Don’t Compromise on the Beer

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Runaway Jim

I shouldn’t have to even write any of this, but I think it needs to be said. I’ve been drinking beer for quite some time now. I wasn’t one of those people who started off with the flavorless yellow beer known to most people as American Macro (though Beer Advocate politically correctly changed it to “adjunct”) Lager. I actually started off drinking Sam Adams and Pete’s Wicked back when Pete’s was independent and an excellent brewery (I do miss them, they made a killer brown ale). I would occasionally drink the cheap stuff when I was at parties and that’s all there was. Then I switched to a phase of my life where I would refuse beer if it wasn’t craft. I’m now at the point where I just want beer and will drink it. Continue reading →

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Phish Hartford Review

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Runaway Jim

I’m going to write this review a bit differently than I would normally write it. Since I’m reviewing two shows, I’m going to compare them a bit and talk about what I liked better in one over the other.

First off, the Hartford shows on June 17 and 18 were awesome. They were both a ton of fun and featured some great songs, great playing, and great fun from the band. Going completely on memory, my favorite of the two was the second night. I felt the band had more energy to their playing. They seemed to have fewer problems with the sound system. They also seemed to be having more fun. The crowd also had more energy and it was reflected in the band’s playing. Continue reading →

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Magic Hat Blind Faith

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Runaway Jim

Magic Hat is one of those breweries that craft beer lovers love to hate on. I can’t figure out why other than that they don’t like some of their more mainstream beers. You know what? Forget those people. Ignore those people. Magic Hat is a talented, if a bit quirky, brewery. One need not go further than the brewery to see for themselves. While the majority of their beers may not be the best of the best, they are, at the very least, unique.

Craft beer lovers rejoiced when they announced the return of their IPA, Blind Faith. This beer is an excellent example of just how talented the brewers at Magic Hat are. It’s an excellent IPA that I would stack up against some of the most popular (be warned: it’s not “west coast style”, but an IPA doesn’t need to be to be excellent). It’s a very balanced, yet hop-forward beer. It’s closer to an amber ale in color, with a nice body that neither too thin nor too thick.

Anyway, I suggest everyone who likes good beer try this one. It’s not mind blowing or life changing, but it’s definitely an excellent solid IPA. And stop hating on Magic Hat. While I agree with most people that they need to stop discontinuing some of their best beer (Blind Faith, Jinx, Fat Angel, etc.), I disagree that they’re not a good brewery. They’ve been churning out #9 for quite some time and people still love it, even if it’s not a particular favorite of mine. Give Blind Faith a chance. You won’t be disappointed.

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Railroad Earth Review

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Runaway Jim

I know I’m a little late with this, so here goes nothing. I went to see Railroad Earth a few weeks ago at Lupo’s. They’re a bluegrass/slamgrass/jamgrass band from New Jersey. First of all, they’re awesome. If you get the chance to see them, go. They put on an excellent show and will keep you dancing from the first notes right through the last.

The crowd was very mixed. I was actually surprised by it. There were a few flatbrims that I wouldn’t have expected at a bluegrass show, but I’m guessing they were there more for the scene than the music. There were some obvious fans who follow them all over the place. There were the older people, the younger people, but the majority seemed to be in their 20′s and 30′s.

The opening act was the guy from Dispatch. I never understood why people loved that band as much as they did. I never got into them and never really thought they were anything special. They were good, but not amazing. I felt the same way about the guy opening for Railroad Earth. It was a slim crowd for him, not surprising.

When RRE came on, the place filled up, but it was still mostly empty. It was a perfect sized crowd. Since it’s so far beyond when I saw them, I can’t really talk about much other than how much fun I had. They put on a great show. They put on a seriously fun show. I was dancing my heart out the entire time. There were a couple of seriously standout moments, one of them was the encore, Roadhouse Blues.

Anyway, since I can’t really write much else, I will just say this. Go see them if you get the chance. While I would have preferred it outdoors, because that music is meant for the outdoors, it’s awesome and fun no matter the setting.

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Fuck You BP!

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Runaway Jim

That is all.

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Phish @ SPAC Ticket Giveaway

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Runaway Jim

Albany-area tweep Jim Stagnitti (@jimstagnitti) will be giving away a pair of highly coveted pavilion seats to the Phish show at SPAC in Saratoga, NY on Saturday, June 19. All you have to do to enter is donate to his cause. He will be doing a 100 mile bike ride to raise money for MS research. See more at his blog.

