the 4th star

1. Only six teams (LA, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, NY Islanders, Colorado) have records that are below the .500 mark.

2. The playoff races in each conference are tighter than I can ever remember. In the Eastern Conference, only eight points separate the fourth place Philadelphia Flyers and the ninth place Florida Panthers. In the Western Conference, just eight points are between the sixth place Columbus Blue Jackets and the twelfth place Dallas Stars. Including those two, there are seven teams in the mix for the final three post season spots.

3. Team in the East to watch: Pittsburgh Penguins. A month ago there was talk of them missing the playoffs. Now they are two points out of fourth place and an opening round home ice spot. Dangerous, especially when you look at the East teams and realize there are no locks to win a round.

4. Team in the West to watch: Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are in fifth right now, two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and three up on the Blue Jackets. A match-up with an inexperienced Chicago team looks great, but if the Canucks manage to slip down to sixth or even catch Calgary for the Northwest Division lead (they are three points back), a certain pairing with the rival Flames is also a nice spot for Vancouver to be in. They do well (11-4-3) against division foes. Of course, Calgary has 12 division wins, but I like that match-up for Vancouver.

5. Two teams I want to see get in: In the East, it’s Florida, and you know why. In the West, I would love to see Nashville pull it off. It would be the fifth straight year the Predators make the playoffs and the fifth straight year they get hammered by the opening round opponent. Dauphin’s Barry Trotz does not get enough credit for the job he does with a young team year in and year out.

Let’s finish this up, shall we? No doubt who fills the No. 1 spot.

So there the two of us were, standing above the stage at the Mohawk while a block away a once proud band called Metallica was putting the finishing touches on a retail venture at Stubb’s. Below us, say 15 feet or so below us, stood The Hold Steady. We saw the band just 30 hours ago at the Red 7, where they played a sweaty set to the mostly male crowd of college aged kids and the aging post secondary educated who probably see in the band what they always wished themselves to be — simple rock stars. Back in real time, lead singer Craig Finn was directing the cramped primaries to Constructive Summer, feeding off the appreciative crowd not only at the main level but our second level and the distant third deck at the back of the open-air room.

“We’re going to build something this summer.” Everyone believed him.

A quiet looking girl in the front row, who sat through the first bands waiting for The Hold Steady to take their turn, was wearing an orange dress. She had long brown hair, straight past her shoulders. Orange dress appeared to be alone in the crowed bar but she wasn’t. When Finn bounced up to the mic for each needed word to his many thought out stories, she was right there with him, repeating everything he sang with the exact same precision and with the exact same passion. She was his cue card and for her it was pure joy, a reaction I don’t think I have ever seen in my life of going to shows and watching bands and the people who watch bands.

Back to our rail-side vantage point overlooking the stage, stage hands, and the crowd, a second-row guy with near-perfect sideburns and a tight soul patch leaned into the two of us, his head between ours to speak to our opposite ears. He wondered if we were experiencing the same thing he was as the energy grew with each singalong song.

“Are you guys finding it hard not to watch the girl in the front row?”

We all laughed and continued to watch the experience unfold, quietly agreeing — or maybe it was just understanding at that moment — to the endless wonder and power of what a well-crafted song can achieve.

Enough of that. Can we talk about sports now?

Coming up on number two…

The Decemberists were one of the bands of a short must-see list for yours truly, if not for the back catalogue but for the unusual set they were going to perform at SXSW. With a new album officially due out this week (only Internet downloads have been available), the band decided to play the 13-song Hazards of Love, front to back in track order, at an large outdoor BBQ-themed, rock-weathered venue called Stubb’s. Oh, and the set was broadcast live on NPR, just to add even more interest to the proceedings.

Think using a music festival slot to unveil a complete new work (which was basically a rock opera) to the drunken masses on a blurry Texas Wednesday night is hazardous? No kidding. A review right here. Or better yet, find some headphones and draw your own conclusions with a listen.

As mentioned, here’s number three:

I doubt many of you have heard of Howe Gelb and those of you who have, you’re probably in the wrong part of Internet town and are looking for a quick exit. Advertised as “quirky” and “a bit out there,” Gelb (left) was brought to my SXSW schedule almost as a time-killer, a buffer between dinner at Guerros and a long walk back from South Congress to the downtown mayhem that is Austin during the festival. Thankfully, the dead time existed. It gave our party of three a chance to check into a historic Southern Texas music venue (Continental Club) and bask in the comedy stylings of a deadpan Gelb.

