Supply and Demand: My Quest for a 2012 Newport Folk Festival Poster

Notable economist and Youngstown State University professor Albert "Juice" Sumell once stated "there is a supply and demand for everything in this world, even people. The supply of you is one. The demand for you could be less than one, if you're a loser." That possible insult was wrapped in a conventional truth, that there isn't anything tangible or intangible, that doesn't have a supply and demand. I think we all understand this idea, but sometimes the supply and demand of something is related to its limited availability, say oil, and other times it can be manufactured, for example baseball cards. My story today revolves around the latter, manufactured supply and demand.

For the 4th time in 5 years, I attended the Newport Folk Festival this summer. We were rookies the first time we attended the festival back in 2008, not fully understanding the fantastic culture that is very unique to the Newport Folk Festival. We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we bought posters to commemorate our experience. The poster that year was nothing special, very college dorm room, but to us it represented an epic memory. Just seeing that poster hanging in my house brings back memories of watching She & Him perform on the Harbor Stage while it poured outside. And that year, not only was a tradition of annually going to festival born (we skipped one year due to pregnancy) but so was born the tradition to start a collection of posters to adorn the walls of my house.The following years, the posters were fantastic, and you could tell that they were evolving more into limited edition art (much like the New Orleans Jazz Festival posters) and less like the one we purchased in 2008. That coupled with the increasing demand of posters, made them hot commodities at each of the last few festivals. And to be honest, I was okay with that. As long as I got one.

This year, I did not. I was so excited for this year's poster, because it was not only tradition at this point but it was by far the coolest one I had ever seen. So, despite corralling 6 people, including my 3 year old son and my 3 year old niece, I was still able to get to the festival at 11:15 on Saturday, only an hour after the gates opened. I walked through the entrance, smiling ear to ear (because its the happiest place on earth) and poster tube in hand only to see an enormous line at the merchandise tent and only to hear my son telling me had to go to the bathroom. And by the time I put my stuff down, headed to the porta-potty's, and made my way back to the line, like Keyser Soze, they were gone.

I'm sure this all sounds like sour grapes, and maybe it is, but I am just having a very hard time (still, almost 3 weeks later!!) dealing with the fact that only 250 people of a record 10,000 were able to get posters for this event. That means, even the first person to get to the festival on Sunday had zero chance of grabbing one. At this point I've tried everything, from contacting the artist/company to reaching the 8+ thousand people that follow newportfolkfest and newportnow on twitter. Hell, I even tried contacting Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Clearly, I am losing my mind. But, the quest is over and I've given up.

My blog partner Keith (who luckily got a poster, the bastard) and I recently exchanged stories about losing wallets and having them turn up years later, with the moral being sometimes what you're looking for eludes you until you aren't looking for it. But after the last week of searching, I think the moral is that it's easier to find a lost wallet than a poster for the Newport Folk Festival.

My thoughts on the Newport Folk Festival

My last Newport Folk Festival post for awhile.  I promise.


Biggest disappointment: The Weather

On Saturday I was forced to leave my favorite band's (My Morning Jacket) set early to get on a water taxi line.  Selfishly, I'm at peace with it because I didn't miss anything.  I was able to hear their abbreviated set while on the line.  Our big concern was for our 2 month old who my wife had to wear for the 90 minute water taxi line.  My two year old was loving the rain.  The whole time you could see him kicking his feet and smiling in the stroller.  Since neither of our kids woke up with a cold the next day, years from now it will be another "remember how crazy it was when..." story.  On Sunday I wasn't planning on staying for Jackson Browne anyway but my wife was looking forward to seeing Tallest Man on Earth.  In fear of having a similar experience to Saturday's downpour, we bailed on that set a little early as well when it started to rain.  But he sounded amazing.  Side note though, for most of the day when it was overcast it was great not to have to worry about the sun burning my kids.  I'd sign up for overcast any year.  Better than unrelenting 96 degree heat.

Runner up: Being shut out of getting a poster.

Biggest regret: Not getting to the Harbor Stage earlier on both days

I really got in to Apache Relay in the weeks leading up to the festival but unfortunately were only able to get there for the last 5 songs or so.  But my recent fan-dom was warranted.  They were great.  On Sunday we wanted to get there early again but the urgency wasn't there since we figured the ground was wet and as much as I was getting into the Deep Dark Woods album they weren't as high on my list as Apache Relay.  But the feedback I got from their set makes me wish I'd had a little more hop in my step Sunday morning.

Runner up: I was only able to stay for four First Aid Kit songs.  The Lion's Roar has been in rotation for a few months but something about it just clicked with me recently where even post-Festival it's still in heavy rotation.

