DC United at Harbour View - Champions Cup - 2 Days Late

DC United headed to Jamaica for the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup first round tie against Harbour View with a revamped squad from last year (only 3 holdovers in the starting line up from last years Champs. Cup tie against Olimpia I believe) and left with a rather anti-climactic result.

A 1-1 away draw in the team's first meaningful game of 2008 is nothing of concern. It would have been nice to head out to RFK on Tuesday night with the tie sealed up but the game deteriorating into sloppy work on a patchy field was no surprise.

Some good -

The Gonzalos = The Bash Brothers
Gallardo = A fine talent, we'll see about his heart as the season grows.
Simms - He'll need to be as steady day in and day out for us to succeed as we expect.

Some bad -

Jaime Moreno = Frail
Emilio = Who? Absolutely anonymous game.
The wide play = Disappointing that one of United's biggest shortcomings last season showed no sign of improvement.

Prognosis - Let's get on with it at RFK... See you in Lot 8.

Gettin' My Activism on with Strike Anywhere and Friends

FINALLY made it back to the Black Cat last Thursday night, one of my favorite spots in DC and, although I admit to limited punk rock travel, probably one of the best venues around for a punk show. This one even came with a touring indie publishing company for all you zine kids out there. I'll respectfully pass on the "Bikes Not Bombs" sticker.

The lineup went as so: Ratsize (sorry, missed them); Riverboat Gamblers; Paint It Black; and Strike Anywhere.

Expecting much worse from the opening acts after recent experiences with Darkest Hour (see Damnation AD) both Riverboat Gamblers and Paint It Black were surprisingly solid. The first played some Ramones inspired tunes with a LOT of vocals, at times all 4 dudes not stuck behind a drumset (although maybe he was in on it also, I couldn't see).

Paint It Black did their best Minor Threat impression, even mentioning the punk idols, mixed with a little bit of the Bronx for anyone interested in a fresher reference point. The political chatter in between wasn't really my style but props for an inspired performance chock full of hardcore breakdowns and gang vocals packed into minute and a half tracks.

Strike Anywhere belted out some of my favorites from their first couple records but I enjoyed some of the newer, unknown to me tracks, equally. At times I struggled for attention as I wavered on the idea of talking to Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour, who was standing directly to my left and pumping fists along to the tunes.

In the end didn't bother Schleibaum with any super fan comments or perhaps a WTF for Sunday night, but it felt damn good to be back in a sea of black t-shirts and little punk rock kiddies (man did I feel old).

Here's a video from the 9:30 Club that's a couple of years old since the sound quality from the Black Cat clips on YouTube isn't great -

bukkit

I had to put this up...



Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

LOLcat

Darkest Hour MIA

Last night's Darkest Hour + 4 others (Want to know how not to be taken seriously? Name your band Cephalic Carnage.) was cancelled for unspecified reasons. I'm hoping they weren't arrested again for carrying alcohol across state lines.

In the absence of a show to report back from I want to instead give 5 of my favorite moments, from dorms to the 9:30 Club, from more than 8 years of DH:

Sidebar Tavern (Baltimore circa 2000) - First DH show where we stood next to Mike Schleibaum for a half hour while four grown men with dildos strapped to their head, lovingly known as Shat, ripped through about 40 songs, many clocking in at about 35 seconds. I had never seen a picture of Schleibaum before the show and was left a shocked 15 year old when the dude in the Guns 'n Roses cut off jumped up on stage and led me to flail all hundred and 40 pounds of myself around until my head hurt. Oh, a little band called the Dillenger Escape Plan closed the show.

GWU Dorm (DC circa late 2002/early 2003) - Instant classic: 4 bands with interchangable members, including DC scenester heroes Majority Rule, a mix of DH die hards and first timers, and a kid with pig mittens leading the way in the pit before conquering the floor tom when it escaped the stage.

Ottobar (Baltimore, 2004) - Again we found DH mixed up with the likes of the Dillenger Escape Plan. Emory, one of the most mild mannered guys I've ever met, violently shook the railing of the balcony over the stage before vaulting, without warning, off the overhang onto the stage, screaming a few words along with Dillenger and launching in into the crowd. He returned moments later and quietly sat back in his seat.

Ottobar (Baltimore, 2007) - A friend introduces my brother and I to John Henry after the show. My brother draws a blank and just stands there shaking his hand.

9:30 Club (DC, 2007) - Two acoustic guitars lined up on stage to start the show. Doomsayer. I'll never know what happened to those two guitars.

Here's a live clip of Doomsayer... Feel free to share any favorite moments of your own.

So It Begins - If Ben Olsen Is Psyched, So Are We

Quick DCU countdown:

12 days until the first competitive match - Away at Harbour View
18 days until we arrive in RFK's Lot 8 for the first time in 2008 - 2nd Leg Harbour View
29 days until MLS opening day - Away at KC
37 days until "Our House" opens (sans Nationals) - Home opener against Toronto

Just a bit more after the jump... But first, remember this guy?



Steinberg got as all psyched with a day full of United posts at the Sports Bog that really concluded with this gem from Ben Olsen: "We are kind of thug bone, aren't we?"

Check out the full run of posts to get acquainted with some of the new names, tattoos, and fashions that come with what amounted to an offseason roster overhaul.

Bloggers Reading Out Loud

Though the news is a bit dated, James (Coop) and I made it down to Georgetown to hear sports blogger, and near deity in the online athletic dudes (who mostly like to watch rather than play) community, Will Leitch of Deadspin chat up his fourth book "God Save the Fan".

Given the recent attention on transparency, a fad in these times of political horserace, I must admit that upon receiving the message from Coop asking me to join him, I had viewed Deadspin exactly once. The only memory I came away with was a furious, and likely duh duh duhhed, Chris Berman; nothing about one Will Leitch.

I left as a fan of an honest and viciously funny writer, who loves to stick it to ESPN, and with one more lifeline keeping me afloat during the workday. Believe it or not, Deadspin even slips in some soccer, although I imagine many of its readers don't know what Charlton means or who Eduardo da Silva is - they know him as the the soccer guy with a good Joe Theisman impression.

On the way home to my RSS reader we stopped for some social gathering with the blogger crowd...



...and two staggering drunk English girls, who luckily were blind to the company they happened upon. Though I didn't get a word in with Leitch, who was being ruthlessly stalked by a combover and a wireless signal, we did meet Mac G and are grateful for his retelling of a fumble in the face of Scooter Libby and a familiar encounter at Nellies on U St.

We'll close with some lessons learned for the night:

1. Know the name of the guy who you're listening to read. When someone politely asks you who you're listening to with 98 other dudes and you draw a blank, some questions may linger.

2. The wristband does not necessarily get you a discounted Budweiser. Even if you ask for it. And the wristband says Budweiser.

3. The Potomac River smells like a week old Port O Potty in August... or Dan's Cafe.

Welcome Finding Kevin Pittsnogle to the World

Yes... the posting has been significantly slowed. However, maybe the birth of a new blog child and a night out with uber nerds led by Will Leitch in Georgetown will provide the needed inspiration.

I'm proud to be an honorary partner of the recently founded Finding Kevin Pittsnogle where more than you wanted to know about West Virginia University athletics and other assorted hilarity of our sad lives in the Metro area will be shared.

I mean come on and look at this guy: