RASCAL FLATTS @ Hyundai Pavilion! September 19, 2007
Posted by John C in Rascal Flatts, concerts.3 comments
I have to admit that three years ago at this time, I barely even knew who Rascal Flatts was. Since I wasn’t really raised on Country music, it really took me a while to find out about them. Yes, I listened to and liked some of the Country acts that had crossed over to pop such as Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Lonestar and a few others, even purchasing several of their albums and singles… But it wasn’t really until Keith Urban’s “You’ll Think Of Me” crossed over to multi-formats and Carrie Underwood caught my eye and ear on American Idol 4 almost three years ago that I truly opened my eyes to Country music. Early on during AI4, Carrie mentioned one of her favorite groups was Rascal Flatts, so I took a listen and quite surprisingly was liking pretty much everything I heard of theirs. 
It wasn’t long before I owned all of their studio albums… For those of you that don’t know them, Rascal Flatts is comprised of three members: Gary LeVox (lead singer), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar), and Joe Don Rooney (guitar).
Needless to say, I was REALLY looking forward to this past Saturday night’s show at the Hyundai Pavilion in San Bernardino. I even specifically joined their fanclub just so that I’d have the opportunity to purchase some really good seats. Very few of the concerts I’ve previously attended were built up by my friends and others like this one was. It was going to take quite a show to live up to all of the hype… Two and a half months ago, I was invited by a friend to see Brad Paisley at the same venue. We were a little disappointed though when the VIP seats we had ended up way back in row 18, after his fansite had promised seats in the first six or so rows. Such would not be the case this time though. When I picked up our VIP Tickets at will call about an hour before the show, I found we were on the right of the orchestra in the eighth row!!! In a nutshell, it meant we’d be able to walk right down by the stage and have a bunch of fun in “the pit” with fellow Flatts fans if we so desired - and that’s exactly what we did!!!
The Rascal boys were also very wise to choose one of the most promising young Country acts to open for them in Jason Aldean. Aldean got his forty minute set started a little after 8 pm with songs from both his self-titled debut and his great new Relentless CD. Although the mostly female crowd was undoubtedly there to see Rascal Flatts, they were very appreciative of the energetic set delievered by Jason. Among the highlights of the set were his hits “Hicktown,” “Amarillo Sky” and his raucous anthem “Johnny Cash.” The crowd really went wild when he played his number one hit “Why.” I have to admit, I didn’t really know what Jason was going to bring to the table in terms of stage presence and talent, though I should have known after his song (and video) “Johnny Cash” came out that I was going to be in for a treat. If you ever get the opportunity to see him, definitely do so. He’s immensely talented!
A few minutes after 9pm came the moment we all were looking forward to… the lights went out and the boys went right into “Me And My Gang.” One of the great things about the show was that there was both a pit and a catwalk which was extensively used by all three of the guys. 
As a result, I was surrounded by a good number of screaming (and very pretty) girls the entire time! “Fast Cars and Freedom” was their next song and Gary got REALLY close to where I was (check out this extreme closeup!)… I almost got crushed by a few girls, but I can’t say I was complaining at all! Yes, it was that kind of night… and the fun was just beginning!!! “I Melt” was next up, followed by their current and latest #1 hit single “Take Me There.”
They then played a cover tune - James Brown’s “I’ll Feel Good” in which Jay took the lead vocal and did a little dance to the adoring female fans’ delight. Another of their number one hits, “My Wish” was up next.
