More States Considering Medical Marijuana

Thanks to Obama’s recent declaration that the FDA would back off of persecuting medical marijuana dispensaries, several states including Maryland and Florida are getting ready to revisit their medicinal laws.

This is a positive move for states looking to truly help their residents. The more places that allow people to get the help they need, the better. The times they are a changing and I’m damn happy to see the country moving to a more compassionite nature.

We need to continue helping those that need help and move away from the draconian drug policies Nancy Reagan set up.

All Points West Makes Me Jealous

Take Coldplay, the Beastie Boys and Tool, combine them with acts such as Q-Tip, the Pharycyde, The Ting Tings, and recent Diddy favorite The Artic Monkeys and you get a mixture that gives East coast music fans a musical cocktail that will leave audiofiles punch drunk after this crazy weekend of musical dubachery.

That’s right. It’s time for All Points West again and for yet another year, I’m going to miss it. Guess that’s what I get for living on the West Coast (sort of). Set to run from July 31 through August 2nd, this festival has all the markings of a sweet jam session. Let’s hope fans don’t riot because it is being held in New Jersey (just kidding).

U2 to Fly In and Out for a Quickie

Although I had hoped to catch U2’s upcoming tour, the chances look slim. The uber-rockers are scheduled to play several dates, but only one close to my ass here in Las Vegas.

I guess I can’t blame the guys as they are focusing on huge arenas. I’m probably having to drive to L.A. to the Rose Bowl should I be lucky enough to get tickets. After attending their last tour, I’m definitely considering making the trip.  It was arugably the best show I have ever seen.

U2 U.S. Dates:

New York, NY Giants Stadium (September 25)
Washington, DC FedEx Field (29)
Charlottesville, VA Scott Stadium (October 1)
Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome (6)
Tampa, FL Raymond James Center (9)
Los Angeles, CA Rose Bowl (25)
Vancouver, BC Place Stadium (28)

Twilight Sequel New Moon in Production

I rented this vampire/soap opera for teens with the wife. Although it didn’t do much for me, she liked it and found that she could identify with what made the movie so popular with today’s teen culture.

Production recently started for the sequel called New Moon and it appears as though this one will also suck the financial blood out of the pockets of youths everywhere.

The film once again stars Robert Pattinson as a love hungry vampire caught up with teenage angst. As I write this, I kind of have to stop myself from laughing. It’s not that I’m dissing Twilight fans, it’s just that I grew up with The Lost Boys, so my images of vampires is dramatically different from love hungry teeny boppers.

To me, a vampire was cool as hell, they lived by their own rules and they would ice you in a minute to make some human sushi. When I watched Twilight, I simply could not stop making the comparisons, making it impossible for me to like the movie. Give me a cool Kiefer Sutherland over a bruting Robert Pattinson any day.

According to Pattinson, the new adaption of the second Twilight book takes a different turn that makes me even less inclined to see the film. ”The book of ‘New Moon,’ the majority of it is incredibly depressing. Obviously ‘Twilight’ was about finding first love and the difficulties of that, but ‘New Moon’ is really about loss and reconciliation, but the reconciliation isn’t completely full,” said Pattinson in a recent interview with Reuters.

I could at least buy the love story plot, but a downer about vampires with angst. To quote our former president George Bush, who I call affectionately call ‘Shrub,’ “Not gonna happen.”

The Dead Give the Finger to Scalpers

Although I am more of a Phish fan than a Dead Head, I still appreciate the music they have to offer and I have seen the group a number of times (before Jerry died).

I’m kind of excited that they are touring again and I am also pleased by the group’s continued commitment to the band’s charitable nature (which has always been a big part of the band’s focus).

Combining both of the things I love about the Dead, the groups has decided to offer their best seats via auction as a way to keep them out of the hands of scalpers and make some money for some worthy causes.

If every group did this, we could raise a lot of money for charities that have seen their funding dwindle in this tough economy. Hell, one thing we can pretty much count on is that the Dead will pretty-much sell out every show they offer, so that’s a great start. Now hopefully others will see what they are doing and try to follow in their footsteps.

Screw you scalpers. You just lost out to some charity cases. Musical Karma is a bitch. I love it!

