Retro Video of the Week: "Summer Girls" by LFO

I've been insanely busy lately, rewatching all of the Olympics reverse-chronologically.  Hence, I didn't have time to post a Tuesday Top Ten yesterday.  But I hope to make it up to you by posting a fun and exciting Retro Video of the Week.  Last week marked the 17th anniversary of the day I met Jester.  It was at a fraternity party, and we hit it off quite well.  Among the songs that played in the background while we talked about Otis Redding, travelling, and all the kids we were going to eventually have together was LFO's ridiculous hit "Summer Girls."  It's basically just a stream of consciousness recitation of people, places, and things that are in no way related, but hey, they rhyme sometimes.  The song hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same month I met my future wife (and I'm pretty sure she was wearing at least one article of clothing from Abercrombie & Fitch), so it will forever have a place in my heart.

Hair Band Friday - 8/26/16

1.  "30 Days in the Hole" by Mr. Big


2.  "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic) by Def Leppard


3.  "You're No Good" by Van Halen


4.  "Barroom Boogie" (live) by Y&T


5.  "Fill You Up" by Nelson


6.  "Merry-Go-Round" (live) by Mötley Crüe


7.  "Flesh 'N' Blood" by Extreme


8.  "Mr. Brownstone" (live) by Guns N' Roses


9.  "Sleeping (In The Fire)" (live) by W.A.S.P.


10.  "Lay It Down" by Ratt

Retro Video of the Week: "Hang Fire" by The Rolling Stones

Thirty-five years ago today, The Rolling Stones released the Tattoo You album, which was an album comprised mostly of studio outtakes from the '70s, but also featuring a couple new songs.  It was the Stones' ninth studio album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts and eighth in a row, and of course, features the iconic album cover pictured herein.

I think this was the first Stones studio album I ever bought.  The album is pretty damn good and has some great songs, not all of which are very well-known.  "Start Me Up" has become an ubiquitous sports anthem.  I've always liked "Waiting On a Friend."  "Little T&A" is a wonderful Mick-sung gem about, well, T&A.  "Black Limousine" is a bluesy, barroom number.  "Neighbours" is a fast-paced rocker about Mick's penchant for getting evicted from apartments.

But I'd have to say my favorite song on the album is "Hang Fire," a song openly mocking England's economic woes and apparently ambivalent attitude of the English towards those woes.  It's an uptempo song that could almost be a punk song with some slight tweaks, and it got up to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The band made a promotional video for the song, which I am presenting for your viewing and listening pleasure.  What's interesting to note is that, when this video was made, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were both basically the same age as I am now.  Apparently, being a rock star and treating your body like a rental car with the max insurance makes you look a bit older at 38 than being a mediocre lawyer.  Charlie Watts, on the other hand, looks pretty much the same now as he did then, but just with a better haircut now.

Tuesday Top Ten: Disgusting Facts About Ancient Roman Life

I was too busy today with work, eating, and going to my Incredible Hulk nightmare support group, as I do every Tuesday night.  Thus I didn't have time to come up with my own Tuesday Top Ten this week.  Thankfully, I happened across an article (if you can call it that) linked from Yahoo's homepage entitled "10 Truly Disgusting Facts About Ancient Roman Life."  Some of them aren't really "disgusting" -- such as the fact that there was erotic art in Pompeii -- while others really are quite disgusting, like the fact that some Romans used urine as mouthwash (it is sterile, after all), they liked to use dead gladiators' blood for its healing powers (makes sense), and they shared a shit sponge to wipe their asses (no defending this one).  

These are things to think about next time you really want to stick it to your jerk friend who is always talking about how awesome it would be to go back to ancient Rome.  "Yeah, good luck with the pubic lice, you ill-informed pagan."  That's what you would probably say.  And then he would be all, "Dude, I'd just take some pubic lice shampoo with me, so it wouldn't be a problem."  And then you'd be all, "Yeah, and totally change the course of history?!  Your egotism is only eclipsed by your short-sightedness.  Not me, though.  I'd go back to the Sunset Strip in the mid '80s and literally fuck every woman I saw.  Try and stop me, Maximus.  Yeah, that's what I thought."

An Incredible Night

On Friday, I had the pleasure of being on the field for the first pitch at the White Sox game. The circumstances as to why I was on the field are insignificant. What was very significant is who was throwing the main first pitch: Lou Ferrigno. 

