I said a few posts back that I'd write a bit about my recent trip to Boston, so here we go.

My brother and I had tickets to a Springsteen concert....my 7th, his 4th. Instead of a sensible 1-hour flight, we opted to drive. It can be a bit of a death march, but the weather was good, Interstates are always a breeze, and even though it was well into November, there was still a good amount of pretty leaves on the trees.

On the way through Maine, we stopped by author Stephen King's house. I'm not much of a celebrity-seeker, but this was too cool to pass up. Don't know if you can see this much detail, but the front gates have little bats on them.

Even though Springsteen was the official reason for the trip, the real highlight was rifling down as much local food and beer as humanly possible. One of the first places we tried was a place called Gilley's Diner in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Like most of these older places (1912), the diner itself used to be an old Rail Car.

I'm guessing by the size of the benches at Gilley's, people's arses were a lot smaller back then. Then again, chances are they weren't throwing down two Chili Dogs at a time, like I was.

Further down the 95, after checking in at the Hilton, it was off to the legendary Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus. Apparently, the Hilltop was the inspiration for the Hungry Heifer, Norm Peterson's favourite restaurant on Cheers. Every meal includes a coupon for twenty bucks off on a Double Bypass.

The next morning called for a trip to the Owl Diner in Lowell. We didn't have a fancy-pants GPS system, so we printed off the directions in the Hilton Business center, and hit the road before the mid-morning rush.

Once again, it's an old railway car...

That's the Eggs Benedict, with nice, thick pieces of ham. Fast, friendly service, and a ton of food. Plus, some Elvis on the jukebox. Can't help but think that the King himself would be pleased with the secret ingredient...We looked behind the counter, and saw the cook dumping a pitcher of whipped butter onto a grill full of home fries.

With our arteries screaming for mercy, we eventually hopped on the T in Cambridge. Our first stop was Harvard Square, and after a brisk fall walk through the Harvard campus (even the squirrels had a higher GPA than I could ever hope for), we hopped back to Davis Square, to hit a few bars, before launching a BBQ siege at Redbones.

My wife and I had eaten there earlier in the year, and I was astounded at the amount of food we got. Naturally, I thought of my brother as I was hauling the doggie bags back with us. Steve and I had done a similar BBQ pilgrimage to Texas a couple years back, and we had to add Redbones to our field of study. All in the interest of science, you understand. If you're a BBQ geek, you'll be interested in the different styles of ribs...St. Louis, Memphis, Texas, just to name a few.

Ribs, brisket, catfish, beer. Then more ribs. You get the idea...

http://www.redbones.com/

Off to the concert...not going to go too into detail, but I'lll say I've never left disappointed from a Springsteen show. The missus and I will be seeing him in Montreal in the Spring.

On the way back, our only stop was at the Maine Diner

http://www.mainediner.com/

It's in Wells, Maine, and while it was definitely the most touristy place we visited, the food and service was top-notch. I had heard about their Shrimp and Cheddar omelette, and had to try one. With a couple of slices of rye toast, and about a gallon of coffee, we were more than ready for the long drive home.

Got this from the great Ross Halfin's website. Ross is one of the great rock photographers of all-time, and invited Dave Grohl to the Led Zeppelin reunion show in London this past week. I've always liked that Grohl fella. I interviewed him a few years ago when the Foo Fighters played Citadel Hill, and he's a standup bloke.

