Dude, get your history correct. It WAS Al Davis that made the Raiders great...they were nothing until he came along in the 60's. He was a great schemer and evaluator of talent in the days before computer printouts and youtube made scouting easier. Al Davis was also one of the great boundary-breakers in the NFL: he hired the first minority head coach(Tom Flores), and the first african-american head coach(Art Shell)...the Raiders also were the first NFL team to have a woman serve as Chief Executive(Amy Trask). Of course, the key word in all of this is "was"...sadly, Al seems a little senile and petty these days, and frankly, everything went downhill when he let "Chucky" Jon Gruden go. But although the last decade has been terrible, and there ought to be a palace coup...that doesn't erase the legend of the man's first 30 years with the Raiders. Well, I do have a story, Walter...although I don't know how interesting you'll find it. Probably as interesting as any story from the 1,127th most interesting man in the world can be. First I'll start with the basics...as a kid, although I was born in LA, we moved when I was 2 or 3 to Huntington Beach, smack dab in Surf City, USA...Orange County, CA. So being in Orange County, we were a little sensitive about the big bad city to our north. I saw a California Angel game before I ever saw a Dodger game. Nolan Ryan was pitching. The Angels also seemed more colourful, wild and wooly(this was the 70s...the greatest decade ever for hairy sports heroes: crazy mustaches and afros and long hair sticking out from under helmets and caps) than the staid, clean-cut Dodgers, led by Mr. All-American Steve Garvey. Basketball-wise, I could be a Laker fan because Orange County had no basketball team, so it was Lakers or nothing. But after watching the heartbreak of the Lakers loss to Boston in the 1969 Finals, and the class and dignity of Jerry West, and the enthusiasm that the late, great announcer Chick Hearn brought to the game, it was pretty easy to be a Laker fan and not feel like you were just jumping on the bandwagon. Plus, in those days, the NBA might as well have been tiddly-winks, for all the majority of the country was concerned. Kids today have NO IDEA how different things are regarding the popularity of basketball and the NBA in particular. Being an NBA fan in those days of the 60s and 70s felt like being part of an underground cult. Which was another key to how I became a Raider fan. As I grew up in the 60s and became a rock and roller, and ingrained and interested in all things counterculture, if you were a hippie-rocker who was anti-establishment, the NFL was the evil empire and the AFL were the Jedi knights. The NFL Los Angeles Rams were this boring CORPORATE team who had George Allen as a coach...this was the guy who took play tips from Tricky-Dick Nixon, ferchrissakes! Yeah, the Fearsome Foursome was great, but for the most part, I hated the brand of football they played...run, run, run, 3 yards and a cloud of dust(just like the Big 10 college teams who always came to the Rose Bowl and get their hearts broken by USC and other Pac-8 teams who didn't treat the forward pass like a disease). They were safe, boring, predictable...and I even hated their uniforms. Also, because they played in the huge LA Coliseum, and because of the NFL's insane rules, their games were frequently blacked out...only when they were on the road would you have a chance to see them on TV. On the other side of the ledger, you had the Oakland Raiders of the AFL...and you couldn't pick a more contrasting-style team to the Rams if you tried. They were wild and crazy, aggressive in tactics and demeanor, they had hair and mustaches everywhere, they had awesome uniforms and logos...and they had the coolest sports theme song ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nSKIJvVQI0&feature=related If the AFL was the jedi revolt to the NFL's evil empire, then the Raiders were Luke Skywalker...or on second-thought, maybe they were more like Han Solo. For you soccer fans, imagine the Raiders being like the Brazilian or German World Cup teams: always attacking and free-wheeling, while the Rams were like the cowardly Italians, who just pack it in on defense and play for a tie. Hell, the Raiders even had a quarterback they called the "Mad Bomber": Darryl Lamonica! They had the ancient yet ageless George Blanda, whose accomplishments are too numerous to mention. They had a player, Jim