Variety @ the Variety

Ok, so there's a bunch of neat shows coming to the Variety Playhouse in the coming months. Just check these out and if none of them give you any kind of excitement what-so-ever, then check yourself, foo.

• 09/08 - The National
  
• 09/12 - Peter Bjorn & John
  
• 09/13 - Andrew Bird
  
• 09/29 - Rilo Kiley
  
• 10/27 - Stars
  
• 10/30 - The New Pornographers
  
• 11/18 - The Hold Steady/Art Brut
  

I've thought about that National show in a few weeks, but I'm thinking I should've just seen 'em at the EARL when they last came around. However, I'm really excited about the Stars gig in October. I'm really liking what I've heard so far from their new material (which is, well, the entire album). Granted, it's not on par with their previous releases, but it certainly has some great tunes and good rapport between Torq and Amy. In fact, the video for "Take Me to the Riot" is a good representation of their live show, with a bit of embellishment.

I'm trying to get interested in the Rilo Kiley show in September, but it's more and more difficult. I've only heard their new record (Under the Blacklight) once and the only part that stands out to me is that Jenny sings in some Spanish ("Dejalo") and that's it. Usually there's something to grab me with their material - the lyrics, the musical chemistry, the sound - but it was incredibly not memorable at all. I saw them four times while they toured for More Adventurous and I didn't come back gushing after any performance. Hopefully they can bring it back when they return to Atlanta next month.

What's really making me curious is the recently-announced NME Rock'n'Roll Riot Tour that features The Hold Steady and Art Brut. I really don't dig The Hold Steady because of the singer's voice and the way that he sings... and then I'm lukewarm about the vocals in Art Brut. However, I've heard that both bands are pretty awesome live (especially The Hold Steady). I'm thinking that with a ticket price that's only $15, I'm strongly considering getting a ticket.

I'm kinda mixed when it comes to shows at the Variety. I've been basically everywhere in there for shows and I don't have much of a problem with lines of sight when and I've never truly experienced poor sound at the venue, either. It seems like it's the hardest place to bring a camera into though. Hopefully I'll be able to bring my camera in there for the upcoming shows because, once in, I think the Variety is a great place to shoot bands.

iConcertCal

While I publicly thank Fuzzy Lion for making me aware of this - thanks for the heads up! - I just wanted to let anyone else know of this really neat iTunes visualizer to download. It's called iConcertCal and what it does is go through your iTunes Library, sees what artists you listen to, finds tour dates and release information about any of those artists, and puts them into a calendar that's similar to iCal. It's pretty neat and I'm already reaping the benefits of this application.

While I knew that Imperial Teen were planning on releasing a record in the future, I didn't know it actually had a release date of August 21! iConcertCal also tells me that Caribou, Rilo Kiley, and the New Pornographers are ALSO releasing records that day... even though I already knew that.

So thanks again to Fuzzy Lion for bringing this up and I definitely suggest checking out iConcertCal!

Le Thrash on Le Tube

From NHL.com (that is, if you haven't realized by now), the nationally-televised games were announced. Our Thrash have a few tilts scheduled for the oh-so-popular Versus network and absolutely none on NBC, which is apparently starting NHL coverage in the new year.

Tue., October 16 @ Philadelphia (puck drops @ 7:00 PM ET)
Mon., November 19 - vs. Tampa Bay (puck drops @ 7:00 PM ET)
Wed., January 2 - @ Carolina (puck drops @ 7:00 PM ET)
Tue., March 18 - @ Philadelphia (puck drops @ 7:00 PM ET)

Personally, I like that there's some sort of network in the States that is picking up hockey, but absolutely hate how it's not a part of most cable packages. I, for one, am seriously missing out on hockey when it's televised on Versus. I'm sure you can make the argument that ESPN would be limited as well, but it's my understanding that most cable packages include ESPN in there.

Basically, Versus doesn't reach as many homes as it should and you can go ahead and include myself in that category. If anyone truly knows the formalities behind the Versus/other network discussions/debates/etc., please fill me in or provide me a link to more clarity on this subject.

Meh, here are a couple of handy links to familiarize yourselves with this topic:

• Versus-NHL Deal Leaves Door Open (dated Aug. 7)
  
• NHL & ESPN talking about new partnership to replace NBC (dated Aug. 4, courtesy of SeSo's capefish!)

Two minutes for... revamping?

So... should I penalized for the new color scheme or should be it celebrated? I'm unsure about it, really. Considering throughout most of the year, this is a hockey blog, I decided to bite the bullet and commit myself to one subject. Mind you, this does not mean the end of non-hockey posts. I just figured this would help out the audience. You come here expecting hockey and you see a post about some random indie band.

"Well, I *thought* it was a hockey blog, but I don't see any evidence of that...?"

Hopefully the restyling answers that question.

Like it, hate it, apathetic?

The only thing that gets to me is that I wish I could shade the edges of the title image so that they match the background color completely instead of having some lighter edges to the left and some more defined edges to the right. Any insight on this, photoshoppers?

Regardless, let's start getting ready for the hockey season!

Recap: The Comas, 2007/07/30

Since the Arcade Fire show, there haven't been that many concerts on my radar. Granted, a bunch of great tunes were brought to the forefront between May and now (namely The National, LCD Soundsystem, Fields, etc.) and I've been slowly catching up on the past. I've never been a fan of classic rock. In fact, I never even took a minute to recognize it. I really cannot place a finger on why this genre of music has been so abrasive with me in the past, but I never could truly accept it. In the past few months, I've grown to appreciate older bands like The Police (sure, their reunion kinda helped their cause), Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, and the great Billy Joel. I HATE to deem this a "listening maturity", but that is a distinct possibility.