Dave Grohl tells it like it is...
Sir,Just wanted to thank you for being so accommodating to me and my cast of nerds the other night. It was an epic night, to say the least. Arriving at 10 am that morning, sleeping for three hours, heading to the bottle shop for refreshments to take with in the van, pissing like a Clydesdale upon arrival to the gig, and then the mighty Zeppelin.
Highlights:
For Your Life. Maybe my favorite song of the night, except for Kashmir, which was beyond spot on.
The dry ice machine.
Black Dog. Like they never stopped playing it.
Asking Marilyn Manson if I can give him a hickey. "No". Asking his girlfriend if I can give her a hickey. "Sure!" To which Marilyn replied "No".
Not understanding one fucking word that Liam Gallagher said to me.
Steve Gorman. A good guy.
Peter Mench being nice to me. Sign of the apocalypse? Perhaps.
The entire 2 hours that the band performed.
Without sounding like a cunt, I had waited to see that my whole life, and it did not disappoint. Of course, I had always dreamed about being behind that drum set, but the sheer thrill of being there overcame any envy that I may have had. Jason was fucking great. Face it, he had people like me, Chad Smith, and Steve Gorman watching his every move, all night long, and afterwards we all agreed that he played great. Just three jealous drummers, drinking away our life long dreams of one day jamming with the greatest rock band of all time. Fucking pathetic, we were.........Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for including us in everything. It meant the world to me.
Congratulate the boys for me. Hope they take this circus on the road. If there's an opening for drum tech, you know my number.
Dave

This is me with Little Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band, Little Steven's Underground Garage, and Silvio from The Sopranos.

This was taken before Sunday Night's Springsteen concert in Boston, as I was dropping off my resume for The Bing.

Note to self...If I ever meet Ronnie James Dio...for the love of God, don't bring up vivian Campbell...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOwZBo8FQvo

I was a huge Dio fan in my 80s metal years, and he's always had a terrific reputation as a super-nice guy.

Just don't mention Vivian.

I just bought a couple of Springsteen tickets for November in Boston. If I had any sense, I'd sell the other kidney and pick up Van Halen tickets, too. Here's some rehearsal footage...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMm419quo1g

Honestly, I think Dave sounds better than 20 years ago. Of course, that's not saying a whole lot if you've ever listened to any VH bootlegs from that era, but I digress.

I'm actually more worried about how Eddie is going to fare on tour, as his physical state was the reason for ths postponement ealrier this year. By the looks of this footage, he's fine.

That's Wolfgang Van Halen...Eddie's 16 year-old kid on bass. Shouldn't he have a paper route or something?

My kinda talk show!

In case you never got around to seeing myself and Lisa Blackburn when we did Global Noon for a few years, here's an out-take.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMAHstZ565w

When the Sox signed Eric Gagne at the trade deadline, I, along with the rest of Red Sox Nation saw him as the last piece of the puzzle as we paraded off to the post season.

Since then, though, I don't know how much sleep I've lost because of Gag-Me. To say he's been a trainwreck is a little bit of an understatement. More like the Space shuttle crashing into the Empire State Building, knocking King Kong off the building onto a schoolbus full of kids.

It's that bad. I'm wishing he stuck to hockey as a career choice.

Hopefully Terry Francona's got his answer now to the question of whether Gagne can be trusted in important situations.

It looks like the Sox have the foot off the pedal, resting Manny, Youkilis, Okajima and Coco Crisp, as they head toward the playoffs. Doesn't really make that much of a difference if they win the division at this point, as they'll still get the wild card since Detroit has shit the bed. The last four World Champs have gotten in with the wild card, so maybe this will all work out after all. But, the Yankees have been playing out of this world since the All-star break, and as long as Jeter and Rivera are breathing, they're going to be tough.

I think winning the division means more to the fans than it does to the team. As long as you can get into the playoffs, and get hot, you can win it all, just like the Sox did in 2004. Still, having to listen to the Yankee fans will be unbearable if they do catch them. We're still hearing about 1978, when the Yanks caught the Sox.

Josh Beckett's going for his 20th win tonight, so hopefully he gets it, although the Devil Rays have Scott Kazmir on the mound, and he's been tough on the Sox.

Holy Crap! Van Halen is back on tour this year. Don't think I'll be going, even though I am a disciple of the Dave Era. Sammy's OK, although he can't touch anything from the Diamond Dave catalogue. I interviewed Sammy about 10-15 years ago, and the was about the classiest guy I've talked to over the years. I still have the signed Van Halen photo that he sent me.

In case you missed the press conference from a few weeks back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yuVu0N0qGk

RIP, Merv Griffin.

