the verve... has it really been a (a new) decade?

It has been ten years since the very ugly breakup the band that Nike popularized then (everyone) subsequently overplayed and thrust them into 'one hit wonder' status. Most people only know 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' and maybe 'Lucky Man' but for those in the know, The Verve has a brilliant back catalog of three solid albums and a few robust eps. I have been fan for a long time and finally got to see them back in 1998ish in Denver. Cami and I have had a nice stoke of luck with some of our favorite bands reuniting and touring fairly close to us. (We saw Rage Against The Machine at Coachella last year... truly epic.) See what can happen with bucket full of wishing and just a tiny pinch of magic! (everyone keep that positive energy going that John Squire and Ian Brown will make amends.)

Anyway the show was great the casual fans got some all the well know songs from 'Bitter Sweet' to the 'Drugs Don't Work'. Even I could not complain with all of the more "rock' songs like 'Rolling People', 'Come On' and 'This is Music'. They even broke the mold of reuniting bands and played two new songs; 'Sit and Wonder' and 'Love is Noise'. Both dance and radio friendly in the same vain as Urban Hymns. The Verve performed most songs in between the long winded jazz-influenced jams (the hard-core fans enjoy) and succinct radio edits, careful not to drag on too long. (potentially loosing the casual fans just waiting to hear 'Bitter Sweet'.) Note: 'Space and Time' is one of the greatest songs ever!


It was nice for me to see Nick McCabe playing back with the band. The last time I saw them he had left the band just before the Urban Hymns tour. They replaced him with a surprisingly good fit of B. J. Cole on pedal steel guitar. (strange sight but very unique and cool) McCabe brought a psychedelic feedback-infused sound more true to the Verve's style.

I have been to so many great concerts: from a venue so small the guitarist talking to fans before the show, jokingly asking if we had any requests and Cami putting her Diet Coke on the stage next to the Tim Burgess' speaker at the Charlatans in Salt Lake, to Brad yelling Charlatans USA (instead of UK) and Tim agreeing with him in that smooth British accent "Charlatans USA" back in Pomona circa 1999. And who can forget the literal earthquake that was 80,000 or so fans bouncing up and down to 'Calm Like a Bomb' with Rage at Coachella? Honorable mention goes to U2 in Mile High Stadium in Denver 1992 and both of my recent Muse shows. Asking me to rank concerts is like asking pick my favorite son. (and I only have two of them). Special thanks to all the babysiters!! My Mom and Dad, Val, Annette, Christi, Chad, Cindy, Paul, Jen, (Mom and Dad Green for watching Craig and Kim' little angels (or is it devils?) so they could come enjoy the show and Vegas. (Don't tempt me! Direct to your room in 20 min or less) -- Inside jokes for C and K only!! hahaha

Keep those fingers crossed for a Stone Roses reunion tour in 2009, everyone ,as always, is invited!

T-Mobile it up, yo!

Thank you TMobile. I have been on my phone for probably 20 hourz in the past two days and it has been free, thanks to my fave 5 plan. seriously, i know most people all have cell phones but if you don't Tmobile it up, yo!

Mateo...Love him...

matt is a very competitive,analytical, and diplomatic person. since he has been blogging, he is keeping record of who professes their love for their spouse. last night,he seemed upset so i asked what was wrong. he said "cami, 97.4 percent of bloggers have at least one entry telling the world about the love of their life." and i said so what?..and then he got really quiet and said diplomatically "well you if you wanted to be part of that statistical group you could mention me every once in awhile." i looked at him and laughed..do you think i was rude? like come on..he knows i love him...







ok ok ok ok ok ok.. the top paragraph is a farce..did you actually think matt would get concerned about that kind of stuff?

i do love him and am grateful that the playstation was invented and he decided to buy crash team racing and bring it over to my house every wednesday night for almost a year so we could get to know each other. he is truly my best friend. he is always supportive of whatever ridiculous thing i try and attempt. he cares about the people i care about. he is willing to watch additional kids so i am able to go out with people who dont have babysitters. he makes me laugh and he makes me happy. when i was diagnosed with diabetes, i didnt think that anyone would want to marry someone that was damaged but luckily matt did. he is understanding when my blood sugars are out of whack. he doesnt give me a hard time when i need a break. he watches the kids so i can sleep in on saturdays. he watches the kids after church so i can take a nap on sundays. as my dad has said, matt is so calm if his house was burning down he would just say ah, well i reckon the firetrucks are coming. i will keep rockin' in this here rockin' chair. he is so calm.that is true. he is not scared to show emotions and likes a good facial as much as me..love him!

the other day he brought me breakfast in bed. it was so perfect and he knows me so well..what was it? a can of diet coke..he makes me smile and i love him! so here ya go matt, since you coerced it out of me here is an entry dedicated to you.

....getting nervous.. first blog attempt...reader beware

Hello internet- How are you? This is my first time so be gentle! I started to write a journal as I am notorious for having a bad ... you know... that thing that recalls things in your brain... (I am also notorious for lame jokes) Anyway - I told Cami we needed to keep up with the Jones' and start a blog- (we can't afford the new segway http://www.segway.com/ they have) really I just thought it would be nice to let everyone know how cute our kids are -if you have seen them you know what I am talking about! That is not just a proud dad bragging, it is a scientific fact.

So here is what I wrote in my totally out dated mead notebook. Can you believe I actually used a pen?

