Clif Bar Commerical

Eddie Vedder Solo Tour

A couple weeks ago, I had a friend attend the Eddie Vedder solo tour concert in Nashville, Tennessee at the Ryman Auditorium. He was a pretty big Pearl Jam fan in high school. I can still remember him wearing out the Ten album on tape in his Honda CRX. There was a 2 to 3 month period where "Black" was on a looped repeat, and that was it. Even from an obviously biased fan, I knew that he would be able to give an honest, objective evaluation of the performance. He reported back that is it was an unbelievable show. Now, he was seeing it at the Ryman Auditorium, probably the second greatest acoustics venues in the world next to the Mormon Tabernacle. That factor, as well, might have slanted his glowing reviews, but, none the less, I took a gamble.

I got on eBay 4 days before the concert to be held on 6/23 in Atlanta at the new Cobb Energy Centre and started to bid. I lucked out and got two tickets for a grand total of $34. The face value on each ticket was $75. We planned our trip and headed up to Atlanta after work last Tuesday for the show. The Cobb Energy Centre is very nice, and it should be at a $145 million price tag. It is also the new home of the Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera. We were in the center section of the upper, Grand Tier. The seating layout looked to be patron-friendly for a venue that size.

We missed most of the opening act, Liam Finn, with the drive up and grabbing dinner beforehand. We got to our seats not long before Eddie went on stage. He opened up with several cover songs before settling into Pearl Jam classics and Into the Wild Soundtrack songs. He was in a very good mood and bantering back and forth with the crowd in dialogue. He was encouraging the crowd to sing along, always getting roars when the house lights would flash on. Most of the second set was sung with Liam Finn giving accompaniment on the guitar and vocals. At the end of the second set, I can only describe what he did with the song "Arc" was ART (search it on YouTube). Finally, he came back out with Liam and Eliza-Jane Barnes for a hard-hitting version of "Hard Sun." Here is the set list from the evening. It was one of the better concerts I've been to in a long time.

Set1:
Walking the Cow (Daniel Johnston cover)
Trouble (Cat Stevens cover)
Brain Damage (Pink Floyd cover)/Sometimes
I Am Mine
Dead Man
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
I Am a Patriot (Steve Van Zandt cover)
Far Behind
No Ceiling
Guaranteed
Rise
Growin' Up (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Picture in a Frame (Tom Waits cover)
Driftin'
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (Beatles cover)
Let My Love Open the Door (The Who cover)
Lukin
Porch

Set 2:
Soon Forget
Society (w/Liam Finn)
Throw Your Arms Around Me (Hunters & Collectors cover w/Liam Finn)
The Golden State (w/Eliza-Jane Barnes)
Believe You Me (Bad Radio cover)/Wishlist
Forever Young (Bob Dylan cover)
Arc

Encore:
Hard Sun (w/Liam Finn & Eliza-Jane Barnes)

photos from www.cobbenergycentre.com

Blazing Saddles Century Ride

I have found my next challenge. I signed up for the Blazing Saddles Century Ride on Saturday, July 25th. It is a group ride through several rural towns along the Georgia and Alabama border. The rides vary in length according to the rider's skill level. There are 25, 48, 75, and 100 mile courses. I have decided to do the full 100 mile, Century, ride. This will be my first Century ride I've attempted. I have slowly started pushing myself on the bike to get accustomed to being in the saddle that long. It will probably take a little less than 6 hours to complete.

The ride is pretty inexpensive compared to most at $30. The race begins 8 A.M. at the Heard County Middle School in Franklin, Georgia. Showers will be available before and after the ride, and they are opening up the gymnasium for "indoor camping" Friday night. Course SAG vehicle will be on-hand to provide any needed assistance, and they are also providing a goodie bag with custom sock (see image below) and free food.

They 100 mile route goes to little spots on the map with names like, Roosterville, Stoney Point, Tyrus, Omaha, Lime, Frolona, and Centralhatchee. I used to love driving through little towns like these with not much more than a couple buildings clustered together to call a "downtown." It should make for a fun ride. Hopefully, the heat will not be too oppressive with the event held at the end of July, although, I will not hold my breath.


image from www.westgeorgiaflyers.org

West Point Lake Triathlon Photos

Below are some photos from this last weekend's West Point Lake Triathlon that my wife took. As I have mentioned before, I did the Olympic, or International, distance. They also had a sprint distance competition going on simultaneously. It was a hard day, and it was the sorest I had been following an event since the Country Music Marathon...but I did it.

The swim was 1.5K, or .93 miles. It was very hard to pick a good line. I probably swam more like 1.5 miles with all the zig-zagging.

Coming out of T1 onto the bike leg of the event. I felt pretty good and was in & out of the transition area in 1:17.

I felt good on the bike. I averaged more like 19.5 mph, but this was cut down to 17.9 officially because my chain popped off twice.

"Now, where do I park this thing?"

Lost in a see of aluminum, rubber, and carbon. I had a very good T2, getting in and out in :47 seconds.

The run was pretty tough. I only stopped to walk for a second while getting some water near the half-way point. It was a pretty flat run, except for one big hill at about mile 4.

West Point Lake Triathlon 2009 Results

The results from today's West Point Lake Triathlon are in. Here are the results for the Olympic/International Distance and the one for the Sprint Distance. I will have more reviews and photos to share from this race, but I wanted to go ahead and let people know these are available.

graphics from www.gamultisports.com

It's Contagious

I received an automated email this morning generated from Active.com, stating that Robert Bruce has registered for the Murfreesboro Half Marathon 2009 and Kids Fun Run held on Saturday, October 3rd. Robert is a friend of mine from high school that we stayed with during the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN. He is an avid golfer and author of the blog Game Under Repair. He is also a beginning runner. I cannot think of too many instances when I have seen him run, Team Sports class back in high school is the only thing that comes to mind. He has been influenced by some people at his work, and a little by me, to start running on a regular basis. Shortly after we returned from our trip to Nashville for the Country Music Marathon, he announced to me his intentions to sign up for the Murfreesboro Half Marathon coming up in the fall.

I have received a few updates of his progress over the last couple months, mostly of the pains his body has gone through adjusting to these new stresses he is putting on it. He says he blames me for this. Hopefully, he might start to see some of the benefits from his efforts on the golf course, as well. I would think that having a better cardiovascular system and stronger legs would lead to less fatigue on the course and more power in his stroke. As a talented writer, I may have to ask him to give me a race review of how is first half marathon went.

graphics from www.active.com

More Ft. Benning Pictures

Here are some more pictures from the Ft. Benning Triathlon last weekend. There were some interesting signs along the course and some scenery that most people probably don't get to see.

This is a predictable sign to see during a race.

This one is not...

...Nor is this on. Don't venture to far off the roads.

The Airborne jump towers on main post along the run route.

Another picture of the jump towers along the run route with with one of the airplanes on display.

A view along the bike route back the woods.