Focus: my neighbor (brother) just killed a bobcat. After we skinned it, I took possession of the carcass because it’s not every day you get a chance to eat game like that. Alt focus: meow?
If it's anything like mountain lion it's going to be greasy as fuck. You might be best served making up some jerky.
I’m gonna smoke it for about 10 hours. Yes, it’s greasy. I’m gonna treat it like I would a brisket, except I’m gonna cook it about 150 degrees higher.
Alright folks, it's time for the River City Rockfest wrapup: The Good: The weather was amazing; overcast and cool the whole weekend. I was so scared that the sun was going to be blazing, and we'd be frying like eggs on the blacktop. The lineup couldn't have been better. The bands I was interested in were The Sword, Clutch, Joan Jett, Primus, Stone Temple Pilots, and the holy grail: Nine Inch Nails. The Bad: The motel we stayed at sucked. The first room we got had the lock broken off the door, so we demanded a new one. It was in a shitty side of town, and there were lots of questionable looking people hanging around. Nothing happened though. It looked nice enough in the pictures. I was thrilled to finally see Joan Jett up close, but it would appear that she's just using the same set-list as she did when we saw her in Dallas a couple of years ago. I was really hoping to hear her play some of her more obscure tracks. Also, she's REALLY into making the audience sing along. Not cool for a performer who used to be as badass as she was. The Ugly: Jungle Julia only has about 2-3 hours of concert going time in her (she routinely wants to leave early from other shows we've gone to), and for her, this was an endurance contest. The Sword went on at 1:30, and NIN didn't play until 10 PM. You do the math. By the time Joan Jett went on at about 5 or 6, she was already getting cranky, and by the time STP was over with* at 9:30, she was in positively foul spirits and ready to go. She even said that I should just stay there with a buddy of mine who was at the show too, and she'd go back to the motel by herself, but I wasn't going to let her go back to that ghetto place by herself... So I ended up missing almost all of Nine Inch Nails. Yup. Got four songs in (and they were fucking killing it) when she pulled the plug. I hope she realizes the sacrifice I made. I got cheated out of seeing Reznor and Co. in 2006, and they haven't come anywhere near my area since (not counting when I was in prison). But I will not rest until I get to see a full NIN performance, within spitting distance of the stage. All in all, I'd give this trip a 7/10. *Funny story: Jungle Julia somehow thought we were watching Queens of the Stone Age, NOT Stone Temple Pilots, and was very confused with the set list. Give her a break, she didn't grow up listening to STP, and she only heard about Queens of the Stone Age because of me.
I just paid the insurance on my vehicles today. I'm quickly coming to the decision it's time to let my Durango go. An extra $100 a month to insure it when it's becoming obvious my Z28 is reliable is tough to swallow. I really do like my 4WD lifted station wagon, it hasn't been pretty or cheap, but it's always gotten me where I need to go the past 6 years. I originally bought it for $3K w/ 150K on it. I've put another $6K or so into it including a new computer, rebuilding the whole fuel intake system, and God only knows what else. It now has 170K and the brakes are shot. I mean really, really shot. It's well over $1K to have the brakes fixed. (Probably $500 if I lived somewhere I could do it myself.) It's sitting over at a friends house in her driveway and I'm sure at some point she's going to get tired of that arrangement. I put $1200 into the cooling system a couple months ago when the water pump started acting up. I have a feeling $1200 is probably going to be about the max I can get out of it even though it's full leather interior, 3rd row seating and rear A/C. And 9 cup holders. As much as it bums me out, I'm thinking it's time to let her go for $1200. I don't look forward to dealing with all the ass hats from craigslist who either want it cheaper or ask me to hold it for them for a couple of months. Selling a vehicle is a major pain in the ass. I guess I could always just donate it.
The new singer does a spot on impression of Scott weiland. Which is creepy. Sounds awesome Dixie. The Louder Than Life Festival I was going to this weekend with basically the same lineup was canceled because of local flooding. I had scheduled off work and everything.
