Unheard Music

Word up. Just hanging here in New England, where everyone's reeling from the Red Sox' collective choke job against the Yankees over the weekend. They lost FIVE STRAIGHT to the Bronx Bombers and now sit 6.5 out of first. I can laugh because I'm a Blue Jays fan and they already did their choking a few weeks ago. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth on sports talk radio after the fifth game today (making up for an earlier rainout). I was rooting for the Sox, too. But the first three games exposed their lack of pitching depth. Curt Schilling turned in a gutsy performance last night and I went to bed at midnight with the Sox leading 5-3 going into the eighth, but they ended up blowing it in the ninth and then losing in the 10th. Today, David Wells pitched a hell of a game but the Sox bats fell silent and they lost 2-1. Technically, they're still alive, but this was a brutal showing at a crucial time.

They're ruining my summah:

• The X-Rollins Band show Saturday was truly a great experience. It was definitely the blue plate special: the first band came on at 6:30. Usually when they say a show starts at 6:30, the first band doesn't come out until at least 7. We got to Avalon at 7:30 and Rollins was already into his third song. The band--guitarist Chris Haskett, bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer Sim Cain--was immense, just like I remembered them. I saw them in '94 and '97 at the same venue, and they were awesome then, too. They churn out massive, roiling riffs that are a perfect counterpoint to Rollins' shout-singing; more Sabbath than Black Flag, really. Except for his hair now being much more gray (I can relate), Rollins was also just as I remembered: jacked, sweaty, clad in nothing but tats and black shorts, and putting all his primal energy into belting out his songs. The band played songs from their three mid-90s albums--The End of Silence, Weight, and Come In and Burn, but primarily from Weight. It was great stuff and it was cool see Haskett and Gibbs hanging out in the crowd after their set to watch X's show. Speaking of X, I was not overly familiar with their catalog, but I have to say I was damn impressed by their set. The original lineup--John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake--were back together and they really sounded incredible. Doe and Cervenka sounded great as their vocals intertwined and Zoom, Doe and Bonebreak sounded like they'd never split up as they played their revved-up brand of punkabilly. The club only gave them 80 minutes or so (they were done by 9:50) because on weekend nights, it turns into a dance club that probably brings in a lot more money than rock shows. So X just ripped through a ton of their old classics, and even though I only knew a couple of songs, I really dug them. I'm definitely going to pick up some of their albums now.
• One of the players on the Saudi Arabian Little League World Series team is 6' 8", 256 pounds--at the age of 13. How would you like to be a 12-year-old pipsqueak pitching to this monster? Hell, I wouldn't want to do it as the 38-year-old pipsqueak I am.
• HBO's Deadwood is wrapping up season three--and damn, is it an incredible ride. Very dense, hard to follow at times, and satisfying, much like another great HBO show, The Wire. Not for the faint of heart, what with all the 10- and 12-letter words getting thrown around, but the writing is damn well near Shakespearean. If you haven't watched it before, I recommend renting the Season 1 DVD and starting there.