Saturday, February 25, 2012

I wonder what the teacher is gonna look like this year?

So this week, my girlfriend and I, along with other friends went to the Van Halen concert in Indianapolis on Tuesday.  Given that this was their first tour with David Lee Roth in a long time, and given that neither of us had seen VH with Roth ever, we were both excited about seeing them at the fieldhouse.

Our first surprise after buying the tickets was hearing that the opening act would be Kool and the Gang.  Really? At first we didn't believe the rumors, but they were later confirmed as the opening act.  Now, I do like a couple of their songs and have seen them in smaller venues and on live television, but it seems like an odd pairing with a hard rock act.  In retrospect, they did put on a better show.

So, our night began with dinner at Hot Box pizza and was followed by drinks next door at The Pub.  After getting our bellies full with pizza and beer (love the Sun King Osiris!), we headed to Conseco Fieldhouse. I just can't call it Bankers Life fieldhouse...ugh.

We lingered for awhile at the souvenir stand, (is it just me or are t-shirts, sweatshirts and other concert paraphernalia over priced and not as good as it once was?).  We arrived just in time to hear the end of the Kool and the Gang show and meet up with other friends who skipped dinner and watched the opening act.  They were very happy with the opening act and spoke highly of how good they sounded.

Give or take a half hour, the lights went down and Van Halen came out. Their stage was rather sparse, but they had a huge video screen.  After seeing a large video screen put to good use during the Guns and Roses concert in December, I was looking forward to what VH would do at this show.

Well, that screen would turn out to be disappointing.  They mostly showed the same pictures of the band over and over again, along with some odd videos that didn't mesh well with the songs.  In my opinion, the only time the video screen was put to good use was during DLR's acoustic rendition of 'Ice Cream Man', during which he showed home movies of his dogs (who were herding sheep) and talked about growing up Bloomington and New Castle.

On to the music, which was the biggest let down of the night.  The band itself played well and Eddie has lost none of his mastery of the guitar. Alex was great on the drums, but I'm surprised he used recorded music during his drum solo, I don't think I've ever heard or seen that at previous rock concerts.  Even though I wanted to see Michael Anthony on bass, Wolfgang sounded very good on the bass.  Although his background vocals didn't mesh well, he seemed a little too loud.

However, the biggest disappointment of the night turned out to be David Lee Roth's vocals.  His voice isn't as strong anymore and it showed. Frequently throughout the concert he was simply drowned out by the music and also forgot the lyrics to the song, even admitting in one song that he forgot the lyrics.  He was also using a headset mic instead of a mic stand and he seemed lost without the mic stand.  Here's a suggestion guys, get DLR a mic stand, he is better with it.

 The music also seemed to have a lot of problems with distortion and it seemed like the band should have had more rehearsal time as they just didn't seem to mesh well together. I definitely think DLR needs a lot more work and maybe a lyric sheet to look at from time to time.  Also, when a song need a keyboard (think 'Jump'), no keyboardist was present. Instead they used recorded music during the songs, which is too much like lip syncing.  A big disappointment guys, put somebody out there with a keyboard.  People go to rock concerts to hear live music, not recorded tracks.

So, all in all, it was a disappointing show.  I tried to resist the temptation to compare it to GNR, who also returned to Indy after a long layoff, but I just couldn't do it.  The Guns and Roses show was so much better in all aspects. Say what you will about Axl Rose, but he had his band prepared, the show was tight and they didn't miss a beat on anything.  I can only hope that Van Halen will get better as their tour goes forward.  I'm tempted to want to see them again, but not if they are coming off a long layoff.  The fans deserved better than what we heard on Tuesday and judging by the comments in the mens restroom, I would say a lot of people were disappointed.  Better luck next time maybe?
Enhanced by Zemanta

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Weight loss and a new T-72 to build

Recently while looking through reference pictures from Ft. Knox for a future Iraqi T-72 build, I came across pictures of myself from several years ago.  I was quite surprised at what I saw of myself in the pictures. During the past year and a half I have been dieting and exercising.  When I looked at the pictures, I was shocked at how heavy I was just a few years ago.  My face was so much rounder and I looked like the marshmallow man.

Seeing those pictures made me realize how lazy I had been and how much I had overeaten.  I'm very thankful that I changed my eating habits (at least for breakfast and lunch) and started walking during lunch instead of eating.  These changes have resulted in a significant weight loss and the need to buy smaller clothes, which has made me very happy.

