THE CURIOUS CASE OF: Joe Paterno

Felipe M

BACKGROUND: Joe Paterno, in terms of wins, is the most successful college football head coaches in NCAA history.  He coached at Penn State University for generations, putting the sleepy town of State College, PA on the cultural map.  If you're a college football fan, you don't need me to tell you the accomplishments and accolades he brought to the university.

A CLASS OF ITS OWN: All these accomplishments brought Joe Paterno immense power.  And what better guy to possess all this clout?  He stood for moral righteousness.  He encouraged his athletes to "do the right thing."  The NCAA thought the same thing as it is very hard to find any NCAA violations--which we all know, everything in the NCAA is a violation: you can't buy your players pizza or ice cream after a game could also be deemed a violation.  If one were to think of all the big time violations and scandals in college athletics in the last 30 years, one has to marvel how this particular school was able to have such a relatively clean record.

A GENERATION OF SCANDAL: Name another collegiate institution with a successful football or basketball program (the top revenue machines at the big universities) and in all likelihood they have been marred with NCAA violations and legal scandal.  Schools like Nebraska who have had multiple players in domestic abuse and sexual assault scandals, Florida State with players stealing from a sporting goods store, Iowa with harboring a known rapist in basketball player Pierre Pierce, Baylor covering up a murder involving basketball teammates, and most infamously Southern Methodist University getting the "death penalty" for paying their football players to play at the school.

Through it all, Joe Paterno has been able to keep his football program away from such scandal and people can say with confidence "that at least they're doing it the right way at Penn State."  It turns out, however, that they were just as sleazy as any other institution of higher learning, if not more so. 

THE TRAGIC TRUTH: And then it turns out that Joe Paterno had a pedophile on his coaching staff in Jerry Sandusky.  It is hard to pinpoint when and if Paterno knew that his friend and top assistant had any notion that he had a sexual predator on his staff, but these are the facts:

• Pedophiles are known to have an average of 100+ victims in their lifetime.  The current allegations involve incidents that go back to 1994. Nevertheless, it's safe to assume that Sandusky has been molesting and raping children well before this time period.
• Public Record shows that Paterno should have known about Sandusky as early as 1998 (I strongly believe that Paterno knew about Sandusky well before 1998).  Instead of ousting this monster, the university forced him to retire and gave him "unlimited access to all football facilities, including the locker room."  How much was Paterno involved in keeping his friend and former top assistant out of the football program, but still remain at the university as a full time employee?
• It was believed that Sandusky would not only be the heir apparent to the Penn State head coaching job, but was also a hot commodity to be the next head coach at any other top-notch university.  Nevertheless, it was rumored that during interviews for other head coaching vacancies, Sandusky looked to have no desire to really coach at another university and always brought up the topic of his Second Mile foundation, ad nauseam.  
• Why was Sandusky forced into retirement at the age of 55 years-old in 1999?  Was it for the safety and well-being of Paterno's football program?  Furthermore, why did the University insist on keeping this predator around campus where he used school resources to hold events and activities for his Second Mile organization? 
• Paterno was known to have clashes with school professors and administrators and despite symbolizing the true spirit of amateur/academic sports and putting "student" first in "student-athletes," many of his players still, ironically, received a lot of special treatment at the school. 
• Rabid fans around 2002-2003 protest the potential investigation into the matter.  Among fear of an ensuing chaos and rioting, local police dismiss investigation.
• 2004, Penn State officials ask Paterno to step down as head coach of the football program.  Paterno refused to do so and continued coaching until he was fired in 2011 after the child rape scandal was uncovered.
• Paterno was the moral authority and had more power and clout at Penn State than any other school administrator, dean, president, and any other higher-up imaginable.  As a school employee, he also had the duty to report such incidents to the proper government authorities, NOT THE PENN STATE CHAIN-OF-COMMAND, that there was a sexual predator on campus that preyed on young children.
• Penn State gave Paterno a massive funeral ceremony fit for a King or a dictator.  Not bad for, as many of his fans would defend, someone at the bottom of the Penn State Chain-of-Command totem pole.  

A LEGACY OF HYPOCRISY: Despite the accomplishments and the many high school athletes he turned into men after participating in his football program, his legacy is forever tarnished and will always be remembered as the guy who was too busy with his precious football program to save any young boys from a known child rapist.  Many of his defenders will say that 99.99999% of Joe Paterno's time at Penn State was positive and that the rest of the small percentage was negative and just a "mistake."  But when the "mistake" involves the known endangerment of children into the hands of a child rapist, it is unforgivable and cannot be justified with his past achievements.  To paraphrase THE SCORE's Dan Bernstein, a Chicago radio sportscaster, "400 wins does not justify little boys getting raped."    

Just like Paterno told Penn State, countless number of times by the way, that he was Joe Paterno and he refused to leave the head coach position, he could have easily gone up to this issue and scream out, "I'm Joe Paterno and I am about doing what is right and at this point, I don't think it's right for a known child rapist to be running around my campus chasing little children around under my watch!  I WANT HIM OUT AND WANT AN INVESTIGATION TO BEGIN TO PUT THIS CRIMINAL IN PRISON WHERE HE CAN BE WITH OTHER CHILD RAPISTS!" The fact that he did not do this, is what will forever define his role at Penn State.  

IN CONCLUSION: It turns out that Joe Paterno was a hypocrite, just like the many right-wing, moral conservative Republicans he supported throughout his life.  The people who scream the most about moral righteousness are the ones who usually have the most to learn about the subject matter.  Joe Paterno and Penn State was just like every big time, college football program in America: money and athletics are priority #1, everything else is optionally unnecessary.  Paterno's program was as corrupt as the Catholic Priests at Notre Dame and as criminally ridden as the Miami Hurricane convicts he defeated for a meaningless football title.  Joe Paterno will forever be known as the man who enabled and harbored a child rapist to run loose at his program.  Why?  Because those are the standards that he supposedly instilled at his precious football program.  The images of him being a mentor, educator, and father-figure who happened to be a football coach are just myths.  Let us never forget this so we don't get suckered into believing such deceitful lies, deify these morally conflicted football coaches/players, and really hold these universities to a higher moral standard where they're not harboring, enabling, and protecting murderers, drug dealers, rapists, money whores, and pedophiles.

