Jaimoe

Both new seasons of Vikings and Bates Motel are off to great starts.

What?!?!?  I have never in my life heard of mail delivery in Canada on a Saturday outside of the xmas season.

 

Sorry to hear this man.  Regular onside is still a distinct possibility.  Best of luck.

Thanks Todd! I had tentative plans to go to a Cubs and White Sox game (the Jays are in town on the Monday). I also was going to take my wee son to the Kingston Mines blues club. I will try again on the 28th.

I got my rejection notice on Saturday, delivered by a postie no less (didn't think they work weekends). I'm going to now cancel my Chicago trip, unless by some miracle I score one ticket via TM.

If I get a ticket, it'll be interesting to see where my mind will be at given I don't go out to see jammy music anymore, nor ever again for that matter, although the Dead are a different bird entirely. I will no doubt enjoy the show, especially if Trey's head is in the right place, which I bet it will be. His heart is.

Andre, if I get in the doors, I'll begin filing thoughts for either a review or story of some sort. I'm going in with an open mind and more than likely sorta sober, so my recall should be fairly clear. I'm bringing my laptop to Chicago, so I could throw something down at my hotel afterwards. Mike can have it if he wants? I want to get it posted probably by the Monday, but that might be tricky given I'll be at the Jays-Sox game. Anyway, at least if I don't go, I'll be checking out blues at Kingston Mines and/or Buddy Guys, and perhaps at that sports bar/infamous punk club near Wrigley.

Still waiting for my ticket and/or rejection letter for Dead 50. Either way, I'm going to Chicago. If I do go, I'm mulling writing a review of the show and overall experience.

Playing slow guitar solos are hard to do. Choosing notes, or letting the notes choose you if you will, is a talent that fast-is-the-be-all players and their misguided idiot fans fail to grasp. Also, Jerry was a fast player, but he picked his spots. Some of the Dead's uptempo jams are damn impressive.

I'm planning on checking the show out too, along with the new ambient Roger Waters-less Pink Floyd album.

I like his band(s). He's nice enough off the ice. He's still chippy during games though.

I've heard the mayor of Hamilton, on several occassions, refer to the region as GTHA. I'm impressed with what's been going on in Hamilton over the past five or more years (the city has always been a music hotbed). Some of the downtown neighbourhoods and streets are becoming more and more vibrant, and you can see there's still lots of blocks available for the city to grow. I'd easily live in the area around the GO station, amongst other urban areas (I won't live in the burbs). My wife wants to live in Dundas, but the commute is too far, although I do like the town as it somewhat resembles Toronto's Leslieville. Hamilton really needs to clean-up Jackson Square for the downtown to really take off like it should, and deserves. I hate that fucking lifesucking battleship of a Jackson Square Mall too, even though Buffalo's famed Anchor Bar recently moved there. How are the wings Roller, Esau? Oh, and Go Tiger Cats!!

He's a lippy dirty bitch on the ice though.

Hubert was at the manor tending to a little male curiosity, eh?

I remember him not wanting to watch the bout with us, which was a relief (note: the lady entertainers had the night off). Thankfully he was there with Mr. C and I think, some of the Kingston Boxing Club trainers. Dad had me watching boxing before I could walk, and thus I partially blame him for me thinking I had to watch ALL of last weekend's Bernard Hopkins' title-fight snoozefest. 

I have no Boston Bruins favourite big wins from my youth because those blasted Habs always beat them!! But this famous shift featuring two battles the Bruins won over the Habs I'll never forget:

http://youtu.be/Ne1y0QCOQOM

I watched that Hagler-Hearns fight live on PPV at the infamous, late-and-not-great, Lakeview Manor in Kingston's Portsmouth Village, with Al Nishimura and Jeff Quinlan; my Dad was there too, but he didn't come with me. All this, including the incredible short-but-sweet fight, adds to one of my most memorable sports moments. Thanks for jogging my memory with that great post Andre! How old was Roller when that bout went down?

Truly a big loss. He was the soul of Cream. I loved the work he did with Zappa on Apostrophe, altough I hear the two didn't "quite" see eye-to-eye when recording the instrumental title track.

Nice work! The Hammer has been doing lots of things right in recent years, including this street fest.

Love that "Wharf Rat".

Gotta love that Boneshaker come in pint cans now. Still waiting for Tankhouse in pint cans. As APAs go, I think I prefer Devil's 666 and Crazy Canuck.

Hey Esau, ever tried any beers from Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewery? Excellent beers. They don't export, but if you go to Buffalo, you can get them there, even at Bisons' games on draught. Their Burning River IPA rocks!

How about Hops & Robbers?

I don't really drink Tankhouse too much anymore, but I still like it, and it's usually easier to find in pubs on draught than the smaller labels for a "craft" option. Some APAs I drink over Tankhouse are Devil's Pale Ale 666 and Crazy Canuck, both from Great Lakes.  

I've had my eye on Dinner Jacket and I'll give it a try soon. I prefer IPAs now, and even though I love Mad Tom, I think Muskoka's best all-round beer is their Cream Ale since it mixes in a bit of hop to the ale taste.

Giving Boneshaker a run for its money in the coolest label department is Nickel Brook's Headstock. Gotta love it's psychedelic can with a pic of Stevie Ray Vaughan on the back!

Have your tried Red Racer IPA from B.C. yet? Really good and strong IPA, and at $2.50 a can, the price is very competetive (if not deflated in order to stand out in the tough IPA Ontario market).

From what I gather, independent smaller batch breweries are considered craft/micro. I don't think the label "craft" is there yet as a scheme to the extent as we see in the music scene with the now faux "indie" label, at least across the board. Steam Whistle is a microbrew though since it's independently owned and produces and ships its product out of The Roundhouse exclusively. I agree that some so-called craft breweries can be accused of being only "craft" by name, such as Mill Street and Amsterdam. The flgaship Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District, until recently, didn't even brew beer there, FFS. Muskoka, Great Lakes, Nickel Brook, Double Trouble are all pretty much Ontario-centric, with the latter two great companies being really small. I'm with you Esau regarding Mad Tom being awesome. Amsterdam's Boneshaker is another of my fav IPAs (it probably has the best logo and name too).

I seem to be able to log in again. Did I miss anything, other than dave-O's posts?

If I had to relocate to a GTHA city, I'd happily buy a house in downtown Hamilton, perhaps somewhere within walking distace of the GO station. The city is going through a major renaissance thanks to several up-and-coming cool neighbourhoods with positive street life; plus, nearby Dundas is a cool town. Hamilton has a great music legacy, especially for punk and blues, and is a perfect choice for the Junos.

I've gradually lost interest in the ABB since the departure of Dickey, even though he deserved to get kicked out (his playing was just brutal). I love Derek and Warren, but my Allmans needs an original guitarist in it along with one of the aforementioned two, preferably Haynes (it was the Allen Woody/Haynes era that gave the Allmans a rebirth and return to relevance). I can't believe Haynes put up with Gregg's shit for 25 years?!