I'd known he was sick for awhile, and this is very sad news. A true pioneer, Merv basically invented the game show as we know it.

On the plus side, though, how often do you get to look at a Thor clip?

Yes, children...it was the 70s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uWjkR4cFC4

From www.simpsonizeme.com.

THIS is how I spent my summer vacation!

Just got back from a few days in Montreal. My friend Terry and I were in town for the second Police concert, and really, Montreal in the summertime is a show in itself, as any red-blooded male will attest.

My sister-in-law Vanessa pointed out that anytime my brother or I get back from a road trip, the first thing we talk about is where we ate. Montreal is the best eating city in Canada, by far, and one of the best in North America. Every conceivable style of food is available in vast quantities, as you'd probably imagine from all the different far-flung ethnic groups that make up the city. My tastes are pretty basic...just give me a good (large) meal at a sensible price, and I'm happy.

My first stop is always the Bar-B-Barn, for chicken and ribs. I've heard that Chicken Chalet makes better BBQ chicken, and Baton Rouge might claim better ribs. If I had a couple more days and maybe a higher limit on the VISA, I would have tried both those spots, although I'd fight to the death anybody who speaks ill of the Bar-B-Barn.

Another spot that my friend Stephen Clare recommended was Cafe Santropol, in the area close to Mount Royal called The Main. Incredibly large, creative sandwiches, in a funky little spot a couple blocks over from Schwartz's, home of the FINEST smoked meat sandwiches I've had. I used to like Ben's, but that had been going downhill for a few years, and sadly, closed last year.

Other standouts include Magnan's, at the Charlevoix stop on the Metro, for fantastic roast beef, and Carlos and Pepe's, right off St. Catherine's for Mexican.

Then there were the bars. Our hotel was on Rue de les Montagne, a couple streets over from Crescent, so there was no shortage of options. I'm not a big fan of flashy, Night at the Roxbury-type joints, and although there were definitely a few of those, we found some cool, laid-back pubs with great patios.

I'm sure I'll skip a couple, but here are a few...Sir Winston Churchill's, Brutopia and Hurley's, all on Crescent, and The Irish Embassy a couple streets over. For the love of God, don't buy a beer at the Bell Centre, though. $9.25 for a warm Molson draft.

Oh yeah...the concert. Pretty good. I have a review (kind-of) in Thursday's HFX in the Daily News, so I won't rehash the same shit here. I'm still on vacation, y'know.

Here are a couple of videos that I took with my digital camera. Turned out pretty good, if you ask me...

First, the opening, into Message in a Bottle. Yes, I'm behind the stage.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jBGffqL29bY

Walking on the Moon

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-hZ629qNixI

I was a little young to remember Tom Snyder's 'The Tomorrow Show' on NBC back in the 70s, although I loved him on the 'Late Late Show' that followed Letterman on CBS in the 90s.

Tom passed away yesterday at 71. Through the magic of Youtube, you can see some of his greatest hits...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EiSEbyhAR0k

Who would you rather interview...Charles Manson, or Johnny Rotten? I'm thinking Charlie seems like a more stable character after watching that clip!

It's been awhile since I've updated El Bloggo, as I've been ramping up for vacation. Honest to God, you work so hard in preparing for vacation, it's almost not worth the trouble. I'm off for the next two weeks, so hopefully I can keep things a little more up-to-date.

I honestly can't remember the last time I took two weeks vacation. The missus and I used to take these gonzo road trips ten, fifteen years ago, driving all over the northeast going to concerts and ballgames, but those days are long-gone. My little girls, 8 and 4, have a 'travelling gene', so hopefully the road will open up in the next little while.

Speaking of road trips...Neil Peart is enjoying the summer...

http://www.neilpeart.net/news/index.html

I have a ton to catch up on...including talking about the White Stripes in Glace Bay last weekend. One of my top 5 shows ever...actually one of the Top Ten...Springsteen shows would probably occupy the Top 5. You can actually see the back of my head in the top picture. I'm wearing my green shirt that I got at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, TX. Of course, when I wear it, everybody asks..."Hey...you from Austin?" Alas...no.

