For Those About To Rock...

Last night was probably one of the most rockin, sweaty, sold out shows I've been to since Pearl Jam in 1994. Back then, it was the Patriot Center. Driving home from college that day, April 8th to be exact, and oh yeah a certain Kurt Cobain had just died, was exhilarating, nerve-racking and thrilling. I was such a wreck, stirring in my seat of my ex-girlfriends car, who earlier in the year, after we broke up, but only days after, was seeing the football player across the hall. The same guy who throughout the year would blast his Metallica and Megadeth over his $900 stereo everytime I would turn my little bookshelf Circuit City stereo on to play my favorite band in the world (at least at that time): Pearl Jam. And what a show it was. They pulled out all the stops that night. A soft "Footsteps", a rare "B-side" off of their "Jeremy" single which also featured "Yellow Ledbetter", Mike McReady's "tribute" to Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" was very memorable that night as it touched many peoples hearts after the days incident.

But enough about that concert, it's My Morning Jacket that essentially worked me over last night. I started the night out nicely by getting all the way to "B-Lup's" house only to realize that I had forgotten the tickets. I was pretty embarrassed since I had just given our boy "C-fed" the business for being late and now I was "that guy". It was a sold out packed house at the 9:30 Club in DC, not really my favorite venue in the area, but the only "real" music "hot-spot" that gets the big name artists with fairly big followings. Other memorable shows I've seen their include The Smashing Pumpkins on the grand opening, or first show at the new address, Trey Anastasio's first solo tour, and a number of other "jambands" that put on excellent shows. Once we parked in the always shady $20 parking lot, we made our way up to the upstairs bar, noticing that the opening band "The Slip" had already begun their set. I was a little dissapointed that we couldn't get there any earlier because we really would've loved to have a seat at the bar, plus I actually had heard a bit of the opener and was intrigued. Taken as a whole, The Slip just didn't impress me that much. It may have been the overall "muddyness" of the sound of the 9:30 club that just didn't mesh with their sound, but regardless I was hoping for something a little edgier. But, once MMJ came on they did not dissapoint. Opening with "Anytime" off of their newest release "Z" was unbelievable. One of my favorite cuts off of the, in my opinion, best album of 2005, with the great lyric:
"THINGS I COULD SAY TO MYSELF –
I COULD NEVER SAY TO ANYONE ELSE.
BUT WHAT MADONNA SAID REALLY HELPED -
SHE SAID: "BOY - YOU BETTER LEARN TO EXPRESS YOURSELF!"
The band came on at around 9:35 and didn't let up until their encore break at about 11:00. By 11:30 it was all over and it was like the crowd let out a collective sigh as soon as the house lights came on. They just seen this masterpiece of a show:

That's the final page of my moleskin, so it's time to buy a new one. If you are like me and love to take notes, make lists, and write down your thoughts, then a moleskin is the best you can find...hell if Van Gogh, Matisse and Hemingway couldn't leave home without them, then they are good enough for me.

__________________________________

Big thanks to snadly. You see There's only one problem. I got this feeling.
- What feeling is that, exactly? - You know this feeling very well.
- You know, when you got your table all set. - Uh-huh.
- Knife, fork, sauce, A- Luger's, but... - Yeah.
- You just don't have the stake. - Exactly.
I know, useless rounders movie quotes are so cliche' in poker blogs, but it really was a problem. Don't worry snad, i'm good for it!

Junkies Poker Open in just two days. I can't friggin wait. It's going to be a blast!

Why Now? How do you deposit?

Great...so NOW Pokerstars adds triple draw! WTF!??!! As soon as I found out about the new upgrade to 'stars, I actually had to re-install the damn thing to make sure it was all true, and sho'nuff there it is...and they hadn't even added any higher stakes than .50/1.00. How perfect? No money whatsoever online and the perfect site for my favorite game. I actually have no idea how I can get money in there. I have heard about "my citadel" before, but I see that 'stars does not take deposits from them. I could probably get someone to lend me a bankroll, but if I can't withdraw, what's the point? I guess I am just a little worried about my bank possibly saying no to a check or raising a red flag...whatever.

I am putting together a list of my favorite albums of 2006. Unfortunately, I am not made of money so I couldn't get EVERY new release that came out this year, but of the 20 or so that I did purchase/borrow/steal <-- :^) I think I can get a top ten. Of course, since my musical interests range from jazz to rap, I guess it will be pretty eclectic...whatever that means. I have come up with the most excellent idea of making a ton of mix cd's of all of these albums and giving them to friends and family members for the holidays. I am actually pretty damn excited to make these, I used to make mix tapes all the time. They were perfect for the summers when all I did was stay out late at night driving around raising hell, and mowing lawns all day in the sweltering heat.

