USA Is Through!
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
What a rollercoaster of emotions; the United States is through to the round of 16! Thanks to a last minute goal by Landon Donovan, a deserving USA team will advance from the first round of the 2010 World Cup. Not only have they advanced, but they've won the group in front of England!
My group arrived at Durban FanFest close to 4PM local time. A few small groups of American's were already on the beach. As kickoff drew near, more and more entered the FanFest. We were all wearing Red, White and Blue. Neil was even wearing Stars and Stripes paints. Both Neil and I waved flags. Before the game, we were shown on the big screen. Everyone wanted to take pictures with us including the Durban US Consulate and a wire service photographer.
The game was a nail-bitter. Algeria had their chances, and the USA didn't look as organized as I'd like. The USA also had chances, and we even had ANOTHER goal disallowed. For the second time in two games, the ref blew the call. As the game reached the 75th minute, the tension on the beach was unreal. No one could stomach defeat or a tie. We wanted to advance so badly. At the death, Landon Donovan willed the ball into the net, and we erupted. All the Americans gatherd in one group. We threw down our beers, we jumped in the air, we waved our flags, we played our vuvuzelas, danced and sand "Ole, Ole, Ole, USA, USA." It was an unbelievable experience. We got multiple texts from the West and East Coasts saying friends and family saw us on TV!
The euporhia lasted into the night, and we trounced around Durban singing and waving our flags. Everyone was so happy for us. We even purchased tickets for the USA game on Saturday v. Ghana. Next stop, Rustenberg.
Soccer City Is Gorgeous
Gerry Penny/European Pressphoto Agency/New York Times
Luis Fabiano scoring the first of his two goals for Brazil, which got two assists (and an ejection) from Kaká in its second victory.
After a very long three nights, I finally made it to South Africa. Three red eyes is not fun, but the experiences along the way made the travel worth the effort. Jo'Burg is rather depressed but city is pulsing with the fever of the World Cup. I'm now visiting Durban, and the warm air and beautiful Indian Ocean are amazing.
I saw the USA win tie in an Irish Pub in Miami Beach. The atmosphere was exciting. Each goal brought screaming and jumping from everyone. In Germany, I was lucky enough to grab a shower in the airport. Cario was a whirlwind. Dave and I barely made the trek to Giza to visit the Pyrimads. We rode horses through the sand and saw the Sphinx and a few of the Pyrimads. It was a surreal moment, but unfortunately hurried. I'm glad we had enough time for the experience.
After landing in Jo'Burg, our entire group meet at the hostel in Yeoville. The hostel is an enclave in an otherwise unnerving area. The people of Jo'Burg were very welcoming and happy, but the city has seen better days.
Our entire hostel (about 20 people) went to see Brazil v Ivory Coast at Soccer City. We walked as a group to the train station which was safer than walking by yourself or with only a few people. We had to wait over an hour for a train, but the platform was crowed with Vuvuzela playing fans covered in yellow and orange. I didn't know it then, but this was going to be an amazing evening.
The train slowly made its way across the city, and a drunk German kept our entire train car laughing with his views on Italy's history of diving. Eventually, Soccer City rose on the horizon. As we moved from right to left, the entire train would shift from one side to the other to get better views and pictures. Everyone was astonished. I kept hear, "It looks like a spaceship" which it does.
With plenty of time before the game, we downed Budweisers outside the stadium. I took a ton of pictures of the facade. The real excitement was inside of Soccer City. Not only is the stadium brand new, but our seats were excellent. We sat behind the goal were the Ivory Coast attacked the first half in the 200 level. In the section to our left was an entire Brazilian band. Over the 90 minutes, they played their drums and horns. The music was amazing.
The fans weren't the only entertaiment. The match ended 3-1, and Brazil deserved the win. They held off the Ivory Coast and capitalized on their chances. Fabiano's first goal was sick, but he did handle the ball at least twice. I guess the ref was too busy gawking to notice. Drogba should have scored more than 1, but the night belonged to Brazil. Which makes me wonder why Kaka lost his cool. I've never seen him push another player, but the drama just added to the entire experience. I'm so glad this was our first game.
As Herczeg pointed out, I believe this was the best sporting experience of our lives. I don't want to see another soccer game without the Brazilian fans. The stadium kept pulsing an pulsing. It was unbelievable.
