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July 18, 2007
The Beckham Package
First of all - get your mind out of the gutter!
I won't lie, I have a ridiculous crush on David Beckham - dorky accent and all - and I have for over a decade (way, way before he gained much notoriety in the States outside of big soccer fans). In high school I had a Beckham shrine in my locker (which was moved to my bedroom senior year to make room for my collection of bright orange objects - it was a phase) and I was devastated when he began dating a Spice Girl (even though she was the cutest one), and even more crushed when they got married and I had to edit out that wedding ring in my new pictures - which, upon recollection, were really hard to come by because the internet was still pretty rudimentary. My first picture of Becks was cut out from my brother's copy of Eurosport. I follow MLS and European soccer casually, and Jeff keeps me posted on the important trades and standings and I always enjoy watching games if I remember when they're showing - all that said to clarify that my crush is rooted in an appreciation for his athletic gifts as well as his physique.
As you may have guessed, I am thrilled that the Beckham family is stateside and I long to attend a match between the Galaxy and the Revs. However, that requires purchase of the whole "Beckham Package," which means I'd have to haul my ass out to BFE, Massachusetts three times. Yeah, no. We'll be checking eBay and Craigslist in the upcoming weeks. I've never seen him in person, and I am dying for this to happen.
My solution if I can't get to a game? Park my ass on Newbury Street every day and hope that he decides to do some shopping. Sure, Boston isn't any kind of fashion mecca, but Newbury Street has some totally trendy restaurants and very upscale shopping. Also, since I've warmed up to his crazy-ass wife Posh in a major way (she's so tacky and British!), I really hope that she will support her husband and attend the matches and roam around our fair city. I will be doing constant internet research to find out whether or not she's here, where they might be going, and if you think I won't have my camera in my purse every day that the Galaxy is in town, you're dead wrong. It would be preferable to see him actually playing, though.
I don't care what all the snobs say about how Americans make too big of a deal about Beckham (I mean, he's totally past his prime), he's still going to bring desperately needed attention to the game. People bitch about how soccer is boring and sucks (uh...baseball?) and that it will never catch on here, but they're idiots because soccer is on the rise in the younger generations and club teams are really popular. I hope I'm still around when US soccer can compete with our other sports for fans and press (and actually play on the same schedule as the rest of the damn world), but I know it'll take a while. What's wrong with you people!
Posted by heidi at 7:59 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 16, 2007
there's only so much wine
am i missing something? have the laws of party ettiquette changed in the last 5-7 years? i only ask because i had occasion to attend the birthday extravaganza of one kathryn asher malone over the weekend in the atl and the invitation expressly stated that there would be drinks on hand but it was requested that each person bring their beverage of choice to be enjoyed concurrently with the house wine. now i understand that parties can be tricky and you never really know what to expect and maybe it's lame and you will want to leave early and if you bring too much alcohol you'll feel compelled to stay - as for me i'm never going to be the guy to volunteer to go on a beer run once the place starts rockin' so i will invariably show up at a party with a 12 pack of something or other. of course it should be noted that i would have no problem downing 12 beers in one evening but since it has taken me the better part of a year to say goodbye to my beer body i will probably be just fine with 5-6. this being the case i am not averse to giving away a few beers to a brother or sister in need.
it soon became obvious that everyone at the party was going to be "in need" at some point during the evening because micah and i were the only chumps that actually brought beer to the party. and of course all it takes is offering a beer to one person and suddenly every warm body at the party is running to the icebox. a disheartening sight to be sure but not nearly so disheartening as seeng an warmed over almost completely full beer sitting on the counter at the end of the evening. everyone knows you don't leave a wounded soldier behind. for crying out loud people! we are at war! support our troops!
Posted by young_christopher at 12:32 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 6, 2007
Certainly not "Dad Rock"
I saw Wilco play at the Bank of American Pavilion on Thursday, the 28th. We arrived somewhere in the middle of the opening band's set (bleh), and as I gazed upon the anemic crowd that had assembled thus far, I immediately thought aloud "Is it not cool to like Wilco anymore?" Given how long Wilco has been around, I didn't expect to be surrounded primarily by undergrads and 20-somethings (like at, say, TV on the Radio), but neither was I expecting the abundance of older folks who looked as though they were ready for Jimmy Buffett to launch into "Margaritaville" at any moment. Seriously, why all the Hawaiian print? And when I say "older" I mean 40's and 50's. My dad would not have been out of place in the slightest with his tucked in t-shirt, khaki shorts and running shoes. A man two rows in front of us wore a John Deere cap - not ironically. We were outnumbered.
Now, my husband remarked that it is the summertime, and this means the student population is significantly depleted so that might account for the more diverse set of concert goers and also how the show managed to not sell out. Wilco! Didn't sell out in a relatively small venue! I immediately blamed the new album for this travesty, as anyone that I have discussed Sky Blue Sky with might already have assumed. But despite my distaste for the album as a whole, there are certainly individual songs that I enjoy, and because of this I hoped that hearing the new stuff live might give me even greater appreciation. It did, sort of.
When the band came out on the stage, I jumped to my feet and started screaming - as one does - but several folks around me only stood begrudgingly due to their inability to see past other standers. A lot of people ended up sitting during the slower, less interesting songs (read: Sky Blue Sky) but we resolutely stood and someone behind me muttered something to the effect of "[annoyed mutter]... this girl won't sit down." Ha!
At some point during the show, the older folks had become swallowed up by young excited fans. There were still empty seats here and there, and more opened up as people of a certain age began leaving - these seats were quickly filled by fans from farther back. The couple in front of us arrived late, and I am not kidding, they glared at me and Jeff every time we cheered. It was hilarious. They sat down a lot, and ended up leaving after the first encore.
As for the show itself - awesome. Just awesome. This entry wasn't intended to be a concert review, but I will tell you that Tweedy assured us that we were the first city to hold the clapping tempo when the band dropped out during "Kidsmoke." I have yet to research whether or not this is true or just something he says to make cities feel really good about themselves. Our motivation was undoubtedly spurred on by his comment that "New York couldn't do it." (Oh Boston and your inferiority complex!) He was in fine form, chatty and energetic, and by the end of the show I had forgiven them for neglecting our city for so long and even for "Impossible Germany." Just don't let it happen again.
Posted by heidi at 10:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack