Edie

See it's not so bad

Jeff said (I don't know if he was kidding) that Spencer would do next year's auction. I told Sue that Spencer should pick 30 songs, we'd learn them, then go over to their house and do the show.

 

I'd never spent any significant time with Spencer before, but he is the most well-mannered, articulate, and talented 14-year old I have ever met. I loved his banter with Jeff. Examples:

 

Ken: "Jeff, do you want another guitar stand?"

Jeff: "Sure, if you've got one."

Spencer: "You're a stand hog."

 

Jeff (explaining why he brought the particuar axes of the evening): "All my other guitars are on their way to Finland."

Spencer: "What do you mean, 'all your other guitars'?"

 

At one point, right before they started a set, Jeff called out: "Spencer, could you please get me a Diet Coke?" Then he turned it into a joke: "Son... go fetch me a Diet Coke!" and segued into a story about how his dad used to have him bring beer. Someone got a D.C. and passed it to Spencer, who carried it up to Jeff and, just before giving it to him, shook it violently. As he walked away he said: "I learned that from you!"

Hahaha awesome! I love boys and their dads!!!

No worries Ken Looks like a rockin' time was had by all. And with Spencer! Maybe he and Sammy will keep up the LRS tradition

NNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII... says "No!".

 

What a game!

And the Hawks take game 1 in a series that they will probably win in 6. Awesome! TBH, I could not watch the last minute. My husband had to provide the play by play out the den window while I dug up a few weeds in the back yard.

My imagination is more or less on non-stop, and is always taking me places. Hopefully one day it will have me deported to Sweden.

I didn't see the game, but I gotta tell you, the one team I would fear would be the habs. The ghost of '72 would loom large for me. It rivaled the '69 Cubs for sports sorrow in Chicago in that era.

Edit: The Flyers now tied with the Bruins??? You gotta be kidding me!

Just happy it's over. Sushi anyone??

I also think that your family can make a few adjustments -- this could go a long way in helping your GF feel more comfortable and supported by you. Did you tell your mom that her comment was inappropriate and that you won't stand for it? Are there other family members that have not been cool?

Stagerug -- you nailed it. Thank you.

It is great to see Bobby Hull and other former Hawk players in the skyboxes where they should be -- appreciated and loved. Bobby Hull (along with many other Hawk alumni) was reviled by Bill Wirtz and would not have set foot in the UC, unless he had paid for a ticket.

Hats off to Rocky. He generally sits with the fans -- you gotta love that.

Edit -- I am just happy that people are talking about hockey. It took all season to get to the still not respectable 17 pages we are at now.

 

I understand Cowboy Poet about fans not suffering with the team. But to me, that is not too important. but sure, i get annoyed by fans who only cheer for winning teams. Those are fair-weather fans.

I only pay attention to winning teams, or those that interest me due to their being "up and coming" or being on the verge of really doing well. But when I pay attention, I watch nearly every game. And when I don't pay attention, I watch virtually none of them. I would always "cheer" for them (i.e. don't cheer for opponents).

Great case in point -- for a 3 or 4 year stretch from 2003-2007, I watched nearly every White Sox game. Last year I watched exactly zero. Mediocrity = boring.

Sorry chicago people, but there are a lot of bandwagon fans in that town. of course you have your loyal fans but since the Hawks got new management, won some games, obtained new young talent, and GOT ON LOCAL TV, there is a lot more excitement so yes there are more fans/bandwagoners. I dont live there but i work in and around Chicago. I've seen a lot more Hawks hats and shirts/jerseys being worn than i used to see 5 years ago.

See, I don't get this. Why should people waste their time watching a team (any team in any sport) that sucks? Winning is better -- not only do they win, but they play the game well. Rivalries do not arise amongst bottom feeders. These are things that make sports exciting to watch, and therefore naturally people will want to watch them.

Maybe we need a definition. Are "bandwagoners":

(1) people that are new to the sport

(2) people that come and go based on how well the team is playing

(3) something else

So why is being a bandwagoner necessarily a bad thing?

Well, I will not be taking any road trips with you then, sir! Regardless of your fondness of Wilco and hockey.

 

I am not a sir.

Ugh. The whole game was oddly subdued on both sides of the puck. Almost like it wasn't a playoff game. You gotta hand it to the Canucks, but clearly the Hawks did not play well at all. The puck was bouncing all night, passes were off or not handled, and they were not in position like they had been in the earlier games in Vancouver. Well, we'll see what happens Tues.

And I can understand when bands are over played, but I think the Tragically Hip are fab. I have that two disk compilation, and I love it

I would pay big money for an animated gif of Dustin Byfuglien knocking the stick out of H Sedin's hand, then Henrik falling/tripping over it toward the end of the second period of game 4. It could have been the other way around, btw. This was pure comedy -- nothing to do with which team did what.

Also, one thing I loved about the hawks playing in Vancouver was the Tragically Hip song in between plays. Love the Hip.

Tell me exactly how you fire an owner. By not going to games or supporting them? The owner can usually petition for and win the chance to move the team. The major leagues do not like weak franchises. Yes the Hawks are the "5th team" in Chicago; I am saying it was not always that way -- not by a long shot. The Bulls were basically nowhere until Jordan (except for a few years in the early 70s), and the White Sox almost moved to FL in the late 70s (I think).

