Sunday, February 28, 2010

http://ping.fm/lW6rw

My Review: Bon Jovi / Dashboard - Anaheim 2/26

The wife and I caught Bon Jovi last night at the Honda Center and were blown away. I've seen them at least 20 times live and even from the upper tier it was one of the best I've ever seen. I'll do it in 'ramblings' form.

* Dashboard Confessional opened. Honestly, having seen Jovi so many times, I went because they were opening, I'd never seen them live and I really like their new album. As a Jovi opener, they were underwhelming. It was tough to watch, because I know how their fans know EVERY word and the arena was 30% full for them. They were professional, but Chris threw some jabs at the crowd. Bad timing - most people were still pre-gaming on the concourse. The cover of Summer of '69 was a good surprise. And while they did a lot of new stuff and threw in Stolen, Don't Wait and Vindicated, I feel "hands down" and "screaming infidelties" would've pulled some more cheers at the crowd. Their comfort level was dentist quality. And while they have the chops, the sound came off too guitar heavy. Belle of the Boulevard sounded great bec
ause you could through a piano in.

* The band entrance was unique thanks due to the digital screen projecting the album cover on the stage. Then it lifts and there the real Jersey boys are. They just seemed so on. They've reached the status of you have to stand for the whole show.

And the new stage setup has hugh, tico, dave and bobby in their own compartments, while 80% of the stage is for jon and richie. Looked like a fun playground for JBJ and RS.

The upper tier folks conked out 2/3 of the way through, but the rarities were what made the night for me, such as:
= "get ready" from the first album. jon can hit the high notes when he wants to. like on bed of roses, the first chorus he sang "TLFR" style then there was a return to normalcy.
= "homebound train" - yeah, people bathroomed during that, but RICHIE WAS ON VOCALS! And it was amazing. Such a groovy, bluesy guy. Would've been easy to swing I'll Be There for You, but that was a great jam!
= "We Got It Goin' Go" - the least lost highway sounding song from that album was awesome. He got everyone up
and the crowd was with them on every song no matter the album.
= After Richie's Homebound Train, JBJ returned halfway out on the catwalk for Hallelujah.

Very connected. Same in depth connection with such new tracks as Work for the Working Man and Love's the Only Rule. Anyway, the reason for this bullet is we got "something for the pain" like never before. All the band 1/2 way out and acoustic with Dave on accordion and tico going
maracas or beatbox on us. Very bluegrass and bare bones but so awesome, because while "in these arms" got me into Bon Jovi, "something for the pain" completed the conversion.

* Love's The Only Rule - what it is about track 9 on a Jovi album that I love. Bounce had Love Me Back to Life, Have a Nice Day had I Am, and The Circle has Love's The Only Rule. But the last one they seem to be doing regularly which is GREAT! The message is simple and powerful. The intro is straightforward and enlightening. I just loved how Jon said this is the last song we're doing tonight and the crowd initially bought it... They still gotta do Prayer and Wanted!

* Wanted then Prayer finished the encore. I may've enjoyed it more, but I was at a brewhouse across the street before the show chose to play all Jovi for a full hour - the problem: they only had wanted, prayer and it's my life. So I heard LOAP four times in 20 minutes. The wife was not pleased. But that amuses me.

*Ticket prices have gone up and the 'inner circle' seating, formally backstage for jbj fan club seating seems to go to corporate peeps who plop down $2500/seat. Instead of mugging those people of their tickets, it makes me want to do well in my career to where I can fork that over no problem. It is a business, but the die hard fan club peeps keep getting pushed. But as I learned last night, no matter where you sit you get your money's worth. I mean, they opened with 'blood on blood' and hit us evenly across all 27 years. Now if the R n R hall of fame could get their act together and get these guys in the hall, the universe can align properly.

Thanks for reading. It's been a while since I Jovi-blabbered.

Jovially,
Evan

PS Here's a picture perfect imperfect picture:

Saturday, February 27, 2010

torn between letting people enjoy the wedding or telling them we're by the water and soon we'll be tsunami'd... i'm gonna find some cheese

Friday, February 26, 2010

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

album to be titled "LOL" 15-18 tracks. sign up for my mailing list at funnyevan.com for more info

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Saturday, February 20, 2010

crashing in the hometown of Hacksaw Jim Duggan... I think he's working the front desk... HOOOO!!

Friday, February 19, 2010

bday show at clarkson was fun... got to yell at hockey fans walking by, ages 2-50
apparently there's something going on today with some guy named woods... don't be stealing my birthday thunder!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

thanks for all the birthday wishes! facebook makes me feel special :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

game 2: my name - mangina; sister's name - snooki
fyi- chlamydia is spelled that way
my bowler name: fartman; sister's bowler name: chlamydia. chlamydia got a spare
its cool to have a dad-in-law urologist who can say things like "we'll have to go up your penis with a laser"
is it in tiger's contract with nike to wear his swoosh hat when he breaks his silence? ah, the fine print
still wearing my naca badge because it makes me feel butch
oh.... ash wednesday... that's what's on their head... thought it was a tribute to lincoln's assassination
is it just me or are all the mets offers to players minor league deals?
i'm on a bus, i'm on a mutha***kin bus!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

at uno's with steve sat... throwing it on the ground

Sunday, February 14, 2010

alone in boston cafe on v day. think i'll text myself so it looks like i'm talking to somebody. yay, me!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

my bus stopped because someone booted on board, then it stopped because another bus broke down... but at least i wasn't watching the lovely bones

