The Legend of Zelda series is one of the most widely celebrated in all video games, and for good reason. Even the worst Zelda game is in a class of its own, but all of them have their occasional drawbacks. We’re here today to break down the best and worst parts of each mainline game, from the iconic original NES…
Join us as we contemplate Baselworld 2019 and present a selection of some of the most popular watches from the show.
The post BEST FROM: aBlogtoWatch & Friends April 30, 2019 appeared first on aBlogtoWatch.
The Jammy Awards have often been the setting for some incredible live music collaborations. Given the surplus of excellent musicians present at the ceremonies, this is no surprise. 2004’s awards saw Dr. John and George Porter, Jr. take the stage together, along with Toots Hibbert, Brian Stoltz and Matt Abts; in 2005, John Mayer jammed with Buddy Guy, Phil Lesh and Questlove. (Watch a video of their performance of “Hoochie Coochie Man” here.)
The third ever Jammy Awards, held on Oct. 2 at Roseland Ballroom in New York City, featured another amazing collaboration: Trey Anastasio, Derek Trucks and Gregg Allman took the stage along a Gov’t Mule lineup of Warren Haynes, Matt Abts, Andy Hess and Danny Louis to perform Mule’s “Soulshine.”
This performance featured award winners from that evening: Anastasio won Studio Album of the Year for his eponymous solo record as well as Tour of the Year for his Summer 2002 solo tour, and the song “Soulshine” itself won Song of the Year. Anastasio also shared the award for Archival Album of the Year, which went to Phish’s LivePhish Vol. 11, which highlighted the band’s Nov. 11, 1997 performance at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colo.
Watch the performance of “Soulshine” below, and head to the Relix YouTube channel for more videos!
The post Watch Trey Anastasio, Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks and Gov’t Mule Perform “Soulshine” at The Jammys appeared first on Jambands.
Goose announced their upcoming Fall Tour 2021. The newly added tour dates take place in October and November, following festival appearances at Bonnaroo and the 4848 Festival in September.
Both Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee and 4848 Festival in Showshoe, West Virginia are scheduled for Labor Day Weekend, with daily lineups yet to be confirmed. Goose begins their Fall Tour 2021 proper in New York City with concerts at Terminal 5 on October 8 and 9, marking the band’s first indoor shows in 568 days. The tour continues with back-to-back two-night stands, first at The State Theatre in Portland, Maine on October 28 and 29 before heading to The Palladium on October 30 and on Halloween night.
Atlanta’s new The Eastern hosts Goose on November 6 and 7. The five-piece then makes their New Orleans debut at Republic on November 9. Next on the tour is a stop at Houston’s House Of Blues on October 10. Goose’s first visit to Texas continues on November 11 and 12 at Austin’s Scoot Inn, followed by a show at Hifi in Dallas on November 13. Additional shows on the tour include November 16 at Oklahoma City’s Tower Theatre and November 17 at The Truman in Kansas City. A final two-nighter in Denver at the Mission Ballroom — the band’s largest venue to date — is scheduled for November 21 and 22.
“Really fascinated to see the kind of energy we’re going to create with our fans this fall,” multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach said. “There’s really nothing like all being in the same room together, and it’s been so long, I have a feeling we’re going to see some really special nights … especially in all of these new places we’ve never played before.”
A ticket lottery is currently underway for Goose’s 2021 Fall Tour dates (except for Denver) through Wednesday, May 19 at 5 p.m. ET. Pre-sale tickets go on sale Thursday, May 20 at 10 a.m. local venue time [Code: “STOCKS”]. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, May 21 at 10 a.m. local venue time.
A lottery for the Denver concerts is open through Wednesday, May 26 at 5 p.m. MT. Pre-sale tickets will be available on Thursday, May 27 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. MT. Mission Ballroom tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 28 at 10 a.m. MT.
The Black Ghost, a 1970 Dodge Challenger 426 Hemi, reached mythical status in Detroit's street racing scene, where it would sporadically appear, blow the doors off the competition, then disappear without warning. This is a great documentary about the vehicle, its owner, and the vintage racing culture. — Read the rest
Bass playing virtuoso Les Claypool celebrates his 57th birthday today. Though he’s shared the stage with a nearly endless array of talented musicians in a variety of projects, Claypool is perhaps best-known for holding down the low end for seminal alternative rockers Primus. In honor of Les’ birthday, enjoy a video of a complete performance the band made in 2011.
Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane held a Primus show at at Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia back on February 28, 2011. The career-spanning setlist led with the two opening tracks from 1991’s Sailing the Seas of Chees, “Seas of Cheese” and “Here Come The Bastards.” The Sydney audience was treated to the first live Primus performance of “Eyes of the Squirrel” which would come out later that year on Green Naugahyde.
Primus also played such classic favorites as “Frizzle Fry” and “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver” as well as The Les Claypool Frog Brigade’s “Whamola.” Pink Floyd’s “Money” was utilzed to intro the set closing “Harold On The Rocks” and “Golden Boy” and “Too Many Puppies” filled the encore slot.
