Chin Chin at Southpaw

Just got back from a ridiculous Easter evening show at Southpaw. Chin Chin was awesome - they had the place dancing on a quiet Sunday night. Good news: they filmed this show for a DVD, so you can see it even if you weren't there. Better news: their album is getting a US release on April 29th (and even better, it's on Def Jux, the label for Dizzee Rascal, Aesop Rock, and R2D2 - none of whome I listen to, but if I've heard of them, then that's a pretty cool indie label for them to be on).

Go listen to the tunes here.

Two Nights with Counting Crows

I spent Sunday and Monday evening at the tiny Blender Theater on 23rd watching a pair of two hour plus shows by one of my favorite bands, Counting Crows. The sheer numbers of the performances are staggering - four and a half hours total, 35 different songs (including Mr. Jones twice, since they played the electric version on Sunday and the acoustic Storytellers version on Monday), the live debut of a song from the new album. Three things stood out:

1) The range of the performance. Sunday night was electric, energetic. Singer Adam Duritz bounced around so much he accidentally cut his hand on a piece of equipment. Monday night was mostly acoustic, showcasing the beauty of the arrangements and the emotive quality of Duritz's voice.

2) The quality of the performance. I've seen this band be good, and it's a fun show. But when they're great, it's a stunning experience. When Duritz has the energy, and is focused, he makes the songs come alive in a way few others could do.

3) How fucking great this new album is. They played most of Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings over the two nights, and the entire second side in sequence on the second night. It's the most vital and exciting thing they've done since Recovering the Satellites. If you ever liked this band, you need to hear it. Pre-orders currently available on Amazon, Itunes, or wherever you like to buy (or steal) your music.

Good times with the Daily Show

Bush's press secretary is kinda hot in that Felicity Huffman on Sports Night way.

Eliot Spitzer night... in Georgia?

The Macon Music minor league baseball team is hosting an Eliot Spitzer night, and they've invited the ex-Gov to throw out the first pitch.

Details here.

Road trip to Georgia anyone?

Ryan Adams has a blog

This is gonna be awesome.

Go here.

Hippies!!!!!

The Daily Show eviscerates some hippies. Riggle's reaction to interviewing the grey long haired hippie is priceless.

Spitzer

No comments on whether he should resign, or whether what he did was really bad or not. Just pointing out that there are some hilarious details, and I've already made shirts out of them.

Get'em here.

Barry Bonds?

With the injuries to the Mets starting lineup mounting, and the announcement that Moises Alou (who's not quite Ironman) will be out until at least May, Buster Olney of ESPN has stirred the pot by suggesting that the Mets consider adding Barry Bonds. He points out that Bonds is still a better hitter than basically everyone on the Mets in almost all relevant categories. While he sucks in the field, he doesn't suck much worse than Alou, and his hitting is miles ahead of Damion Easley or Marlon Anderson or Endy Chavez or Angel Pagan.

Bonds has been villified by basically everyone over the last few years as a representative of the steroid era and thus the great evil in baseball. But honestly, I just don't see it. I've always felt that the obsession with steroids was a bit absurd - no one ever argued that coke or greenies or whatever people took in the 60s ruined baseball. Is it bad for the players bodies? Yeah, but my liberterian streak is fine with them making choices about how to compete in their chosen profession. Many lawyers harm their loved ones through simple neglect, which sucks, but no one's stepping in to prevent that if that's the path they choose. Anyone who uses steroids to deny that Bonds is the greatest home run hitter ever (especially as we find out that plenty of pitchers were on 'roids too) is a blind adherent to a theoretical "purity" of baseball that never existed.

There's some legitimate arguments against bringing in Bonds based on the way he affects team chemistry, but the Giants didn't seem to hate him. Moreover, as Faith and Fear in Flushing points out, the chemistry on the Mets last year wasn't exactly awesome. Plus, as my boy Beaneball always likes to point out, chemistry in baseball has way less impact than in team sports where offense involves, say, passing or working together more than minimally.

So, yeah, it'd be pretty awesome to see a Mets lineup with Bonds. Imagine Wright and Beltran hitting with Bonds protecting them, or better yet, Bonds hitting with their protection? If he could stay on the field, we'd be looking at 30+ homers (he hit 28 in 340 at bats last year). Barry Bonds isn't a nice guy, and he might be a fucking douchebag, but Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, and Keith Hernandez were also fucking douchebags. They were our douchebags. They were championship douchebags.

Courtesy of Deadspin:



It's a music video from the 1986 Los Angeles Dodgers called "The Baseball Boogie." Just try and get through half of it, I dare you.