Best decision I made: Leaving Deer Tick early to see Alabama Shakes

I love Deer Tick.  I was lucky enough to have a ticket for Friday night's show at the Newport Blues Cafe.  But the first half of their set at the Festival were the same songs I heard the night before.  I'd go see the same Deer Tick show every day of the week and twice on Sunday but it made the call easier to go see Alabama Shakes who just killed it.

Runner Up: Setting up shop by the Quad Stage instead of the Fort Stage. Other than The Head and the Heart, the bands I wanted to mostly see were on the Harbor and Quad stage which is easy to bounce back and forth between.


Top 3 Favorite Sets (no particular order):

Alabama Shakes: Their reputation as a live act is justified.  Just a fun, high energy hour.

Dawes: To be honest, I got in to Dawes through Middle Brother last year and if I'm rating the three bands who contributed to that album, I'm putting Dawes third.  But I can't stress enough how good they were in Newport.  When My Time Comes is about as good a live song as you can have.

New Multitudes: I liked the album going in to the festival but seeing them do it live gives me a whole new respect for it.

Honorable Mention: My Morning Jacket was on their way to an epic set.  I just can't put it in my top 3 because of how it ended.  Me leaving a MMJ set seemed unfathomable to me at the time so I wasn't in a good mindset at the end of it.

Ultimate Newport Folk Fest Playlist

Somewhere in between my 300th and 301st time listening to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" to please my wife and 3 year old son, I realized that I needed a new playlist to get me ready for the summer and the slowly encroaching Newport Folk Festival. As we've discussed before, the lineup this year is STACKED, so coming up with an abbreviated playlist was no easy feat. But, I have tackled impossible tasks before, so I knew I could do it again. And I did. So if you're going to the Folkfest this year and can't figure out how to get through the next 2+ weeks, download these tracks immediately and it will help you manage. And if you aren't going, download these tracks anyway and may God have mercy on your soul for being so foolish to miss this event.

UFC 148 Predictions

After what feels like an eternity, the UFC is finally giving its fans the most anticipated rematch in the sport's history this weekend when Anderson Silva looks to defend his title a record 10th straight time against trash talking Chael Sonnen. All fans remember what happened 2 summers ago, when Sonnen man handled Silva for 23 straight minutes before finding himself caught in a triangle forcing him to tap out, but will this time be different?Although the card loses a lot with Faber/Barao moving to UFC 149, it's still a pretty impressive event loaded with previous title holders, title contenders, and legends of the sport. Below are my predictions on 5 of this weekends fights.

Chad Mendes over Cody McKenzie via decision:  Mendes was on a complete roll before losing to Jose Aldo, which hardly is black mark on your resume. "Money" had won 6 in a row, most of which were more against complete fighters than McKenzie. For Cody, this fight represents an enormous jump in class, and I'm just not sure he is ready for it. His guillotine submissions are notorious, but Mendes should be able to avoid the submission and work him for the duration. Mendes isn't a finisher, so I like this fight going the distance.

Dyon Hung Kim over Demian Maia via decision: Kim has won 4 of his last 5, with impressive performances against Nate Diaz and Amir Sadollah. He was KO'ed by Condit, but outside of that he has looked good of late. Maia has lost to Weidman and Munoz in the last calendar year and has never really become the "contender" many thought he would be. His outstanding submission skills have been on vacation since 2009 and you have to wonder if he is outmatched against the best of the weight class.

Cung Lee over Patrick Cote via KO: I had a real hard time with this one. Both fighters are hungry for the victory with them losing a combined 5 of their last 6 fights. Both legit strikers, you would probably favor the much younger Cote in that category. But sometimes, you have to give the edge to the legend who wants to put a stamp on his legacy with an impressive win over Cote.

Forrest Griffin over Tito Ortiz via KO/TKO: You have to hand it Ortiz, he's been active with this being his 6th fight in less than 3 years. The problem is, he has lost 4 of them, and in most cases he has been destroyed. The win against Bader surprised everyone (including Bader when I spoke to him this past September), but I am not convinced that this was part of Ortiz's comeback trail. I look for a motivated Griffin to pick up where he left off the last time these two met, which is a very advantageous position.

Chael Sonnen over Anderson Silva via decision: For the record, I will be rooting hard for Silva. I was never a huge fan of his antics, but after rewatching some of his title defenses and recently watching the documentary "Like Water" I have a new found respect and admiration for him and his brilliance. But after hearing Silva's comments recently regarding what he intends to do to Sonnen this Saturday, I couldn't help but think Sonnen had officially entered and effected Silva's psyche. I am a little surprised that Vegas has this as Sonnen +240, which almost makes me think that people really do think Silva is going to break everyone of his teeth. Although I am hoping that's the case, I think Sonnen will be the one backing up his words on Saturday.

Check out the fights this Saturday at 10 PM and also be sure to check out the prelims on FX beginning at 8:00 EST.

