NP: Audioslave, Audioslave (CD)

As a self-described documenter of the Chicago music scene, I occasionally feel bad when I opt for the couch over the club, but dammit, I need a break sometimes. I wanted to go see Cinematic Orchestra last night, but was just too exhausted.

Yesterday afternoon marked another plaza performance before the Fire game out in Naperville. Traffic was majorly backed up at the York Road toll plaza, so Andrew ended up cutting it pretty close, and I neglected to bring my acoustic just in case. One of these days, I'll do one of these as a solo artist, but the acoustic guitar and percussion motif just works a lot better. Still went well, and then on to the stadium for the match. This was the first game where I asserted myself as a "leader" of Section 8, the supporters section, so as to defuse any issues with security after a fan got kicked out for allegedly leading a profane chant last time. For the most part, the game went without incident, although not without grumbling about it. I'm not thrilled at the sanitization of the raucousness we provide as fans myself, but it is what it is, and we have to deal with it. I can live without swearing until we're back in Soldier Field.

As for the game itself, I'm feeling pretty vindicated after all the naysaying about the team's prospects this season. The beauty is, there are still areas where the Fire can improve, and yet here we are in first place in the East after a win over the New York-New Jersey-New Rochelle MetroStars. If you want to quibble, I never expected we'd explode offensively like we have, with some nineteen goals across seven matches, but I maintained that the goal output was a question mark, not a deficiency. The new blood has done well to bolster a solid core of veterans, and again, the drafting of older players has been huge in shoring up the depth that was such a problem last year. I'm a little concerned about the backline, but while they're typically good for a couple of mistakes per game, goalkeeper Zach Thornton has been there to bail them out.

With the game starting at 3pm in the afternoon, and the pre-game gig starting around 1:30, it made for a pretty long day by the time I got home, so I don't have any real qualms about calling it an early night. Today I'm playing soccer, then heading up to Deerfield for a gig, accompanying a string quarter on djembe. I continue to love the lack of gear I need for these kinds of things, and classical gigs apparently pay much better than jazz or rock. Of course, classical gigs that call for the kind of stuff I do are going to be few and far between, but still, it's interesting to note. Therefore, I've noted it, 'cause that's what this space is for, isn't it?