It's been a while...

It's been a while since I was up in Northern Minnesota, near the Walker area. My family and I used to rent a cabin in that area for a week for several summers in a row when I was in college. I really enjoyed the laid-back, serene atmosphere in smaller towns like Hackensack, Longville and Walker (not to mention the fishing was pretty good too). I just had a chance to go back to this area on Saturday, when I went to a sold-out Staind concert at Northern Lights Casino in Walker, and I had a great time!
I got to my hotel in Walker around mid-afternoon on Saturday, and was surprised to still see plenty of ice on the lakes! After a quick break, I drove around town for a little while, stopping in at Reed's Sporting Goods and reminiscing about the great fishing on Leech Lake, until it was time to grab dinner at the casino.
After a hearty meal at the casino's buffet, I wandered around the open gaming floor. I was amazed by the number of different gaming options - tons of slot machines, blackjack tables, and some very competitive poker tables. I tried a couple of machines, but didn't win anything. No big deal, I said to myself, as I'd only lost a couple of bucks. Besides, the doors were about to open for the concert, so I left the gaming area and headed for the show.
At about 6:30 p.m. the opening act, Rev Theory, started their performance. This five-piece rock band from New York City did a good job of getting the crowd involved in singing along and fist-pumping to about a half-dozen songs from their major label debut, Light It Up. Their energetic performance reminded me of bands like Guns N' Roses, Stereomud, and Velvet Revolver, and I thought they did a good job of combining rocking tunes like "Hell Yeah" and "Light It Up" with slower ballads like "Broken Bones" and "Favorite Disease" (which also included a nifty cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "Head Like A Hole" during the bridge of the song).
After only about another half-hour, Staind burst onto the stage with a powerful, rocking version of the song "Suffocate" from their major label debut Dysfunction. Although these "kings of angst" did play several softer songs like the single "Believe" and "The Way I Am" from their most recent album The Illusion of Progress, the band also did reach back into their catalog and play some old favorites like "Just Go," the angry anthem "For You," "Fade," "So Far Away," "It's Been A While" and "Falling."
Frontman Aaron Lewis played a lot more electric guitar than I expected him to during the heavier songs, although he did pull out the acoustic guitar for some of the softer songs, including a couple of solo acoustic numbers. About midway through the show, as guitarist Mike Mushok, bass guitarist Johnny April and drummer Jon Wysocki took a well-deserved break offstage, Lewis took to his stool and acoustic guitar to play the newer ballad "Tangled Up In You." After the band wrapped up their set with a rocking version of "Mudshovel," one of my all-time favorite Staind songs, Lewis returned to the stage alone for a one-song encore. This time he grabbed his acoustic guitar and his stool, but walked away from the mike. The sound of his powerful voice as he sang and played the song "Intro" as a thank-you to the dedicated fans in attendance resonated throughout the concert hall.
After the lights went up, and I was chatting with fellow concert-goers who all agreed that we had just watched an incredible performance, I remembered that I was given a $5 voucher for casino gaming when I presented my ticket as I entered the show. Before I left the casino that night, I took a chance on a random machine, and actually won a bit of cash. Not a lot, but enough to cover the cost of gas that it took to fill my tank on the drive up to Walker. I was pleasantly surprised just to get something for nothing!
I don't know if last night's Staind concert at Northern Lights was sold out or not, but I'm sure the concert-goers probably had at least as much fun as I did. While I didn't hear a few of my favorites like the song "Home" and the solo acoustic version of the hit "Outside" (they played the band version instead), it was still a very fun and memorable concert. What a great weekend break - one that I really felt I needed. I'm already looking forward to next Sunday's Queensryche concert back at Northern Lights. Maybe I'll even see some of you there!

Pet Peeve #1

I'm usually a pretty easy-going, laid-back kinda guy. There aren't too many things that really get under my skin. I do have a few things that irritate me from time to time, though, and here's one of them...

