celebrate – The Boring Old Man

A New Day Dawns…

Hi folks, it’s been awhile…

So, I found myself out of a job this week… Unexpected, and yet I’ve felt under the microscope for the last several months. Regardless of how much I did, regardless of the extra hours put in, nothing was ever good enough for TPTB. “So, you only completed 99 things today? What about that 100th thing?!?”

Word to the wise, if you want to keep your job, don’t tell the boss he’s being ridiculous when he’s being ridiculous. The ONLY thing coming from that is a nice big target in your back…

So this week I’ve been through all kinds of emotional crap, from bitterness to hostility, fear, self doubt…depression. It’s been a rough week to say the least.

To make matters worse, the Mrs. and our daughter have been on a Girl’s Trip all week, hundreds of miles and a few time zones away, so I’ve been left to my own devices and the voices in my head all week. Considering I’m my own harshest critic and my own worst enemy, this hasn’t been a good place to be. To say the least. I haven’t slept much or eaten much, but I DID completely avoid “the bottle” 100%. Now, I’m not much of a drinker – generally less than once a month, but dang! My old friend Mr. Jack Daniels has been calling to me repeatedly, especially in the dark of night when I couldn’t sleep.

Truth be told, I mostly hated my job. I was already looking around and putting out feelers, nonetheless getting sacked was a major shocker. I took my first “real” job (schedules and paycheck job) at 15 years old and I’m now 55 and I’ve NEVER been “fired” before. Still, I wanted it to be MY choice to leave that pressure cooker, not have it thrust upon me. I’ve been in essentially the same job, just at 3 different facilities, for 17 years and I’m BURNED. OUT. It wasn’t a career choice, it was something I fell ass-backward into all those years ago. And while I’ve learned a TON over the years, I have gained no satisfaction from it and in a way wished I’d never gotten into this line of work in the first place. I never had any love for it. No paycheck is worth the constant, unending stress my job entailed, I was just too scared to try something new – even when it was strongly suggested by my Doctor due to stress induced health issues. Yeah, that’s right. Rather than find a new career, I just stopped going to the doctor for about 8 years!

But now the choice was made for me. And all the fear aside, I’m actually relieved in a weird way.

But then, something amazing happened. I landed a new job! I start on MONDAY! The beauty of it is that the new gig is essentially doing the ONLY part of my old job(s) that I DID like! And NONE of the crap that I loathed! No more dealing with HR issues, no more accounting reports, no more dealing with City, State and Federal regulations and all that entails, no more corporate bullcrap. I almost can’t believe it! It sounds too good to be true, but it’s a company I have a long relationship with, I know the owners and they do outstanding work that I know I’ll be proud to be part of. They basically created a new position for me because they desperately need help and they know what I’m capable of. I gotta say, that feels pretty good.

So wish me luck! Things will probably be a little quiet on the ol’ blog while I get my bearings, but never fear, I’ll be back! Hopefully, better than ever now that I won’t be on-call 24/7/365 while trying to stave off an ulcer!

And the cherry on top is that the Mrs. comes home tonight!! Oh, how I’ve missed her! Six days apart is a LONG time when you’ve been with someone for 35 years!

Have a great weekend y’all. Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Magic City Hippies at The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA

Alright, once again we’re off to see Magic City Hippies! This is (I believe) our 9th time seeing them. They’ve become sort of an annual Birthday tradition for our daughter, as they always seem to be in the Bay Area on the week of her birthday, and we’ve been to every Bay Area show they’ve done. As my constant visitors may have gathered, we go to a LOT of shows, it is hands down our #1 form of entertainment, and MCH are our favorite live band so we do everything we can to see them when they are in town.

Tonight they played the Regency Ballroom, a venue we’ve been to numerous times. It’s really a great place, aside from the fact that it’s in San Francisco… (Seriously, any bands or managers or promoters out there reading this – for the love of God, STOP booking everything in San Francisco! There ARE other cities in the Bay Area you know!?!)

Anyhow, my loathing of SF aside, we were all super excited to see the guys again, as their shows are just pure magic (no pun intended!). The musicianship, the songs, the energy, the vibe…there is nobody like them!

The trip into the city was the usual mania. The people up there drive like they don’t want to live!! I always, ALWAYS get stressed out driving in SF, but for the Hippies I’ll still do it, even on a “school night”.

The opening act tonight was a young man by the name of Josh Fudge. We got there after he started his set, so we only got the last portion of it, but what we saw was really good. It was just him and a drummer, so not a lot visually, but the songs were good and his enthusiasm was infectious. He really seemed to be enjoying his moment on the stage. I’d certainly be interested in seeing more.

Up next in the middle support slot was The Palms from Los Angeles. I was vaguely familiar with them having heard a few of their songs, which I liked. I had a feeling they might be better live than on record, and I was right!