Regardless, with the job in Dahlonega coming to an end, I'm finally back, enjoying the aspects of being a little more free with life. The first show I went to since my return was a favorite of mine, The Comas, at the EARL. I've seen The Comas probably three times over the years and I just don't know where else to go with them. Their second album, A Def Needle in Tomorrow, really stuck with me and I realized their potential as a good indie rock band. Then I kinda forgot about 'em for a while and then on indietorrents a few years ago, I stumbled upon Conductor, which was just awesome. They were getting positive reviews for the album from left and right and the recognition was coming. I saw 'em once while they were touring for that record and it was a weird set. They were the main band that night (Vietnam opened) and they only played for what seemed like 30 minutes. The material was strictly from Conductor and it was completely amped up - sped up like woah, loud as anything, and just "whaaaaat?" I don't know what it was, but I left that show with a sour taste in my mouth.

While reading (and being introduced to, actually) Bort's blog, I found out more and more about the recent shoegaze band Asobi Seksu. As a direct result to that, I found out that The Comas were actually opening for them on a tour last December. I thought it would be a great opportunity for a great show. Turns out that was the case, The Comas redeemed themselves, played some new material, and Asobi Seksu was quite fun. I was back into the mix. But once I started working in Dahlonega, I couldn't be there for the last Comas show back in June, their first Atlanta show promoting the newest release, Spells.

Upon hearing Spells, it didn't seem memorable to me. I can't tell if the band has changed their songwriting dynamic or if I've changed my listening preferences, but the record didn't stand out as much as the previous two had. I was hoping that the live gig would turn things around, both my feelings for the band and my reception of their new album. Turns out that wasn't exactly the case. The gig was more like a redux of their other show I saw at the Drunken Unicorn a while ago that was off the mark. It's just weird territory for the "main draw" of the evening taking the stage and the crowd at the bar thinned out so much from the opening bands, and I'm guessing the Comas picked up on this (how could they not?) and even had a hard time bringing their touring buddies (Great Northern, who were surprisingly elegant and, well, great) on stage for some help. Granted, I could care less about how many people are in attendance for the show, but I really felt like the band let it get to them... or the music itself just didn't pick up at all.

The tunes off Spells were nice, actually, and sat well with me. But the band's performance was lacking some kind of element of urgency. It was like the ultimate show to slouch in a chair. I just don't understand what went wrong. While I still appreciate The Comas a bunch, I think I'd seriously question seeing them again... at least in Atlanta. Maybe in an environment that's more receptive to what they do (they are stationed in New York currently), there would be better performer-audience vibes, but the energy was sucked out of the EARL that evening.

On the other hand, the first band of the evening worked with the EARL's audience well. They actually had the biggest draw of the evening. Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun officially started their live career together that night and they got a pretty good reception. Sure, some of the material needs some tweaking (both live and the songwriting), but their "fuzzrock" was well received and provided promise for a good local band to emerge out of the hazy Atlanta heat.



Great Northern (click for set)


Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun (click for set)

Dust off yr BLUE

I guess it's about time that I start getting back into the mix of things. Here at WE WANT DUNHAM!, we care about two things and two things only - hockey and music (we'll get to the latter in a bit). Seeing how there's minimal hockey news going around (unless you're REALLY - read: obsessive - into arbitration discussions and salary developments, which, uh, God help you), there aren't many posts going on around the Thrashers blogosphere. Prospect camp came and went in the blink of an eye... yes, of course, there was the great free agency domino effect that took place in early July... and now, well, there's tons of speculation and, yep, rumors. Personally, I'm no good at any of those two things. I'm too casual of a fan to really start wide-spread inner thoughts and feelings on the subject of my beloved hockey team and their competition. But, since I'm on the topic...

The Thrashers went into this summer's free agency period with a few question marks. A majority of the team's salary is tied up in marquee players such as Ilya Kovalchuk ($5.5 mil) and Marian Hossa ($7 mil) and other overpaid players, namely Bobby Holik ($4.25 mil), and perhaps the addled Steve Rucchin ($2.4 mil). With all of that committed to the upcoming season, the organization was hard-pressed to come up with suitable talent to further the Thrashers "acknowledged" successes from the previous season. Apparently feeling their needs didn't fall into the success plan for this next season, the Thrashers cut ties with Eric Belanger, Jon Sim, Keith Tkachuk, Greg deVries, Andy Sutton, Shane Hnidy, and, most recently, J.P. Vigier. As such, their "replacements" (can you even call them replacement players? uhhh...) are as follows:

Todd White
Eric Perrin
Ken Klee
Chris Thorburn
Pascal Dupuis (resigned)

So, the Thrashers dumped a lot of defensemen in favor of the experienced Klee and the newcomers (TBA, really). They also picked up a solid (yet not true "first-line") center in White, while washing their hands clean of Tkachuk and Belanger. Personally, the times I saw Tkachuk and Belanger on the ice, I didn't feel a bit of regret in going after either prior to the trade deadline last year. "Walt" brought a bunch of personality to the ice each shift and I really felt like he and Kovalchuk developed good chemistry during their brief time together. Also, it was clear that Belanger had a solid impact on a team that was somewhat lacking in the "center with initiative" department, scoring nine goals and fifteen points in a 24-game span.

While I'm still as excited as ever for this '07-'08 season to get started, I'm still questioning these moves. I don't feel that secure with any of them, except the Dupuis signing. Then again, who really skipped around the block when word came down that the Thrashers picked up Eric Belanger from Nashville, from Carolina, in a matter of minutes? I've read random things online about Todd White from Minnesota Wild fans and they've had nothing but positive things to say about his play and his camaraderie with teammates. That's encouraging and all, but I'm still not sold. I think I was one of the few who got mildly excited about Steve Rucchin's addition to the team last season, and I saw how that panned out. The White signing comes off as a similar move to me. Then again, there's more room for surprise with White because I'm admittingly unaware of him; with Rucchin, I clearly remember the role he played on the Anaheim team that went to the Stanley Cup finals years ago, therefore, I knew what kind of player we acquired. And Eric Perrin? We'll see. Still not sold on Klee, either.