Aaron's pet peeve #1 = Cell Phone Drivers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sure you've seen this before - you get behind someone driving on the highway going very slow, or maybe they come barrelling down the road right behind you going way too fast. What are these drivers doing? Talking on their cell phone, of course!
I've seen odder behavior from drivers of course- I've seen people reading, shaving, eating, paying too much attention chatting with passengers next to and behind them, putting on makeup, etc., but cell phone drivers have got to be the most consistent distracted drivers that I've seen on the road lately. (Note: I could include people who forget to use turn signals, put their lights on in cloudy or inclement weather here too, but that's a category for another day.)
Driving requires enough concentration without adding the concentration of listening to a phone call to it, so to all of you cell phone drivers out there - hang up & drive already!!! (Sometimes I feel like I should get a sign or bumper sticker with this motto on it!) Sigh - at least there's a law in MN against texting while driving - now if we could just get this extended to cell phone drivers, like the laws in other states...
Okay, I feel much better now that I've gotten to rant - take it easy everyone, and enjoy this nice spring weather!

Really Bad Idea #1

I've been an avid reader ever since I first learned how to read when I was three years old (Mom sometimes tells embarrassing stories of how I would be reading, look up from my book and ask what hemorrhoids were, because I read it off the cover of the ladies' magazine she was reading), so I read a lot of news stories.
Yesterday, I found a news story online that seemed like a REAAALLLY bad idea...
The Fox network has a new reality show in production about office workers involved in a competition to save their jobs, with the "winner" of the show getting laid off. To me, this idea is in very poor taste, considering the current recession.
Who's actually going to watch this? Not me, I can guarantee you that! As someone who's been laid off in the past and has seen several good friends go through the sudden shock of being laid off, I simply can't imagine who ever thought that this was a good idea. Several people have already posted on online blogs, vowing to boycott the sponsors of this show when (and if) it ever goes on air.
Forget stupid criminals and people who drive their lawnmowers drunk to the convenience store, this is the dumbest idea I've heard this week. Sadly, I'm sure more bad ideas like this will pop up in the news....(sigh) more to come, I'm sure.

Play Ball!

As most of my friends know, I'm a big sports fan. Football, basketball and baseball are probably my 3 favorite sports. As the Wild close in on a possible playoff spot, and the T-Wolves grind through another long season with a young roster, my thoughts have turned toward the start of the 2009 MN Twins season.
A lot of the print & online baseball publications I've read recently have picked the Twins to win the AL Central, which is not surprising, considering the run they had last year, and the roster from last year's team is mostly intact.
A few areas of concern that I have for this year's team are:
1. Joe Mauer's health. The two-time AL batting champion will begin the season on the disabled list, leaving career backup catcher Mike Redmond as the team's opening day starter behind the plate. It seems like Joe has been injured just about every other season. Redmond is good behind the plate, but any offense you get from him is a bonus. The longer Mauer is out, the more the team will miss his timely hitting.
2. Relief pitching. With specialist Pat Neshek and long reliever Boof Bonser expected to miss the entire season, the Twins will have to find other options in their middle relief. I was surprised that both lefty Brian Duensing and righty Phil Humber have made the team for now, but with the loss of Denys Reyes to free agency and the ineffectiveness of Jose Mijares, hopefully these pitchers will shine in their roles. I'm intrigued by the option of having RA Dickey throw a few knuckleballs to confuse opposing batters. Veterans Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, and last year's pickup from Cleveland, Craig Breslow, are all very good options for long relief and/or the setup spot. Closer Joe Nathan will probably have another solid season as usual.
3. Five outfielders for three spots. This year, the Twins have Delmon Young, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel in the outfield mix. Kubel seems to be set as the designated hitter, and I expect Gomez will continue to bat ninth and play center field (although Span could replace him if his hitting goes south). With Span's solid play in right field last year, I was surprised that Cuddyer wasn't traded, but "Cuddy" does have a strong arm in right and can also spell Justin Morneau at first from time to time. In my opinion, Delmon Young seems to be the odd man out in this rotation, after his inconsistent play in left field last year. It'll be interesting to see how this situation develops as the season progresses.
All in all, I think it should be a fun, competitive season for manager Ron Gardenhire's team. Hope the last season in the ol' Metrodome goes well, and the team improves on last year's 88-75 mark before opening new Target Field in downtown Minneapolis in 2010.