Another one down, 21 to go

I'll write more about San Diego later, but for now I wanted to note that Petco Park has been added to my list of ballparks I've been to. I will state for the record that I loudly booed the Padres' 1984 National League championship during the starting lineups. From the third row of the upper deck, the view of the field was great, the scoreboard was crystal clear and ads were limited, and the fish tacos were quite tasty.

What are the odds?

I went to a Carbon Leaf show last year at Canal Club, which was your basic local concert -- good tunes, tons of sweaty people packed into the place, really a fun night. The worst part was a guy standing in front of me who, in between every song, yelled "Play The Boxer" as loud as he could. After three or four times that got real old, so I (also being a drunk with a big mouth) yelled, "No! Play Freebird!" (Note that I didn't really want or expect Carbon Leaf to actually play it, I just wanted this guy to realize that he was being an ass and shut up, which he, in fact, did.) A few people around me laughed, but right away the lead singer Barry said, "I got your free bird right here," and he flipped me off! That was actually amusing to me, since I was surprised that he even heard me.

Fast forward to the premiere of Friday Cheers the other night, starring Richmond's own Carbon Leaf. Another good show on a great night to be outside listening to music, and the boys did a great jam at the end of Blue Ridge Laughing. Then, just as the jam was winding down toward the big finish, they did a quick key change and launched right into the unmistakable notes of Freebird! I'm not saying it was definitely because of what I yelled at their last Richmond show, I'm just saying I have the power to influence bands' setlists.