End Game

Here it comes....

The big K.O.

Expected on almost all fronts, but we all hoped it would go into round 3.

We'll see what happens in the off-season.

Stay tuned.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds @ The Hammersmith Apollo

When I go to concerts these days I often feel like I’m getting prematurely old. Today, at the Nick Cave show in West London, I thought back to the times when I was in high school and I would stand outside venues an hour before the doors opened. Now I can barely make it through half the opening act’s set without a couple of cold ones. That said, there are different types of crowds. Mostly, I like mild mannered, doe-eyed crowds. This is at least true when I go to a dedicated concert venue (your Hard Rock’s and HOB’s etc.), as opposed to a bar that has live music (where I actually tend to enjoy the music more and more).

When you’re standing in that pit before the stage, legs about to buckle all night long, the last thing you need is some mysterious farter really getting carried away with his anonymity. There’s also the “pusher.” You know who I’m talking about: that guy/girl who weasels his/her way up to the front row with a mouth half-open and eyes glazed. Definitely trample material. Drunks I’m usually okay with, but not if they’re going to flail arms and legs throughout the set, effectively rendering my $30 ticket the bill for a weekend self-defense class.

So. By now you’ve guessed that I had a gripe or two tonight as I stood waiting around for the Bad Seeds to play.

How were they? Well, pretty great. Was I surprised? No. Why’s that?

YouTube.

It saddens me to admit, but the accessibility of so many great performances on the net has somewhat taken away from my concert-going experiences of late. It’s the curse of our age, I guess. Computers have opened up this massive gateway to us. In this sense, YouTube and other online media sites are about as helpful as they are hurtful to today’s artists. People just aren’t content with the good, or even the great anymore. It’s got to be phenomenal. It’s got to defy expectations, and expectations continue to soar.

As I watched Nick Cave rant and rave across the stage like one of the many mad preachers and bowery shamans that populate his lyrics, I wondered why I wasn’t more impressed. The Bad Seeds were spot on, the lighting was great, sound was pretty good, and Cave is every bit the continuous font of blistering energy that he’s cracked up to be. Still, I couldn’t help feeling slightly underwhelmed.

Is it just me?

I saw a girl next to me texting a friend. She wrote something like “They are playing mostly new songs. It’s good but then I’ve just seen them so many times.” I almost felt the same way, even though this was my first time seeing the band live. Between DVDs like God is in the House and YouTube videos, I felt as though I already had a good idea of what the Seeds would be like. They met all of my expectations a little too precisely.

There was Dirty Three main-man Warren Ellis looking scraggly as ever: the dead-eyed mystic of the band. Up on the stage-left riser—Mick Harvey, powerhouse drummer of the Seeds, Grinderman, and the Birthday Party. Still, everyone’s locked on Mr. Cave. The man has serious charisma.

As I mentioned, Nick Cave seems to have become a character in one of his songs. Perhaps tonight’s show was successful—at least to me—because it served to reaffirm this fact in my mind. A lot of the time it seems as though he’s method acting. While there were several highlights tonight, the real showstoppers tended to be the character studies. Songs like “Red Right Hand,” “Dig, Lazarus, Dig,” and “Stagger Lee.” Cave literally becomes these characters when he performs their songs. It’s actually pretty incredible. “Stagger Lee,” which closed out the night, was positively demonic.

Staring out into a heaving sea of admirers (Cave’s cult resembles Morrissey’s on a slightly smaller scale), Cave’s delivery was pure pyromania. “So he walked through the rain and he walked through the mud, ‘til he came to a place called the bucket o’ blood! Stagger Lee.” The Seeds’ aerial assault bears down like fire and brimstone, and it’s hard to imagine Stagger Lee being anyone other than Nick’s alter ego.

In this sense I really was pretty impressed. Staggered, even. Still, when I think back to those early shows I attended as a teenager: the thrill of rock ‘n’ roll still raging through my veins, I can’t help but feel a little disheartened by the way my experience of concerts has changed. Maybe I’ve just seen too many bands. That said, I saw people at the show tonight who were clearly between 40 and 50. How do they keep it up? Are they just mid-life crises? I swear there were five to ten people up front who watched the entire show through their cell phones and digital cameras. What’s that all about? Are we really that bored?

I think about how great the band was tonight. How little it affected me. Should I still expect revelations out of rock music? What do I have to do to recapture that thrill?

P.S.
Other highlights from the show included “Papa Won’t Leave You Henry” from Henry’s Dream and “Hold On To Yourself,” from the new Dig, Lazarus, Dig LP. Some songs that were unfamiliar to me, such as “Tupelo” and “Nobody’s Baby Now,” were also good.

Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons (Game 3)

Not a sweep.

Trying out this new technique called "Dominance," Dwight Howard & the Orlando Magic brought some rusty Detroit Pistons to their knees tonight. If there's one thing I've learned about the NBA Playoffs this year, it's that home court advantage can make a whole universe of difference in a team's night.