The Halifax show was excellent...although if the stage was about a foot higher, it would have been perfect.

I'm off the to see The Police in Montreal on Thursday. Should be an interesting perspective, as we're directly behind Stewart Copeland, five rows back. The perspective from directly behind the stage is pretty cool. I'll post some pictures when I get back, if they don't take my camera away.

Can't wait for the White Stripes tomorrow night at the Cunard Center...here's some video from the 'Secret' show in Charlottetown yesterday...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O5N_9jeYBPY

Also, some cool pictures from the Moncton Coliseum...only 3,000 people...the dump was half-full, if you can believe that! Just scroll down a bit. LOOOOOOOOVE the New Brunswick flag!

http://media.locals.ca/localsconf/viewtopic.php?t=99080&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=315

My entire life has been leading up to this.

I'm not kidding.

http://movies.yahoo.com:80/movie/1808405878/video/2700484/standardformat

I remember this, actually. My Mom and Dad went to the Moncton concert on this tour. Tragic story, but could have been much worse.

http://jam.canoe.ca/Country/2007/06/15/4264026-cp.html

I was talking with a neighbour of mine this past weekend, and he's a truck driver. He told me about being in the rig about ten years ago, just outside of Halifax, a typical winter night, when he struck up a conversation on the CB.

They talked for about an hour, before the conversation turned to music. After a little while, the stranger on the other end of the radio revealed his true identity....Neil Young.

He had just finished his show at the Metro Center, and was on his way to the next gig (Saint John, probably). As with most performers, it usually takes a couple of hours to wind down after a show, so Neil will occasionally take the wheel for awhile.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Tom Waits' version of 'Phantom 309'...

Shit...I had no idea.

http://www.slate.com/id/2167992

Went to Fenway Park last weekend, for the Sox/Yankees series. Turns out I went to the only one of the three games the Sox won (Saturday, 11-6), and it extends my personal Sox winning streak to 5. Theo Epstein should be calling me more often to attend the games!

Anyway, there's nothing like Fenway, especially when the Sox are winning, and even more especially if it's over the Yankees. I was right behind the Sox bullpen, and got some great shots of Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima. They were great on Saturday, but not so hot on Sunday night, as the Yanks won 6-5, on an Alice Rodriguez homer.

As soon as I can figure out how to get video on the blogski, I'll post some of them, too.

Oh...we also met Alyssa Milano, and that's not exactly a bad thing. That's Mrs. B with Alyssa...

Every once in awhile, when I get one of those Free Preview Months the cable companies offer up , I'll end up watching the Game Show Network for hours on end.

My favourite is always Match Game...Gene Rayburn with the freakishly long microphone, asking borderline filthy questions to a panel of Hollywood B-listers, quite possibly all of whom are half-in-the-bag. The guy I always got the most kick out of was Charles Nelson Reilly, who just passed away at the age of 76.

Quite possibly Alec Baldwin's finest acting role, as CNR...from SNL a few years back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcMbaS3lvyo

The Stones concert on Halifax Common sticks out in everybody's mind as concert of the year for 2006, and rightly so, but a lot of folks (including me, after a few pops) say that the real winner might have been Wilco at Alderney Landing.

Just an incredible summer night on the Dartmouth Waterfront...sea air, the ferries coming and going in the background, and Wilco at the top of their game. My friend Terry sent me a great clip of Wilco front guy Jeff Tweedy politely (mostly) telling people to shut the frig up during a show.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ew3AOlbJXos&mode=related&search

Can't say as I disagree with him.

Compare that to how Keith Richards reacts to a little too much crowd participation...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=J-QC0t63ndA

So long, Jerry Falwell.

Certainly a divisive figure over the last few decades, with his comments about gays being reponsible for 9/11, his support of segregation in the US, support of Apartheid in South Africa, giving Fundamentalists more power, eventually bringing us Bush, Cheney, etc.

