Checklist for last nights Misfits gig @MGM Grand Garden Arena...

$6 for a pack of smokes.
$60 for a bag of weed.
$70 for a fresh cartridge for the vape pen.
$15 to park.
$12 for a bottle of water and a pack of gum.
$25 for a Guinness / Jameson neat combo at The Lobby Bar, which I remember having at least 10 of... LOL
$33 for some poured pints at that Pub 1842 next to the entrance of the arena.
$40 for a tour tee shirt that looks like every other Misfits shirt you can get anywhere else for much cheaper.
$25 for a pretty cool ass tour poster of the event.
$21 for a pizza / salad combo from Bonanno's after the gig. The Dr. Brown's root beer was most excellent.
$51 for a couple more Guinness / Jameson neat combos at The Lobby Bar before calling it a night.

Total: $583 spent at last night's Misfits gig... hahahaha Multiply that by thousands and you'll see why the MGM Grand happily put up with a bunch of smelly looking sheep all branded with the Crimson Ghost logo wandering around their precious property. What happened to the #1 rule in Rock 'N' Roll that says you NEVER wear the tee shirt of the band you're going to see that night to the gig? LOL I've never been more ashamed of my love for the Misfits than I was last night. It was almost like there was some mass emailing stating "wear every piece of Misfits merchandise you own to the gig tonight to show your undying love for the band"... hahahaha I mean I saw girls with Misfits berets in their hair and Misfits stockings on their Misfits tattooed legs to go along with their Misfits high tops they were sporting around, like, lots of them, and the guys weren't much better, with a black Misfits shirt worn under a denim vest that has a huge Misfits patch on the back, with the sleeves cut off to show off their Misfits tattooed arms... LOL Oh the people watching was fun. So was hanging out with everyone that came out of the woodwork for the gig - some of whom I haven't seen in eons!!! Much needed, thank you all! The band was terrible, but was anybody expecting anything but that from them? LOL Anybody that tells you the Misfits were good last night is an idiot and not to be trusted. It was a fun night but the Misfits really had nothing to do with it... hahaha And I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Dave Lombardo is NOT the drummer for the band. Double kick fills work on some songs but not all of them. Sounds stupid. Sounds Metal. Not that anybody cares what the Misfits sound like nowadays (is feedback part of their schtick nowadays? LOL) but he doesn't play the material right, it's almost like he doesn't know it or practice it... lol Misfits... funny and fun stuff!

All day I'm getting bombarded by requests from friends both far and near to go to the stupid Descendents gig @Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday. My best crime partner is the only one to get through to me by telling me that the last time he saw the Descendents was in 1985 at Fender's Ballroom, and that I was there with him, and that he wanted to see the Descendents again with me there again, so I reluctantly agreed to go with him and some mutual acquaintances to the shitty gig. Everyone in the place has seen the Descendents play before, and we're all sharing various stories of past gigs and while pregaming hard in my living room, watching videos on YouTube of the opening bands and finding less and less of a reason to get there early, and when I play them some of the new stuff off the latest Descendents album Hypercaffium Spazzinate, they shake their head and wonder WTF happened to the band. "Well, at least we'll get to hear some of the cool older songs" my friend says, and I fight back the urge to tell him they won't be played good, but whatever. With about an hour to go before we have to leave, one of the acquaintances I just met busts out a massive bag of magic mushrooms, grabs a handful, and stuffs them in his mouth and laughs. He handed the bag to his wife who was sitting next to him and she does the same without the laughter. And so on. The bag makes its way around the room, and everyone is partaking hard. Everyone has now ingested at least 2 handfuls of psilocybin, except for me, because I'm driving! They all wanna get to the venue before the psychedelics kick in, and I'm just wondering how all these people are going to get home! LOL The Brooklyn Bowl is a beautiful venue located inside The Linq, which is a modern day neon clusterfuck, full of pretty lights and sounds, so needless to say we never made it to the gig. I found myself more entertained being the sober guy among a group of people tripping balls, watching them and just... being there, taking it all in, then I would of been watching a group of old guys trying to convince themselves they still sound good in front of a group of nostalgia seeking motherfuckers. My friends told me the Descendents gig was great, but my friends are a bunch of liars, so yeah... 

I've been listening to The Smithereens a lot lately. Good heartbreak music that will get you through anything no matter how petty and childish and hurtful it is. And then I woke up to the news that Pat DiNizio, their lead singer, passed away at the age of 62. Fuck. Pat DiNizio was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet in a musical world full of hacks and assholes and asshole hacks. Totally down to Earth Jersey guy who had a voice that spoke for the brokenhearted and a knack for capturing the emotions involved in any relationship and putting it in a 3 minute long Pop song format. I hadn't thought of him or the band in a while, because I was happy - DUH!!, but doing so now brings up a big smile and laugh about some great memories of riding around on tour buses having great conversations with Pat, Dennis, Mark and Jim... playing gigs, doing the whole sex drugs Rock 'N' Roll thing, gambling (They stole all my money!! ha ha ha), drinking, smoking cigars and just being manly men with them for a short while, young and stupid and not sleeping much, being silly, and seeing the world roll by through a window. I would watch from the sidelines as Pat would lead The Smithereens through their paces on stage, playing this powerfully catchy Pop/Punk music that got stuck in your head for days, and the crowds would eat it up. Great to see and the music still stands up today. It's timeless, forever, eternal. While recording Nevermind, Nirvana used the first 2 Smithereens albums as an aural guide on how the record should sound. They were one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands. They were sooooooooo fucking good it was sickening. And Pat was just the most unassuming guy about it, going from being in front of thousands of adoring fans to hanging around with us bums just seeing how we were doing, always a good word and a smile on his face for everyone. That's how I choose to remember Pat DiNizio. Forever young. The music will never die. Well played Sir! Rest well my friend. Lord knows you deserve it.