Random musings from a week behind blogger.
I feel compelled to catch up today after recovering from the LSU victory a week ago. Let’s hope AU is as hungry for chicken tomorrow as I am. Of course, I like the Gamecocks of South Carolina. I like them because 
when I worked in radio in Columbia, you could say “cocks” on the air without worrying about being fined. That’s the only reason.
Some of my favorite USC expressions include:
- The Cocks are up and coming.
- I love the Cocks.
- How ‘bout those Cocks!?
Of course, I could write a whole book on expressions from opponents but I think we’ve had enough shameless humor for this post.
Now to something more serious: DMB vs. Widespread Panic. We saw both over the last week, and the initial view we shared is that Panic kicked Dave’s arse.
Now you have to consider that the venue for Panic was smaller, and beer flowed freely. That could have affected our viewpoint. However, the energy level, the pace of the show, and the progression through the set list, not to mention that the smell of cannabis was accompanied by the visualization of many partaking in plain view of uniformed police officers (I think we were the only ones not loaded) AND the fact that we seemed to be the oldest people in the audience make this the must-see concert of the last week.
DMB was no doubt special for what it was, Dave Matthews at home in Charlottesville at the new John Paul 
Jones Arena. I purchased VIP parking with the tickets to get close and tailgate. The university did allow tailgating, and we took along some brew and munchies. Tim and Ann came by the Element to hang out, and it was nice to see them and briefly catch up on their news.
Musically, we thought DMB sounded great. Robert Randolph came on stage for a couple of numbers, and local favorite John D’earth was the highlight as far as we were concerned. The venue wasn’t bad, and our seats were ok. John Paul Jones was built as a fairly intimate coliseum, so even though our seats were in the front row of the upper deck, we had a feeling of being close. The acoustics were excellent. But I think what was lacking in DMB from our perspective was the energy. The DMB show was more corporate and more commercial.
Widespread Panic has a progression to their music that is very fluid. It never really stops. Even between songs or during the slower numbers, you get a strong sense of motion. They feed the energy in the room with their style of play. In other words, they just come out and jam and don’t let anyone or anything get in their way. Our favorite, “Diner,” rocked, and the new stuff was very tight.
Venue-wise, the Pavilion in Charlottesville is great. The acoustics under the tent are awesome. The smaller size places you right up front to the stage. The sound was big. Being on the Downtown Mall makes this the better all-around concert venue because you can park, sit outside and grab dinner/brews, and then walk right into the venue. We had brews at Miller’s before walking into the show.
The soccer update for those wondering how the future captain of the US Women’s National team, Taylor “there’s no pressure on her” Feary, is doing is somewhat bleak. The Girls are 0-4 in league play, but they’ve only been outscored 10-2 in four matches. Our keeper has 43 saves on the year so far. They are in every game, and their shots on goal improve each game, but we can’t seem to finish and put shots in the net. We’re working hard and getting better with each practice. Hopefully, a friendly match this weekend will right the ship before tournament play next weekend, and we’ll be able to gloat on our strong second performance.
The “passive networking” is going great too. I still haven’t heard from that guy that left the company two years ago but I have made some new friends that have fed me some leads. We’re optimistic that the plane will land soon.
Tune back in later this week as I’ll unveil our menu for the Gamecock game and may add Part 2 to Pounding the Pavement in which I’ll reveal more insane conversations with recruiters and HR people.