Pathological Hate would like to thank the Boers and Bernstein radio show (THE SCORE, 670AM) for being the voice of reason amid the Penn State child rape scandal.  We urge you to listen to their podcast.  

We also highly suggest to listen to the Boers and Bernstein "Who Ya Crappin?" segment from January 26, 2012.  The segment has become a Chicago, sports staple and had a lot of listeners calling the program to show their disgust at Penn State and their handling of the child rape scandal and Joe Paterno's funeral. 

ESPN has provided a timeline for the Penn State child rape scandal as well.  

To read the child rape scandal Grand Jury testimony, click here. 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF: Tyreke Evans

Felipe M

BACKGROUND--IN THE BEGINNING: When former Memphis Tigers' combo guard Tyreke Evans was selected #4 overall in the 2009 NBA draft, it was at the apex of youth basketball developing explosively quick, fast, strong, and athletic guards who can play both point and shooting guard positions at a moment's notice and the NBA's willingness to eagerly acquire these players.  The 2008 NBA draft, saw a plethora of talent at this hybrid position as 5 out of the 11 first picks of that draft were players that fit that mold of the super-fast, score-at-will guards, including future league MVP, Derrick Rose. 

HITTING THE BIG TIME: Evans became just the 4th rookie player in NBA history to score 20 points per game, and have 5 rebounds and assists per game, joining a very exclusive class of players who achieved that feat in their first year in the NBA--Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.  There were even arguments that Evans might be better than Rose given his size and athleticism.  Already in his 3rd season however, and Evans' production seems to be decreasing, his basketball IQ is somewhat mediocre, and the lofty expectations that were bestowed upon him and the rest of his young teammates in Sacramento are not even close to being met.  

THE ISSUES--THE BAD: So what has been the biggest problem for this promising, but dwindling superstar?  Well, for starters, one can look at his Pre-Draft Scouting Report and see that the question marks about his game back then, are still prevalent in his third season as a pro:

• Ball-handling skills makes one believe he can be a successful point guard, but prefers to play shooting guard--but he's a player that needs to have the ball in his hands, at all times, to be successful.
• Loves playing a fast pace of basketball where he doesn't have to worry about calling plays.
• Prefers playing in a system where isolation plays are designed for him.
• His shot is still questionable, bounded by an even worse outside shot. 
• Could be careless with the ball and does not distribute the ball enough to his teammates.

To reiterate, these are the same issues that scouts had with Evans' game that pundits are still bringing up about him to this day!  Suddenly, Evans goes from being a match-up problem at the point guard position, to being labeled a tweener in the backcourt--does not possess the court awareness to be a point guard, nor the shooting touch to be a shooting guard.

THE ISSUES--THE GOOD: Supporters of Evans will argue that despite these flaws in his game, he still has immense potential that has not been successfully tapped by an inept Sacramento Kings' franchise who: 

• Lack veteran leadership on the roster.
• Have drafted and/or acquired other young projects such as Jason Thompson, J.J. Hickson, Donte Greene who cannot be trusted to play heavy minutes.
• Seemingly overstocking on similar-playing guards seemed to have hurt Evans' production having to share the ball in the backcourt with John Salmons, Jimmer Fredette, and Marcus Thornton (though Thornton proved late last season that he can complement Evans the best in the backcourt).
• Only has another player on the current roster who can match Evans' talent in the gifted, but enigmatic DeMarcus Cousins (also a former John Calipari coached player in college).
• Former coach Paul Westphal did not utilize Evans to the best of his abilities.

A coaching change was being begged by Evans' and Kings' fans alike with the team finally firing Paul Westphal and replacing him with Keith Smart.  Evans has seen his scoring go from 14.29/game to 19.11/game with Smart.  His rebound and assists have also seen a slight increase as well since the coaching change.  However, the team still has a losing record despite the coaching change, going 2-4 under Smart, heretofore.  

IN CONCLUSION: Tyreke Evans is still a highly gifted player with the talent and athleticism to be a superstar hybrid player in the mold of Derrick Rose: A player that can score at will from the point guard position AND create plays for others.  However, as his athleticism goes down and refuses to develop his point guard skills, learn that you don't always have to possess the ball for a majority of the time to be a dominant player, or improve his outside shot, Evans will become just another average player in the NBA.  

Pathological Hate will like to thank Dan Plotsky for contributing to this article.

To look back at the 2011 NBA DRAFT, click here.

To look back at the 2008 NBA DRAFT, click here.  

2011 BIRTHDAY FORTNIGHT: Part III: The Dillinger Escape Plan

Felipe M

The Dillinger Escape Plan have earned a reputation for having the craziest, sickest, most violent, energetic, live shows in today's music scene.  Fans don't expect a solid performance from the band, rather if they go to a show and are not sore for more than two days, they are left disappointed.  

On this particular night, The Dillinger Escape Plan (from heretofore, TDEP) started their night opening for Deftones at The Riv.  My disappointment was in the fact that I missed their opening set, but did see lead singer Greg Puciato help Chino Moreno sing "Passenger."  Nevertheless, I needed my TDEP fix for the night.  Luckily I was informed by one of my friends, after the Deftones' show, that the band had announced earlier that they would be performing a midnight show at The Bottom Lounge (somehow, I had missed the memo).  So Pathological Hate hopped aboard the mighty Saab and drove south in our search for a TDEP performance:

APRIL 30, 2011: THE BOTTOM LOUNGE, CHICAGO, IL--I believed the last time I was at The Bottom Lounge was when I saw Propagandhi.  It is a very small venue, but it's perfect for these types of shows.  Even before the opening act started, there was a buzz in the air and excitement in the atmosphere as many of us had smiles in our faces with the understanding that something special was about to happen.  Finally, TDEP got on stage and they did not disappoint.  

From the get-go, there were things that happened here that could never happen at The Riv. Most importantly I was able to wander around as I pleased.  Secondly, people were stage diving into the crowd--more often than not, the crowd would not assist in catching of said people as some of the divers fell straight into the ground.  Sure the ones who kept falling straight into the ground were the ones who looked the most drunk, however, I later found out that one of the dudes that constantly kept falling into the ground went to that show with a 104-degree fever!  I myself got kicked really hard on the side of my head at the Deftones' show and probably should not have gone to this show--at the very least i shouldn't have done all that head-banging (on Monday, I did end up going to the hospital as I battled a headache all day at work and felt this strong, tingling sensation on the side of my head where I got kicked).  

