Many Muslims Say Pope’s Apology Is Inadequate - New York Times

Many Muslims Say Pope's Apology Is Inadequate - New York Times

I'd like to draw attention to a particular part of this article:

“The pope has apologized, and that’s enough, so let’s calm down,” said Hasym Muzadi, head of Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, which has 30 million members. “If we remain furious, then the pope will be considered correct.”

When people protest the pope's speech by shooting a nun, doesn't that just prove his point? A least this leader has some sense. A little something to think about and yet another example of how our world is so messed up nowadays.

Dave Matthews Band at the Hollywood Bowl

I got to see Dave Matthews Band a couple of days ago on August the 28th, 2006 at the Hollywood Bowl. Its was not the best Dave show I've seen, but it was definitely unique. The band was not as rowdy as they can sometimes be, and it seemed they were almost playing out of respect for the venue and its history.

Robert Randolph and the family band opened. I've seen him before when he opened for Eric Clapton at the bowl and he was as fabulous as ever. A master of the slide guitar, Randolph brings a passion and energy to every piece he plays.

Dave's setlist was as follows:

Best of What's Around *
Pig *
What Would You Say? *
Dreamgirl *
Hunger for the Great Light *
Shotgun *
Crash
Everyday *
You Might Die Trying *
Dancing Nancies * -->
Warehouse *
Loving Wings *
Where Are You Going?
Can't Stop
Smooth Rider *+
Louisiana Bayou *+
Encore:
So Right *
Ants Marching *

* Rashawn Ross on trumpet
+ Robert Randolph

He had a very gentle opening, and played a couple new songs. Some highlights were definitely Dancing Nancies > Warehouse, and Louisiana Bayou with Robert Randolph. When Randolph came on before Smooth Rider, he brought hats for each of the band members, and Dave looked quite decked out with red shirt, sunglasses, and red fedora. Louisiana Bayou was quite a performance Ants Marching was the perfect end for this show, I only wish he had played more from Crash. It was a great show, and probably one of the more unique ones I will ever hear.

Wolf Parade

I went to see Wolf Parade at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, yesterday, August 25th, 2006. It was altogether a pretty slick show, and I was not let down by a lot of the Wolf Parade hype that I had heard prior to the show. Whalebone and Frog Eyes opened, and I was mildly impressed by them as well.

Whalebone came on around 9 o'clock and gave their interpretation of a cross between Eagles of Death Metal and Howe Gelb. They had a nice three part harmony going for their first song that sent shivers down your spine. I really liked the lead guitarists style and the way he held together the vocals while still keeping up musically.

Next up was Frog Eyes. While I had heard of them before, I never really got the chance to hear their version of Indie Rock. The lead singer, Carey Mercer, wailed and mumbled his way through half a dozen pieces that left me dazed and confused. I tried to imagine it as a more whacked out version of Wolf Parade. After his long and meandering set we were finally ready for Wolf Parade.

Although, they had a pretty slick show. They played a lot of their hits from their CD Apologies to the Queen Mary, but they also wiggled in a couple tracks not on the CD, particularly Secret Knives and Dinner Bells (one of my favorites and their finale piece). They engaged the crowd a fair amount, and the fans were pretty decent, except for one fellow who jumped up on stage and proceeded to play air guitar until keyboardist Spencer Krug gave him a distasteful glare at which point he quickly jumped off the stage. I had a good time, and I hope you did too! Talk to you soon.

Arctic Monkeys/We Are Scientists

I had the pleasure of seeing both Arctic Monkeys and We are Scientists last night the 3rd of June, 2006, at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles. I'll admit, I came in with moderate expectations about the show, especially with so much hype surrounding the two bands.

First thing I is that there were a lot of people here to see this show. It was sold out of course, and the line to get in was long. And it wasn't just teenage hipsters. There were quite a few parents with younger kids, and even some older couples by themselves. We got in and decided to stay at the level above the pit, so as to get a good view of the bands and not get to packed in down at the bottom.