Let's not forget another celebrity whose reputation was tarnished by ol' Jer a few years back...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/05/16/falwell_tinky/index.html?source=rss

I remember seeing a bumper sticker while driving in the States a few years ago..." The Moral Majority is Neither".

I couldn't believe the news that The White Stripes are coming to the Maritimes. July 13th at the Cunard Center in Halifax, which holds about 4,000 people. No telling how long the tickets will last, so you better pick 'em up fast from www.ticketatlantic.com

Their new CD is called 'Icky Thump', and if you're a bit fuzzy, as I was, about the origin of the title...wonder no more!

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Ecky-Thump

Sounds like it would have made a fine addition to the ill-fated Commonwealth Games in Halifax!

I actually thought this was recent footage of The Who when I first saw it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY&mode=related&search

Just in case you're starting out in the Music Business, and haven't taken the plunge to sign on with a manager...check this out. They're Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, otherwise known as Flo and Eddie, The Turtles, who sold millions of records back in the 60s. You'd think they'd be rolling in dough, but, then again...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JHN5HaUg28

So the lesson as always, kids...read the fine print!

Got a call from John today on the 3:00 Classic Rock Craving (454-7268, BTW) for a couple of Iggy Pop songs.

I remember seeing this clip years ago of The Ig on CBC being interviewed by the late Peter Gzowski. You probably didn't see this clip on any 'Best of Gzowski' tributes. Pretty tense, to say the least...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kqxcgPPdYwo

Also...welcome to Fenway Park!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VuN7hmlQrkw

Incidentally, a hunk of Papa Gino's pizza will run you about 6 bucks at Fenway, for God's sake!

A couple more YouTube goodies...First...Kermit does NIN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLQRv0RjBBM&eurl=

Also, Alanis does Fergie. Um...maybe I should've phrased that differently. Although, that WOULD be entertaining...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91sqAs-_-g

Just so you don't think I'm just pulling this out of my ass...I mentioned the White Stripes have their eyes on coming to Canada...here's the actual link to the 'News' section of their website...

http://www.whitestripes.com/news/newsExtra.html

If you haven't seen 'The Departed', do yourself a favour and pick it up. Scorcese and Nicholson are at the top of their game...Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg put in terrific performances as well.

If you're having trouble getting a two-hour window to watch the movie in it's entirety, however, here's a condensed version.

WARNING!

Not safe for work, or around the kids!

There.

Enjoy!

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1746444/

From the 'Be careful what you're getting into, especially after you've had a few drinks' department...

A few Q Goons will be on our way to Toronto this weekend for CBC's 'Test the Nation'. It's a national IQ Test to see what professions are the smartest. There are mayors, millionaires, tattoo artists, and radio dweebs.

Lisa, JC and Anna are pretty smart...Bobby is surprisingly bright, and me....I don't know. I was on Reach for the Top in Grades 10 and 11 at Simonds High. Since I've had kids though, I can feel my intelligence level dropping by the second.

Plus, one of the hosts is CBC's Brent Bambury. He went to Saint John High, so I don't think he's going to give a Simonds guy a hometown discount.

It's Sunday night at 8, if you want to see us make arses of ourselves on a national level, as opposed to locally, like we usually do.

http://www.cbc.ca/testthenation/

The Super Bowl people are runoured to be considering Bruce Springsteen for the Super Bowl halftime show next year. Cool! Although, it will be hard to top Prince.

The Smoking Gun has printed complaint emails from Prince's performance...You can't make this up!

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0305072fcc1.html

The latest Q Jet has fuelled up...this time to Toronto for The Police in July. Junior High Tom is excited beyond belief, having worn out his copies of Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine back in the early 80s.

You may have to squint a bit, but here's what they're rehearsing...Driven to Tears...yeah, baby!

Holy crap, is this exciting...Neil Young is, slowly but surely, opening his vaults. In November, he released a show from the Fillmo' East in 1971 with Crazy Horse, and on March 13, we'll get his legendary solo acoustic Massey Hall concert from '71.

