Jamey Johnson 9/15 Concert Review at the Blue Note

3 hours of country music. Well, a little rock and roll in there too. But 38 songs by my count and arguably the greatest concert I've been too. I thought about writing the songs down on my ticket envelope, but didn't start and am glad I didn't. I wouldn't have had room...Unless I can find some other set list, I don't have a clue to everything that was played....But here goes my review
I got a little behind after trying to decide where to eat and finding Quizno's wasn't open, so I ended with a parking spot fairly far away. I read today on the website that the concert was a sell-out and when I got there at a little past seven, the line was all the way through the alley and into 8th Street. So, it wasn't until 7:30 that I finally got inside, but the opening act didn't start until 8:15.
This was the most rednecks I've ever seen grouped together. The opening act Josh Thompson played them into his hand playing upon the usual stereotypes of country/cowboy/redneck/etc living. The first two songs he played, both pretty decent, named dropped Johnny Cash and Waylon respectively. The second called Blame it on Waylon, was segued at the end with Lonesome, On'ry and Mean. He started to lose the crowd by the middle of his set, consisting of 8 songs for around half an hour or a little more..

There was about a half hour gap, with the roadies and techs setting everything up, before Jamey and his band came out. They opened with High Cost of Living, it and the next 3 or so songs sounded to loud to me. By Mowin' Down the Roses it got better. On the early numbers the group did a lot of vamping and just jamming on for awhile, the later numbers weren't as drawn out...
I have both his major released cds, but haven't listened to them as much as I should have, but not super familiar with a lot of the tracks. But now I'm going to have to, That Lonesome Song and Women, were great songs.
Jamey didn't say much in the first part of the show, other than a "How are you all doing?" and asking us if we knew the words to the final verse of In Color. But that changed towards the middle and end....
There were no less than five bras, thrown up on stage and decorated on guitars and speakers at one point or another. One landed right on top of Jamey's guitar. And the other cool thing was it looked like there was a cat fight or something down in the G.A. pit. From what I could tell up in the balcony it looked like a big bouncer picked somebody up and took them out the side door. And then it looked like someone else was charging after them wanting a piece of them. I could be wrong but that's what it looked like...
And then came the covers, off the top of my head in no particular order, Amanda, Dreaming My Dreams With You, A Country State of Mind, Old Habits, For the Good Times, Set Em Up Joe, That's The Way Love Goes, Midnight Rider, Turn the Page, Take This Job and Shove It, and Are the Good Times Really Over For Good ? By no means was this all of them, hard telling how many others I didn't know... But on Are the Good Times, he changed some of it around for humorous effects("Clinton, lied to us all on tv," while mimicking a smoking motion, pot or cigar your choice). I think it's obvious the showing of Jamey's influences here and for this night the greatest country bar band in the world.
By the mid-point he commented, "We'll play all fucking night as long as you all stay," which of course led to raucous cheers. And a large amount of people stayed for the duration. He made similar comments about staying and the funniest was "Let fucking Kanye West, try to take my microphone from me...I'm no fucking Taylor Swift!"
And he told us that country radio had dropped his latest single and related that "(He'll) play all damn night, because it might be the last time he comes to Columbia, Missouri...I don't care if radio doesn't like me, it's you all out there that I care about." There was some good anti-Nashville songs in there too, one was along the lines of 'Write your own songs, then.'
He also played his minor hit from a few years ago The Dollar. And he played a new song called Heaven Bound that was pretty good. One about being in this honky tar bar was another that was a hoot, but can't remember much else..
The final two songs were Between Jennings and Jones and the one I most hoped he'd play Give It Away, which had some great add ins at the end "Got a big house...2 or 3 women... a couple ACMs and CMA's... George Strait knows who I am...radio dropped my single today..." before the finale of the song. Then at 12:15, the show was over..

Just a kick ass show and this is only the stuff I can remember. I don't how much of this was done on the fly and how much was planned. The cynic in me knows that the latter has to have a lot of it, but to me it seemed like a lot of times the band was just waiting to see what Jamey was going to start singing. I got some pics, using my dad's camera, some actually looked half-way decent. I also did some video, but I think I didn't hit the record audio button, so it looks like just silent action...
After I started to leave and drove a little, I decided to go back and get a t-shirt. Thankfully they were still clearing people out and I picked up a souvenir of the evening.