We are Scientists came on and gave a rather un-thrilling performance. They are all reasonably accomplished musicians, but they failed to strongly capture the audience's attention. It didn't help that the bassist unabashedly admitted to writing the most popular song in the world. While I do like some of WAS's songs, I could tell that most of the audience was there to see Arctic Monkeys. This kind of surprised me because WAS is a pretty well-known band in their own right.

Arctic Monkeys came on and promptly rocked the house. The crowd got way worked up, and even though we weren't right next to the stage there was a fair amount of shoving and jumping by some of the rowdier members. I even had a cute girl with an AC/DC shirt come up and start to bump and grind in the middle of a song. No complaints on my part. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" was a definite highlight, with everybody getting way pumped. The frontman chucked his guitar to the back of the stage in the middle of the song, but was still miraculously able to play it later. Altogether a really fun and entertaining show.

High Schoolers Lightsaber Duel

High Schoolers Lightsaber Duel

Again this is awesome.

Rube Goldberg Machines

Rube Goldberg Machines

This is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time.

Chalire Murphy!

I saw Charlie Murphy a couple nights ago on campus. He was pretty funny, but I think he relied too much on the image of himself on the Dave Chapelle show. He ended up quoting the Rick James sketch quite a bit and it quickly got tiring. The small bits of actual standup he did do were pretty funny, so it was unfortunate that he felt like falling back on old material. Also, he did mention the Dave is doing well and possibly starting a comedy tour soon, so it was good to hear that. All in all, I'd recommend the show if your a fan of his style of humour or are a big fan of the Rick James sketch.

Keith Jarrett 3/13/06

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Keith Jarrett perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA. This was actually a rare improvised concert, and I turned into quite a beauty. I actually didn't know that much about Jarrett's actual history, so I did a little research before the event which makes it more astounding in my mind how he was able to meet my expectation. Apparently he's been suffering from a chronic fatigue syndrome, but there wasn't even a hint of it during his performance. His first piece was so avant garde, with hands moving like liquid over the keys I was utterly blown away. Each song only got better and better. The audience was in an uproar at the finale, and Jarrett seemed actually quite content to perform three encores! That's quite a lot considering chronic fatigue. I did also see Jack Black and Sandra Bullock there, which was kind of surprising. I'm sure there were more celebrities that I didn't recognize. Overall, I was overjoyed at the opportunity to see such a legend in such an intimate setting. Who knows, maybe I will be able to look back at this concert as one of the great ones of his career.

http://www.vitalicokcowboy.com

This is a really sweet video featuring, well, dogs. Check it out at:

http://www.vitalicokcowboy.com

Let me know what you think.

London Philharmonic

I went to see the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Arlington Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara, and I must admit I was thoroughly impressed. The theatre itself is barely above average acoustically, but the orchestra was simply amazing. They performed Britten's Simple Symphony, Op. 4, Khatchaturian's Violin Concerto (1940), and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64. I had played the Britten's piece in my own orchestra, and never really liked it that much; to me it always came off as rather elementary, but the performance by a professional orchestra cast it in a very different light. However, it still paled in comparison to Khatchaturian's masterpiece. The soloist was a young man only one year older than me by the name of Sergey Khachatryan, also of Armenian decent. He did a splendid job maintaining the atmosphere of the piece and its folk-like qualities. Tchaikovsky's symphony was also brilliant, with the famous French horn solo perfectly executed in the second movement. Overall I was very pleased and glad to have the opportunity to listen to such a high class orchestra. Next week is Keith Jarret on Monday, and then a couple concerts over spring break, so I'll talk to you then!

Sunset

Sweet sunset from my dorm room window. I'm just getting the hang of this, so give me some time to get the hang of everything. 

Well this is the first...

Well, this seems to be the beginning of my life on the internet blog scene. I realize that its about time that I make my thoughts heard since its so easy nowadays. I hope to much more stuff to come. Check back often!