Naked Raygun - The Metro, Chicago - 2011-11-23

Last night, I headed into Chicago after work to catch the Naked Raygun show at The Metro.  I had a feeling that I would be having a few adult beverages so I decided to get a room on Priceline for the evening.  After checking into the hotel, I hit Harry Caray's for a few beers and a Wagyu burger.

The opening band was My Big Beautiful, a Chicago 3-piece.  The guitar player had played bass in the original version of The Bomb.  They have been around since 1993.  They played an entertaining 30 minute set.  I need to go pick up some of their releases.

Up next were Dan Vapid and the Cheats which is basically The Methadones with a different bass player.  They play songs from Dan's back catalog of other bands and some originals.  I saw them at Riot Fest opening for 7 Seconds a few weeks back.  They also put on another entertaining 30 minute set as they blasted thru their tunes like the Ramones.  I look forward to their first release coming out soon.

Next, The Falcon who were a poor man's drunken interpretation of NOFX.  They were a waste of an hour on the stage.

Then what the biggest crowd I have seen at The Metro was there to see - Naked Raygun.  Pete Mittler was once again on bass in the absence of Pierre Kezdy.  This was not the best sounding show I have seen them play since reuniting six years or so ago, but it was still quite entertaining.  I ran into MXV coming into the club.  He was nice enough to take a picture of the setlist and text it to me.  You can check out his pics at http://www.punkvinyl.com/.  About half way through the show, I ran into another friend Bryan who I had not seen for a few years.  It was great to catch up with him again.  Once again, the setlist was a good mix of their back catalog and a few new tracks from their singles they released since reuniting.

01 Iron Maiden (2009 7in Series #1) http://youtu.be/v7NeQ3pHIGA
02 Home of the Brave (1985 All Rise LP)
03 Metastasis (1984 Throb Throb LP)
04 The Strip (1985 All Rise LP)
05 Growing Away (2010 7in Series #2)
06 Surf Combat (1984 Throb Throb LP)
07 No Sex (1984 Throb Throb LP)
08 Vanilla Blue (1988 Jettison CD and single)
09 When the Walls Come Down (1988 Jettison LP)
10 Peacemaker (1985 All Rise LP)
11 Treason (1989 Understand LP)
12 Hips Swinging (1989 Understand LP)
13 Burning Red (2011 7in Series #3)
14 Walk in Cold (1988 Jettison LP)
15 I Lie (1983 Basement Screams LP) http://youtu.be/6iXwgd9sR_k
16 Entrapment (1989 Understand LP)
17 Knock Me Down (1985 All Rise LP) http://youtu.be/uQQ5c3kDLQ0
18 I Don't Know (1984 Throb Throb LP) http://youtu.be/dFJxu07jTHY

Encore #1
19 Wonder Beer (1989 Understand LP) http://youtu.be/vOwbIEmW0EQ
20 Backlash Jack (1985 All Rise LP)
21 Home (1990 Raygun... Naked Raygun LP)

Encore #2
22 Coldbringer (1988 Jettison LP)
23 Rat Patrol (1984 Throb Throb LP) http://youtu.be/Ec_90a2VW_E
24 New Dreams (1985 All Rise LP) http://youtu.be/2EmfQbPTbLk

Leinie's

All of these were from an Autumn multi flavored 12pk from Leinenkugel's.

Oktoberfest...

I found one more Oktoberfest to try.  I picked up a six pack at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI.  It reminded me of why I don't like beer in green bottles.

Beck's Oktoberfest - Bremen, Germany

1st Trip to Penzeys Spices

I made my first trip to Penzeys Spices in Kenosha, WI today.  Most know the name by the catalog business, but they do have a few storefronts.  It was an interesting experience as your nose comes through the door.  I don't remember the exact smell, but it was heavenly.  Here is what I purchased.

4 oz Vindaloo Seasoning - coriander, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cayenne pepper, jalapeno, cardamom, turmeric, black pepper, and cloves

4 oz 33rd & Galena Chicken & Pork Rub - Tellicherry black pepper, paprika, nutmeg, sage, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, oleoresin basil

4 oz BBQ 3000 - salt, paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, mustard, allspice, citric acid, garlic powder, ginger, sage, thyme, white pepper, cinnamon, natural smoke flavoring

4 oz Penzeys Forward! - Special extra bold black pepper, onion, paprika, garlic, turmeric, spice extractives (including oleoresin of celery, rosemary, black pepper, thyme, basil, paprika)

4 oz Northwoods Fire Seasoning - coarse flake salt, chipotle pepper, Hungarian paprika, Tellicherry black pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne pepper

0.8 oz Aleppo Pepper (Turkey)

I can't wait to give these a try on some BBQ.

Pig Roast - 2011-10-01

We went back to PA for a pig roast my brother threw for his 40th birthday party.

Sausage and Ribs

This is most likely my last weekend to cook anything so in addition to the 8 pork shoulders I made yesterday I made 3 racks baby back ribs, 3 racks of St Louis ribs, and 15 lbs of sausage.  The sausage is for an appetizer for our work potluck lunch.

Oktoberfest...

Here are a few other Oktoberfest beverages I picked up at Woodman's last week.

Berghoff Oktoberfest - Berghoff Brewery - Monroe, WI

Schell's Oktoberfest - August Shell Brewing Company - New Ulm, MN
(2nd Oldest Family Owned Brewery in the USA)

BBQ for Potluck Lunch

I volunteered to make 8 pork shoulders for a potluck lunch at work next Friday.