I'll probably add stuff as I remember or see other things that jog my memory. But what a show...

EDIT: Here are a couple of set lists from db.etree and a blog to give an idea of what he played and order wise, but again he played a lot longer than either of those.

Killin' Nazi's: A Review of Inglourious Basterds

I went and saw Inglourious Basterds the other night, figuring I'd do something fun over my three day weekend other than sitting at home. And it was a blast, one of the best rides of cinema I've seen in awhile. SPOILERS, naturally throughout the course of this post.

The main thing I thought of when I left was , "Wow, it was over that quick?" For two and a half hours it flew by. The only part that slowed it down was the opening part, which was still entertaining but did go kind of slow. The movie was divided into five parts or chapters. We meet the young Jewish girl who escapes the SS in occupied France, then we meet Lt. Aldo Raine and the Basterds, and a British officer who's to help with plots, over the chapters, before leading up to the climax.

I've read other reviews and articles where it mentions the film owes as much to Spaghetti westerns as it does World War II dangerous mission flicks(a la the Dirty Dozen, Von Ryan's Express, etc). Hell it felt just as more like a Ocean's Eleven caper flick or something too. But a Ocean's Eleven caper flick in World War II directed by Quentin Tarantino off course. You know there's going to be blood and people were going to die. You just didn't know if everyone was or not...

Brad Pitt was a hoot as Aldo Raine. It seemed more like a caricature being portrayed than acting, but you gotta love the consistency and hilariousness of one-dimensional quest for getting the job done. To me he was more of an American Cowboy or outlaw type hero. He followed his own rules, had no qualms about killing in cold blood and just his brashness that showed American know how and superiority.
The funniest part for me was when they decided to continue with the mission and act like Italians. "I don't speak any Italian." "Like I said, third best. Just keep your fuckin' mouth shut. In fact why don't you start practicing, right now." And then in the theatre in the midst of Nazi's, just a horrible not even hiding his thick Southern accent with his "Bonjouro's" and "Arrevedeci."

Without just rehashing the plot, but the other cool thing and the big SPOILER. Is that the group actually manages to help pull off the task, offing Hitler, Gobbels and the other top Nazis making some other reality. You gotta admire Tarantino for this, there's all sorts of Hitler survived tales out there, but off the top of my head this is the first or at least best one that show Hitler getting offed(well that doesn't involve time travel sci-fi elements) before his actual demise.

At the end Raine does his trademark with his knife, in carving a swastika into the head of a German solider. After all after the war, how are they going to tell who was a Nazi when they don't have their uniforms on.
Anyway, watch this movie when you can.

Addendum- The weirdest thing for me about seeing this, was before I got in. They checked me for I.D.?! I'm 25 and hadn't shaved for three or four days, do I look that young. I remember when I used to buy smokes for people after I turned 18, I'd done it 10-12 times before they actually checked my I.D. I know I've bought alcohol before without being checked.

Matt Holliday National League M.V.P.?!

With all of the talking heads insisting that whoever wins the Most Valuable Player award in Major League Baseball, must be on a playoff team(a thought I feel is normally ridiculous) and should be which player has the impact numbers wise for his team.
So, in that instance shouldn't Matt Holliday be the front runner for National League M.V.P. award? Look at the all the important numbers since he came to the Cardinals in late July. He's been on a tear, racking up super numbers even with Mr. Pujols around. And most importantly look at the team's win-loss record since his arrival. He has had the most impact solidly helping push his team into October.
Granted, the man hitting in front of him is no slouch when it comes to it. The first three months he single-handidly carried this team, putting them in first place. But he's seemed to relax too much since his "protection" has arrived and his numbers have jumped down scores. But still shouldn't Matt Holliday get some respect for this award?

Do they still play the Blues in Chicago, when baseball season rolls around?

10 and a half games out?


Completely
Useless
By
September