Otto, with the uniform number "00"! How cool is that?!? They threw the ball all over the field from any field position and they played defense the same way, man-to-man, attacking and coming from all angles. Unlike the Rams, who pussied out and played mostly zone defense. John Madden, Fred Biletnikoff, "Old Man" Willie Brown, Big Ben Davidson, Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Kenny "The Snake" Stabler, Mark van Eeghen, Clarence Davis, John Matuszak, Dave Casper, Cliff Branch, Jim Plunkett, Ted "The Mad Stork" Hendricks, Lester "The Molester" Hayes, Mike Haynes, Howie Long, Matt Millen...and last but not least, the coolest and greatest punter ever, Ray Guy...the only punter to hit the jumbotron in the New Orleans Superdome with one of his punts. Plus, it sometimes seemed like they were on tv more than the Rams were. I still can tell you the exact day I became a Raider fan...Sunday, November 17, 1968. NY Jets at Oakland Raiders on NBC. Yes, the famous "Heidi" game. It was the wildest craziest game I'd ever seen, and in fact, still is to this day. Unlike the poor folks in the midwest and east, we on the West Coast got to see the entire game; it had started 1:00pm PST, which was 4pm EST, so there was no danger of NBC cutting to "Heidi" for those of us in California. I fell in love with the team on the spot...I became a member of Raider Nation, the Silver & Black. Of course, just like with the Angles and Lakers, I had to pay my dues and see my team falter time and time again in the playoffs. But that just made the victories sweeter when they did come. Super Bowl wins in the 1976 and 1980 seasons rank among my most treasured memories...especially the Super Bowl in 1977 at the Rose Bowl, where the Raiders demolished the Minnesota Vikings, which remains the lone Super Bowl game I attended in person. When the Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles, I was both excited and concerned. Excited because my favourite team was moving closer to home. Concerned because I knew with the gi-normous Coliseum and the NFL blackout rules, there was a possibility that with the Raiders in LA, I would actually see LESS Raider games on TV than when they were in Oakland. Plus, everyone who knew anything about local politics of the time knew that the LA Coliseum Commission were a bunch of idiots. It was their bungling that led the Lakers to flee the Sports Arena and build the Fabulous Forum, for which Led Zeppelin is thankful. It was their bullshit that made UCLA seek a place to play elsewhere. Then their incompetence cost the Coliseum the Rams, who moved to Anaheim to escape the stench flowing from the LA Coliseum Commission. So I knew the combination of Al Davis and the Coliseum Commission would be a volatile one; sure enough, it was...almost right from the start. Of course, at that very moment I was entering the Army, so it didn't really matter...I was in Missouri, then Texas, then Germany, so the blackouts didn't affect me. I had a year of gloating during the 1983-84 season, when I could lord it over the Ram fans, whose team never won a Super Bowl during their entire stay in LA and Anaheim, while the Raiders in just their second year in LA won the Super Bowl over the defending champs, the Washington Redskins. I was in Germany at this time, and I had to get up at around 3 or 4am to watch the game...but it was worth it! Not just for the Raiders victory and watching hometown USC hero Marcus Allen(my favourite Raider) run circles around the Redskins; but also for the huge amounts of money I won in bets with all the Washington fans on base, hahaha! Yes, it has been a long dry spell since then, save a brief period in the early 2000s when it looked like we might return to glory with Jon Gruden. But save for the Super Bowl appearance in 2002(whereupon that strange bi-polar incident happened with our starting center and the Raiders didn't look like themselves in that game), it didn't last. At least the team moved back to Oakland, which is where they rightly and spiritually belong...not that it wasn't fun to have them here for a while; and to be able to wear LOS ANGELES RAIDERS gear! But, although it gets harder with each passing season, I still have hope that one day the team will rise from the ashes of the past decade and return to its rightful spot as scourge of the league. So there you have it, Walter. That is HOW a Southern California boy like me became, and remains, an Oakland Raider fan.