They are what you’d call a proper band – drums, bass, a keyboard player that doubled up on guitar and lap steel (!!), a lead guitarist and a vocalist that also played acoustic guitar on about half the tunes. Refreshing!

Don’t know what happened to my pics of the Palms… I took them, but they’ve gone missing…

For me, the shining star of the show was their lead guitarist, he was really impressive. He incorporated a number of styles in his playing as well as a full pallette of tones, and he was just fantastic. And if I’m being honest, he himself had about 70% of the charisma of the band. Don’t get me wrong, the band was solid as a rock. They’re playing was darn near perfect, they just didn’t give much of a “performance” on stage. Which is fine, not everyone is a showman. It just took the excitement level down a couple of notches. I’d give them a solid B+ on the set. If they keep it up they could be something to behold with a few more tours under their belts.

The Hippies opened up with Body Like a Weapon, which is a mid-tempo number, and the set opened with a slow burn. It didn’t take long before they were just tearing it up on stage.

Guitarist John was his usual extraordinary self. His playing is so fluid and he’s an absolute wonder to watch when he’s in the zone. I still miss the growl of his hollowbody guitar, which I haven’t seen him use in several years now and it appears the guys have traded in the Fender tube amps for digital pre-amps going straight to the PA, so there is a certain grittiness that is missing from the overall sound. BUT, I must admit the tones are much more true to the sounds on the records… A trade-off I can accept and most people that aren’t tone-snobs like myself would likely not even notice.

The greatest guitarist nobody knows about!

Robbie Hunter I still consider one of the best front men in modern music, and I was again reminded of what a stellar guitarist he is too!

Bassist Guillermo Belisario just keeps getting better and better. His bass playing has always been excellent, but he’s been taking on more duties on stage, playing some keyboards and singing harmonies. Clearly an outstanding musician and he really holds it all together when the other guys are really going off.

Drummer Pat… What can I say? He’s a true force behind the kit. Watching him play reminds me of Keith Moon – not the parts he’s playing, but the WAY he plays. It’s a straight up attack, and yet he never loses that deep Hippies groove. I’m a fan. I consider myself a better than average drummer and I’ve played a bunch of Hippies songs over the years, but I CANNOT play them like Pat. He’s one if a kind.

Jake Pinto really has gelled with the boys now that he’s been on the road with them for a couple tours. It’s almost like he was always there… And when he, John and Robbie play 3 part harmonies on guitar? Holy smokes! It’s really special and frankly unheard of in modern bands.

There was also a new element to the show this time around that turned out to be an excellent addition. I didn’t catch his name unfortunately, but MCH had added another player on stage playing trumpet and percussion. Let me tell you, this guy was off the charts impressive. His horn playing was excellent, his percussion playing very tasteful and in the pocket and his stage presence and style was super high energy and fun to watch. A really pleasant surprise and a great addition to the world’s best live band!

All in all, it was was an outstanding show. Not that I expected anything less. The Magic City Hippies are a shiny, gleaming needle in a haystack when it come to live music. They have great songs, exceptional musicianship and it’s obvious to everyone in the room that they’re having a great time on stage, doing what they do best.

A big thanks to everyone involved, it was a GREAT night and a great way to end what turned into a Birthday Week for our daughter’s 30th!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip: Monterey, CA

This trip marks a very special occasion, our “baby” is celebrating her 30th birthday this week! Hard to believe…

We’ve always been a “beach” family, as you might have gathered if you’ve read any of my earlier posts, but Monterey has ALWAYS been our daughter’s favorite. While my wife and I grew up haunting the Santa Cruz Soquel and Capitola areas, if we ever asked the kid where she wanted to go, it was always Monterey.

This time around we stayed at the Portola Hotel and Spa, and it was really nice. Beyond expectations even. We had booked weeks ago and much to our surprise and delight, they gave us an unexpected “upgrade” to one of the Presidential Suites. No kidding. The room was bonkers.

I haven’t stayed in a room this nice since the 90’s when I was lucky enough to be on the road crew with Dogstar in Australia and New Zealand. It was off the charts for a hotel room, certainly bigger than our apartment!!

The trip was pretty mild and rather uneventful, in a good way. Mostly, we ate really fancy foods in nice restaurants (Jack’s & Schooner’s amongst others) and just hung out. We also hit the touristy spots – Fisherman’s Wharf and the Monterey Bay Aquarium – too. They were nothing new as we’ve been to both more times than we can count, but it was a good time nonetheless. The Aquarium is truly spectacular. If you’ve never been and you enjoy wildlife, you should definitely check it out once in your life.

All in all, it was a really nice time. The forecast had called for rain, all day, every day for the time we were there, but luckily the weather people were waaay off and we had really mild weather. Very little rain and even a touch of sun. As a bonus, the weather kept the crowds down to a level that didn’t drive me out of my skin!

Still coming to grips with our daughter turning 30, but this nice, mellow weekend sure helped keep smiles on our faces! And we can’t help be feel grateful that our kid still likes to hang out with us! We must have done something right along the way…

Thanks for stopping by!

