Nicholson Wildlife Refuge

In the past couple of months my girlfriend and I have been driving around the county taking pictures of wildlife and flowering plants. We've snapped some photos of some of the common backyard sights as well as some interesting surprises. We are hoping to educate as well as honing in on our photography skills. We are not exactly the Nation Geographic quality type of photographers, but we will sure try.

One of our stops was the little known Nicholson Wildlife Refuge here in Racine County. Located on 5 Mile Road between Nicholson Road and County Truck V, this 127 acre gem offers a paradise for shoreline birds like Great Blue Herons, Snow Geese, Canadian Geese, Tundra Swans, Mallards and Hooded Mergansers as well as Magnolia Warblers, Red Wing Blackbirds and Savanna Sparrows. Deer and Beaver also has been sighted there. Below is video I found on YouTube to give viewers a taste of what can be seen there. Just remember when visiting, it's the luck of the draw in finding anything. Sometimes you'll get very lucky...



This is just a prelude to what is to come...we are presently sorting through photos and taking more along way. So in the upcoming weeks, you'll see photos coming in...

New Rush Song

This is the latest song called "Headlong Flight" off of the new coming album, Clockwork Angels by Rush. It's due in stores on June 12. Hell yeah, I'm getting it!

Yesterday & Today

Been busy for the last couple of days.... Yesterday was my son's birthday. My little monster has grown to be a beast of a man at the young tender age of 15. (It's just a metaphor folks, not to be taken seriously). Actually, he's a great kid with a heart of gold. Had him over my place to enjoy a meal of my girlfriend's delicious mostaccioli casserole and cake. Its amazing, soon he'll be able to learn drive...(Lord, help me!)

The day's festivities were marred by the death of music icon Dick Clark. The world oldest teenager best known for his long running show, American Bandstand passed away at the age of 82. The cause of his death was after suffering a heart attack following a medical procedure in Santa Monica, California. Among other shows his gained fame from Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes and the $10, 000 Pyramid. He will surely be missed.

Today saw another passing of a rock and roll great, drummer Levon Helm of The Band. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, and creative drumming style highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up On Crippled Creek" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Just two days ago, his wife sandy and daughter revealed revealed that Helm had end-stage cancer. Fellow band mate Robbie Robertson had visited him the hospital a few days before his death. The great waltz in sky awaits...

KISS Sighting in Shawano!

My girlfriend's son is a huge KISS fan. So am I, to a point... Imagine the surprise I got he sent me this pic.... I'm still laughing....

Details on the New Rush Album

Just announced! The long anticipated release of the Canadian trio, Rush album Clockwork Angels is set for June 12, 2012.

The first two songs, Caravan and BU2B, were completed during that first session at Nashville’s Blackbird studios and performed nightly during the wildly successful Time Machine Tour, which ran from June 2010 to June 2011.

Work on Clockwork Angels resumed in the autumn of 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto after the tour’s finale, with additional strings (arranged by David Campbell) recorded at Hollywood’s Ocean Way Studios earlier this year.

Lyrically Clockwork Angels chronicles a young man’s quest across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy as he attempts to follow his dreams. The story features lost cities, pirates, anarchists, an exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

The novelisation of Clockwork Angels is being written by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson in collaboration with Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.

Rush will herald the release of Clockwork Angels with a new single Headlong Flight landing at rock radio on April 19. Details of a full-scale North American tour to support the new album will be announced shortly.

Can't wait!

Just Ducky

Seemingly, little do many residents of Racine know about the wildlife here in town. Much of it not in woods but right in front of us! A trip down to the harbor can yield an abundance of birds, mostly waterfowl. Though gulls and Canadian Geese are quite common around here, it's the ducks you've got to watch out for.

Mallards are a dime a dozen around here. Many of them are year round residents, often finding open water to wade in. Pictured above are the drake (left) and the hen (right) .

Looking similar to the Mallards are the Red Breasted Mergansers. Upon closer look, one would notice they are smaller and sleeker than the Mallards. Check out the spiky crest and thin red bill. Unlike the Mallards, they will dive and swim completely underwater for small fish, aquatic incests, crustaceans and frogs. Honestly, I haven't noticed them around till this winter.