I Can Hear Jimi

Apparently there is a new piece of Jimi Hendrix memorbilia up for auction. One of the more interesting musical finds to make its way to auction, the Hendrix home recording is expected to snag between $70,000-$140,000 when it goes up for bidding on Fame Bureau’s website.  

Being sold as a “softer” side of Jim, current owners claim that the tape was recorded by Hendrix in New York in 1968 and then taken to Britain. The tape features 14 tracks, including Hendrix performing Bob Dylan track “Tears of Rage.”

I wish I had an extra $150K sitting around.

Ticketbastard Gods Fooled…I Got Phish Tickets

My plan worked. Instead of doing mail order myself, I placed my order in my wife’s name in hopes of fooling the ticket gods.

I figured that since she really didn’t care about seeing the show, the Ticketbastard gods would most likely grant her tickets and deny me and the rest of my friends who are desperate to see some shows.

It worked. Although I only got one date out of five I requested, I’m thrilled to be going to the group’s only Cali show at the Shoreline Ampitheatre. I’m still going to try for tickets for the band’s Colorado run on Thursday, but this looks like it will be the toughest ticket of their summer tour, so my hopes aren’t very high.

Even if I strike out, I don’t care. At least I’ll get to see one show and it looks like my close friend Dr. Pauly and his lady will be there as well, so I’m super stoked. The show is a couple of days before my birthday and I couldn’t think of any present I wanted more. Such a bonus that its at a legendary place like the Shoreline.

Finally…time to revisit the Phamily!

Talking Heads Reunion Denied By Byrne

One of the seminal bands of the early 1980s was Talking Heads. Led by frontman David Byrne, the group managed to find a foothold in the world’s musical subconscious and provided a number of songs that could easily help define the decade.

Unfortunately for the masses of people that liked the Heads, David Byrne recently crushed their hopes of a comback tour stating to Metro magazine that he simply wasn’t into it and that he didn’t need the money.

In case you still want to see the group’s former frontman, Byrne is touring Europe. Dates are as follows:

Bristol Colston Hall (March 27)
Birmingham Symphony Hall (29)
Manchester Bridgewater Hall (30)
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (31)
Gateshead The Sage (April 1)
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (3)
Sheffield City Hall (4)
Dublin National Concert Hall (6)
Belfast Waterfront (7)
Oxford New Theatre (9)
Nottingham Royal Centre (11)
London Royal Festival Hall (12/13)
Brighton Dome (14)

Watchout for Chickenfoot!

There is a new super-group coming to CD stores near you featuring members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Halen, and guitar god Joe Satriani. Consisting of former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony and Chili Pepper drummer Chad Smith, this fearsome foursome has some  bit-time talent.

The group will be releasing a CD on June 5th, 2009. Apparently the boys started playing together at Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico and they decided to give it a go. Although there are no U.S. dates currently announced, the group is planning on touring Europe later this year.

Schapelle Corby (March 2009 Update)

As we enter the spring here in the States, I am continually reminded by my blog fans that I can’t just sit and do nothing while Schapelle Corby rots in a Indonesian jail.

Since I am a far cry from a freedom fighter, doing these posts are the best thing I can do to help at the moment and I guess they seem to be working as they have touched the nerves of a number of readers. Not a day goes by that I don’t typically receive at least one or two emails discussing Schapelle’s tragic situation.

Although Schapelle still sits in jail, more and more people are awakening to her plight as the documentary Ganja Queen continues to make its rounds on cable television in the States.

On March 19th, her case was presented to members of the United Nations in a letter delivered by Tara Hack, the indie-pop artist, whose Schapelle support song “Saya Tidak Bersalah (I’m Not Guilty)” has become a global anthem of support. In addition to letter, pictures of people protesting Schappelle’s imprisonment from around the globe were given to U.N. members in hopes of getting the U.N. to act on the case.

We need to keep at it people. Write your country’s U.N. reps. Write the Australian government. Do anything you can think of (legally) to draw attention to Schapelle’s story. Record whatever song you have. Just do something that will help draw international attention to this young woman’s plight.

If you would like to see the protest, lend support, watch Hack’s music video about freeing Schapelle, or learn more about the situation go to: www.schapelle.net.