I swear to you Electro, forget everything you thought you knew about egg salads....this is a paradigm shifting egg salad. One bite will make you a believer. Oh, I am a loyal customer...but Euro Pane could get along fine without little ole me...they have an entire army of acolytes in this burg!

A couple more recommendations... Philly's Best on 107 E. Broadway, #E, in Glendale. I haven't tried them personally yet, but apparently they are run by some actual Philadelphians. Then there's THE SHACK on 2518 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. The Shack: Home of Eagles Nest West It's more of a sports bar atmosphere because THIS is the place where all the Phillies, Eagles and Flyers fans come to watch their teams. I used to work up the street from The Shack, and when the Eagles played New England in the Super Bowl it was hilarious, because across the street from The Shack is Sonny McLean's Irish Pub. Which of course is where all the Boston team fans in LA go to watch the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins. So for that Super Bowl where it was New England vs. Philadelphia, it was like War of the Sports Bars.

Congratulations first-time grandma!!! As for me...Lunch at Euro Pane in Pasadena(the original location east of Lake, not the newer addition across from the Pasadena Paseo). Owner Sumi Chang studied under La Brea Bakery legend Nancy Silverton before striking out on her own. Euro Pane has been in existence around 15 years or so, and thanks to an ever-broadening loyal customer base, she finally opened a second location about a year ago. But it is still the small, original Euro Pane that I go to most. While there are many heavenly things to eat here: the many wonderful tarts, the exquisite lemon bars, excellent bread, 7 different flavours of delicate macarons(that's right...macarons NOT macaroons), fluffy french toast on the weekends...there is ONE REASON ABOVE ALL why this place should be on your list of places to visit when you come to Los Angeles. They make the GREATEST EGG SALAD SANDWICH I HAVE EVER TASTED!!! It is un-freaking-believeably good, and it will change the way you think of egg salad sandwiches. In fact, it will ruin you for any other egg salad sandwich. I've been eating them for 15 years now, and not only have I yet to find their equal, I am finding that other egg salad sandwiches that I used to like, seem like epic failures in the wake of Euro Pane's masterpiece. You can choose any of the 7 breads they offer for sandwiches, but I find myself ordering it most often on either the Brioche or the Rosemary Currant. Sourdough or the Olive bread would be my next choices, followed by the Cranberry Walnut. They use plenty of eggs, that are perfectly cooked(you'd be surprised how many places can't even boil an egg correctly), and they handmake their mayonnaise. It is served with the eggs still slightly warm, so that when you get a bite of the yolk, it is like eating the sun. HEAVENLY! Have a look... Of course, I never leave Euro Pane without also getting a few macarons...the sea salt caramel and pistachio are my faves; followed by the blackberry and espresso. Actually, I've been on a "happiness buzz" all weekend long...just a carry-over from my birthday. Coming here the other day and finding somebody thought enough of me to start a Happy Birthday Thread made me very happy. Then the mailman delivered a package that contained a book written by a very nice and charming lady that I had been awaiting with bated breath. A very nice present for my birthday indeed...it warmed the cockles of my heart. I feel like Ren & Stimpy...HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!!!

So you are...hello! You also seem to be from Manchester, England England...across the Atlantic Sea! Welcome to the board...longtime Zeppelin fan or a newcomer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzZBcqOe2lw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEqxF2icuQA

I don't know about you, but in times of stress, sorrow, and darkness, I frequently turn to music for aid and comfort and solace...to soothe my soul and restore my hope. Since it appears by the posts in this thread that quite a few members here, along with Literally Speaking, are going thru turmoil of their own, and since when I tried to send a pm to one member but kept getting "array error" messages, I thought I would offer some musical solace to not only LS, and LakeofShadows, but anyone here who is going through a tough time. It goes without saying that each of us has our favourite Led Zeppelin songs that we turn to in sad times("Rain Song", "That's the Way", "Tea For One" are just three that I turn to), but I wanted to think outside the box...so if you don't mind, I give you some music that I hope helps in some small way to comfort you. Since the board only allows three youtube clips per post, I'll have to make several posts. I wish you all peace of mind.

That's it...Raiders season is already OVER!!! Asomugha was one of the few bright spots on the team...and we let the FUCKING EAGLES STEAL HIM!