There's the free agents we signed and then there's the other side of the issue - dealing with n00bz. This season, expect quite a few, more than the recent Thrashers fan is used to. With just Klee, Zhitnik, Havelid, Exelby, and McCarthy on the current roster, that leaves open at least one more slot on defense. AHL players like Mark Popovic and Boris Valabik will get serious looks during training camp as will up-and-coming European stars Ilya Nikulin and Tobias Enstrom. Surely one of them will make the opening day roster, but who? And how quick will this player fit into their role of NHL defenseman on a daily basis? I don't know, but the thought of that leaves me scratching my head a bit. For offensive flair, we're relying on Brett Sterling, Darren Haydar, Jason Krog, etc. to step up and fit into the NHL roster as well. As a Thrashers fan, I absolutely heard A LOT about these players' roles on the team in Chicago (AHL) - how Sterling was AHL rookie of the year, how Haydar broke scoring records, how the chemistry between those three players was apparently tight. But we need to be reminded that we're talking about the AHL here. I remember the only preseason game I went to last season included some plays from Brett Sterling (including a few points on the board?), so he probably can compete at the NHL level, but I'm still unsure.

Basically, there are too many question marks surrounding this season and I'm hard-pressed to see immediately past them. Granted, things might work out and all of my doubts and fears about this team will be laid to rest and there will be even more success come April of '08.

But like I said, I'm super excited about hockey again. I can't wait to see how these new players play, how the players we've come to know will fit with the n00bz, how the n00bz will fit into the grand scheme of things. I remember reading a story during the off-season in The Hockey News about the big prospects that Anaheim had - do the names Getzlaf, Perry, and Penner ring any bells? While maybe the talent level isn't as high with the three Thrashers prospects I mentioned earlier as it is with the three Ducks, I kinda get the same vibes from our three birds. Inserting Krog into the lineup midseason didn't have much of an impact, and Haydar didn't even register on anything that I can remember. And looking at their roles during their short stints with the team, it was hard to develop into anything with 14 games and four games under Krog's and Haydar's belts, respectively.

Who's to say what this season holds for the Thrashers, and the rest of the Southeast Division? Will there be a new division champion at the end of the season, as the trend has been? Or will the "big three" - Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay - still race for the top? How about Florida or Washington - will they be the dark horses that no one is counting on? I don't know, but I'm getting more and more psyched for this upcoming season.

Bring it on and let's raise that banner!

THIS JUST IN: Slater's signed! (clicky)

Upon just waking up (well, not getting up just now, but about a half an hour ago), I first spotted this on tsn.ca and subsequently made my way over to atlantathrashers.com for confirmation - Jim Slater avoided salary arbitration with the Atlanta Thrashers and signed a two-year contract that brings $1.55 million to the man over that period of time. Next year, he's to earn $750k, and in '08-'09, he'll collect $800k.

I'm thinking this is less than what Blueland Nation was thinking when it was always mentioned that Slater should re-sign.

Recap: Thrashers Prospect Camp '07

Over at the Blueland Blog, you can find some really neat pieces on specific players (Holzapfel, LaVallee) that attended this year's Prospect Camp at the Ice Forum in Duluth. As a matter of fact, there are also some nice write-ups at Thrashers Talons and Southeast Shootout about how they felt about what went down late last week and earlier this week.

With that said, I made my appearance at the Ice Forum on Thursday and I definitely did not leave disappointed... well, at least not with the hockey. All of the players that participated in the week-long camp were either players that have contractual ties to the Thrashers organization (like recent draft picks like Bryan Little and Brett Sterling, for example) or players that Thrashers scouts felt like examining a little more. As a result, I basically had no idea who was who. I'm lucky if I can even remember the names of some notables, but forget it if I can pick out faces. So trying to track down Riley Holzapfel, Tobias Endstrom, and Chad Denny (among countless others) was damned near impossible. Sure, there were points that I could narrow it down, but it was essentially a crapshoot.

You could definitely tell that the Thrashers organization wasn't fooling around when they invited this current group of "baby Thrashers" (as I like to call 'em) to the camp. The potential for these kids to succeed is evident in their energy and skills that were on display. There were great defensive plays during the scrimaging, some absolutely gnarly offensive moves to the net, and the goaltending was just quality.

Oh yeah, I did have to mention the scrimaging, didn't I? It was noted on the Blueland Blog that 4-on-4 scrimaging took place this past Monday and that it would happen again on the last day of camp. As a result to that "announcement", I felt as if there were more people there than would typically be for a prospect camp of baby Thrashers. Regardless, it was an excellent turnout for Thrashers fans and hockey fans in general.

Hmm, back to the bit about the scrimaging... For the first hour or so, there were the typical drills and skating that has to occur at these kind of happenings. Goalies were tested, passes were tape-to-tape or bust, and skates were viciously cutting into the ice. Then the kids left the rink for about 15-20 minutes while the ice was resurfaced, and then the players who were all wearing sweaters of various colors earlier were now sporting either red or blue. The plus to this event, for me, was that everyone was numbered. The minus was that I still had no idea who was who. Either way, the scrimage itself was a neat thing to watch. It was evident that the players knew it was their last day together, so some guys really gave it their all. Of course, there were the occasional broken passes and whiffed shots, but a bunch of 'em wanted to prove their worth at this NHL prospect camp, goalies included.