Meanwhile on stage, TDEP were on their A-game as they were playing that show as if they had some frustration to vent, constantly threatening to break something, either with their instruments or with their fists (or maybe their own bodies).  They were so aggressively furious and raw!  It is simply amazing how this band can perform this way night in and night out.  Despite the small stage and mosh pit area, large amounts of chaos reigned supreme everywhere you turned.  The show came to its climax when TDEP played "Sunshine the Werewolf" and half the crowd when up on stage to sing along to the "DESTROYER!!!" part of the song.  

Overall, the setlist was an impressive one that was dominated by the album Option Paralysis, which was perfect as that has become my favorite TDEP full-length.  I can watch this band perform "Widower," "Good Neighbor," and "Farewell, Mona Lisa" every time they come to town and not get tired of it.

After the show, a Facebook page entitled I Survived the Dillinger Escape PlanShow at the Bottom Lounge was created.  Fans who were at the show discussed were they were standing, shared their battle scars, how they lost keys, cell phones, swapped photos, videos, and some of these fans actually became friends.  A great show of solidarity by everybody involved.  

Click here to visit The Dillinger Escape Plan's official website.

To read other articles of TDEP, click here.

2011 BIRTHDAY FORTNIGHT: Part II: Deftones

Felipe M

As mentioned before on this website, I really do not like commercial music of any kind, including commercial/major label rock/alternative/metal bands.  However, Deftones have always had a special place since I was in high school listening to other commercial bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, System of a Down, Staind, etc., I always felt that Deftones would stand the test of time.  A decade and a half later, Deftones, despite a lot of internal turmoil, strenuous touring, extensive drug and alcohol use, breakups and divorces, and being lumped in the whole Nu-Metal movement, they are still making music, performing live in front of thousands of people all over the world, and still being one of the most liked and respected bands in the genre.  

The biggest test for this band occurred in November of 2008 when long time bassist, Chi Cheng was involved in a horrible car accident that left him in a coma.  The band was so distraught of the event, that the last album that Chi Cheng and his bandmates were working on, Eros, was supposed to be released as early as late 2008, was put on hold as the band did not want to release the album with Cheng in a coma.  So the band instilled the services of Sergio Vega as their new bass player (for now?) and almost on the fly, created a totally different album, one with a more optimistic and positive vibe and called it Diamond Eyes.  It would prove to be popular among fans and critics alike.

So that is the backstory of this band leading up to their Chicago stop on their 2011 spring tour:

APRIL 30, 2011: THE RIV, CHICAGO, IL-- What started out as an optimistic night of metal goodness ended up in slight disappointment as even arriving at The Riv, presumably early at 7PM or so, was not early enough to catch the opening act.  Just a little band that call themselves The Dillinger Escape Plan.  

Even worse was the fact that we were met by a jammed-packed venue as already we were ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK near the corridors that take you to the exit.  One thing I absolutely hate is being far away from the stage.  It's standing room only so I should be able to fight my way to the mosh pit.  Well, let me tell you why The Riv is the absolutely worst concert venue in Chicago:

1. Very uptight security--I know it's a lot of people to watch over, but I wouldn't be surprised if sneezing in public would be enough to get you kicked out of the venue.  You're not allowed to walk in certain areas, not allowed to stand in certain areas, it's very frustrating to deal with them.
2. Obstructed views everywhere--Even if we decided to just sit back and enjoy the show from the safest and highest slope of the venue, apparently, all the tall people like to hang out where we were stuck in the back and secondly, the 2nd floor balcony hangs almost above the mosh pit area, creating the biggest obstructed view in the whole venue. So with the tall people and balcony, we had to seperate and fight for a better view.
3. Getting to the mosh pit area is a pain--The problem with seeing a popular band like Deftones is that it brings a lot of fair-weathered fans who are just standing like statues trying to figure out when they will play songs from White Pony.  If fighting the hordes of drunk and high people and trying to reason with them to let you through is hard enough, there are levels you need to climb down in order to get to the mosh pit area.  Easy, right?  That's what stairs are for!  Unfortunately, the stairs are located in the middle of the venue and each level is barricaded by black rails.  You can hop over the black rails I suppose, but again, uptight security might kick you out for pulling such a stunt. So just fight towards the middle of each level and start going down the steps--well, again, the hordes of statues that call themselves people (or "fans") are obstructing your view of the rails and the stairs.  

Anyway, moral of the story is that The Riv sucks as a concert venue (always has and always will) and I only wish that Deftones perform at The Congress Theatre on their next Chicago date.

As far as the setlist, they kicked off by playing their first two singles from Diamond Eyes and then playing four consecutive songs from their 1990s releases, including "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)," which is the first time I've heard it live.  Also hearing it live for the first time was "Hexagram" (which was everything I had hoped for).  It was pretty cool how they played, relatively "soft" songs "Sextape" and "Beauty School" back-to-back which was followed by "Feiticeira," which is full of bondage overtones.  

Overall, it was another solid performance from Deftones.  Chino Moreno proved once again why he might just be the best front man right now and I even caught a guitar pick from guitarist Stephen Carpenter.  Only wished that I could catch The Dillinger Escape Plan, but the night was still young.  Also, spending half the show trying to make it to the pit area was absolutely unnecessary as well.  

On a more serious note, please check out this website to continue to check on the status of bassist Chi Cheng and to donate money to help with medical expenses.  

So what's the big deal about The Dillinger Escape Plan?  Click here and find out!

To find out why Felipe hates commercial music, click here.

2011 BIRTHDAY FORTNIGHT: Part I: Between the Buried and Me

Felipe M

Between the Buried and Me is our favorite metal band out there.  There's no argument.  Whether you consider them a metal band or not (because of their fusion of different genres they install into their music), without a doubt, they're one of the most unique, creative, and talented bands out there.  Even though they released an EP this year, it was just as good as many metal bands' full-lengths, if not better!  With the recent release of The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues as the foundation of their Spring of 2011 tour, we descend on the sleepy town of Joliet, IL and as you can read from the title of this article, we kick off my birthday fortnight (because one day is just not enough!):

APRIL 24, 2011: MOJOES, JOLIET, IL-- Just like we stated in our Streetlight Manifesto article, Mojoes is another bar that does not allow the drinking and sale of alcoholic in the mosh pit area and forces you to go to the 2nd floor of the venue to drink and purchase said beverages.  Again, Ricardo, Devon, and I have only experienced this rule outside the Chicago City Limits so we assume that it's a "suburban" thing.  

