Tuesday Tidbits

So what a last few days it's been. I've been to tons of shows, found out information, still haven't seen a movie in a while, covered things, eaten food, slept, played softball, smiled and have done a lot of other things ....

Let's talk about that. Tiffany Michelle, my good buddy Shiloh's sister, came in 17th at the World Series of Poker this week; she was, by far, the last woman standing and will surely get tons of TV time come October, when the event will air on ESPN. It's too bad she didn't hold out a bit longer and make the final table, but it's not that bad. I mean, she did come in 17th of out of more than 6,800 players and receive a prize of more than $300,000 for her efforts. Here's a video of her talking about her bad luck yesterday, which is a day she entered with the third-best chip count out of the 27 remaining at the time.



What else? Well, I saw four concerts this weekend and, honestly, all were terrific. On Thursday, Aeroplane 1929, the Mountain Movers and Jay Russell played at Cafe Nine. It was one of the best local shows I've seen in months. Really good. I've gone on and on about the Movers and Jay a lot here and in print, so I want to take a moment and remind you that Aeroplane is going to be huge. Seriously, these guys are really good, and have the ability to get really popular, if they get lucky.

On Friday it was on to the People's Center in New Haven, where I saw great performances by Bottle Up & Go and, especially, O'Death, which was even better than I hoped. Elf Power came to The Space Saturday and, as usual, the band did not disappoint. I always love seeing the Elf Power, and here's hoping the guys come around again soon.

Lastly, Wye Oak came to BAR Sunday. This might have been my favorite show of the four. The Baltimore band was much better than I expected. And, I think this was the first time I've seen a show at the Crown Street venue with a crowd-forced encore. It was something.

So we lost at softball last night, which makes us a pathetic 4-6. We started out the season so well, but things have snowballed downhill. Either we can't hit, or we can't field, or ... We hope to get things back on track next week.

Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis has announced the details for her upcoming, hugely anticipated solo record. It's going to be called "Acid Tongue," and it's coming out on one of the big boys — Warner Bros. That's her on the left.

Sadly, Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman have broken up. You know what that means? It means she's available for me. So I guess this is good news? She is much older than me, though.

According to this story, John Mellancamp is trying to make the transition from rocker to songwriter. Well, when is he going to make the transition from truck jingle writer to artist?

I'm going to end this entry by linking to this piece by Rick Moody, which is a profound, profound statement that I wholeheartedly agree with.