M83

My day just seemed to be getting better when sometime back, my friend Derek sent me a message telling me he had an extra ticket to see M83 live.



M83 is a French electronic band that manages to turn your heart and expand your listening. Their 2005 album "Before the Dawn Heals Us" was an incredible collaboration of music and lyrics. Don't be confused that electronic music is just the same beat being looped while it sounds like they are semi-hypnotists. M83 are storytellers with their music.

Their new album "Saturdays=Youth" is another solid effort from the group. The first single "Graveyard Girl" speaks to everyone who at one time was young. The time in your life where you didn't feel you fit. "Invisible even to the night," stands out in the lyrics as they paint how lonely the girl is.

After listening to the music, I was curious to how they would perform live. The drummer has a plastic shield around his set, keeping the sound from overpowering the rest of the group. There were what seemed like a mountain of keyboards/synthesizers and two guitarists- one being the star of the group Anthony Gonzalez.




It was incredible to me how much guitar is used for the electronic music they produce. M83 played an hour set that flowed seamlessly and captured the attention of the audience. The set was decorated with lights all around and if you gazed long enough into the lights or just let your eyes rest, you would feel like you're flying. The highlight might have been when they played their 2005 hit "Don't Save Us From the Flames" which raised the energy in the room to bring us back down and up again with "Couleurs."

I ran into Anthony outside and grabbed a quick picture with him. I was standing underneath a fan inside and not yet adjusted to the change in lighting outside, but he managed to pose Zoolander style on cue.

MRVSS

Album:
Matthew Ryan's 10th album, Matthew Ryan vs. the Silver State (MRVSS) turns out that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. It is a turn from his previous album (2006) that showed a more vulnerable side of him than usual. His brother sentenced to prison and the weight of the world weighing him down, Matthew's songwriting was intense expressing his pain. On a musical side, Matthew used loops and created an ambient sound as the backdrop for his lyrical poetry. Back to the current album, Matthew Ryan vs. the Silver State (MRVSS) is mostly stripped of technology, opting for the traditional guitar, drums, bass, but with a serious hint of violin accompanying the record.

Matthew perfects the art of wearing his heart on his sleeve. The song and single "Jane, I Still Feel the Same" is an ode to a girl and to a larger extent, regret. "It Could've Been Worse" takes credit for being the most haunting song on the album and possibly in his collection. The standout track to me and one of the first I heard off his website before the album was released was "American Dirt." Matthew doesn't fail to write the romantic songs that you're used to hearing with the track "I Only Want to be the Man You Want."
Matthew Ryan vs. the Silver State displays his angst, his love, his hurt, and his dreams all on his sleeve. That isn't being said lightly either. When you meet Matthew, the sincerity in his voice and the gratitude he gives you when he personally thanks you for coming to his show makes you realize everyone on the record is very real.


Concert:
Matthew Ryan at Schubas
Chicago, IL
5/13/2008



When my friend and I arrived at Schuba's we went to use the bathroom and as I was waiting, Matthew was the one who came out. I was very surprised to see him and greeted him, and I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw my friend Noe hovering in the doorway of the other bathroom, not yet going in.
Matthew did a 12 song set using a heavy influence of a muted acoustic guitar and violin, as well as the rest of the band. Hearing "Sweetie" from his 2003 album Regret Over the Wires was exciting and set the tone for the night. Matthew spoke in between songs and talked about his love of the Clash which he appropriately transitioned into covering them. On his last song "Closing In," Matthew declared a last dance and walked thru the audience with microphone in hand.



It's easy to say he missed some important songs since he has so many prolific ones, but one cannot say he didn't play any fan favorites. As Schuba's is bound by a neighborhood curfew during the week, Matthew unplugged around 10:30pm and walked into the crowd to play an acoustic set. He answered the request of a fan yelling "3rd of October" in where he got to the chorus, I was close enough and felt the right energy to sing along at the chorus. Matthew looked up and smiled and the rest of the audience who circled around him sang too. Matthew played for about 30 more minutes singing "Chrome," "Return to Me," and anything else we requested.... that he remembered how to play.

Smoque BBQ

Smoque BBQ
Chicago, IL
www.smoquebbq.com

To kick off Memorial Day weekend and the summer season, one must start with bbq!
Chicago is known for its food, but not known as one of the 4 corners of bbq (Texas, Memphis, Carolinas & Kansas City). Chicago does have great bbq restaurants and this relatively new place has already made in impact in the Windy City.

Smoque BBQ offers authentic bbq food including brisket which is smoked for over 15hours and pairs nicely with the slaw on the side. I have tried a variety of things off the menu and highly recommend going with a combo platter, giving you more than one meat. You cannot go wrong with the ribs, but my personal favorites are the chicken and brisket.



Smoque offers a variety of sides that you receive with a combo platter including fries and BBQ beans. The mac & cheese is baked in the foil and has a crusted top which conceals the tasty cheese.


Smoque BBQ has grown quite quickly and has received a visit from the Food Network and high accolades from critics everywhere. My first visit won me over immediately. I went on a weekday afternoon and didn't experience a long wait. I was even able to enjoy my meal with a Labatt Blue as Smoque is byob. Since Smoque offers large portions for a good price, I was unable to try their peach cobbler dessert, but that just gives me another reason to return....

you're the only one who knows my song

Northern Room's lead singer Andrew managed to fight thru a cold/sinus infection and put on another quality show. The Milwaukee band which has roots in West Bend, WI played at West Bend's very own high school last night.