Professionally-shot video captured by Moshcam of Claypool leading Primus Down Under can be viewed here:
[Originally Published: September 29, 2017]
Over the weekend, graffiti artists bombed at least two dozen New York City train cars resulting in a traveling gallery of magnificent pieces reminiscent of subway art's 1970s heyday. From The City:
— Read the restThe bulk of the hits occurred during the nightly 1 a.m.-to-5
Sixteen years ago The String Cheese Incident headlined the Big Summer Classic Tour, which also featured longtime and frequent Cheese collaborator Keller Williams, among other acts. For the tour finale on this date in 2005 at Ives Concert Park in Danbury, Connecticut, both SCI and K-Dub delivered interlocking, guest and cover-filled sets.
Keller kicked off his frame with “Thin Mint” into “Portapotty” followed by a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street.” Williams also welcomed Big Summer Classic tour mate Michael Franti for some rapping on “Swing.” After “Mental Brunette Instra,” SCI’s Michael Kang added fiddle to the title track of Cheese and Williams’ 1999 collaborative album, Breathe. Keller would continue with John Prine’s “Illegal Smile” and closed out his set proper with “Bath Of Fire.”
Williams would stay on and initiate a jam to begin the Cheese set with members of the band trickling in. Keller stayed on to lead the band through his own “Fuel For The Road.” Williams departed as Cheese got into “Lonesome Fiddle Blues” by legendary fiddler Vassar Clements. The rocking rarity “Swampy Waters” followed. Cheese only played the tune 12 times in 2004 and 2005, as per Friends of Cheese, but it was fitting as the show was infamous for having a collection of swampy looking water between the crowd and the stage. “Swampy Waters” then led into the Stanley Brothers “How Mountain Girls Can Love” followed by “45th Of November,” “Smile” and “Desert Dawn.” A pairing of “Sand Dollar” and “Texas” closed out the set.
For the encore, the bassists on the Big Summer Classic Tour — Keith Moseley (SCI), Ryan Stasik (Umphrey’s McGee), Ben Bernstein (New Monsoon), Carl Young (Spearhead) and Keller Williams — got together for the Spinal Tap classic “Big Bottom.” The Tap original features Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls all on bass. Then, all Big Summer Classic performers assembled for Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved” to bring the tour to a close.
Listen to Keller Williams and SCI’s interlocking sets from Danbury below:
[Originally Published: July 24, 2020]
Thomas Renoldner's polarizing short film DON'T KNOW WHAT has been on the festival circuit, but since all that has moved online during the pandemic, you can now watch it on Vimeo. Those with sensitivity to strobing or flashing should use caution.
There's probably not much middle ground, as it's kind of a love-it or hate-it sort of work. Via the artist:
Employing the method of single frame editing, primarily focused on sound, the realistic film image transforms into a surreal, structuralist and finally even abstract film. It creates a musical composition while experimenting with the human voice and transforming language into sound and music. DONT KNOW WHAT questions classical rules of different film genres by combining elements of avant-garde film / video art and entertainment cinema.
Image: Vimeo / Thomas Renoldner
This week on Snapshots we have a nice selection of screenshots from a wide variety of games. Some from Ghost of Tsushima, others from Spider-Man, and a few from some games we have never featured in this series before today. Exciting!
Immensely talented and well-respected musician and composer Herbie Hancock celebrates his 83rd birthday today. A consistent leader in innovation and creativity, Hancock has long been an immeasurable influence on the development of several styles of jazz and rock music. The Chicago-born prodigy issued his first solo album on Blue Note Records in 1962 and has been continuously contributing new compositions and equally impressive recordings ever since.
For Herbie’s birthday today, below is a look back at his long and successful career with a video of him performing live in each decade he’s been active. You’ll find one video from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s as a way to travel through the ever-expanding progression of Hancock’s style.
First is a clip from Stockholm, Sweden in 1967 featuring Hancock on piano with the Miles Davis Quintet comprised of the legendary trumpeter, along with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. The video captures their performance of “Agitation,” which they later recorded for the 1965 album E.S.P..
| Agitation | 00:00:00 |
|---|
| Channel | Herbie Hancock (See 3 videos) |
|---|---|
| Bands | Miles Davis (See 42 videos) , Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) , Wayne Shorter (See 20 videos) , Ron Carter (See 6 videos) and Tony Williams (See 4 videos) |
In 1974, Hancock released the landmark fusion LP Head Hunters showcasing a funk-forward stylistic shift. That same year Hancock and The Headhunters band featuring saxophonist Bennie Maupin, bassist Paul Jackson, drummer Mike Clark and percussionist Bill Summers appeared live on the German music program Musikladen where they played the LP’s opening track “Chameleon.”
| Chameleon | 00:00:00 |
|---|
| Channel | Herbie Hancock (See 3 videos) |
|---|---|
| Band | Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) |
One of the first singles to garner popular attention that featured the newly introduced technique of “scratching” a record, Hancock’s 1983 single “Rockit” is one of his most well-known recordings. The video below comes from a 1984 performance in London featuring vocalist Bernard Fowler, keyboardist Jeff Bova, drummers J.T. Lewis and Anton Fier, bassist Wayne Braithwaite and DJ Grand Mixer D.ST..
| Rockit | 00:00:00 |
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| Channel | MrSpoton62 |
|---|---|
| Band | Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) |
This video is from an appearance in Japan at the Kawaguchi Lake Jazz Festival in 1996, in which Hancock was joined by his All Stars including guitarist John Scofield, drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Dave Holland, percussionist Don Alias and saxophonist Michael Brecker. Here Hancock leads the ensemble through a take on “Mercy Street.”
