My Family's Epic Baseball Week (Part 2) - The Crazy Chattanooga Challenge + Raining Runs In Atlanta

After our unfortunate mistake the night before, it was back to Baseball on Thursday as we went to Chattanooga to see the Lookouts play the Biloxi Shuckers. My mom and I went to Chattanooga by ourselves and explored some of the scenery around the river that the city had to offer but didn't see much of downtown, so we made a point to do that this time. We managed to strike gold in a place called Community Pie, a place that specialized in New York Style Pizza, Gelato, and of course Beer. There were no board games to play this time, but there was a World Cup Soccer game on TV, so it was still a great way to kill time before the game.

We got to the ballpark probably a little bit too early because we were waiting in front of the gates for quite some time, but we were one of the first ones in so not all was lost. We managed to pass the Information both where they were trying to recruit people for some of the events that would occur in between innings. I walked up and asked if there was anything that wasn't for kids and they told me they still needed people for the dizzy bat, to which I agreed.

After I was all signed up for the dizzy bat, my mom and I wasted no time taking advantage of the "Thirsty Thursday" drink specials which were $1 Domestic Draughts and $2 for Craft Beer, we decided to take more advantage of the Crafts because quality is worth an extra dollar in our opinions.

Eventually, it was my turn to do the dizzy bat. My opponents were a woman in her 40s, a guy from Sweden, and also his friend, who funnily enough was from Alpharetta, GA, to which I responded: "it's like a battle of Northside vs. Southside." Seeing how I'm not very coordinated, to begin with, and I was starting to feel a little bit buzzed, I had no chance. I fell twice as a matter of fact. Once while I was spinning, and then again when I was trying to cross the finish line. The prize was a Tennessee Lottery ticket, which wouldn't have really done me any good because I don't even live in Tennessee.

 So really the only thing I lost in this dizzy bat debacle was a little bit of my pride. It wasn't all bad because when I got back to my seat, my mom informed me that she accidentally took a picture instead of a video, which is a blessing in disguise because would probably have taken away from the number of views this post is going to get, so thank you mom, I really appreciate it! Speaking my mom doing things I appreciate, the Lookouts have this thing where you can put a customized message up on the video board for only $2, so my mom decided to put "Taylor and Dylan, you go." This was probably an attempt to embarrass us slightly, but I saw the funny and kind side of it. I'm not sure I could say the same about my brother. 

The game itself was an absolute blowout as the Lookouts beat Biloxi 12-2. The show was stolen by Chris Paul, who went 3-5 with two doubles and 6 RBIs. By now you're probably thinking "wait, isn't that a Basketball player?" Rest assured this is a different Chris Paul, who wears a different number. This was CP5 of the Chattanooga Lookouts, not CP3 of the Houston Rockets. I also feel like I'd be doing my readers a disservice if I didn't include the interesting moment where a bat ended up getting lodged into a safety netting after a batter losing his grip while swinging. It was up there for the remainder of the game.

Friday was the day I had been waiting for since I moved to Georgia, a chance to see my beloved Baltimore Orioles play in Atlanta. Since we arrived early, we decide to spend pregame in what is known as "The Battery," a neighborhood of shops and restaurants just outside of Suntrust Park. We decided to check out one restaurant which was fun while it lasted, but eventually, we had to leave because my brother was under 21, but they did have some decent food and drinks, so maybe I'll go back if I can find the place again, that is. I'm still trying to get the hang of the battery because I don't go too often

 It became even more of a family affair when more of my family from Virginia came for the weekend with their 8-month-old son, who my mom and I got to meet for the very first time. It was pouring rain before the game, so we had to find cover wherever we could outside of the stadium until we worked up the courage to go in. Once we were in we decided to go to the Chophouse, which can best be described as the Braves' in-stadium Restaurant. While there we had some refreshments and some nice conversations. One of the staff members introduced himself to me as a Red Sox fan, inquired to me about what it might take to bring Manny Machado to Boston as the Orioles look to begin their rebuild. I told him what I had been hearing in the press, and he wasn't a fan so we went back and forth on proposals for quite some time.