My relationship with Lou Ferrigno is completely one-sided, in that he presumably has no idea who I am and was not terrified of me when he was a child. Aside from clowns and gypsies, the Incredible Hulk was thing I remember fearing. All it took was seeing Dr. David Banner getting angry once for me to swear off watching the Incredible Hulk forever. Nevermind that the Hulk was a good guy.

This paralyzing fear manifested itself in the first dream/nightmare I remember having. I was 3 or 4, and it is still probably the most vivid dream I've ever had. Here's how shit went down. 

I was mature for my age. Though I was a toddler and the house did not have an alarm system, my parents trusted me enough to leave alone for the evening while they went to dinner. After all, I was wearing a fedora and smoking a pipe. They left out of the front door, which I am now for the first time realizing was strange, since the garage was off of the back door. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I had gone to the front room to see what route they took.

Once the door closed, I grabbed the newspaper, plopped myself down on the floor in the living room, laid on my back and started reading the Chronicle. I soon heard a rustling noise. I lowered the paper to look around, and I didn't see anything, so I went back to the paper. 

That was a mistake. As soon as I started on Peanuts or Family Circus, dozens of Incredible Hulks of various sizes and colors pounced on top of me.  There were green ones, blue ones, orange ones, pink ones, yellow ones, all smothering me and probably ruining the paper. I couldn't tell for sure because I was being suffocated by my worst nightmare.

I will never forget the dream, and needless to say, there was a wave of emotions flowing through my body Friday night, as I stood less than ten feet from the man who helped me kick off a life of vivid, memorable dreams. I didn't know whether I wanted to thank him for making my first nightmare the worst one I ever had (so that nothing could possibly as bad after that) or berate him for no real reason other than the fact that he was painted green on a popular American television show nearly 40 years ago.

As urine uncontrollably streamed down my legs, I walked toward him to shake his hand and perhaps get some closure, or perhaps be crushed to death by his still-massive arms. But then he was escorted to the mound, where he threw a strike, and my chance at reconciliation -- and maybe redemption -- was gone. Perhaps in another 35 years, I'll sort things out with him. I certainly never got the chance with Bill Bixby.

New Book: Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar

Well over a month ago, I finished reading Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk, which is a collection of nonfiction essays and stories on a diverse array of topics, including wrestling (real wrestling, not WWE), taking steroids for shits and giggles, people who build castles as their homes, and a combine demolition derby in Washington state.  There were also interviews that Palahniuk did with famous people, including Juliette Lewis, Marilyn Manson, and a guy who built his own rocket ship.  All in all, it was pretty interesting, and there were some pretty funny parts, like when he described getting an infection on his scalp right before he was supposed to go meet the producers of Fight Club.

After that, I read Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein.  Brownstein is a founding member of influential all-female band Sleater-Kinney (although, as I learned in book, she would probably not be happy with the fact that I just used the adjective "all-female" to describe the band), who has since shown her multi-talentedness (if that's a word) by co-creating and co-starring with Fred Armisen in the hilarious IFC sketch comedy show Portlandia.  The book focused on Brownstein's childhood and time with Sleater-Kinney.  Admittedly, I didn't know a ton about the band before reading the book, other than that they were associated with Olympia, Washington's riot grrrl movement (although they came along a little after the likes of Bikini Kill and Heavens to Betsy).  I enjoyed the book, even if it didn't touch on Portlandia.  Brownstein is as talented a writer as she is a guitarist and comedian.

My next book will be Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar.  I bought this almost a year ago, along with a slew (but certainly not a slough or slue) of other books, in order to give myself a year or so (or multiple years, given how slowly I read) of not needing to purchase books once I've finished one.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bigger fan of David Lee Roth-era Van Halen than the Van Hagar era (and certainly than the short-lived Gary Cherone era), but if I had to choose between hanging out with Roth and Hagar, I'd take Hagar hands down.  He always comes across as a pretty normal, down-to-earth guy, despite having had massive success in the music industry for the better part of 40 years.  And, of course, you know he would have some good tequila.

