Tuesday, November 08, 2005

BLS, Football, Election Day, Linkage

The Black Label Society concert Friday night was a great time. It was at the Newport, and this was my first trip there post-smoking ban. Well, as you might expect, there were still a decent number of people smoking there anyway, including one chain smoker who was right below where we were on the rail, but even still, there was a noticable difference in the quality of the air. And people didn't really start smoking until the show started, so there was plenty of dead time before with smoke-free air and a remarkably clear view of the interior of the Newport. The show itself was a blast. Brand New Sin opened, and they were dead on. They were apparently filming for a live video or something, as they had a big ol camera, boom mic and the works, and were getting the crowd really jazzed up. A truly great response, especially considering they were they opening band. BLS took forever to get setup... I think there was a minimum of 45 minutes between sets, but probably more like an hour or more. It was pretty ridiculous, and the mega-long wait really took any "thrill" out of their big opening medley of recordings -- by that point I was like "get the hell out here and play already". They played a good long set, with lots of good stuff, but the mix was off pretty badly. From what I could hear the band was solid, but the mix was crappy and it made it hard to enjoy a number of the songs. Ah well... maybe next time.

This was a great weekend for football too. OSU won, which was pretty expected, but they really surprised me by actually covering the spread. They didn't look flawless, but it was a solid game, and hopefully they keep it up and run the table. Even winning out, I don't know that we'll get a BCS bowl-bid unless Penn State drops a game, but we should still be well-placed. Sunday was the true insanity, as the BROWNS WON! Didn't get to watch it on TV, of course (stupid Bengals), but Dad & I listened to it on the radio, and it was nice to see (hear) the Browns come through for once... especially after the disappointing loss to the then-winless Texans. As far as fantasy football goes, I split, winning one and losing the other, but still - the real thing's better than fantasy any day.

It's Election Day. Go out there and vote. I definitely plan on voting on my way home. In Ohio there are five big state issues, plus other important stuff like school levees and the like.

Some linkage on my way out:
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