Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Live Nation Can’t Handle Phish Traffic

Published on January 31, 2009 in Music and Phish. 10 Comments

If you didn’t get tickets through the Phish lottery, or just forgot about the lottery, and tried to get tickets for the Summer Tour yesterday or today, you were probably greeted with error messages, waiting rooms, and pages not loading.  It seems as though Live Nation, who recently broke free of Ticketmaster, couldn’t handle the load of traffic coming from people looking to score tickets to this summer’s hottest tour.

The problems started yesterday, just as tickets were put on sale at 10:00 am EST.  People were immediately greeted with “500 Internal Server Error” or other fun error messages.  Many were placed in a “waiting room” as seen in the video below.  Finally, after about 2 hours of continuous trying, people started to trickle in and get their tickets.  It was an epic failure on the part of Live Nation that one would have expected to be fixed by this morning, when more shows went on sale.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  While today’s problems didn’t last quite as long as yesterday’s, people were still greeted with error messages, occasional server errors, and the dreaded waiting room.  After about 30-45 minutes of trying, people were able to get through and the show sold out very shortly after.

blah

What would have quick and easy, as the shows should have sold out within 15 minutes of the on-sale time, turned into a long drawn out process.  Ticket sales giant, Ticketmaster, for all their faults, occasionally had site time-out problems back in the mid-late 90s, but got those taken care of quickly and you rarely got error messages from them.  It was a painless process, unless, of course, you didn’t get through quickly enough.

Phish needs to bring back their Tickets by Mail system.  You have to mail in your request postmarked within certain dates.  You were thrown into a lottery and almost guaranteed tickets.  The reason for this is because it was a lot of work for scalpers who just did it the old fashioned way of going through Ticketmaster either online, by phone, or in person at the venue or at a Ticketmaster location.

I actually once went to the venue, the Hartford Civic Center, to get tickets (had to wake up at 7:00 am on a weekend when I was in college to do it).  It was a strange process.  You got there and sat in a line and then were given a bracelet with a number.  We all then went and sat in the stands and our numbers were randomly called.  I found it odd that they did it that way.  I always assumed they rewarded the people who got there first.  While there were a lot of fans there, there were also a lot of scalpers (who were easily spotted standing in line rapping or bringing their kids so they could all by the maximum allowed quantity).  The one concert I went to that actually did it in order of arrival was for Paul McCartney.  We went to Filene’s (they don’t exist anymore), which was a Ticketmaster outlet.  There were only about 8 of us in line and one guy was there way before everyone else.  We all agreed that we’d go in order rather than pick random numbers, which is the Ticketmaster policy.  While we were in line at the counter, some late arrivals were pissed that we did it that way, but, in my opinion, that’s the fair way to do it.  Why should someone who shows up 5 minutes after they go on sale get tickets before someone who had been waiting for 4 hours?

I will continue to try for tickets through the lottery before any other means.  If Phish ever comes back to Providence and plays the Dunk, I’ll be in line at the box office the morning they go on sale, bright and early.  Live Nation needs to learn from this and fix the problems.  People should not be greeted with a waiting room.  They should submit their requests and then be put in line.

Roomba + Kittens = Totally Adorable

Published on January 30, 2009 in Fun Stuff. Closed
blah

McLovins

Published on January 27, 2009 in Local Bands and Music. Closed

While they are not local to RI, they are sorta local.  The McLovins, a young band from Hartford, have arrived on the scene (a big thank you to the Magic Hat blog for introducing me to them).  They’re a jam/funk/jazz/fusion band.  I know what you’re thinking… those types of bands are a dime a dozen.  Well, this one’s worth a dozen dimes (maybe even more).

They have a bunch of videos up on YouTube, including some Phish covers, a Grateful Dead cover, a bunch of other covers, and a bunch of originals.  Here’s an original called “Purple Trees”:

blah

I have no idea how old these kids are, but they can’t be out of high school yet.  I wouldn’t put them older than 14 or 15.  They’re very talented musicians.  If they work on their song writing skills a bit, they can be a serious player in the local and regional circuit, along the lines of The Breakfast.  These kids can jam.  The only thing I’d love to see is filling out their sound with a keyboardist, though it’s not necessary.  They give their Phish covers a nice personal touch, while keeping with the spirit of the music.  Here’s “Harry Hood” as an example:

blah

If you get the chance to check them out live, or have seen them live, please post a review in the comments (or link to it).  I’d love to hear how they are live (aside from watching their videos on YouTube).  And if you know the band, please tell them to come play Providence (not some bar in South County, like Ocean Mist).  We’ve got a large jamband fan population here.

Check them out on the web: MySpace  Facebook  YouTube

I Chose FiOS

Published on January 27, 2009 in Technology. 2 Comments

Now that I’m in my own house, I was finally able to make a choice between Cox and Verizon for my Internet/cable TV/landline phone needs.  I chose Verizon FiOS (though it has yet to be installed).

