed because all of you fine Americans will get to see Wilco on your leg of the tour but we were forced to sit thru Mr. Sensitive and his pussy back-up band. You can tell they are sensitive because of their lighting. You suck. In fact at one point there was this stoned guy who started calling for Neil to take the stage. We all agreed so he got even braver and in the next break he yelled FUCK YOU to the boys on the stage really loud. I know they heard it because the people in the balcony were laughing. If they heard it the sensitive guys on the stage heard it. I hope it did not break their confidence too much. I didn't help much when I started yelling "Freebird". Yup, I'm that guy.

Okay so get to it moron, where does it rank? Okay I will remind you what the other shows are in order...

1. Run DMC/DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Paramount Theater - Seattle, WA
2. Bikini Kill - Minot Punk Club - Minot ND
3. Pearl Jam - Rexall Place - Edmonton Alberta
4. Tragically Hip - Ryans Ballroom, Kimberly WI
5. TIE - Violent Femmes - Cowles Fieldhouse Des Moines IA/Neil Young - Brandt Centre, Regina Saskatchewan
6. Wilco Summerteeth Tour - Barrymoore Theater Madison WI
7. Blink 182 - Telus Field Edmonton Alberta
8. Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock/U Krew - Nez Pierce Fairgrounds, Lewiston Idaho
9. Foo Fighters - SummerFest Milwuakee WI
10. Gear Daddies - Minneapolis Zoo Amphitheater, Minneapolis Minesota
11. Soul Asylum/Tina and the B sides/TPOH - Detroit Lakes Freedom Fest

So this is a tough decision to make. I think I am going to cop-out and put them in as a tie for 5th place with the Violent Femmes. I know that sucks but it is my list. Deal with it. I am seeing Bob Dylan this month also so this could change again. Yup, seeing a lot of shows this month. I am also seeing Lenny Kravitz on the 30th so I am not sure what he is going to have to do to get on the list. Maybe crap out a guitar on stage and play it? Who knows. Oh I forgot I need to add the Gear Daddies to that list also. Man this is getting hard. You know what, Geardaddies take over number 10. I am going to keep Soul Asylum and Tina on the list. Spinal Tap can go to eleven so can I. Deal with it.

Okay here are my embarassing pics of the day. First up is a pic of me drinking a bit of beer at the softball tournament in Orofino. As you can see I have a shitty Twins hat, I am sure I got it free somewhere, and a huge mug in my hand. I have of course dubbed the mug the 'Magnum Mug'. I think at that time I was into calling everything Magnum. Yup I was a loser. Nice hair. One good thing is my location in relation to the keg. I sure knew where to sit. Not to hard to get a drink, just reach over and fill.


Next pic is me, again drinking, shortly after I got my ear pierced. Yes, a drunken pierce in an effort to impress the girl in the pic. She is the sister of the guy standing next to her. Not sure what her or his name is. I spent the evening in a drinking contest with her. I was really interested in some other kind of contest but did not have the guts to make a move. I know she was a bit disgusted with the fact that I was alone with her for around three hours and I did not make one move. I am such a loser. Of course that is Dave I have in a head lock. I am sure he suggested we listen to Neil and I said no, we will listen to the Fat Boys.

On that note I will let you go and enjoy your weekend.

Good day, EH.

J Masics is God...

Last night I went to see one of my favorite bands of all times. Dinosaur Jr. was in E Town to play the Starlite Club and man was I stoked. I think Robby DuPuis, of the Minneapple DuPuis, was the dude who turned me on to this band. Back in the early and late nineties I used to rock Dino Jr. all the time. Of course living in North Dakota a person is not generally going to get the chance to see Dino Jr. Jason Manning, of the Sonic 102.9 Mannings, scored me the duckets to the show and me and Paulie went to the show. Paulie thought we were going to see The Screaming Trees, which would have been totally cool also, but I informed him of his mistake and he was still game.

Manning told me that Jr. was supposed to hit the stage around 10 so Paulie picked me up at around 9:30 and we rocked it to the Starlite. When we got there there was a line up, not at the front door but on the side. Which I guess is how you get into this joint. Well the side door is up this corridoor that is about as wide as two of me. Nice, claustrophobic as I am, this is all I need. Plus if there was a fire in this place, we are all dead. All I could think of was the Great White show where the bar burned. Oh well, it is all for J and his screaming guitar.

As we were standing in line we both were pretty much in agreement that we think it is sooo much easier to stay at home and watch TV. Yup we are old. Ten years ago I would have been at the door by 7pm first in line ready to rock. Not any more. Just way too old for this. I will however make an exception for J Masics.

