Chicagoania

Muse and the Concert Experience

by

Muse is a British band that is huge overseas but starting to get more of a following in the states. I recently saw them at the United Center (I saw them at Lollapalooza in the rain two years ago, a great show) and it was a very entertaining concert. Their set list from the show is here with links to the songs; someone updated this set list minutes after the show had ended.

I have seen a lot of concerts and the effects on the Muse show were top-rate. I have seen the band Tool which uses intense visuals & who put a lot of effort into their show and I did not see U2 but their last tour obviously looked state-of-the-art, as well.

Recently I saw a comedy special by Nick Swardson, who played “Terry” the roller-skating gay prostitute on the sadly canceled Reno 911! show. In this unlikeliest of places I heard something that made me think… the comedian was talking about how blase we are today, about the special effects for a movie like “Transformers”. He said that if people from the 1950’s saw that movie their heads would explode while today in the 21st century we just take it for granted.

As I watched the effects and sound on the Muse show I thought about how much the sound quality, visual effects and stage quality (the stage components rose and fell independently in synch with all the laser and light effects) and how they would just blow away anything from the 60’s – 80’s. If you brought in the top shows from those years the artists and fans would just stand there, mouth agape as they watched something like Muse, with their integrated lights / effects / and sounds.

As some people (generally baby boomers) talk about how rock music was better in different eras they obviously aren’t considering how much vastly improved the concert experience has been made by modern technology, when properly done. Not only are the visual effects better, but the performers have better microphones and monitors and supporting technicians on hand. The effects in those eras probably only were effective if you provided your own chemicals in the brain as enhancements.

Cross posted at LITGM

2010 IKC Chicago Dog Show

by

Recently I went to the dog show at McCormick place in Chicago. I highly recommend it – a lot of fun, especially if you bring kids. The fun isn’t the judging or the agility contests (which are cool) but involves walking around looking at all the breeds as they are being groomed.

Many of the dogs were in curlers of some sort as they prepared for the show but this one seemed particularly sad.

These two cracked me up – it was the “before and after” as the dogs prepared for the show. You wouldn’t believe the attention and effort that the owners lavished on these animals.

Here is a movie I made with all of my photos. If you can’t see the movie a link is here.
 
 


 
 
Cross posted at LITGM

We’re the Second City (part of the Second State)

by

Whoo hoo! We are definitely the Second City, or maybe I should say, the second state, according to this Bloomberg article:

ILLINOIS, the second-lowest-rated U.S. state after California, will take bids on March 11 from banks seeking to underwrite $300 million of Build America Bonds and $56 million of non-subsidized taxable notes. The deal will finance school construction, according to John Sinsheimer, director of capital markets for Illinois. The state, which last sold Build America Bonds in a $1 billion deal on Jan. 28, is rated A2 by Moody’s, A+ by S&P and A by Fitch. A statutory requirement calls for 25 percent of all state debt to be bid competitively, Sinsheimer said. Banks led by William Blair & Co. will negotiate the sale of an additional $700 million in Build America securities in mid-March, he said. (Added March 2)

Not only is Illinois poorly rated from a credit perspective, we often don’t do a good job of selling the debt. This post described how a Chicago government entity issued bonds and sold them for an uncompetitive price, generating instant profits from the purchasers of that debt. You’d think that since the state of Illinois issues so much debt, at least we’d be good at it, but perhaps not.

Cross posted at LITGM

Upcoming Events at The Men’s Leadership Forum of Chicago

by

There are two good events scheduled for the The Men’s Leadership Forum of Chicago:

Brian J. Gail, will speak about his novel Fatherless, on March 18, 2010.

Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago will be speaking about his new book, The Difference God Makes: A Catholic Vision of Faith, Communion, and Culture, on May 6, 2010.

Both events will be at 7:30 a.m. at the University Club of Chicago.

Register here if you are interested.

I will be at both of these events.

2010 IKC Chicago Dog Show This Weekend

by

If you are interested in some wholesome family fun I highly recommend going to the IKC Dog Show at McCormick place in Chicago this weekend. Here is a link to the site.

The fun part about the show isn’t the judging or the events, it is the fact that you can walk around and see all of the dogs being groomed and prepped by their owners before the show. It isn’t every day that you see 5-10 of every type of dog breed imaginable in fine form. Here is a you tube video I made last year at the 2009 show (I had a song to it but they stripped it out so the video is silent; if I actually knew much of anything about dogs I could narrate it).

Cross posted at LITGM