I'm looking forward to the spring and return of warm weather so I continue my walks outside instead of in the stairs of the Farm Bureau building where I work. The stairs have been good to me, but I miss being outdoors and the people watching that comes with walking downtown in Indianapolis.  I am hopeful that this time next year I will be posting again about my successful diet and being in better shape.  It has been a long fight, but I am feeling much better about myself.

So, back to the idea of an Iraqi T-72.  I plan on building a derelict and captured T-72 as were seen in the storage areas of Ft. Knox.  Since the base realignment commission forced the movement of most of the armor at the Ft. Knox museum and in the storage areas, I don't think this particular T-72 is still on the base.  Despite this, I do have plenty of good reference pictures of this T-72 that I want to build.

The T-72 in the storage area was captured in either Iraq or Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.  This particular tank still has U.S. Army unit markings and is missing most of its exterior equipment.  I have wanted base a model on this particular tank for a number of years and have never really been motivated to correct the errors in the glacis plate of the Tamiya upper hull.  Thankfully, both Miniarm and SP Designs have released resin update sets that will correct the errors in the Tamiya kit.   I plan on also using the Tamiya or Eduard photo etch engine deck screens and possibly an aftermarket barrel.

I need to simulate an asphalt or concrete base for the finished model.  There was an aftermarket base available a few years ago, I just don't remember the manufacturer.  I think it was Verlinden or maybe Trakz. If I can't find it, I'll have to look into building it.  It's going to be a derelict model and a lot of fun.  I can't wait to get it started.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Super Bowl 46 update

 It's been a busy several days since my last update and I finally have some time to sit down and write a new post. It is only a few days until Super Bowl 46 here in Indianapolis and I have been enjoying as much of the festivities as possible.  Adding to the fun has been the incredibly good weather.  We've had a few cold days, but nothing remotely resembling our usual February weather.  I hope it holds out until after the Super Bowl.

Last week I went on a tour of Lucas Oil stadium with my girlfriend. We visited the press box, the Quarterback suite, both team locker rooms and we also visited the stadium field.  It was a very enjoyable tour and the tour guide was very helpful and knowledgeable.  This was my second visit to the stadium and it was very strange to see the field scrubbed bare of any Colts logos.  The workers were srubbing away the last of the endzone logos as we entered the field.  I'll post a a few pictures below this post.

Last week was also the start of my volunteer shifts at the NFL Experience at the convention center.  I wasn't sure what to expect with regards to people and the work I would be doing.   Friiday night was my first shift and thousands of people turned out for opening night on Super Bowl village and for opening night of the Experience.  We had so many volunteers turn out that they had to find places for us to work.  I ended up pointing people to the coat check room and to the exit on the second floor. Glamorous it wasn't, but I had a good time. 

My next shift was on Saturday and I was put in the Rush zone, aka, the children's play area.  Ugh, I had to chase footballs, try to avoid getting hit (I wasn't successful) and spent the evening running and bending over to pick up Nerf footballs.  Needless to say my lower back was killing me by the end of the night and I vowed not to do that on Sunday. On Sunday my girlfriend and I worked together in the autograph zone and we basically worked as line control while the Colts cheerleaders signed autographs.  This was by far my best and shortest shift.  I was glad for the easy shift after the exhaustive night in the childrens zone.

After our shift was over we wondered around the Experience and eventually found ourselves downtown in the Super Bowl village.  While waiting for the Dierks Bentley concert to start, we went to Monument Circle and saw the Super Bowl 46 Roman numerals and the Indy Cars painted with all NFL team logos.  I was able to make a few good pictures, but it was tough setting up my tripod.  I ended up ditching the tripod and just cranked up the ISO. 

After leaving the circle, we went to the concert and stayed for a few songs, but due to the large number of obnoxious drunks and jerks, we left for home. Getting pushed around by people trying to get into a bar or trying to find a better spot was very trying on our patience.  The sound of the show was good and we could see the stage, but it just wasn't worth putting up with the jerks on Saturday.

Today was Media Day at Lucas Oil and that will fill up another post.  Let's just say I nearly filled up my CF card with pictures.  The NFL really did a great job of supporting the fans attending the event today.  Gotta love freebies (and good ones at that!)

How about a few pictures?


A view from the south end zone.  Strange to see all of the Colts logos gone from the field



The Colts team locker room.  This is where the Patriots will be staying.



The Super Bowl 46 Roman numerals on Monument Circle.  Each numeral is 35 feet tall.  The NFL also broadcasts a video of Super Bowl highlights on the numerals.


The Indy cars with each NFL teams logo on them.  Quite impressive view at night.

All in all it has been a fun and exciting week so far.   Still remaining to post are the photos from Media Day.  Care to lend a hand?  Haha 
Enhanced by Zemanta