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There Was Magic in the Night at Fenway Park

16 Aug

What do you say about a Bruce Springsteen show that starts with “Thunder Road,” the previous evening’s high point, performed simply and in classic style, with just piano and harmonica by Springsteen and “Professor” Roy Bittan?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that includes diverse but amazing audience requests like “Thundercrack,” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” “Frankie,” “Quarter to Three,” and “Prove It All Night” (with the 1978 intro), and where a cover of Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood” (a song the band has only performed once before — in 1976) is considered by Springsteen to be the weirdest one of them all?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that also includes an excellent, powerful “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” an awe inspiring “Land of Hope and Dreams,” and a transcendent “Backstreets?”

What do you say about a Springsteen show where he sings “Waiting on a Sunny Day,” and ironically, that’s when it starts raining? Then he does an acoustic “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” and it starts raining even harder?

What do you say about a Springsteen show where he asks for a hot dog and beer so many times that someone actually gives him one — at the start of “Working on the Highway” — and he chugs that entire beer in one sip … while still playing the intro to the song!

What do you say about a Springsteen show where even the usually stoic and serious Max Weinberg smiled a few times?

What do you say about a 31-song Springsteen show where only 12 of those numbers were repeated from the night before, one of which (the aforementioned “Thunder Road“) performed so differently that it kinda doesn’t even count as having been repeated?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that ends — with Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys joining the band for “American Land” — and then treats the audience to a fireworks show off the Green Monster as they’re leaving the stadium?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that’s even better than the one the night before?

Really, what can you say other than that you’re lucky to have been there. Damned lucky. Continue reading →

Greetings from Fenway Park, MA

15 Aug

Bruce Springsteen wrote the song “Wrecking Ball” in 2009 to commemorate the tearing down of the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

It wasn’t too long ago that Fenway Park was threatened with a similar fate.

But here we are celebrating the 100th birthday of America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, with a wrecking ball nowhere in sight, and Springsteen is back to play his third and fourth shows at the stadium in less than a decade.

These are glory days, indeed. (Someone must not have told the Red Sox, but we’ll leave that to another blog post.)

Continue reading →

Thunder Buddies for Life

28 Jun

When it comes to Ted, Seth MacFarlane’s talking teddy bear movie, there’s only one question that matters: Is it funny?

Yes it is.

Holy crap, is it ever.

If you know nothing about this movie, then let me fill you in: It all opens in a Boston suburb in 1985, at Christmas — “that special time when Boston children gather together and beat up the Jewish kids.”

John Bennett, an 8-year-old boy who has no friends, receives a teddy bear and makes a wish that the stuffed animal was real. Lo and behold, the next morning, Ted is a walking, talking, live teddy bear. (“Look what Jesus did!” a TV newscaster exclaims.)

Fast-forward a few years, and John is now 35 years old, played by Mark Wahlberg, living in Boston, dating a hottie named Lori (Mila Kunis), and still best friends with Ted (who now has the voice of MacFarlane — clearly, even teddy bears go through puberty).

Over the years, the bear became a minor celebrity, appearing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and multiple magazine covers, but as the narrator explains, no matter how famous you get, “eventually, nobody gives a shit.”

Perhaps that’s why these days, Ted has a bit of an attitude.

He speaks with a heavy South Boston accent. He drinks beer. He smokes pot. He makes 9/11 jokes. And somehow, he has sex with prostitutes and other attractive ladies.

Ted is no Chucky. But he’s no Teddy Ruxpin, either.

If you’re thinking Ted isn’t exactly a family film, then you’re damned right. And that’s a good thing. Continue reading →

Everything I Know About Small Business Marketing I Learned from Watching Baseball

20 Apr

Today is the day the Red Sox are celebrating the 100th birthday of Fenway Park.

Yesterday, I took part in the team’s Open House and spent a chunk of the day wandering the country’s oldest (and yes, most beloved) ballpark.

In short, it was awesome. I got to go into the Sox dugout, touch the Green Monster (Wally too), sit in the famous Ted Williams seat, and basically, go anywhere in the park that I wanted to. It was a perfect way to spend a few hours.

Of course, truth be told, I haven’t always been a Red Sox fan (I grew up in New York, and am the child of Mets fans). But I’ve always been a baseball fan.

I love the drama, the history, the athleticism, the strategy, the pageantry, the pomp and circumstance … and how aspects of baseball translate into other areas of my life, like my career as a marketer.

I know that even when my team isn’t doing well — which, yes, lately is too often — there’s still plenty to learn from watching each game.

So humor me, if you will, as I share nine things you can learn about small business marketing from watching baseball. Continue reading →

This Side or the Other

20 Sep

Proving that Gone Baby Gone was no fluke, Ben Affleck’s The Town is an excellent addition to the Made in Boston canon of films.

Mr. Jennifer Garner — who co-wrote, directed, and stars in this Charlestown-set story of a bank robber trying to go straight, even though he’s in too deep — may get criticized for only making movies that are based here in Beantown, but hey … why mess with success? Clearly, the guy knows the town and he makes movies that have a real sense of place and look, sound, and feel authenticious (to use a great made-up word from this film). Continue reading →

A Weekend for Manly Men

17 Jan

In all the years I’ve lived in Boston (that’s 13, if you’re wondering), and with all the winters that my mom has spent in Florida, my dad has never come up by himself for a “Boys Weekend.”

At least, that was the case before this past weekend. Continue reading →

So Damn Lucky to Have Been There

31 May

Where to start about night two of Dave Matthews Band’s two-night homestand at Fenway Park?

After all, there’s, ahem, so much to say.

For one thing, my seat was a vast improvement over the one I had Friday night. There’s just no comparison between sitting in the Grandstand (where I was Friday) and sitting on the field (where I was last night).

As Dave sings in one of my favorites of his songs, “Everything’s different … just like that.” The sound quality on the field is clearer, louder, sharper, crisper, and better — as is the view, of course.

Also, the audience is much more engaged with the show. They’re also older and less inclined to smoke up (at least that was the case with those around me).

And that all added up to a much better experience for me. It was like I had been to two completely different shows. Continue reading →

I Love the Way He Moves Me

30 May

In the summer of 2003, I saw Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park.

The next night, I saw Dave Matthews Band at what was then called the Tweeter Center.

Suffice it to say, the DMB show paled in comparison and I decided to take a break from what was, at the time, an annual summer tradition of seeing the band live.

Six years later, DMB are back in town to play a two-night stand at Fenway (their last time there was in 2006), and after attending last night’s first show, I can say that absence sure did make the heart grow fonder. Continue reading →

Songs Sung Blew

24 Aug

(or … Mild August Night)
(or … I Am Letdown, I Said)
(or … Not So Good! Not So Good!)

Since I’d never seen Neil Diamond in concert, I was quite excited to see him Saturday night at Fenway Park.

And sure, I’m not the biggest Neil fan (I own his latest album but still haven’t listened to it), but I do love the classics in his repertoire, and I figured it’d at least be a fun show.

At the very least, it’d be totally cheesy to hear him sing “Sweet Caroline” live in Fenway, and I could totally get into that.

I mean, I’ve seen Barry Manilow live (three times, I believe), so how bad could Neil Diamond really be? Continue reading →

"You Guys Drunk Yet?"

16 May

I scored a pass to yesterday’s wine tasting at Fenway Park, where Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, and Kevin Youkilis were celebrating a new season of Red Sox wines.

The event was held at the EMC Club and it was a pretty nice time. Continue reading →

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