Books read in 2016:
-Destiny of the Republic:  A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
-The Dog by Joseph O'Neill
-Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll by Peter Bebergal
-Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow
-Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk
-Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein

Hair Band Friday - 8/19/16

1.  "Rock A Bye Bye" by Extreme


2.  "Broken Home" by White Lion


3.  "The Whole World's Gonna Know" by Mr. Big


4.  "Headed For a Heartbreak" by Winger


5.  "Dreams" by Van Halen


6.  "And On The 8th Day" by Kiss


7.  "Stick Your Guns" by Mötley Crüe


8.  "Monkey Business" by Danger Danger


9.  "Run Riot" by Def Leppard


10.  "Be A Man" by Tesla

Midwestern Eavesdropping

Middle-aged woman talking on cell phone in subway station: "I'm gonna cut your nuts out of you and serve 'em to you as meatballs."

(Young guys standing nearby chuckles)

Woman: "You weren't supposed to hear that."

--Chicago, State/Lake Red Line Station

Eavesdropper: GMYH

Retro Video of the Week: "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi

Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most successful hair band albums ever and one of the best-selling albums period of the 1980s:  Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet.  This is the album that vaulted Bon Jovi from a mid-level band to superstars.

Slippery When Wet topped the Billboard album charts for 8 weeks (and was in the Top 5 for an incredible 38 weeks), and was the #1 album on the year-end Billboard album charts for 1987.  It has gone platinum twelve times over in the U.S.  On top of that, it was the first hard rock album to feature three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100:  "Livin' On a Prayer" (#1), "You Give Love a Bad Name" (#1), and "Wanted Dead or Alive" (#7).

I am going with "Wanted Dead or Alive" for this week's Retro Video of the Week because, while I love all three of the aforementioned songs, the video for "Wanted Dead or Alive" has always been one of my favorites.  It's one of the classic "on-the-road" videos, featuring shots of the band playing live shows and otherwise hanging out while traveling to and from shows.  My favorite part is at about the 3:25 mark, just as the line "I've seen a million faces / and I've rocked them all" is sung, and they show the shot of the house lights being brought up on the crowd, with Jon Bon Jovi thrusting the mic in the air.  Ahh, to be a concert goer in the '80s.

Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite Summer Olympic Events

I've been hellishly busy as of late, thanks to work, travel, and spending every other non-sleeping minute of the day watching the Olympics.  This happens every Olympics, summer or winter, and it's just that much easier to become obsessed when the games are played within a couple times zones of me, so that I can watch a lot of things live.  Hell, I'm watching Kerri Walsh-Jennings and April Ross lose their battle Agatha and Barbara as we speak.

There isn't an event that I won't watch, but here are my ten favorite Summer Olympic events (in no particular order):

1.  Track and field - men's 100m
This was one of my favorite Olympic events because, even as a kid, the idea of "the fastest man in the world" was so compelling.  The first Olympics I remember was the 1984 Los Angeles games, where Carl Lewis won the 100m (and grabbed three other golds while at it).  This is still compelling for me because it really is just pure speed, and as many a coach has said, you can't teach speed.  Watching Usain Bolt is literally awesome.

2.  Team fencing
I hadn't watched much fencing until this Olympics, and I always thought it was cool.  I mean, it's sword fighting.  But this time around, I actually figured out some of the rules, and that it's more than just who touches the other person first.  And then, I watched some team events, where they rotate fencers over nine rounds, and the first to 45 points wins.  Good stuff.

3.  Gymnastics vault
Whether it's the men or the women, the vault is awesome.  People chucking themselves into the air is always cool, but then when they can stick a landing after running full speed, doing a cartwheel off of a springboard, and then three twisting flips in the air, it almost defies physics.  And, of course, this even provides us with the most spectacular crashes in gymnastics.

4.  Women's beach volleyball
It's always a party atmosphere during beach volleyball, and I like the two-on-two format better than the six-on-six indoor volleyball format.  And, of course, let's not kid ourselves, any straight man who says he doesn't enjoy watching bikini-clad women in extremely good shape is lying.

5.  Platform diving
They are diving from over thirty feet in the air and somehow (for the most part) not belly flopping.  You remember that first time you ever went off the high dive as a kid, and it seemed like it took forever for you to hit the water.  They are three times as high as that, and they are doing flips and going into the pool head first.

6.  Swimming - any IM or medley relay
The IM events are crazy to me because you have to be really good at all four swimming strokes.  I don't think I would be able to properly do the breaststroke or butterfly if I practiced for a year.  And the medley relays are cool because it's the best of the best in each stroke.