Greetings and welcome to the site...even if you are a Giants fan. But congrats on your World Series win...at least you guys kept the Phillies or Yankees from winning it again. At least I'll always have 2002, when my Angels stopped Barry Bonds from getting his hands on the trophy.

Welcome to the Forum, Honeybrown! And, as senior member of the Los Angeles branch, welcome to Los Angeles. I'm sure you're jonesin' for a proper Philly Cheesesteak, and while you probably won't find one as good as back home, there are a few good places in LA among the pretenders. A couple to try are the Great Western Steak & Hoagie Co. on Lincoln Blvd. in Venice, and Philly's Best Bar & Grill on Westwood Blvd. in West LA, just south of Santa Monica Blvd. They even have Philly-specific potato chips and Tastykakes.

It's only a matter of time. I was there in person for the Travis Pastrana, Danny Way, and some of the other crashes. Not a pleasant thing to witness. I couldn't imagine being a parent to one of these extreme athletes...it must be torture. Especially the motorcycle tricksters and the skateboard"big air" competitors. X Games 13 was bad enough...every day was filled with some horrific spills...but the final straw as far as I'm concerned was X Games 15...things went too far. The Big Air skateboard event was just wrong on so many levels, not least of which is that skateboards are not made to handle such huge ramps and the speed attained on them. After X Games 15, I refused to attend any more X Games...it was getting too dangerous, and I don't want to see someome die.

Have no fear Kiwi...it's still only 7:30pm here in LA...the night is still young. So far the day's been killer-diller. Actually, my birthday started last night when me and a friend escaped the mob in Hollywood clamoring for Lady Gaga and went to LACMA's 24-hour screening of "The Clock". I had already seen it the first time back in May, but my friend hadn't and she wanted at least to see the night hours, as I told her that was the best section to see, especially the midnight hour. We left this morning and had a birthday breakfast at a place in Hollywood called The Griddle...where the pancakes are the size of hubcaps. Seriously, you could feed a village with one of their pancakes. I got the Saturday Morning Fever: buttermilk pancakes with Bailey's & Kahlua...along with a side of apple-smoked bacon, and orange juice and hot cocoa. Then my friend had to go to work...while I had a leisurely nap. Later, I went down to the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. and while listening to my copy of "Burn That Candle: Led Zeppelin Live at the LA Forum June 25, 1972", I communed with the handprints and plaques of Jimmy Page and John Bonham. After that, I checked into the board where I was surprised to see this birthday thread and felt I had to show my gratitude in some small way. After posting, it was off to dinner with some more friends...a Birthday BBQ, Texas-style, at Dr. Hogly Wogly's Texas Barbeque in the Valley. I had the melt-in-your-mouth Beef brisket & Texas Hot Links w/ baked beans, macaroni salad, fresh-baked bread n butter, lemonade, and sweet potato pie for dessert. Now, my friend's treating me to the Jon Brion and Friends show at Largo tonight. Jon is a master musician and his shows at Largo are legendary...anybody from Aimee Mann to Benmont Tench to Fiona Apple to John Paul Jones to Robyn Hitchcock to Elvis Costello have shown up at his gigs. After the show, which usually ends around 1am, I have no idea...there's plans for Saturday and Sunday, too, with my brothers, so I'll need to sleep some time.

