Lots of stuff going on. We have horses breaking legs (Barbaro), the Quaalude number was hit (Bonds hits 714), baseball fights (Sox-Cubs), and S. and I strolled over to Quicken Loans Arena to see Pearl Jam last night. It's the first time either of us had seen them. And the acoustics at the notoriously awful Q were not that bad, for a change. Maybe it was the seat location in the lowers at the South end. Methinks Vedder and the boys have their respective mojo back.

Stage Setup: Pretty sparse lighting with no video screens. Green "lasers" every once in a while, small ramps at either side of the stage. Oh, they had those strobes that'll put you in a coma if you're Japanese, but they were not used much.

The Crowd: Very reminiscent of a U2 crowd, meaning it's a huge sing-along for the most part. Vedder will hold the mike out at times or just stay silent and the crowd fills in the blanks. And I think the show started at 4:20. The crowd by us was choice. Couple to my immediate left may have dropped acid, for all I know, they sat the entire time and barely moved. Two rows down in the telescopics, a man wearing shorts, who I called "The Stomper", basically marched his way through the entire set, loudly banging his Doc Martens on the metal floor. The best guy and very difficult to describe was the "Yeah Yeah Yeah Guy" directly behind us. If this guy liked something, he would scream very fast, "Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah...yeah...yeah...yay-yah." in a voice that sounded like he was one of the Gremlins, don't spill water on him. It was really funny. And he knew it was funny.

Eddie Vedder: Not much crowd interaction, probably because he doesn't need it, but he definitely has folks in the palm of his hand. During one extended guitar solo, he walked down a ramp and shared some of his beer by pouring it into a cup of an adoring fan (toast with eye contact). He smoked in a non-smoking arena. Tossed some tambourines into the crowd. Out of the Wrestling 101 Handbook to get a local pop, he said, "We have to go to Detroit next. We're not in a hurry to go.", obviously referencing Game 7, "Pistons suck." and all. But he may be completely insane. At the end, he shared a long-winded dream with us. One evening, he and his family were at an outdoor cafe with a full moon overhead. The moon suddenly exploded, shooting sparks in every direction. By this point, the crowd is restless. Yeah Yeah Yeah Guy says, "OK, Eddie. We get it. I hate the moon. Everyone does. Sing the fuckin' song." The exploding moon sends the world into chaos. You know, the tides, easier to hide behind the hedges, etc, or whatever the hell he said. By this point, I say, "Get to the point, Eddie. Do we have to vote or something?". Sure enough, the exploding moon reminded him of democracy and blah blah blah.

The Songs: The concert was really good and this was the Cleveland setlist. Some of my favorites like "Go" and "Spin The Black Circle" were played, so I was happy.

The Aftermath: Our way back to "ze auto" was disturbed by a young guy propped against a tree by the Osborn. He had one shoe off, so we go over to him, crouch down, and I say, "Are you OK?". It appeared to me, he got the worst end of a fight, kinda like Marco Antonio Barrera last night (BTW, I spied Eddie Murray in the crowd). Blood from the nose, cuts and bruises above and below the left eye. I dunno, could have been from a fall, I guess. We're asking him, "Do you want us to call anybody, do you need help?". He must have been at the Tribe game, because he had a few bobbleheads with him. He drunkenly and sadly tells us, "My friends all took off and they left me here." He insists he's OK and doesn't need any help. "No one cares about me." Aw, jeez, here we go. Then I start hearing loud, clear music and I say, "Do you have a radio?". "No, it's my cellphone." Yes, I am an idiot. Basically, we told him he was probably gonna have to get a friend to come by or move on, because I'm not sure if the police pull out the public drunkenness card in that situation. He gave me the drunken and sad thank you and goodbye handshake. As Ambassador, I found that very troubling. That guy was in no condition to defend himself if someone wanted his phone, wallet or bobbleheads. What kind of friends would do that, even if you're a repeat offender? One person has to take one for the team and help the dude out.

Meal of Links

Adam Curry. From MTV to being known as "The Podfather".

Ray Nagin is still the Mayor of The Big Easy. In a modern political oddity, he was outspent by a large number.

I can't believe Kobayashi may have a threat in competitive eating. Joey Chestnut ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Think how long it takes the average person to eat 50 dogs. That's even counting ballgames and picnics. Easily, months. Maybe a year or more. I wonder if there is a Pigs in a Blanket competition.

Hey, I've given money to this toll booth guy. They should have interviewed the cute lady out there. Woof.

Exercise Yard

I'm done with moral victories. Let's win one of these, eh? The Cavs lost Game 7 against the Pistons, 79-61. Boy, when they spit the bit, it goes far, as they made only 5 field goals in the second half. That's less than the amount of lucky weeks by Katharine McPhee on "American Idol". Not much to say, I'm depressed, doing laundry.

Visitor

None, it's a Game 7 Sunday.