As much as we were ready to enjoy an evening of awesome music with The Ocean, Job for a Cowboy, and Between the Buried and Me, we had other things in our mind.  The Chicago Blackhawks were fighting elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs against their archrival, the Vancouver Canucks.  We actually spent the majority of Job for a Cowboy's set with our backs turned to them because the game was so intense.  Matter of fact, we thank the band for their pulsating blast beats as it was the perfect music to release some anxiety from this tight game as we used our hands to pat them on the bar and were tapping to the rhythm of the double bass.  Shamefully, we also missed half of the beginning of BTBAM's setlist as well as we couldn't help but continually turn our heads to the direction of the TV sets to see the Hawks win in overtime.  

BTBAM started the setlist playing their entire Parallax EP.  They played it near flawlessly as "Specular Reflection" is quickly becoming a great way to start any of their future shows (for the record, the middle of the "Augment of Rebirth" ('TO CREATE, TO RECREATE!') and the xylophone crash in Lunar Wilderness are the best parts of the EP).

They moved on from the EP to play consecutive tracks from Colors, "Sun of Nothing" and "Ants of the Sky" followed by what seemed to be an impomptu jam session of "Swim to the Moon" highlighted by a guitar solo from Paul Waggoner and drum solo by Blake Richardson.  

We also finally got a chance to listen to "Fossil Genera-A Feed from Cloud Mountain Live" and "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" live for the first time in our lives.  

Overall, this was an amazing show with great bands playing great sets, the Blackhawks winning, and a pretty memorable drive down to Joliet, IL (you might remember this crap-tacular town from such references as THE BLUES BROTHERS movie, the famously infamous Joliet Prison, Route 66, etc.).  This would be worthy of gaining the top spot in the pursuit of our annual SHOW OF THE YEAR!

Check out past articles about Between the Buried and Me.

2011 WINTER CONCERT WRAP-UP: Streetlight Manifesto

Felipe M

We love Streetlight Manifesto around these parts.  So when we found out that they would be coming to Durty Nellie's in Palatine, Pathological Hate was all too eager to see them live again.

February 15, 2011: Durty Nellie's, Palatine, IL-- This was the first time I've ever been to Nellie's, much less for a show at this venue.  It is definitely an impressive establishment as there's a bar and grill walled off from the stage area.  Overseeing both sections of this facility is a second floor that provides a good view of the action below--unfortunately the good view is only supplied for a few people as views gets pretty obstructed rather quickly as people try to muscle their way into the best view possible without spilling theirs or anybody else's drink.  Really the only perk to staying on the 2nd floor is that it plays as the designated drinking area as alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the mosh pit area.  Yeah, I couldn't believe it either!  

Nevertheless, the best feature of Nellie's is that it has two impressively sized telescreens which display the show for those people who don't want to get too close to the action.  It is pretty unique for a small venue like Nellie's to have such a feature as it adds to the show's experience.

The second floor is where we watched Terrible Things' full setlist.  Terrible Things is a group compiled from ex-members of Coheed and Cambria and Hot Rod Circuit.  However, the reason why you would know this band is because it's fronted by ex-Taking Back Sunday member, Fred Mascherino.  Admittedly, I recognized Mascherino, but just wasn't sure where I have seen him before.  Weeks after the show is when I realized who he was.  Nevertheless, the band's sound seemed to be "out-dated" and the energy was just lacking, as the songs were very uninteresting.  However, there was a small fan base that was digging the set so all was not totally lost.

If Terrible Things was a necessary evil to endure that night, then Streetlight Manifesto was ready to send us to hell.  Just like at the show at The Metro in July (of 2010), the mosh pit area was hot!  We're in the middle of winter, but the mosh pit was scorching and humid like a tropical jungle.  The crowd was simply amazing as they knew almost every word to every song and never stopped moving.  No band can constantly keep the crowd moving like Streetlight Manifesto.  I myself had to take a long water break midway through the show as the heat was unforgiving.

As far as the band goes, they are simply marvelous.  The band's setlist was similar to the one in July, 2010, with a few additions here and there, most noticeably  their cover of NOFX's "Linoleum" and a personal favorite of mine, "Failing, Flailing".  Just like the show in July, they synthesized "Point/Counterpoint" with "Keasbey Nights"--that never gets old!  They finished their set with what's quickly becoming my favorite song all time from the band, "Somewhere in the Between."  The encore featured "Linoleum" and just like in July, ended with "The Big Sleep." 

It was a cold, drizzly, winter's day in the Chicagoland area, and it was about two weeks after the biggest snowstorm in Chicago, but the hottest place to be in mid-February of 2011 was at Durty Nellie's as Streetlight Manifesto put out another bombastic show for a terrific crowd.

Make sure to check out last year's 1st Quarter Concert Wrap-Up.

Streetlight Manifesto has also recorded their version of Bad Religion's "Skyscraper."  Be sure to check out our countdown of the 50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS EVER.

Find out what Devon was also doing during the month of February as he covered the 2011 Chicago Auto Show.

TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING: Thursday Performs FULL COLLAPSE!

Felipe M.

If you don't know about Thursday and their album Full Collapse, then what are you waiting for?  It wasn't a very popular mainstream album and it did not make a dent in the charts back in 2001 (reaching #178 on the Billboard charts), but the imprint that it has left in the world of music is very prevalent, as it has become a fan favorite in the punk/hardcore/underground scene and has influenced many bands that followed its release.  It is truly a landmark of a gem in independent music.  

So earlier this year, Thursday had announced that they would be touring in support of Underoath where they would play Full Collapse IN ITS ENTIRETY!  I so happened to be there on February 9, 2011 at the House of Blues, Chicago, Illinois.

These old songs are still amazing and they have not aged a bit.  They're as cutting edge as anything that's being released by other bands today.  Thursday playing them live just justifies and confirms that belief.  Another thing that stuck out as these memorable songs were being played live is the fact that, as intense as these songs are, they make you move.  I'm not much of a dancer, but something in these songs just made me want to dance and as I was looking at the crowd, I wasn't alone in this thinking.  I mean, even the song "Concealer," which starts out as a simple head-bobbing tune, eventually becomes a song that you want to dance to.  

The crowd was pretty tamed, but that's at any Thursday show.  Thursday is the only hardcore act where the entire crowd is mesmerized by the band's lead singer (in this case, Geoff Rickly) as there are no cirlce pits, no moshing, and no need for elbows to be up at all times.  It is truly a sight to behold as the entire crowd is usually looking at the stage in awe.  

The band finished their set with a new song from their new album No Devolucion, "Turnpike Divides."  The song was so good, that I had made up my mind that I would go ahead and buy the album on its release date without listening to the other tracks (very rarely do I buy an album without listening to a few tracks first).  

This album will always have a special place for me and I was glad that Thursday decided to pay homage to it.  Outside of the very popular "Understanding in a Car Crash," the other songs are not played very regularly as they should be.  But "Autobiography of a Nation" ("WRITE THESE WORDS BACK DOWN!"), "Cross Out the Eyes," and "Paris in Flames" never gets old ; Hearing songs "A Hole in the World," "I Am the Killer," "Standing on the Edge of Summer," "Wind-Up," and "How Long Is the Night" for the first time live was definitely a treat.  

I wish more bands had the ability to play the 10 year anniversary of any albums.  Albums released in 2001 that I wish would be played live in their entirety are as follows:

• Thrice--Identity Crisis
• Rise Against--The Unraveling
• Strike Anywhere--Change is a Sound
• Rufio--Perhaps, I Suppose...
• Hot Water Music--A Flight and a Crash
• Brand New--Your Favorite Weapon
• The Bouncing Souls--How I Spent My Summer Vacation (which they actually did in select cities this year.  Obviously, I missed the Chicago date).
• Alkaline Trio--From Here to Infirmary
• Against Me!--Crime as Forgiven

To read the 50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS OF ALL TIME from the very beginning, click here.

Feel free to listen to the greatest NEW YEAR'S EVE song of all time, Thursday's "Jet Black New Year."

Also, check out Devon's interpretation of Thursday's "Autumn Leaves Revisited," along with other Song Facts

50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS EVER: Part III

Felipe M. 

Moving along with the list:

#40.  "Cease"-- THE GRAY RACE (1996): First time I heard this song, it was on the live DVD LIVE AT THE PALLADIUM where lead singer Greg Graffin sings a solo version on piano.  The same version could be heard on Graffin's 1997 solo album American Lesion.  The argument could be made that Greg's version might be better than the band's electric version.  

This is yet another song that plays with the theme of inevitable mortality of mankind.  

Quote--"What pretension, everlasting peace--everything must cease."

#39.  "Doin' Time"-- HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? (1981): Final song of the original release of their first full length album.  Even as young adults, Bad Religion had their ideals intact.  Just like "Cease," this song also mocks the idea of man's notion of a higher purpose in tangible life and questions the idea of eternal life.

The real treat of this early 1980s hardcore song is near the end where the bass and guitar solo mesh perfectly with each other and takes the listener to some gritty, underground that brings you chills.  All of this climaxes with Greg's voice as he screams "Salvation!"

Quote--"Don't tell me what's wrong or right!  You're losing sight.  You're just going to die anyway!"

#38.  "All There Is"--THE EMPIRE STRIKES FIRST (2004): One of the more popular songs on college radio when the album was released, this song brings back good memories.  This song is also played live on LIVE AT THE PALLADIUM and sometimes makes its way on to current live sets.

The song is more question than answers as the song, once again, questions religion and divinity as the end all reason for existence as Graffin is constantly asking "can that be all there is?"  

Quote--"The walking wounded in a pageant of contenders who balance on a rail of pain for just a pail of rain."

#37.  "Suffer"--SUFFER (1988): This song is still played live as fans go crazy when the introduction is played.  

The song is a cry for the power elite of society to look at the suffering they have produced to the rest of "the masses of humanity."  No matter what time period in man's history, this song is appropriate how so many people work for the right of a few to remain part of the dominant population.  

For prime examples on how this song is appropriate to current events, click here.  For a song that explores the same subject matter, listen to Thrice's "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts" which is a first person perspective on how the power elite look at 90% of the Earth's human population.  Thrice's "Don't Tell and We Won't Ask" from the same album, THE ARTIST IN THE AMBULANCE, finishes that album with the same plea to the power elite to open up their eyes and see how their actions to get richer affects the rest of the world in a negative way.  Thrice and many bands just like them further prove the massive influence that Bad Religion has had on the current punk/hardcore scene.

Quote--"This deformed society is part of the design.  It'll never go away, it's in the cards that way..."

#36.  "Dearly Beloved"--NEW MAPS OF HELL (2007): This is a difficult song to pinpoint its meaning as it could be decipher in so many ways.  However, at its broadest and most vague, perhaps the song is about turning your back on conformity and the resulting consequences it bestows on the individual who wants to follow their own path, such as ridicule and isolation. 

Quote--"Dearly Beloved, make no mistake, despite our traits I've seldom seen.  I can't relate to you."

Part IV of the list can be viewed here. 

About Me:

Current Favorite Show: Catching up on BREAKING BAD.  It's been awhile since a drama could move me like this.  Regretfully, I wish I could catch up on THE WIRE.

Currently Listening To: CRACK THE SKYE by Mastodon.  I didn't really like it. Strange since I recently enjoyed listening to Coheed and Cambria.

Currently Watching: Rockies vs Cardinals--Hoping Fernando Salas gets a chance for the save and get me the 10 points I need to win my fantasy game this week.

Currently Finished Reading: THE POSTMAN by David Brin.  Cool story about survival in a post-apocalyptic world, but could be very preachy at times. 

Is Image Everything? Felipe's Music Manifesto

Felipe M.




I just finished reading David Konow's Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal.  Admittedly a bit dated, it was published in 2002 right as Metallica were about ready to hit rock bottom in their careers.  Nevertheless, it was a very interesting read as every chapter reads more like mini-biographies of not only famous heavy metal acts, but hard rock acts as well such as Led Zeppelin and Kiss--think That Metal Show in book form.  

