Wild At Heart
Here in Rochester we ended up getting about 16 inches of snow which accounted for 67% of all the snow we have gotten this winter. Despite that, I was able to keep myself busy traveling around. My alma mater was in town this weekend taking on both Nazareth and St John Fisher in men's and women's division III college basketball. I graduated from Hartwick College in 1991 and haven't been to a game in over a decade so it was nice catching up. They had a good following here having just as many fans as both home teams despite being over 4 hours away. Both teams won their games (3 came down to the closing minute with 1 going to OT) but there was 1 odd thing for me. It seems my team had changed there name. They used to be the Warriors (with a Native American motif) and they are now the Hawks. Not sure when it happened but I guess I'll have to get used to it.
I also was able to support a fundraiser for one of the local libraries. They had a big party/auction to raise money for their expansion and invited a couple of local music legends. First up was blues man Steve Grills and the Roadmasters. After years of playing in the area, he found some success with his album "After Hours" which ended on the Roots Music Reports top 100 Blues Albums at #39. HThe album covers some rare blues covers by artists like Albert Collins ("Frosty") and Jimmy Rogers ("You're Sweet").
The headliner recently moved to Mendon, NY area via marriage and is known for hits like "This Diamond Ring" and "Count Me In". He is also the firstborn son of comedian Jerry Lewis. It is 60's great Gary Lewis and the Playboys who put on a fun show playing their hits as well as covers by artists like the Monkees and Van Morrison. The voice may be a little off but he still has the energy to pull off a fun show. They also got a new hit single "You Can't Go Back" which you can find online (http://www.garylewisandtheplayboys.com/). Check out the cool decal on the guitar.
Before writing this, I got to see a preview of the new Clinton Documentary. I went to a screening of part 2 (they were supposed to bring part 1 but brought this instead). It is airing on PBS next week and must say the part I saw was pretty decent. It focused on the first term of his presidency looking at how he dealt with Newt and the Republicans attempt to wrest control from Clinton with the Government strike, the Whitewater scandal, the failure of Somalia and the triumph of Serbia among other things. The general themes was that for everything he did that propped him up, he eventually did something that tore him down. Historians are really starting to put his presidency in terms of history which seems complicated by the fact that while he was a popular president, he also had a 60% rating stating that people thought he was dishonest. There are still of lot of things set in motion during his presidency that will still take years to work out the good and the bad, but this documentary seems to offer a good and balanced look at a president who balanced our budgets and did a good job doing what he believed was right for the American public despite some flaws in his personality. This might be must-watch TV for fans of politics. If the other 3 parts are as good, this could become a classic.
In the meantime, here are some upcoming concerts to check out, esp Jill Sobule who puts on a fun show.
Thursday (2/16) - Jill Sobule @ the Ark
Friday (2/17) - Flogging Molly @ Fillmore Theatre, Kansas @ Andiamo Celebrity Showroom (Warren)
Saturday (2/18) - Umphrey's McGee @ Fillmore Theatre, 60 Second Crush @ Perfect Pitcher Sports Club (Taylor), Larry Lee & the Back In The Day Band (Chromatics Lounge at Motorcity Casino)
Monday (2/20) - Gaelic Storm @ the Ark
Have a good day.