| Mercy Street | 00:00:00 |
|---|
| Channel | MRK |
|---|---|
| Band | Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) |
Hancock joined Widespread Panic as a special guest during WSP’s appearance at Bonnaroo in 2005. The fan-shot footage above captures the sit-in on Panic’s cover of “Arleen.”
| Arleen | 00:00:00 |
|---|
| Channel | CapturedAlive |
|---|---|
| Bands | Widespread Panic (See 530 videos) and Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) |
This “live” in-studio footage comes from the recording of 2010’s The Imagine Project featuring Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks on the track “Space Captain.” The video also includes bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, vocalist Mike Mattison and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.
| Space Captain | 00:00:00 |
|---|
| Channel | Brad Mangiafico |
|---|---|
| Bands | Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) , Susan Tedeschi (See 31 videos) and Derek Trucks (See 39 videos) |
In 2022, at age 82, Hancock was on the lineup for the mighty Glastonbury Festival in England. The video from his set features Hancock performing “Cantaloupe Island,” which he wrote in the 1960s while a member of the Miles Davis Quintet. The song, now considered a standard, appeared on Hancock’s 1964 album Empyrean Isles and again with a funkier arrangement (as “Cantelope Island”) on 1976’s Secrets.
| Cantaloupe Island | 00:00:00 |
|---|
| Channel | BBC Music (See 2,732 videos) |
|---|---|
| Band | Herbie Hancock (See 26 videos) |
[Updated; originally published April 12, 2016.]
Today (March 15) marks Phil Lesh’s 80th birthday. An incredible milestone for an incredible man. The seemingly unstoppable, inexhaustible — which Phil would attribute to Cody, from whom he received a liver transplant — bass player was the low end foundation over which the Grateful Dead were allowed to shine. He now presides as the patriarch of the jam scene, doing much of that work as the curator of his longstanding revolving door project — Phil Lesh & Friends.
The first concert under the Phil Lesh & Friends moniker took place on September 24, 1994 at the Berkeley Community Theatre as an acoustic show featuring Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and keyboardist Vince Welnick. But after Jerry Garcia’s death and the disbanding of the Grateful Dead in 1995, Phil & Friends largely became the crucible for which the music and cultural phenomena of the Grateful Dead continued and flourished.
Throughout the years, the project has featured some of jam’s most notable luminaries and Phil has been integral in bringing up young musicians from the jam scene and beyond. To celebrate Phil’s 80th birthday, JamBase takes a look at eight shows from eight amazing Phil & Friends’ lineups.
The first entry is that very first show with Garcia, Weir and Welnick. The audio recording of the acoustic show starts out with some classic Bobby banter about MTV Unplugged and includes stripped-down gems of “Dupree’s Diamond Blues,” “Attics Of My Life” and “Throwing Stones,” the latter of which appears to be the only known acoustic version with more than three members of the Grateful Dead.
The meeting of two towering pillars of the jam scene, these legendary “Phil & Phriends” shows — April 15 and 16, 1999 — from the famed Warfield in San Francisco featured guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish along with Steve Kimock and soon-to-be frequent Phil & Friends drummer John Molo as well as Grateful Dead member Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay on vocals. The show kicked off with “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower” followed by a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” ahead of the first set closer of the rarity “Alligator.” The show also included Phish’s “Prince Caspian” and “Chalkdust Torture.” Listen to full-show audio from April 16 below:
This show from the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the summer of 1999 featured members of jamgrass up-and-comers The String Cheese Incident as well as stalwart jam rockers moe. The core lineup featured SCI’s Michael Kang1 (electric mandolin) and Kyle Hollingsworth (keyboards) along with Kimock on guitar and Molo on drums. Cheese guitarist Billy Nershi and percussionist Michael Travis would help kick off the show on the Grateful Dead’s “Playing In The Band” and SCI’s “Round The Wheel.” moe. guitarist Al Schnier also joined the band toward the end of the single long set for “The Wheel,” “Terrapin Station” and a “Playing” reprise to bookend the set. Nershi would return for the encore, the Dead acoustic classic “Ripple.”
One of the most beloved incarnations of the early Phil & Friends era — and most stable lineup — became known as The Phil Lesh Quintet and featured Lesh joined by guitarists Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring, keyboardist Rob Barraco and Molo on drums. The Quintet produced many memorable shows between 2000 and 2002 including one night at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey. While Molo played drums for most of the show Grateful Dead drummer joined in for “St Stephen, “Not Fade Away” and “Casey Jones.” Saxophonist Greg Osby also played the entire second set.
Trey Anastasio once again joined Phil in 2006 for a performance in Las Vegas at JamBase’s 20 For 20 Festivals We’ve Lost, Vegoose. The lineup also featured keyboardist John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood and a sit-in from Phish bassist Mike Gordon on banjo for Phish’s “Back On The Train.” The group would also play Dead classics “Shakedown Street,” “Row Jimmy” and a “Help On The Way,” Slipknot!,” “Franklin’s Tower” section to close out the set ahead of a “Not Fadeaway” encore.
In 2015, Phil & Friends conducted a legendary Lockn’ run. On September 11 the band would include the Chris Robinson Brotherhood: Chris Robinson, guitarist Neal Casal, keyboardist Adam MacDougall and drummer Tony Leone. Guitarist Eric Krasno would top off the killer lineup who would treat the festival corwd to favorites like “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Playing In The Band” and “Althea” as well as The Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter.”