7.  Archery
The TV coverage never really does archery justice because all you see is the archer release the arrow and then a close-up of the target to show where the arrow hits.  What you don't get a fell for is that they are shooting from 70 meters away, and the ten-point circle is as big as a CD.

8.  Track and field - 400m hurdles
Because someone thought, "Hey, you know what the hardest track event needs?  Hurdles."

9.  Rubgy Sevens
I realize this is a new event, but it's pretty sweet.  In case you don't know, rugby sevens differs from regular rugby in that it's only seven minutes a half (instead of 40), and there are only seven players on each team (instead of 15).  Basically, what that means is that it's like the flag football version of rugby, but without flags and still with all the action of rugby.  Definitely a good addition to the games.

10.  Table tennis
It's just insane how good Olympic table tennis players are.  They are playing about ten feet behind the table, and just killing the ball, but with precision and crazy spin.  It's almost disheartening, since you're thinking that ping pong is a fun, relatively easy game.  I tell you this:  these people would eat you alive.

Retro Video of the Week: "Rio" by Duran Duran

Many apologies for not posting a Tuesday Top Ten yesterday.  I have been battling Olympic Fever all week, and the only cure is more Olympics.  Did you know that today is Duran Duran Appreciation Day?  Neither did I, until a local disc jockey told me so this morning.  My health problems and the day's festivities have come to a glorious intersection, as Duran Duran has perhaps the most perfect song for these Olympic Games.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "Rio."

Hair Band Friday - 8/5/16

1.  "(Oh) Pretty Woman" by Van Halen


2.  "Don't Cry" by Guns N' Roses


3.  "Peacemaker Die" by Extreme


4.  "Turn On The Action" by Dokken


5.  "Jack Action" by W.A.S.P.


6.  "Under The Gun" by Kiss


7.  "Cover Queen" by Tesla


8.  "Glitter" (remix) by Mötley Crüe


9.  "After The Rain" by Nelson


10.  "Slide It In" by Whitesnake

Retro Video of the Week: "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles

Monday marked the 35th anniversary since MTV originally went on the air, revolutionized how we consumed music.  It was the quintessential '80s TV station, bringing looks, fashion, and superficiality to the forefront.  I'm still pissed that MTV has since strayed from its video roots and no longer shows music videos.  All that means is that kids these days won't know the joy of watching Dial MTV, MTV's Most Wanted, or TRL every afternoon, waiting all day to see their favorite video, or watching genre-specific programming like Headbangers Ball, Yo! MTV Raps, or 120 Minutes.

The Buggles' 1979 international hit "Video Killed The Radio Star" was, quite appropriately and presciently, the first video that aired on MTV.  In honor of MTV's birthday, here is that video in all of its new wave glory.

Tuesday Top Ten: Lollapalooza 2016

I apologize for not posting much over the last week.  I've been hella busy trying to bring back slang from the early 2000s.  Also, I spent the better part of four days attending Lollapalooza here in Chicago.  This was the 25th anniversary of the first Lollapalooza, which Perry Farrell started as kind of a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction.  It's the twelfth year it has been in Chicago, since its reincarnation.  I've still only missed one since it's been in Chicago, and this year's version was expanded from three days to four, in honor of the 25th anniversary.  

When the lineup was announced, I wasn't too excited with the headliners -- Lana Del Ray, J. Cole, Radiohead, Major Lazer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Disclosure, Ellie Goulding, and LCD Soundsystem -- but there were a lot of non-headliners that I wanted to see.  All in all, it was another successful year.

It started Thursday, and i decided to take Daughter and Lollipop during the afternoon because kids under 10 get in free.  The Kidzapalooza section was fantastic, with hair dying, airbrush tattoos, painting, various instruments kids can play, and a tent where they could sing their own hip hop song.  My girls came up with a surprisingly vulgar diss track aimed some boy in their school named Ethan.  Watch your back, bro, or else you're gonna end up on the wrong end of a glitter pen.

Around 5, I dropped the girls off with Jester, and then headed back to the festival with my friends Daniel and Meredith.  It was raining a little by this point, which was a recurring issue the first couple days.

One of the nice additions this year was a commemorative Bud Light can just for the 25th anniversary.