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Music Filled Summer

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Runaway Jim

I’m about to start a music-filled summer tomorrow night. Lots of great bands coming to Providence in the next few months, along with the highly anticipated Phish summer tour. Here are the shows I plan on attending. Look for reviews to follow.

Friday, May 14 (tomorrow) – Railroad Earth at Lupo’s
Friday, May 21 – Blues Traveler at Lupo’s
Thursday, June 17 – Phish at The Meadows (aka Comcast Theatre) in Hartford
Friday, June 18 – Phish at The Meadows (aka Comcast Theatre) in Hartford
Tuesday, June 22 – Phish at Great Woods (aka Tweeter Center, aka Comcast Center) in Mansfield, MA
Wednesday, August 18 – Phish at Jones Beach in Wantagh, NY
Friday, September 24 – They Might Be Giants at Lupo’s

Here are some other shows in Providence, I’m considering hitting up. I might just need some convincing.

Friday, June 4 – The New Deal at Lupo’s
Friday, June 11 – Max Creek at Lupo’s
Tuesday,  July 6 – The Flaming Lips at Lupo’s

Finally, here are some shows I won’t be able to make, but wish I could.

Sunday, May 23 – Peter Wolf at Lupo’s
Wednesday, May 26 – Dark Star Orchestra at Lupo’s (rescheduled from April 1)
Friday, June 25 – Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa at Lupo’s (I’ll be ragin’ in Seattle with @FunkCaptMax)

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Verizon Makes Things Right

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Runaway Jim

Within a couple hours of sending out that email from my previous post, I received a call from the RI dispatch manager. He informed me that the email had been passed down to him and that he would do what he could to get a technician out to my house tonight. Additionally, he would track down the chain of events that led to the issues of my appointments getting mixed up and not happening as planned or explained to me. Once he had figured that out, he would contact me again. Shortly after, I received another call from someone in the executive customer relations office in New York explaining that he contacted the dispatch manager and basically explained the same thing, but also mentioned that he would be getting a report on how this problem occurred. A few minutes later, I received a call from the dispatch manager again, explaining that a technician would definitely be coming tonight.

As I write this, my Tivo now works with the CableCARD that was installed. While this whole process was very problematic and the CSR’s I dealt with did not do their jobs properly, I am happy with the outcome. I received as ideal an outcome as I could have expected. I did not want to have to leave work to have it installed tomorrow. The dispatch manager checked in with me again to make sure the job was done to my satisfaction and he would not accept my thanks as he knew his people were to blame. He again stated that he would be calling me tomorrow to explain what he found to be the cause of the problem.

I found it amusing was that the technician agreed with me on the CableCARD installation issue. He said that there is no reason they can’t give them to the customer pre-activated to allow the customer to install it themselves. I would take it one step further and say that Verizon should allow this, but charge the customer if a tech needs to come out because the customer ran into trouble during the installation. The technician’s mind was blown that the second order could not be completed until the first one had been closed. That’s also something that I found to be odd.

Regardless of what happened and what caused the problem, Verizon made things right. That is what I wanted in all of this, and that’s exactly what I got. I hope they will learn from this and prevent it from happening in the future. I have been very happy with the TV and Internet service I get from FiOS. I did not want this bad customer service experience to ruin that. I am glad I read The Consumerist as I would have never thought of trying to email a bunch of executives at Verizon to get this problem resolved properly.

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Verizon Customer Service Experience

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Runaway Jim

I sent the following email to the Verizon executives that The Consumerist has compiled explaining the piss poor customer service I have received from their team. I am absolutely appalled that for a company so large, their customer service is so bad. I really wanted to be 100% happy with my FiOS service. That ended when I tried to get a CableCARD installed. Why they have to install them is beyond me. It’s basically a PCMCIA card, like the ones you used to put into the side of a laptop that didn’t have a modem or a NIC. The only step I would need assistance with is contacting Verizon to have it activated, though they could probably activate it at the Verizon store when I picked it up, leaving me to do nothing more than put it in my Tivo. There’s more after the jump…

Continue reading →

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Win a Phish Alpine Valley Travel Package

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Runaway Jim

I was lucky enough to win a travel package for the Alpine Valley Phish shows this summer from CID Entertainment. Unfortunately, I can’t make it. However, my loss is your win!

This Week on Lot, a weekly podcast about the music scene, is re-running the contest for this travel package. The package includes 2 nights in a hotel room for 2 people, shuttle service to and from both shows for 2 people, 2 Phish Alpine Valley t-shirts, and 2 download codes for LivePhish.com. If you’re planning on going to the Alpine shows, this is a pretty good deal.

Head over to TWoL for more details

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