Coming Home to Mama

Five Days 6 Hours 17 Minutes until Tipoff

After an agonizing weekend (for the fans anyway), my beloved Illini have secured a spot in the Final Four. If you by chance missed the Arizona game on Saturday, then you missed an excellent display of athleticism. For Illini fans, this is the first trip back to the Final Four since the heartbreaking loss against Michigan during the 1989 Battle in Seattle.

Sixteen long years we've waited and now only two teams left to conquer. Illinois will face Louisville on Saturday @ 5pm CST. UNC and Michigan State will face off following the Illinois game. The championship game will be held on Monday, April 4th.

So do your part. Paint your kids orange and blue, and send them out into the world. Decorate your homes, cars, RVs, pets, and anything creative with orange and blue this week. Paint the city orange. My boys are coming here to wrap up one phenomenal season.

NCAA Tourney Update

Lots of upsets & surprises last weekend. How about Kansas dropping off in the first round? Now that's entertaining. Wake Forest, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, UConn, & Syracuse are also out. Games will resume Thursday and continue thru Friday night. After that my friends, it's on to the the Elite Eight round. See below for this week's schedule.

Chicago Region
Illinois vs. UW-Milwaukee
Thursday 6:25pm

Arizona vs. Oklahoma St.
Thursday 8:55pm

Albuquerque Region
Washington vs. Louisville
Thursday 6:10pm

Texas Tech vs. West Virginia
Thursday 8:40pm

Syracuse Region
UNC vs. Villanova
Friday 8:55pm

Wisconsin vs. NC State
Friday 6:25pm

Austin Region
Duke vs. Michigan State
Friday 6:10pm

Utah vs. Kentucky
Friday 8:40pm

All times above are CST and can be viewed on CBS depending on your region.

Music Sounds Better With You: Part II

Upcoming Shows Update
4/1 Drive By Truckers @ Mississippi Nights
4/1-2 Bobcat Goldthwait @ Funny Bone
4/7 Crystal Method @ Pop's
4/24 The Doors @ Robert Orpheum Theater
4/26 Muse @ The Pageant
4/28 ..Trail of the Dead @ Mississippi Nights
4/30 Coachella Music Festival - Indio, CA
5/1 Coachella Music Festival - Indio, CA
5/2 Billy Idol @ The Pageant
5/3 New Order @ Aragon Ballroom - Chicago
5/4 Garbage @ Metro - Chicago
5/4 Weezer @ Aragon Ballroom - Chicago
5/4 Elvis Costello @ The Pageant
5/7 Joe Jackson w/Todd Rundgren @ Orpheum Theater
5/7 Lenny Kravitz @ The Pageant - SOLD OUT
5/11 The Doves @ Madrid Theater - Kansas City
5/13 " " @ Vic Theater - Chicago
5/13 Green Day @ Savvis Center
5/19 Agnostic Front @ Pop's
5/20 Dave Attell @ The Pageant
5/20 Bill Maher @ Robert Orpheum Theater
5/23 The Killers @ The Pageant - SOLD OUT
8/24 Brian Wilson @ Robert Orpheum Theater
12/14 U2 @ Savvis Center

Check out Ticketmaster or Metrotix for ticket availability.

Put Down That Damn Eyeliner

Historic Gothic Highlights

This is the condensed version. You can check out April's Spin for the complete list. And away we go...

400 German tribes called 'Goths' began a 200 year campaign against the Roman Empire
1100 Gothic architecture is in including gargoyles, stained-glass, and flying buttresses.
1431 Vlad 'the Impaler' Dracula is born as well as the legend of Dracula.
1849 Edgar Allan Poe's death day.
1882 Bela Lugosi is born.
1897 The Dracula novel is published by Bram Stoker.
1956 'Bela Lugosi's dead', and Robert Smith is born.
1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show debuts. "Don't dream it, be it..."
1979 Joy Division, Bauhaus, and The Cramps steer music in a new post-punk/gothic direction.
1980 Ian Curtis (Joy Division) dies. Sad but true...
1988 Hot Topic is born.
1989 James O'Barr publishes the comic book entitled The Crow.
1994 Al graduates high school...not gothic, but good to know. The Crow is released in theaters featuring Brandon Lee who mysteriously dies on the set during filming.
1999 Goth culture is scrutinized in the media thanks to a little incident known as Columbine.
2004 The Curiosa tour kicks off featuring The Cure, Interpol, Mogwai, Muse, and a handful of other goth/emo bands. Great show if you missed it....
2005 Cheer Dark is born to help keep that black fabric well... black. Cheer rules!

So Much to Post.....So Little Time

Where to begin? Let's start with the NCAA tourney and my Fighting Illini shall we? First game of the big tourney was last night. Illinois defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 67-55 and will face Nevada tomorrow @ 4:40pm CST. A win tomorrow will advance either team to the Sweet 16 round in Chicago. For a complete update on games and bracket standings, go here . For a complete copy of the NCAA tourney bracket, go here . First round play will continue thru this evening.

St Paddy's Day in beautiful Dogtown.....
Yesterday was an excellent day for a parade and all-day party. The weather was superb. I was up bright and early to begin preparations. My neighbors were already firing up the grill at the 7:30am hour. These folks are troopers I say. At any rate, the crowd starting milling down the streets toward the parade route between 9-10am. The turnout was good, and the crowd seemed well behaved for the most part. They were lined up and down Tamm for the parade, which carried on into the early afternoon. I've never seen that much green in my life. I do know that parking was madness as I saw several vehicles circling the block looking for an empty spot. The tow truck companies seemed to be enjoying the business. All and all it was a spectacular day of food, spirits, and fun. The neighborhood was not a disaster area this morning so props to the clean up crew. Until next year....

