My brother and I went to Tulsa, OK last night for the Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind, and Counting Crows concert at Drillers Stadium.  It was incredibly hot and sticky while standing in line but once we got in, there was a nice breeze blowing in the shade.  Ok, now the music critic in me to take over....

Collective Soul opened the show and played about an hour set.  They were incredibly tight and sounded very good. Their energy and stage presence was what one would expect from a seasoned group that has been around for a while.  The one thing I admire about CSoul is that they know what people want to hear.  They have a new album coming out later this month but rather than focus on their new material, they crafted a nice mix from nearly all their albums in just 7 tunes.  As for the drummer, Ryan Hoyle was exactly what I had expected. He is very solid and extremely musical.  I liked their original drummer a lot, but have come to like what Ryan brings to the group.

Third Eye Blind was next up and to be honest, they absolutely were not what I was expecting.  They put on a whale of a set. Their stage presence was more laid back than CSoul's but didn't lack energy.  I went to the concert only knowing a few hits but I left being a new fan.

I didn't really know what to expect with Counting Crows.  I have heard them for years it seems but never would have considered myself a fan.  We were anticipating the headlining group and as the excitement grew amoung the 5000 that were there, they came out to a recording of Lean On Me.  I expected them to open with song, but they opened with the Adam, the lead singer, talking about different topics.  It turns out that VH1 was there recording for some upcoming broadcast.  Also, he evidently was dumped by his girlfriend earlier in the day and he was not in the best of moods, which he made clear in nearly every song.  Everytime he talked, it would end up being about how he screwed up.  Musically speaking, they just aren't my style.  We stayed for over an hour and only heard 2 of the bigger hits, I know most groups will save those for the end, but they weren't even playing remotely familiar songs.  Their presence lacked energy and emotion, (except for the negative emotion from Adam).  My brother summed it up nicely when he said, they played to the small percentage of hardcore fans who know all the obscure songs.  I don't like it when groups do that.  I feel they are pushing what they want and therefor, neglecting the majority of casual fans.  I do respect their musicianship however.  They were very tight and sounded solid.

All in all, it was extremely worth the trip, except for finding out the Cubs got swept by the Astros.......did you really think that I could write a whole entry without bringing up the Cubs?

I know it's been a long while since my last entry, but oh well....it's been a crazy couple of weeks.

Today has to have been one of the worst days I've had in a long while.   Just to sum it up..... my grandma is really sick in the hospital, my cat is also at a hospital (a pet one that is...), I tried to pull my work truck in my garage and jacked up the frame of the garage door with the metal pipe rack-causing to truck to wedge in nice and tight leaving only the option of letting the air out of the tires to dislodge the stupid thing.  Then I had to mow and weed-eat-which I think I lost 3 lbs. in sweat alone.  Then I got really hungry so Sarah and I hopped in the newly remodeled low-riding truck and headed off to the gas station where I aired the tires back up, when I saw something in the back of the truck that needed moved, so I was going to pull myself over the tailgate when my head met the very rack that jacked up my house.  Needless to say, I wasn't too hungry anymore.  At least I don't remember being hungry.

While the dizziness and confusion was going away, I was watching the Cubs game when Ramirez hit a two-run double leading the Cubs to victory.  A very sweet one at that.

Hopefully, tomorrow we will get our cat back, and that pipe-rack will stop messing with me.