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Too bad they are in NC while I'll be in New Orleans for JazzFest. Can't have everything but it would have been great to see them at the Neighborhood Theatre or the Orange Peel.

Last week I said I was unsure where I was with this new release and this week I am leaning towards it being pretty mediocre. I like Moment of Surrender and Magnificent is pretty good (but that may be because it sounds to me like a hybrid of Gloria and New Year's Day) but I am really not feeling much else. Maybe the Letterman appearances will do something for me but right now there are several other current releases that will get the time in my rotation. Maybe I'll come back to it later.

Lyrically it is one of the best songs, if not the best song he has released in the last 20 years. These lines are among my favorites in his song book: "Ain't no angel gonna greet me It's just you and I my friend And my clothes don't fit me no more I walked a thousand miles just to slip this skin"

Been in my rotation for a few days... pretty solid, but she could put out an album singing an econ 101 text book and sound solid. Some tracks are starting to emerge above others. She did get a glowing review from my 4 year old while I was driving her to day care: "Daddy, her voice is big". She was struggling to find the right adjective but somehow settled on something appropriate.

The Nats have already fired the guy that ran their Dominican academy and a couple writers are thinking that Bowden may be next. I think I remember reading where he has a pretty strong relationship with Bowden, though.

The major advantage is that they he can decide whether to take the second year or re-enter the free-agent market next year. So he's completely protected... he either has a huge year and can re-enter the market or he has a bad year (or the economy has a worse year) and he can take the option. Seems like a pretty good compromise to me.

The Indians apparently made an offer but he wants to remain in the NL. As already mentioned, the Pirates have some interest but it's doubtful he'd want to finish his career there. I've read that the Dodgers might be a logical landing spot for him but they are obviously concentrating on another former Red Sox player.

I don't consider myself a huge Ween fan but I have seen them twice and enjoyed both shows. I have tix to Charlotte show because of a couple of friends who are huge Ween fans and because it's a Saturday night, which always makes it more enticing to attend a show.

No I really didn't give them much of a listen. I respect the judgment of a lot of people who have a favorable opinion of them which is why I am giving this album more of a chance than I might otherwise. Like I said... I appreciate it, I just have connected to it yet. After a couple more listens I may put it on the shelf and return to them later as you did.... sometimes "getting it" is a matter of timing and circumstance.

I was luke-warm on the Panda Bear album after a friend recommended it. Then he raved about this album and I gave it a shot. After 3 listens, I can hear where some of the hype is coming from and I can appreciate it, but I haven't connected with it. Perhaps it's just not my thing. I'll give it a few more listens.

Are you talking about bands that have been a round for 25+ years without changing members? If so, I'll have to search for that thread. I'd be interested in finding out who they are just for the trivial nature of it.

He was. Charlotte was his last stop on the tour and now he's heading over to Europe. I thought he was well-received but there weren't really too many people around for his set. When we walked into his set there were some people in the seats but only about 10 people standing in the open area in front of the stage. We were able to just walk right up to the stage.

I know where you are coming from here and while I think it's fair, I also think it's just inherent to a pretty unique set of circumstances. Is there any other rock band that you can think of that's been around for over a quarter of a century that has never once changed members? I can't think of one off the top of my head. You can bring in any producer you want or incorporate any musical influences that are new or different to try to be bold or interesting, but in the end it's the same four guys and their styles are going to come through and much of it will sound familiar. What's truly am

Dish is in the Plaza Midwood area, which is a few miles from the NoDa (North Davidson) area, where the Neighborhood Theatre is located. Both areas are pretty cool small areas that are much funkier and less reserved than the rest of Charlotte. Dish is mainly southern comfort food (Chicken and Dumplings, Shrimp and Grits... both very good there) along with some other menu items. It's a good casual place to eat. If she is talking about the Pizza place across from Dish, she's probably talking about Fuel Pizza which has locations all over Charlotte and the one in Plaza Midwood is the original.

Listened to it twice. Not sure where I am at with it, which can range in eventual meaning from "there's a lot of depth to explore and eventually it will reveal its greatness" to "it's a mess".

I'd rather see them at the Visulite (that's the last place I saw them at). The setup at Neighborhood is a little strange. Originally, the idea was to have dual stages so as soon as one band ends their set, another band could immediately start playing. This has seldom been used the times I have been there and it's almost like about a third of the area is off to the side of the main stage. You'll see what I mean when you get there. On the positive side, the sound is typically very good, they have a good selection of drinks at the bar, they have food from a good local deli if you get hung

Saw "The Wrestler" this past Saturday (fortunately my wife is pretty open-minded about movies, even on Valentine's day). It reminded me a lot of "The Apostle" in that the story was pretty predictable but the level of performance is so good that it substantially raises the overall quality of the film. The song and how it's used is perfect.

I am seeing them tonight, as well (The Neighborhood Theater is much better now that they have ripped out the permanent seats.). I think the last time I saw them\Jay was around 2004 or so. They\he has been very good each time I have seen them. I have not kept up with the lineup changes or their albums lately.

I have had good luck with pre-sale and did again today with Asheville. However, I had a total brain cramp today and thought Knoxville was in the Central time zone so I missed out on it. I have been able to pull up the odd single to Knoxville throughout the day, but no pairs. Guess I'll try Friday.

You could go to emusic.com if you are not already a member and I believe you can sign up for free trial membership where you get 30 free downloads before having to pay for a month of service. If you don't mind MP3s, you can pick up the Bon Iver and Andrew Bird there with the free downloads.

There were a couple other issues I remember. To me, it seemed the stage was entirely too low so it was hard to see the band. The other was that you could buy beer there but you had to drink it in an area in the back of the venue that was roped off. Overall, it was one of the worst venues I have been to over the past decade or so.

I've been to a lot of shows there and the only time that I experienced that was for an Arcade Fire show and that was because the band invited people up front. Were you at that show? From a venue perspective, the only knock I have on it is if you are all the way in the back in the orchestra and under the balcony because the sound suffers.

I just always felt like he was trying to be a bit too grand in the topics he covered on that album. I never like "Counting on A Miracle".... it just seemed way too cliche to work in the context of what he was writing about. I completely agree about "The Fuse" and "Let's Be Friends". Despite his heavy borrowing from Sam Cooke and my aversion to the nightly 15 minute version, I always thought "Mary's Place" and "Lonesome Day" did the best job of capturing the sentiment of what the album was about, at least to me. I too love "Further on up the Road", which has a deeply personal meaning to me

Hs best work is always about the small things. I

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