At Christmas I got a pair of custom made ear plugs from the Davis', of the Regina Davis'. Green and Gold colored I might add. If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be taking ear plugs to a show I would have popped you in the schnoz. Lately I have been noticing all the times I can't hear things and I really think that it has something to do with going to around a thousand shows in the last 20 or so years. Maybe standing right up front by the stack of amps at the Wilco show was not a good idea, or maybe the volume at the Foo Fighters wasn't really that low. Anyway, what I am getting at is that I am getting old. Man that sucks, especially since I seem to forget my plugs and my ears are still ringing over 24 hours later. Robby DuPuis has informed me of his intention to see Dino on Wednesday and his ears are worse than mine. Robby remember your plugs. They were fricking loud. I see a trend here. I am old.

We get inside and one of the opening acts is just leaving the stage. As he left he said "Fu#k you Edmonton!". Nice, can't wait to see who is next. Well next was a band from Michigan named "Awesome Color". Not bad. The bass player looked like he was about 16 but he was good. The Drummer was a chick and she just beat the hell out of the drums. Not bad. Off to a good start.

One thing though, lately I have been watching the people as much as I have been the shows. During the Color show we were along the wall of this club, which had a slanting floor in front of the stage. Slanted away from the stage, anyway, we are against the wall and these hippies roll up and stand in front of us. Not usually a bad thing but one of the hippies was the only other dude in the joint taller than me. Plus they smelled really bad. REALLY bad. They split for the Dino show which was good, kinda.

Dino Jr. hit the stage at about 11:30pm. Nice, just a bit late. Again I am getting old. After the hippies left this guy, who had to be about 50, rolled up. He was totally drunk, out on his feet. You know how sometimes there is a guy at a show who likes to yell songs at the band. You know the "FREEBIRD" guy. Well this guy after every song yelled "Start Chopping". Which is a great song, but obviously is a late in ths show song. EVERY SONG he yelled it. Dino Jr. did not play the song and I hold this a-hole responsible. After the show I heard him say, why did they not play "Out There". They played that song and he was singing along so much that I even heard him over the band. Drunk guys.

Speaking of, the dude in the pic above with the mohawk decided during "Feel the Pain" to make a stage dive. Now if you have seen the movie with Pauly Shore where he is this guy from the city who goes to the farm. There is scene where a guy stage dives and the crowd separates and he goes flat on his face. Well that is what happened here. Funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

Man, my ears are still ringing. As you can see I got a few pics. Usually I take a bunch but I caught some shit for taking these. Of course I was not the only one with a camera in the joint but I was the one who caught shit. Probably because I blot out the sun. The guy told me that if I had a camera phone it would be okay but not a camera. What? Same thing. He told me "No Photography". I told him this is not photography, it is just a picture. If I was doing photography I would have a real camera. So I need to get a camera phone so I do not catch shit? Robby said he is going to send me a pic from the show he sees on Wednesday. I already warned him about the phone thing.

Anyway, Dino Jr. totally ruined my hearing, and I went to sleep happy about seeing one of my favorite bands even if they are a bit past their prime. Wait, I guess the same could be said for me.

NEXT: Garner Andrews got a brush with greatness this week. Check it out..

Chris Kattan did an interview with Garner, and the dude from Jackass bagged him. Sweet. If you want to listen to the interview CLICK HERE

Oh yeah and start your week out with Number 4...



Now have a good week and GET BACK TO WORK...

The Killers and Venckus Scmenkus...

Donna and I went to see the Killers last night. No that is not my picture. I completely left my camera at home. I know that is sooo unlike me. Oh well, this one is on their site. I am not sure if it is from Edmonton, but that is what he was wearing. So we will say it was. Below there is some video that some fan shot from the show so you can watch it if you want.

Before I get to the review, and it is a good one, I want to say HAPPY FREAKING BIRTHDAY DEREK VENCKUS, of the Nash Vegas Venckus'. Not sure exactly how old he is but I am sure he is pretty old. Derek is the man who dubbed me 'Sign Boy'. At Gambler games back in God's country, I used to have a new sign at every game. Derek would send the camera to take a pic of me with said sign for the highlights on the news. During one sportscast he dubbed me 'Sign Boy' and the legend was born.

That is Derek on the right with Craig Newsome doing a live after a Packer football game. Live from Lambeau Field. Nice. That is how Venckus rolls. Venckus is also the man who hosted the Gamblers highlight reel and did the infamous story on Sign Boy driving the Zamboni. Happy birthday my friend.

So, the Killers show. I bought these duckets months ago. I was actually kinda pumped to see them. I like all of the stuff I heard on the radio. McKenna even sings along to them in the car. Earlier in the week they had cancelled three shows due to the singers voice going south, so there was a few rumors that the show would be cancelled. Nope, went on without a hitch.