The Magic stepped up its game as a team, to keep Motown under from start to finish. Furious defense and an equal turnover count (11 by both teams) contributed heavily.

Man of the hour was one Sweet Lew, who has grown over the last couple weeks to finally fill those big golden shoes we bought him in the off-season. No. 9 turned in a LeBron-esque night with 33 points, many of which were made up of morale-crushing three-pointers. Continuing along the road to greatness was the Howitzer, who added six blocks to his requisite double-double (20 pts, 12 rbs). Jameer Nelson played a superb game with 18, Dooling added a nasty 10 off the bench, and Hedo evidently remembered why we call him "Quatro," dropping another 18, which included some clutch mortar rounds when Rip Hamilton started looking hot.

It's a big win. No team who goes under 0-3 ever comes back to win a series. We've shown the Pistons we can deal with them. Still, it's just one win and it's a win at home. We're going to have to take the next game this Saturday, but more importantly, we have to win one at Auburn Hills.

As I noted in the last post, Chauncey Billups was the nightmare in Game 2. He got injured early in this contest, playing only four minutes. We can't forget what an incredible player this man is. If we let him run circles around us in Game 4, we're screwed.

The Magic shot absurdly well tonight. 53.8% of field goals went in. 45.8% of treys found their mark. We can be murderous when are shooting game is on. What worries me is that it's not going to be on all the time. The whole team played brilliantly tonight, but I hope they'll be able to keep up their intensity on the defensive end. We have to utilize our team's youth and height in the rest of this series. I trust head coach Stan Van Gundy to keep things in perspective, though. If we stay hungry in the paint and don't turn the ball over, we might just be able to send Detroit's old horse to the glue factory before long.

Final Score: Magic: 111 Pistons: 86

Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons (Part Two)

Well, it's been no-go for victory in Detroit so far. That said, the fight that the Magic put up tonight in the third and fourth quarters gives me some hope that they can and will develop into a playoff-hardened team sooner or later. Player of the night was Jameer Nelson (22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), who hit several threes to put us back in the game midway through the third when things were looking very bad. It wasn't enough, unfortunately, to hold back 2004 Championship MVP Chauncey Billups from tearing up the court all night.

What interested me about tonight's game is the fact that it was only Billups that seemed to give us major problems. Defensive play was tighter and the team was able to draw a lot of fouls from Detroit's front court. Antonio McDyess fouled out of the game in the fourth, Rasheed Wallace came close with 5 personal fouls, and Jason Maxiell had 4.

If Stan Van Gundy has in fact worked out a way of curbing at least some of Detroit's main threats (Wallace and Rip Hamilton in particular) then hopes ought to be high for the next two games in Florida.

Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons (Game 2)

Last Saturday was awful. After being almost tied up at the half (43-42 Pistons), the Magic found themselves playing some of their worst basketball of the season. The Pistons have proven that they deserve to be where they are time and time again. They play well-balanced, and more importantly, consistent basketball.

Tonight we have to get a win. As much as I'd like the believe our players are able to put last year's horror story aside, I can't imagine it's not taking it's toll on their confidence. Yes, the Pistons were still hot from their win against the Sixers last week. Yes, the Magic were well-rested. There's no use trying to explain away the situation as it stands. If we don't win tonight, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to get up from under the boot. If we can get a win in Detroit now, we'll have the home court advantage we need to win this series.

Stan Van Gundy has undoubtedly been working these guys real hard over the past two days, retooling defensive match-ups and assessing Detroit's post-season shape. More importantly, though, our five starters need to shake the intimidation factor and get angry. There's been more than a little trash talk flying around recently, and it's getting to the point where something really needs to be done to counter it. A statement has to be made against this old-guard of the East. If we come out strong and turn up the energy on this aging team, we can very well win this.

Stats from Game 1 (from Orlando Magic Blog):

Orlando:

Hedo Turkoglu 18 pts (8 of 16 FGs), 7 rebounds; Rashard Lewis 18 pts (9 of 20 FGs), 7 rebounds; Dwight Howard 12 pts (5 of 11 FGs), 8 rebounds, 3 blocks. Bench: Keyon Dooling 7 pts (1 of 5 FGs)

Detroit:
Chauncey Billups 19 pts, 7 assists; Richard "Rip" Hamilton 17 pts, 6 rebounds; Jason Maxiell 12 pts, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks; Tayshaun Prince 12 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 assists. Bench: Antonio McDyess 10 pts, 5 rebounds.

Very few people take the Magic seriously. We've yet to prove ourselves as a winning franchise and it'll take a championship to silence the critics. Here's hoping they'll play their hearts out tonight and make an example of these jokers.

Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons (Game 1)

I really don't want to talk about it.

Great Job Chris, but it's O-VAH!

Why Can't We Be Friends? Team USA in 2006. Bosh (2nd from Left) and Howard (Middle)

Props to Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors for his tenacity. He played his heart out during this last series, with an average of 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tough luck Chris, maybe next year your team will play the Cavs or something.