So after trying unsuccessfully to get tickets to the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss concert and being very upset to find that they were all over ebay for rediculously inflated prices, I called Outback Concerts to voice my concerns. I also sent this letter to local news sources.

"On Friday, January 25 despite battling bronchitis and pneumonia, I got myself up and drove downtown to the Louisville Palace in an attempt to purchase tickets to the upcoming Robert Plant/Allison Krauss concert. I drove by about 15 minutes before the tickets went on sale and saw what looked like several hundred people. It seemed that I had underestimated the demand for this show. So, after seeing this, and not really being in a state that I could deal with standing in the 20 degree weather in a line of 300 people, I decided to bite the bullet on the ticketmaster convenience charges, go home, and get my tickets online. I was back at my computer by noon, the time the tickets were to go on sale. By the time I actually got a ticket order through the incredibly slow and bogged down system, there were no tickets left. Now somewhat aggrivated, I decided to take a look at ebay, only to find it was flooded with tickets to the concert, at anywhere from a 150-400% markup. I called Outback Concerts, the promoter of the show, to voice my complaint. They took down my number and said they were sorry, but there was really nothing they could do about it. Ticket scalping has gotten out of hand. It is up to the venues, promoters, and artists to ensure that their shows serve the fans and the communities that they have been invited into as guests. Most local promoters, such as Production Simple have presales and things of the sort that allow locals to have first dibs on shows and insure that they are serving our community first. Kudos to them. No attempt was made by this Nashville based promotion company to do any such thing. The upcoming Robert Plant/Allison Krauss concert has served only as a venue for a bunch of people outside of this state to make a whole lot of money for doing absolutely nothing. I can assure you that Outback Concerts will not receive any of my money in the future."



And now there has been another show added the night before. Tickets go on sale Friday to the general public, but first on Wednesday through a presale open only to people in the Louisville area. I now commend this company on these positive efforts. It is also quite amazing that there are only 5 shows listed on the US leg of this tour and 2 of them are now taking place in Louisville.

"We must not allow our justified loathing of the horrors and tragedies of the past to become a barrier to creating a better and more stable future for our children."

Here's hoping that people around the world are listening.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_re_eu/northern_ireland

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-music-alirap&prov=ap&type=lgns

Tonight I went to Covington to see the Black Angels and the Black Keys for the second night in a row. I was on the guest list courtesy of Alex, the singer from the Black Angels cause he had me make him something out of glass. Alex owed me some money, so we got up with him after the show and he had to go to an ATM. We were outside and he realized two people in the band hadn't signed my album, so we went to find them. But there was a slight problem. We went out the front doors. So, here I was, with the singer of the band, locked out. He knocked on the door and tried to show a guy his pass, but they wouldn't let him. So we had to go around back and find a way in. It was amazing how easy it was to just go in a back door. So we made it back in and headed to the green room. The guys in the band were all cool and pretty much what you would expect from people making psychadellic rock and roll. I had met them the night before. They were all hanging out in the one room getting all crazy. And the guys from the Black Keys were all in another. I think a bunch of their friends and family were there cause they are from Ohio. They were being all chilled out while in the other room they were partying.

Stephanie, the drummer from the Black Angels... She's hot. And a badass. And nice. And she was drunk and dancing around singing New York, New York. Then this fat bastard sound guy who was on the stage before the show being a dipshit and saying stupid things into the mic came by the room and says "Somebody tell her she's butchering that song." So I watched the spectacle for a few minutes. I wish I could have stayed there, but we had to get back to Louisvill.e When I told them all I was leaving, Stephanie started dancing in front of me and said "Why are you leaving, I'm dancing???!!" That made me want to stay. She was amusing... But I am responsible and I left. Well, had it just been me, I probably would've just stayed, but my friends had to work... Oh well, they all signed my album and were super cool people. And Dan and Patrick from the Black Keys both signed a poster for me.

It was quite an enjoyable night seeing all of this. Not to mention that it was two nights of some of the best music I've seen. Rock and Roll.

I think I need a hot drummer chick. But I don't think there are many of those.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s7z9AgjEuA

I haven't posted in a long time...