WOW! This is the first birthday thread anyone has created for me here...so THANK YOU - MERCI BEAUCOUP - VIELEN DANK and MUCHAS GRACIAS ELECTROPHILE!!! And to all of you who have joined in wishing me happy birthday, I thank thee and I salute you for your kindness. I'm a long time member, even going back to the old Electric-Magic days, although you wouldn't know it by my post count...it's always been pretty miniscule. Recently though, I've tried to make more of an effort to come out of my shell....a relationship break-up and hospital downtime will do that; leaves you more time to spend on the computer. I've been on lots of boards over the years but it is here that I return to more often than other sites. The fact that Led Zeppelin's music and spirit still is a part of my life is one major reason. Another is that I find the design and user-friendly aspect of the board here better than many other sites; kudos to Sam Webmaster for his excellent, hard work here! But, thanks must also go to the people here...there simply are a number of people here whose company I enjoy. Almost every time I come here, I'll find something amusing or informative...or both. Even the people I don't know...and there are plenty of threads I've yet to venture in ...or the ones whose views on music, politics or religion don't mesh with mine, are mostly agreeable if you give them half-a-chance. At the very least, I know we share at least one common bond: a love for Led Zeppelin. Granted, some of my views and posts have probably pissed some people off, but I've never been flamed or banned the entire time I've been here. Which is not something I can say for other sites. Regrettably, the surprise post I promised for today is not feasible. Due to a last-minute family visit(which mentally exhausted me), and then coming home to a riot on Hollywood Blvd., followed by more craziness last night thanks to Lady Gaga on Jimmy Kimmel, and 4 days of birthday activities scheduled, I just don't have the free time to write a concert post at the time being. FYI, the 1973 concert posts took 4 to 5 hours each to write. Sorry I promised something I couldn't deliver. Another time soon, I hope. Buuuuuuut....as thanks for all of your birthday wishes, I will leave you with a couple of tasty mementos of previous birthday concerts. First clip is something from the weekend in 1984 I spent in England going to see Roy Harper and Jimmy Page...first July 28 at the Cambridge Folk Festival; and then July 29 at Battersea Park, right across from Battersea Power Station! Alas, no flying pigs. Not only was this my FIRST TIME to see Roy Harper in concert(having missed his set opening for Zeppelin at Kezar), but it was the ONLY time in nearly 40 years of going to concerts that I was able to see a member of Led Zeppelin on my birthday. This was when I was stationed in Nürnberg while in the Army, and fortuitously, the concerts fell on a weekend, which allowed me to get back to the base in time on Monday. There are no clips for the 29th Battersea show, but here's one from the Cambridge Folk Festival on July 28, 1984...one of my favourite songs from the set "Elizabeth": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nbJmNisaxs Many of the songs they did would end up on the album Roy and Jimmy did, "Whatever Happened to Jugula?", released the next year in 1985. It was all part of the re-emergence of Jimmy after his long hibernation. Being an American, I hadn't seen Jimmy in any capacity since the 1977 tour until the September 21 ARMS show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983. Then, there was his encore appearance with Plant in December 1983 at the Hammersmith. With his appearances with Roy Harper the summer of 1984, it seemed Jimmy was slowly building momentum...that soon