The next night, legendary guitarists Carlos Santana and Warren Haynes would count as Friends. The rock icons would perform Dead classics like “Scarlett Begonias,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “The Other One,” “Fire On The Mountain” and “Dark Star” along with Molo, longtime Phil collaborator guitarist Barry Sless and Dark Star Orchestra keyboardist Rob Barraco.
Phil & Friends returned to Lockn’ in 2016 and swelled to include drummer Jon Fishman and Page McConnell of Phish, The Infamous Stringdusters, drummer Joe Russo and guitarist Anders Osborne. The acoustic instruments of The Dusters added nice touches on “Dire Wolf” and Rosalie McFall.” Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi would also join the band for “Mr. Charlie” and a stellar “Sugaree.”
On Saturday Jan. 18, Ghost Light will perform at New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl.
For those fans who can’t make it to the show, The Relix Channel is offering fans a free livestream of the entire show.
The show begins at 8:30 p.m. ET, and you can tune in at Relix.com/Live.
The band is made up of guitarists Tom Hamilton and Raina Mullen (who worked together in American Babies), pianist Holly Bowling, and a rhythm section of drummer Scotty Zwang and bassist Steve Lyons. The group previously performed at the Brooklyn Bowl in November of 2018; watch a complete video of that show below!
Read Relix‘s feature on Ghost Light from our September 2019 issue here.
The post The Relix Channel Sets Free Ghost Light Livestream appeared first on Jambands.
After debuting this November, the Grateful Dead-inspired action sports film Fire On The Mountain is now available to stream in its entirety online.
The film’s all-star lineup of action athletes include snowboarders Jeremy Jones, Danny Davis and Kimmy Fasani, as well as famed surfer Rob Machado and skiers Michelle Parker and Chris Benchetler. (Benchetler also conceptualized the film, and served as director.)
Longtime Grateful Dead disciple Bill Walton serves as the narrator of Fire On The Mountain, and GD legacy manager/archivist David Lemieux oversaw the film’s music.
“This project is one of the coolest things that I have ever been involved with, and it validates my criteria for why I do things—people, passion, and purpose. I live on the edge, and beyond. Fire On The Mountain takes this notion to incalculable heights and spectacular places,” Walton previously said of the film.
For more information on Fire On The Mountain click here.
Watch the full 27-minute film below:
The post Watch the Grateful Dead-Inspired ‘Fire On The Mountain’ Action Sports Film featuring Bill Walton, Rob Machado, Chris Benchetler and More appeared first on Jambands.
Goose celebrated Halloween with a sold-out concert at Mercury Lounge in New York City last Thursday and then opened for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong in New Haven on Saturday. The Connecticut-based quartet unveiled pro-shot video featuring a 42-minute segment of “Halloween Hits” from the run.
The members of Goose dressed in the gear of the Flint Tropics in an ode to the 2008 movie Semi-Pro as part of the “Netflox & Chill” theme. Goose’s Halloween show featured a mix of originals and a bevy of covers, most of which the band hadn’t performed before and are included on the Semi-Pro soundtrack. The band reprised a few of the covers in New Haven.
The sequence featured in the video below starts with the untzy original “Yeti” and continues with the Goose debut of “Get The Funk Out Ma Face” by The Brothers Johnson. Guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach, bassist Trevor Weekz and drummer Ben Atkind then dig in on one of their oldest songs, “Wysteria Lane” before Mitarotonda channels Patti LaBelle on a cover debut of “Lady Marmalade.” Goose’s take on Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth Of Beethoven” closes out the video.
Watch Goose’s “Halloween Hits” below:
Guitarist Steve Kimock celebrated the 25th anniversary of his Steve Kimock & Friends project and his 64th birthday over the course of a three-night stand at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, Arkansas over the weekend. Steve, bassist Reed Mathis, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer John Kimock were joined by a number of guests in Fayetteville including Leslie Mendelson and Miles Kimock.
The run started on Friday with a show that included such Kimock repertoire classics as “It’s Up To You,” “Why Can’t We All Just Samba,” “Nana’s Chalk Pipe” and “Philadelphia Mambo.” Tanya Shylock of opening act Mountain of Venus emerged during the second set to lead the group through a take on Kris Kristofferson’s “Me & Bobby McGee” that also featured Miles Kimock on guitar. Steve Kimock & Friends ended the night by pairing Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” with the Grateful Dead’s “Terrapin Station.”
Saturday’s celebratory concert came on Steve Kimock’s birthday. The quartet followed the “Ice Cream” opener by working both “The Other One” and the “James Bond Theme” into an instrumental “Bird Song.” Leslie Mendelson then came out to add piano and vocals to a cover of George Harrison’s “I’d Have You Anytime” and the Kimock original “Mother’s Song.” Miles Kimock joined the quartet to close the first set on Saturday with “Golden Road” from Steve’s Zero days.
Steve Kimock & Friends kicked off Saturday’s second set with the beloved “Tongue N’ Groove” and the Grateful Dead’s “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot!” Mendelson returned to the stage for a take on Daniel Lanois’ “The Maker” and Miles Kimock then added to “Five Before Funk” ahead of the “Many Rivers To Cross” closer.