A few things happened last night that were firsts. One, about half way through some a-hole in a skybox thought it would be funny to throw a full bucket of ice on our section. Needless to say there were several people, me included, that were a bit peeved. Some rich kids in their daddy's box being a-holes. I was not sure which guy did it otherwise he would have recieved a bit of a tounge lashing. I was ready to go. Anyway, not in about 25 years of concert going have I had something like this happen. Oh well, as the show went on, all of a sudden these girls who were sitting next to me, who I thought were about 14 tops, started toking up. Normally I am not offended when someone wants to burn one, but when they are that young the only thing I can think of is I have two girls in my house. How would I feel if that was McKenna. Not happy. Gonna have to keep an eye on that.



So the show was good. His vocals were buried in the mix quite a bit, probably because he had a sore voice, but I enjoyed it. All the things that I have done was a great tune and of course their encore. I also saw something that I saw a few years back during that song. Moshing. That's right there was a mosh pit on the floor during that song. Not sure what inspires a dude to start moshing during the Killers, oh wait I do, Beer. Back in about 93 Donna and I went to Freedom Fest in Detroit Lakes to see Soul Asylum. While Soul Asylum was singing Runaway Train, these idiots were moshing. Yeah, I used the word idiot lightly on that one. Man I hate stupid people.



So we had a good time at the show, other than that cocktail thrown on us and would recommend seeing the Killers if they come through your town.

Marty's trip to the Mansion and BNL Live in Edmonton...

AS has been discussed in length here in TundraTalk. One of our own has made good and was recently invited to man heaven. No not an all you can eat steak and beer sports bar, but the frackin' Playboy Mansion. Yup, that Playboy mansion.

It was for a party for the show the Apprentice LA. Marty does work for the show and, well, I will just let him tell the story...Take it away Marty...

I got invited to The Playboy Mansion as part of the kickoff party for The Apprentice LA.. I've been attached to that show as an advisor and marketing and publicity director since it started and it's usually a pretty easy job. You help with casting calls and you organize press coverage and interviews with Trump - who for the most part is pretty easy to deal with. You just have to be ready to roll when he shows up. He's a business man and he understands the need for promotion and while it gets tedious at times, he gets why it needs to be done and he behaves himself for as long as he can. I know his personal publicist, Jim Dowd very well as we kind of started at NBC at the same time and he quit last year to be Trump's main guy - which is fun because I get to hear all the real crap that is going on and not just the People magazine version. So - Trump and Hef are buddies and Trump decides for his LA show that one of the "rewards" for the winning team is going to be dinner and a night of fun at the Playboy mansion. So - they shot it this summer and they decided that when that episode was coming up they were going to have a little press party at the mansion. Being a good pal, Jim sends me an invitation to the party and I politely accepted - basically because I know I'll never get invited again.

So - you don't go directly to the mansion - you go to a parking structure that they have rented at Century City which is right outside of Beverly Hills on Wilshire and Santa Monica. Then they have the "Bunny Busses" pick you up - basically a small version of a coach bus painted black with a little Playboy bunny on the side.



I realized as we pulled into the driveway why they were so small - I don't think you could get anything larger up that driveway - it basically looks like one of those English country castles only a little bit smaller..



You pull under the archway and get out into the "backyard" area of the mansion where they had a "big top" style tent set up around the pool and grotto area.



Drinks were immediately shoved into my hand as I was greeted by several bunnies and some playmates - much nicer than Wal-mart.



The place was already hopping with Adam Carolla doing his radio show right from the party. Adam had Danny Bonaduce from The Partridge Family and David Alan Grier from In Living Color on his show that night - and Hef and Trump came up and took their turn at the mic as well.





Apparently some of the guys who had been there before were complaining that "those damn NBC execs" had made the girls cover up... I didn't realize what they meant until I found the Miller Lite girls who were "topless" but had "shirts" painted on.. The overall effect was still positive.



Then as I was just starting to feel at home, I was having my picture taken with "the Green Bunny" and she offered to take me and a couple of other people on a tour of the grounds...



Clearly - "No" wasn't an option and she took us through the aviary filled with exotic birds then on to the Tennis courts and over to the "game room". The game room has everything that you could want to play - poker table, darts, pinball, air hockey, juke box, video games on a big screen plasma - I mean everything. But I remarked to one of the guys that the pool table seemed a little "common" for the mansion - to which he remarked that perhaps as pool was only played on it occasionally and it was probably used for other things - it didn't pay to have a really nice one. Point well taken.