The scrimage was broken into two 25-minute halves, and then it was surprisingly followed up by a shootout. I have almost no knowledge of what happens in the lower ranks of hockey, so I'm completely unfamilar if other leagues use the shootout as a means to determine a winner and a loser of a tie game. Maybe this was a new concept for the kids or maybe it was just for fun - I know I didn't expect it, that's for sure. It kind of resembled the first shootout that the Thrashers participated in during the first year it was put into effect. It was a preseason game against the Panthers (I think), and all of the preseason games included the shootout whether the game was over or if it was a tie. Call it practice for the real deal, if you will. And all I can remember from that inaugural shootout was Marc Savard going in for the shot, setting up, over-thinking it, and eventually making it a sloppy attempt that resulted in him kinda hugging the opposing goalie. That's not to say that this "prospect shootout" was along the same lines as that, but I could sense some unfamiliarity with it in both shooters and goalies.

As I've already mentioned, players did stand out, but I have no idea who they were. The only player I could honestly pick out was Bryan Little and he seemed to handle the puck well, just not in the one-on-one situations so much. As far as goalies, I noticed that Dan Turple is massive. I mean, the guy has to be 6'5" or something - he looked just tremendous in the crease. Either that's a good thing (for intimidation) or a bad thing (uh, five-hole?). One goalie was standing out during the scrimage, and I'm sure that was Ondrej Pavelec (based on what I keep reading from others who attended). The other guy (Perugini) didn't leave any kind of impression on me, and Dan Kamal's kid, Chris, was ballsy just being out there. It must've been an eye-opening experience to be right out of high school, being examined by minor league coaches and, well, the Thrashers, too. I gotta give the guy credit for sticking with it and keeping his head up. Personally, I would've been intimidated as anything trying to keep guys like Little and Sterling from scoring.

Pics will be posted soon... and that's the only disappointment I have with the afternoon in Duluth. Sooner or later I'm going to take a class or two in photography and figure out how to take some action pics and make them look decent. Either my timing was off whenever I tried to take a pic or whatever I did shoot came out overly blurred. There are a select few that I feel mildly satisfied with and I'll put those up on flickr in the next hour or so.

Up next - let's discuss the schedule, shall we?! We'll save that topic for the weekend.

It's so great to be blogging hockey again!

New Albums 'r Us!

the Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist - out July 10
Live...

10/30 @ Atlanta (Fox Theatre)

11/05 @ Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)

Editors
An End Has a Start - out July 17

Rilo Kiley
Under the Blacklight - out August 21
Live...

09/29 @ Atlanta (Variety Playhouse)

the New Pornographers
Challengers - out August 21
Live...

10/30 @ Atlanta (Variety Playhouse)

Caribou
Andorra - out August 21
Live...

10/12 @ Atlanta (the EARL)

Les Savy Fav
Let's Stay Friends - out September 18

Stars
In Our Bedroom After the War - out September 25/now?
Live...

10/27 @ Atlanta (Variety Playhouse)

the Octopus Project
title tk - out October 9
Live...

08/17 @ Birmingham (Bottletree)

08/18 @ Athens (40 Watt)

11/04 @ Atlanta (Drunken Unicorn)

Thrashers '07-'08 Schedule Released! (clicky)

Considering I just saw this, the Atlanta Thrashers upcoming season schedule was released yesterday, July 11, as was the rest of the NHL. I knew it would happen because I was slowly picking up that other teams were releasing their own schedules... go figure this happens while I'm working. So while I have absolutely zero time to really pick it apart, I have noticed some interesting aspects of it, some of which I plan to talk about this coming weekend. (That's right - the return of weekend posts here @ WWD!) For starters, however, here are the links to the press release for the announcement of the schedule and the preseason schedule (which was released earlier this week or last weekend).

See y'all at the prospect camp tomorrow afternoon!

Link: Thrashers Announce 2007-08 NHL Regular Season Schedule
Link: 2007-2008 Regular Season Schedule
Link: Thrashers Announce 2007 Preseason Schedule

Happy 4th!

On this Fourth of July, I'm finally putting my camera to the test. I've done some research on the best settings for digital photography of fireworks. I'm busting out a tripod I've had for years and I'm going to see exactly what my camera can do. I figured out after this year's Coachella that I can bust out some pretty good pics, and that was without knowing how to use the camera properly. I'm pretty excited about tonite and I'm hoping that I come away with some nice shots.

In other news...

The NHL free agency floodgates opened on Sunday and the Thrashers lost a few players, re-signed some notables, and picked up a few game-breakers (hopefully). Here's what happened to le Thrash since Sunday:

Thrashers Agree to Terms with Forward Pascal Dupuis (re-signed on July 1)

Thrashers Re-Sign Forward Vyacheslav Kozlov (re-signed on July 4)

Thrashers Agree to Terms with Unrestricted Free Agent Forward Todd White (signed on July 1)

Thrashers Agree to Terms with Unrestricted Free Agent Forward Eric Perrin (signed on July 1)

Thrashers Agree to Terms with Free Agent Defenseman Ken Klee (signed on July 2)

Wild Signs Center Eric Belanger (signed July 3)

FREE AGENCY UPDATE: Islanders Sign Jonathan Sim (signed July 1)

Predators sign free agents Bonk, de Vries (signed July 2)

The most surprising move to me was the Klee acquisition. de Vries' departure to Nashville wasn't much of a shock, but the pick up of someone along the same lines as Devo doesn't come off to me as an "improvement". My experience with Klee is that while he was with Toronto a couple of years ago, I had him on my fantasy team for a while and that made me aware of how he was as a player. Granted, I never watched him play, so I do not have any kind of knowledge on his style of hockey, but he wasn't remarkable in the stats department. It just struck me to replace one veteran defenseman with another one who will probably play the same role. I never asked for anyone in the Sheldon Souray department, but I'm sure that there was someone else who would better fit into the Thrashers' system than Ken Klee. Personally, I would've loved to see Tom Preissing in a Thrashers jersey next season... hell, even Tom Poti had a nice year with the Islanders previously... let's just say there were options out there other than Klee that I would've made an effort for.