The guest action on Sunday began towards the end of the first set when Mendelson, Shylock and legendary guitarist Earl Cate emerged for the Jerry Garcia Band repertoire staple “My Sisters & Brothers.” Mendelson stuck around for covers of John Anderson’s “Mississippi Moon” and Bruce Cockburn’s “Waiting For Miracle.” The latter also featured Shylock on vocals. Steve Kimock went on to dedicate the second set to Ginger Baker, who died earlier in the day. Leslie came back out for a run of “Crazy Fingers” and “Satellite City” before Cate, Shylock and guitarist Mike Pascale augmented the quartet on a version of “You’re The One” featuring a bit of “Pusherman” within. The core Steve Kimock & Friends quartet ended the run with an instrumental rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Stella Blue.”
Friday, October 4
Set One: It’s Up To You > Dark Star, High & Lonesome, Anorexia, Why Can’t We All Just Samba
Set Two: Nana’s Chalk Pipe, Philadelphia Mambo, Me & Bobby McGee (w/ Tanya Shylock on vocals and Miles Kimock on guitar), Little Wing > Terrapin Station
Saturday, October 5
Set One: Ice Cream, Bird Song > The Other One > James Bond Theme > Bird Song, I’d Have You Anytime (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano), Mother’s Song (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano), Golden Road (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano & Miles Kimock on guitar)
Set Two: Tongue N’ Groove, Help On The Way > Slipknot!, The Maker (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano), Five Before Funk (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano & Miles Kimock on guitar), Many Rivers To Cross
Sunday, October 6
Set One: Point Of No Return, New Africa, Gomorrah, My Sisters & Brothers (w/ Leslie Mendelson on piano and vocals, Tanya Shylock on vocals and Earl Cate on guitar), Mississippi Moon (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano), Waiting For A Miracle (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano and Tanya Shylock on vocals)
Set Two: Butter > Bad Hair > Butter, Tangled Hangers, Crazy Fingers (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano), Satellite City (w/ Leslie Mendelson on vocals & piano), You’re The One (w/ Earl Cate on guitar, Mike Pascale on guitar and Miles Kimock on guitar), Stella Blue
The Republican outrage factory is working overtime to pump out bullshit today, and they're flinging all the cowpies they can scoop up in their filthy little paws at the House Intelligence Chairman. The GOP has finally found the real COLLUSION, and it is Adam Schiff!
After Bill Barr's Itty Bitty Book Report, the howler monkey brigade has seized on the NO CONCLUSION as evidence that the entire investigation was illegitimate from the jump. You know, just like with Hillary Clinton's email server after the FBI found no reason to charge her. And Benghazi. And Uranium One. And Vince Foster. And Whitewater. Ahem.
Anyway, the GOP is in no mood to shit on Mueller, who just "exonerated" their guy, so they've set their sights on Schiff. Trump already called for him to be "forced to resign" from Congress, just this morning, and right on time here's Texas Congressman Mike Conaway (R-Chutzpah) opening this morning's hearing into Russian interference into our election by demanding that Schiff resign as chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
Oh, noes! Did Adam Schiff ninja out of an Uber and race over to get leaked intel from the White House, then return to announce that he'd gotten top secret whistle blower data to deliver to the White House, and then hold a press conference at the White House mooing about Obama's secret "wire tapps" of the Trump campaign? LOL, we are silly! That was then-House Intel Committee (HPSCI) chair Devin Nunes (R-Gem), straight makin' shit up in an attempt to murder the Russia investigation. The optics on that one were so bad that poor Devin had to pretend to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. So now the GOP would like Schiff to resign too, please, for the dastardly crime of pointing out that pretty much everyone in Trumpland was only too delighted to accept an electoral boost from Russia, and if they didn't manage to collude, it sure as hell wasn't from lack of trying.
Conaway entered into the record a letter signed by all nine Republicans on the Intel Committee demanding that Schiff quitfire himself for abusing his position "to knowingly promote false information, having damaged the integrity of this Committee, and undermined faith in U.S. government institutions." Which is pretty fucking rich coming from a bunch of partisan liars who spent the past two years screaming about the DEEP STATE FBI and threatening to hold the Deputy Attorney General in contempt of Congress.
But Adam Schiff is not here for Republican bullshit. Here he is asking why it is exactly that the GOP is totes cool with everyone in the Trump campaign staring soulfully into Russia's eyes, taking long walks on the beach, kissing 'til their mouths go numb, and doing EVERYTHING BUT consummating their love on the gold escalator of Trump Tower.
It's a stemwinder, but we're going to quote it here in its entirety because it's really important.
My colleagues may think it's okay that the Russians offered dirt on the Democratic candidate for president as part of what was described as "the Russian government's effort to help the Trump campaign." You might think that's okay. My colleagues might think it's okay that when that was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the president's son did not call the FBI, he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help. No, instead that son said that he would "love" the help of the Russians. You might think it's okay that he took that meeting.
You might think it's okay that Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience running campaigns, also took that meeting. You might think it's okay that the president's son-in-law also took that meeting. You might think it's okay that they concealed it from the public. You might think it's okay that their only disappointment after that meeting was that the dirt they received on Hillary Clinton wasn't better. You might think that's okay.