Then we were off to another area of the grounds where he keeps all the monkeys and other exotic animals.. I never realized that he had such a menagerie there, but I guess chicks dig that kind of thing. We didn't get to go inside, but she did walk us by the front of the mansion where the "man room" was.. Big leather chairs, a full cigar collection in a walk-in humidor and every issue of Playboy ever made on the massive book racks.



After that - she took us around back and showed us "her favorite place" - the Grotto... Now - the Grotto is like a good sized cave with some strategically placed cushions and candles and mood lighting everywhere.. water is about waist-deep and if those faux-rock walls could talk - I bet they would be blushing.. The whole thing is filled with some of the nicest audio equipment known to man and the sound of gently lapping waves tempered with some of the strongest pool chemicals in the world make it the perfect place for some extra-curricular activity.



When the time came to go - I was saddened that the night had gone by so fast - Hef only stayed for about a half-hour and then I'm sure it was time for Geritol and to bed with his three blonde bombshell girlfriends. Hell - I'd go to be early too. As I was boarding the bus, I took one last look around at the house - the finely manicured lawn and the finely manicured and scantily clad playmates and decided - He's got a pretty nice little place here..



Enjoy the pictures - I'm still having trouble getting that grin off my face..

Marty


Marty, thanks for the story and the pictures. You are really making yourself a great case for 'Common Guy Makes Good' guy of the year.


Nice seats, Eh buddy?

We went to see the Barenaked Ladies, which we had to explain to McKenna that they were neither ladies or naked. She still does not understand it. Kids, oh well. Either way Blair Stefishin, of the Edmonton Stefishin's, put out a SOS that he needed to sell two duckets to the show and we had the evening off so we decided to partake of the Ladies, who again were not naked. The seats were great and the sound was by far the best sound I have heard at Rexall Place. Hands down.

I have a set of ear plugs. That's right I have a molded set of plugs that the Davis', of the Regina Davis', gave me for Christmas. I know, I suck. I have begun to see, or hear, recently the problems of going to as many shows as I have in my life on my ears. Donna sometimes thinks that I have selective hearing, but it is not true, my ears are not what they used to be. By the way, the earplugs are Packers Green and Gold, of course. I can't even begin to guesstimate how many concerts I have been to in my life. I do know that I have been to a lot of them and have placed myself a bit too close to the speakers and come home with ringing ears for about two days.



Anyway, I digress. As I was saying the sound was amazing. Just the right level and it their voices were crystal clear. Especially for being in a hockey rink.

Another cool thing that BNL is doing is the Barnaked Live on a Stick. What the hell is that you may ask? Well, it is what every band in the world should do, at least the ones that do not lip synch. They sell you a copy of the concert you just attended on a USB stick after the show.



You drop your 25 bones at the concession stand, they give you a bracelet similar to a beer garden one, and then after the show you wait about 15 minutes and they bring out a butt load of these reusable USB sticks with the whole show on it. Sweet.

I personally would rather have one of these than a t-shirt that will not fit after one wash or any of the other crap they sell at the stand. Really, think about it. It is smart business. It stops the bootleggers, it makes them more money, and the fans get a real memory from the show. I think about all the shows that I have been to and how great it would be to have a record of those shows to just drop in and listen to whenever I want. Awesome.

Well I also recorded a bit of the show on Donna's camera. Here they are for you to enjoy. Brian Wilson is first and Million Dollars is second.

Have a good week.


BNL B. Wilson on Vimeo
Brian Wilson



BNL Million on Vimeo

Million Dollars



BNL Pinch Me on Vimeo
Pinch Me

My Election Day and Diamond Dave...

USA Election

In the next few weeks I am going to take you guys back in time. That's right, a bit of a time machine here on the TundraTalk. I have found some stuff from my past that is a bit funny. Media that I have that will not have you laughing with me, but at me. I found a video tape of me in high school in a play, some old commercials that I wrote, and some funny pics. Nick Chase, of the Fargo Chases, is also involved in this so you will need to make sure that you pay attention. You do not want to miss out on a chance to laugh at me.

Reaction to the Ric Flair Finance was great. I am going to refinance my home with the Figure Four Process. I hope with each loan you get a free signed Ric Flair Gown. That would be awesome. Marty, of the LA Marty's, sent me this note....

That is the sweetest web page I have ever seen... Some of my non-heterosexual friends here thought he was one of "their" people.. I explained to them about wrestling and I think they just got the wrong message..

Anyway - Ric may be getting a lot of applications from the West Hollywood area..

Marty


Tuesday was election day, and what a day it was! I was nervous all the day before, and Donna really was wondering why so I told her that I just want what is good and right for the country and I was wondering if it would turn out okay. Plus those lousy Diebold voting machines are junk. Election day showed most of us that those things need a serious overhaul and need a bit more credibility.