I just got this cd and its amazing. Everyone should listen to them. They're called The Swell Season. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/theswellseason and make sure you listen to 'Falling Slowly' I think you will enjoy it.

So I've talked about sending letters and I've asked others to do the same, but I still feel the need to raise my voice and complain about what is going on here. The bottom line is that 3 innocent men are in jail and one of them is going to die. As long as this remains the case, none of us are free. This could happen to anyone.

There was no evidence to put these kids in jail. One of the kids has an IQ of 71. That means he's mentally impaired. They asked him to tell what happened over and over and finally after he had denied it several times, they managed, after turning the tape off for a while, to get him to confess to the crime. Nevermind the fact that the times he had given weren't congruent with the crimes timetable. It seems that a non-linear forced confession from a retarded kid on tape is enough evidence to condemn someone to death in Arkansas.

At the time of his 1994 trial, Jessie's statement conflicted with at least six known issues of fact:

-Placing the victims and Jason Baldwin out of school at times they were demonstrably in school;
-Stating victims were bound with rope whereas they were found tied with their own shoelaces;
-Stating one boy was choked into unconsciousness with a stick whereas the medical examiner could detect nothing to indicate this;
-Stating boys were "screwed," implying anal rape, whereas medical examiner could find no signs of the expected anal abrasions or other evidence which would back this up;
-Describing traumatic beatings issued to the boys which would have left more sign of blood in the soil of reputed crime scene than tests ever indicated.
-Describing a victims' emasculation as accomplished with a single swing of a knife whereas medical examiner testified it would take a great deal of precision and skill.

Everyone should check out the website http://www.wm3.org and read about the case. This should not be allowed to stand.

"These three are innocent and to stand for the kind of insanity that convicted them is to align oneself with all that is bad." - Henry Rollins

"The films are remarkable, and it is certainly an interesting -- and troubling -- case." - President Bill Clinton

"That's the stupidest f*cking confession I've ever seen." - -Dr. Richard Ofshe, Pulitzer Prize winner and Professor of Social Psychology at Berkeley, re: Misskelley's 6.3.93 statement

Here are some pictures I took at the Pearl Jam concert last week.

( Read more... )

So, my week, up until last night was pretty shitty for numerous reasons, but I'm not gonna ramble on about all that. Besides, taken as a whole, the positives outweigh the negatives, even though the only real positive was a Pearl Jam concert. Most of you who know me will know that was more than enough. We will talk about the Pearl Jam concert. It was the best I've seen thus far. It's amazing that a band is putting on what might be its best live performances sixteen years into their career.

So, Sarah and I got to Cinci a couple hours early and picked up my fan club seats for the concert. It looked like we would be in the first few rows right off the side, not on the floor, which I was excited about because I figured we would end up like 20 rows back on the floor, which isn't all that great of a view. We heard them soundchecking inside. That was cool, as I've never been there for that and I got to hear them playing 'Waiting on a Friend,' a Rolling Stones song.

So then we headed to a place across the street that obviously catered to people going to concerts and baseball games. It had a beer garden outside. I know thats what it was because atop of the ridiculous painted beach sceen was a sprawling sign that read "Beer Garden" So we paid $5 for domestic light beers in weird bottle with a soft drink style screw on cap and then my friend Brad from high school and his girlfriend met us and we had another. I was way to amused by the bottles. I should have taken a picture of them. I kept putting the cap back on as I would if I had a bottle of coca-cola, but it was beer, so thats a ridiculous thing to do.

So we walked back over to my car to get my camera and head into the venue. I gave my friend Brad $20 to get me one of the venue specific special edition posters that they always have since sometimes they sell out and he would be getting in before me, but that didn't work. They sold out while he was in line. Now they are on ebay going for upwards of $60. I hate stupid capitalist bastards. I hope they die in their sleep.

Eddie came out and played "The Kids Are Alright," a Who song before the opening band. It was obviously a reference to the history that the Who has with Cincinatti. The opening band was Robert Pollard. He sucked, but was not as bad as Sonic Youth. I went outside and met up with my friends and did not listen to him.