You might think it's okay that when it was discovered a year later that they'd lied about that meeting and said it was about adoptions, you might think it's okay that the president is reported to have helped dictate that lie. You might think that's okay. I don't. You might think it's okay that the presidential chairman of a campaign would offer information about that campaign to a Russian in exchange for money or debt forgiveness. You might think that's okay. I don't.
You might think it's okay that campaign chairman offered polling data, campaign polling data to someone linked to Russian intelligence. I don't think that's okay. You might think it's okay that the president himself called on Russia to hack his opponent's emails, 'if they were listening.' You might think it's okay that later that day, in fact, the Russians attempted to hack a server affiliated with that campaign. I don't think that's okay. You might think that it's okay that the president's son-in-law sought to establish a secret back channel of communications with the Russians through a Russian diplomatic facility. I don't think that's okay.
You might think it's okay that an associate of the president made direct contact with the GRU through Guccifer 2 and Wikileaks, that is considered a hostile intelligence agency. You might think that it's okay that a senior campaign official was instructed to reach that associate and find out what that hostile intelligence agency had to say, in terms of dirt on his opponent.You might think it's okay that the National Security Advisor-Designate secretly conferred with the Russian ambassador about undermining U.S. sanctions, and you might think it's okay he lied about it to the FBI.
You might say that's all okay. You might say that's just what you need to do to win, but I don't think it's okay. I think it's immoral. I think it's unethical. I think it's unpatriotic. And yes, I think it's corrupt and evidence of collusion.
Do not come for Adam Schiff, Mikey. He sees your treasonous, Russia-loving, Trump-stooge, unpatriotic ass coming a mile off.
THIS AIN'T OVER.
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The box art for the next game in the Far Cry series, Far Cry New Dawn leaked on social media ahead of tonight’s announcement at The Game Awards. As per usual for the series, it’s provocative and transgressive. It depicts a white man strapped to a car riddled with bullet holes, and in the foreground, it shows two black…
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There may be smarter comics, there may be shorter comics, there may be better drawn comics, but anyway here's today's wiener joke.
Last night, the NYPD finally got around to arresting one of the "Proud Boys" responsible for assaulting several activists this past weekend. Said "Proud Boy" was 38-year-old New York City resident Geoffrey Owens, who was charged with "riot and attempted assault" -- an odd choice given that there is actual video of these people surrounding the activists and beating and kicking them in true American History X fashion.
Reportedly, there is an NYPD investigation into the rest of the Proud Boys involved in this weekend's assault.
Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath, although it's nice to see that public pressure can accomplish a little, every once in a while.
Young is, it turns out, not an unknown entity. Prior to his arrest, while the police were still "looking" for him, an anonymous woman published an essay on Medium saying that she was the young Muslim woman Young had previously bragged about beating on Facebook.
"Tourists have videos for sure I saw them while bashing that terrorist breeder I adjusted my hat for a picture [sic, sic, sic]," Young wrote in conversation with fellow Proud Boy Jovi Val -- a friend of noted white supremacist Jason Kessler and one of the few people to show up to this year's Unite The Right rally.
Be forewarned, the assault the woman describes is pretty freaking harrowing:
I am a Brown Muslim woman. On June 10, 2017 I attended a counter-protest demonstrating against the "March Against Shariah," a nationwide anti-Muslim event organized by the SPLC-designated hate group "ACT For America." When the event ended at 2pm, the counter protest marched to City Hall and dispersed. I had left the march and went to Starbucks. On my to my train station I encountered a group of 4 men wearing "Make America Great Again" hats and "Proud Boys" shirts, who then began harassing me because I was wearing a shirt with Arabic writing on it. One of the men singled me out and repeatedly yelled Islamophobic and misogynistic comments. He told me that my family and I should "go back to our country." He called me a "terrorist" and said that a "Muslim slut" like me should be killed, along with my family.
Alone, surrounded, and fearing for my safety, I threw my iced coffee toward him and tried to get away.
He became instantly enraged and lunged toward me. He grabbed me by the throat and pushed me up against the wall. He held me there in a choke-hold, but because I was struggling he slammed me to the ground and tried to put his whole body on top of mine. I kept fighting back so he slammed me again on my left side and pushed my face into the sidewalk, and then slammed me one more time before he put his knee on the back of my head while he kept trying to choke me. During all of this I remember telling him to stop and that he was choking me, but he said "I can still hear you breathing" and choked me even harder. While I was being attacked, one of the other men stole my phone, slammed it on the concrete, and then threw it into the stree. It was completely destroyed.
Following that assault, Young changed his bio on Facebook to note that he was now a "Fourth Degree Proud Boy."
How does one become a Fourth Degree Proud Boy, you ask? By shedding blood. By engaging in conflict at a protest. By beating up a small Muslim woman. This -- along with the fact that the Proud Boys were filmed chasing activists down the street in order to bludgeon them -- really goes against the whole "Oh! We're only defending ourselves! Can't blame us for that!" line that Proud Boy leader Gavin McInnes is trying to float. I'd also like to point out that in the official Proud Boy obituary of a guy I actually used to be good friends with many years ago (which I won't link to), he was described as someone who "was not afraid to take the fight to Antifa." Nice!
These people have no qualms about going around assaulting people, including women -- but not only that, as you can see in the videos, they take joy in it. They are smiling and laughing as they surround and kick another human being. This, for them, is a fabulous, joyous time. And meanwhile, just as Trump hailed Greg Gianforte for having body slammed a reporter last night, few on the Right are doing much to try and distance themselves from them or their violence. Many of them, like Sean Hannity, are even trying to defend them. Because this is the kind of shit they are into.