15 days until the Junkies Poker Open. I haven't booked a room yet, but I really need to do that. I just can't get anyone to take a day and a half off of work. I guess it's pretty hard to do that for those that actually have bosses, esspecially after the Thanksgiving holiday. Whether I can find a travelling partner or not, I am absolutely STOKED (how gay is that) to play in this tournament...I just can't wait. I know I will play well, it's just a matter of whether I will win my coinflips, and make the correct reads. I've been thinking about the tournament quite a bit actually, and today I stopped in a Borders bookstore to check out any of the new poker books that may have come out. I really don't read these as much for the strategy, but just to keep my mind on the game. I came across Phil Helmuths new book with the retired FBI agent, and it looks like one of the best books on LIVE POKER that i've seen since HOH I. I would go so far to say that it is almost as good or even better than Mike Caro's Book of Tells. I really want to buy this thing and just study it for the next week or so. We have a nice juicy home tournament coming up the day before Thanksgiving, and I could really use the practice.

God I miss playing online :(

IPOD RANDOM TEN

Yonder Mountain String Band - Classic Situation
Bob Dylan - One More Cup of Coffee
Widespread Panic - Bear's Gone Fishin'
Bela' Fleck and the Flecktones - Spunky and Clorissa
Gone Phishin' - Glide
Phish - Chalkdust Torture >
Charlie Spand - Mistreatment Blues
Ryan Adams - Why Do They Leave
Steve Kimock - One For Brother Mike
The Big Wu - Two Person Chair

IPOD RANDOM TEN

Every once in a while The Plus One likes to run this thread on the music forum, I keep track of them while in the car...heh...Mo says it's like writing down setlists at a Dead or Phish show.

This one was yesterday:

Jerry Garcia Band - Tears of Rage
Bela' Fleck & The Flecktones - Big Country
Paul Anka - The Way You Make Me Feel
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Love'll Set Me Free
Slick Rick - Treat Her Like A Prostitute
Leftover Salmon - Muddy Water Home
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Runfayalife
The Eagles - The Long Run
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Jamming
The Beatles - I'm So Tired

Keep on Truckin On...

One thing that has been interesting since my demise in online poker has been the question that comes to mind almost every night..."What should I do?". It's weird having a hobby that takes up 10-15 hours of your life a week be snatched out from under you. The good thing, is that I think it has actually helped my poker game. Since not playing online, I have played a couple home game tournaments and done very well. So, maybe this UIGEA is not as bad as it seems. It still pisses me off, and i'm still thinking of playing online, how...I have no idea.

So i've taken up some new things to do with my time. Spending more time with my wife is one of them. This fall has been so much fun. We are like buddies. Mo and I have taken a few trips here and there, and each one has made some fantastic memories. Now if I could only get her to play some hold'em :) But seriously, she really keeps me on my toes, she's so damn witty, I love it!

I am pretty damn excited to play in the 1st Annual Junkies Poker Open at The Borgata in Atlantic City. How 'bout it's the biggest tournament i've ever played? $300 buy-in, 500 players. Now, i've played larger tournaments online, hell, I won a tournament with over 800 people in it. But, i've never paid more than $160 to play in a tournament. As I said before, I have been playing pretty well, and while my bankroll probably shouldn't withstand this kind of buy-in, I can pay it with a clear conscience. I even have someone who wants 1/3rd of my action. I still haven't decided if I want to let him in for that much, but it's nice knowing that someone has faith in your play. I was a little taken aback when he said he wanted to stake me. It was actually quite a show trying to register for this thing. If you don't know who "The Junkies" are, they are a morning radio show here in DC/Balt./No.VA. They are wildly popular and cool cats. They LOVE poker and gambling in general. Not too long ago, before my dear friend David passed away, we actually played in a small home tournament with their producer Brett. I came in 2nd in that tournament. Anyway, the morning they released the instructions on how to register for the tournament, The Borgata's servers crashed, and I ended up being charged 6 times for the entry fee. It took about a week, but I finally got my confirmation and my seat. They originally were going to have the tournament capped at 300 people, but since the response was overwhelming, they added 200 more seats. The total prize pool is $130K!! They will pay the top 10%.

I bought my first playstation game in 2 years. I decided on Madden '07. I guess you can't really go wrong there. Did the price go down on games? I feel like all games used to be $49.99, but I paid $39.99. It was actually a pretty hard decision, as after 20 minutes of browsing, I had picked either Madden, Tiger Woods, Scarface, or The Sopranos. I went with the ole' stand-by. I pretty much suck at Madden though. Since i've taken a couple years off, i'm not really used to the new features that they have added, although I do like the lead blocking controls. I'm sure it will take me another couple hours in front of the tv before it all comes around.