Resigning Dupuis was a great move because he was definitely one of the bright spots during our playoff push and our (ugh) first-round exit. And the recent re-signing of Slava Kozlov is a move hugely supported by the Blueland faithful. The biggest concern for this off-season was whether our management was able to keep Slava in the picture while making an effort to improve the team. Many wondered if he'd test the waters of free agency and see what kind of deal he could get, others also worried about whether he priced himself out of our already bloated payroll. Fortunately, he'll be in Thrashers Blue for three more years, and possibly end his career here, a place where he is most appreciated.

Picking up speedy forward Eric Perrin from rivals Tampa Bay was a "typical Waddell" pick - not noteworthy, and has potential to have any kind of effect on the team. Fans wonder if he'll turn into another Niko Kapanen experiment (that failed miserably) or if he can spark up like Mr. Belanger did late last season. I think he'll provide more offensive punch than Simmer, but Simmer's scrappy presence on the ice will be missed. And the arrival of Todd White will be surprising. We'll either be taken back by how well he fits into Hartley's system or how he might become another Steve Rucchin and have the game pass him right on by. From various sites, I've seen a few people compliment Don Waddell on these acquisitions... let's hope their compliments and hints about their abilities ring true.

While none of these moves rivals the Briere signing or the double-plucking the Rangers did of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, they are what we've come to expect of Don Waddell and Co. for the past few years. He's clearly not hesitant to pull the trigger on bigger moves (the Heatley/Hossa trade and the Tkachuk signing come to mind instantly), but it's like there's this kind of fantasy to sign some smaller players and try to give the team great parity. The superstars are obviously Kovalchuk, Hossa, and possibly Lehtonen and thankfully Kozlov, but other than those, there are a slew of players that have third- and fourth-line potential. The team that the Thrashers are left with, to me, doesn't seem as through-and-through as last year's Buffalo, Ottawa, San Jose, and Anaheim squads; the main complaint of Atlanta from fans and critics alike last year (and is sure to continue through to this upcoming season) is that the team we're left with is quite one-dimensional. That lack of diversity in the lineup is appearing to bleed into the '07-'08 season. We'll see what all of these moves bring in the upcoming months.

Regardless, I'm incredibly excited about this upcoming season for the Atlanta Thrashers. There are so many elements of the hockey season that I'm missing out on right now that I'm ready for September to roll around and the pre-season to get started.

In the meantime, there's the prospect camp that opens this weekend in Duluth. It'll run from the 6th to the 12th and will put all of our up-and-coming players on display for both fans and the organization to see, pick apart, etc. Featured players in the Thrashers' system (and possible candidates for roster spots with the team, as well) include Bryan Little, Brett Sterling, Chad Denny, Tobias Enstrom, and Ondrej Pavelec among many others. Information about the camp (including other players featured and times of the sessions each day) can be found below. All sessions are open to the public. I know I'm going to make a serious attempt at one of the days next week (somewhere on Tuesday through Thursday). I'll be sure to post pictures and notes from my trip(s?) up to the IceForum next week.

PDF: Thrashers to Hold Prospect Development Camp from July 6-12

INFO: Duluth IceForum

Post Withdrawal

A little time away from blogging can't be that bad, can it? A bunch has gone on in the past month to cause me to neglect this ol' blog, but the main reason for the lack of posts or even attention to updating is due to procrastination. Other excuses also include:

- the hockey season officially ended earlier this month with the Anaheim Ducks winning the Stanley Cup (congrats to them!), so there's been reason for minimal coverage of the hometown Thrashers. Blueland is still getting over the nasty taste in the mouth from our inaugural playoff appearance, myself included. The upcoming draft and free agent sell-a-thon will bring open my eyes a bit, so I plan on getting excited for the upcoming season.

- my job basically puts me into seclusion for four days of the week. That means extremely small amounts of television and zero internet access. While the job is worthwhile, this aspect of it kills and causes me to make up my social life in three days' time, thusly pushing blogging and other internets stuff aside.

Also, I never said this was a blog to bring you news. It's all based on my experiences. In all honesty, I haven't been getting out much to see things. When I'm not working, I'm spending the time trying to catch up on what I've missed in the past three/four days and then trying to catch up with friends who I cannot talk to for the same time period. It's also hard to make an attempt at going to shows when it seems like most of the shows that interested me in the past three months occurred on weekends... when I'm busy working. The lack of hockey right now makes WE WANT DUNHAM dead because I love to report on games that I've attended and other happenings with my favorite sports team.

While I eagerly await (and I really mean anxiously, albeit in silence) for the '07-'08 NHL season and all of the details that surround it, this site will remain a little stagnant. I do not plan on tossing it aside. So just be aware of that, and as time progresses, I plan on being more on top of what you see here.

Upcoming items of interest:

* the NHL Entry Draft this weekend
* unrestricted free agents hit the market on July 1... and just who will the Thrashers pick up???
* Thrashers prospect camp opens for about ten days in the first half of July
* the long-awaited "comeback" album from the Smashing Pumpkins, Zeitgeist, hits shelves nationwide on the 10th of July
* my sweetie Kathleen Madigan makes a stop at Atlanta's Punchline Comedy Club in July
* and there's always Braves baseball at the Ted

Hope everyone is having a great summer and sneaking in some relaxation!

WTF's-ville!

So there was Coachella, and that was fun. It's documented here in pictures, so feel free to take a look at 'em! Day one! Day two! Day three!

Then I spent a day in Los Angeles, driving around solo in a white minivan. Life couldn't be better. Well, it could've been, but whatever. That day was also captured in pictures. It was OK, except for the traffic, smog, and getting lost for a while there after the Dodgers game.

