Brewcaster

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Quick Question

Is there anything more riduclous than these things?



I can't take you serious with that blinking thing in your ear, sorry.
Even better = men who leave them on during dinner at resaurants.
No, I don't think you are that important.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Shredding

These videos almost got me fired today for laughing so hard. If you play/ed guitar you must watch these. Or if you have a sense of humor.... either; watch these... not what you think:

OMG Click on me NOW!!!!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

GOod Friday

Yesterday I got to have lunch with Jesse Thorn (America's Radio Sweatheart). He was in town for a quick family related reason.

It was fun getting to meet him in person after listening to him through headphones for so long. We had a good time I believe.

I fell in love with his Sound of Young America podcast during our drive from Oklahoma to Oregon. I couldn't believe the catalog this guy had of interviews. On top of that, he interviewed people well.

So here is another commercial for my two favorite Jesse Thorn podcasts, please click these if you use iTunes, and try them out!!!

Sound of Young America - iTunes


Jordan Jesse GO!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Neil Young - Portland Review

As we waited for Neil Young to hit the stage, we see an artist painting towards the rear of the stage. The stage is adorned with old style movable stage lights. Random industrial fan, and various other atmospheric detail.

Just before Neil comes out, the guitar tech starts bringing out acoustic guitars. One after another, I think I counted 8(including a banjo). They all surround a chair behind a table lined with harmonicas. The circle of guitars is flanked by a grand piano to the right, distressed by a clever paint job, and finished with a disco ball underneath. To the left stands an upright piano.

The artist painting at the back of the stage brings one of his large canvases to the front right of the stage placing it on an easel. It is a painting of a large "N".

Neil strolls out nonchalantly and the crowd roars and immediately jumps to their feet. After a long standing ovation Neil is settled with a Martin and harmonica around his neck. He jumps into "From Hank to Hendrix", and the magic begins.

Hearing him strum this guitar and play harmonica better than anyone I have ever heard floored me. The sound system was absolutely the best I have ever heard. It really sounded like Neil was sitting in my living room strumming an acoustic guitar and singing un-mic'd.

His voice sounds perfect. I was ready to hear an old man with a wavering voice from all his years singing. No. It sounded like a studio take. Neil played some classics and some new from his new album. Heart of Gold was played. He then stands up and starts for the grand piano pausing, then turns to the upright piano, then pauses, the crowd is completley silent, we ALL hear him say, "decisions, decisions...". He then moves for the grand piano and launched into "After the Gold Rush" (one of my faves). This is the first time he has played this on the tour.

If that hour wasn't enough to make the tickets worth every penny, we break for intermission.

Second set we find him and his band coming out. Drums, Bass, and a guitar/lapsteel/keyboard player. They come out slamming like a crazy horse show. I never wrapped my head around how this man of this age, after his medical conditions could rock this hard. I thought I knew his electric guitar style as just sloppy and loose. NO. It was loose, but perfect. Some songs jammed out to the 15min mark. Never boring. I also expected his guitar playing to be sort of background to the band as most singer/songwriters will do. NO. His guitar was the loudest instrument in the mix, and it wailed. And this man moved around more on stage then Thurston Moore on a good night.

The artist brings out a new painting between each song with the song title, and an impressionistic painting relating to each song.

Cinnamon Girl was played. I had read about the other shows, and was prepared for the night closing with "Tonights the Night", not tonight. They busted out "Like a Hurricane", as the closer; what a treat.

I can't even pretend to do this night justice with my recounting. How do you describe a moment when you get to see a legend, doing what he does?

If you are a fan of Neil Young's music at any level, you must see him when he comes to town.

This type of an artist is a dying breed.

If you are interested, you can see some photos from the show, and more reviews by clicking here.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Nestle

Neil Young was the greatest show I have ever seen. I will tell you about it when I find a little time...soon, I promise.