Navigating the Newport Folk Festival

I've been looking forward to seeing the Newport Folk Festival schedule with both excitement and dread.  I'm on record as saying this is the best festival lineup I've ever seen, so obviously I was going to have to make some tough choices I didn't want to make.  But after finally seeing the schedule, it's not THAT bad.

A few months ago I made a Top 5 bands I want to see at Newport list and although it's nearly impossible to stick to a plan, here is how I'm going to try and navigate the Newport Folk Festival and how I'm going to try and see them all:

11:30am - 12:15pm
Being that I'm going to be getting two kids ready to go to the festival and we'll have to set up our spot at the Fort Stage I'll probably be starting my day with some Brown Bird as we set up and then shooting over to the Harbor Stage for Apache Relay.  I've been listening to their American Nomad album a lot leading up to the festival and I'm really enjoying it.

12:30pm - 1:30pm
I'll probably try to stay at the Harbor Stage for the beginning of Spirit Family Reunion.  If nothing else, from what I heard of them so far, my 2 year old will stomp and clap along with them.  I will leave to head back to the Fort Stage for The Preservation Hall Jazz Band for the rest of their set.  I've seen them a few times already and they are a lot of fun.  And I'd imagine we'll be getting our first of many Jim James sightings during that set.

1:40pm - 4:20pm
DAMN YOU NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL!!!! This is by far the most painful part of the weekend.  Deer Tick was my #2 band I want to see at NFF but I really want to see Alabama Shakes.  With two young kids coming this year I'm not going to get to see Deer Tick at the Newport Blues Cafe or that would have made my decision here a little easier.  But alas, I'll be high-tailing it from PJHB to see Deer Tick from 1:40 to 2:15 and then booking over to Alabama Shakes for the remainder of their set.  That's probably the best I can do there.  Honey Honey gets the shaft here from me but luckily it looks like I'll have another chance on Sunday.  Immediately following Alabama Shakes I'm going to hop back and forth between First Aid Kit and Sharon Van Etten.  And honestly, my goal is to at least hear First Aid Kit do Emmylou and Sharon Van Etten do Leonard.  If I can pull that off before going to see Dawes then I will high five myself.

4:25pm - 6:05pm
From Dawes I'm heading over to see Blind Pilot.  Last year I tried to keep popping back and forth through the tunnel between the Harbor and Quad Stage to see Head and the Heart and Middle Brother.  I might do that to catch some Iron and Wine.  I have a longer history with Iron and Wine but I'm leaning Blind Pilot these days.  After those two sets I'll probably try and catch 10-15 minutes of the Guthrie Family Reunion before getting back to the Fort Stage.

6:05 - 7:30
MY MORNING JACKET!!!!

11:30am - 1:40pm
After setting up again for the day I'd like to hop over to the Harbor Stage.  I've been listening to Deep Dark Woods on Spotify and I'd like to see them as well and make my only appearance at the Museum stage for Honey Honey for a few songs before trying to catch the last half of Trampled By Turtles.

1:40pm - 3:00pm
Definitely want to see The New Multitudes.  I'll see their whole set and then catch the tail end of Charles Bradley.

3:00pm - 5:15pm
The second worst conflict of the weekend for me.  The hop to the Fort Stage to the Quad stage is not easy enough to risk going from Charles Bradley to Gary Clark Jr and back to Head and the Heart so I might have to skip Gary Clark Jr. entirely unfortunately.  I want to see as much Head and the Heart as I can but them and Of Monsters and Men overlap by 10 minutes.  So being that I did see three songs from Head and the Heart last year, I'll probably ditch out on the end of them to go see Of Monsters and Men in their entirety.

5:15pm - 7:30pm
If the situation presents itself I'd like to see some Conor Oberst but I might just be content to head over to the Harbor Stage and lock down my spot for Tallest Man on Earth.  From there maybe I'll catch a little Jackson Browne if my kids are cooperating after what will be a long weekend for them.  Catching a water taxi before the rush might out weigh trying to hear The Pretender.

I'd put my chances of executing this plan at close to 0% but it's still going to be fun to try.

2012 NBA Draft - Two I Like, Two I don't Like

I hate the NBA yet I love the NBA draft.  And not for the reasons someone like Bill Simmons likes it with the weird suits and awkward handshakes, I love it because it's kind of a goodbye to the college players that I enjoyed watching before they become irrelevant to me in the NBA.

Despite there being only one potential "can't miss" super star there is a lot of depth and with the lack of international players, I'm familiar with almost everyone that is projected to be drafted.

I'm not going to do a mock draft because on sites like CBS and ESPN they are put together because those guys have access to GMs and scouts.  I'm going to give you some players that I think are going to be overvalued and undervalued based on where I see they are projected to go.