he would appear with his own project. A thought come to fruition later in the year when The Firm was born. My main memory is of how Jimmy played mostly his brown Tele that he used for "Ten Years Gone" in 1977. And how he kind of looked like Jimmy, but also a Jimmy with some wear-and-tear apparent...and he wore those sleeveless t-shirts that were all the rage in the 80s. I didn't have a clue about the rest of the band...except that when the Firm was announced, I recognized Tony Franklin as being the bass player from these Roy Harper shows. Oh, and I couldn't stand how those Ovation acoustic guitars sounded. But it was ROY HARPER, who I had wanted to see ever since hearing "Hat's Off to (Roy) Harper" back in 1970 and JIMMY PAGE, my guitar-hero supreme, on-stage TOGETHER!!! On MY birthday no less!!! So, yes, the shows rocked in my mind, no matter what bootlegs and youtube clips may say otherwise. Here's a second clip, a song called "Highway Blues": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy1NJ_xjUf0&feature=related Finally, I leave you with one of the stranger birthday concert memories I have. The time: July 29, 1973. The place: The Hollywood Bowl. The show: Sid and Marty Krofft Present the World of H. R. Pufnstuf w/ The Brady Bunch Kids, Jack Wild, Johnny Whitaker and Billy Barty. Yes, two months after Led Zeppelin fried my mind...after seeing everyone from Jethro Tull, Grateful Dead, the Doobie Brothers, ZZ Top, the Eagles, Roberta Flack, Al Green, Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, Steveie Wonder and Iggy and the Stooges in the two months since, my grandmother, bless her heart, thought it would be a great birthday present to take me to this wild and crazy show at the Hollywood Bowl. What could I do? She was my grandmother...she would have been heartbroken if I said no...and my folks would have killed me. So off I went, that Sunday night July 29, 1973. Sure, I was a fan of the Brady Bunch TV show...most kids in the 60s and 70s from broken homes were...and I had the hots first for Marcia; then as Marcia became annoying, poor overlooked middle-child Jan. But I had no taste for the horrible spin-off The Brady Kids and their 'orrible noise. The show began around 7 or 7:30pm and with all the cameras, it became obvious that this was due to be cut and edited for a Sid and Marty Krofft TV special later...which it was. Later that year, around Thanksgiving I think, it was aired as a 1-hour tv show. The show in real time ran about 2 hours, with intermission. Johnny Whitaker was first, and it was painful to see the red-haired star of Disney's "Tom Sawyer" and "Sigmund and the Sea-Monsters" struggle through his lip-synching and bad jokes and self-promotion. Fortunately, it only lasted about 10 minutes. Then, it was 40 minutes of The Brady Kids...and well, words cannot describe the jaw-dropping awful bad-taste their set left in your mouth...after awhile, even the limited appeal of looking at Marcia and Jan had worn off...I was aghast, and spent most of their set slack-jawed. And I'm pretty sure, I wasn't the only one. Oh hell, see for yourself...here's a clip of The Brady Kids in all their 70s fashion and groovy choreography: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcUSO0xelk&feature=related After that mess, the crowd needed an intermission to gather itself...and thank god we got one. The second half of the show was devoted to Jack Wild(he played the Artful Dodger in the musical "Oliver") and the entire crazy world of HR Pufnstuf, including Lidsville and the Bugaloos. Actually, given the druggy nature of those TV shows, this part of the night actually was an improvement. Anyway, so now you know, it wasn't always cool concerts I was going to see in the 70s...there were a few dodgy ones, too.

