A couple thoughts about the Athens Olympics: @ I generally pick one obscure sport and follow it through its conclusion. At the last winter games, it was curling. In 1984, it was water polo. I’m thinking this time it’s going to be handball, not the kind that sweaty old guys from New York play, but… Read More laffalympics

I’ve recovered sufficiently from the collapsed-in-a-heapedness to let y’all know that The Wife and I had a kick-ass vacation: Two Dead shows, three days at the lovely Jersey Shore (no, really … it was), and a Phish show that was free of mud, and, mostly, free of hassles as well. We stayed at the Crown… Read More philly, jersey, etc.

That would be Warren Haynes. I’ve never seen Gov’t Mule, Warren’s actual band. But in the last few years I keep running across Warren appearances, with Phil and Friends, with the Allmans and, this summer, with The Dead. I always liked him with Phil’s band, and he’s only perfect for the Allman Brothers. I wasn’t… Read More hardestworkingmaninshowbidniss

1984. First Dead show, at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. Though it was my first, it wasn’t the one that kicked my ass sideways — that came a year later at Riverbend in Cincinnati. But it was enough to get my attention, enough to get me to think that there might be something more to… Read More twenty years ago today

Having been here for nearly a decade, I’m well aware of some of the pitfalls of living in Pittsburgh. Some examples: *Roads that lead nowhere. *Motorists who slow down for no other reason than just because they’re driving through a tunnel. *A distressingly large number of Steeler fans seem to live around here. *No bratwurst… Read More that sinking feeling

Over the weekend I downloaded and burned the Phish show we attended in Saratoga. It’s a monster. I just wish I had heard it when I was there.