Friday, February 12, 2010

the lovely bones should've been called 'the unfulfilling dead girl movie'.
to give your opinion means being willing to have others lay the smack down on your opinion. if only both sides could just break out in song

Thursday, February 11, 2010

good airport encounter w tom green - he's at pittsburgh improv this weekend

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Monday, February 8, 2010

How to Cure 'Depression' - Tufts Daily, 2/8/10

In a return to my college newspaper, the following op-ed ran in today's Tufts Daily:

How to beat ‘depression’

By Evan Wecksell

Published: Monday, February 8, 2010

Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010

I am a Tufts alumnus who was back on campus last week while headlining Theta Chi’s Comedy Night for Haiti. I picked up a copy of the Tufts Daily in the Mayer Campus Center and found the Jan. 25 Features article by Carter Rogers, “High expectations take their toll like never before.”

While I can agree and say how hard it is and how we are surrounded by burdens and how it’s impossible to get a job, make money, etc … that just isn’t true. So I’d rather give you, my fellow Jumbos, a few pointers to help lessen the overwhelming troubles of life.

You should know your environment. It is the job of mainstream news media to make the world seem as dangerous as possible. Fortunately or unfortunately, that is what sells. If I could break news stories into three categories, they would be: problems, distractions and solutions. Their purposes are to upset, to divert and to inform, respectively. Problems have actually been upgraded to catastrophes thanks to the economic recession, which is a contraction in the marketplace and not an apocalypse. Distractions are the reason we’re stuck with Paris Hilton and forced to wonder where the “Jersey Shore” cast is going to show up next. And solutions may wait ’til page 10 of a publication when the other two categories take up the first nine.

Also, the quantity of media has grown exponentially in the past decade with the advent and expansion of the Internet and social media. That’s why terror and panic seem so rampant in our environment. Thanks so much, Ashton Kutcher, for getting in a race with CNN to see who could have one million followers first on Twitter.com. Because the more we see tweets about bloodshed or scandal, the more unsettled we’ll feel.

I could recommend two remedies for that: Either try avoiding the news for one week and see if your mood changes, or take a walk and see for yourself how dangerous the environment is or isn’t.

You should follow your nose. At the risk of sounding like a commencement speaker, don’t let the pressure of finding a job run you ragged and don’t let that first job define your career. A career is just a series of jobs. My first job was a day camp counselor. After college my first job was an intern for the National Hockey League. Now I’m a comedian — go figure. You’re only looking for what you’re going to do next, not what you’re going to do for the next 50 years. I don’t expect to be a comedian my whole life, but plans change (or stay the same).

And don’t feel like you have to change or compromise your integrity to fit in to some company or club. It’s just like a relationship — the other person should like you for who you are. Another alternative is you could always make your own club. That’s what Bill Gates did, that’s what Tufts alum and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (E ’88) did and that’s what Oprah Winfrey did times infinity.

It’s okay to seek out help. Communication is the universal solvent. Whether it’s making up with your parents or getting back together with your girlfriend or boyfriend, it’s all accomplished through communication. That’s why counseling can be very helpful. While at Tufts I went to the Counseling and Mental Health Service once and got through every present problem and upset I had at the time, and when I walked out of the building, I felt the weight of the world off my shoulders. Why did it work? Because someone was listening to me and acknowledging what I had to say. That was really it. It’s good to have a few people like those at a counseling center who can listen, because stuff happens.

When there are cases that can go off the rails, this is when the person in the other chair suggests what is wrong with you. However, any medical diagnosis is not the best idea; it’s one thing to have a friend offer two cents, but it’s another when you’re being told what your problem is and then it’s given a label.

Depression is a feeling, not an illness. Anyone can be in a funk, but if you’re feeling down, it doesn’t warrant you being labeled as something out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. If someone has high blood pressure, that’s something clinically proven that you can treat, but if I’m sad or feeling overwhelmed, that doesn’t mean I need to be put in an arbitrary category. It may mean I need to take steps to handle my environment, whether it’s a person, a group or a situation.

Those are a few of the things I have applied to my life to keep the gloom away. Yes, the gloom sometimes returns when we don’t want it to or when our schedule overwhelms us or we’re overstressing about life’s obstacles, but it’s just gloom; it’s not us. If we let it be us, we won’t get anything done. Thankfully, we all know we are capable of getting a lot done because we all did get into Tufts in the first place.

So do the next thing ahead of you, plan accordingly and have fun when you get ther

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

is it a law for everyone working or bringing their pet into the vet to be a cute blond or cougar? giggity
NEW DATE: Mt. St. Joseph's, Cincinnati, OH - April 23, 2010
NEW DATE: Vanguard College, Costa Mesa, CA - Feb 22, 2010
is it wrong to fart in your dog's face?? hypothetically, of course

Monday, February 1, 2010

shatner singing wrestlers entrance music: priceless! raw match negotiator!