Same with the singer from AIC. He tries to sound like Layne but he can’t. You can’t mimic that kind of pain.
I don't think he tries to emulate Staley as much as the new STP guy tries to be Weiland. He's a competent singer and Cantrell wanted to keep going so it is what it is. I saw them a few years ago and enjoyed the show, Cantrell is still a beast on guitar.
This. AIC have a slightly different sound with DuVall, but I like it. Cantrell knew they would be going in a slightly different direction with a new vocalist.
Fun to see live, could not get into any of their albums with DuVall. Cantrell's song writing now just isn't as good as it used to be.
I liked Black Gives Way To Blue. “Check My Brain” is still my daughter’s favourite song of all time. DuVall is a fantastic musician and singer, but he’s the type of singer who likes posing with mic stands and throwing a leg up onto the monitors. He didn’t fit the “dark and brooding” aspect that made their harmonies fit so well in the 90’s Like Lane did. Lane would wear a three-piece suit on stage, then lie down half way through the set to enjoy the China White buzz. Way cooler. And WHAT fucking harmonies. Nobody harmonized like them since ABBA. I think they have some of the best lasting power of the 90’s, people seem to like more as the years go by. Their first four releases (Facelift, Sap, Dirt, Jar Of Flies) were perrrrrrrrfect. I was so lucky to see them with Layne at Lollapalooza. Right before Primus blew everyone the FUCK off the stage. It wasn’t even fair, dude.
I have seen AIC twice with DuVall. The show in 2016 was great and exceeded my expectations, but I saw them back in May and thought that is was only an ok show. I do like Rainier Fog, though. I am also a big fan of Cantrell's second solo album, Degradation Trip, and would rather listen to it than any AIC release other than Dirt (but I didn't care for his first solo album).
Primus is...odd now. I have seen them 4 times now and used to like them a lot. I saw them a couple months ago with Mastodon and was kind of disappointed. Seems like they've transitioned their music more like one of Claypool's experimental bands. They played like 3 old songs and had like 1.5 hours of what sounded to me like they got high and recorded a jam session. Mastodon, on the other hand, was far better live than I expected.
Mastodon was the worst headache noise Ive ever heard when they played before Primus a few months back. I tried listening to their stuff and just didn't dig it. Primus has done a couple of concept albums for the past few and they are hit and miss. I only like maybe two songs off their newest. The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory album I actually really liked. It fit Claypool's devilish eccentric persona well. I was wildly disappointed in their last show I saw since they played two or three oldies, their entire new album, and like a song and a half before they scooted off stage because of local noise ordinances.
Couple decades ago they were a revelation on stage. I’ve seen such a deranged brand of music control an audience like that. They were beyond skilled....
While we're on that subject of concern, here's a piece of advice for any Nirvana fans out there: obviously, Nirvana is never coming back. But if you ever get a chance to see The Nirvana Experience tribute band, DO IT. They sound dead-on. It was insane.
If you’re in a tribute band, you have to sound like the band. Brit Floyd is an amazing Pink Floyd tribute. But holy fuck I’ve met a lot of tribute bands, and some of those guys get lost into the rock star they are impersonating. I have no doubt Nett and toytoy have come across people like this. We have a guy here in town who thinks he is Axl Rose. He runs a karaoke show and he wears the football jersey, kilt, western banana, everything. The dude simply looks like he has severed the reality tether. He thinks he’s somebody who he isn’t. And he’s at least five years older than me.
Dude. Small town. I know exactly who you’re talking about, but we call him “Joe Dirt Karaoke”. He’s living his dream... one crack pipe to the next.
What kills me is that I first met this guy like, I’m talking twenty fucking years ago. And he’s still in the same get-up like he’s going to any day hit that dream gig like he’s living on the Sunset Strip. And I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming “SELL YOUR BLOOD!!!!” at him.