Last night was the second time I have taken in a championship soccer match at RFK stadium. D.C. United beat the Charleston Battery 2-1 to win the 2008 U.S. Open Cup and I got another shot of me in the reflection of a trophy. DCist has the full story and the celebration photos.
Another ho-hum set by an artist I was excited to see. She wasn't bad, she just didn't have much of a stage presence. Her voice was in fine form, but there just wasn't much else to her show. Plus, she went on a bit late, which made me late for the next band on the bill.
[Photo Gallery]
Duffy at the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival
You have until noon to enter the ticket lottery for the Oasis show at Terminal 5 in NYC on Friday, September 12th. If you get lucky, tickets will run you $50 plus gratuitous surcharges.
Also, Noel has a blog. But you have to sign up to read it. Luckily, there is always the NME. At least he got # 6 right.
Other than the seven hour trip north (stupid Delaware), The Future Mrs. Leaf and I had a blast in NYC last weekend. We arrived in Brooklyn around 6 p.m. or so on Saturday and quickly made our way to our friend's apartment in Fort Greene. After decompressing a bit, we headed across Flatbush Ave. to 5th Avenue in Park Slope where I bored the crap out of everyone by pointing at all the shiny, new boutiques and saying "That used to be a laundromat, that used to be a bodega," on and on. Man, 5th Ave. is totally different than when I lived there. But it felt good to be back. Hanging out in The Slope made me realize I miss my old neighborhood more than I thought I did. It's so nice to be able to walk everywhere and have everything you need within a few blocks.
We had a short wait for a table at Bonnie's, but it wasn't long before I was tearing into my favorite cheeseburger on the planet. It's nice to know that some things haven't changed at all. That same can't be said for the beer list at The Gate, however. It was all crappy microbrews so we went up the street to Lighthouse Tavern, which had just opened around the time that I moved away. We had a few there and eventually headed home to catch the end of the Mardy Fish v. James Blake match on TV.
Sunday was our big day at the US Open. We watched about 8 hours of tennis and got to see Jelena Jankovic, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick play on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was really hot in our seats though, so we ended up walking around and moving from court to court all day. We saw a few matches in Louis Armstrong Stadium as well as a few junior matches on the outside courts. Around 7 o'clock, our stomach's starting grumbling, so we headed out to the 7 train after a very full day. Oh, and I took the G train for the first time ever. I was probably more excited about that than I should be. We ended the night with a yummy sushi dinner. On Monday we got on the road early in an effort to beat the traffic and made it home in time to see the last two sets of the Nadal v. Querrey match. Bonus!
I brought my camera with me on Sunday and took a few pics. I decided just to take my wide lens and sit back and enjoy the day, which turned out to be a wise decision. But I still got a bunch of great photos from the day.
[Photo Gallery]
US Open Trip / Labor Day Weekend 2008
So I am finally getting around to putting my photos from the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival online. I'm also trying out a new feature on information leafblower, namely new photo galleries hosted here on the site. Chan Marshall will be my guinea pig. Honestly I was less than impressed with her set at VFest, the first time I had ever seen her. But I can't really say I am a fan, so no surprise. She has a great voice, but nothing she did really grabbed me. This would be the pattern for the day on the North Stage.
[Photo Gallery] Cat Power at the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival
[mp3] Cat Power | Metal Heart
I received an embarrassment of great mp3's delivered to my inbox yesterday.
Could I be more excited about The Peth finally releasing their debut album? Of course not! The Peth include actor (and former member of Super Furry Animals) Rhys Ifans on vocals and my good friend Daf Ieuan (I can spell his name without looking it up and he has beaten me at FIFA on the Playstation, so I am allowed to call him good friend) who mans the drum kit for the Super Furries for his day job. Here's the first single, the appropriately named "Let's Go Fucking Mental." Sounds like an energetic slice of Fuzzy Logic. Yes please.
[mp3] The Peth | Lets Go Fucking Mental
If you go sign up for it on their site, you can get a free Chemical Brothers, "Hey Boy Hey Girl (Soulwax 2ManyDJ's Remix)." Or you could look for it other places on the interwebs.
Another record I am excited for is Sam Champion's Heavenly Bender. You can buy it at Amie Street right now for just $3! Here is a track off the record.
[mp3] Sam Champion | Be Mine Everyone
Lastly, Ra Ra Riot are doing the "Let's Give A Group of Bloggers Exclusive Video" thing. Watch:
"Dying Is Fine (Attic Session)" on P4K
"Too Too Too Fast (Attic Session)" on Stereogum
"Ghosts Under Rocks (Attic Session)" on Brooklyn Vegan
"Oh La (Attic Session)" on My Old Kentucky Blog
Rock 'N' Roll Star / Lyla / The Shock Of The Lightning *new* / Cigarettes And Alcohol / The Meaning Of Soul / To Be Where There's Life *new* / The Masterplan / Songbird / Slide Away / Morning Glory / Ain't Got Nothin *new* / The Importance of Being Idle / Wonderwall / Supersonic / Don't Look Back In Anger / Falling Down *new* / Champagne Supernova / I Am The Walrus
Wow. Personally I could do without "The Meaning of Soul" and "The Importance of Being Idle" but hard to complain about "Supersonic," (which I haven't heard live in AGES) "Cigarettes And Alcohol," "Slide Away" and "The Masterplan." Although WHY IN F@CK'S NAME WON'T THEY PLAY "THE HINDU TIMES?"
I get to see them in two weeks. Consider me jump-up-and-down excited.
[setlist via Popscene]
LA Times: What blogs do you read on a daily basis?
Howard Wolfson: Brooklyn Vegan, Idolator, Saidthegramaphone, some D.C.-based blogs like informationleafblower.
Obvs.
Info here, but nothing terribly exciting (at least for us 40D owners). The new Digic 4 processor is intriguing, but not enough to buy another new body. I want more focus points. More info here.