Seeing Oasis live was incredible.  They've been my favourite band since '96 when I first heard (What's the Story) Morning Glory?  I saw the video for Don't Look Back in Anger, and that was it.  Who are these Beatle-looking guys?  What an awesome guitar solo.  What an awesome drumfill to end the guitar solo.  What a cool accent.  What an anthemic chorus.

I've had other favourite bands along the way...Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, etc.  Oasis are different.  They are my generation's band.  They are my band.  All those other bands were years ago...Oasis always felt different because they started in my lifetime.  There weren't older folks or more musically knowledgeable folks recommending me to them.  There were no preconceived notions of them; no reviews telling me which albums were the best, or where they took a wrong turn, or where there was a bland album track.  They came, no cliches attached.

They haven't been to North Carolina since they came to Chapel Hill at the time of Morning Glory, and I was hardly of concert-going age back then.  Two shows have been scheduled for Charlotte on tours since, but both were cancelled.  Since, they've been playing a Washington DC area show and an Atlanta show about every tour.  With the new album that came out earlier this year, I knew I couldn't pass them up yet again.  I bought tickets for the Atlanta show seven months in advance.  Eight hour drive, and it cost a load in gas, but none of that matters.

The seats were pretty good.  My brother and I were constantly standing up on the chairs to get better pictures; I walked down closer to get some; once we even found ourselves in the very front seating area which you're supposed to show your ticket to get into.  Somehow we slipped through on accident on the way to the t-shirt stand while the stage was being set up.  It's a shame I didn't realize it until we had walked out of it.

The set was composed entirely of songs from the new album and the first two albums...Noel isn't a big fan of the third and fourth albums, unfortunately.  The fifth (2002) was being played some earlier in the tour, but not now.   It was so cool to hear all these songs I rock out to constantly being played by the band in front of my face.  Wonderwall, Morning Glory, Live Forever...every song has its place in my own life and experiences.

They played Champagne Supernova, and it was magic.  I got chills, especially on the guitar solo.  I think I even shed a tear.  I thought the crowd might be there mostly to see Jet, one of the opening bands, but I was wrong.  The place didn't pack out until Oasis were setting up the stage.  The crowd was very responsive.  It seemed like everyone know every word, even to the new songs.  But everyone in the place was singing Champagne Supernova, Don't Look Back in Anger, and Wonderwall to the top of their lungs.

Don't Look Back in Anger, probably my other favourite song of all time, was equally magical, with its own awesome, chilling guitar solo as well.

Liam and Noel were quite funny; first dedicating a song to "all the crackheads...and midgets."  Then Liam had quite a time making fun of the sound man who apparently wasn't doing a good job.  He walked off at the end of Wonderwall to fuss at him while Noel finished singing the song on his own.  Later he got back at him again, mocking him with a hand puppet in the encore in a high, cartoonish voice - "blah blah blah blah."  Gem was much more animated than I expected...swinging his guitar around, lifting it up, and just generally was having a great time.  Oasis with its prior lineup was known for its lack of movement onstage.  "What am I - a monkey?  No, I'm a rock star."

One of the best nights of my life.

The concert was awesome.

More to follow.

I'll be watching Oasis play in about twenty hours.  It'll be my first time seeing them, despite having been a fan since 1995.  Their southeastern tour stops have been few and far between since I've been old enough to drive.  Atlanta has been the closest stop every tour (except some DC-area shows, about the same distance).  This is a bad time, but I couldn't pass them up on yet another tour.  I'm broke and have a lot of school work to do...luckily I bought the tickets back in February. 

This week would be ideal for a road trip, if it was affordable.  Oasis in Atlanta today, Coldplay in Atlanta tomorrow, Oasis in Baltimore Thursday, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club with Mark Gardener (ex-Ride) in Atlanta Friday.  I even have a friend to stay with in Atlanta.  Too bad school and gas get in the way.

I've had some ups and downs since my last post.  The thing annoying me right now is money.  I've always tried not to complain about my family's poor financial situation, but in my college years it's become downright inhibiting, more so each year - you can't live life as you should be able to.  No vacations, very little in new clothes, my sister can't get braces, lapses in dental coverage, not being able to fix/maintain vehicles time after time.  We're bankrupt, yet we can't afford the $700 fee to declare it.  Starting October 1, it becomes much harder to declare bankruptcy, in favor of the creditors.