Often hanging around the mergansers, I believe are the American Coots. Check out the short white bills on these small birds. These birds can be seen swimming in the open water. They can dive for food and forage for food on land. Coots will pretty much eat anything-plant material, arthropods, fish and other aquatic animals.

Remember, Lake Michigan is a migratory route for many species of birds. I've seen Lesser and Greater Scaups, Buffleheads and Harlequin Ducks on the lake shores over the years. Now, I'm waiting for the terns to arrive. Maybe I'll get a chance to video them dive bomb into the water...

More Thrift Store Shoppin'

Really I just can't help myself..... Just more additions to my collection.

Bryan Adams: So Far So Good
a-Ha: Hunting High and Low
Alarm: Change
America: Holiday
America: Harbor
Atlanta Rhythm Section: Dog Days
Bang Camaro: (s/t)
Beatles: Yesterday and Today
Better Than Ezra: How Does You Garden Grow?
Bonepony: Stomp Revival
David Bowie: Turning Point
Jackson Browne: Lives in the Balance
Tracy Chapman: Crossroads
Chevelle: This Kind of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
Coldplay: Viva La Vada or Death and His Friends
Phil Collins: Hello, I Must be Going
Alice Cooper: Lace and Whiskey
Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet
Charlie Daniels Band: Windows
Neil Diamond: Hot August Night
Donovan: Mellow Yellow
Donovan: Greatest Hits
Lita Ford: Lita
Arlo Guthrie: Best of Arlo Guthrie
Hole: Live Through This
Honeymoon Suite: (s/t)
Hootie & the Blowfish: Musical Chairs
Bruce Hornsby: Hot House
House of the Lords: (s/t)
Indigo Girls: Retrospective
Indigo Girls: Poseidon and the Bitter Bug
Mick Jagger: She's the Boss
Jefferson Airplane: Long John Silver
Billy Joel: The Essential Billy Joel
Billy Joel: 2000 Years-The Millennium Concert
Elton John: Honky Chateau
Carole King: Tapestry
Kinks: State of Confusion
Alison Krauss: Now That I've Found You
Mike + the Mechanics: (s/t)
Mike + the Mechanics: Rewired
Paul McCartney: Press to Play
Eddie Money: Shakin' with the Money Man
Van Morrison: Astral Weeks
Mr. Big: Lean Into It
Stevie Nicks: Rock a Little
Peter, Paul & Mary: Late Again
Peter, Paul & Mary: Best of Peter, Paul & Mary-Ten Years Together
Phish: Rift
Police: Every Breath You Take-The Singles
Ram Jam: (s/t)
Rare Earth: Ecology
Romantics: (s/t)
Scorpions: Face the Heat
Scorpions: Live Bites
Carly Simon: Best of Carly Simon
Toad the Wet Sprocket: Fear
Toad the Wet Sprocket: In Light Syrup
Toad the Wet Sprocket: Coil
Tina Turner: Break Every Rule
Wishbone Ash: The Power of Eternity
Johnny Winter And: Live at the Filmore East 10/3/1970

And summer is just around the corner...

More Concert Updates!

It seems that 2012 will a banner year to see some great concerts....


Just announced this morning that Aerosmith with special guest Cheap Trick will make an appearance at Summerfest's Marcus Amphitheater on Saturday July 7, 2012. Show be a good one considering that Aerosmith hasn't been around for awhile due injuries to Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer and Tyler's involvement in American Idol as a judge. Internal frictions within the band didn't help matters either. After having toured Central and South America over the winter, the band is ready to hit the States this summer.

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail that was sent to me...

Bassist Tom Hamilton says, "After touring Japan and South America last year we're psyched about bringing it all back for the hometown fans. We're going to break out the classics, the hits and maybe even some of the new ones we've been banging out in the studio."

I've seen Aerosmith before back in 1990 at Alpine Valley during the Pump tour. That was back in their comeback prime. 7th row seats! Couldn't get a better seat in the house! It was a real trip to see Tyler dancing and jumping around in his signature red outfit, singing his ass off.

My girlfriend has never seen Aerosmith and is really keen on seeing this show. Only one problem, I've got Iron Maiden tickets.

