Rancid's new album

They posted the album on myspace, so I got to listen to it all today. It is pretty awesome. There are already several songs I really like - some good catchy tunes.

I can't help but compare it to the new green day album I've been listening to recently, and I must say I like this record WAY more than green day's new record. It just has more power and emotion to me - much easier to connect to.

2 weeks or so and I'll see rancid in concert again!!!

My trip to Chicago

I just remembered that I never posted about my recent trip to Chicago. Here are some highlights. The main purpose of my trip was to go back to Wrigley field and watch the cubs. Wednesday night I sat out in the bleachers. During the Padres batting practice I caught my first ever baseball at a ball game. it was a home run that bounced off the seats then came right to me. I don't know who hit it. The Cubs won the game. It only lasted 8 innings because of rain. Here is a pic of the ball I caught.

While in Chicago I stayed at the Intercontinental on Michigan Ave. It is in a pretty good location - not too far from the red line, and always easy to catch a cab to go to a restaurant. The hotel is expensive - I got a good deal on the room, but if you opened the bottle of water in the room it was $6.50 a snickers was $4.00. I ordered room service my first night as I needed a snack and was to lazy to go out. I had some hot wings with blue cheese, a ginger ale, and some black raspberry sorbet. You don't want to know how much it cost - too much, but I was living it up in Chicago. The wings were very good, as was their blue cheese. One thing I must say about the place besides being expensive they do have good service.

Day two I took a cab over to the original pancake house for a late breakfast. I had buttermilk pancakes with fresh strawberries and strawberry syrup, with a side of bacon and freshly squeezed orange juice. It was an excellent breakfast. I sat outside in the heavy breeze and enjoyed a sunny morning. I then walked over to the L and went up to Wrigley for the afternoon game. I had amazing seats. Right behind home plate row 2. Here are some shots of my view, and a shot of the highlights where you can see me. The cubs won again. baseball is great to watch when you are so close.




Later that night I had a reservation at Gibson's to enjoy a nice steak. I showed up a bit early and had to wait a while. The place was very packed. They jammed tables just about everywhere you could. I went with a bone in strip steak. The first bite was great, but when I cut again I saw the steak was undercooked. I ordered medium it was medium rare at best, so I had to send it back. My replacement was cooked properly, and was very tasty. It isn't the best steak I've had, but it was good. I was disapointed in the side I ordered - twice baked potato.


Well that is my chicago trip. I hope to do it again soon. Next time I will eat at David Burke's primehouse for my steak fix.

As for my steak rankings unfortunately for Gibson's they don't rank real high.
My Current Rankings (Based on where I've eaten, and my personal experience)
1. Boa (Las Vegas)
2. Chicago Chop House (Chicago)
3. Delmonico (Las Vegas)
4. Kinzie Chophouse (Chicago)
5. Ruth's Chris (Denver)
6. Gibson's (Chicago)

21st century breakdown

Green Day's new album is another "punk rock opera", maybe even more so than "American Idiot" although less punk feel. The first single Know your enemy has been getting a lot of playtime, and after listening to other tracks it is not a favorite of mine -it isn't bad but other songs are better.

The Album is broken into Three Acts Act I: Heroes and Cons (tracks 2-7) Act II: Charlatans and Saints (tracks 8-13) Act III: Horseshoes and Handgrenades (tracks 14-18)

My first impression is that I need to listen to it again a few more times. There is a lot more to this album than any other they have done. There are a wide range of styles on this record. They seem to flow together fairly well, and because of that I think it is better to devote some time to listen to at least the acts as one, if not the entire album (69 minutes).

I do miss some of the old green day style and humor of their older work on Kerplunk and Dookie. I just felt like something was missing from this record. There was no real stand out moment or song, and I wanted one. I found myself wanting more energy from the album at times - the way green day used to get me pumped up.

I enjoyed it enough to listen again and recommend buying it. My favorite song from this album is "The Static Age" (track 15) Maybe I like it the most because it sounds the most like classic Green Day, but that is not a bad thing. "21 guns" is also pretty good. The third act is by far the best imo, which I guess is good for this style of album.

For additional info I think Steve Kindell of Spin gives a good review. Spin Review

Thoughts on books ...

So I've finished my first two books in my 'reading the classics' idea I had.

I read catcher in the rye and of mice and men. I liked of mice an men ok, but I didn't like catcher in the rye very much. Some of the writing style annoyed me, and there was no real point to the novel - at least that spoke to me in some fashion.

I hope to finish 1984 while flying to Chicago and back, then I'll probably move on to thicker books...

Steak in Chicago

After much contemplation I have decided that next week when I go to Chicago I will eat at Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse. I have made reservations for dinner.

I also considered David Burke's Primehouse, but I will have to eat there another time.

In other news the closing date for my house is getting closer. It is still set for June 12th. I have been looking at buying a washer and dryer for my new house, and also a new grill. I'm contemplating an infrared grill.