Andrew and the rest of the band managed to improvise and accentuate their strengths by playing longer instrumentals thanks to brothers Tony and Micah on guitar and bass. Also, Michael performed dual duties on percussions and back up vocals. Lastly, audience participation was utilized effectively on the choruses.

Once again, the band lives up to the reputation that they have built as great live performers. Even when roadblocks happen to present themselves, Northern Room manages to work thru them and still give 110%.

(setlist)
Waiting
City Lights
Just Like You
This Wreckage
Galaxy
Stars of God
Last Embrace
Blacklight
Everyday
Never Will Forget You
We're on Fire

1.7% Chance

For those unaware of how the NBA Draft Lottery actually works, I will bring you up to speed:

To prevent teams from "tanking" their season to guarantee their rights to the #1 pick in the draft, the NBA instead awards ping pong balls to the worst teams in order of their season record. This drawing is done privately ahead of time and odds are reflected to show what chance a team has due to how many balls they have in the lottery.

For the 2008 draft, the odds were as follows to receive the top pick:
Heat - 25%
Sonics -19.9%
Wolves - 13.8%
Grizzlies - 13.7%
Knicks - 7.6%
Clippers - 7.5%
Bucks - 4.3%
Bobcats - 2.8%
Bulls - 1.7%

The Bulls were the 9th worst team in the league and held a small, almost insignificant chance of landing the top pick. During the NBA Draft Lottery, they select backwards, building up to #1. The ninth spot came and went. Then several more spots were gone until they reached the top 3 and the Chicago Bulls were yet to be named.
The 3rd pick in the draft was awarded to the Sonics
The 2nd pick in the draft was awarded to the Heat (the worst record in the NBA)
When that was said, the only team left was the Chicago Bulls who shocked the sports world and showed what 1.7% really meant.

A quote ringing in my head all day comes from the memorable comedy Dumb & Dumber.
As Lloyd asks Mary to define the chances of them getting together, Mary replies "not good."

Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million

*pause*
Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance...

Never: Jens Pulver and the Wednesday Group That Will Change the World

I recently ordered the book Never: Jens Pulver and the Wednesday Group That Will Change the World off Amazon and for what two weeks to arrive to me, took me a lil over two hours to finish.

The book follows two stories that align and compliment each other. The first, being the subject matter and title of the book, Jens Pulver.

The book opens up giving horrible details of Jen's childhood. Jen's father was a horse jockey who constantly had to battle cutting weight and turned to alcohol, drugs, and abusing his family. When Jens was not getting hit, he had to witness the abuse to his mother and siblings. At a young age, Jens even thought his life would end as his father held a shotgun to him in a drunken rage.

The other story in the book that compliments Jens is about the author Timothy McKinnon who joined a small group in a gym every Wednesday that would first discuss Rick Warren's book, then evolved into bigger conversations. One of the founding members of that group was Pat Miletich, who runs the Miletich Camp in Iowa that has trained mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters like Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jeremy Horn and Jens Pulver.
McKinnon jokes that he thought his group would change the world.... and part of him believed that.

Jens was told that many things would "Never" happen for him. Beginning with his father who told him he'd never amount to anything. Then critics in the MMA community who never thought he'd become a great fighter, not even the first Lightweight Champion in the UFC.




On the back of the book, Pat Miletich endorses it by saying he read it cover to cover. I would have to second that, as I did the same. I locked myself in my room and turned my phone on silent. The content of the mixed martial arts has my attention, but it is the way that McKinnon tells the story that keeps my attention.

It never ceases to amaze me that nothing is too hard for God. Jens lived thru an awful childhood, and became a better person out of it. God placed the right people in his life that believed in him and helped strengthen his own relationship with Christ.

http://www.neverthebook.com/

In my heart I found God
Through God I found strength
Through strength I conquered all

-Jens Pulver

Iron Man for the ladies

Behold! The perfect date movie, that will entertain the guy and satisfy your date's Patrick Dempsey fix.

Fujiyama

Fujiyama
West Allis, WI
www.fujiyama100.com



Being young, I always wanted to try sushi, but wasn't sure where to start. Enter my USMC brother who lived in Okinawa, Japan for a year and dined daily on sushi. He introduced me to it and I have been in love ever since. Finding a sushi place you like is easy; finding one you love is a little more difficult. After a few years of eating at sushi restaurants, I have enjoyed this place very much.

Fujiyama doesn't rely on overpowering sauces to tangle your taste buds. The fish is fresh and the rice is soft and packed together tightly. To make everything taste a whole lot better, Fujiyama introduced a half-priced sushi night on Mondays & Tuesdays. Not everything is on sale, but there is more than enough to order and get stuffed.


I am a huge fan of the Philadelphia roll (above to the right corner). Smoked salmon and cream cheese blends together for a sweet mouth watering flavor. The sweet potato roll (top left) was meant to help me fill up at a cheaper price, but won me over quickly.





A typical trip for myself involves getting four or five rolls and a tamago (egg pictured top right). I travel a good distance and want to make the trip worth my while.
If you scale back, then save room for the friend bananas and ice cream. You do have to eat it fast as the bananas melt the ice cream the longer you stare at it.


Check out the Spider Roll (up front) accompanied with a Dragon Roll (back) and sashimi.