The band came out and opened with "Long Road". That was the last slow song we would hear for quite sometime. It was the hardest rocking PEarl Jam show I've seen. They played "Save You", "Hail Hail", and then "Worldwide Suicide". It was the first song off the new album in the set and it kicked ass. Sarah is a huge Pearl Jam fan and was loving every second of it. I don't know many girls who love real rock and roll, but she does. Then came "Severed Hand" followed by "Corduroy" Corduroy fucking rocked. It was obvious that this was going to be a great show. Eddie talked about making it up to everybody for not being able to come last time. They were scheduled to play Riverbend on the Riot Act tour, but it was under a few feet of water that day. Following this they played "Unemployable" and "Evenflow" which is always good.

Following this they stopped and Eddie talked about what had happened with the Who where people had gotten smashed by the crowd trying to get into the venue. He said that both Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend had called them when a similar event happened to them in Roskilde six years ago. They went on to play "Love Boat Captain," a song they had written for the people who died that day.

The set continued with "Gone", "Green Disease", and "Not for you" with a tag of "Modern Girl," a Sleater-Kinney song. I love "Not For You" so not even Sleater-Kinney could hurt it! The next song was a song I had been waiting to here forever, "Present Tense" It's easily on of my favorites and I could not believe they were playing it. The whole crowd was singing along and he stopped for a bit and let the crowd sing it without him. I don't think everyone knew the words, but enough did that it sounded good.

Next up Eddie said he had another sing-along for everyone. They went into "Lukin" Pretty hilarious. If you know Pearl Jam, you know that its barely distinguishable that he is saying anything in that song and it lasts approximately one minute. NEzt up was "Whipping", off of "Vitalogy." That was followed by "Do The Evolution" and and "Life Wasted" to end the set. "Life Wasted" is their newest single and it was intense live.

For the first encore, Eddie came out and talked to everyone about a young man who has gone missing. He apparently has a Pearl Jam tattoo on his arm and flyers were being passed out at the venue with his picture on it. They played "Wishlist" for him. AFter that came "Betterman" with a tag of "Save it for Later" by English Beat. AT the beginning of the song Eddie started to sing and just stopped. The whole place was singing it and it sounded perfect. He stepped back and let the crowd sing the entire first verse and chorus just staring in amazement. He chimed back in and finished it out and it was the best I've ever heard that song sound.

This was followed by "Inside Job," a song off the new album. This was followed by the most intense version of "Crazy Mary" I've ever heard. When he started singing "Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around." he handed his wine bottle down to the audience and shared it with everyone. There was a comment in an interview that he said he tried to stop drinking wine at a couple shows and play them sober, but they turned out shitty and it felt like he was working. The song kept going though and ended with the damndest electric organ/electric guitar duel I have ever seen. McCreedy and Boom were going to town. I have no clue how long it lasted, but it was nuts. They finished up and went on to play "Rearview Mirror" to end it. They left the stage and said their thank yous.

But it wasnt over. Eddie came back out and said they were off the next day so they would play if we would stay. They opened up with "Comatose" and then played something they just started playing again, "Leash" off of Vs. They had not played that song since the early 90s and it was exciting. They followed with a great version of "Alive," of which I recorded a video. Then they ended the night with a cover of The Who's "Baba O'Reilly" with Robert Pollard joining them. He didn't mess it up too bad. His voice is alright, just his music sucks.

Also, at some point in the show, I'm not sure exactly when, but someone threw a Rolling Stone on stage, which has Eddie on the cover. He proceeded to take the magazine and wipe his ass with it. He said that they agreed to put the entire band on the cover and then they just put him. He said he has 50 of them in his bathroom and he uses one everytime he takes a shit. It was quite entertaining.

So, all around it was a great night and turned a shitty week into a great one. Good day, all.

This is just a friendly note to all the people on my friends list. I hate to point out that some of you are overwhelmingly negative on this thing. Everyone has bad days. I do. I'm sure I've bitched about something at some point or another. But apparently some of you have them everyday and feel the need to spread the word about. I promise you all that I feel bad everytime I read about your problems. That is the problem. Feeling bad about some of your problems means that I have to feel bad for someone every fucking day of my life. It's draining and I don't like it. So all that I'm really asking is that if you read this, consider the implications of spreading your negative energy to the world. It's not always appreciated.