Explaining a lyric he was about to sing:
“It’s now or never, and it might be too late.”

A lengthy conversation with old friends in the crowd, him speaking into the mic and the crowd unable to hear the other half of the conversation:
“Hey Tom! What’s this about us going to Zimbabwe to record a country album? We’re gonna have to talk about this.”

Pre-empting the discussion:
“I gotta get going here, I only have two and a half songs left.” (he only played one song at this point)

Talking to someone off stage associated with PJ Harvey, who played SXSW later in the week. Gelb mistakenly said she was was on the label ANTI, only to be corrected that she is on the once mighty Island Records:
“They’re still around? (brief pause) It’s that individual attention…”

Correcting reports that he’s the godfather of alternative country:
“I’m the ambassador of erosion rock and its reconstitution.”

Well, that was fun.

Lots to cover here in the next couple days, including a brief rehash of what was good (The Hold Steady) and what wasn’t so good (no AC in the room) in the Great State of Texas capital called Austin. I’ll try to get to those before the night is over, but I’m currently on about three hours of sleep and energy is lacking the necessary spirit.

Here’s the plan: I’ll list my top three things about SXSW, plus one thing that I hated. That 3:1 ratio is about right for the trip. Lots more to like than dislike, for sure. Stay positive, eh?

And I know the Friday Wrap Jam is a couple days late. I have no one to blame but a terrible understanding of how the ‘schedule posts’ feature works on this thing and a lack of a tether to the computer whilst on vacation, but I figure a little tardiness can be forgiven. To continue my Hold Steady high and lend credence to my somewhat flimsy excuse, here’s some grainy CCR to chew on.

Two people will grab this Hold Steady reference. Three, if you include me.

The biggest thing missing from the 2009 NCAA National Basketball Championship March Madness Taking Advantage of College Athletes Who Don’t See a Dime of the Millions of Dollars of Revenues Generated is Ashley Judd. This year, Kentucky sucked and is not part of the tourney, which means the standard 250 cutaway shots of the UK grad by CBS will not be happening this year. Too bad.

March Madness. If you’re like me, this is the only time you get excited about college basketball all year. Just a guess, but I bet I see more NCAA basketball on the first day of the tournament than I do the entire season. And it’s not even close.

So let’s be honest here. These picks are totally worthless. The only reason they’re up here is to give people who want ask me to be in their bracket pool a place to see my picks without ME having to fill out the bracket.

Mike Clark, I’m speaking in your direction.

Play in game: Alabama State, for no other reason than for the 7-foot-1 centre Chief Kickingstallionsims. Longest name in the game.

First Round

Midwest: Louisville, Siena, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Kansas, Boston College, Michigan State. West: UConn, BYU, Purdue, Washington, Marquette, Missouri, California, Memphis. East: Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Florida State, Xavier, UCLA, Villanova, Texas, Duke.. South: North Carolina, Butler, West Kentucky, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Syracuse, Michigan, Oklahoma.

Second Round

Midwest: Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State. West: UConn, Washington, Missouri, Memphis. East: Pittsburgh, Xavier, Villanova, Duke. South: North Carolina, West Kentucky, Syracuse, Oklahoma.

Sweet Sixteen

Midwest: Louisville, West Virginia. West: UConn, Memphis. East: Pittsburgh, Duke. South: North Carolina, Oklahoma.

Elite Eight

Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, North Carolina.

Final Four

Louisville, North Carolina.

Champion

North Carolina.

Hopefully those are right. Not ‘right’ in the sense that the picks are correct (there’s little chance of that happening), but ‘right’ in the sense that the games jive with one another and I didn’t pick a match-up that isn’t bracketly possible.

Yee-haw! There’s a trip to Austin, Texas coming tomorrow. I’m not sure what the status of the 4th Star will be during the week I’m away, so the possible glacier-like action at the blog may call for Vic Rauter, Ray Turnbull, and Linda Moore to walk you through it. As it stands right now, I’m hoping to have the regular weekly features up for your viewing and listening pleasure, but other than that, I’m not sure. Shoot! I have to get my NCAA brackets in. Hmmm. Maybe I can get that done at the airport…

Let’s take a moment now to enjoy all that Austin has to offer.