I can't send pictures with my phone, and I am not sure why the local network won't let me. Anyway, I haven't been able to send any to Momentile. I'll kept trying, but I don't think I'll ever be successful.
Headed to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
For over three years, I've been waiting for this day. Later tonight, I will begin my journey halfway around the world; my journey to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Over the course of two weeks, I will be visiting Johannesburg, Durban, Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Preserve and Cape Town. I'm attending five games which include Brazil v Ivory Coast, Nigeria v Korea, two round of 16 games and a quarterfinal. Many of the usual suspects are joining me on this adventure such as Mark, Jeff, Alex, Dave and many more. We will wear our USA jerseys and sing at the Fan Fests. Someone will probably buy Vuvuzela and get a soar throat playing it. It should be an amazing trip. Stay tuned for updates and pictures!
Wow, Maryland Is Snowy
Maryland? Treaure the (frozen) Chesapeake — (GladysFL) — Baltimore Sun
My homeland is covered in a blanket of white. I'm astonished by the numbers I'm seeing. 4 feet? I hope everyone is safe, warm and at home. For those elsewhere in the country (like me), checkout the views via MDOT cameras. My favorite is the I-95 corridor.
Mini DMB Tour 2009, Ellen
Thank you Warehouse! I just attended the most intimate Dave Matthews Band show in my personal history. They gave away tickets to see the band perform on The Ellen Degeneres Show. The performance took place outside of Ellen’s soundstage at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. I’d venture to say only hundreds of people were in the audience. Dave and the guys showcased three new songs and one old favorite. What an unforgettable experience.
The story begins with an innocent email from the Warehouse on Thursday, September 10:
“Greetings from the Warehouse:
We are excited that Dave Matthews Band is scheduled to make an appearance as the musical guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday, September 16th in Los Angeles, CA. The Warehouse has been provided with an allotment of tickets for the TAPING ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH and we are pleased to offer the tickets to Warehouse members that may be in the Los Angeles area at the time of the taping!”
Without giving it much thought, I replied within four minutes of receiving the email. I let it slip into the back of mind; I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high. Friday evening, I answered a phone call from an Ellen representative. I was on the list! Wow! I was super excited, and I just couldn’t believe I would attend.
Once Teresa came home from work, we talked about her attending the show with me. She couldn’t get off work with such little notice. During the school year, Teachers certainly get the short-end of the stick. It was a shot in the Dark but I called Dave. Dave lives in Flordia, but he loves Ellen. I know he watches the show everyday. Plus, he’s a huge DMB fan. Of course, he wanted to go, but the flights would have to be relatively cheap. He hung-up the phone and started searching. About thirty minutes later, he called me back. He found a flight into Long Beach. Amazing. I had my plus one to see Dave Matthews Band on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Dave arrived safely, and our journey began around 11AM on Tuesday. We had to checkin by 1230PM at the LA Zoo. The Zoo parking lot is much larger than the studio, so all attendees were bused from the Zoo to the studio. This is wear the waiting began. We waited in the parking lot for our bus. Each bus could only hold 50 people. Emily and a couple of her friends also won tickets, so we rendezvoused in the lot. They arrived much earlier, and they were on a bus faster than Dave and I.
Once we pulled into the Warner Bros. Studio, the buses were lined up tightly. The buses were air conditioned, but we had to sit for over an hour on the bus. They played rerun’s of the Ellen show, and it wasn’t horrible. I’d never seen a complete show, and I was pleasently surprised. Ellen is really witty, and her talk show is very entertaining. I became disappointed because I knew we wouldn’t see the taping. We were told we wouldn’t enter a soundstage. The concert stage was setup outdoors.
Eventually, we were filed off the buses to the concert stage. The studio roads, which are numbered like regular streets, are narrow. The sound-stages must be three or four stories tall, and they seemed strange to me. They have zero windows, so they appear very ominous. I was glad to see the concert stage was setup in the corner of the lot. Two sides of the concert area faced an outerwall which separated the studio from the streets of Burbank. Behind the stage was a two story building which looked like a hotel. I’m not sure what that building was. The final side was the end of a soundstage, but it was decorated with huge 3D Warner Bros. superheroes like Batman and Superman.
Emily had secured a sweet spot stage left. She sweet talked the security, and we easily joined her. I’m not sure where Dave and I would have found ourselves, but it wouldn’t have been this close. We were within five or ten feet of the horn section. Amazing. My excitement dwindled on a bit because we had wait another hour in the hot hot sun. This did include the taping of the show. The sound was broadcasted over the PA, and we heard Ellen interview Jen Aniston. I would have liked to see it, but again, I can’t complain too much.