Just as their screaming about Elizabeth Warren has absolutely nothing to do with any great respect or care for Native Americans, all the screaming they do about Antifa has nothing to do with any disdain for violence. They love violence! Violence is their favorite! They just think that this is a good PR move for them.
Hopefully, Young will be charged with more than just "attempted assault." Hopefully there will be more Proud Boys charged. More hopefully, people will start to see, however, that this group is not a "fringe" group, that McInnes isn't simply a provocateur, but that these groups, their views and their actions, represent the current Republican Party and the Right at large.
*UPDATE* The remaining 8 Proud Boys sought by police will reportedly turn themselves in by the end of the day.
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Hovertext:
Learning etymology is like going through the attic of a recently dead uncle, who seemed mostly domesticated, but who spent his life having x-rated adventures.
Did Kavanaugh withdraw yet? No?
HOW 'BOUT NOW? Still no? Okay, let's type fast here. Because our money is on Judge Prepschool McRapenough tapping out any minute now. Let's review this wacky weekend, shall we?
The last hope for Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to save Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination was to stop Christine Blasey Ford from testifying so they could vote on Monday (that's today!) and swear the Roe-slayer in ten minutes later. Almost like they were racing against the clock because they knew more bad news was coming out! (See, that there is what we call "foreshadowing!")
So Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley issued a 10 p.m. Friday deadline for Blasey Ford to submit her prepared remarks and commit to testify Wednesday, despite her lawyer's clear statement that she could not appear before Thursday of next week. Except Susan Collins said no dice, and Blasey Ford's attorney reminded Grassley that her client was busy meeting with the FBI about the death threats raining down on her and her family, so maybe they could back the fuck up already.
The 10:00 p.m. deadline is arbitrary. Its sole purpose is to bully Dr. Ford and deprive her of the ability to make a considered decision that has life-altering implications for her and her family. She has already been forced out of her home and continues to be subjected to harassment, hate mail, and death threats. Our modest request is that she be given an additional day to make her decision.
At midnight Friday, Grassley blinked -- and in the most Grassley way possible.
TOTALLY NORMAL.
On Saturday, Blasey Ford announced her intention to testify this coming Thursday. And instead of admitting they got beat and withdrawing the nomination, for the love of God, Grassley and the boys set about trying to find a lady lawyer to interrogate a sexual assault survivor and call her a lying whore. Then they took to the airwaves to say that they had every intention of confirming Kavanaugh, no matter what Blasey Ford says. Because there's a handful of suburban white women who don't hate them yet, we guess?
Interesting choice of words there, Yertle! Republicans took heart when the other party guests named by Blasey Ford said they had no recollection of the party where she says she was attacked by Kavanaugh and his buddy Mark Judge. But they stuck by their refusal to call Judge to the stand to be questioned on the good old days at Georgetown Prep when he and "Bart O'Kavanaugh" would engage in blackout drunken hijinks. And they're still refusing to allow the FBI to investigate or call Judge or any other witness to testify Thursday.
Meanwhile, Grassley's communications consigliere Garrett Ventry, who'd been coordinating the PR response to Blasey Ford's allegations, resigned abruptly on Saturday after it emerged he'd been fired in 2017 from the office of North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. Of freaking course!
Trumpland and Kavanaugh were vowing to fight until the death -- can't get clobbered in the midterms if your donors get pissed off about a failed SCOTUS nomination and close their wallets, can you? So they issued denials that Kavanaugh had been in on GOP hack Ed Whelan's harebrained scheme to exonerate his pal with an evil twin theory. Why was Whelan searching Blasey Ford's LinkedIn page 90 MINUTES after the White House got her name from The Post?
That morning, Ford alerted an associate via email that Whelan had looked at her LinkedIn page, according to the email, which was reviewed by The Post. LinkedIn allows some subscribers to see who views their pages. Ford sent the email about 90 minutes after The Post shared her name with a White House spokesman and hours before her identity was revealed in a story posted on its website.
Faced with admitting that Kavanaugh remembered exactly who she was from being in the room where it happened, or copping to leaking the name to Whelan so he could work his fuckery, the White House suddenly remembered that Raj Shah had "called a number of Trump allies to warn them about the upcoming story."
UH HUH.
Kavanaugh spent the weekend huddled at the White House for marathon murder boards to prepare for Thursday's hearing. But he got his wee feefees hurt by all the mean personal questions. The Post reports,
But Kavanaugh grew frustrated when it came to questions that dug into his private life, particularly his drinking habits and his sexual proclivities, according to three people familiar with the preparations, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. He declined to answer some questions altogether, saying they were too personal, these people said.
"I'm not going to answer that," Kavanaugh said at one point according to a senior White House official, who said that the questions were designed to go over the line and that he struck the right tone.
Yes, the guy who insisted upon asking how many times Bill Clinton ejaculated into the sink and touched Monica Lewinsky's genitals, the guy who demanded DNA from Vince Foster's daughter four years after his suicide, the guy who flogged lies about Hillary Clinton having an affair with Foster to journalists, THAT GUY is getting hot under the collar about inappropriate sexual questions.
KARMA'S A BITCH, AIN'T SHE.