Then I came back to Atlanta and saw the Arcade Fire from the fifth row (really eighth row because the first three were in the pit, but whatevs). Once again, they continued to blow me away in the live setting and I walked outta there with a nice smile. Oh my gosh, more pictures of that, too!

And then news started trickling in from the Smashing Pumpkins front. In case you don't know, the Pumpkins are my main band. When I got word a few years ago that Billy Corgan had something up his sleeve, I really got excited.

And then things started coming together, Tour dates were announced, Zeitgeist was mentioned to the masses.

And then things started falling apart. With all of the speculation about who else is in the band, it was brought to our attention that James Iha (founding member, specialist with a lazer gun, etc.) was not going to be a part of the new incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins. And then rumors came out about who the missing pieces were.

When a tracklist was announced for Zeitgeist, I started to cringe a little. The cringing was getting worse and worse when some leaked video stills featured some, uh, weird images. And then there was the album cover, note here:



Needless to say, this "reunion" wasn't panning out as I had planned. Or most people, that is. No James and no D'arcy - this wasn't negotiable. The four of those people together created a certain dynamic that couldn't be touched. And to imagine who would fill their roles in the band, to think that some no-name musicians would work out just as well was ludicrous.

And forget about all of this weird imagery Billy & Co. were putting out there with the song titles, the stolen images, etc.

While all of this chaos was going on, ridiculous tour dates were put up for San Francisco and, of all places, Asheville, NC. These weren't one-off dates, either. We're talking nine-date or 11-date residencies at these venues.

WTF was going on?! Last nite, the truth was revealed as the "Smashing Pumpkins" returned to the stage for the first time in nearly seven years as the "band" played a 28-song set in Paris. As was expected, the set was filled with new material that will be on Zeitgeist, but the band didn't waste any time, throwing in some of their well-known hits along with some more obscure material that hasn't been heard in even longer than seven years.

And there's also "Tarantula", the lead single from Zeitgeist. Yeah, I've listened to it, and, yeah, I've talked about it, and, yeah, I've read about it. Honestly, I'm still out to lunch about it. Really, it's the first rock-related release from Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin in far too long, so I'm instantly excited by the reality of it. But just how good is the song and is it really that good of a comeback tune? We'll see. Some people seem to think that the song does a good job of altering the masses that Billy Corgan's riffs and JC's drumming have returned. Hopefully the album will pan out the same way. Things are looking good right now.

Pumpkins-aside, there's also the Lost season finale tonite.

Can you see why there's been an almost month-long gap in posts here?! Hopefully I can get things back on track and be a little more regular about updating.

Coachella 2007 -> TAMED!

After spending a week in the desert of southern California, chilling out in Los Angeles, and getting pwned by the Arcade Fire last nite, it's time to document nearly everything that was my version of this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. There's no way to include everything in one entry, because that would alienate and exhaust many readers (if there even are that many people who read this thing!), but I'll do what I can to best summarize last weekend.

It just seems that after doing this thing for three years, it would somehow become "boring", "repetitive", and even "lame". Yeah, because sights like this are soooo dull:



I'm assuming that after the previous years' successes, promoters Goldenvoice decided to try a three-day festival, the first in Coachella history. Last year's version of the fest featured it's first repeat headliner (Tool) and this year followed suit and invited back '02 headliner Bjork and '03 festival closer Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, the biggest draw for the weekend had to be what was scheduled for Sunday, the last day of the festival, that featured a freshly-reunited Rage Against the Machine. While the did achieve a considerable amount of acclaim for the music they put out, the three "surviving" members of Rage had success with Chris Cornell and Audioslave, but you could just tell that something was amiss in their music. And there was the hibernation of Rage frontman Zack de la Rocha. He was supposed to put out a solo album that was going to blow the world to bits, with there even including talk of teaming up with ?uestlove from The Roots. It just goes to show you that certain essential pieces of the band certainly do not come close to topping what they did together.

Bjork brought Friday's crowd to their knees with material old and new. I wanted no part in what the Chilis had to offer for Saturday, so I caught the tail end of Girl Talk's set and made my way over to the Sahara where James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem was tearing the place apart through dance.

And then there was Sunday. Rage Against the Machine. We'll go more into this later.

With all of the bottles of water consumed, pictures of the dueling tesla coils taken, and every discussion of "meeting at the hot dog", this year's Coachella came to it's end earlier this week. Expect updates in the next couple of days about how it all went down in the desert.

Frippy, Sappy, Suppy

Well, this time of the year has finally arrived. In 24 hours, I will be in sunny southern California, ready to embark on my yearly trek into the desert to take in every single aspect (eh, close) of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. The set times are now up for everyone to take a look at and get delighted/pissed/annoyed/WTF about. I have yet to take any of the times in, but that's one of the things I'll examine on my evening flight into LAX tomorrow. I try to organize these things, knowing that everything will probably be thrown out the window once I get on the grounds. So whatevs.

Basically, enjoy the playoff hockey this week and I'll enjoy what So-Cal has to offer. First is a 2+ hour drive from LAX to Indio where I'll relax in my private condo (for a nite, that is). Then I'll pick up some friends in Palm Springs on Thursday, take in the surroundings. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are occupied by this. And my Monday will be spent in Los Angeles, a city I haven't been to in over 10 years. I'll actually attend the Diamondbacks/Dodgers game that nite, too! It's definitely looking like an action-packed weekend and it's a sure thing that updates are in the future once I return... next Tuesday. Although an immediate update might not happen as I'm attending that evening's show of the Arcade Fire, live in Atlanta.

Why do I do this to myself?!

Time to get packing...

'06-'07 Atlanta Thrashers - R.I.P.