Eventually, it became time to find our seats, so we made way up to the upper level, but since this was a special occasion my mom decided to buy our tickets one level lower than we usually do, but with a similar vantage point, which was actually pretty great. For those that don't know it's a longstanding tradition in Baltimore (and sometimes DC) to sing the "O" in the anthem. There have been times where I do it wherever I am, but this time I had a reason to so I gave it my all, and it was terrific to be able to do so again. The Orioles fans traveled well so that made it even better. 

The game itself was quite the thriller. It was 0-0 until Chris Davis, who has not had his best year by any means, hit a solo home run to make it 1-0 in the 5th inning. The Braves ended up tying the game in the 7th inning and then taking a 3-1 lead in the 8th inning.

I was on edge going into the 9th because I thought there was very little chance the Orioles could come back, I even told my brother I wouldn't be surprised if they went 3 up 3 down to end the game. I ended up being wrong about this because the bats came alive at the most opportune time as the Orioles went on top score six runs in the top of the 9th.

With the Orioles having a comfortable lead, and 2016 All-Star closer Zach Britton coming on to close out the game and up his trade value, I figured they had it in the bag. I once again, ended up being wrong about this as the bats came alive at the most opportune time for the Braves, as they went on to score four runs and force extra innings.

Had it not been under such upsetting circumstances, I wouldn't have minded extra innings at all. What I did end up taking issue with, was the bats going right back to being silent after both teams had huge 9th inning rallies. I believe we left the game after the 12th inning, seeing as how we had one more trip to do the next day, and somehow I ended up getting home in time to see the Orioles score 3 runs in the top of the 15th inning, and subsequently close the game out.

In the next post, I will be talking about our trip to Fluor Field and Greenville, SC to talk about our experience there. Greenville is one of my favorite places, which is why I'm glad we got to save that one for last. It will be released shortly after, so stay tuned because it's going to be another good one. 

My Family's Epic Baseball Week (Part 1): Alabama All Stars + Mistaken In Macon

After a couple of months of planning, my younger brother arrived from Virginia on Monday, June 18th. My mom thought it would be fun to include him in some of the Minor League Baseball Road Trips that we started doing last year. However, seeing as how my brother was only going to be here for a week, we had to cram a little bit. When I say cram a little bit, I mean we went to four baseball games, in four different states, all in 5 days, and had it not been for a small hiccup it would have been five games in as many days

Our trip started in Birmingham, Alabama and the 2018 AA Southern League Homerun Derby and All-Star Game. Our first stop was a place called Good People Brewing that was right across the street from Regions Field. Now, I had been to places like this on the road before, but this was the first time the smell hit me so hard right after walking in. After I adjusted to the scent, I enjoyed a Mexican Lager called Muchcaho, and my mom enjoyed a flight of her choosing while we all sat down and I watched the Russia vs. Egpyt World Cup game. After that, the three of us decided to play Apples to Apples. Typically you need more people than we had to get the most out of Apples to Apples, but we made it work in a big way. Some of the exchanges we had were beyond hilarious, a good time was had by all, and we managed to finish the game just as the gates were about to open. I also won the game, just throwing that out there.

We managed to get into the park soon after the gates opened, so there was plenty of time to explore before the Homerun Derby started. Two of the things that stuck out to me was the fact that the apartment complex overlooking Regions Field had a pool that looked to had a view of the ballpark. Everybody loves a good pool party, but a pool party where you could watch Baseball while partying would just be in a different level. The other thing I really appreciated was the signs around the concourse with section numbers and pictures of various famous figures from Birmingham's Baseball history such as Bo Jackson, Dan Bankhead, Reggie Jackson, Piper Davis, and of course Michael Jordan.

Seeing as how Regions Field was completed in 2013, it wasn't the stadium where Michael Jordan played, but my brother and I still couldn't help but try to imagine what crowds were like at their old stadium in the suburbs of Hoover while he was playing. Tim Tebow has recently been a big attraction to people that wouldn't otherwise go to Minor League Baseball games, but there's no way he's brought in as many people, just because he's not as beloved or as big as Michael Jordan. I'm not the most prominent Basketball expert so I can't say for sure whether M.J. really is the best Basketball player of all time, but I think he's definitely the most famous Basketball player, if not Athlete as a whole, in all of America. I can only imagine how cool it must have been to witness his Baseball journey in person, even if he never made it to the Big Leagues.