While Cox offered me a better deal, there are a few reasons I went with Verizon.  The first is that I screwed up when I chose Cox.  I didn’t have them fix some of the coax wiring in the house so that the splitter was inside the house.  There’s probably a good reason it’s outside, considering the house was built (and the walls haven’t been renovated) in 1935.  It just made it difficult for me to go in and hook up a new cable drop when I got the new TV.  I should have re-thought my plan for the TV when I moved in.  But regardless, I was able to hook up the new TV.

The main reason I’m switching to Verizon is because of the alarm system that will be installed.  They need to connect to the main phone line in the house.  With Verizon, that’s at a main junction in the basement.  With Cox, it’s wherever they put that cheapo cable modem with battery backup (which is upstairs in our office).  I don’t want the ADT installers drilling through floors and ceilings if they don’t have to.

I’m also going with Verizon to get the cable re-done to the new TV (I did a totally ghetto job terminating the coax).

It’s more expensive, but I’ll have faster internet speeds (I went with the 20 Mbps down/5 Mbps up package) and I’ll actually have HD service on my TV (had to go with the more expensive package so I could get more HD channels than just the regular networks).  Cox would have given me HD service, including HD channels for every channel I had that already had an HD equivalent and a DVR, for $25 more than I pay now, including taxes.  Verizon is gonna cost me about $135/month before taxes, but the DVR is free for the first 6 months, so it’ll be $120 before taxes, likely being cheaper than Cox for the first 6 months.  I also have the added benefit of unlimited long distance on the landline (not that I need it with my cell phone).

Once it’s installed and I’ve had time to play around, I’ll post again about my thoughts.  If they can give me a more reliable internet connection, I’ll be happy.  Cox has been spotty recently (unless it’s my Linksys router that’s dropping the connect, but I’ve never had a problem with it before).

Phish, Scalpers, and Ticket Brokers

Published on January 26, 2009 in Music, Phish and Politics. 17 Comments

I got word yesterday that my ticket request was accepted for 2 tickets to the Phish show on June 6 at the Comcast Center (aka Tweeter Center, aka Great Woods) in Mansfield, MA.  About the same time, many others were notified that they were shut out of tickets, either for all the shows they requested or a good portion of them.  Shortly after, tickets were being posted to TicketsNow.com, a site owned by Ticketmaster, the ticket giant that controls tickets for all the major players in concert, sports, and theatre venues.  Some would call Ticketmaster a monopoly.  Some would call the fact that they own a ticket brokerage/auction site unethical.  Many would say that Ticketmaster insiders, big scalpers, people who give money to Ticketmaster for quick and early access to popular tickets, have a quick shot at getting tickets and use TicketsNow to sell those highly sought after tickets for a premium, sometimes a good 500-700% of the face value.

I ran into one such scumbag today at work.  As I’m finishing up a student comes in and starts asking about our IP addresses.  He starts to describe his operation.  It’s small time, I’m sure, when compared to people who make a living off of scalping tickets through these legal, yet ethically questionable, means.  He starts saying how he wants to get a couple computers up with a couple friends and browsers and get on Ticketmaster to buy as many tickets as possible right at 10:00am when they go on sale.  I catch onto his game and totally catch him off guard by saying “So you’re one of those scumbags who buys up the Phish tickets just to turn around and sell them on TicketsNow, aren’t you?”  He actually has the balls to reply “And Stubhub and…”  You get the point as he lists other ticket auction sites.  I catch him even more off guard when I tell him that I already got my Phish tickets.  His response… “How’d you do that?”  Guess he’s not as quick as most of these scumbags who put their names in for the Phish lottery and got tickets.  He goes and asks if I have any extras.  I tell him that if I did, I’d sell them to friends or strangers for not a penny over face value.  He responds, as he walks out the door, “You jerk.”  Wait a minute here… who’s the real jerk?  The fan who buys his tickets from the source and isn’t trying to make money out from under the band of the scumbag trying to beat the system and get tickets to sell to fans for a premium.  I hate to say it, buddy, but you’re not just the jerk, not just a scumbag, but a real asshole.

Anyway, there was a lot of discussion on the Phish boards about the whole TicketsNow thing shortly after the Hampton shows went on sale.  There will likely be more after Saturday when a large portion of the summer tour goes on sale.  I’m sure there’ll be even more discussion after the rest of the summer tour goes on sale.  My advice to the fans… put pressure on Ticketmaster.  Call your senators and representatives in Congress.  For tickets to be on TicketsNow within minutes of them going on sale at Ticketmaster, someone is using a means other than the Ticketmaster website to get their tickets.  Ticketmaster knows this.  Do they care?  Probably not, at least now they can get a portion of that sales when people use TicketsNow to buy their tickets.  Hell, they can even suggest to the poor fans that get shutout to check TicketsNow.

