So the WhiteTrashBBQ blog was running a contest called the MUG® Root Beer Father’s Day Brew-B-Q kit give away. All you had to do was write a story about Dad and his grill and why you or your dad deserve the kit. So I sent in a two part story of the times my dad destroyed the meat and vegetables he was grilling. So I won :) I got the fathers day Brew-B-Q kit, the kit included a Mug® themed cooler, apron and all the ingredients to make the MUG® Root Beer Southern Specialty Brew-B-Q Sauce as well as the recipe it self. So here is the story I sent in. Sorry dad had to throw you under the bus for this one. :)

The making of my Dad’s Montauk burger

One summer my parents and I went with 6 other couples to spend a week in Montauk. Well on the night that watching the kids fell to my parents my dad had decided to make burgers for all of us. So he went out and bought an hibachi grill and the makings for the burgers. He also stopped and got a bottle of jug wine some Carlo Rossi paisano to be exact . After getting back to the house he got the fire started and a glass of wine in his hand. Then he started getting the burgers made and had another glass or 2 of wine. When the fire was ready he headed out with the burgers and put them on the grill and proceeded to have a few more glasses of wine. So when he finally came with the burgers and served them up one side was as hard as a Charcoal Briquet and the other side was raw…thus we now make sure when dad is going to make burgers for us he isn’t going to make Montauk burgers.

Last year he was working the grill at his nephews wedding and wandered away to talk to family….while he was away the vegetables he was grilling ignited in to a nice blaze of glory. Luckily I was near by and put out the fire….I ended up doing the rest of the grill cooking that night.

Now don’t get me wrong when my dad is focused on the grilling at hand he does a great job it’s when he has had a few to many glasses of wine or there is a distraction such as his brother or other family members that he doesn’t see all the time that things go wrong.

So June started out ok I got to see a Nascar race at Pocono Speedway (yes I am a Nascar fan) on the first weekend. Then it just went down hill from there. Carolyn got an infection in her foot from a blister and had to admitted to the hospital for 4 days so they could pump her full of antibiotics and to get her blood sugar numbers under control. She was put on insulin to keep her numbers down so that didn’t make us happy since her doctors were trying to control her diabetes with oral meds. Now she has to go see a Podiatrist about her foot, an Endocrinologists for her diabetes and be on a ton of meds. She isn’t happy about any of this. I am trying to keep her spirits up, but I don’t think I am doing a good job. I am not very good at comforting people….hey if you have been reading this journal or grew up with me you already know this.

Last weekend was the Arora company picnic and of course it rained (don’t get me started about the weather this June) and my dad’s cousin Angelo was the clown. He told me that Uncle Bob (Robert Immordino) was in the hospital,but with all the things going on that I had to cordinate at the picnic, it completely fell out of my head. So I had totally forgotten about it till my mom called last night to find out if I had any information. From what info I got from here, he isn’t doing that well and they are at the stage of just making him “comfortable”. Uncle Bob for those of you who don’t know my family is the oldest living member at this time. He has been a big supporter of La Vigna. The circulation department (me) have butted heads with him a few times but nothing to get to bent about. He was the “Lawrence Township Historian” for many years. He came up with some great ideas to get the word out about Italian-American history and is a true historian.

The great part of June is, Avery finished school on Monday for the summer and she is already sleeping late and trying to enjoy the summer. She did ok on her finals and most of all her final grades were in the 90s. She starts driving in July with her 6 hour mandatory driving lessons, she then gets her permit and then the “can I drive?, can I drive?, can I drive?” mantra will start when ever we leave the house. I really can’t wait for her to get her license next year even though the insurance will go up, but a person who can drive herself to dance and other activities makes dad happy (because we all know this journal is all about me). I am happy that her grades are great and I don’t have to hold the license up as a reward for her to do better in school, like my parents did. So now that she is going to be a Junior in high school, the hunt for college will be on as well as getting the funding to send her there….

So I am praying that June ends without a funeral and that my wife gets better sooner then later and we can have a happy relaxing summer. July is usually the month of William with my birthday, and all my family starting to invade NJ in July for vacation and thefamily picnic, but it’s looking like the month of William won’t be happening this year again as planed. The family picnic will have a cloud over it this year with Uncle Bob in the hospital, but I am going to try to make it a great time for all and try to come up with things to make people forget the downers of life and enjoy the love of family and the high points of life at this years picnic.

Hey at least the weather has to be better in July then it was in June………Right?

Has the drum solo at concerts become the bathroom break of a show? I was watching a Rush concert on TV yesterday and started thinking about this question. Now don’ t get me wrong I like a good drum solo but some drummers just don’t thrill me like a certain few do. Some of my friends I talk to and go see shows with all have a different opinion on this matter. Some Deadheads love it when drums start but others just roll there eyes and head to the concession stands or take a short nap in there seats. I like a good drum solo but it has to be certain drummers. Most of the time at a Dead show it depends how many of the shows I have seen already, if it’s at the start of the tour I will watch the drums solo, but later into the tour it becomes a break from the show and hit the bar for a water.

So while I thought of this heavy question I have come up with my list of drummers I like to see do a drum solo.