When reading non-fiction works about the genre, I can't help but to get very excited when the works starts memorializing the "Thrash Metal" movement--usually sandwiched between chapters that speak of bands that wear face paint and make up (i.e. Alice Cooper and the aforementioned Kiss), to bands that insist on wearing as much leather as possible on and off stage (i.e. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc.), before them and bands that cared more about their hair than their own music (or their own well-being, such as Motley Crue, Poison, etc.) after them.  Clearly, I have not hidden the fact that my musical tastes are rooted in punk rock and all of its genres and sub-genres so I can appreciate the existence of bands that developed their imagery based on the ideal to do away with glamour, theatrics, and visible imagery in metal music.  In its place were bands that wore black t-shirts (more often with other bands' logos), black jeans, and black shoes/boots with Anthrax even paving the way to wear shorts on stage.  Also missing from this movement was well-groomed, overly cared for, and chemically enhanced hair as grizzled beards and frizzled and scuzzy hair took over.

I will not be here telling whoever is reading this that they should only listen to this band and not the other band.  You can make that decision for yourself.  Instead, I will share with you the music code that I follow when listening to new bands and I like to think that it is solely based on music and not any other crappy image or gimmick the artist is trying to sell to me.  So without further ado...

FELIPE'S SIMPLE RULES ON PUNK AND METAL

• Rule #1: If you have to wear a mask, excessive make up, or face paint, I don't want anything to do with you or your band.  Kiss, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson--you might garner lot of fans and sell many records, but I want nothing to do with any of you!  Something about covering your face makes it seem to me that you're trying too hard on displaying an image or working too hard on theatrics to worry about your music.  Also makes me wonder what the hell it is you are hiding (not in a cool, mysterious way either).  You can tell me all the reasons why Manson is one of the most artistic people in the world and how Slipknot are uber-talented; I will continue to avoid them like the plague.  

• Rule #2: Let me preface by saying that I'm a guy who refuses to shave on a daily basis and I only wash my clothes if their longstanding odor isn't too offensive to me.  I also don't care if my haircut is not "punk enough" or if I'm wearing enough black clothes from Hot Topic so the whole world knows I'm expressing myself by letting people know I listen to Punk Rock and Metal music.  Nor do I worry that my lack of tats and piercings make me any less punk or metal.  If I find that a band seems to go out of their way to work a bit too hard on their image, then i-Tuned them off.  Bands like Anti-Flag and AFI come to mind, especially when they signed their first major label deals.  Travis Barker is another guy who went from being a punk rock drummer to being a drummer who has a punk image to go with his "punk attitude."  So to summarize, even if your band is not wearing makeup or funny-looking masks, any attempt to "dress up" is also grounds for dismissal.

When I go to a concert, I don't want to have to wait for a band to come on stage because they don't look "punk or metal enough" to get on stage yet.  Or maybe their "guyliner" isn't quite dark and guy enough yet, but a few coats promises to do the trick.  Or if their Liberty Spikes looks too punk, but not faux enough.  Nope, that just won't do!  Don't get me wrong, I do tolerate and even enjoy music by Anti-Flag, AFI, Green Day, and Blink-182.  But when I see these bands work so hard for their "look" they just simply come off as clowns.   

Yes, the quality of music is always first, but there are plenty of bands out there who don't go out of their way to create that "punk" or "metal" image.  Basically bands who "look like me" always get preferential treatment on my music rotation.  I'm talking about bands like Bad Religion, A Wilhelm Scream, Darkest Hour, The Lawrence Arms, etc.  When I see Hatebreed on stage and you have Jamey Jasta wearing a baseball hat, another band's t-shirt, shorts, and regular boots, I can appreciate that--the dude has nothing to hide and doesn't need much to get on stage, but a mic and his voice.  When i see Darkest Hour lead singer John Henry refuse to take his glasses off for a band photo, I say to myself, "Hey, I wear glasses and this guy looks like a total nerd like I do and we both like our music loud, aggressive, but with substance."  Best of all, we don't go out of our way to look like some sort of circus freak show.  When I see Bad Religion's lead singer, Greg Graffin's clothes and I can't recognize the brand names that he's wearing, I can relate because I sometimes have a hard time figuring out what brand of clothing I'm wearing (that's why I have a girlfriend so I don't have to worry about trivial stuff like that).

Probably the best personification of my decree to decide which bands will be given my valuable attention is the band Against Me!  These guys simply go on stage wearing all black--no corporate sponsored t-shirts, not even band t-shirts.  It's the coolest thing ever to see a band just go on stage and it's just four guys against the world as they put it all on black.  Their "image" is the epitome of what punk rock should be and it's more in spirit of what the genre is all about than any other fashionably conscious, popular faux punk rawk band out there.  

I can't help but think that both the punk and metal scenes are not and should not be about creating an image to appease a mainstream audience who probably does not care about the music as much as they care about the image that is being sold to them.  It's like the band Against Me! sing in their song "Reinventing Axl Rose":

We want a band

That plays loud and hard every night

A simple way to judge a band.  Very hard to quantify such a quality in today's world where attention spans keep getting shorter and shorter and style constantly trumps substance.  Worse, originality in music is pushed to the side for the chance of success by transforming into one of many copy-cat molds.  Because of this brave new world we live in, a lot of these bands have to find themselves a niche in the scene just to get our attention and avoid being accused of being a copy-cat band.  Hell, Kiss have been triumphant since the 1970s with the simple maxim that having a gimmick was better than being good, but unknown musicians who were dirt poor.

I also understand that many of these bands want to make a living out of their passion and not live dirt poor for the rest of their lives.  But for every band that has a gimmick to survive the music business, there has to be a lot more bands that are surviving who--you know?--work really hard at honing their skills in order to make great, memorable music and are making a comfortable living doing so.  At any rate, I'll continue to root for bands who classify with the latter and hoping for nothing but the worst for the bands that can be classified in the former.  

50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS EVER: Part I

Felipe M.




Finally, Part I has arrived!  We countdown the best Bad Religion songs ever and let you know the album and year it was released and a short comment as to why it made the list.  Without further ado:



#50. "Delirium of Disorder"-SUFFER (1988): Suffer is one of my favorite albums ever and I can still listen to it from beginning to end without hesitation.  However, for a while, the one song that I hated was this one because of the introduction as someone with a robotic, Satanic voice would very suddenly say the phrase "DELIRIUM OF DISORDER."  That used to scare me every single time the first several times I would listen to this album.  Eventually it won me over because it is a typical fast-paced Bad Religion song that blasts into your ears.  