For the rest of you who weren’t shutout… I’ll be at the Comcast Tweeter Center in the Great Woods of Mansfield, MA on June 6.  Look for me.  I’ll be the guy wearing the concert t-shirt (or if you really want to meet up, check with me ahead of time, and maybe we can plan something).  Oh yeah, don’t promote the scalping of tickets. Whatever you do, no matter how much you want to see Phish, DO NOT BUY TICKETS FROM SCALPERS.  That includes TicketsNow, StubHub, and whatever other sites exist selling tickets for more than $50 plus the service fees (which should be no more than $20 per ticket).

RIP – Carlson Craft Brewery

Published on January 22, 2009 in Ale, Beer and Review. Closed

It was short lived, but I recently learned that a brewery had opened in my hometown of Branford, CT. When I was down for Thanksgiving, I decided to check Coastal Wine & Spirits for some beers I can’t get in RI. I discovered Carlson Craft Brewery. Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were from Branford.

I picked up a bottle of each of their 3 main beers (Coastal didn’t carry their Yule Ale) – Gamma Öl (Old Ale), Bärnsten Öl (English Ale), and Vëte Öl (Wheat Ale). I have since tried the Old Ale and the English Ale.

The Old Ale, at around 5% isn’t like most Old Ales.  In fact, I’d classify it more as a Scottish Ale. It’s tasty, a little smoky, but not much of an Old Ale. Regardless, it’s good and worth trying if you can still find some.

The English Ale was fantastic. It’s an English Pale Ale and tastes just like it came out of a cask (assuming you let it warm to the proper serving temperature). It’s got low carbonation, but lots of flavor.

Upon further investigation, I learned that the brewery is a 1 barrel brewhouse, basically converted from the brewer’s homebrew system. He kept it at 1 barrel to make taxes easier (taxes are based on the number of barrels). Unfortunately, because of the economy and some issues with the landlord, the brewery closed shortly after the first of the year.  It had only existed for about a year or so from what I could tell. I wish Andrew Carlson the best of luck in his future endeavors and can’t wait to see what he does next in the beer industry. He’s a talented brewer.

Some Aged Beers

Published on January 21, 2009 in Ale, Beer, Cellaring/Aging and Review. Closed

I’ve had some aged beers recently and thought I might write a little about them. I will add that my beer closet is the perfect temperature. I put a thermometer in there and the temperature is always between 46 and 53. I couldn’t ask for a better place to keep beer. I just hope it doesn’t get much higher than 60 in the summer, though I don’t expect it to except on really hot days.

Tonight, I had Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout from Bluegrass Brewing. I happened upon these at Coastal Wine& Spirits in Branford, CT. I picked up a 4 pack because it sounded good, and was a 2006 bottling. With almost 3 years on the bottle, I have to say it was pretty good. It wasn’t mind-blowingly awesome, but it was good. I’m not a big fan of hot bourbon flavor in my beer, this had just enough. I think it was the stout part of it that didn’t do much for me. Regardless, it was worth buying the 4 pack. I gave 1 away as a gift and I’ve got 2 more. They’re tasty, but nothing special.

I have also recently had a Great Divide Hibernation Ale from last winter. It aged nicely, but seemed a bit lacking. I don’t know if they just need more age, but it had a bit more flavor fresh. I’ve got a couple more in the cellar. I’ll have to try another and decide if I really like it or not.

I also got to try the most recent Sam Adams Utopias, from 2007 I believe. This is one amazing beer. It’s different and nothing like a beer, but it’s still a beer. Lots of fruit flavors, like cherry, some maple, a little burn from the alcohol (no surprise, at 25%). Each sip had something different going on. Next time they release this, I’m picking up a bottle.

The Media is Funny

Published on January 8, 2009 in Fun Stuff, Music and Phish. Closed

As anyone who has read this blog or knows me knows about me, I’m a Phishhead. In fact, I love Phish and would quit my job to follow them if I could (but I’m not a trust fund baby and I’m not about to sell random stuff to go on tour). Anyway, Phish announced a summer tour today. As a response, and as any normal paper or news site would do, the new sites and blogs are eating it up. I get Google alerts about 2 subjects to learn about any insider info (not that I get any from Google, but it’s fun reading the news). Those subjects are Phish and Trey Anastasio. Often, the Phish alert brings me information about phishing scams and information security. Lately, it’s been about Phish, the band. The one I just got this evening is hilarious. Here are some of the headlines for stories about the Phish summer tour.

“Stoners Rejoice: It’s the Phish Reunion Tour!” -Lime Wire Music Blog

“Phish Dives into Summer Tour” -E! Online

“Prepare the patchouli: Phish announces tour” -Los Angeles Times

Now I expected the first two, considering the first is a blog and the second is E!. However, the third is just silly coming from a well-respected newspaper (though I will admit it is from their music blog).

Anyway, I just wanted to share the silliness. I’ll post more as I get more Google alerts. I know there will be more. Phish always seems to draw silly headlines. And if you haven’t seen it, Phish decided on another video for their official announcement.


PHISH SUMMER TOUR 2009 from Phish on Vimeo.

Update: I knew it! Another one, this time NBC Philadelphia… “Phish on the Hook: ’09 Summer Tour Announced”

Happy New Year

Published on January 4, 2009 in Meta. Closed

I realize I haven’t been writing much lately and I’ve probably said this before.  I’m now a homeowner, which has been taking up quite a bit of my time outside of work.  We also just bought a new car, trading in our two cars for just one.  For those interested, it’s a 2008 Subaru Legacy Outback 2.5i.  It’s quite a nice car and a good upgrade from the two we had (my 2003 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport and Susan’s 2002 VW Jetta GLS).  Unfortunately, I had to give up my manual transmission, but the change was worth it.  After only putting 2500 miles on Susan’s car in the last year and having to put several hundred dollars worth of work into it because it sat most of the time (I wasn’t really willing to drive it to work just to give it use, I hated it), we decided we had no need for 2 cars, but we couldn’t keep mine, the more utilitarian one, being a wagon, because Susan couldn’t comfortably drive it (the manual transmission being the main culprit).  We opted for a bigger car because there might be a possibility of a family someday and I firmly believe that cars are meant to be run until they die.  Well, that and the fact that when we go on trips, mine somehow got overfilled.

I’ve been drinking a lot of beer and spending time with friends and family over the holidays, which has taken up my time over the past couple weeks, being on vacation (though I go back to work tomorrow, ugh).

Anyway, here’s what to look for in 2009:

  • Updated WordPress – I’m planning on doing a full site update at some point.
  • More posts about beer.
  • Homebrewing! I’ll be getting equipment sometime this month and will hopefully brew my first batch by spring (style TBD, but possibly a porter or stout of some kind so Susan will let me continue brewing).
  • Cooking with beer – something I’ve wanted to do for a while and once we’re fully settled, I plan on doing some more cooking.
  • More on Providence and my new neighborhood – I plan on getting involved with Friends of Elmhurst.
  • Phish!!!! They’re back and I’ll be at some shows.
  • Local music – I hope to find some time to check out some more local music.
  • Technology – I want to use technology a bit more in my house, this might be a bit more long term than the next year, think 2-3 years.
  • Technology – Cell phone contract is up in April, plan on going the smart phone route and re-evaluating carriers.

I’m looking forward to 2009.  From what I’ve been reading, I’m the only one looking forward to it.  The economy still sucks, but I have hope it will pick up again.  It should be a good year for me as I should be able to start some new hobbies and continue with some old hobbies.  I’ll be going on a ski trip in February to Sunday River.  I’ll probably have some stuff to report about that as well (both about the skiing and the beer).  It should be fun.

So here’s to a great 2009!

A Day at Bretton Woods

Published on January 4, 2009 in Skiing. Closed

Susan and I went to Bretton Woods in New Hampshire a few days ago to go skiing and try out the new skis we bought in the fall.  It was a fairly crappy day for conditions, since temps were in the 50s and 60s the day or two before our arrival.  The sun was supposed to come out, but the clouds just hung over the mountains to the west, leaving us a kind of grey day with ice that never softened.

After taking a few easy runs to get used to the new skis (they’re more shaped and longer than my old skis, which were old rental skis I bought used), I ventured to the summit and did some more serious skiing.  Because of the conditions and the weather, a lot of the trails I was hoping to ski either weren’t open or had a very thin cover to the point where you could see grass and rocks.  I wasn’t about to take my new skis over rocks and grass.  I managed to ski about as much of the mountain as I was comfortable with before 11:00 (we arrived for first tracks at 8:00), getting in a good 10 runs.  I took a longer break then and went back out for a couple more runs before stopping for lunch as it was getting crowded and lift lines were long (it was empty until about 10:00-10:30).  After lunch, Susan decided she was done and I went out for another couple runs.  I skied to the summit lift and then ventured down.  After that run, my legs were like jelly and I had to call it quits or risk serious injury.

All in all, it was a good day.  We only paid half price because we had a free pass from the purchase of Susan’s skis.  It was worth what we paid, but I found most of the trails to be kind of boring.  I had only been to Bretton Woods once before on the day after Thanksgiving and they only had one run open.  This was better, but there wasn’t a whole lot of variety.  Cannon is still my favorite mountain and I’m sure I’ll like it even more with the new skis.  We’re hoping to get one more day of skiing in before our trip to Sunday River in February.