NYE in Napa, CA. Out & About/Concert Review/After Action Report…all rolled into one!

NYE was a busy day! Got up and hit the gym, came home and whipped up some healthy smoothies, then set about doing some chorin’ around the house, including taking down the Christmas tree. Then it was packing bags, feeding the critters, gassing up the ride and hitting the road 2 hours north to Napa.

Our first stop was the hotel. We stayed at the Westin Verasa this time around. Swanky place, let me tell ya! Check-in was super smooth and afterwards we met up with our daughter and her fiance, who’d arrived about an hour prior, to grab a bite. We stumbled into a place called Gott’s Roadside and had a great dinner – the gents dined on bacon cheeseburgers, while the ladies went for the poke tacos, and we split some sweet potato fries and onion rings. Healthy eating? Not today, my friends!

We then walked back to the hotel and split up to our different rooms so the ladies could get ready for the night’s festivities.

The main event took place at the Uptown Theater – a NYE celebration with Dogstar. Yes, I know, this is the 5th Dogstar show in 13 months, it may seem I’m a bit obsessed. But this was a chance to spend NYE with my lovely wife, and the kids and my best friend AND it’s the last show of the tour and who knows when/if they’ll ever play a live show in these parts again? Get while the gettin’s good as my Pops likes to say.

Archer Oh was the opening act- you may remember my raving about them in my review of the Menlo Park show this past summer. Well, once again, the band brought their A-game and left it all on stage! I’m still incredibly impressed with these guys, particularly their lead guitarist. He’s a stellar talent with a very unique style. Which is not to diminish the rest of the band, far from it! They are one of those bands that I believe is far greater than the sum of their parts. Their chemistry as a BAND just works and it’s delightful to experience them live!

Dogstar hit the stage to a nearly sold-out audience and played a longer then normal set, which included a couple older songs from previous records that I hadn’t heard them play on the tour, as well as a couple cover tunes – something they don’t usually do. When they charged into “Just like Heaven”, the mid 90’s gem by The Cure, the crowd was on their feet and going wild!

The band’s signature beer, with the Mrs’ “formal sneakers” in the background!

A little later in the set they tackled the Ramones classic “I Wanna be Sedated” which was a super fun flashback for many of us old geezers in the crowd!

Bret’s playing was on fire – even better than just a few weeks ago in SF. It just goes to show how much practice and playing shows can improve one’s craft. It was really a standout performance, no question. I cant help but to think back on the days in his mother’s living room when we were all of 14-15 years old, trying to figure all this rock band stuff out. To see how far he’s come as an artist is really special and inspiring.

Bret, delivering the performance of a lifetime!

The other thing that really grabbed my attention was that Keanu actually seemed to be HAVING FUN on stage! Generally he looks very serious and he’s “all business”, but that night, his sense of joy was palpable. It was an absolutely perfect way to end the tour and I’m grateful that I got to experience it with my family in tow.

After the show there was quite the gathering backstage, all friends and family of the band(s) and crew(s) and we had a really. nice time chatting with folks. We shared a New Year’s toast with Keanu, and I got to talk to 3 of the 4 members of Archer Oh, which was cool. Very nice young men. Humble and grateful for the opportunity to do this tour. I wish them nothing but continued success!

After the After Show party, it was back to the hotel around 2am… A couple light snacks and it was lights out for the Mrs. and I.

Before we knew it, the next morning was upon us. Time for showering, packing up, checking out and meeting up with the kids for brunch a few miles away at Olive & Hay.

Brunch was terrific. I ordered French Toast with berries which was delicious, and everyone else was equally pleased with their selections. This is most definitely a place to return to!

After brunch it was back on the road to home. Talk about a whirlwind trip! Less than 24 hours and we combined outstanding food, excellent entertainment, catching up with old friends AND celebrating the rolling in of the New Year!

As I look back on 2023, mostly I see a dark and grim year, but for all it’s doom and gloom, Dogstar stands out as a shining point of brightness. They had a great year in 2023, and I hope they can keep that train rolling throughout 2024 and into their European summer tour that is already in the works.

All in all, this was an exceptional New Year celebration for us and I’m thrilled that the new year is off to a great start.

Happy New Year, y’all! Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I’m old fashioned and I still celebrate and appreciate a traditional Christmas. To the rest of you that only acknowledge “the holidays” well Happy Holidays to y’all as well.

I wish my readers well, and appreciate you spending your time with me here. Gonna be winding down over the next few days, spending time with the family and just enjoying some calm and quiet.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I’ll see y’all soon. Thanks for stopping by!

One Year!

Today marks the one year anniversary of the first post I made on this blog.

My sincere thanks to the 554 visitors that have stopped by in the last year. I appreciate the company!

Have a great weekend y’all!

Thanks for reading, come back soon.