As with a lot of Bad Religion songs, if your vocabulary is limited, you will have to bust out the dictionary to look up words.  This song in particular, as with a lot of Bad Religion songs, mocks the idea of people thinking that they have a significant reason for existing besides mere survival.  

Quote--"Chaos is the score upon which reality is written." 

#49. "Them and Us"--THE GRAY RACE (1996): Song was part of the soundtrack for the video game Crazy Taxi and helped a lot of people become Bad Religion fans undoubtedly.  

The song deals with race (appropriately enough for an album called The Gray Race) and how foolish it is to divide people into groups and categories because in the end we are all the same.  However, the song does acknowledge that humans, through psychological and social structures, cannot help but to create these differences--differences that are so rigid, which ultimately leads to this "Them and Us" mentality.

Quote--"Hate is a simple manifestation of the deep-seated, self-directed frustration.  All it does is promote fear and consternation."

#48. "It Must Look Pretty Appealing"--NO CONTROL (1989):  This album was the first Bad Religion CD I ever bought and pretty much was the gateway for the rest of the band's work.  

This song in particular focuses on the theme of introspection, almost encouraging an individual to question their comfortable, but routine, day-to-day life.  Greg Graffin's voice almost dares the listener to change their boring life, but he ridicules and teases the listener throughout the song, knowing very well that the individual will continue to lead a dull existence in reverie.


Quote--"You're too scared of other people not like you"


#47. "Anesthesia"--AGAINST THE GRAIN (1990): Many fans have stated that the first verse of this song was about the Charles Manson murders and it might be, as Bad Religion is known to find witty ways to reference events.  The lyrics and the fact that Brett Gurewitz wrote the song, might be autobiographical in nature as Mr. Brett has had problems with drugs and the song is littered with vague drug references, especially heroin.  A good example of how the band uses double meanings in their lyrics. 


Quote--"I've been hanging out here, for eleven long years, like a church mouse wondering where the cat has gone."


#46. "Bored and Extremely Dangerous"--THE PROCESS OF BELIEF (2002): I always thought that this track was in some way connected to the song "Broken" in that same album.  Where "Broken" ends in an optimistic note for a couple of teens, the perceived young person (or persons) in "Bored" is not so lucky and is constantly crying for help, compassion, and understanding.  The individual in the song will even resort to violence (whether harming themselves, others, or both) if not given the proper attention they so desperately need.  


The alarm clock and telephone ringing in the middle of the song is creepy as if to say "time's up"---appropriate for an isolated teen in high school who loathes having to go to class to be judged, persecuted, and bullied or the adult who lives a meaningless life and does his real living in his dreams every night only to be interrupted by the daily grind that is his day-to-day life.


Ironically, as the song ends and Greg Graffin cries for someone to "Listen to me," one will notice that the vocals go from being plea-like to hopeful, suggesting optimism for those that need such charity.


Quote--"Yeah, sure I might do harm and bear my right to arm."


Part II is available, here.....

PREVIEW TO THE 50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS OF ALL TIME

Felipe M.


Last year, the band Bad Religion celebrated 30 years of existence and to start celebrating the next 30 years of the punk rock legendary band, we will be listing THE TOP 50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS OF ALL TIME.  


The band's entire discography is well represented and it includes tracks from the following albums:

• How Could Hell Be Any Worse?--3 Songs
• Back to the Known--1 Song
• Suffer--4 Songs
• No Control--4 Songs
• Against the Grain--3 Songs
• Generator--5 Songs
• Recipe for Hate--5 Songs
• Stranger Than Fiction--4 Songs
• The Gray Race--2 Songs
• The Process of Belief--3 Songs
• The Empire Strikes First--7 Songs
• New Maps of Hell--4 Songs
• The Dissent of Men--5 Songs

It was not easy narrowing down 30 years of punk rock music to a list of 50, but it certainly was worth the effort.  Here is a list of some notable songs that just missed the cut.  

51.  "Change of Ideas"--This song kicks off the album No Control and without a doubt, it's one of the few times the band is being overt with their lyrics as they do indeed cry out for a "change of ideas!"  Just missed the cut!

54.  "God Song"--Like a lot of Bad Religion songs, they deal a lot with the idea of a God.  Some have described it as an atheist anthem.  Some of the best lyrics you'll find from this band and one of the more melodic songs as well.

58.  "No Control"--From the album No Control, once again, no double or hidden meanings and the witty lyrics can be take at face value: even though some people believe that they have the right to take control of the world, they, like the rest of us, are not immortal and one day they will be gone from this Earth and will have to relinquish the perceived control that they thought they had anyway.  This is a fan favorite and the song is still played at their live shows.  

64.  "Ad Hominem"--Like many of the songs that missed the cut, this song, at one point was in the top 50, but was eventually dropped for other songs that proved to be "better."  This track, from the newest album The Dissent of Men, was named after the logical fallacy where one's character is attacked in order to invalidate their argument.  Near the end, the song challenges people to "divide your beliefs and ideas...from the people that you don't like."  Yet another song that cries for more cooperation among people from different backgrounds and ideals.

66.  "We're Only Gonna Die"--Still a staple at their shows, this is one, if not the, simplest songs to understand from Bad Religion.  Similar theme to the song "No Control" that was already mentioned, "...Gonna Die" plays along with the fact that even though we as humans think we're higher beings, we're no different than any other species on this Earth and we all soon dissolve and decay from this planet.  This track also has the same lyrics repeating, which is a common songwriting technique, but in this track it plays the role of a big giant cycle: "early man walked away, as modern man took control."  Control became such a mandatory and primary ideal that in order to keep it "modern man" had to start killing his own kind, his own species just to keep said control.  In the end, "modern man" will just die and then the cycle is repeated with the next verse--or next generation.  The song ends with a haunting premonition, "we're only gonna die from our own arrogance."

Other songs that were left off the list are as follows: 

• "Heroes and Martyrs"
• "Modern Man"
• "Social Suicide"
• "21st Century (Digital Boy"
• "Come Join Us"
• "Recipe for Hate"
• "Marked"
• "Kyoto Now!"
• "Big Bang"
• "Punk Rock Song"
• "Land of Competition"
• "Unacceptable"

A lot of popular songs that the band still plays live on a regular basis were left off and should make every Bad Religion fan wonder what actually made it to the list.  Stay tuned and find out.....