This is when the night really started cooking...Jesus Christ Pose: Black Hole Sun: The Day I Tried to Live: I've got to run...I'll try to post more another time. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest/discussion of the Soundgraden tour here...along with Jane's Addiction, they were the two bands that came closest to that Led Zeppelin sound/vibe.

SOUNDGARDEN ROCKS THE LA FORUM, July 22, 2011 When I first wrote about the show, there weren't any good clips up on youtube yet...but now, there are. As I said before, Jerry Cantrell, Dave Grohl, and tons of others(Red Hot Chili Peppers of course-John's a big Mars Volta fan and has played with them many times) were at the concert. Randy Johnson, former pitching great, was taking photos all over the place...and according to my brothers, he likes to sell metal boots at swap meets. Mike McCready from Pearl Jam joined Soundgarden on "Superunknown": My favourite of the night, though, was when before "Superunknown", they played my all-time favourite Soundgarden track, "Head Down", which they haven't been playing regularly on this reunion tour. And yes, the rumours you heard are true...Dave Grohl was in the pit, no security, no entourage, nobody but himself rocking out and supporting his buddies in SG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF1ViOpUmBI&NR=1 I'm including my previous review, because though I posted it in Wolfman's Philly thread, the LA Forum show was awesome enough to deserve its own thread. Why do I live in Los Angeles? Well, last night was just one of many reasons why. Sorry Wolfman, I'm afraid L.A. got the best of Philly last night...hell, us lucky sods in Los Angeles might have got the best show of the whole tour. The Soundgarden/Mars Volta tour hit the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood(LA) last night(July 22, 2011) and it was packed, the sound was loud, and there were notables everywhere you looked. I was lucky to have floor fix, which was a giant general admission pit. Mars Volta opened up and played mostly new stuff I've never heard before. To be honest, I haven't really kept up with the Mars Volta since "Amputechture"...I was kind of bummed when Jon Theodore and Ikey left...but last night, I was reminded of the maelstrom of sight-and-sound Omar, Cedric and the boys can whip up. Cedric has some INTERESTING dance moves, to say the least, and Omar has always been a bad-ass guitar player, although his amps are so loud sometimes, he can occasionally overwhelm the rest of the band. Their setlist as best as I could figure it was as follows: 1. Aegis 2. The Whip Hands 3. Molochwalk 4. Dyslexicon 5. Broken English Jam 6. Goliath Now on to the main event...Soundgarden. I've always liked Soundgarden on record, but in concert they could be hit-and-miss. First off, they weren't the most pleasant looking dudes on stage...they always had a surly, sour-puss vibe. And when they grew out of the club circuit, and on to the bigger stages, they could seem remote and distant, hardly moving about...a far cry from the wildness projected by the cover shot of Chris on "Louder Than Love". Then, the last time I saw Soundgarden, headlining Universal Amphitheatre in 1996 on the Down on the Upside tour(with Rocket from the Crypt opening...remember THEM?), Chris' voice was shot, hardly reaching the highs I had seen him reach on earlier tours. The band hardly interacted on stage, so I wasn't surprised when they broke up. After the mediocrity of his solo and Audioslave years, I wasn't too enthused about this Soundgarden show, to be honest. I went more out of curiosity than for nostalgia's sake. Well, against all odds, I was pretty impressed by last night's show. Chris' voice still isn't near its peak of the 80s-early 90s, but the band's vibe is much better and they made more of an effort to engage the crowd. Plus, it's cool to see Chris with LONG HAIR again! It was loud and the crowd was into it, moshing like it was the old days again. I worked up a good sweat myself, losing two of my companions in the process. A pretty killer setlist...I could have done without "Spoonman"; never liked that song, but at least they got it out of the way early. For me the night took off with "Jesus Christ Pose", with that killer opening storm of riffs. Hell, they even broke out "Loud Love" and "Big Dumb Sex" from the early days! Best of all, unlike you suckers in Philly, Wolfy, LA got MY FAVOURITE SOUNDGARDEN SONG: "HEAD DOWN"!!! Far-freaking-OUT! But then, as if to say "you haven't seen nothin' yet!", they had Mike McCready of Pearl Jam come out and join them on "Superunknown". LA got 25 songs, 3 more than Philly. All this while Dave Grohl was moshing in the pit, baseball hall-of-famer Randy Johnson was taking photos, and Jerry Cantrell, a couple of Lakers, and too many famous musicians to count were taking in the show. Hell, I bet Jack Nicholson and Bill Walton were somewhere in the house...it's the rare Forum concert that I DON'T see them. The Forum VIP club was hosting a birthday party for Chris Cornell afterwards, but I didn't have enough juice to get into that. Obviously, the Seattle shows will be off-the-hook, but they're going to have to be really special to top the LA Forum gig. I just hope the cameras were rolling last night...they should put the whole show out on DVD. Here's the setlist for Soundgarden...read it and weep, Wolfman. 1. Searching With My Good Eye Closed 2. Spoonman 3. Gun 4. Jesus Christ Pose 5. Room a Thousand Years Wide 6. Blow Up the Outside World 7. Loud Love 8. Big Dumb Sex 9. Ugly Truth 10. Fell on Black Days 11. Flower 12. Outshined 13. Black Rain 14. Rusty Cage 15. The Day I Tried to Live 16. My Wave 17. Burden in My Hand 18. Black Hole Sun 19. Head Down 20. Superunknown (with Mike McCready) 21. 4th of July Encore: 22. Beyond the Wheel 23. Hunted Down 24. Mailman 25. Slaves & Bulldozers Close to 2 and 1/2 hours of Soundgarden.

I'm assuming the "Mushroom Records" label is some local North Carolina record shop where your friend bought it?

Your words to god's(or Jimmy's) ear, FireOpal...and if I remember, there was a thread earlier here that talked about how Wayne from the Flaming Lips has put the word out that the Flaming Lips would love to work with Jimmy. Do it Jimmy. It's time to leave the classic rock dinosaurs behind.

I would say that he hasn't...either that, or he has no sense of humour, or perspective, about pop culture. Oh well, too bad...it's his loss.

And Robert Plant, of course, wrote the lyrics.

I can't tell by your photo, Jahfin, if that's the TMoQ or Rubber Dubber edition...or some other pressing?