KISS along with Motley Crue are making their appearance at Alpine Valley on Saturday, September 8, 2012. KISS shows we all know about, are among the most extravagant concerts to see. The pyrotechnics, the make up and the whole nine yards. Being a huge KISS fan back in their heyday, I'm kinda piqued about going, With no Ace Frehley nor Peter Criss in band has made me reluctant to go all these years. As for Motley Crue,,,,eh... I only like a few tracks off of their Dr. Feelgood album. My girlfriend's son is a huge fan of both and has talked about going to the show with them. We'll see....

Clintonville Booms!

Clintonville is a small north eastern Wisconsin town dealing with a very strange situation. The town has been plagued by a series of mysterious underground booms. On Sunday and Monday night strange seismic activity was recorded. On the evening of Sunday, March 18, five loud, mysterious booms thundered through the town at approximately two-hour intervals starting at around 8 p.m. They occurred again the following night, and, much to the sleepless residents’ relief, finally stopped Tuesday night. The town thought it was over, but then it started again Wednesday night. Accompanying the sounds are vibrations that have shaken homes and household objects in the northeast corner of town.

After receiving hundreds concerned calls about the sounds, police investigated and found nothing. There were no known gas or sewer explosions, no landslides, no military exercises, nor mining explosions. Some think it might be related to sonic booms, groundwater, or earth settling – though no earthquakes have been recorded. The U.S. Geological Survey confirms it recorded a low-level, 1.5-magnitude earthquake at 12:15 Tuesday morning at depth of 5 km. (3.1 miles)

Clintonville City Administrator Lisa Kuss states that the underground activity has been confirmed and is not an earthquake. Even though a 1.5 magnitude quake isn’t typically felt, Kuss says the granite 3 miles under Clintonville may have intensified the vibrations. One possible explanation is gas explosively escaping from underground rock formations. Another is a rock burst, which can happen when mining or quarrying uncovers long-buried rock, suddenly relieving stress and resulting in “locally loud, explosive reports.” Though it has quieted down a bit, it still remains a mystery....

So what does this means to me in the terms of interest? Well, not only I've passed through this town numerous times, my folks lived up there. My dad worked at the Walker Forge plant there. My sister got married there. Later she bought my folks' house after they retired. I've spent a couple of nights at the Landmark there. My girlfriend is from the nearby town of Shawano. It is a cute little town with about 4,743 residents. Someplace I wouldn't mind living at...

I've Got the Tickets!

The tickets finally arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. After some considerable thinking, it was decided-you've guessed it, Iron Maiden with special guest Alice Cooper. The show will be at the Marcus Amphitheater on Summerfest grounds on July 4th. Rod Stewart and Stevie Nick's show at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee was considered, but ticket prices going for $150 to $600 a piece was just too damn expensive. Phish was practically sold out.

This will my first heavy metal show since 1991's disaster with Guns n' Roses and Skid Row at Alpine Valley. Rowdy fans tore up the sod in the lawn seats and chucked them into the reserved seats where I was standing/sitting. It literally rained dirt at the show! Fights broke out. It was near riot. Of course, singer Axl Rose didn't help matters by egging the crowd on... My ex-wife and I left the show before it ended. I swore I never attend another metal concert after that one. Until now. I'm hoping for a wiser, older and more mature audience this time around.

Anyways, Iron Maiden plans on bringing back some of their older classic tunes for this tour, culling mostly their 1988's synth heavy Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album. It's not a bad album, not their greatest either. I'm hoping to hear some stuff off their Powerslave album like their 13 minute epic masterpiece "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Hallowed be Thy Name". Any rate, it should be a good show.

The tickets I've got are decent. I've been to the Marcus Amphitheater quite a few times. There really isn't a bad seat in the house. My seats are in the rear reserved (yellow), section 8, aisle K seats 39 and 40. For $70 a piece, these are not too shabby.


I will be doing a review on the show....

Another Rock and Roll Death....

Longtime Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack, whose work is heard on the hits "Listen To The Music" and "China Grove," died of cancer at age 65, his manager said Tuesday.

Hossack died Monday at his home in Dubois, Wyo., manager Bruce Cohn said in a statement

Hossack played with the group from 1971 to 1973 and rejoined in 1987. He stopped performing with the band two years ago while struggling with his health,

"Mike has always been a part of my musical life and the life of the Doobie Brothers," said band co-founder Tom Johnston. "He was an incredible musician."

