Sevendust Acoustic = Best Friday the 13th Ever!

I've gotta admit, I've never been very superstitious. I have certain rituals, like wearing my lucky Minnesota Twins hat to concerts and ballgames, and staying with certain routines, but that's more out of habit than superstition. Friday the 13th has never been that big a deal to me. This time around, I was going to my 12th Sevendust show, so I knew the day was going to be great no matter what!

I took the morning off work to rest, clean out my car for the first time in too long, and get ready for the show. I left home on a gorgeous June afternoon and made it to the venue Pov's in Spring Lake Park, MN just before the evening rush hour. When I got there, I saw Sevendust's tour bus and got to say a quick hello to guitarist/singer John Connolly. I also met a couple of other Sevendust fans and even was approached by their videographer to be interviewed for a segment that might be on the band's upcoming live DVD!

I later got to have a lengthy conversation with touring keyboardist Kurt Wubbenhorst. I asked him how the coffee run was the other day with Clint and a friend of mine, and Kurt then brought out his phone to show me the coffee house searches he'd made recently. I also got to chat with him about Architekt Studios which he co-owns and learned a lot from him about the business side of the industry.

After that I was getting hungry, so I ran to the nearest Dairy Queen for a quick supper before returning to meet up with friends before the show. I ran into one friend who was at the Madison, WI show with me and got back in line with another friend who wanted to get as close to the stage as possible.

When we got in the venue, I met another friend I'd seen at a couple of Sevendust shows in Minnesota last year. I bought my customary concert T-shirt and rejoined my friends at the front row. Right about 9:30 p.m., Sevendust arrived on stage with a grooving version of "Trust." Having been to Pov's in May to see my friends in the band KingShifter, I knew that this was a small venue, so when I heard that 700-800 tickets had been sold for this show, I wondered how they could accomodate so many people in a small venue with a small stage.

For an acoustic show, the energy from the band and the audience was electric the entire evening. I've been to so many Sevendust shows that the band members recognize me, and I had to smile when I caught the eyes of guitarist/singer Clint Lowery and bassist Vince "The Boss" Hornsby and exchanged glances, nods and thumbs-up with them early in the set. I also got to shake hands with lead singer Lajon Witherspoon during the songs "Skeleton Song" and "Got A Feeling."

Even with the heavy songs, there were still some emotional moments. During the song "The Wait," written about John's father who passed away last year, Lajon had the tears flowing as the meaning behind the song caught up to him. I had a bit of a lump in my throat too, as it reminded me of  family and friends I've lost in recent years, especially a  great-uncle who had passed away in Europe the day before.

The band ran through ten songs in an hour, closing the first set with "Gone," one of my favorite re-recorded songs from thir new album Time Travelers & Bonfires. Half an hour later, they returned with the upbeat tempo song "Come Down." It was the first time I'd felt a mosh pit swarm behind me at an acoustic show.

Before the next song, their cover of Johnny Cash's take on the Nine Inch Nails' song "Hurt," LJ shared his memories of growing up in Nashville, Tennessee seeing Cash's home and lavish car and dreaming about those same ideals one day. This was followed by a rousing rendition of "Karma," another great newly re-recorded song.

During the second set, Lajon said that he considered the show a Sevendust family reunion, a sentiment I whole-heartedly agree with. The audience was rolling along with the songs "Got A Feeling" and "Angel's Son" before the band closed with a raucous version of the classic song "Black." I had a broad smile on my face as I was not only able to snag guitar picks from Lajon and Vinny, but also had drummer Morgan Rose personally hand me one of his drumsticks at the end of the show! Vinny had owed me a drumstick after bouncing one off my lip during last July's show at the Wicked Moose in Rochester, MN, so now I guess that debt is paid in full.

Sometime after midnight, my friends and I who had bought the VIP upgrade were herded in line to have items signed. I brought a CD booklet from the new album to have signed for my brother who couldn't make the show, and of course had Morgan sign my new drumstick. We were then turned around to get back in line to have a group photo. I had brought a poster from a Facebook fan group to present to the group, but my phone battery was dying. Fortunately, a friend of mine stepped to the rescue to take the photo that I wanted to share with the group members.

Hard to believe after six-plus weeks of waiting for the show that it's already over! Another great night of music and memories, one of the best Friday the 13th's I've ever had. Now I just have to figure out when my lucky Sevendust concert number 13 will be...

Until next time, have a great weekend, everyone!

Set list:
1. Trust
2. Prayer
3. Crucified
4. Xmas Day
5. Under It All
6. Skeleton Song
7. The Wait
8. Denial
9. Disgrace
10. Rumblefish
11. Gone
12. Come Down
13. Hurt
14. Karma
15. Got a Feeling
16. Angel's Son
17. Black

True Friends

Hello again everyone!