There are three things I hope to accomplish while walking around from dive bar to dive bar in Austin, Texas this week. Before I get into it, let it be known that I’m not big on planning out a schedule of where to be at and at what time when it comes to things like music festivals. That doesn’t do it for me. So when I come back from South By Southwest and you ask me how many different bands I saw and what I liked, let me just answer that right now: I don’t know. Maybe. Can’t remember.

The three things:

1. Apparently there is free beer everywhere during the week. Naturally, I’m going to try to have a beer in my hand the entire stay in Texas. That’s right. From the time I arrive at the hotel to the time I’m in the cab headed back to the airport, I will attempt to be properly refreshed with some kind of beer. Now if I’m at a dinner, then the beer can sit next to the plate of fish tacos. If I’m in bed, then the beer can be on the night table. Other than that, I will try to hold onto a bottle or can the rest of the time.

Walking on the street with a beer. At a venue with a beer. Enjoying a bar-be-que with a beer. Watching a band with a beer. Relaxing in the sun with a beer. Running along the river with a beer. Going to the washroom with a beer. Mocking the hipster douchebags with a beer. Drinking a Coke in one hand…with a beer in the other. I’m setting the over/under at 36 hours before I get sick of this and move onto something else.

2. This one is a must. Check out The Hold Steady. Rumour has it Metallica is playing. That would be funny for nostalgic reasons, but I only have one music mission for SXSW and that’s to see The Hold Steady. Me and the thousands of other over-age, college-looking, too scared to talk to women dudes in Austin. Not sure where or when it’s going to happen, but I have designs on the Rachel Ray party they’re playing at.

Yes, that Rachel Ray.

3. Watch the NCAA tournament. Obviously, I will miss a good chunk of the opening weekend but if I can sneak away for one game (and one game is all I’m slotting myself for) it will be the East bracket match-up featuring the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers taking on the No. 7 Texas Longhorns Thursday at 6 o’clock. Texas wins and they play on Saturday, so that could come into play for yours truly, as well.

The ‘Horns are based in Austin, so I imagine there will be a little non-music buzz in the bars that day. Good. I can cheer for Minnesota and jaw with the locals. With a beer in my hand, of course. Hmmm…I don’t have any Golden Gophers gear. Maybe I can swing by Garden City prior to departure for a Fighting Gophers hoodie.

“He loved the Golden Gophers but he hated all the drawn out winters.” (Stuck Between Stations, The Hold Steady)

I had grand plans to live blog the Canadian Curling Championship final tonight, but then it dawned on me that I would have to actually sit and watch the game. The weird thing is, I don’t even smoke pot. Can you imagine being at the end of your life, laying on your death bed, pleading with God to have a little more time and he points to those three hours you wasted watching a pastime that carries just a little more viewer excitement than watching paint dry? That wouldn’t feel too good, would it?

Now before people out there jump all over me for not liking curling (like that makes me less of a Canadian or something), consider this ridiculous sequence which took place earlier in the week:

World champion Russ Howard shatters his broom in anger during a game. Searching for anything interesting to report on, intrepid curling reporters ask him about the broken cleaning tool. You know…because who gives a crap about the game…

“You guys shouldn’t talk about that [expletive],” Howard said. “That’s your problem. We’re out here with the best athletes in the world, and that’s what you worry about.”

Um. Best athletes in the world? You mean Michael Phelps, LaBron James, Rafael Nadal, Tiger Woods and every other non-curler on this planet were in Calgary this week? I must have missed that. You think TSN would have said something or shown one less feature on Brad Gushue.

FINALLY: I’m starting a campaign to force curlers to wear helmets. They’re on the ice, sliding around out there and you’re telling me that if a guy slips and falls in the local club he couldn’t file suit against that club for damages? Why do you think minor hockey coaches have to wear helmets on the ice during practice? Answer: The rink and the minor hockey association have covered their butts for potential injury lawsuits. This is the most important thing facing our country since that economy thing. Figure skating is on our helmet radar, too.