The 12.05.00 U2 B&P from NYC, by way of Texas, should get here after Christmas. :)

Saw the new video for “Stuck in a Moment”, which won’t be released in the States as a single for a while yet. Es muy bueno. I also spied a good part of the Dave Matthews Band's next single “I Did It” due out in two weeks. I’m beginning to learn not to trust first snippits from new albums. (The DMB one has me skeptical thus far, but…) You actually need to hear the song, as well as album, for the full effect.

I conjured up the wrong impressions from the “Discotheque” sample I downloaded in 1997 for Pop, with the same being true with the first downloaded snippit I heard from “Beautiful Day” for All That You Can’t Leave Behind.

We’ll see come February how Dave and the guys are at baking from scratch.  § “”

Let me see if I can recall back to my high school AP American History.

When was the last time a man held the office of the president without being elected to it by the concensus of the American people, while utilizing the staff of a former administration, and whose administration was tarnished from Day One by the circumstances which afforded him the presidency?

Hmmm…. Oh! That’s right. Gerald Ford. Good ol’ worthwhile and influential Ford became Vice President to Nixon after Nixon's first VP, Spiro Agnew, resigned due to income tax evasion (á la Al Capone). Then when Dick Nixon resigned from the presidency due to the Watergate scandal, Ford gained the presidency, without the dictum of the people, by a construct of the Constitution.

God help us all.
Cross Reference: Shep 12.14.00  § “”

So the Electoral College has voted. Bush by 4 with 271; Gore with 267.

<OBSERVATION mood="embittered">
God Bless Americans. I cannot trust a politician (or any man for that fact) that grins as much as W. does.

I remember when I took a Primatology course at school how when many animals are nervous, they put forth a big wiley grin as a show face, as a way to somehow reassure the others that everything is all right, there is no danger present, or: “Cookies? What cookies? Ohhh. Those cookies.” He acts like he has this little inside joke he keeps giggling to himself about in front of the cameras.
</OBSERVATION>  § “”

First of all it was ass cold outside. With the wind gusting around us, and blowing the lights off the Christmas trees around the Center, our ears easily went numb—damn quick. The opening act, Steve Earl and the Dukes were pretty good, but too many of the songs sounded similar to my untrained ear, 20 rows down from the top of the arena. I suppose that happens it when you have just three electric guitars and a drum kit (along with the occasional harmonica). Although not being terribly familiar with their material contributed to it, I did snag a few songs from Napster as a sampler.

Yes, our seats through The Warehouse, the Dave Matthews Band fanclub, were in Section 205 in the top tier, a section down from the top of the Center. Can’t complain much though. Our tickets to RFK this summer (7.19.00) we in Row 13 on the floor, and was a kick ass show.

The Philly show wasn't that bad (with a pair of binoculars) since it let us kinda take in the whole venue, enthralled crowd, beaming spotlights and all. The oddest side-effect (whether it be a positive or minus) was that it was the first concert in a while where my ears weren't ringing afterwards; kinda unsettling actually. More later.

Setlist
Muchos gracias to DMB Tour Archive
Seek Up
What Would You Say
JTR
Don’t Drink the Water
Satellite
Song That Jane Likes
Rhyme & Reason
True Reflections
#41
Crash Into Me (Dixie Chicken)
All Along the Watchtower
Grey Street
So Much To Say --> (Anyone Seen the Bridge?)
Too Much
Encore:
Blue Water (first verse)
Christmas Song * (All you need is love, Can't buy me love; Dave and Carter only)
Ants Marching  § “”