I've been taking a bit of a break from social media lately - I was feeling a little burned out. I was also bothered by an incident created by someone I once considered a friend. It wasn't a major issue and I understood this person's perspective, but it put a damper on what was otherwise a positive day. The way the issue was communicated rubbed me the wrong way, because it put another person who is still a friend in the middle of the discussion unnecessarily.

As I've taken the time away from constant connectivity, it's allowed me to reprioritize and look at who and what are the most important people and things to me in my life. I'm very thankful to have some great family and friends that I've had fantastic conversations with in person recently, because they've helped me bring the focus and positive energy back into my life.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share my insight as to what makes a true friend. Enjoy!

True friends...
- are those that you feel most comforable with.
- give you unconditional love and support (including pets, our four-legged "furry friends").
- are people who you can talk to after months just like it was yesterday, and pick up right where you left off.
- don't care about your status in your life...they care about you, period.
- are your biggest fans.
- are often closer to you than some family members.
- can always make you laugh and smile when you need it the most.
- always have your back - in your moments of triumph and in your darkest hours.
- aren't the ones who always ask "can you do this for me?" Instead, they're the ones who ask "what can I do for you?"
- never take a single moment spent with you for granted.
- always make a lasting, positive impact on your life, no matter how often or how long you spend time with them.

Bucky's Favorite Sci-Fi Series

Hi there,
it's been a while since I've had the creative urge to write in this space. Been thinking about doing another best of list - this time it's my favorite science fiction series. Here ya go!

1. Star Wars (original trilogy) - I became a huge Star Wars geek in 1980 - I probably had about 50 of the classic Kenner action figures and have seen the original trilogy more times than I can remember. The story is what first got me into reading and enjoying a good narrative in the first place. While there are some interesting parts of the prequel trilogy and even the digitally animated Clone Wars cartoon series, but to me they pale in comparison to the original series that first captivated me when I was 8 years old.

2. Star Trek (original cast) - I first started watching this show in re-runs when I was a kid. I remember movie parties at elementary school for the first couple of films, and seeing Star Trek III and IV with a cousin in the Twin Cities. The series made me think that space travel might be a lot like the Federation starships when I grew up.
Fun fact: when I worked for a Central Minnesota arts magazine, my coworkers and I were once invited to attend a play at St. Cloud State University - the professor who contacted us and supervised the production was Bruce Hyde, who played Lt. Kevin Reilly in two episodes of the first season of the original Star Trek series. It's pretty cool that I got to meet someone who was in my favorite sci-fi television series!

3. The Twilight Zone (original series) - one of the first real science fiction/fantasy series on network television, and still one of the best. My favorite episodes are "Time Enough At Last," where a bookworm (Burgess Meredith) survives an atomic bomb burst and has all the time to read to his heart's desire (until his glasses break, at least) and "Terror at 20,000 Feet" where a man recovering from a nervous breakdown (played by a pre-Star Trek William Shatner) sees a monster on the wing of an airplane on a flight he is on. Great storytelling that has inspired generations of artists!

4. ROM Spaceknight - a Marvel comic book series inspired by a Parker Brothers toy. The writing of Bill Mantlo and vivid artwork of Sal Buscema captivated me, as the silver spaceknight from the distant planet of Galador fought a crusade on Earth to rid it from his mortal enemies, the dreaded Dire Wraiths. The first 25-30 issues of this series that spanned 75 issues and 4 annuals are some of the best comics I've ever read.

5. Battlestar Galactica (1978) - just watched this entire series for the first time recently. It was an interesting concept about a group of humans fleeing the tyranny of the dreaded Cylon robots trying to find the lost colony of Earth. Campy but fun, this show inspired a successful reimagining a decade ago.
Fun fact: in the original series, the robot dog "Muffey" was played by a chimpanzee!

6. V (1980's) - this show was a little creepy for me growing up, about alien visitors who supposedly came to Earth in peace, but were really looking to rob the planet of its resources and capture its people as food. The mini-series were great, and I enjoyed the one season of the series that followed. The recent reboot was fun, if for nothing else than to revisit those vivid memories of the early 80's.
Fun fact: the peaceful alien Willie was played by Robert Englund, who came to fame playing the vicious Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films.

7. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - another sci-fi show I enjoyed from my youth. The first season was great fun, although the 2nd season's retooling made me wonder why the changes that were made were deemed necessary.
Fun fact: The robot Twiki was voiced by legendary cartoon voice talent Mel Blanc. The actor inside the suit (Felix Silla) also played Cousin It on the classic Addams Family sitcom.

8. Logan's Run - another interesting concept, about a futuristic world where life was supposed to end at age 30. The movie is interesting to watch, and I have seen the spinoff television series that had a short season run.

Well that's all for now - I'll be back blogging again after next Friday's Sevendust concert in the Twin Cities. Until then, have a great weekend, everyone!