I spent most of the day in front of CNN watching report after report on different races accross the country. Man, I almost don't get this worked up for a Packer Viking game. This was election day. As the countdown to the polls closing I started to get really nervous. Then the results started coming down and the sense of relief took over as the blue guys were leading. I was really happy and suprised as the Dems started taking seats away from the administration. It was nice to see that people were willing to change from the corruption and partisan politics. Lets just hope those bozos in blue don't screw it up. They have a huge opportunity to turn this thing around back on the right path.

Anyway, I am just glad it turned out the way it did. Sorry about the rambling. Now on to the good stuff....


Just a Gigalo

Tuesday was also a great day because I saw Diamond David Lee Roth. That's right, the greatest frontman for any rock band EVER. Jason Manning, of the Edmonton Mannings, slid me a comp ducket and we were off. Of course before you go to see a show like this you MUST stop at a place for some fine dining. We chose Hooters at WEM. Nothing goes better with a rock show than some wings and beer.

Now the guys I went with were all from Sonic 102.9. Sonic is a modern rock station here in Edmonton. Here we are, Al Ford, Andrew, Brent Shelton, Me, Jason Manning, and some other dudes standing in the back. How NOT modern rock is that. Wait it gets better. We were all singing along to the songs AND doing our own versions of Diamond Daves signature spinning high kick. Except Al Ford, he was a bit too uptight, but he made up for it later. We were soooo not modern rock. But who cares Dave is a rock god.



Dave for lack of anyother phrase, has still got the goods. He was funny, he rocked hard, he even played a bit of guitar. I was thinking during the show, as Dave played hit after hit, about where I was the first time I heard a VH song. I can't quite place the time, but I can place the feeling. It was a huge rush that starts in the groin, where all good VH songs start, and just takes over your body.

Every good road trip I went on had at least one VH cassette played. I remember that after hearing a VH record I was on a mission to buy or copy every one of their albums. The first one I owned I beleive was 1984. After that, VH 1, Diver Down, Women and Children First, and the rest from there. Each one got better. As most VH songs go, they sound better loud. Really loud.



It is hard to pick my favorite song by Diamond Dave. I would have to go with And the Cradle Will Rock for my favorite VH song, and as for DLR solo, it would be Yankee Rose. Steve Vai's guitar work on that song is unbelieavable. Speaking of Cradle, I happened to shoot a bit of it on my digi cam. Just for you, the TundraTalk Nation. The best part of the video is hearing all of us geeks say "Have you seen juniors grades?" and Manning laughing. Classic.



Cradle on Vimeo

When DLR came out for an encore.. the keyboard part from the beginning of 1984 was playing. How bad is that when all of us grown men, grown modern rock men, start jumping around and giggling like school girls? It was an experience I have not had in a long time at a rock show. Complete entertainment. Every song elicits a new feeling, a new memory. It is like connecting with the baseball and sending it long, or that perfect touchdown play and shooting it perfectly or eating the perfect Funyun. Complete satisfaction.



Devil on Vimeo

After the show all of us modern rock geeks hung out and tried to get back stage to meet the man. Al Ford had an in, with the promoter, but Dave wasn't seeing too many people. How perfect would this evening be by ending it with a pic with the greatest rock front man in the history of rock? Amazing.

Well me and Al were not to be denied. We decided to go out and wait by the backstage door and see if we could score a pic. Al also had a record and a book to get signed. So since we live in Alberta the weather decided to dump on us. Blizzard. So here we are, two old geeks waiting in a snow storm to get DLR pic. Al managed to get a stage hand to go back and get his stuff auto'd. Awesome. I was regretting not grabbing a VH record to get signed. After about 15-20 minutes out he came in all his rock glory wearing a fedora and a leather coat. Needless to say when a guy from So Cal sees a storm like this he does not want to stop. I wish I could say that this perfect evening ended with a pic of me and Dave, I can't. Oh well, I still have all the great songs in my head. Next time he is here, I will get it done. I promise.


Andrew took this one

NEXT: Tenacious D has got a movie coming out. So you need to go to their website and laugh your ass off. Plenty of time wasting here. You can 'rock' other people's websites. Which basically you have to punch in an address and pick how you want to 'rock' the site and it messes their site up. Very funny.


CLICK HERE TO SEE what I did to Garner Andrews Website...

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND WEEK AHEAD...

CLICK HERE TO GO TO TENACIOUS D PICK OF DESTINY

TENACIOUS D TRAILER....

Lots of catching up to do, Dee Snider, AND a new rant...