May he rest in peace....

My New Blog

Ok, so I have a new blog. After a year of laboring over DrewTube, posting daily from A-Z. I'm finding myself finishing off Cheap Trick. Having about 4,000 albums plus at least a dozen coming in every couple weeks, I'm thinking this getting to be way to long to finish. (After figuring out the math at least ten years). I needed another format, something quicker and more to the point, therefore I have come up with Drew's Collection of Songs to Dance to. I'm kinda hyped about this blog. Not only it will feature my albums and bootlegs, it will also feature songs that are on them (carefully written out by my speedy fingered girlfriend- gotta love her), album rankings and the format that I have them on.

At first glance, one would notice it's a little "backwards", meaning I'm starting from the end and working my way to the beginning. There is a reason for the madness. Images, as many people know are not exactly blogger friendly. It can be a pain in the ass to constantly drag down an image to get where it needs to be placed. To eliminate this issue, I figured why not start from the bottom and work my way to the top. I know it sounds Polish, but it is a effective answer to a tedious problem.

If you noticed the URL says something about day by day survival, ignore it. It's an old and depressing blog that I'd written from my personal needs. I have gotten past that stage of depression and I really don't need to be reminded of the shit anymore, so I hit the delete button. Anyways salvaging whats left of it, I created a new title and started my new blog. Saves me the hassle of creating a new account for a new blog.

Anyways it will still take me awhile to finish this. By posting about 25-30 albums a crack will save me years of time and make it a hell a lot easier to make more entries as new records keep coming in. Check it out! I hope you enjoy it. It has been much labor, love and passion that went into my music, feel free to leave any comments, questions or dialogues if you want. Thanks!

Upcoming Shows Announced!

It's early March and some interesting acts are coming up my way already, which is a surprise seeing about mid April tours start to fill up. Here are a few shows that have gotten my interest...

Coming July 1st the Beach Boys are having their 50th Anniversary Tour with a stop at Summerfest's Marcus Amphitheater. It was announced that Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks would reunite for a new album and tour. It ought to be a show, except for the fact that I am not die hard Beach Boy fan.

Jam band Phish is coming to Alpine Valley in East Troy ( that's about 45 minutes from here) for two dates, June 30th and July 1st. I can really get into Phish, I think Trey Anastasio has got some smoking guitar work and the rest of the band has got a vibe that I can really dig. With the exception of the Allman Brothers I have never seen a jam band perform in this grand of a scale. This should be an incredible experience.

As some of you may know already, Iron Maiden with special guest Alice Cooper is making an appearance at the Marcus at Summerfest on July 4th. I really, really dug the hell out of Iron Maiden back in the late 80's and early 90's. Bruce Dickinson has got some of the best pipes in the rock and roll biz. The searing ax threat of guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith combined with the thunder of bassist Steve Harris blew away many heavy metal acts back in the day. Reunited and reloaded, I hear they put out a good show. The only issue is my girlfriend isn't to keen on heavy metal, all though she does like Alice Cooper.

Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks have announced their Heart & Soul tour with a stop at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Should be interesting to see them two perform together. I really dig Rod Stewart's work in the Faces and Stevie Nicks stuff in Fleetwood Mac. On top of that my girlfriend is really keen on this show. The main issue is the ticket prices, ranging from $135-$600 a ticket! I say that is pretty steep.

How ever I did order for tickets for one of these shows and I am really stoked about it. Care to take a gander on which show that is? The answer will be revealed when the tickets arrive in the mail.

Ronnie Montrose Passes Away.

American rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose died Saturday, March 3, after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was 64.

The following message was posted on Montrose's official website Saturday:

"A few months ago, we held a surprise party for Ronnie Montrose's 64th birthday. He gave an impromptu speech, and told us that after a long life, filled with joy and hardship, he didn't take any of our love for granted. He passed today. He'd battled cancer, and staved off old age for long enough. And true to form, he chose his own exit the way he chose his own life. We miss him already, but we're glad to have shared with him while we could."

