Sacramento Kings Upgrade Backcourt with Early Free Agent Splash
According to Shams Charania, the Sacramento Kings have agreed to a deal with DeArron Fox’s former teammate at Kentucky Malik Monk. The deal is reportedly 2 years for $19 million. The real question now however is whether or not Kings GM Monte McNair is done for the offseason? I hope he’s just getting started.
NBA Free Agency Frenzy 2022
With NBA free agency getting going in a couple hours, I’m hoping to make a thread of bigger moves that happen over the next few days. Watch this space for up to date information on the latest offseason moves as they happen.
Show Review: Dead & Company 6/14/22 Mountain View, CA
I had the opportunity to watch a live stream of the third date for Dead & Company’s 2022 Summer Tour. The band started out Tuesday night’s show with a mellow, but beautiful “Cassidy”> “Bird Song”. The highlight of the first set to me though was “Here Comes Sunshine.” I thought John Mayer’s playing along with great keyboard work by Jeff Chemiti, was the highlight of that particular song and the whole night. For as great as the first set was, the second set is really what I will remember most from this show. Not only did the second set sound amazing but the “Estimated”>” Eyes”>” Terrapin” portion of this set was incredible to watch. While this show didn’t have the heavy hitters one might expect at a Dead & Company show, Tuesday night was just another example of how even the more mellow songs in the Grateful Dead’s catalog can be just as captivating as some of the more recognizable tunes. That being said, I expect the band to bring out some more fan favorites this weekend in colorado. I look forward to listening to and reviewing the shows from the rest of the tour.
2022 Woodsqawk Music & Arts Festival
Hello everyone, it that time a year again where I get to chat about one of my favorite annual music festivals. 96.9 The Eagle’s 17th Annual Woodsquawk Music & Arts Festival will be taking place this weekend. The festivities should begin around 3pm. See you all there!
Giants Struggle at Home Against Nationals
During the 3 game series, against the Washington Nationals, The San Francisco Giants clearly struggled. Over the 3 games the Giants were outscored 34-12. That being said Sunday’s loss was only the second time this year the Giants had suffered a series loss on the season. Considering all of the injuries the team has dealt with over the first month of the season it is amazing that the Giants finished April at 14-7. For any fans who are concerned with the Giants play as of late, I think we should wait to see how the team does the rest of this month. With 11 of the 27 games left for the month against divisional opponents, plus 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals, and a 3 game series against the New York Mets, I think how the team fares this month might give us a better idea if the Giants are here to stay as not only the best team in the National League West but more importantly the best team in baseball.
Goose Preps for a Four Show Week.
Goose, my favorite jam band for the past ten months or so, is going back on tour this week, starting on Thursday at Firefly Distillery in North Charlson, South Carolina. Thursday’s show will be the first of four shows the band will play this week. As always, I will be interested to hear what surprises the band has in store, especially with a new album Dripfield coming out on June 24th. Keep an eye on this space for all things Goose-related this week, and through the upcoming summer tour.
Giants Season Recap Through 9 games.
I know we are only 9 games into the 2022 season, but it appears that the San Francisco Giants have started the year with a clear mission to repeat as National League West division champions. The surprise of the year thus far for me has been the stellar play of veteran Brandon Belt. So far Belt leads the team in average at .345, as well as home runs(8) and hits(10) to name a few. The Giants pitching staff is off to an amazing start, leading the league in ERA at 2.20. It is these things that have allowed the Giants to get off to a 7-2 start. Another bright spot for the Giants early on this season has been the pitching of what very well could be the best 1-2 punch, in the league, Logan Webb and Carlos Rodón. Webb has a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings pitched thus far. Rodón has a league-leading 21 strikeouts and has a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings on the season. The main concern for the Giants has been their ability to score. That all changed yesterday after the team scored 8 runs en route to a sweep over the Cleveland Guardians. The Giants will look to extend their current five-game winning streak in a doubleheader later today against the New York Mets.
Giants Win on Opening Day
The San Francisco Giants started the season 1-0 with a 6-5 victory over the Miami Marlins. It wouldn’t be Giants baseball without a little torture. Right Giants fans? Anyway, here are a few interesting notes from yesterday’s game. Logan Webb looked like the ace the Giants will need him to be this season. Webb pitched 6 innings allowing just one run. New Giants catcher Joey Bart hit his first career home run, and the bullpen struggled. All in all, though, the team still was able to find a way to win. I know we are only one game into the season, but finding ways to win close games like this one will be a critical factor in the Giants’ success, now and in October when it matters most.
AL MVP Shohei Ohtani Makes History Again
The reigning 2021 American League Most Valuable Player, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is about to make history yet again tonight on Opening Day. When the Angels open up their season tonight against the Houston Astros, Ohtani will not only be the Angels Opening Day starter, but He will also be batting in the leadoff spot. This is a first for any player in the history of Major League Baseball. Ohtani looks to follow up his amazing MVP season last year, where he hit 46 home runs, drove in 100 RBI’s and batted .257 at the plate, while posting a 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA with 156 strike outs. Making history in the first game after an MVP season is a pretty good way for Ohtani to start the year if you ask me.
