Pre-DMB Caravan

I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for quite awhile now. Last year, my eyes were opened as I experienced the infamous Bonnaroo festival. The crew and I decided we were going to save a little money and experience a new music festival this summer. The Dave Mathews Band Caravan instantly began calling our names.

Chicago will be hosting the DMB Caravan this summer coming up this weekend. This line-up has got everything for every genre of music. The legendary Dave Mathews Band will be performing all three nights of the festival. Bands such as O.A.R., Michael Franti and Spearhead, G. Love and the Special Sauce, and Yonder Mountain String Band are all just a few of the great bands performing this weekend. Kid Cudi will be on stage Saturday night. The Flaming Lips will be performing a tribute to Pink Floyd as well.

Festivals like this seem to attract the hippie crowds in mass amounts. Let me assure you the crew that I’ll be attending the DMB Caravan with, are far from hippies, just major music lovers. Nowadays, there are major music and art festivals such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo or Coachella. The DMB Caravan is on its way to being in the same category as these major festivals with fantastic line-ups like this year’s.

DMB Caravan will be held outside along Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago. What a great venue to have concerts. I have a high expectation for this festival. My “Can’t Miss” shows this weekend include Dave Mathews Band, O.A.R., Kid Cudi, The Flaming Lips and The Wailers. Just like any other festival I’m also extremely excited to listen and watch the unknown bands and artists. It’s great to hear up-and-coming performers pour their heart out on stage to try and get recognition and fame.

Needless to say, I am extremely excited for this weekend. Look out for my “Post-DMB Caravan” review following this weekend! If you’re interested in anything about the DMB Caravan here’s the link, http://www.dmbcaravan.com/chicago-lineup/

A Game Called Greed

As of midnight last night, the NBA announced that it would officially be locking out the players. It’s a Lockout! Players are no longer to enter the teams facilities, teams are no longer allowed to negotiate with other teams, and the entire league has been put on hold. The possibly of not having a NBA season in 2012 could be likely. Why is this? Because players believe they are not getting paid enough, draining the organizations funds, making it very tough to run a business.

Does anyone else find this frustrating? Frankly, as a fan, all these sport’s lockouts are like Ryan Franklin’s ERA….they stink. Who wants to see million-dollar athletes complain that they don’t get enough money for playing a sport for a job? Millions of people have dreamed when they were little kids growing up about playing in the NBA, NFL, etc. The brutal truth is that 1% of those athletes ever get that chance to play professionally. The rest of us have to resort to something different, (such as writing a blog about it).

I’m not going to sit here and say that the NBA is the only major league sport that is guilty of having a lockout. Through my lifetime, I’ve been fortunate to see the MLB, NHL, NFL and the NBA all whine and complain about how badly they get treated and force the league into a lockout. Let it be known that it’s not all athletes who are doing the complaining either. Many players are itching to hit the field/court and do what they love. But, the truth is, a lockout forms and everyone suffers from it.

The NBA is having the most outrageous lockout to me. There are ridiculously paid athletes believing they are owed MORE money than they already have. There are players that you’ve never heard of, players that have never touched the floor, and they are millionaires. NBA athletes are paid better than the NFL athletes and are still complaining they want more money. Read some player’s twitters about this joking about they’re unemployment and the unemployment lines. While the real unemployment problems and “normal” people are struggling in the job market.

This is not fair to us as fans. Give me a quarter of what they are getting paid, and I’ll suit up right away. I’m sure millions of guys feel the same way. To play the sport they love and get some good money for it, what a dream. Ever seen The Replacements? Bring it on. But, until then, c’mon guys give us a season to watch and stop being greedy.