Known for working with Van Morrison' 1971's release of Tupelo Honey and Edgar Winter's Group's They Only Come Out at Night. Best known for working with the famous Red Rocker Sammy Hagar in the band Montrose. Tunes like "Rock Candy" and "Station No.5" received a far amount of airplay and favorites among many fans. The years that followed were the formation of Gamma and his lucrative solo career.

He will be missed....

Things Goin' On

It's been awhile.... No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, nor abducted by aliens. I've been around, still reading each and everyone of your blogs. That I do each day. Writing is another thing, though. I'd have a brainstorm of thoughts in the morning while working, by the time I get home and comfortable in the chair, my mind draws a blank...

I haven't been exactly idle though. I've working on a new blog. That's right, a new blog! It's another music blog, this time it's about my music collection. I'm kinda hyped about this one! You should see the header I picked for this one...It's real bad ass! I know what you're thinking, I already have a blog about my album collection. DrewTube is great, I just needed a better vehicle to showcase my collection quicker. Posting one title a day on an estimated 4000 albums, it'll take several years at least to finish. You want to wait that long?

Right now, I have a template and a header up. I'm still working on the designs, tweaking it. It should be ready soon...

Iron Maiden comes to Summerfest!

Just announced yesterday morning through the Summerfest site-Iron Maiden with special guest Alice Cooper are going to headline at the Marcus Ampitheatre on Wednesday, July 4, 2012.

The bands' line-up is singer extraordinaire Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, Drummer Nicko McBrain, and the triple axe threat of David Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. Yeah, that's pretty much the classic Maiden we all know and love. What's even more cool is they are going back in time to revisit some of their older tunes, this time culling mostly from their 1988 release Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

An excerpt from the e-mail that was sent to me....

Comments vocalist Bruce Dickinson, "We have great fun playing the History of Maiden Tours because it gives us an opportunity between new albums to go out and play songs from our earlier catalogue. It's always fantastic seeing the crowd reaction from a new generation of fans who have never experienced some of these tracks performed live before, and of course we know our longstanding fans will enjoy seeing the original Seventh Son Tour re-visited - with many other surprises! Our intention is to play about two thirds of the original track list of Maiden England (shown below*), including some songs we have not played live in a very, very long time, plus other favorites we just know the fans are going to want to hear! We always try to give our fans a great show musically, but we have always tried to make it as entertaining and memorable an experience as we can visually. And we all feel this show is going to do that splendidly! In the 1980's we played Summerfest two or even three times maybe, on the waterfront if I remember correctly. Great times! It will be fantastic to return to Milwaukee again after all this time and we look forward to seeing our fans there, and drinking all your beer!"

And the possible setlist...

1. Moonchild
2. The Evil That Men Do
3. The Prisoner
4. Still Life
5. Die With Your Boots On
6. Infinite Dreams
7. Killers
8. Can I Play With Madness
9. Heaven Can Wait
10. Wasted Years
11. The Clairvoyant
12. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
13. The Number Of The Beast
14. Hallowed Be Thy Name
15. Iron Maiden

I may go to this one...

Thrift Store Shoppin'

Haven't been to the library so much lately. Thrift store shopping seems the thing to do in the winter. At the moment, we're shopping for a dresser for Kimmy. Haven't found anything suitable, yet. However, I've found some albums, some of them may be collectables...