They also added prosecco to their wine selection, which proved to be a welcome addition to my drinking regimen.  As a reminder, once the sun goes down, I switch from beer to wine, since it's more bang for the buck, and presumably I will have to pee less.  Of course, when you're downing 5-8 liters of water during the day, I don't think there's much short of spontaneous combustion that can prevent you from peeing a lot.

After the fest ended Thursday, Daniel and I went to see an official Lolla aftershow at The Metro featuring Jane's Addiction.  

They didn't go on until about 12:30, so it was a late night, but a good show, despite the fact that Perry's mic wasn't turned up enough.  Seeing them in such a small venue was cool.

Friday morning came far too quickly, but I was surprisingly not in bad shape.  I fulfilled my fatherly duties Friday morning, and then Jester, in her infinite wisdom, took the kids to Indiana to visit her sister for the weekend, leaving me to my own devices.  Believe me, it's mutually beneficial, even when a headlight pops out of our car on the interstate and she has to get out in the pouring rain to kick it back in.

As I just alluded to, it rained for a good chunk of Friday afternoon, but once it stopped, the temperature was great, and good times were had by all.  Wisely, we decided not to go out after Lolla ended Friday night, and I got about 9 1/2 hours of sleep.  It was glorious.

Saturday started well, with a couple of solid bands.  As I do every year, I was wearing my "festival flip flops," a pair of Bulls flip flops I got at the United Center during Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, after I managed to bust a flip flop before the game started.  They are rubber, but pretty solid, and wearing them ensures that I don't ruin my regular flip flops with water, mud, or teen tweakers' vomit.  Why am I talking about my flip flops, you ask?  Well, Saturday, as we were walking from The Joy Formidable to get some food, a whore stepped on my left flip flop just right as she passed me in the crowd, and the strap ripped out of the sole.  How do I know she was a whore, you ask?  Because whores never apologize, and she certainly just kept on walking.  Thankfully, we were right by the medical tent, where they gave me some medical tape to patch it up.  Amazingly, it held up for the rest of the day.

After the last show Saturday, we ended up smoking cigars and drinking heavy beers on my back porch, which was a pleasant end to a day that will live in infamy.

Sunday was gorgeous, with not too many clouds, but not too hot.  Granted, it's always hot at Lolla when the sun in shining.  The lineup was great, and I had some delicious lemongrass beef noodles from Tank Noodle in the middle of the afternoon.  One thing we -- and Lolla's schedulers -- discovered on Sunday, is that you should never underestimate the drawing power of Third Eye Blind.  They played at 3:45 on a side stage that is probably the fourth biggest stage at Lolla.  It was insanely packed, and it took us way too long to navigate ourselves out from being kind of close to being able to breathe.  Unfortunately, the sound was off, so you couldn't really hear them very well, but the crowd still loved it. Here's a couple shots of the crowd, although they don't really do it justice to show how crowded it was. 

Later, as the night was winding down, I took this panoramic shot of the crowd and skyline during the last show of the night (LCD Soundsystem).

Walking out, we saw this glow stick graveyard -- a fitting end to another glowing weekend of music and fun.  

Apparently, the festival organizers are going to make it four days again next year.  Right now, that doesn't excite me, but give me another week, and I'll be on board.

All in all, according to Fitbit, I walked a total of 91,888 steps Thursday through Sunday, and it certainly feels like it.  At least I made the brilliant decision several months ago to sign up to run a 10K next Saturday.

Here are the bands over the course of the weekend for which I saw two or more songs:

Thursday:  Weathers; Hiatus Kaiyote; Bob Moses; Arkells; Melanie Martinez; Kurt Vile & The Violators; The 1975; The Arcs; The Last Shadow Puppets

Friday:  The Struts; Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls; Lettuce; Alessia Cara; Wolf Alice; Radiohead; Ghost

Saturday:  Potty Mouth; The Joy Formidable; Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Leon Bridges; MUTEMATH; Jane's Addiction; Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sunday:  DREAMERS; FIDLAR; Third Eye Blind; Silversun Pickups; HAIM; Bloc Party; LCD Soundsystem

Here are my top ten shows I saw over the weekend:

Honorable mention:  Melanie Martinez; Wolf Alice; The Joy Formidable; Red Hot Chili Peppers; DREAMERS; Bloc Party

10.  Leon Bridges

He would probably be higher on the list if I had seen more of his set. What I did see what basically a modern day version of Otis Redding. He has the voice, the moves, and the ability to captivate a crowd. Hopefully I'll be able to catch him next time he's in town. 