Here's the trailer...

Windows: http://streamos.wbr.com/wmedia/wbr/neilyoung/mhpromo_adv1.wvx
Quicktime: http://streamos.wbr.com/qtime/wbr/neilyoung/mhpromo_adv1.mov

Up top is a picture of myself, Neil, and Annapolis Valley broadcast legend Darrin Harvey backstage at the Metro Centre in '96...Nice fella...we had a few seconds to talk hockey...living in Northern California, he went to a lot of San Jose Sharks games.

How cool were The Police the other night at The Grammys?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sHXCs84iJc


Wanna see them on tour? Gotta have good seats!

http://www.stubhub.com/the-police-tickets/?ticket_id=82038730

The Police, Van Halen, Genesis...all we need is for Human League to get back together and the eighties will be complete again!

My friend Blair sent this to me a couple weeks ago...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOyEw9bT8yQ&mode=related&search=#

He's a better fit than Paul Rodgers, don't ya think?

Jesus, what a miserable day yesterday. For some reason, I had to go out, and I probably should have taken it as a sign when my driver's side door lock was frozen. Not to be deterred, I used the passenger side door and crawled over the seat to the driver's side. That's OK if you're doing it once, but after the second or third time you whack your knee on the steering wheel, that should be a cue to stay the hell home.

Aside from the lock being frozen, for some reason the rear passenger-side shock absorber freezes up in sub-arctic temperatures, and it's an experience similar in bumpiness to driving a jeep through the Himalayas. My car was telling me that it wanted nothing to do with me today, and wanted to stay home and watch football.

The whole ordeal was so I could take my youngest daughter to Burger King, or more specifically, their really cool play area-thingy. She had a great time, and as a bonus, learned some exciting new words watching Daddy pry the frozen wiper off the windshield. So, it was a win-win all the way.

This week on Route 104, it's Part 1 of an interview I did recently with Ronnie Miller, who played bass for Dutch Mason in the late sixties and early seventies. He has some terrific stories about playing music in that era, so many that we had to break t he interview up into two parts. That's Sunday night at 9.

Apparently, the Eddie Van Halen video I posted yesterday was pulled...Anyway, I'd rather remember Ed from happier days...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0r0giCsDios

It's January 7th, at noon, and according to my thermometer, it's 8 degrees on the deck. Honestly, if I knew about this global warming thing earlier, I never would have traded in my old '77 Buick. I shouldn't joke, because someday soon, we'll probably be seeing the remains of the polar ice caps floating down Barrington Street. I'd say Tuesday, it looks like.

Don Cherry's really starting to piss me off. Last night on Coach's Corner he shows a terrific play where Evgeni Malkin dances around most of the opposition, leaving two or three players in the dust, and the Staal kid for the Penguins (don't ask me which Staal kid, there are about twenty of 'em), tips in a rebound. Who does Cherry praise? Staal, of course.

It used to be kind of cute, his mispronunciations of the Europeans names, and how he sticks up for Canadians. But now he just sounds like your old drunk-ass uncle who hates foreigners. You're not going to find anybody more politically incorrect than me most days, but Cherry's schtick is getting old and predictable.

Don't even get me started on why he has such a bug up his ass about Sidney Crosby. Sid has shown nothing but class and maturity in the face of WAAAAAAAY too much pressure for an 18 (now 19) year-old. He has the weight of the entire sport on his shoulders, and he's handling it perfectly.

Cherry wasn't much of a hockey player, by his own admission, and he's always been more of a cheerleader for the lunchbucket types, but this is childish.

That being said...how about some fisticuffs! You have to watch the entire video, it's pretty cool.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5zNUTSTRnz8

Georges Laracque has the reputation for being not only the best fighter in the NHL, but also one of the nicest fellas. I've played hockey with his brother, former Moosehead Jules-Edy Laracque, and he's a stand-up guy as well.

Remember Pulp Fiction?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ryY3heZqrgM