Alabama: Greatest Hits
Alabama: Christmas
Alabama: Just Us
Ass Ponys: Electric Rock Music
Bay City Rollers: Rock n' Roll Love Letter
Beach Boys: Surfin' Safari (Capitol)
Beach Boys: (s/t) (Pickwick)
Beach Boys: Wow! A Great Concert! (Pickwick)
Beach Boys: Best of the Beach Boys Vol.2 (Capitol)
Beach Boys: Good Vibrations (Pickwick)
Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode (Pickwick)
Chuck Berry: Flashback (Pickwick)
Pat Benetar: Precious Time
Pat Benetar: Get Nervous
Chicago: O Christmas Three
Jim Croce: Photographs & Memories
Jim Croce: Time in a Bottle
Daughtry: (s/t)
Charlie Daniels: The Door
Charlie Daniels: Steel Witness
Def Leppard: Mirrorball Live & More!
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: The Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Glen Frey: Live
Grand Funk: All the Girls in the World, Beware!
Grassroots: Temptation Eyes
Great White: Psycho City
Guess Who: American Woman
Guess Who: The Best of the Guess Who
Bill Haley & the Comets: Rock & Roll
Sophie B. Hawkins: Whaler
Indigo Girls: (s/t)
Indigo Girls: Rites of Passage
Jars of Clay: Furthermore: From the Studio/From the Stage
Billy Joel: Piano Man
Billy Joel: The Stranger
Billy Joel: The Nylon Curtain
Billy Joel: River of Dreams
Journey: Eclipse
Kinks: Greatest Hits
Huey Lewis and the News: Small World
Little Feat: Feats Don't Fail Me Now
Little Feat: Time Loves a Hero
Lovin' Spoonful: The Greatest Hits
Petra: Wake-Up Call
Phish: A Live One
Poco: Deliverin'
Rush: Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland
Rusted Root: When I Woke
Sonny and Cher: Mama was A Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write all Her Songs
Ringo Starr: Y Not
Rod Stewart: Smilin'
Styx: Edge of the Century
Tears for Fears: Raoul and the Kings of Spain
Derek Trucks Band: Joyful Noise
Van Halen; A Different Kind of Truth
Velvet Underground: The Best of Velvet Underground-The Words and Music of Lou Reed
White Lion: Mane Attraction
Wilson Phillips: (s/t)
Neil Young: Journey Through the Past
ZZ Top: Live From Texas

Remember the Bay City Rollers? How about Sonny and Cher? My girlfriend picked them out, along with the Alabama and some Kenny Rodgers. Not exactly a huge fan. Given the rarity of these records, I figured why not? The Rush, Van Halen, Journey and ZZ Top are new releases.

The Mitchell Domes

On vacation in the middle of winter here in Wisconsin...there isn't much to do, except go to someplace warm like the Mitchell Domes Horticultural Conservatory. Located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, the Mitchell Domes are basically biosphere like greenhouses that literately holds thousands of different species of plants from different regions of the globe in three diverse domes.


Over a thousand plant species are on display in the Tropical Dome. Many of these are economically important fruit bearing trees such as banana, papaya, ackee, avacado, cocoa and guava. Hardwoods include big-leaf, little-leaf, and African mahoganies, ebony and lignum vitae. The center of the Tropical Dome is dominated by a large kapok tree. It is one of the tallest trees under glass growing up to 95 feet. Amazing as it was, when we exited the Tropical Dome was we sweating from the humidity in there.

Expecting to especially hot in the Desert Dome, we found it be surprisingly cool and quite comfortable. A large number of plants, mostly from the Americas and Africa are on display here. Most these are native to the Sororan Desert in Arizona. Among them are species of shrubs, trees, annuals, bulbs as well as familiar cacti. The African section has aloes, crassulas, euphorbias and the unusual Welwitschia plant which has only two continuously growing leaves and may live for over a thousand years. From Madagascar, come the succulent flora of Euphorbia, Pachypdium, Adenia, Didierea, Alluaudic and Operculicatya.

The Show Doom was kind of cool... It hosts four seasonal shows and one holiday exhibit held annually in December for visitors to enjoy. Each show has a theme chosen based on cultural ( German, Japanese and French) literary as well as historical. In most recent years, the Winter Show has featured an extensive killer garden railroad display that will surely please kids and adults like me. It has become one of the most popular displays during the year and is one of the largest indoor Garden Railroad displays in the Midwest.

For $6.50 per adult to get in, I couldn't complain. It was a sure fire way to getaway for a winter afternoon. After that, we had dinner at TGIF's at Miller Park. Talk about a succulent meal...

A Different Kind of Truth

I'll admit it, when I first heard the lead off single, "Tattoo" I wasn't so impressed with it. I blew it off as a cheap knockoff from the Diver Down album. A rather bland and short album filled with with covers from the Kinks and Roy Orbison. Yeah, their worst album. A time when the band was running high on the charts and running out of steam.

After Gary Cherone had left the band back in 1999, Van Halen has been surrounded by a wall of controversy and hiatuses-all which borderline ridiculous. Singers David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar both came and went, seemly like revolving door. Original bassist Micheal Anthony was cast out, leaving Eddie's golden son, Wolfgang to fill the void. Cancer, divorce, drunkenness and occasional tours between the quiet times filled the headlines. For 14 years, except for a couple of tracks, no new music has been released from the Van Halen Brothers.