Apart from the pedigree of an All Star Game, even if only at a Minor League level, the main attraction at this game was Baseball's No.2 Prospect Eloy Jimenez. A slugging outfielder who is in the Chicago White Sox farm system after being to traded to them by, funnily enough, the Chicago Cubs.

The home run derby got underway after we finished exploring, and the thing about Double-A Baseball is that Power is one of the things that's probably the hardest to develop. As a result, the home run totals weren't as high as the ones you see in the MLB home run derby, but I still found it entertaining all the same. Birmingham catcher Zack Collins ended up winning, a very popular victor with the local fans.

The Southern League is split into North and South Divisions, and seeing how the North Division is made up of teams like Chattanooga and Birmingham, who I have seen, and also teams like Montgomery, and the Tennessee Smokies, who I hope to see soon, I decided to pull for the North Division. At the beginning of the game, I started to feel like a good luck charm because not only did the North hold the lead for the first 6 innings, they had a combined perfect game going.

Part of what makes Minor League Baseball, so fun is the fun stuff that goes on between innings. This All-Star Game featured appearances by none other than the Zooperstars. Some of my personal favorite Zooperstars were Nolan Rhino, who made the whole crowd laugh by dancing on the dugout, then falling hard and waiting two full minutes to get back. Yao Flamingo, who had some really sick breakdancing moves. Then there's the most famous Zooperstar of all, Mackerel Jordan. If you've ever come across a fish swallowing a member of the grounds crew at a Minor League game, spitting out all of their clothes, and then seeing them force their way out of his mouth in only their underwear, then you've seen Mackerel Jordan before. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen the video before, seeing it in person is about a million times funnier. I was absolutely dying laughing the whole time.

Anyway, I think that's enough about the Zooperstars, back to the game! The South Division ended up scoring 5 unanswered runs through the 7th and 8th innings to take a 5-2 lead. The North would later tie it up in the bottom of the 8th.

I actually missed most of the South's rally because I managed to run into a former Negro League Player that had been recognized on the field before the game. Unfortunately, his name escapes me but I know he played for the Indianapolis Clowns, who I once read in a book would actually wear clown makeup while playing, and also do the most outlandish of tricks in the field either between outs or while fielding pop flies. I decided this would be the perfect time to see just how accurate these stories were, and he told that they were all true. He shared one specific story about how one of his infield partners would be dressed like a lady, and they would have to do some kind of dance act, the latter of which he wasn't too crazy about. "I just thank god that I'm still here today," he said to me, "playing the games was easy it was just all the traveling that was hard." He also recommended a book to me called "Barnstorming to Heaven" by Syd Pollock, which I will no doubt order it when I finally have some downtime.

Keep in mind, we drove 2.5 hours to get to Birmingham, and considering it's in the Central time zone, we would be losing an hour on the drive home, and there was still a firework show to be had, we did NOT want Extra Innings. So at that point, loyalties were out the window so it almost seemed like a godsend when the South had a 4 run top of the 9th, and then gave up nothing in the bottom half. The fireworks show itself was pretty cool. I'm not very good at describing firework shows so here's a picture of the fireworks

So Am I Still Waiting For My Ears To Stop Ringing? (Sum 41 Concert Review)

Whether it was the "I like the video game or movie I heard this song on, therefore I like this song" phase I went through in my Elementary years, the "I hate Middle School and everyone in it" phase I went through in my early teenage years, and even my current phase which is hard to describe, but heavily consists of self-deprecating jokes and Pop-Punk music, there have been a few bands that have been constant throughout my life. Sum 41 falls into that category, and I got a chance to see them live on May 10, 2018. You could say it was a childhood dream finally lived, and what makes it even better is that if all goes well, I will be able to see another band I also loved to the former "music from video game and movie" stage I mentioned earlier, Simple Plan. Now all I have to do is wait for Yellowcard to come to their senses and realized they retired way too soon, so I can see them in concert and complete the trifecta of dreams that 9-year-old Taylor had. I know I've gotten off subject so let's get back to your regularly scheduled concert review.

The venue of that night's show was Buckhead Theatre, named after the district of Atlanta that it's located in. Buckhead is mostly known for being the part of Atlanta where all of the wealthy families live, but it also has some pretty cool restaurants, shops, bars, as well as the concert venue. The heart of Buckhead is a very walkable area with lots of shops, restaurants, bars, banks, and a lot of other things that make the mile walk from the train station worth it.

After completing most of my walk it started to rain pretty hard, which I knew was going to happen, but despite the clouds, it was still too hot for me to start walking faster than I already was. Eventually, I decided I had no choice but to start jogging to get out of the rain, so I stumbled upon this place called Red Door Tavern. As you would imagine, the main feature was a red door. A cool bar in its own right, it was decorated with lots of random stickers all behind the bar, and even a little plush doll of Kenny from South Park. With time still to kill before the show, I decided to take advantage of the downtime and their reasonably priced Blue Moons by taking a load off and watching the sporting events they were showing on their television sets.

Eventually, I checked the time and realized I had better get going or I would miss part of the first band's set. I ended up being right about that because they started playing a little bit before the previously announced 8 pm start time, so if I had waited a minute later, I would never have been able to get as close to the stage as I was for the whole duration of the show.

The first band to take the stage was Super Whatever from Orange County, California. They weren't necessarily a super fast Pop Punk band like the other bands on the bill, but they were still an entertaining band to watch. The lead singer was very interactive with the crowd, and at one point even opened the floor to questions. I had listened to some Super Whatevr songs during my train ride into the city, and there was one song that I really enjoyed called "Kathrin With a K" so I decided to ask if they were going to play that song, to which the singer replied "no, not tonight. But we will on the next tour" to which I replied with a promise to come see them next time they were in Atlanta. The songs they did play though were pretty impressive in their own right.

Super Whatevr on stage

One moment that will always stick out for me was when the singer introduced a song called "Someone Somewhere Somehow" by talking about how it was about the suicide of someone that no one had ever suspected to be sad, and he reminded everyone that if they were struggling, there's always help out there. The whole thing was pretty moving to me, and I thought it was especially important since May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

There were other more upbeat songs played by the such as "Misquote" and "Benjamin Alphabet," the latter song featuring the words "holy fuck" in the chorus and if that doesn't make a song great, then I don't know what does. I also think I would be doing my readers a disservice if I failed to mention 1/2 of the band had long hair, while the other half had short hair, which is always an interesting combination.

Next up was Seaway. Like Sum 41, they are a Pop Punk band from Ontario, Canada. I wasn't too familiar with their work so I found myself thinking "I don't know the words to this song but it's a damn good song", up until they did a cover of "Get Free" by The Vines, then I found myself thinking "I  DO know the words to this song and it's a damn good song." The singer was very interactive in his own right as well. A personal favorite of mine was when pointed out a person he saw wearing a Toronto Blue Jays hat, and also commented that it's probably not a popular hat to wear in Atlanta, a likely reference to the 1992 World Series where the Blue Jays defeated the Braves in 6 games.

Even though I didn't know much about Seaway, they did have a very loyal legion of fans at the show that sang along to the words I didn't know, and did lots of crowd surfing that I didn't have the courage to do, including two girls who crowd surfed twice during the final song alone, which I got a kick out of.

Sum 41 was on tour celebrating the 15th anniversary of their album "Does This Look Infected," and they did, in fact, play every song on the album, but as opposed to the usual anniversary tour where the band will play the album from start to finish, Sum 41 switched it around a little bit so it would resemble that of a typical setlist from the tour where they were promoting the release of the album, according to Deryck Whibley. I personally was a fan of the way they switched things around because I've seen my fair share of album anniversary tours, and they're always a blast but sometimes you do find yourself wishing that track 3 or track 6 of the 10 track album came a little bit later in the show when your anticipation is through the roof, or you once saw a DVD of one of their concerts where the first song on the album was played at the very end of the show, and it fit perfectly, so it feels weird to hear it super early in the setlist. It's little things like that which make me appreciate that decision by the boys in the band.

The album itself is pretty solid from start to finish (hence the justification of an Anniversary Tour) with smash hits like "The Hell Song", "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)", and "Still Waiting", and I feel like it's worth mentioning that I think "Hooch" is an absolute gem of a song that is worthy of the same recognition those other songs get.  Apart from the songs off that album, the songs they played included Motivation, Fake My Own Death, No Reason, a Medley of Metallica covers, We Will Rock You, and of course their most iconic song Fat Lip.