After a relatively strong season (to Thrashers standards, maybe not to the league's standards), going four-and-out in the playoffs definitely left a bitter taste in the mouth of Blueland Nation. No one - players from both sides, media, the fans - expected a sweep in this series, no one. So for the Thrashers, the third seed in the Eastern Conference, to come into the playoffs like a black labrador and go out like a canary, it's a disappointment. After waiting seven years to get into the next step of the team's development and character, everyone folds completely. Kinda sad, but, unfortunately, that's the way things go.

Yes - they could've played better. Sure - we could've had those lucky bounces. But what's done is done. Just be proud of your team for getting that far.

Maybe it serves us right. Maybe everyone was too optimistic about everything. Did people realistically expect the Thrashers to make waves in the post-season? I sure didn't, and I love this team more than anything. Regardless, it still hurts that the team unconsciously decided to not be present for (at least) a game in the playoffs. Things like a, sniff, first-round sweep can only serve to motivate what remains next season.

A lot was made of the team finally reaching the playoffs. About how the last playoff hockey in Atlanta occurred 20+ years ago when the Flames were cast out of the city (courtesy of the New York Rangers... hmm). About how the young stars of the team could step up and prove their real worth. About how the Hossas, the Kovys, the Lehtonens, could really make a statement and boost this franchise's value in the city that wants a winner more than anything (save the Braves).

Was there too much pressure on the team's collective shoulders? Perhaps. They'll never tell, and maybe the players themselves will never know. Management made moves to sacrifice the future for now, deserately trading away some nice prospects (we'll see how they turn out in a few years) and future draft picks for some more stability and possibly more names on the marquee. While it seems like the Tkachuk deal didn't pan out exactly as Don Waddell hoped, he (along with Zhitnik, Belanger, and Dupuis) provided the added spark to get the team to the post-season for the first time in its seven-year history.

And wasn't that the point? Playoffs or bust? For a while there, that's what it seemed like. Then it turned into, "Series win or bust." Then, "Regain series control or bust." It eventually turned into, "Show up or bust."

It's one's love for the team that constantly encourages more and that other things get lost in hindsight. Ending the regular season without a playoff berth would've signaled a definite failure of hockey in Atlanta (at least with the management staff). But you know what? We not only made it into the playoffs, but we have a banner to hang as a result of the hard-work that got us there. All of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into each game this season will be rewarded come October when we raise some sort of recognition to the rafters of Philips Arena.

For a moment, at least, the four-and-out playoff run will be forgotten and a sense of pride will be renewed.

Blueland Nation - I mourn as the rest of you do about the past four losses of the team that ultimately ended their season. I lived it all vicariously through the players' triumphs and miscues and run-ins with fate. But please do recognize the bigger picture here. We made the playoffs. We didn't sneak into it, we held that spot almost all season long atop the Southeast Division. Granted, there's a lot of parity in that division, but we commanded (albeit with some level of struggle) it. No one would've expected last September and October that we would've won the Southeast Division. Sneaking in as an eight seed, probably no higher than a six seed, was more appropriate.

But we won the division fair and square. Don't forget who got you there and all that happened through this roller-coaster ride of a season.

I, for one, am proud of you, each and every one of the Atlanta Thrashers, for going the extra distance this season. We didn't have the outcome we all wanted and felt we earned. A exit from the playoffs is inevitable. Either you win sixteen games or lost a series. A series loss of 4-3 or 4-0 results in the same outcome - no more hockey for you! We got into the next round of hockey that some teams are left out of. We got there and we opened the eyes of the league and made everyone consider our chances, examine our team, and really consider us a threat.

Isn't that what it was all about from the start?

Thanks for a great season, Atlanta Thrashers. You made the playoffs and really gave yourselves motivation for next year. Missing the playoffs by a couple of points was a start. The scores of this series should be posted in the locker room and acknowledged before every game next season so that the players are constantly reminded of what's on the line and that there's reason to go on. Right now, it's difficult to think about that, but it's the truth. Go ahead and drown in your sorrows and disappointment. Come July though, we're a new team and we have a new agenda.

Let's hang that banner in October and start anew.

Let's go Thrashers!

OMG WTF LOLZ ROTF LMAO TTYL G2G, etc.

After last nite's terrible, miserable, pathetic game 3 loss to the New York Rangers, Blueland Nation is trying to figure out if this Atlanta Thrashers team has a pulse and if it will start beating in less than an hour in New York.

Now, I wasn't going to go into how non-existant the game was yesterday... but I am going to post something that will surely make everyone laugh, just because it's so stinkin' bizarre... and hilarious. Courtesy of a friend of mine who lives in Boston and hosts the Onward Charles blog, here's a video from the Angels/Red Sox game Monday afternoon. This isn't just your normal highlights of the game, though. It's a great moment caught on tape that deserves to be spread around. It's worth more than just a good, hearty laugh, IMO.

Red Sox + beer + pizza + =



Boston Herald: Pepperoni with that? Flying pizza at Fens

About this evening's game - go out there with dignity and pride, Thrashers. Please.

New Blog Alert - Welcome to BLUELAND

Just came across this this morning and it looks pretty good. From a college student in Columbus, GA comes a new voice for the Thrashers:

Welcome to BLUELAND

Welcome aboard!

Photos: ECQ Game 1 - Thrash vs. Range-uhs (clicky)

More are located at the flickr site, as is the norm. Clicking on any of the above brings you there as well.

ECQ Game 1 - vs. the Ranguhs (clicky)

Let's just start this off the bat with this - it was probably about 10 minutes prior to the pre-game skate that bunches of Thrashers fans were surrounding the home bench and spilling over to where Kari would be in goal for the start of the game... and there were massive chants of "LET'S GO THRASHERS!"

