Still the Same (Almost); Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band12/13 Concert Review

This year has been quite an anomaly, or maybe it's the new norm as I've hit 30 and become even more frugal and cynical. But this was the first and likely only concert I went to this year. It kept a streak going of me going to at least one concert every year since 2004, but this is the first year since 2005 that I've only been to one. I don't know if it was just not that many good acts I wanted to see or I've just lost a lot of interest. I didn't go see Jamey Johnson at the Blue Note this Spring, like I have the past two years.  But other than that off the top of my head, there weren't really any shows I even remotely thought about going to see. Well, I take that back, I was tempted to go to the Roots N Blues Fest in Columbia to see John Prine and Roseanne Cash, but didn't.
Anyhow, I'd seen Bob Seger, who I previously saw at Scottrade Center in 2011, was returning to St. Louis a couple of months back and sort of thought about it. I had it planned where I was off every weekend from work the last two months anyway, so I just played the waiting game if I could get decent seats and wound up with seats about 13 rows up directly stage left.

Upon arriving an hour early for the 8 PM start time, we were subjected to a waiting in line outside due to the Scottrade Center doing wand checks, no doubt to Ferguson bullshit. But it's a bunch of rich old white people. Thankfully we're in a heatwave for December. Once we got in and settled, the seats were pretty good view, though slightly behind the stage front.
At about 8:15, the opening act the J. Geils Band(sans J. Geils who doesn't play with them) hit the stage, for a ten song 50 minute or so set. They opened with an instrumental before their wild frontman, Peter Wolf hopped out front. For a near seventy year old man, he can rival Mick Jagger for still being in wiry good shape, dancing and jumping around the stage. Not to mention, talking so fast it's unintelligible. 
Overall they were good for an opening act. I knew them mainly from the songs Freeze Frame(which they didn't play), Love Stinks and Centerfold, but think I've heard a couple of their others at some point.

Set List

Sno-cone

Hard Drivin' Man

Give It to Me

Centerfold

Detroit Breakdown

Must of Got Lost

Love Stinks

Lookin' for a Love

Whammer Jammer

Ain't Nothin' But a House Party

After the set change Bob and the Silver Bullet Band hit the stage at around 9:20 and played 20 songs for almost two hours. Bob doesn't change a whole lot about his shows. He opened with the same three song salvo and does the same four songs in  two encores. The encores were funny, as my dad noted that they were setting up his stool for Against the Wind and Night Moves each time before he was even off the stage.
I so wish every artist would stop doing the fake bull shit encores. We know you're coming back, you've held back several of your biggest songs and the house lights are still off. Just play all your set and leave. If the crowd really wants it and stays, play a true encore.
The only other set list complaint was the fact that I wish he would have played the acoustic guitar numbers in a row, instead of alternating almost every time during the mid point of the show. Bring the stool out, take it back for song, then bring it out.
Seger is out in support of his new album Ride Out, which we got five songs from. My dad was super impressed with them and believes it's the whole reason people came out to see him(Sarcasm if you can't tell). The only decent sounding one was All of the Roads, which he preformed acoustically. Another aspect this time, was that he used video screens, which he didn't used to do. From our seats though, it was a slight strain to turn around, but still good to have.

Seger's voice was in decent form, though nowhere near his contemporaries, Springsteen or Neil Young. Mainly due to the fact he could never give up smokes. From our seats, when he left the stage during encores, we could see him lighting up before he got backstage.
But in some faster paced songs, he missed a word. The more acoustic and slower numbers at the piano sounded the strongest. It doesn't help that he has a wall of sound with a horn section and backup singers, plus the rest of the band for the heavier songs.
The highlights for me was Mainstreet and Like a Rock. Mainstreet for whatever reason sounded better here live, especially Alto Reed's sax playing. And part of me hoped he would break out Like A Rock. Last time we saw him, he didn't play it(he'd had it retired since the 90s), but he played it the last time he played St. Louis in Spring 2013. I try to avoid looking at set lists, in order to be surprised, so I wasn't for sure whether he would play it this time or not. It's one of his iconic songs and I'm glad he broke it out.
Overall it was a good time. You know a lot of what to expect with Seger, he plays his big seven hits or so, plus a sprinkling of other songs from his mid to late 70s heyday. Though he didn't play Sunspot Baby this time, Like A Rock might have made this concert a little bit better.