As long time TundraTalk readers you will know the legend of the Hamilton Sweater. For those of you who are new to the fold, I will enlighten you with the legend that is THE Hamilton Sweater. I had a Green Bay Gamblers game worn that was my most prized possesion. I had many good memories in that sweater. I shot a commercial, drove the Zamboni, jumped in lake Michigan on Jan first, sat ringside for a WCW saturday night show, saw my first Colorado Avalanche game, and saw many dominant performances of the Gamblers. That is the sweater in the picture above.

Now you may wonder why I speak of the Hamilton in third person. Well, it is important to recognize the dominance of the sweater. When a person, me, pulls that sweater over his head he becomes another person. A person that can strike fear in any player wearing an opposing teams colors. A person that can lift a section in a hockey rink to new heights of spirit and just outright loudness. When in the presence of the Hamilton Jersey it was truly an awe inspiring experience.

It was number 12, worn and signed by Ryan Saverine, customized for Hamilton. I wore this sweater to to an Oilers playoff game in 2001. As I was working I got warm, so I took it off and buried it under a pile of cables near my gear. I came back 10 minutes later and it was gone. Devastation. I was in mourning for weeks. When news of this hit Gambler Nation, there were public outcries, public wakes, and just the feeling of loss.

Flash forward to 2005, young Matt Greene, a Gambler alumi, sat down next to me in the press box. We began to swap Brown County Arena Stories. He told me about the crazy fans in Section A & B and how that dude with the Kocur sweater was crazy and I told him the tale of the Hamilton Sweater. He was moved, so moved that he offered to get his game Gambler Sweater out of his closet in Michigan and offer it to the hockey gods as a gift to Hamilton himself. I of course accepted his offer.

Well on Friday Matt Greene made the hockey gods very happy. He presented Hamilton with a new flag to fly. Matt Greene is truly a patriot. Have a look at the presentation below.


Matt Greene rules!!

So here is a big thank you to Matt Geene formerly of the Green Bay Gamblers and now of the Edmonton Oilers. You, my friend are truly a great person to ease the pain of Hamiltons loss.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not just pushing Hamilton era aside for the Greene era, Hamilton will always have a place in hockey legend and lore. This is just a start of a new era of hockey domination. Watch out, here we come!!! Oh and one more thing, the day I see the dude who swiped the Hamilton, I will beat the snot out of this dude, then I will get mad.

Damn I look good


NEXT: I got an email from the Nordic Man, a man who truly knows the power of the Hamilton sweater, the other day and he of course had to bring up one of the most popular topics on TundraTalk, Dee Snider...

"Dee Snider on Celebrity Duets
I don't know if you get that show from the US, Celebrity Duets? But this week they had Dee Schneider on. I could not stop laughing thinking about the infamous quote from poker night. Then you see Little Richard behind him while he was singing and LR was just staring at Dee's ass."

So I did some searching and found a link to the actual performance...

CLICK HERE TO WATCH DEE SNIDER ROCK OUT, KINDA...

NEXT: I have a bit of a rant for you today...I went to a rock show the other night. Danko Jones was the rocker in question and yes, he did rock out. That dude plays rock and roll like it is supposed to be played. Full out, no holds barred. That is not what I want to rant about but I do have a bone to pick about something that happened on the way in.

I was waiting in line out front, right there I am already on my way to grouch, lines suck. After about 15 minutes of listening to the two brain dead girls in front of me talk about a party they were having and how they needed to get someone to buy them booze for the party, we get to the front. The muscle head that was looking at the I.D.'s asked for the brain dead's I.D.'s. That is when it hit me, the girls in front of me were minors, I was excited that I was going to witness the old, "I left my I.D. in the car" routine. Nope, they had 'em with them. Sweet, now I was going to get to see them bounced for having bad I.D.'s. I glanced at the cards as they handed them over, I was then really gonna love this because the pictures looked NOTHING like the girls. Musclehead took the cards, looked at the girls, and promptly LET THEM IN!!! Man, why was it not that easy for me when I was too young? Oh yeah, I did not have breasts.

So he takes my card and does not even look at it then informs me of the mandatory coat check. Which I guess is not so bad, but then I see the sign above that says "Mandatory Coat Check. Two Dollars" WHAT? First you make me stand in line, then you make me give you my coat, and charge me for it. Uh uh. I ask said musclead why I needed to give them my coat. He said because management says so. So I asked him why? He repeated the management BS again, three times. I of course loving a good arguement, pushed again. Why? He said it was for my own safety. What, so I can be safe from my own jacket?

If you are going to pull the 'safety' card I am okay with that, but don't charge me two bucks to do it. I of course went on to inform him that his management were not at all concerned with our safety but with lining his own pocket with money for nothing. What a total rip job. I wanted to go to the show, so I gave them my money, AND my coat, and went inside.