Here is a look at the fridge in the garage stuff with the necessary items for the cooking event.

Butts before being rubbed.

Butts rubbed and ready to go to sleep in the fridge overnight.

Traeger XL stuffed with 8 butts

View of butts after smoking for 6 hours

First of 4 pans of pulled pork

Close up shot of tastiness



Packers v Bears 2011-09-24

Ok, I know this will come as a shock.  Let me clarify.

My next door neighbors from my years in Memphis, Tim and Tanya, came to town this weekend so we could go to the football game.  If you haven't figured it out yet, they are Packers fans not Bears fans.  Oh, I forgot to mention, I have not seen this crazy couple together in almost 10 years.  Well, I am extremely glad to report, they have not changed.  It was an even better weekend than I could have imagined regardless of the fact that we were not watching a Steelers game.  To my long lost brother from another mother, Tim - it was my pleasure for us to spend a few days together again.  I'm not sure the world could handle us living next to each other again ;) as much as I would welcome the challenge.

Canadian Souvenirs

I made a brief pitstop at the Beer Store at the Molson Brewery my last time in town before I went to the airport.  I bought a few souvenirs.

GTA - Architecture

For the second time in two weeks, I was in the Greater Toronto Area.  For some reason, this set of buildings peaks my interest.

Oktoberfest

Again, I love this time of year.  Here are a few other worthwhile beverages.

Paulaner, Ocktoberfest Marzen - Munich, Germany

Oktoberfest, Frankenmuth Brewery - Michigan

Oktoberfest, Sprecher - Glendale, WI

O'Hare Mural

When I was heading from the plane to the parking garage, I passed this cool mural hanging on a wall in the O'Hare airport.

BBQ Spices

While I was in the Toronto area this week, I picked up a few bottles of spice mixes to try out.

Cutlery and More Shipment #4

I managed to find a few more interesting things that I thought I needed.

This baby will sharpen Asian (Santoku) and standard European knives with a different sharpener and honer for each style of knife - 4 stage sharpener.

I wanted to buy another gravity pepper mill like a did few months ago, but they are no longer carrying them on clearance.  I ended up buying this electronic stainless steel salt mill.  I intend to use it to grind the flavored, Hawaiian sea salts I got in Hawaii seven years ago.

The Damned, The Metro, Chicago - 2011-10-25

Last night, I went to The Metro in Chicago to see The Damned for the first time since I saw them there 10 years ago.  This time was their 35th anniversary tour where they played Damned Damned Damned and The Black Album in there entirety.  By the time the band hit the stage at 9:10pm, the place had a full house.

They tore into the first album after the Captain welcomed everyone to 1977.  The Captain managed to break a string on two different guitars early on.  Monty was a dancing fool most of the set as there was not much of a reason for keyboards.  I was a little disappointed in the vocals as they seemed too low in the mix and Dave Vanian seemed to use his more goth vocal style.  I have the same complaint about seeing the Sex Pistols reunion shows as Johnny Rotten uses his PIL Johnny Lydon vocal style.  Guys, this is punk rock.  I don't care if you can't actually sing.  Belt out the vocals like you did when you were 20!!

The band took a 10 minute break between albums, and changed up their costumes.  The Captain was proud to announce he was sporting his 1980 New Romatic look.  It was great to finally hear some tracks from this album as I am not sure I have every heard anything live other than "Wait for the Blackout" before.  Of course, I had only seen The Damned 2x before.  A lot more keyboards during this set.  Monty managed to play the intro to "History of the World" one song too early.  The rest of the band busted his balls for that.  Captain and Vanian traded laughs during songs.  The band truely looked like they were having fun and appreciated the crowd being into watching them.  I could have done without "Curtain Call" and the Captain and Monty trading keyboard sounds, but hell, this was a show for completist so I can say I saw them play the song live.

After a few minutes, the band came back on stage to play a 3 song encore.  "Love Song" and "Antipope" drew the most excitement from the crowd the whole evening which was saying something considering people were enjoying themselves all night.  I must say that I was probably the average age person in the audience.

All in all, the band played about 2 hours.  It was well worth getting home after midnight.  I am glad I witnessed this tour, and got to see them play songs they normally do not play.  It was worth the price of admission alone to see them play "Drinking About My Baby".  Many in the crowd appeared to enjoy it as much as me much to my surprise.  I ran into MXV before the Damned came on stage.  He then went behind the barrier to take pics.  You can check his story out at http://www.punkvinyl.com/.  I also ran into Daghouse/Riot Bill who low and behold was standing not too far from me the entire first album.  It took me until about the last song to realize it.  Good to see the young man again.  Below are a few pics and a video.  There are more pics on Flickr and more videos on youtube.

Damned Damned Damned Set
01 Neat Neat Neat
02 Fan Club
03 I Fall
04 Born to Kill
05 Stab Your Back
06 Feel the Pain
07 New Rose
08 Fish
09 See Her Tonite
10 1 of 2
11 So Messed Up
12 I Feel Alright

The Black Album Set
13 Wait for the Blackout
14 Lively Arts
15 Silly Kids Games
16 Drinking About My Baby
17 Twisted Nerve
18 Hit or Miss
19 Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
20 Sick of This and That
21 History of the World, Pt 1
22 13th Floor Vendetta
23 Therapy
24 Curtain Call

Encore Set
25 Eloise
26 Love Song
27 Antipope