9.  Potty Mouth

This all-female group churned out a solid set of grunge-tastic, pop punk. It was the first time they had played a major festival, and you could tell they were excited and humbled to be there. My favorite part of the show was when someone in the crowd started the overhead clap, and everyone else joined in. Someone in the band excitedly remarked that it was the first time anyone had every done that at one of their shows. It's always nice to see bands who really appreciate being there. 

8.  Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

I was pumped to see these guys, and they didn't disappoint, playing their catchy blend of soul and rock. 

7.  Jane's Addiction

I actually think their set at Lolla was better than their aftershow at The Metro Thursday night. The sound was definitely better, being that I could clearly hear Perry Farrell's voice. The show was a combination of burlesque, freak show, and rock show. Tom Morello came out to accompany Dave Navarro on a rollicking version of "Mountain Song," and Jimmy Chamberlain came out to play the regular drum set on "Jane Says," while Stephen Perkins handled the steel drums. 

But the highlight (?) of the show was when two backup dancers were hoisted above the stage to swing from giant pins stuck in their upper backs. It was grotesque and intriguing all at the same time. They didn't seem to mind what I assume is excruciating pain. The second picture below gives you an idea of the skin pullage involved.

6.  FIDLAR

I have seen these guys a few times, and they have come a long way since they were writing their setlist on the back of a PBR case when they opened up for The Hives a few years ago. They played an energetic set of their many songs about being a slacker, doing drugs, not scoring with chicks, and skateboarding or surfing. 

5. HAIM

I'm not sure what I was expecting from the sisters Haim, but I mistakenly throught they were more mellow. After all, the last time I saw them was in 2010 at The Troubadour, where I also saw Mischa Barton. They put on a great show, full of energy and rocking songs. The highlight for me was their cover of Prince's "I Would Die 4 U."

4. LCD Soundsystem

They headlined Sunday night. This is one of those bands that I have somehow managed to avoid over the years -- not malevolently or anything, but sometimes you just can't listen to all the music in the world, no matter how hard you try. So when I saw they were closing out Lolla, I was ambivalent, but I figured it would allow me to leave early after a long four days. Turns out, they put on a hell of a show. It was full of energy. The crowd was into it. We stayed until the end. 

3.  Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

We only caught the second half of this show, and we stayed kind of far back so that we could get some respite from the rain under some trees. Thankfully, we had a view of the big screens next to the stage to see the action. This show was all energy. I had never heard of these guys before Lolla. It was a mix of punk, Celtic punk, rock, folk, and mayhem. Turner worked the crowd like a champ, and even crowd surfed in the pouring rain. By the end of the show, we said "hell to the rain" and got closer for the last couple songs. For the record, I have never actually uttered the words "hell to the rain."

2.  The Struts

This is one of the bands I was most excited about seeing. Thanks to long lines getting in, I missed the first 15 minutes of their set, but it was still fantastic. It's pure rock and roll, built for large festivals and arenas. At one point, lead singer asked everyone to crouch down to the ground, and the thousands of spectators obliged, before all leaping up in unison as the band kicked into gear and ended the show in a fitting rock frenzy. I'm hoping they come back to Chicago soon. 

1.  Ghost

I'm not a big Radiohead fan, so I wasn't thrilled when they were announced as Friday night's headliner. But Perry must have been looking out for me because he scheduled one of my favorite new (well, relatively new) bands to play Friday night during the second half of Radiohead's set. Of course, they played on the darkest stage. Thanks to the draw of Radiohead, their weren't too many people at Ghost when they started, so I was able to get about 15 feet from the stage. As always, they killed it. I'm not sure there's currently a more entertaining band. For the rest of the weekend, I found myself thinking "I wish Ghost was playing again." Once Papa Emeritus III and the Nameless Ghouls get into your head, they don't leave. 

Midwestern Eavesdropping

Middle-aged couple is walking down the sidewalk. The wife says to the husband: "It's not that he's aging poorly. It's not that. He's just aging (pause) differently."

--Chicago, Lincoln and Schubert

Eavesdropper: GMYH