After I relayed this story to Donna later she said, "Man you are getting old." Okay, she is right, but I would have argued about that BS even back when I was 21. I suck. I am old.

The show was awesome though, and I was this close earlier in the day to getting him for the podcast. I just got to the radio station too late. Oiler practice took to long.

NEXT: I would also like to mention that when I was parking for the show I had to parallel park. Which reminded me that I am the greatest parallel parker in the world. NO ONE could touch me in my senior class, no one can touch me now. In fact I would issue the challenge that if anyone would like to take me on, bring it. That includes anyone from my senior class Hazen High 1986. As Garner Andrews, a good friend of TundraTalk would say, I am the Wayne Gretzky of parallel parking. How does that taste. NO ONE CAN TOUCH ME.



Opening night at the rink. It is still hard to believe that the NHL has started again already. It seems like just yesterday that we were in Anaheim. The Oilers won and my live hit went off with out a hitch.

Yes that is a new mic monkey, long story that I do not want to go into right now. Her name is Christy Chorley and she used to work at City TV in Edmonton. You might also recognize her name from something else, and that is a long story that I will not even touch. Except to say it is not true.

Have a nice day and a good weekend.

Monday love...

Fairy Princess McKenna

Hello one and all. I hope you all had a wonderfull Halloween with all treats and only a few tricks. As you can see McKenna had a good day. She likes the pumpkins we made. Of course the one with the big mouth is mine. How appropriate.

Before I get into what I want to talk about I want to send out congrats to Scott Beeston and Megan Venner, of the Kingston Nova Scotia Beestons and Venners, on the birth of Issac Michael Ernest Beeston. The baby and mom are healthy after a 29 hour labour (again when was the last time you did ANYTHING for 29 hours) and an emergency C-section. Here is a pic of Mike with Dad...



I think that Chris would have been a fine name for him, but Megan named him after her OTHER favorite photog Mike Simpson, of the Edmonton Simpsons. Who I might add is also expecting another child. Busiest guy in Edmonton, that Mike Simpson. Oh well, maybe Mike will name his next child after me. Probably not.

One more thing. Marty Frey, of the Los Angeles Freys, and Kirk Heuser, of the Calgary Heusers, both sent me a note on my mission being accomplished last week. You know getting the pic with the TPB. Here is a reminder...



You rule!

Hey those guys are all looking like they put on some weight... Especially that guy on the far left~!

Marty

Chris,

Okay... getting a picture with the Trailer Park Boys... that indeed is cool.

K.

Thank you boys for your, um, kind responses. Now I know I am cool but still gaining weight. I now need to go and seek professional help. Smokes, now.

Just a few things to share this week as I had a Bad Religion concert to go to last week. Great show. Anti Flag is opened up.



YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS LINK.

This dude strapped a film camera to the bumper of a Ferrari and drove through the streets of Paris. My favorite part is when he gets blocked by a bus and jumps into the oncoming lane to get around it. AWESOME. Plus all the birds flying to get out of his way. This looks like fun. Here is a quote from a review...

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.

The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.

Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground until a DVD release a few years ago.

Watch it and keep yellin SHIFT...



I have been watching a new show after TPB on Sundays. I actually laugh out loud on Sundays after I cry watching the Packers. Man does their defense suck. The show is called Kenny Versus Spenny. It basically is two guys who live together and compete at stupid things. Week one was who could drink the most in a three day period. The first one to puke lost. Very funny. Week two was who could stay naked the longest. Kenny is the one who always tries to cheat. He calls it being 'extremely competitive'. On the drinking one he bought the beer and made sure he picked a beer that the bottle looked just like the near beer. So he drank nothing but near beer while the other guy drank striaght stuff. On the naked competitiion Kenny 'rented' some S&M guys to come in and attack Spenny. So funny. If you want to watch a whole episode, click here and watch them compete to see who can gain the most weight in a three day period. Funny as hell.

Oh and we lost another one this weekend.


Eddie Guerrero
1967-2005

Minneapolis World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Eddie Guerrero 38, was found at the Marriott City Center in downtown Minneapolis. He was in town for Sunday night's "WWE Supershow" TV taping at Target Center was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, the organization said Sunday.

According to Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch, when the body of Eddie Guerrero was discovered by his nephew Chavo in the bathroom of the hotel he was staying at, he was found with a toothbrush in his mouth.

Although not confirmed, the belief among many WWE staff and wrestlers is that Guerrero died as a result of heart failure. It should also be noted that shortly after Guerrero's body was found, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko and Chavo Guerrero all visted the hotel room to say their goodbyes.