Any team that has sucked as long as the Hawks did was not doing the right things with their picks. You can have all the best slots, but if you choose lousy players they are worthless. Rebuilding a team via draft picks is far more respectable than rebuilding via trades and free agency, if you ask me. Anyone can raise money or make deals; but scouting talent and picking and then developing that talent -- that is much harder.

So I guess my point is that the Hawks do deserve to win and be good. We have suffered here long enough.

You are mainly talking about the last 10 years, with which I would readily agree with your point. I am mainly talking about the last 40 years, when sellouts were far more common. Also, draft picks are what you make of them. You have to know who to pick. They have picked more than their fair share of dogs over the years with those high draft picks. When the management improved (Dale Tallon especially), their draft picks improved as well.

I hate watching sports played badly by the teams I love. Frankly, why would I waste my time? Does that make me less of a fan? It definitely makes me a more judicious one.

We use the harness variety of the gentle leader on our lab and it's great. You could not pay me to put a prong collar on my dog.

I have to tell you, you have no idea what you are talking about with regards to the Blackhawks. I have been a fan of theirs for many many years -- since I could read newspapers and watch games on TV in mid '60s. Their ownership (Bill Wirtz) was easily the worst owner for the fans in sports -- but a great owners owner because he was profit minded.

He refused to telecast home games, even when games were sold out, which they nearly always were, because he thought that people would stop going to games, continuing this evil tradition many years after this theory was disproved.

He built then destroyed many great teams with great players like Hull and Wilson because he refused to pay them what they were worth.

He cared more for how much booze he could sell at the games (since he had a distributorship in Chicago) than he did whether or not the team won. Most fans came and went as the success of the team came and went -- Bill was not going to change shit based on what fans thought, like the Tribune with the Cubs.

He never ever deviated from this formula. As he grew older, he became even more entrenched and the team suffered, and they had poor management, and people stopped caring much about them. They sucked and people yawned. Hockey suffered in Chicago even though Chicago is a great hockey town. While the Chicago Wolves did provide a few sparks, they aren't in the bigs.

Finally, Bill died, and his son Rocky and the other Wirtz kids were finally able to take over the team. Things have changed significantly for the better, as they are running the team the way it should be -- as a business, sure, but also they want to win. They are restoring hockey in Chicago to the huge success it enjoyed here back when Hull and Mikita were prowling the ice.

A pic from the last time the hawks won the cup -- '61 if I recall -- almost 50 years ago.

The excitement of last two minutes rivaled any that I have ever seen (except maybe game 6 of the Hawks/preds ). I mean, seriously, the Canadiens totally deserved to win. The Caps did not lose as much as the Habs won. You gotta hand it to them.

It still floors me that they played the acoustic version of Spiders at nearly every show this last leg. I always have thought that they should have bookended one of the residency shows with the acoustic and kraut versions.

Yes I saw the game. What a terrific ending, though with them up 3-1 to start the third, then losing the lead (which brought on the heroics by Kane and Hossa), all I can say is that they almost blew it.

Like many folks here, I've been following your recent challenges with your health via Facebook. Very very glad it seems to be working out

One of the best pictures ever.

Just got back. Totally worth the ~450 miles in each direction. It occurred to me that the the last time I saw the full band live was show #5 of the Residency, and Glenn had a power drill in his hand

Also wanted to say how much I enjoyed seeing the new songs live. They did not disappoint. Even You'll Never Know, which I am lukewarm on the studio version, was fab live. One Wing which I highly enjoy on the record was even better. Candyfloss was a really welcome treat too.

All of the "standards" have gone through a makeover of sorts since I saw them last. I was wracking my brain to try to recall which song now has a section during the breakdown where each band member is playing a slightly different part of the song simultaneously. It was really interesting. Does anyone know what the hell I am talking about? I may have to wait until the recording so I can hear it again.

Great to see friends there before/after the show.... so all in all, wow, just wow.

Great show - definitely worth the trip over. Picked up Wendy on the way and got here in the late pm.

The banter was priceless - loved the comment about how the "next song is about we've felt in the morning after these shows." People yelled various songs, including "I Must be High" Instead they launched into "When You Wake Up". Definitely a laugh from the audience.

Hightlights for me were Spiders (tears because the sound was just so fine and sweet) and Laminated Cat, plus both of my favorite songs off AM. It was my first time hearing More than the Moon, and hopefully not the last

So all in all, just a stellar show. The sound started out a little muddy and the band took a few songs to loosen up, but the middle and the end more than made up for it.I was one of the standers, but no one hassled me for it. I think everyone sat for the acoustic set, and my feet got a needed rest Just so so so glad I got to see them this round. And I hope that this will NOT be the last of this format.

Also, thanks Paul for the shoe report. I like the oxfords - with ties no less. Did you notice the red socks I just like he is changing it up a bit and wearing some stylish kicks. He's finally growing up

More later. The show taped by at least one taper, but could be a while before we see it.

Edie