The band then did something which I thought was really neat - they launched into a set of several songs that weren’t big hits on the charts, but rather personal and fan favorites. Although I’m really into their stuff, I wasn’t all that familiar with tunes such as “Pieces,” “To Make Her Love Me,” “Yes, I Do.” I did know their song “You” quite well however, even though it wasn’t a big chart hit… I really enjoyed this portion of the show as the girls around me were singing along loudly to every song…
As enjoyable as that set was, the final 50 minutes of the show was just beyond incredible… to say I was amazed would be the understatement of the year. They played “Stand,” “Feels Like Today,” 
and then probably my favorite song of theirs, “Bless The Broken Road.” About this time, I moved slightly to the right to get a better view of things and closer to the stage (which I would soon be touching). And OK, I have to admit
that I also moved there to get closer to one particularly attractive girl (above) I had noticed during “Bless The Broken Road” - she would later get in the way of several of my pictures as she turned out to be as big of a shutterbug as me! I certainly didn’t mind her getting in the way at all though. I was simply having an awesome time enjoying the great music, being in amidst the other great Flatts fans and especially being next to this beautiful girl… The picture above to the right and the two pictures below probably give the best perspective as to where I was standing in the pit (that’s her in the lower picture on the left side. 
) Oh how I wish I could have just swept her off her feet. And yes, I did get to talk to her after the show. I found out her name is Jacqueline, but she was seeing someone… I know. Oh well… she definitely helped make the night even more fun and truly unforgettable for me… and for that, I don’t think I can ever thank her enough.
Getting back to the concert, the next song in their awesome set was their very first hit, “Praying For Daylight.” They then played their huge multi-format #1 smash “What Hurts The Most”…
There was also a real touching moment towards the end of the show as Gary brought up a little girl from the pits during the performance of “Life Is A Highway.” The guys then did something REALLY classy at the end of their hour and a half show, bringing up several of America’s finest from the U.S. Marines on stage…
the crowd went absolutely wild, and many (including Jacqueline) stayed long after the show to pose for pictures with them. 
Although I didn’t personally get any pictures with the Marines, I did manage to shake hands with a couple of them. Simply put, none of us really wanted to leave!!! I can’t ever remember being to a concert where I just had such a good time, enjoying all of the songs and the great people around me… This was truly a night that I’ll never EVER forget! I can’t wait until they come back to play here in SoCal again!
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Dodgers, Mets Attacked by Rockies, Nats! September 19, 2007
Posted by John C in Baseball, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Rockies.add a comment
This is the time of year where a game or two or a series or two can define a season. In the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets, the past several days might just be remembered historically for both teams as the time the 2007 season got away. It’s kind of ironic both of these teams are faltering at this crucial stretch considering that the two teams were 2006 first round playoff opponents - the Mets winning their best of five series in three straight games.
The Dodgers came into yesterday’s day-night doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies three games behind the San Diego Padres for the N.L. Wild Card spot. The Rockies hopes were even slimmer coming in to the series, starting the day five games back of the Padres. Given the history of Colorado’s Coors Field, this figured to be a very high scoring series. Home plate umpire Tim Welke did his best to make sure that game one would not be your typical scoring fest at Coors, employing a very generous strike zone throughout. Starting pitchers Jeff Francis and Chad Billingsley were almost constantly in trouble, allowing baserunners in practically every inning. Thanks to some fortuitous double-play grounders and questionable third strike calls, only four runs would be scored in game one. Billingsley allowed only two runs in his 5 1/3 innings of work - Matt Holliday singled in Cory Sullivan in the fourth and Todd Helton scored Sullivan with a single of his own in the sixth. The Dodgers managed ten baserunners against Francis, but only scored once - a solo home run by Olmedo Saenz with two out in the seventh knocked Francis from the game. Francis was the big beneficiary of Welke’s big strike zone, fanning a career high ten batters. Joe Koshansky quickly erased Saenz’ run, scoring Brad Hawpe in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-1 Colorado lead. LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas kept the Dodgers in check the final 2 1/3 innings to seal the victory in game one.