Indian Summer Live: 2 Shows in 1 Article

Felipe M

We end the 2010 Concert Calendar with two shows that were attended in Septermber and October. The first show was held at the small, but always rockin' Reggie's Rock Club. The second show was at the relatively massive Congress Theatre for the fall punk rock celebration known as Riot Fest 2010. Enjoy the recap:

September 4, 2010--Reggie's Rock Club:

Devon and I went to this show for my third helping of A Wilhelm Scream at this venue (for the set list, click here). The first band that we caught was local band The Sky We Scrape. They were pretty good and I made it a point to check out more of their music as the year went on, but it has not come to fruition. Next up is hometown heroes Counterpunch (pictured) who have been around for the last 5 years or so and famous for their song "Mr. Right" (at the 1:45 mark): "I'm not Mr. Right/But I'll settle for Mr. Right now." Counterpunch reminds me of a lot of pop-punk bands, both liked and disliked. The lead singer sounds like he is the reserve vocalist for Panic! at the Disco or Fall Out Boy and that they should at the very least be opening up for Punchline (who would in turn, open up for Fall Out Boy). I never got too deep into this band, but the intentions are there and listening to what seemed to be their newer songs live, it sounds like the band who display the most influences are catching on to the tech-punk movement that has been popularized by Propagandhi and the band they are opening up for, A Wilhelm Scream. I'm very curious to hear what the rest of their music sounds like.

The band of the hour, is A Wilhelm Scream (pictured below) as they have hit gold on every full length release. They are an awesome band and need to be experienced live. Their sometimes crass, but catchy lyrics, intense and precise musicianship, and overall punk rock, DIY aesthetic is highly infectious and inspiring--they've basically rewritten the punk rock rulebook and you can't help but root for them. The selft-titled EP has been such a hit, that it was almost disappointing to see songs such as "Congratulations," "Kursk," and "We Built This City on Debt and Booze" not be played live to make room for the new songs, but even more disappointing was not hearing two of my favorite songs live from the EP: "Every Great Story Has a Shower Scene" (the chorus is great, but the first lines of verse 1 and 2 are the stuff of legends: "Traveling in space like a cosmonaut/Requesting signals or just singaling stop/... The record of my time/Plays better in rewind") and The Song That Never Ends-like "Fun Time." I would think that a song about drinking, singing along, and having an overall good time would've been highly appropriate at this show. However, overall, it was a solid show--not the best A Whilhelm Scream show, but good nonetheless.

October 8, 2010--RiotFest, Congress Theatre:

RIOTFEST 2010 kicked off with Devon, Ricardo, and me with punk rock favorites, The Bouncing Souls. Think of all your favorite Bouncing Souls songs and most likely they'd played it that night, including fan favorites "That Song" and "Private Radio." The first thing that was noticeable was lead singer, Greg Attonito, was moving awkwardly on stage. At first one would think that this was an act, however, Attonito during the set did disclose that he was on stage with a broken toe and was taking lots of pain meds to just be able to stand on stage. It's no wonder that the punk rock vocalist looked 10-15 years older than he really was on stage, however that didn't stop him from dancing on stage, making his way to the mosh pit to sing close to the fans, and his unmistakble voice booming all over the cavernous Congress Theatre. It was my first time seeing them live and will definitely look forward to seeing them again. Probably the best band of the night if it weren't for the headliners.

This night had everything, including the blast from the past known as the Circle Jerks. The only thing I knew about this band is that Bad Religion guitarist, Greg Hetson used to be on this band. Other than that, I didn't know much about them. So I looked them up on Wikipedia--while they played on stage. The lead singer sounded like Fat Mike's (from NOFX) father. Plus he sounded very familiar. Sure enough, it was Keith Morris, Black Flag's original singer. I wasn't too impressed with the band. I love hardcore, but I after listening to them for 15 minutes, I can see why many people who grew up during that time in '80s always mention that the scene had sort of died out by the 1985-86. I guess had I grown up during that time, I would appreciate this band more, but that's just it--this band was great for its time. Or maybe I listened to the wrong 80s punk/hardcore bands, but I can't help that I like the Dead Kennedys more than Circle Jerks.

I love The Lawrence Arms and the one thing that I hated was the fact that they would only be on stage for 30 minutes. However, Brendan Kelly (pictured), bassist, said it best when he did state the fact that they would only be on for 30 minutes, but "that's what punk rock is all about." Kelly, as mentioned before on this blog, is a co-host of JBTV and one could see why he is a vital part of that show as he is to the punk rock community. Kelly is known for his verbal disapproval of the Warped Tour and his (just) assessment that it is ruining the very foundation that punk rock has built over the last few decades or so in terms of the Do-It-Yourself ethos the genre is famously known for and the small rock venues that the genre has used to introduce newer bands that go on tour with more established acts across the country. However you want to take it, Kelly has become one of the genre's more outspoken figures. He also started his band's set by introducing his band mates as "my two best friends, Chris and Neil." Kelly is the man! The thing I didn't like was I don't think they played any music from their Apathy and Exhaustion album which I have quickly fallen in love with, but instead, their set was mostly compiled by another great album of theirs Oh! Calucutta!: "The Devil's Taking Names," "Recovering the Opposable Thumb," and finishing their set with "Are You There Margaret? It's me God."

And finally, the Friday installment of Riot Fest 2010 at the Congress Theatre was finished off by the best punk rock band around, Bad Religion. They started the set with "Do What You Want" and never looked back until they finished their set, in a pleasantly predictable fashion, with "Sorrow." They also played "Wrong Way Kids" from their new album The Dissent of Man and after hearing that song, I was sold and went and bought the album that same weekend. The new album has been a pleasant surprise and is full of great songs including the very catchy "I Won't Say Anything" which might be one of the creepiest songs from this band's long list of tracks. Before 2010, the last time I saw Bad Religion perform live was back in 2007 on the heels of releasing New Dark Ages and have been waiting with great anticipation for them to come back to Chicago. Fast forward to last year and to see them three times in one year has been great, and their stop at Riot Fest was easily their best performance. They performed 24 songs and spanned the band's entire discography. "Man With a Mission" (which is quickly becoming one of my favorites), "Generator," "Los Angeles is Burning"--this band couldn't do any wrong. This show had everything: great opening acts, a wild crowd, a great set list by all bands involved, and is easily a top contender for 2010 Concert of the Year.