As noted earlier, WWE staff and wrestlers are visibly shaken and shocked following the passing of Guerrero earlier this morning. Staff and wrestlers from both RAW and SmackDown! are now(Sunday) at the Target Center in Minneapolis for the SuperShow TV tapings for both RAW and SmackDown! tonight.

The early word is that tapings for both shows will have to be revised, especially in the case of SmackDown were Guerrero was scheduled in a Triple Threat for the World Heavyweight Title.

WWE SuperShow TV taping for both RAW and SmackDown in Minneapolis, MN will be a four-hour tribute show to Eddie Guerrero.

Police confirmed Guerrero's death, but are not yet releasing additional information. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner was at the hotel.

RIP Eddie

Click HERE for a link to a tribute and retrospective.

Okay that is all I got. Glad the Packers finally pulled out of the slump, I would kind of like them to go for the number one pick in the draft but that might be tough to beat out the Texans.

Have a good day and GET BACK TO WORK!!!!

Just a few things to ponder on Friday...

The REAL Ricky


Just a cheap knockoff of Ricky

Just a quick one for you today because I have to run some errands and work today. One of said errands is an effort to get a pic and some autographs of the Trailer Park Boys. They are in town and I have been given a tip on when and where they might be today so I am going to go and stand around to get the prize of a signed Ricky picture. I hope to also pose for a pic with them. Wish me luck.

Timmy Reiten, of the Minot Reitens, sent me a note on the death of the Crusher. It seems that he has had an encounter with the big man...


Just couldn't help saying a few things about the passing of the Crusher. KXMC used to carry all star wrestling and would bring in the wrestlers to the Minot Civic Auditorium. One time,after Chester and Hank paid off the wrestlers,they asked for a ride up the Minot Holiday Inn. So Chester offered them a ride in the Reiten family station wagon. My friends and I we're in the way back while the Crusher, Pamparo Ferpo and one other set in front of us. (I suspect it may of been the infamous Dr. X ) I was about ten and it was the biggest thrill for me Not until I lost my virginity two years later did I feel such elation.

T

Thank you Tim for that story and no thank you for the details of your elation. You need some help my friend.

I found this link the other day and I thought it was funny so I will share it with you. It is called Fox News Thru History. It is a parody on how Fox news would treat stories throughout history. Very funny.

I also saw this one on Rocketboom and thought it was funny, but then thought about it a bit, then concluded it was very creepy. People who have those robot dogs got together and programmed them to dance in synchro. Here is the link. Click on the words expressionless robo-raves and just get yourself creeped out. To think that all these people took the time to program them and line them up, then tape them. Weird.



Soul Asylum is back!!! Whooo hooo. One of my favorite bands is back and will have a new album soon. Pirner has recruited two of the Twin Cities best musicians to join the band. Michael Bland on drums (formerly with Prince) and Tommy Stinson (formerly with the best band EVER the Replacements) on bass. They played a show at the 7th Street Entry just recently and here are the reviews. Review One and Review Two. I cannot wait for the album.

Speaking of City Pages, I found this article on Paul Westerberg from last year that I thought was interesting. He spoke a bit about ADD and I thought I would share the passage with you all since we had a discussion about it recently. Here it is...


CP: At the beginning of [the Westerberg documentary] Come Feel Me Tremble, you talk a little bit about having ADD.

Westerberg: I did? I don't remember.


CP: Right. Watching it, I couldn't help but think, is it truly ADD? Or is it simply the workings of a creative mind, and you get bored with reality? Like the John Lennon thing about, "reality leaves a lot to the imagination."

Westerberg: Yeah. I don't know. It's brain damage of some sort. [ADD is] a medical/psychological viewpoint of it. And the other one would be the creative side. All creative people have it, and it makes us poor drivers or poor followers of directions, and we don't like to be told what to do, and information goes in one ear and out the other. But you sort of overcompensate with that imagination part of your brain that gets the muscles flexed.

Interesting guy that Paul Westerberg. Shane T Keller, of the Los Angeles Kellers, has worked with this guy on the Eventually album and has some interesting stories. He will have to be the one to share them with you as I do not want to mess them up with inacuracies.

So that is all I have for you today. I will get the story about my strike experiences done soon. I just don't want to put it out there until I can do the story right.

I will leave you with this joke sent to me by Scott Neufeld. Thanks Scott...

Alberta Supreme Court Custody Decision

A seven year old boy was the centre of attention when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge awarded custody to his aunt.

The boy confirmed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and refused to live there. When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents the boy cried out that they beat him more than anyone.

In an unprecedented court ruling, the judge dramatically allowed the boy to choose who should have custody of him. Custody was granted to the Edmonton Oilers this morning as the boy firmly believes that they are not capable of beating anyone......


Have a nice day and GET BACK TO WORK!!!!!!!