Apart from still being able to sing very well, Deryck Whibley still tells some pretty good stories and is very good for comic relief in between songs. Some of the funniest instances were asking audience members if they had already thrown up tonight before playing "All Messed Up" as well as telling a story about how he struggled to find a reliable bassist before meeting longtime and current Bassist who goes by the stage name of Cone and then dedicating a song called "A.N.I.C." to all of the aforementioned unreliable Bass players. If you're not familiar with the band, then it might be worth your time to take a look at the lyrics of the song because it's a very amusing song.

Deryck Whibley alongside the only reliable bass player he's ever worked with, "Cone." 

Another story that I thought was interesting was while introducing a song released in 2016 entitled "Fake My Own Death" Whibley told the story about how he originally came up with the idea for the song back in 2002 but it was never recorded at any point because the band only spent two weeks making the album, largely due to that fact that touring was a higher priority for them than being in a studio was, which apparently is still true today because had someone not pointed out to them that it was the anniversary of "Does This Look Infected" they would have been in the studio that very night working on their upcoming album. That story really spoke to me because from middle school all the way to my current college days, I've always been the kind of student to do an entire assignment 36 hours before the due date because I had completely forgotten about it. So the fact that Sum 41 can wait 14 years to record a song that ends up becoming a fan favorite with a music video that has over 8.4 million views on Youtube should be an inspiration for procrastinators everywhere.

At the end of the day, it was a good night. If given the chance, I would definitely see all 3 bands again, and I would also definitely go back to Red Door Tavern if I was ever out and about in Buckhead, and when I do I will most definitely write about it. In the meantime feel free to bookmark this blog if you haven't yet because my next post SHOULD be my first "on tour" entry as I write about my recent road trip to Asheville, North Carolina.

The Foo Fighters Played At My College's "Big @$$ Stadium"

In all honesty, I wasn't sure I was going to make it to this show. I had been interested since the day it was announced, but depending on the day I was unsure if I could swing it financially. But then, the day before the show was set to take place, I decided to buy a ticket and take in what turned out to be a pretty stellar show.

The show was dubbed the "Inaugural Show" at Georgia State Stadium in Downtown Atlanta. Georgia State Stadium, of course, is the former "Turner Field." Before the stadium being purchased and subsequently re-named by Georgia State University, Turner Field hosted some pretty impressive concerts in its own right. The most significant names include George Strait, The Rolling Stones, and Dave Matthews Band, as well as acts such as Steve Miller Band, Scotty McCreery, Weezer, and even the surviving members of Run DMC playing concerts at the conclusion of select Braves games. I didn't go to any of those shows, but I'm sure they were great. 

Me being a Georgia State Student that is full of school spirit, as well as a fan of Rock music, it was a match made in Heaven. I bought a ticket in the upper deck, to the right of the stage for $29 on Ticketmaster which ended up being a little over $40 after fees. Parking prices were pretty steep, so I decided I would take a complimentary shuttle provided by the school. That didn't work out the way I hoped it would, as I ended up having to walk a mile to get back to the train station, but I think it was still well worth it. 

I arrive at the venue around 6:20 pm, which allowed me plenty of time to walk around a bit and eventually find my seat before the opening band was scheduled to begin their set at 7 pm. The stadium, now used for Georgia State Panthers Football, had only been open on the lower level throughout the inaugural season. Therefore this was my first time being in the upper deck of that stadium since the summer of 2016 when my mom and I went to about a dozen games at Turner Field despite not being Braves fans and sitting in the upper deck every time. I even had to go up the same stairs I walked up to get to my seats at those Baseball games, which was a bit of pleasant nostalgia, as weird as that might sound. The escalators to get to the upper levels were not in use that particular evening; my mom would have been displeased with that had she decided to go to the show with me. 

The band opening for The Foo Fighters was a band out of Derby, UK called The Struts. You might think you haven't heard of them, but trust me when I say you have heard at least two of their songs if you listen to Modern Rock radio. Their singles "Kiss This" and "Could Have Been Me" receive relatively regular airtime. As good as those songs are, some of the songs they don't play on the radio might be even better. Songs such as "Put Your Hands Up," "Put Your Money On Me," as well as their newest song "Primadonna Like Me" were terrific tunes that were a joy to hear.