The home team representation witnessed last nite was unbelievable. That kind of atmosphere was what I truly expected on Saturday's season finale against Tampa Bay - and I was somewhat let down because it just wasn't there. Last nite's playoff opener, however, I felt it. I was immersed in it. You knew that this was a special nite and that Philips was going to be a magical place.

Oh, and how I was not once disappointed. There were times I thought I considered ear plugs because it was that darned loud. To have so many fans adorned in Thrashers blue and constantly keeping with "LET'S GO THRASHERS" chants and the "LUNDQVIST - YOU SUCK!" heckles ("heckle" is an injustice to what really occurred), it was so special. The fans of the Atlanta Thrashers are no Atlanta Braves fans, I'll tell you that. There was no sitting down and being so casual and numb to the idea that the Thrashers were fighting for their lives last nite, proving a point that we as both a team and city will not back down and we WILL make our presence known to whoever, and at any time.

Before the game starts? Yell your heart out.

After going down a goal? Come back louder than ever.

Getting down two goals? Well, the Blueland faithful was a little more reserved, but we never left the building.

Scoring a goal to cut the Rangers' lead in half? Words cannot express how amazing it felt to be a part of that experience.

It was just insane! I only wish I could make any of the remaining games for this series. Knowing that I'll have a difficult time trying to watch Saturday's matinee affair on television hurts so bad, especially after how this game went.

And I haven't even mentioned THE GAME yet.

I couldn't be more proud to represent the team that I love. They put it out there and tried their hardest to come back and really stick it to the opposition, even after some mistakes that eventually cost them the game. But whatever - with that kind of support and backing, it's going to be very difficult to be down for long if you are the Atlanta Thrashers.

As for the game itself, it wasn't so bad. The shot total was 38 to 24, in favor of the Rangers, and it was noticeable that the defence wasn't as strong as it should've been. Granted, they played some great hockey for some of the game (mainly in the third), but there were moments of desperation, yelling, "GET AGGRESSIVE!"

There wasn't a moment that crossed my mind that we'd take this series easily, and that game only proved that. John Kincade (local sports radio personality) forecasted a series result of four-to-one in favor of the Thrashers - uh, impossible. It's gonna be tight, it's gonna be nail-biting, and it's gonna be awesome.

Here are the things that concerned me the most about this game:

- the inexperience issue - Sure, on paper, we have a lot of playoff experience from members of the team, but as a unit (and as a city), it's either non-existant or absent for 27 years. I can handle a loss from the home team if it means that they can finally settle down, get all of the nerves and anxiety that this initial meeting caused behind them, and really play the game that they hinted at during last nite's loss. There were a lot of nervous guys on that ice and it showed. But if a nervous squad leads you to a one-goal loss, I'd hate to see what this team does when they are completely confident in themselves.

- the lack of power - There has been a lot of talk about Marian Hossa's invisibility during his time in Ottawa (regarding their playoff appearances). Last nite, not a single member of the Thrashers upper echelon of scorers appeared on the scoring sheet (save for Tkachuk's helper on the wonderful Belanger tally in the first). In order for this team to thrive and really persevere, Kovy, Hossa, and Slava need to show up. Do I really think that the Rangers' defensive corps shut them down that much to make them ineffective during that game? No. I think this ties into my first point.

- Kari's shakiness - Initially, I thought he was really holding himself together. That Jagr goal to start it all was just amazing and Kari had nothing on it. But as time went by, you could tell that his head was catching up with him. It eventually did as he lost a second somewhere and couldn't handle a rebound as he should've and it resulted in the game winner from Nylander. He needs to zen out somewhere, channel that part of his personality that "asks for the do-or-die situation", and wade in it. We know that Kari can be a difference-maker. Same as the previous point, this also applies to my first comment on the game.

Things that I could preach on forever about from the game:

- physicality - Since when have the Thrashers EVER pushed anyone around? Last nite, it was apparent that was a part of their agenda and they carried it out throughout the duration of the game. I mean, when players like Kovalchuk take out members of the opposition, that says something. And the Exelby hits? Yeah, they are expected, but he was seriously packing some juice when he LEVELED Sean Avery and FLATTENED Jagr in the third. The hits kept on coming and I loved that the team came out firing on a physical level. They weren't going to be pushed around by a team that a lot of people predict will survive this series. If they are going to go down, at least the Thrashers will go down in a blaze of glory.

- scoring from WHERE?! - We knew that Belanger was a nice addition when he racked up a bunch of points after the deadline, so his great deflection to start the Thrashers mark on the playoffs wasn't that surprising. Goals from Pascal Dupuis and especially Shane Hnidy were unexpected and probably a surprise to Rags' goalie Lundqvist and the rest of their defense. Brad Larsen and Nic Havelid got some great credit on the scoresheet, too. In the playoffs, you cannot solely rely on your big guns; everyone needs to produce. While the "Three Sticks Mafia" was held scoreless, our other "no-names" picked up the slack when they needed to and proved themselves. Awesome.

- power play - As of right now, we're 50% on the power play, which is nice! The fact that we even scored on our first chance, I must admit my mouth kinda dropped there. The management of special teams in the playoffs is almost as important as big-time goaltending. That the Thrashers cashed in on their first chance must be a morale booster for the team, a team that noticeably struggled throughout the regular season with these kind of scoring advantages. While we didn't exactly continue our earlier success on the late Pock penalty, we can say that we scored ONE. Now we have an idea on how to play it for the next three games, hopefully more!

So, Blueland faithful, be proud in your team today. They really showed up, as did every one of you. Anyone who questions the loyalty and passion for this team needs to be examined because we really proved ourselves out there - as a team, as fans, and as a city. There is no doubt in my mind that Saturday's game is going to be any different in terms of play. Hopefully the result will be reciprocal!

Let's go Thrashers!