Set List

Roll Me Away
Tryin' To Live My Life Without You
The Fire Down Below
The Devils Right Hand
Mainstreet
Old Time Rock and Roll
The Fireman's Talkin
Come to Poppa
Her Strut
Like A Rock
Traveling Man>Beautiful Loser
All of the Roads
Hey Gypsy
We've Got Tonight
Turn the Page
Detroit Made
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Against the Wind
Hollywood Nights
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Night Moves
Rock and Roll Never Forgets


Looking to the future of my concert going, I'm pretty sure 2015 will rebound slightly. The Who are on their 50th Anniversary Tour with a stop in St. Louis and Kansas City. They have been my overall favorite artist since I was 16, so, that's a pretty much gimme, even if it's just Daltrey and Townshend.

A 2014 USA Basketball World Championship Team Made Up of College Players

With the World Basketball Championship, okay the World Cup of Basketball, going on, it got me to thinking again of what a team made up of college players would look like. NBCSports, College Basketball Talk did a similar feature and brought up the point of not even using up drafted players from this recent draft. I'd never really thought of that angle, in that the recently drafted would be considered pros even if they haven't played a single minute of professional ball. That would have effected the rosters I've made up when I did the Olympic Basketball teams being made up of college players.
But I'll stick with recently drafted still being eligible as "amateurs." I think the coach for this team would be John Beilein, the head coach of the University of Michigan, based on his recent successes and his ability at coaching through many different levels of college ball.


Starters

• PF Julius Randle (Kentucky)
• F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
• SF Jabari Parker (Duke)
• G Russ Smith (Louisville)
• PG Shabazz Napier (UConn)

 Bench

• C Frank Kaminksy (Wisconsin)
• PF/C Adreian Payne (Michigan State)
• F Cleanthony Early (Wichita St.)
• SF Glenn Robinson III (Michigan)
• SF/SG Rodney Hood (Duke)
• G Xavier Thames (San Diego St.) 
• PG Marcus Paige (North Carolina)
  

Most of my roster is indeed playing in the NBA this year. And it seems like an odd mixture, of lacking a true swingman and maybe needing another guy with height. I would have Mitch McGary, but I believe he was injured at the time. I think the strength of this team would be the depth at forward, to make up for its smaller guards. With Parker and McDermott, along with Hood, Robinson and Early, there is strong combination of scoring, versatility and athleticism to make up deficiencies. 

And like before, given the the time I'll go back starting with 1994 and playing around with what other World Championship teams would look like through the years.

It's September and I've Only Made Two Blog Posts This Year...

I couldn't help but notice that through this whole year, I've only made two blog posts. It's really weird because until a month ago I've had the time with my work schedule. I was getting five days off in a row and many a nights of not being able to sleep. So, I guess it boils down to I've got nothing to say or don't care about anything...
One of the big reasons I presume, is that I haven't went to a single concert this year and don't have any on the horizon.. I didn't go to Jamey Johnson at the Blue Note this Spring and there really hasn't been that many acts coming around that I really want to go see.
Both of the posts I've made this year have been about Missouri Tiger Basketball. And with the World Championships of basketball happening right now, it got me to rethinking what a college roster would look like. And the Cardinals lack of offensive gives me plenty of fodder.
Also I've still got a few Astro City related thoughts I'd like to get out one of these days, if I can get off my lazy slide. Looking at my past history though, it appears I don't post as much in even numbered years as in odd numbered years for whatever reason.
I still prefer in depth writing rather than the instant social media made for phones, which only catch a moment's thought.