So OK, David Lee Roth rejoins. So what is new? Another publicity stunt? Micheal Anthony is gone. Promises, promises. "Tattoo" alone wasn't gonna cut it. A new album and tour? Many classic bands have tried to make a comeback and failed to live up to expectations of their heyday, often tarnishing their legacy. Sometimes it's best to just "Let It Be".

I was WRONG....

Inspired by favorable reviews on Sean Coleman's post on pod and other blogs, I set out to get this album. My girlfriend beat me to the punchline by strapping a balloon to a CD she bought me for an early Valentine's gift. The plan was to listen to it on the return trip home from Appleton yesterday.

Skipping over the the lead off track "Tattoo" heading into the fire of "She's the Woman", Van Halen takes no prisoners. Jumping for my throat and tearing out the jugular, Eddie's guitar shreds and burns-classic Van Halen... It just doesn't stop there... Eddie scorches into China Town with frets ablaze reminiscent to "Eruption". Diamond Dave raps and rants his way through out each track, taking me back to their glory days. By the time "Bullethead" comes around, I'm bleeding profusely through the jugular, begging for mercy. STILL Van Halen never lets up!

It's the real deal, folks..no synth glop, no ballads, no bullshit. 50 minutes, 13 tracks of sheer intensity. The tempos are atomic-punk fast, letting Alex Van Halen rock out on the drums for the first time since his flaming-gong days. Micheal Anthony may be missed for his bottom end and even more his kicked in the nada harmonies. The apple of Eddie's eyes son, Wolfgang, fills the bass slot seamlessly.What was that line? "Have you seen Junior's grades?" A+.

Diamond Dave may have lost a pitch or two out of his voice, but his charismatic rock god stature still has his staying power, belting out innuendos about "stone cold sister soccer moms" like a seasoned veteran. Maybe it was Roth's supersized ego's presence, Eddie sure hasn't lost his touch. His assault on the guitar is relentless, wrecking havoc on the cerebellum, mind fucking it in the process..

The roots of A Different of Truth predates the bands' early days, with several songs originating from demo tapes that Van Halen made before their debut, and the rest consciously written in that style. A risky move, but a wise and savvy one, it captures the spirit of Van Halen's first five records.

The only time the band comes up for air is "Stay Frosty" with its acoustic intro deliberately evoking memories of “Ice Cream Man" before slamming into a metallic bombast as Eddie's fingers and Roth's lips takes turns showing off. It's obnoxious. It's insane. It's ridiculous. It's Van Halen...

"As Is" swings through neck twisting time changes. "Honeybabysweetdoll" is a curious tune. "Big River" trades between guitar heroics and killer vocal harmonics. I was bobbing my head like a deranged headbanger on"Outta Space" About this time my girlfriend thought I have gone completely insane. I was.... So did the other motorists along Hwy 41.

Vantastic!

Super Bowl XLVI

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana last night.

Here are my thoughts of the game...

Early on in the game it appeared in would be the Giant's ball game. Giants' Eli Manning proved the he truly among the elite quarterbacks scoring a touchdown to WR Victor Cruz.

During the second quarter the Patriots got fired up, sacked Eli Manning twice and scored a touchdown from a pass from QB Tom Brady to WR Danny Woodhead. Halftime score was 10-9

Halftime show featured Madonna. I don't care for her music, but I'll admit for a 53 year old woman, she still can put on some nice dance moves. Then the controversy over M.I.A.'s giving the bird during the show is quite ludicrous. C'mon now, do we have to go through another wardrobe malfunction fiasco like we did in 2004? This a family show folks, leave the obscenities a real concert. No wonder why the NFL hires classic rock bands for the halftime entertainment. It would suit me just fine anyways...

Second half of the game the Patriots started strong with a 12 yard touchdown from Brady to Aaron Hernandez. A pair of field goals from the Giants kept the score close.

The final score of the game came at less than two minutes left. New York's RB Ahmad Bradshaw ran in a 6 yard touchdown.

Try as he might, with 57 seconds left to play, Tom Brady just couldn't win the game for New England. The final score-21-17.

Oh yeah, I thought the best commercials were the Coke Cola polar bears...