Monday, October 22, 2007

NY

I had to stay home from work today. Sounds fun? Not really. Had to drop off the car to get the brakes redone. Should only cost about $900. Ugh.

But in better news...

Neil Young is tonight!!!

Friday, October 19, 2007

Lined up

Plans

Click it to make it bigger.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

A few things worth lookin into

Here is a quick list of things I have found a lot of my friends hadn't discovered yet. These may be interesting, entertaining, and/or helpful(or a boring recap of stuff you already knew about):

1. Google Reader - Great way to get introduced to the world of RSS and RSS aggregation. What the hell does that mean? It means, you will no longer have to waste time checking on sites like mine that don't update on a regular schedule. Also, it is centralized, so wherever you are, whatever machine you are on, you have your crap to read easily and quickly.

2. Awesome Podcasts - Well, I am sure you all are aware of what podcasts are. Here are some I am digging lately. I seem to have fallen in love with the ones that aren't really geared to a specific "theme". Sure, I listen to a fair share of Nerd/Video related podcasts, but, I have found the most joy in the free-for-all,
funny people with microphones. Here are a few:(they all can be found in iTunes, but a I am linking to their sites)

a. The Sound of Young America - OK, this one has a theme. Interviews. But they are great people interviewd by a funny guy.
b. Jordan, Jesse GO! Jesse Thorn(host of Sound of Young America) and another funny dood just talkin about whatever, always hilarious.
c. Real Time with Bill Maher - We don't spend the cash for HBO so this is how I get to experience the show, its been really good lately.
d. Moldawer in the Morning - Funny guy with interesting topics. Frequently has his wife as a guest, which is pretty entertaining. Newlyweds that aren't afraid of tearing into each other. Reminds me of a couple I know....

I listen to a crap ton of these during my commute, so if you want more suggestions, email me...

3. Flickr - I mean really, come on. If I see one more person use Photobucket to link a photo, I am going to pout about it. Why not upload them to a site that you can keep them all forever on? Why not be able to see your friends new photos as they upload them? Really, check this site out, and if the free package isn't enough, the pro account is like $24 for a year. I AM BEGGING you friends.

4. Beagles.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Beautiful day in Portland.

Beautiful PDX Morning

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Com o D

Wow. Last night was amazing. I think it really sealed the deal on moving here for me. We both got home from work. Had a beer or two, relaxed for a little bit. Then we needed to get food before the comedy show. This is where I got excited about it all.
We just had to walk over to the train(Max) station, which is about a 3 minute walk. Jump aboard, get off in the "Old Town" area, then walk one block to our favorite pizza restaurant, Old Town Pizza. Then walk another couple of blocks to the venue. How cool is that? We were then able to drink all night, get pretty F'ing drunk and not have to drive home. Brilliant.

Let's talk about the comedy show:

If you don't know what I am talking about when I say Comedians of Comedy, well I am not sure what to tell you. They just released a new DVD of one of the shows. Go rent/buy that or the other one they released a few years back. It is basically a tour of really great younger comedians. Smart guys and gals, geared towards people like me. Which I guess I will let you define what that is.

So Patton Oswalt started the show with sort of a warm up. It was great. He slammed all the craziness of Portland, the hipsters and hippies, etc...But he then went on to really define the city for what it is. It is a place of Eden. He said, "...if you were born and raised here, you must stay, do not leave. You have no idea how terrible this world is, stay here and enjoy life" He said it in a funny way, but man, he got it right. I apologize if this comes off as bragging, but I intend not to take this place for granted. Melissa and I worked really hard to get here and we intend to enjoy it as much as possible, forgive me if I gush about it.
Comedians of Comedy
Solid night of comedy, my face still hurts from laughing. And it turned out we had really awesome seats. We choose balcony when purchasing tickets, because it was the level you could drink in. I think we made the best choice.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Comedians of comedy tonight! I am stoked

Comedians of comedy tonight! I am stoked.