Enter the Kim Anderson Era

A little over a month ago, I wrote my thoughts on the Missouri Tigers men's basketball 2013-14 season and a look toward the future. None of us had any idea the future would be changed like it has in the past two weeks. Frank Haith pulled a Richard Nixon, leaving before he would get fired and we ended up with a "true son" of Missouri and Missouri basketball at the helm, in Kim Anderson.
My take on Frank Haith, started to erode more and more over the past two seasons, like a lot of other fans. He could recruit but could not coach. We had talent and pieces the last two years, but the teams overall lacked a finished product. I felt more frustrated than anything.
Overall, Frank Haith, left with a stellar winning percentage here(granted a lot of it was inherited thanks to his 2011-12 team). I don't know what kind of ultimatums and expectations he was given for his future, but the fact that he runs off without any kind of trying says a lot about his character. He either didn't think he had the ability to right the ship well enough, with pretty stellar talent or he just took the chicken shit way and left knowing he could get another secure job for a few more years. He might be doing the same thing three or four years later after Tulsa. The respect I had for him and what he accomplished here dissipated.  
Of course this was a win for Mike Alden. Frank Haith was never a popular hire and with a struggling basketball team it put more emphasis on Alden's hiring decision. Haith, turning tail saved Alden from potentially having to fire Haith and let him try to find a better option.
I would have been happy with Ben Howland too. The only thing Howland could have brought over Anderson, was name recognition and a pedigree of success at U.C.L.A and bringing in major five-star talent. Gregg Marshall, on the other hand, who seemed to be every fan's pipe dream candidate, to me seemed just hot rising star candidate that we hear about every year when a mid-major team overachieves.

I like the Kim Anderson hire. He's what Missouri has needed, even after getting passed over and not even considered the last two times. Quinn Snyder was a good hire at the time, he just made one bad recruiting class and getting Ricky Clemons, which derailed his successes. Mike Anderson was as well, proven in his ability to right the ship in three years. Frank Haith was not so much, but after the first two years, it looked like another genius move on Alden's part. Now all of the know-it-all Tiger hipster douches, at Rock M Nation, held a level of scorn at even the possibility of Anderson being a serious candidate. It's been accepted positively a lot more, since they probably finally realized their wet-dream candidate Marshall wasn't coming.

Why Anderson? Because he wants to be here. A native son of Sedalia and a former player and assistant under Norm Stewart, this is his dream job. We don't have to worry about him wanting to step up the ladder to a bigger program or bigger payday. He wants to succeed at Missouri. He proved his chops at the Division II level at Central Missouri State, coming off a Division II championship.
The biggest pratfalls with his hiring were his age and his ability to recruit major names. I admit we'll be lucky to get ten years from him, compared to somebody younger who could build up the program and become the next Norm. But like Norm Stewart, Kim Anderson is a Missourian and Missouri Tiger, who bleeds black and gold. Anderson doesn't have the fiery, charismatic  and larger than life personality that Stewart does, but he brings a more professional and good-natured style to the Missouri bench. I don't see him berating the refs and other coaches.
Recruiting wise was the biggest hurdle. When he was Stewart's assistant, he couldn't bring in the big name in state guys. Derek Hood, Jahadi White, Cookie Belcher, Ryan Robertson, Chris Carrawell, Loren Woods, Jaron Rush, all went elsewhere, at a time in the mid 90s when Missouri was still a strong program. So how would he change the fact that we still can't get in-state stars. In the 2011 class, we couldn't even nab one out of the four, of Ben McLemore, Bradley Beal, B.J. Young or Otto Porter and again Missouri was on a pretty strong high of tournament appearances and producing talent(A lot of this has to do with Mike Anderson spending more time looking at other jobs than recruiting too).
The biggest step he made in the right direction in this area, was keeping associate head coach Tim Fuller to be on his staff. Fuller, like Haith is a pretty strong recruiter and by staying on, four star recruit JaKeenan Gant is keeping his letter of intent. The ability to keep talent and bring them in every year is huge part of keeping a good program. In addition he is keeping on Director of Basketball Operations Bryan Tibaldi, another good move in keeping continuity.  Anderson is regarded as good at X's and O's and having teams that can play defense, which we haven't had or seen in a while. Hopefully its a good meshing of styles and skills, that can produce victories on the court and in the classroom.

I feel really good about the future of Tiger basketball. I know that there is the fear of having expectations start to exceed realities. We'll have a young team, with no real experienced scorers or leaders. As of right now, the team is short in the backcourt, with only two point guards and a two guard. Plus we won't have a true small forward until Cameron Biedscheid is eligible at Winter Break.
I like Wes Clark stepping up to be the point guard, Johnathan Williams III has a lot of potential, Gant could be that deadly combo forward who could give match up problems and Biedscheid could be the scorer we need. Like I said there is a lot of talent and a lot of potential. The biggest thing for next year is not to have too high of expectations. As long as we have a NIT team, that shows competitiveness and improvement throughout the year, I'll still be optimistic about the future of Missouri basketball. 