The Struts are fronted by Luke Spiller, who could very well be described as the closest thing to a living Freddy Mercury. I'm not saying he is as good as Freddy, or that the Struts will sell as many albums as Queen, but if you hear his vocal range, and pay attention to his mannerisms on stage and interaction with the crowd,  a comparison could be made. To make sure I wasn't crazy in thinking this, I did some Googling and found this interesting article from The New York Times about Luke from 2016.

I thought about giving a "track by track" review of the Foo Fighters set, but then I realized that would take forever to write, and you could probably get plenty that from people who know what the heck they're doing when it comes to reviewing concerts. I think I'm better off just describing my highlights from the show, which involved much more than just the songs being played.

Going into the show, I could be best described as reasonably casual Foo Fighters fan.  "The Pretender" is by far my favorite song by them. If you grew up in the 2000s as I did, you would know how big of a deal that song was when it came out. I couldn't tell you how many times a 12-13-year-old Taylor rocked out to that song either after school or during weekends, and hearing it live caused me to lose control a bit. No, I don't mean I got emotional, I mean I started cheering wildly and somehow ended up standing on my chair shouting all of the words to the song.

Another thing I feel adds to the experience of going to a concert is the togetherness of the crowd. There was plenty of this togetherness throughout the night which included several moments where the majority of the crowd either used the flashlight on their cell phone or went old-school and flicked their lighters to light up the venue even further. The most interesting occurrence was during "My Hero" when Dave Grohl came out and started playing acoustically on the very end of a runway-type extension of the stage. Everyone had a light on, we were all singing the chorus with Dave, and then halfway through the song, the rest of the band joined in, but the phone flashlights stayed on, and the crowd noise did not die down in the slightest.  

The heart of the setlist included other great Foo Fighters hits from years gone by, songs from their new album "Concrete And Gold," and even covers of some very famous classic rock tunes that gave other members of the band an opportunity to showcase themselves. The covers included Alice Cooper's "Under My Wheels" "You're The One I Want," and the band's keyboard player playing John Lennon's "Imagine" while Dave sang the words to Van Halen's "Jump," which I thought was a bit weird. I would have just preferred to have just heard a proper cover of Imagine, but that's just me. This was followed by Dave introducing Pat Smear to the audience. For whatever reason, I had initially forgotten that Pat was a part of the Foo Fighters. I know he did some work with Nirvana towards the end, and of course, he was the guitarist of one of my favorite bands, The Germs, but then when he was introduced, I had one of those "oh yeah" moments. Then with the cameras and lights panned onto him, Pat lead the band into a cover of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." The best part of this classic rock medley, however, was a cover of "Under Pressure" that featured Dave Grohl playing drums, as well as Taylor Hawkins sharing vocal duties with Luke Spiller from The Struts. This was when the similarities between Mercury and Spiller were brought to the forefront during this cover in my eyes.

In addition to how great the songs sounded, Dave Grohl's stage presence was on-point like always. Funny banter such as stories from the old days, making fun of his bandmates' fashion senses, bringing a fan on stage to play a song with them for apparently the second time on that tour, dubbing him "Pierce the dual offender" and jokingly yelling at him to get off the stage when he saw him talking a selfie after the song  kept me laughing in between songs all night. There was also a pretty funny bit before the encore where a camera showed Dave backstage telling the crowd to go home, then agreeing to play one more song, then agreeing to play two more songs, then finally agreeing to three play more songs. All of that was pretty funny, but it all pales in comparison to what I thought was the best part of the show. Halfway through the set, Dave announced to the crowd that he was only going to refer to the audience as "big ass stadium" for the rest of the night, and he kept true to his word. He must have used the phrase "big ass stadium" about 20 more times that night. It got to the point where the official Twitter account for the stadium changed their display name (not to be confused with their handle, which is still @GSUStadium as of today) to "'Big A$$ Stadium - Dave Grohl.'" 

All in all, it was a good night for me and a great way to kick off "warm weather season" which I have come to dread in a way because I'm much more of a winter person, but warm weather events like an outdoor concert and Baseball games just can't be beat. This more than likely won't be the last time I write about a concert this spring/summer so make sure to stay tuned to see what else I get up to! And also, go buy The Struts new album when it comes out because they are going to play a big part in the future of Rock and Roll in my opinion.