Deep Fascination

Happy Columbus Day (or Thanksgiving if you're Canadian). Me, I had to work today. At least the stock market roller coaster went in the right direction today, up 900+ points. Deb and the girls had the day off. It was a busy weekend.

Saturday night, I joined Doobs and OJ to catch the first Feelies show in Boston since 1991. The Roxy was maybe half full, which was a shame because the band sounded incredible. Admittedly, I'm late to the party on these guys, but I've been getting a crash course in them the last few weeks (in addition to the concert, Doobs let me borrow the band's entire catalog plus side projects). Frontman and lead guitarist Glenn Mercer didn't talk much between songs, but he was pretty animated, jumping around the stage as he ripped off sharp leads and solos. Usually at rock shows, I'm the elder statesman in the crowd, but this show definitely made me feel young. Lots of gray hair, chrome domes and big guts. There was the obligatory guy in front of us who felt the need to take the same photo with his iPhone about 75 times. I enjoyed the guy just behind me with the sonorous voice who every so often would intone, "Tremendous!" or "Outstanding!" The band played for about 80 minutes, including two new songs and a generous helping of old classics from their four studio albums and some covers. Check out OJ's review for more details.

I got home around midnight to catch some of the Sox-Rays game, but could only stay up until 1 before I started falling asleep. I went to bed with the game tied at 8 in the 10th. We had the radio on in the bedroom, but I fell asleep right away. Didn't find out until the next morning that the Rays won in the 11th. They smoked the Sox 9-1 today, so now they're up 2-1 in the series.

Yesterday, we headed to Holliston for a surprise 40th b-day bash for my old buddy Bob. We actually got there just before he did, but we parked up the street and ducked down when he drove by. We heard the "Surprise!" emanate from inside the house as we were unloading from the van, but at least we didn't ruin it. It was good hanging with Bob, Doobs, and the rest of the Daily Grind gang (a bunch of us who have been part of an e-mail ring for the last eight years or so). We spent a few hours there before heading back home. I watched the Patriots get destroyed by San Diego last night; that was no fun. Methinks it's time for a new quarterback, Bill.

Commence with the bullets:

• Shocking news out of the hockey world, where top Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov died today during a game in Russia. Cherepanov, 19, who was a teammate of former Rangers star Jaromir Jagr, collapsed on the bench near the end of the game. Doctors were unable to revive him and reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest. At first it was believed that the arrest was caused by a collision Cherepanov had with Jagr, but later reports said that was untrue. He was a first-pick of the Rangers in 2007 and was expected to play in the NHL in an upcoming season. Truly sad.
• The Florida Panthers have always had a tough time selling tickets in such a non-hockey environment. But management have come up with a interesting promotion: They're giving away tickets to one game to anyone with a driver's license, in the hopes they'll get hooked. It's worth a shot. Now if they put a half-decent team on the ice, they might just keep those fans.
• One of the funniest things I watch each week is E's "The Soup," and here's just one reason why.