1. Matt Abts - Gov’t Mule
2. Mickey Hart & Bill Kreutzmann - The Grateful Dead
3. John Molo - Phil Lesh & Friends, The Other Ones, Bruce Hornsby
4. Liberty DeVitto - Former Drummer for Billy Joel
5. Neil Peart - Rush
6. Butch Trucks - The Allman Brothers
7. John Bonham - Led Zeppelin (deceased)
8. Chester Cortez Thompson - Frank Zappa, Genesis, Phil Collins
9. Phill Collins - Genises & Solo

So that’s my list. Out of the 9 I have seen 8 of them play and they are all worth the watch and listen. Each has there own way of playing.

Last night my cousin Henry and I piled into the truck and headed into New York City to see The Dead at the Roseland Ballroom. It was a free show that you had to enter an e-mail to get tickets. There were three intimate shows or “sets” last night including ours. The first set was at the Angel Orensanz Theatre with just Bobby, Phil and Warren doing and Acoustic set, the second show was at the Gramercy Theatre with the Full Electric Band and they ended at the Roseland Ballroom.

The show was supposed to start at 11pm and the doors opened at 8pm. We were in line and read for the doors to open. I have never been in the Roseland without over 500 people, but last night when we walked in at 8pm it was empty and was total great. We were the first to use the mens room which was empty as well which is nice not having to fight for the can. We found the Rose Bar in the back that we didn’t know existed. After exploring a little we made camp along the VIP stage wall and got comfortable. We just hung back and watched as the room filled and started hearing about the other two shows that The Dead just finished, and that they were great.

The show started promptly at 11:20pm. and ran to about 1:20pm.

Full Electric Band
Roseland Theatre

• Althea
• Cassady
• Uncle John’s Band>
• Eyes of the World>St Stephen>
  Dark Star>Sugar Magnolias
• E: Not Fade Away

The band was tight and in great form, Warren was still working off the lyric book but it was the first round of shows and the tour doesn’t offically start till April, 12 in North Carolina. Bob did mess up a few words in Cassidy but over all it was a good show.

As for the crowd it was great. It was true blue Deadheads with an age range that ranged from grade school kids to the over 70’s set, that were there to see the band. Before the show it was a whole bunch of catching up with old friends and making new ones with those around you, but once the band hit the stage it was all about the music for the crowd and catching the vibe and letting your self flow with it. On the VIP stage there was one woman who was dancing even to the band tuning up before the first song…she was floating on the vibes coming form the “music” and she didn’t stop dancing till the music stopped…she was in constant motion. There were a few to drunk and too baked people…I seem to always get one right in front of me, who thinks he can dance and then proceeds to bang into me and last night was no different. This guy at least apologized but also wanted to tell me his life story while the band was playing. Finally his buddy got him to move up front and that was the end of him. Other then him there was a good vibe throughout the ballroom.

Sure the show was short and the wait was long but the tickets were free and the band was in great form and the crowd over all was the perfect crowd to see the show with. These three shows were put together for the fans to experience The Dead in and intimate atmosphere and that’s what was achieved. I love seeing bands in venues like the Roseland Ballroom, Irving Plaza or The TLA in Philly. So if you can get tickets for any of the shows on this tour I would recommend getting them and going and enjoy the music and vibe, of course it won’t be as intimate as these shows, but they will be worth going to. I am now off to figure out how to get at least two or three tickets for the two shows at the Spectrum in Philly.

So in closing as I have said in the past “The Grateful Dead might not be the best at what they do, but they are the only ones that do what they do.”

Here are the Set Lists for the other two “sets”

Bob, Phil & Warren Acoustic
Angel Orensanz Theatre

• Dire Wolf
• Bird Song
• Cumberland Blues
• Pride of Cucamonga
• Lazy River Rd
• KC Jones
• E: Ripple

Full Electric Band
Gramercy Theatre

• Jam>Playin’ in the Band>Good Lovin’>
• The Wheel>Franklin’s Tower
• E: Touch of Grey

So on Saturday night I finally took notice of an e-mail in my In-box from Dead.net, the Grateful Dead’s website. It was a notice that The Dead were going to do 3 shows in NYC today starting at 5pm, 8pm and 11pm and that they were free shows. The only way to get the tickets was to enter the drawing for tickets. So of course I had missed the dead line to get my name in the running I was way bummed, because right now I don’t have the money to see the shows in Philly. Right about that time the following e-mail came in from GDTS TOO the Dead’s mail order ticket company.

There are a small amount of free tickets available from our GDTS TOO allotment for one of The Dead’s performances at The Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts, Gramercy Theatre and Roseland Ballroom on Monday, March 30, 2009. The intention of these small venue shows is to provide an opportunity for fans to see The Dead in an intimate setting for free.

So as fast as my fingers could type I got my name and my cousins Henry’s name in an e-mail and sent it in. So last night at around 8:30pm I got the word….we are seeing The Dead at the Roseland Ball Room in NYC at 11pm tonight.

It’s going to be a long day but I can’t wait to see the band. It’s been to long since I have seen a concert and over 6 years since I have seen The Dead. So Henry and I will be driving into the city around 6pm to get there by 8pm when the doors open, get our tickets and then hang out at the ballroom and wait till 11pm for the show. The one bummer about the Roseland is that it’s a standing only venue, but hey it’s a free show and should be a blast and it will be fun to hopefully meet up with some old friends and deadheads.

So check back in a few days for a review and set-list.