At Least That's What You Said

Quite the eventful weekend. Friday night, I hung out with my old homies from Webnoize before attending the Wilco show at the Wang Center, a venue normally reserved for the ballet and classical music and stuff like that. We missed the opener, the Fiery Furnaces, who I was hoping to see, but the headliners didn't disappoint. I like Wilco's latest CD, A Ghost is Born, but the songs really came alive in concert, much like Frampton. They indulged in some sweet feedback-drenched guitar mayhem reminiscent of Sonic Youth and Television, which was due to Jim O'Rourke's influence, as Dr. Doobs noted. Guitarist Nels Cline unleashed some mind-blowing licks and bandleader Jeff Tweedy joined in, although OJ correctly observed that Tweedy's gee-tar was much higher in the mix than Cline's, which is a criminal act. Nevertheless, a great time made a tad stranger by the fact I ran into two old friends I hadn't seen in several years at different points after the show. I guess Wilco brings all us formerly rocking geezers out of the woodwork.

The Applefest Half Marathon was a great time. My buddy Rick and I both ran good races, although his 1:31 was much faster than my 1:43 (hey, it was a fast time for me). The weather was perfect (cloudy in the 50s) and the course was nice. I cranked up the iPod and enjoyed myself, despite the hills at the end that slowed me down a bit. Great spread of food afterwards, including, of course, apple crisp.

On Sunday, I joined my fellow Daily Grind email cohorts in the wilds of Worcester for the filming of Men's Group Massacre, the latest filmic masterpiece from my friend Bob Durling. Bob puts together improvised Halloween short films every other year or so. We filmed in the woods behind his house. The plot, such as it is: A men's support group meets in the woods and is killed one by one by a mysterious figure in a kabuki mask. I played Jay, nerd supreme (yeah, it was a real stretch). I was one of the first killed because I had to leave earlier than everyone else...because I live 50 freakin' miles away. Anyway, it was a blast as always and I look forward to seeing the finished product, which Bob hopes to have edited and ready for a Halloween party in a few weeks. I'll be away that weekend, but plans are to put the film on DVD, so hopefully I'll see it not long afterward.

Did I mention my wife is incredibly cool for letting me do all that stuff? I don't normally have stuff planned every day, it just worked out that way.

The worst Blue Jays season in recent memory (last place finish, the end of the Delgado era) got even worse yesterday with the news that former pitcher and current TV broadcaster John Cerutti died in his hotel room before the last game of the year. From all accounts, he was a classy guy who always took time out to talk to fans. He apparently died of natural causes at the young age of 44. A real shocker. My condolences go out to his wife and kids.