Jumpin' At The Woodside

Here it is... the premiere of this year's summer mix . Lots of new stuff with old stuff mixed in, and made for repeat listening as the first song is a good follow up to the last song. This year's mix pairs well with any brew, wine or libation but for me a nice unfiltered IPA did just fine. Funny thing is last year's Motown-infused summer mix was inspired by the Fitz & The Tantrums, who are included this year. Tried as I could, they just didn't fit in to last year's summer mix . This year I was bound and determined to include more new songs, especially after being introduced to so many new acts/artists at last year's DMB Caravan festival in Atlantic City . The last song was added near the end of putting the whole mix together, even though it seems as if the whole mix builds up to that song. A happy accident I guess. A little known fact is that I don't repeat songs in my summer mixes. This goes back to 2003/04 when I started putting them together...

Went to my 33rd Dave Matthews Band show the other night here in Charlotte, and I have a road trip planned next month for two more. Charlotte always seems to bring out a good show from the band, especially last time they played here in 2010 with surprise guest Branford Marsalis , who joined them for three songs. Jimmy Joe Pete and I got to the parking lot with plenty of time for tailgating including beers ( Sierra Nevada Summerfest for me), cigars, tunes via my new Bose wireless mobile speaker, talking set lists with other fans and people watching - everything from strange folks to beautiful ladies to what were they thinking. One such fellow we watched as he chatted up every girl who walked by, and it didn't matter that he was older or quite a bit out of shape... OK a lot out of shape especially for someone who looked to be in his 30s. Let's say I would be worried for this guy to walk a flight of stairs. Anyway, one girl walks by and she's very attractive and weari...

It's been a few years since I last went to Charlotte's own PGA Tour golf championship , but didn't take much convincing and managed to find tickets on Craigslist from a local seller who turned out to be one of my employer's clients... and they dropped off the tickets at the office front door, can't beat that. I first went to the tournament in 2007 for the Saturday third round the year Tiger won, and then again the following year for the pro-am on the Wednesday before the first round. This year we got tickets for the second round on Friday and took a half day from work to catch the afternoon action, which featured Phil Mickelson. Tiger, McIlroy and Fowler (the eventual winner on Sunday ) teed off in the morning that day. They changed the rules recently allowing cell phones on the course, but photos were strictly forbidden during tournament play... Phil Mickelson lining up his approach on the 8th - Quail Hollow 5/4/2012 ... unless you snapped them whi...

Van Halen at Time Warner Cable Arena - 4/25/2012 Looks like I was lucky enough to see Van Halen last month as they recently cancelled 31 dates that would have extended their current tour deep into the summer. Insiders reported they "hate each other" - we'll assume that's David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen who are infamous for their on again and off again hating. Glad I went as this was as close as one might get to the original line up, minus original bassist Michael Anthony who last played with the band in 2004 . Anthony sided with former front man Sammy Hagar in what looks to be a permanent rift, with the Van Halens on one side and Hagar/Anthony on the other. Four Friends 1-77 IPA at Carolina Ale House This was my first show at Time Warner Cable Arena, I previously had only been there for a Bobcats game. Jimmy Joe Pete and I walked down to the Carolina Ale House from work for some pre-show libations and dinner, just around the corner from the arena. The...