Anyway, the most immediate annoyance is gas.  I'm commuting to school now because my scholarships were only for four years and I can't afford an apartment/dormroom. On 9/9, I got a refereeing check for $150.  On 9/12, I got $100 for my birthday.  By 9/22, I had three dollars left (and still do, because I haven't gone anywhere).  What did I spend it on?  Gas and a handful of meals.  I got myself a t-shirt for my birthday.

I actually forgot about Xanga.  Sorry.

I'll post again soon.

The wife has had a change of view on the situation.  It's hard to tell what the doctor's have actually said...we just know what the people there with her have said.  Last night everyone was expecting the worst; the wife had a shower and some sleep this morning.  Afterwards she heard from a number of people who survived or have had family members survive similar situations, so she's a little more hopeful.  His family from Ohio has arrived; she wasn't going to make any decisions about it until they got there.

I'm leaving with my brother and sister shortly.  Be back around Saturday.

I had jury duty this morning, and upon dismissal, I received some terrible news.

From six months old to third grade, I lived in Cleveland, Tennessee just outside of Chattanooga.  My parents loved our church there and had several friends.  One couple, Susan and Wayne Hall, were their best friends and, living down the street, were practically a second set of parents to me.  Their first daughter Lindsey (now 15) came a year before Courtney, so she's really my other sister.  They've had two more daughters since we've been away.

Wayne, 41, had a brain aneurysm this morning.  He was kept sedated because his unbelieveable blood pressure - 260/119 - but stabilized enough to leave ICU and have the appropriate tests done this afternoon.  At 7:30 pm, he had another aneurysm followed by two seizures.  This afternoon the doctor had much hope; now that's almost completely gone.  The middle daughter, 10, said goodbye to her father tonight.  He's on life support; no decision will be made until tomorrow when his situation is clearer.

It's sad how life can just slip out from under you.

So if you pray, please do so with this family in mind.  If he does make it, life will be much different.  If he doesn't, a wife and three daughters have a lot of coping to do.

If you don't, at least allow it to be a reminder of live's transience.

Current Song:  Alan Parsons - Time
Time, flowing like a river
Time, beckoning me
Who knows when we shall meet again
If ever
But time keeps flowing like a river
To the sea, to the sea
Till it's gone forever
Gone forever
Gone forevermore

I saw Big Fish Saturday night.  I thought it was a great movie.  I loved the concept; it was so cool to see how the father's fairy tales were just slight twists on reality and how they all come together at the end.  Ewan Macgregor did a really good job, as did Danny Elfman with the score (and Pearl Jam with the closing song).  The atmosphere that the score and especially the briilliant imagery brings together really capped the film off...it had me from the first scene.  I recommend it highly to anyone.

I'm really not one to sit down and watch every movie everyday or even a couple times a week....not because I don't like movies, but because I don't find many to be worth the time.  The best movies to me are always the ones that make me think about what I'm doing here, wanting something more, and being hopeful that it's out there...I hope that, on looking back, my life has had such turns.  I hope it makes an interesting story.  Not just for those left to reflect on it, but me as I go through it.  I'm going to buy it and watch it again; I'll reflect on it more then.

Current Song:  Pearl Jam - Man of the Hour

This week hasn't been as great - up and down - but it was going pretty good until my car broke down today. 

This time I was closer to home...pulled into a friend's driveway.  She steered while I pushed.  My right front tire was smoking and the car was jerking, so I thought it was a flat tire.  Big deal.  My axle was bent for two years, which landed me twenty trillion flat tires...I can change a flat tire.  I got out, and the tire is just fine.  The alternator was smoking; it's right behind that tire.  My air conditioning stopped working earlier today, so I presume that's when the alternator really shut down and the car went over to the battery alone, which lasted until I broke down.  It hasn't been taken anywhere yet...I hope I don't have to buy another alternator.  The car probably isn't even worth that much.  You may recall that my car broke down last August as well.  My church took an offering to pay for it.  Don't know how I'll pull of paying for it this time.

Current Song:  Cream - Born Under a Bad Sign

If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all.

I've had a very good week so far.