So, the trip was great. I had an ungodly amount of fun. But on May 29th, I saw the coolest thing I have ever seen and most likely the coolest i will ever see. I saw David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall in London. I think it holds about 3500-4000 so it was a pretty intimate venue. Its pretty much a huge, beautiful opera house.

We sat there for a bit waiting for it to get started and out came the band, which to my surprise actually included Rick Wright, the keyboard/piano player from Pink Floyd. The first thing we heard was Breathe in the Air followed by Time and back into Breathe, both off Dark Side of the Moon. Not at all what I expected. A hell of a way to start out a show. Hearing things I never thought I would hear in my life, I was instantly in awe.

Following these songs, he played the entirety of his new album, on an island. David Crosby and Graham Nash were there to chime in with some harmony throughout. They finished the album and took a break. Coming back out, the first thing played was Shine On You Crazy Diamond, the first seven parts, i believe. Crosby and Nash joined in on this as well. They played a rather odd cover of something I hadn't heard before and then a couple of later Pink Floyd numbers such as High Hopes and the song that Rick Wright sang on The Division Bell.

Then came the big one. The one song I never really imagined I would hear, Echoes. Damn near all 28 minutes of it, at that. Some of the crowd looked to be wondering what the hell was going on with all the weird spacy music in the middle, but I was loving every second of it. The middle of that song is about as funky as it gets with Pink Floyd. But it wasnt over after that, he came back out and he, Crosby, and Nash sang one of their songs, Find The Cost of Freedom, acapella. It was quite beautiful. After that, it was Wish You Were Here. Great to hear that, but I was expecting I would.

I didn't really think it could get much better than this, but I was wrong. I could be off a little on the order of all these songs, but I felt I was in a bit of a dream. The next thing that happened was an introduction of another person to the stage. Who was it? Well, David Bowie, of course. Who wasn't expecting to see David Bowie at the David Gilmore concert??? I think the answer to that would be everyone there. The place went crazy. But in terms of crazy for people at a concert in England, that means they stood up and cheered a bit instead of clapping from their seats.

So David Bowie came out and sang an old Syd Barret era Foyd song, Arnold Layne. The place got a little lively. Following this, they played Comfortably Numb with David Bowie singing Roger Waters lines. It was probably the coolest thing I will ever see as long as I live.

Feel free to reply and tell me about your jealousy and reverence... or that you don't give a shit.

now i'm in dublin. its about 8 am and i just had a full irish breakfast. we're headed to paris this afternoon. last night was nice and low key. i had some irish stew a couple pints of guiness and listened to traditional irish music.

the previous night, however, was crazy. we decided that we could probably use a more relaxing night, so we decided to stay in a tiny town that we just picked off the map. the guidebooks said very little about it. we were in a nice little place on the beach and everything looked calm. but then we went dinner. oh yeah, i also forgot to mention that Munster, the regions local rugby team just won the european championship. so, with the said, the small town of Youghall, pronounced y'all was insane. there were tons of bars and pubs in this little place. we had some dinner and a couple pints and headed to another bar that was playing a steady mix of bon jovi, ac/dc, bon jovi, metallica, and more bon jovi. it was awesome and ridiculous. and whenever it was a bon jovi song everyone in the place sang along. further showing me that europeans love bon jovi. its insane. after that the group sort of split and pat and i went to a bar where this sort of jazzy band with a girl singer was playing. she was a badass. we didnt want to leave, but we were told to go to the quays to see a good band. they were not really good though. they were pretty awful. there were these two sisters there whose father looked exactly like colonol sanders. they had boyfriends but proceeded to tell me that i could get any girl i wanted just because of how i talked. we tested the theory a bit later when we went upstairs where there was a dance club. i'd say they were about 60% correct. well i'm out again. keep on keepin on.