Duke North Carolina Final Four Preview
This weekend’s Final Four matchup will be one for the ages. On top of being coach K’s final Final Four in his incredible 42 year career as coach at Duke, believe it or not Saturday’s matchup of these two rivals will mark the first time Duke and North Carolina have met in the Men’s NCAA Tournament. The two schools Are separated by about 10 miles down Tobacco Road. Duke and North Carolina have played in a combined 36 final fours. You may be wondering why these two cross town rivals who have so much history together have yet to meet in college basketball’s biggest event? Well, part of the answer to that question comes down to the fact that the committee who places the teams in their respective tournament regions try not to have teams in the same conference play each other until later rounds of the tournament. So while all of this is interesting to me, the main question I have before watching this game is whether or not Duke will win and give coach K the opportunity to end his career with another title on Monday night, or will the Tar Heels play spoiler?
Dead & Company Summer 2022 Tour
Dead & Company announced the dates for their upcoming tour this summer. The 20 date tour will begin on June 11 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and end with a two-night run at Citi Field in New York, on July 15 and 16. Unfortunately, will not be able to attend any shows on this tour. In the meantime though, I am looking forward to listening to, and reviewing as many of the shows as I can here on my blog. Look for more of my thoughts on on the upcoming tour when it begins in June.
March Madness Recap Through First 8 games
The first 8 games of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament featured a couple upsets and a few surprises.
It took Gonzaga 30 minutes take over the game against Georgia St. Michigan came back to beat Colorado State after being down by 11 points in the first half. In the early session of games today, we saw another 12 seed upset a 5 seed, with the Richmond Spiders defeating Iowa. I am looking forward to watching and recapping, the second half of today’s action, later tonight.
SF Giants Make First Splash of MLB Free Agency
The San Francisco Giants made the first big move in MLB Free agency post-lockout today by signing SP Carlos Rodòn to a 2 year $44 million contract. Rodòn gives the giants a one-two punch at the start of their rotation with Logan Webb. This signing of Rodón was much needed for the Giants, because the team lost starter Kevin Gausman to the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason before the Lockout, in December.
Greta Van Fleet Dreams In Gold Tour 2022
Greta Van Fleet is finally coming to Sacramento, CA! The band will make its final stop on the Dreams In Gold Tour at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday, November 12, 2022. In the meantime, look for my review of their most recent album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, sometime soon.
John Mayer Sob Rock Tour Review 2/17/22 Albany, NY
John Mayer kicked off his latest tour on Thursday night, in support of his latest album Sob Rock. Like the album itself, it appears that this tour will have a strong 80’s theme throughout. As for the music that was played on Thursday night, Mayer’s 22 song setlist featured a great mix of songs throughout his twenty-one-year career which spans eight albums. upon listening back to the show, I was particularly impressed by “Shot in the Dark”, “Wild Blue”, and “Your Body is a Wonderland, which John performed with a full band for the first time in many years. I look forward to reviewing night two of the Sob Rock Tour in Philadelphia tomorrow night.
Goose is Red Rocks Bound!
Earlier today, Goose announced a 3-night run in Colorado this summer. on August 16-18. The first two shows will take place at Dillon Amphitheater on August 16, and 17. The final show of the mini-run through Colorado will take place at the legendary Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on August 18, 2022. In the meantime, I look forward to listening to and writing about more Goose shows, when the band starts the second half of their most recent tour on February 25, 2022.
Goose Winter Tour Review 1/26/22 Tempe, AZ
Goose opened up their winter tour last night in Tempe, AZ. For me some of the highlights of this show include the first set cover of Eddie Grant’s “Electric Avenue”, and “Lead The Way”. The second set featured a fantastic 21 minute “Elizabeth” and a 20 minute “Tumble”. Overall, I thought the band played very solid show to begin 2022. I look forward to listening to the second show of the tour in San Diego tonight, and recapping my thoughts on here sometime tomorrow.
How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last
Big Red Machine’s second album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last which was released in August of last year, is easily one of my favorite records to come out in 2021. It takes the listener on a journey from start to finish. Every song on this album sounds like it was made in an organic and spontaneous fashion with a group of friends jamming away, coming up with unique and enjoyable soundscapes to listen to.
Another aspect of this album that I love is the amazing list of musicians featured in some of the songs. Taylor Swift sings vocals on “Renegade” and “Birch”, two songs that would’ve fit perfectly on folklore which she recently finished writing with Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon. My favorite song on this album is probably the third track “Phoenix”, thanks to the slow groovy feel on that particular song. Overall, this album features some really great songwriting that I keep coming back to over and over again. If you are a fan of the great singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s give this album a listen. I’m sure there’s something on it for everyone to enjoy. As a side note for those of you reading who like collecting records, this album is one of the most colorful vinyl records I have in my collection.
Review: Eric Clapton Standing at the Crossroads
I recently watched the Amazon Prime documentary, Eric Clapton: Standing At The Crossroads. While I was aware of Clapton’s influence as a musician and his standing as one of the greatest rock guitarists ever, this documentary really gives some great insight into how Clapton became the legendary musician he is today. On top of being a part of 4 successful groups The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos, Clapton also has a great solo catalog that I need to listen to on a more frequent basis. Some of my favorite music from the documentary comes from two of his late 80’s records, August, and Journeyman. Watching this documentary helped me appreciate Eric Clapton’s music more, and I highly recommend watching it if you want to find out a little more about what makes him such a legendary figure in the history of Rock music.
Concert Review: Goose 12/30/21
Last night Goose played their first show of a two night run in Chicago to finish outi a great 2021. While the entire show was great, I think my favorite song from the first set was Time to Flee.
As for the second set, I really enjoyed the cover of Pat Benetar’s Love is a Battlefield.
If you would like to hear more from Goose, be sure to check out their show tonight, which will be streamed live on their YouTube channel around 7:30 PM. I plan on reviewing tonight’s New Years Eve show as well.