You Can't Win 3 on 5; Review of the 2013-14 Missouri Tigers Basketball Season

 Another disappointing year for Tiger basketball, has become a theme for the Frank Haith era.  I honestly don't think Frank Haith, will have too many more years at the helm in Columbia. The last two coaches, Quinn Snyder and Mike Anderson took the team in their third year to the Elite Eight. Haith led the Tigers into the second round of the N.I.T. and couldn't even pull out a home win then.
I know, I know, different players, different philosophies, yeah, yeah. But Haith like Snyder, inherited a talented club, but Snyder was able to bring in more talented recruits, Kareem Rush, Ricky Paulding, Arthur Johnson and Travon Bryant, in addition to the talent already at the school. Anderson by contrast had to build up a team, dealing with the leftovers of Quinn Snyder's lackadaisical last two teams and recruiting classes.
Yes, I know Anderson left the cupboard bare recruiting wise, but Haith inherited a senior laden talented team. He's managed to fill gaps with transfers the past three years, but these past two years have seen an almost regression throughout the season.

This year started off well  record wise. Even with Haith suspended, the Tigers almost made out perfect through the non-conference season, but once SEC play hit, the team seemed to hit a brick wall, coughing up right off the bat to Georgia at home and losing other road games against very sub-par performers in a weak SEC.
The lack of scoring production inside was the biggest problem. Johnathan Williams III showed a lot of promise and could be a monster rebounder, even with more of a small forward frame and fellow Freshman Torren Jones, showed lots of potential, but came across as, well, a Freshman. Ryan Rosburg is more of a work horse, rarely contributing scoring and frequently coming up with less rebounds than the starting guards many nights.
No inside production led to over 70 percent of the scoring being done from the trio of Jordan Clarkson, Jabari Brown and Earnest Ross for good and bad. Mostly bad. You're not going to win a lot playing essentially three on five. These guys were the most talented and did what they had to win, but it felt too much like they trying to improve their NBA draft stock by February, rather than building a winner.

Like last year with the ghost of Michael Dixon, hampering the team, this year it was the ghost of Phil Pressey that hurt the team. Pressey left early and left Haith without an experienced point guard. While there were two Freshmen in Wesley Clark and Shane Rector, the starting job and majority of the ball handling went to Clarkson. Clarkson is a good ball handler, but not adept at running the point. He had too much of a scoring mentality, which was evidenced down the stretch of games, when it was him trying to do everything. It just leaves me to wondering how good a back court of Pressey and Clarkson would have been this year...

As for next year, there is the promise, but what will the reality be? Clarkson and Brown seem to both be likely bolting for the N.B.A. Experience wise it will hurt, like Pressey leaving last year. Last year I thought it would foster a better team mentality. Except, only two guys stepped up their game.
And it would leave Ryan Rosburg as the most experienced Tiger upper-classman. Keanau Post with a monster body, only really produced in one game. So leadership and experience might be the biggest hurdles.
In addition to Wes Clark, showing improvement handling the point and Williams and Jones at the forward spots, there are at least five newcomers coming in. Four star recruits in forward JaKeenan Grant and shooting guard Namon Wright. Plus transfers, David Price,( a former four star recruit) a 6'10 center from Louisville, 6'4 Deuce Bello from Baylor and eligible after first semester 6'7 Cameron Biedscheid, a St. Louis native arriving from Notre Dame.
The talent or at least the potential is there for a decent team, that should be better in March than it is in November, but that's no guarantee. One of Haith's biggest faults, is that he is a great recruiter, but not that great of a coach. There's a lot of though that after he lost Ernie Nestor, who was regarded as his X's and )'s man, after his first season in Columbia, is where a lot of the offensive troubles have come from.
If Haith can put it together, and at least show us that this is a program on the rise, he should be safe. But with a first round NCAA Tournament loss to a 15 seed in his first year, an uneven second year with lots of talent  and an par year three, his seat might be getting a little bit warm.