Hello all. I'm currently in the town of Dingle in Southwestern Ireland. The trip thus far has been amazing. this whole thing is going to be jumbled and out of order but thats how it goes. I spent a good portion of yesterday asleep by the cliffs on the island of Inishmoor. I want to live there for a while and I think I might. We actually met a girl from Louisville who had served us at the BBC downtown. Also shes crazy. Thats why we remembered her. I think she called Casey a slut. She was on the island because she had a premonition that she should go there and was waiting for a sign to see what she should do next, but she had already decided that she was going back to kentucky for a guy who can't get a passport because he's a felon because he stabbed someone... so yeah, its a small world... or a ridiculous world. its according to how you look at it really.

the best experience so far has been in Galway when only two of us went out for the night while everyone else went to sleep. There was awesome music at this bar. I think it was full of the Irish equivelent of 'hipsters' but they were much cooler and nice. we met a couple of beautiful blonde irish women and after the bars closed just walked around with them until 4 in the morning. Laura Jean was the one girls name... she was amazing! i fulfilled the goal of finding a beautiful irish woman. now i just have to get her to come to kentucky!

the time in london was great. its a wonderful city, but expensive as hell. i visited a glass studio and was told that anytime i wanted i was welcome to come and spend some time there working with them. so that could be in the near future... but it wouldnt pay much if at all, so i would have to save some money first.

i think thats all i feel like writing now. maybe when i get back i'll actually transport my physical journal entries into this thing. some of them are funny and written at 2 in the morning after coming back from a pub. i hope everyone is doing well. i am. now i'm going to go find some more craic.

I urge everyone who reads this, though it may be a small number to take a little time and look at http://www.wm3.org and see what this case is all about. Second, I ask you to read this letter and do a small part to help shed a little light on a grave injustice.

This letter is from Jason Baldwin, one of the men unjustly serving time in prison for a heinous crime.


Dear Supporters of the WM3:

A friend and I were chatting this weekend when she brought up an important issue. With Awareness Day fast approaching, what is being planned for Arkansas? After all, this state needs to be everyone’s focal point. She proposed a brilliant idea, which I want to pass on to you.

I know many of you over the past decade or so have literally inundated the Governor’s office with letters. How many letters have been sent? Well, it could be anyone’s guess. I don’t believe anyone is keeping a record, and of course, the Governor’s office keeps an apparently endless supply of those rubber-stamped “form” letters everyone receives in response.

So the idea is this: We all write another letter to the Governor of Arkansas–but wait! This time, instead of mailing these letters directly to his office, we address them to the post office box listed below, like this:

WRITE TO FREEDOM
Attn: Gov. Mike Huckabee
P.O. Box 7406
Little Rock, AR 72217

How does it sound so far? (By the way, I came up with the name of this little mission – “WRITE TO FREEDOM.” It has a nice ring, doesn’t it?) The letters need to be brief, polite and focused. Gov. Huckabee says he hasn’t seen proof of our innocence. Is he satisfied with the “proofs” of our guilt? Tell him what fact of this case troubles you most. Stress how important it is for him to be well informed. And don’t wait. There isn’t much time. Please write that letter today!

All letters must be in by Friday, May 26. As they arrive, Arkansas volunteers will sort them as follows: Letters from Arkansans, Letters from Other Americans, and, last but not least, Letters from Humanity Around the Globe.

As Awareness Day approaches, I expect this cache of letters to grow exponentially. In other words, I’m hoping we’ll need lots of supporters here in Arkansas just to carry them to our great state’s capitol. As the date for that event draws near, supporters here in Arkansas will post details for anyone–from anywhere–who wants to participate.

If all goes well, local and national media will also be on hand. That’s why I want you to do this too: On the outside of your envelope, write a brief statement about what you told the governor and what you hope he does concerning the case of The West Memphis Three. That way, these statements can be made available to the media, without opening the Governor’s mail.

I believe the Arkansas Constitution grants power to the Governor to help people who have been wrongly convicted. But for him to do that in this case, he needs to know the facts. Certainly, once he does, justice will not be ignored forever.

Thank you, everyone. Today is my birthday and I have but one wish. This is the last year of my twenties. I’ll be happy indeed if Damien, Jessie and I can spend just one day of it as free men.

Always,
Jason

http://www.slate.com/id/2138176/nav/tap1/?GT1=7932

This is an interesting article that, while maintianing that Whole Foods is a good example of a socially and fiscally responsible corporation, also points out a few sneaky things that they are doing. Most interestingly, it points out that the "organic-food movement is in danger of exacerbating the growing gap between rich and poor in this country by contributing to a two-tiered national food supply, with healthy food for the rich."