And finally the review you've all been waiting for....
Al's Super Duper Review: Interpol
Alright....Alright.....Alright. Interpol was at the Pageant on Tuesday, with special guests Q and Not U. Despite a ticket/seating f*ck up, the show was great. The bar was fully stocked with Guinness (and Jagermeister)..... not so good for me. And we're off
Q and Not U
This group consisted of a trio that appeared to be musically inclined. The two 'frontmen' were swapping instruments every song it seemed. The vocalist was constantly jumping from bass to keyboards to guitar, which was interesting. They did sound somewhat similar to The Rapture, but overall they had good sound & rhythm.
Interpol
Interpol came, and they conquered. They opened the show with 'Next Exit', which is the 1st track on their latest release Antics. They stuck with tracks off the new album for the first portion of the show. They later teetered back and forth between tracks from both Antics and Turn Off the Bright Lights. They looked and sounded spectacular even thru the slower tunes. They are a great band to see live, and I highly recommend checking them out should they venture near your area.

That's all I have to report for now. I will update the upcoming concert list as there are several new additions including U2, Muse, The Doves, and New Order. Do something stupid this weekend. Be sure to call your parents from jail....

Al's Musical Review: Death From Above 1979

Greetings freaklings. Another Monday.... but hey at least I don't have to deal with a perky receptionist and TPS reports. Onward to the music review portion of the show....


I came across a group by the name of Death From Above 1979. Their style (and band name) caught my attention, and they were graciously placed on my neverending watch list of interesting shit to listen to. Wouldn't you know it, these guys just happened to be in town last night. So I decided to venture out and give them a shot. Three bands for ten bucks (parking and drinks not included) seemed harmless for a Sunday night. However, they were out of Guinness. Such is life.

The first band (Sibylline) was a little rough around the edges, but the structure was there. They were a bit off-key which claws at my sanity and sounded a bit wretched at times. But they played with heart, damn it. If you tune up, they will come. Survey says.....

Controller.Controller was next to hit the stage. These guys/gal brought me out of my Bass-induced coma. I dug the riffs and the funky beats they were assaulting my ears with. They played well together and put out some interesting sounds. The lead vocalist could perhaps use some fine tuning, but this band could have potential. And they shall be awarded .

Finally, Death From Above 1979 took the stage. This duo came out with a barrage of sound and madness. There is no guitarist yet I'm hearing this gritty, metallic, guitar-like sound. The group consists of two boys from Toronto: a drummer/vocalist and a bassist, who also plays synth. part-time. They put out some serious decibel levels considering it's just the two of them. And the winner is...

It's Friday....Ho Hum

So it's Friday, and I haven't a damn thing worth sharing with the information society. However, I do have this....

I would be more inclined to stay home during the week with a toilet like that. Try concentrating with that lapping at you. Hell, I'm having a hard time staying focused.

Conference tournaments are underway. Big 10 play kicked off yesterday. Illinois was the 1st team to advance to the quarter-finals. They will play the winner of the Indiana/Minnesota game, and the Gophers are leading that game at the half. MSU and Iowa face off tonight @ 5:40PM, and Wisconsin will take on Ohio State @ 8:10PM. You can catch those on ESPN+. Illinois play again tomorrow @ 12:40PM, and all remaining tournament games will be broadcast on CBS.

St. Paddy's Day is less than one week away. Check out the St. Paddy's Day post for local action in the St. Louis area. The downtown parade is tomorrow. Stock up on your Irish stouts, ales, and spirits in preparation for the season. In the meantime, check out these quick & easy recipes compliments of Guinness.
Guinness Dip
Guinness Marinade

Now rise up from your economic-induced imprisonment/cubicle/desk. Leave early today fist in the air. Enjoy a dose of harmless anarchy on this fine Friday afternoon.

It's Just Around the Corner...

St. Paddy's Day

Only 13 days left until St. Patrick's Day, and the annual Dogtown festivities. The Dogtown parade and all-day party will be actually held on St. Paddy's Day, which is March 17th. However, the annual city parade will be held on March 12th for those of you who might not be able to make the daytime festivities on the 17th.

The downtown parade begins at noon at Broadway & Market streets and will move westward on Market until concluding at Maggie O'Brien's bar on the corner of Market and 20th. There will also be a variety of festivities and food throughout Kiener Plaza. Several restaurants nearby will also be doing their thing as well. Plenty of activities and entertainment for all to enjoy.

The Dogtown parade begins at 10:30am and will move south on Tamm thru Dogtown. These folks in Dogtown do not play when it comes to celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The party starts early in the AM and doesn't stop until evening. There will be beer tents (Yay!) and lots of great food. The locals and business owners make this the ultimate St. Paddy's hot spot in town. Think of it as an Irish Mardi Gras. I will be sitting on my porch, Guinness in hand, watching the drunken revelry take place. Hell, I might even venture out and participate. At any rate, I highly recommend checking at least one of the two events out if not both.

On the Deuce!

Illinois (28-0) take on Purdue (or Purdon't as I like to call them) tonight @ 8pm CST on ESPN2. Nothing like waiting five hours before game time to make the announcement, but hey better late than never I suppose. Purdue have lost three of their last five games. Illinois haven't lost .... EVER. I won't stroke my orange and blue ego....at least not in public.

It's the last home game of the season, and it's also senior night. I'm up for watching the U of I band jump Boilermaker Pete and hurl him through Purdue's gigantic bass drum. Someone needs to. Anyway enough with the hostility, it's Thursday and you've nothing to do.
Grab a cold, frothy or whatever toots your taters, and watch the game.