One night Ian was wearing his NFL pajamas containing the logos of all the teams. He pointed out his favorite team, the Colts. No, he is not a band wagon jumper--he likes them because it was the first helmet that popped out of the bubble gum type vending machine. Then he pointed to the Packers logo and said
"That is your favorite team dad".
I pointed to the Lions and told him it was mom's team- Bills for Brad (Liggett). Saints for Eddie (Mann). 49ers for Paul (Finster)
Our game continued and he would point to different teams and ask "Do they 'rock' dad?
For most of the teams I said "Yes, they rock"
After a few more teams he said he summed his feelings up with this conclusive statement.
"I like all the teams except the ones that don't rock".

One more cute, quick story: He recently got his CTR ring and proudly showed it to me and said if he ever is having a hard time he will look at his finger- he said --Dad if you are having a hard time you can look at my finger too.

Cute I know- and try to hold the tears back on this one- I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up and he responded simply "Like you Dad".

As for Colin he is super cute he comes running as soon as he hears the garage door open because daddy is home. And when I try to leave for work forget about it!

Well cheers for now- next time I am sure to have some rant or random thoughts on why slapstick comedy is killing America or wax poetic about the Verve's reunion tour in Vegas- Only 10 days... Urban Hymns is still in the top five albums of all time -If you care to challenge me bring it on! If you are looking to debate it listen to Space and Time with some good headphones on and I bet you will go crawling back to musical taste inferiority!
Matt

You want to beat the system? This is the system..Fighting Back...

Hola!
Well the past weekend was a little busy but oh so much fun. We helped with the garage sale/bake sale for Sadie Huish. It was a bunch of fun but towards the end of the night on friday, i started getting loopy. i tried on all of the hilarious things that people had donated. too bad nobody had a camera since i had a unitard on with some spandex shorts..good times..good times..nobody recognized me..it was funny. once they heard me talk, they knew who i was. it was fun to be under the radar. i went out with some chicas on saturday night. it was a bunch of laughs. i usually always laugh at a dramatic part of a movie which may irritate those around me so better not bring me along. i laughed at the end of the notebook..come on..them dying together at the same time..chees-e! if people are going to keep making cheesy movies, then they are expecting me to laugh at them. 21 only had a couple of cheesy parts but nonetheless, when the laughter came out not very many people wanted to claim i was with them. i was getting ready this morning with the boys downstairs. when i came downstairs, i saw ian with a bag of marshmallows and some rice krispies. when i asked what he was doing he said he was trying to make rice krispie treats..he was so cute about it. so we threw the linty marshmallows away and got some new ones to make for tonight..
holy warm weather..bring on the spring!

About face

Ok. i admit i am an addict for facebook. i poked fun of it for awhile saying "it is the best way to stay in contact with people who you didn't realize you cared about until facebook was around." but i love it. i have been on the oregon trail, found out i have an accent, all sorts of stuff to wastse my time. since getting married shortly (2 months) after high school it has enabled me to find my high school friends..

ok..we got three games in the mail the other day..endless ocean is endlessly boring. what it did make me do is book a cruise and a scuba diving excursion. so i am beginning to think that endless ocean was in cahoots with the travel industry from the start. i finally finished apollo justice..it took me almost a month. middle thumb..its classic that there are 4 different characters and the cases and stories all intertwine so i liked that aspect of it. but i forced myself to finish it. pixel junk monsters is still probably my fave game of the moment. ian knows that my babies can't get killed. it is very endearing that a 4 yr old is giving me pointers. love it!
everyone who is local better make an appearance at the yard sale tomorrow for sadie huish. i am cleaning my basement today scouring for stuff to take.. english majors this blog is not for you i have runon sentences that go on forever. i write..in fragments. I NEVER CAPITALIZE because it takes too long. i hardly punctuate. so if you can get past that then super d dupe! read on..my friend read on...

Nothing Bundt Cakes...

As I travel to and fro, I like to discover quaint new places. I am still in love with Lush cosmetics, Trader Joes, and Basin. All places that I can not get in Utah which makes it frustrating, but luckily Matt goes to California for work and is willing to stop by and bring home my stuff I need from those places. However, I found a place in Utah that I love and it is called Nothing Bundt Cakes. It is 106th and State Street by Chipotle and Paradise Bakery. I love it. The cakes are not too expensive and muy delicious. For all those who know what Citizen Cake is, it is kind of similar to that but I think I actually prefer Nothing Bundt Cakes. It makes me want to run a bakery in my later years.

To blog or not to blog...

Hey y'all..

Matt has decided that we need to start a blog so people know of the cute stories of the kids and our lives. I am happy to bypass the annual cheesily written Christmas newletter that is intertwined with witty,satirical comments that just make me want to vomit up my christmas cookies so we will try this out. Since we are gamers, we will probably review some games that we have been currently playing as well..Right now, Matt is playing Tiger Woods '08. Same old, same old just one year newer.

We are looking forward to an upcoming trip to Vegas! Crazy people...but delicious food and great music.I never thought I would be able to see the Verve.. I was looking through some pictures with my niece and I was missing in them and she said "Were you at a concert?"..Apparently, we must go to concerts a lot but it is all fun and good. Colin is crazy as always and Ian is still scared of everything which I don't really mind..even though he is passing up a trip to Disneyland because he is too scared.