Who could break this cycle? Oddly enough, it could be that hell-bent, low-wage paying monster, Wal-Mart...

I thought it was a great movie. It seemed very relevant to the times. I read a review from the Boston Globe by film critic Ty Burr. I felt the need to respond to the following statement.

"'V for Vendetta' says that terrorism's OK as long as no one really gets hurt, and to believe that, you need the wishful thinking of a child."

I did not feel that this was the message this movie was conveying, so I sent Mr. Burr the following email.

"The statement, '"V for Vendetta" says that terrorism's OK as long as no one
really gets hurt" is far-fetched and short-minded. Terrorism requires using
terror as a means of coersion. The population in the film was in no way
afraid of him. His actions were meant to inspire the masses, not drive fear
into their hearts. It was the government in this film that used fear as a
weapon, so by the very definition of the word terrorism, it was they who
were the terrorists."

He sent a very prompt response and I like the questions he poses.

"Ah, but what if there had been collateral damage in the Parliament bombing,
as is the case in almost 100% of violent statements of ideology? (At least
in reality, not in Hollywood movies.) Would the masses have been as
inspired? It's a very interesting question, one that the comic engages
(there *are* innocent deaths in the original stories) and that the movie
ducks in the interest of playing it safe and making money. Was Timothy
McVeigh a terrorist? The 9/11 hijackers? You and I would doubtless say yes.
Okay, what about resistance fighters during WWII whose actions resulted in
the deaths of both Nazis and those fighting them? What about the deaths of
Iraqi civilians from the bombs with which we intended to free Iraq? A
harder question to answer but one very much worth parsing. The movie
pretends to raise it but goes soft in the end -- again, the comic didn't,
and I recommend you read it if you haven't already.

thanks for your note -- T."


Let me know what you think, or if you'd like, read the article and let Mr. Burr know what you think. He seems to be very appreciative of comments.

I'm stealing this from Jon. Thanks Jon. I know I still owe you a cd. Oh, and happy birthday.
- Put the iPod on shuffle
- Listen to 5 songs
- Write how you feel about each one

1) Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock: This song fucking rocks. I would say I had forgotten that, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I remember playing this with Stubbs, Seth, Jackson and Brendan at the warehouse. Its a fun song to play and listen to. Hell of an album. They were a rock band back in the day.

2) Andrew Bird - Masterfade: If you have not heard Andrew Bird, you are missing out. I won't say this is my favorite song on the album, but it is quality nonetheless. Buy Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs. Theres not really anyone better at crafting such huge,weird compositions with beautiful sometimes nonsensical narratives.

3) Jimi Hendrix - I Don't Live Today: Jimmy watches over me when I sleep. Literally. He is above the head of my bed. It really doesn't get much better than Jimi. As is the case in this song, he is capable of making a solo be both noisy and awesome. I don't think that holds true for anyone else. Feel free to correct me.

4) Jack Johnson - Rocky Raccoon: A nice, chill cover of the Beatles song. With most Beatles covers, people either try to do it exactly the same, or they change it around and butcher it. He did neither. Thats impressive.

5) Billy Brag and Wilco - Birds and Ships: I'm not sure who the woman is singing this song, but she has a beautiful voice. If you don't have the Mermaid Avenue cds you should buy them both now. If you were unaware they are Woody Guthrie songs that he didn't finish and his family had Billy Bragg and Wilco put them to music.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/01/12/taiwan.pig.reut/index.html

I had to share this.

I ordered Chinese takeout today for lunch. I went to pick it up. I paid for it, but they only had like two one-dollar bills in the drawer. So what did the guy do? Obviously he took two dollars from the shrine to buddha that sits in front of the cash register table.

I was in shock. They stole money from Buddha and gave it to me as change for my General Tso's chicken (who the hell is that guy?) and egg drop soup.

But then the woman said, "Write down how much you took so we can pay back the Buddha."

This did not really make me feel much better. Granted I no longer had 'stolen' sacred money. Now I just had 'borrowed' sacred money. That almost seems worse.

I'm going to see David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall in London...

That is all.