The second game of the twinbill was much more typical of what we’ve become accustomed to over the years at Coors Field. Each team tallied three runs in the first inning. It was the beginning of what would be an epic see-saw battle. Matt Kemp plated Juan Pierre with a double in the third off of Rockie starter Mark Redman to give the Blue Crew a one run lead. Matt Holliday then slammed a one out two-run homer deep to left-center field off of David Wells in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Rockies their first lead at 5-4. The Dodgers would strike right back in the next inning. James Loney homered to deep right off of Rockie reliever Matt Herges to tie the game. Herges was pulled after giving up a single to Ramon Martinez and a Mike Lieberthal walk. Jeremy Affeldt quickly retired the first two batters her faced, but Tony Abreu then lashed a triple into the left field corner to make it a 7-5 Dodger lead. Russell Martin hit a solo off of Jorge Julio in the top of the eighth to increase the Dodger bulge to three. In most places a three run lead with Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito is just about as sure a bet as you can have, but this is Coors Field we’re talking about so as we have known for a very long time now, the normal rules don’t apply. Addtionally, Broxton had been quite shaky coming into last night’s outing, allowing five earned runs in his prior eight appearances coving 5 1/3 innings for an 8.44 ERA. Broxton’s slump continued into last night as Ryan Spilborghs homered deep to center after a Garret Atkins single to trim the margin to one. Unlike Broxton, Saito had been nothing short of incredible for the Dodgers of late, allowing only TWO hits and not a single earned run in his previous 15 appearances covering 15 innings. With a 1.21 ERA, he was within an inning of eclipsing Eric Gagne’s Dodger record 1.20 ERA set back in 2003. Saito quickly retired the first two Rockie batters before Holliday singled to right. That brought up the dangerous and very hungry Todd Helton to the plate. Helton only had one hit in his first eight at bats of the twinbill - an RBI single in game one. Saito quickly got two strikes on Helton, but then left a pitch out over the left inside part of the plate. And Helton didn’t miss it, crushing the ball into the right-center field stands for a dramatic 9-8 Rockie victory. With a Padres win, the Dodgers and Rockies now both lie 4 1/2 games back of them for the N.L. Wild Card.
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Back in our nation’s capital, the Washington Nationals are definitely trying to close old RFK Stadium out in style - and they are also doing their best to spoil the Mets title run. Just a week ago, the Mets held a seemingly commanding seven game lead over the Philadelphia Philles in the N.L. East race. A few days earlier, I had told a few people on Ron Shandler’s BaseballHQ site that the Mets pitching beyond Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine was very tenuous at best and that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they lost several games off their lead down the stretch. Flash forward to a week later. The Phillies went into last night winners of five straight games, while the Mets had lost four in a row, including a humiliating 12-4 loss to the Nationals on Monday night. That big seven game lead now was only 2 1/2 games for the Mets.
Early on, it looked like the Mets would finally put an end to their losing skid as they pounded Nats starter Joel Hanrahan for four runs in the top of the first inning. Hanrahan continued to struggle and was pulled after only pitching three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, while walking two. Mets starter John Maine continued his post-July struggles, giving up three runs to the Nats in his first four innings. The Mets tallied two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to give Maine a 7-3 lead. The gritty Nats finally got to Maine in a big way in the bottom of the fifth. After a Nook Logan single and a Felipe Lopez walk, Ryan Zimmerman was caught looking at a called third strike. Wily Mo Pena continued his heroics for the Nats, plating Logan with a single to center. Austin Kearns singled to right to score Lopez to cut the margin again to two. Ronnie Belliard then delivered the knock-out blow, slamming a three-run homer deep into the left field seats to give the Nats an 8-7 lead. Maine mercifully was pulled after that pitch. D’Ángelo Jiménez added an insurance run for the Nats in the bottom of the sixth to give them a 9-7 lead. Several times, I’ve commended Nats manager on the job he’s done this year. Since their 9-25 start, the Nats had played very respectable .500 ball (58-58) going into last night’s game. Acta may have done his best managing job of the season last night, employing NINE pitchers! Chad Cordero quickly recorded two outs in the ninth and then got into trouble as the Mets plated Shawn Green on a Jeff Conine single. “The Chief” ended the game in style for the Nats, striking out Ruben Gotay to end the game and sending the 19,966 in attendance home very happy. With a Phillies win, the Mets once gaudy seven game lead in the N.L. East race is now only 1 1/2 games.
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