Players projected to go too high:

Bradley Beal - SG - Florida
I like Beal as a player, I really do.  But seeing him go as high as 3 overall is ridiculous to me.  The era of a Dwayne Wade or Kobe Bryant being the best player on an NBA Champion is just about over.  We're entering the era of the athletic SF and PF.  Look at the best SGs to be drafted the last few years: Klay Thompson, Marshon Brooks, Evan Turner, Jordan Crawford, James Harden and Tyreke Evans.  They are all complimentary players.  And I get a SG might have to be taken higher based on the quality of the draft but I don't see a huge difference between the 2-20 pick in this draft.

Dion Waiters - SG - Syracuse
I see him going 7 to Golden State in the ESPN and CBS mocks.  Golden State has two picks in the 1st round and if I'm them I hope Drummond falls to 7 and then take a Jared Cunningham with the 30th or 35th pick.  I honestly don't see that much of a difference between the two.  I guess I'm still in the belief that unless you're a playoff team who traded in to the Top 10, if you have a Top 10 pick you are not a very good team and should still be aiming to draft someone who will be the best player on your team at some point.

Players projected to be drafted too low:

Andrew Nicholson - PF - St. Bonaventure
In any sport it seems like GMs and scouts fall too much in love with a player's workouts and not enough of what they did in college.  Andrew Nicholson might lack a little of the athletism you would like in an NBA PF but he is a winner.  He took a lowly A-10 program, put them on his back and took them to the NCAA Tournament.  You can't put a measurable on that.  And not only that, he improved himself from a guy who took zero three pointers in his first two years to a guy who took 53 of them in his senior year and hit 43% of them.  The team that gets him in the early 20s is getting a solid player.

Jae Crowder - SF - Marquette
If GMs drafted solely on effort, Jae Crowder would be a top 3 pick.  Of course he's only a 6'4-6'5 SF which this day in age is too small for a SF but he's solidly built and has over a 6'9" wingspan and is capable of guarding three positions.  He's big on the glass for his size and he is always in a position for steals.  He's a capable scorer and shooter (35% from three).  He's projected in the mid-to-late 2nd round.  That guy can play on my team any day.

I'm Ready to Start Panicking - Mets Fan Style

My hiatus is over.  I didn't really have time to post as my wife and I welcomed our second kid in to the world.  But I'm back just in time to start panicking over the Mets.

I know I could be overreacting right now as a Mets fan but, I am now in fear of Johan Santana's no-hitter on June 1st being the catalyst in the wheels coming off on their surprising early season.

I shouldn't say the no hitter is the reason, but it's Terry Collins' handling of the pitching staff after the no-hitter.  Johan Santana is a creature of habit.  I completely understand that off of his surgery and 134 pitches you would want to do something to lighten his load, but giving him extra rest was not the way to do it.  By giving him extra rest and shuffling the pitching staff around it created a domino effect that resulted in losing 6 of their last 7.  Just say Santana is on a 110-115 pitch count for each game.  Have him start on normal rest but have him only throw 90-95 pitches.

Lets take a look at the last two series:

June 5th - @Washington - Lost 7-6 in 12
This was Chris Young's first start back from the same surgery Santana had.  As a means to push Santana back the Mets opted to go with a 6 man rotation and start Jeremy Hefner the next night.  So not only was the bullpen shorthanded with Hefner slated to start tomorrow, Jon Rauch had an elbow issue and was unavailable to pitch.  So 5 man bullpen.  My question   Of course it goes 12 innings and the bullpen blows leads in the 8th, 10th and 12th.  Knowing what we know now that the Mets would send down Pedro Beato and keep Jeremy Hefner up when the rotation stabilizes, wouldn't it have been nice to have Hefner available in the pen to eat some more innings instead of stretching Frank Francisco and Elvin Ramirez into second innings?

June 6th - @Washington - Lost 5-3
Hefner didn't pitch terribly after allowing a three-run homer in the 1st but this is where Santana should have been pitching on regular rest.  Based on how he's been this year you'd like to think he would have done as well or better than Hefner did in his 6 innings.

June 7th - @Washington - Won 3-1
Thank god for R.A. Dickey.  On regular rest by the way.

June 8th - June 10th - @ Yankees - Swept all 3 games
It's hard to assume this series would have gone much differently than a sweep even if the Mets staff was on regular rest.  The Friday night game was a foregone conclusion.  Anyone who expected anything from Santana was misguided.  Long rest = disaster for him.  It would have been Niese's turn and there was probably nothing he could have done with the way Kuroda pitched.  Gee on Saturday battled despite not having his best stuff and who knows what Chris Young would have given you on Sunday.

The point is, this is a brutal stretch of schedule for the Mets and as fun as this season has been so far, Mets fans know how fragile it is.  By babying Santana too much, I feel they probably cost themselves a 3-3 stretch in these which is a lot less damaging than 1-5.