Then Sunday morning The New York Times reported that Kavanaugh was going to blow this whole story out of the water by giving the Judiciary Committee his datebook from 36 years ago. Because there are absolutely ZERO entries in 17-year-old Brett's diary saying, "Go swimming, get blasted in the afternoon, corner girl in upstairs bedroom and try to rape her." Checkmate, Libs!
And then the second woman came forward.
Last night, The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer broke the story of Deborah Ramirez, who alleges that a drunken Kavanaugh dropped trou and stuck his penis in her face when they were freshmen at Yale in 1983. Because he is a disgusting lout with no respect for women. (NOT ALLEGEDLY. FACT.)
"We were sitting in a circle," she said. "People would pick who drank." Ramirez was chosen repeatedly, she said, and quickly became inebriated. At one point, she said, a male student pointed a gag plastic penis in her direction. Later, she said, she was on the floor, foggy and slurring her words, as that male student and another stood nearby. (Ramirez identified the two male onlookers, but, at her request, The New Yorker is not naming them.)
A third male student then exposed himself to her. "I remember a penis being in front of my face," she said. "I knew that's not what I wanted, even in that state of mind." She recalled remarking, "That's not a real penis," and the other students laughing at her confusion and taunting her, one encouraging her to "kiss it." She said that she pushed the person away, touching it in the process. Ramirez, who was raised a devout Catholic, in Connecticut, said that she was shaken. "I wasn't going to touch a penis until I was married," she said. "I was embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated." She remembers Kavanaugh standing to her right and laughing, pulling up his pants. "Brett was laughing," she said. "I can still see his face, and his hips coming forward, like when you pull up your pants." She recalled another male student shouting about the incident. "Somebody yelled down the hall, 'Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face,' " she said.
In the interest of fairness, let's acknowledge that Ramirez's memory is fuzzy, and several people she says witnessed the incident are denying that it occurred. But there are others who remember hearing about it at the time.
The story stayed with him, he said, because it was disturbing and seemed outside the bounds of typically acceptable behavior, even during heavy drinking at parties on campus. The classmate said that he had been shocked, but not necessarily surprised, because the social group to which Kavanaugh belonged often drank to excess. He recalled Kavanaugh as "relatively shy" until he drank, at which point he said that Kavanaugh could become "aggressive and even belligerent."
But this isn't some story Ramirez cooked up at the last minute. As Mayer told NBC's today show this morning,
The story broke overnight. But it dates back 35 years ... She didn't come forward with it. What happened was, the classmates at Yale were talking to each other about it, they were emailing about it. We've seen the emails, back in July before Christine Blasey Ford came forward, and eventually the word of it spread. It spread to the Senate. It spread to the media. And we reached out to her.
Also, Kavanaugh's roommate at the time found the allegation credible.
"Debbie and I became close friends shortly after we both arrived at Yale," he said. "She stood out as being exceptionally honest and gentle. I cannot imagine her making this up." He said that he never witnessed Kavanaugh engage in any sexual misconduct, but did recall him being "frequently, incoherently drunk." He described Ramirez as a vulnerable outsider. "Is it believable that she was alone with a wolfy group of guys who thought it was funny to sexually torment a girl like Debbie? Yeah, definitely. Is it believable that Kavanaugh was one of them? Yes."
Brett Kavanaugh a mean drunk? You don't say!
And speaking of boys will be boys will be drunken assholes who abuse women, The New Yorker interviewed Mark Judge's college girlfriend Elizabeth Rasor, who reported that Judge had lots to say about drunken debauchery in high school.
Rasor recalled that Judge had told her ashamedly of an incident that involved him and other boys taking turns having sex with a drunk woman. Rasor said that Judge seemed to regard it as fully consensual. She said that Judge did not name others involved in the incident, and she has no knowledge that Kavanaugh participated. But Rasor was disturbed by the story and noted that it undercut Judge's protestations about the sexual innocence of Georgetown Prep.
Which brings us to the Michael Avenatti portion of our program. Because ... 2018.
RUH ROH!
OH.
Now, let's say that you are a Republican Judiciary Committee staffer trying desperately to protect your team's SCOTUS nominee. Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer have just brought forward a second accuser, whom you knew about a week ago.
The offices of at least four Democratic senators have received information about the allegation, and at least two have begun investigating it. Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and, in conversations with The New Yorker, expressed concern about its potential impact on Kavanaugh's nomination. Soon after, Senate Republicans issued renewed calls to accelerate the timing of a committee vote.
Which puts the GOP insistence that they ABSOLUTELY HAD TO vote on Monday in a rather different light. But say you are this staffer -- do you (A) stall for time, or (B) invite Avenatti to tell the Committee what he knows?
Oh, my God! They actually opened the door to let Michael Avenatti suggest that Kavanaugh participated in gang rapes as a teenager. (And they released Blasey Ford's confidential letter to Dianne Feinstein five minutes after the New Yorker story went live, of course.)
But Avenatti wasn't done.
Which we assume is a reference to this.
Democrats are calling for a halt to the hearings and a full FBI investigation. And we are calling for one thousand Silkwood showers. Because this is all horrible and we are done here except to say we support victims of sexual violence and we believe Blasey Ford and Ramirez.
Also, too ...
BRETT KAVANAUGH, YOU GO THE FUCK AWAY RIGHT NOW!
[NBC / WaPo / WaPo, again / NYT / The New Yorker]
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