Finally, the moment came we all were waiting for. As a really horrible “MC” tried to warm up the crowd, I spotted Dave walking from the middle of the lot toward the stage. He was trying to cover himself with his shirt, and he was quickly behind the stage before many other people noticed. Minutes later, he lead the entire band onto the stage. Wow, you could almost hear them talking. I couldn’t get over how close I was to the stage. This is what I saw…
Tuesday Sep 15 2009
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Warner Bros. Studios
Burbank, CA, USA
1. Why I Am
2. Improv Jam
3. You & Me
4. Crash Into Me
5. Shake Me Like a Monkey
Ellen introduced “Why I Am” completely through a TelePrompTer. Everyone forgot about the heat and let the music take over their minds and bodies. Most of the crowd near the stage was singing, dancing and pumping their fists into the air. Dave and I danced up a storm. I even snapped a few good pictures! The band was really into the tune. I like the song as a single because it doesn’t seemed forced. Its a total tribute to Roi. This fact permeates each performance, and you can feel the love radiating off the band into the crowd.
The “Improve Jam” was Timmy. Ellen has this funky theme song. After “Why I Am,” the house played the song to cut to commercial. Timmy picked up the riff, and the rest was history. Carter jumped onto the beat along with Stefan. Soon, the horn section was dropping notes over the beat. Dave was slapping his guitar and doing a bit of dance. Soooo much talent. Sooo little effort to create something cool. I think this little tune took everyone by surprise. Oh yea, Dave and I were dancing.
“You and Me” was decent. I don’t really like the verses of this song, but I really dig the chorus. “You and me together, can do anything, baby!” Great lyric with a really bright backing sound. Its a real uplifting tune. Dave and I kept up the dancing.
Before “Crash into Me.” Ellen spoke a bit with Dave. He was his usual awkward and yet intriguing self. Ellen proclaimed her love for the music and the band. She even noted how “happy” all DMB fans seemed to be. The crowd erupted over that comment, and she is pretty close to being right. Most shows are awesome experiences. Why else would I keep on going?
“Crash Into Me” was “Crash Into Me.” On Tuesday, Dave and I argued. He didn’t think there’d be a single old tune. I said there had to be at least one. I was hoping for “Ants” or maybe “What Would You Say.” I was right, but I didn’t guess right.
Maybe “Crash Into Me” was a blessing in disguise. It left everyone wanting more, even the band. Everyone was just warming up (to the music not the afternoon heat). Dave turned to Carter, and you could tell what was happening. They were egging each other on, and Dave was saying “one more, one more!” Ellen wasn’t going to stop ‘em, and they broke into “Shake Me Like a Monkey.” This is the first tune on the new album, and it really moves. Another tribute to Roi, so the emotions run deep through the band and out into the audience. Plus, its a great song for dancing. It was a solid close to a short set. I really wanted more, but it wasn’t too be.
Ellen wholeheartedly thank Dave and the rest of the Band. She acknowledge their long standing policy of not performing on daytime TV. Dave responded by singing her praises. Apparently, the entire band really digs her energy and show. I’ll have to say, the entire afternoon was full of good vibes. Even though we sat around waiting most of the time, everyone connected the show was very courteous and kind. It was a welcome change from the harshness felt elsewhere in greater LA.
Well, I still have to say Wow. I count myself blessed to have attended this show. I’m not sure I’ll have a similar experience, but I sure hope I do. I was totally happy with the short set. “Why I Am,” “You & Me” and “Shake Me Like a Monkey” are among my favorites from Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. A big thanks to Emily for grabbing such a great spot. To Dave, thanks for making the trek all the way from the East Coast! It was great to have you around if only for a short while. Finally, thanks again to the Warehouse and Ellen. Y’all put together a very memorable day for me.
Here are videos of some songs. At the noted times, look out for me. I’m wearing an army green shirt. My hair is rather long. Dave is taller than me and standing to my right. He has a shaved head. I think he danced more than me. Shame on me.
Simeon Sightings:
None :(
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Why I Am
Simeon Sightings:
0:50 (right side, dancing)
2:10 (right side, taking picture)
2:33 (right side, dancing)
3:40 (right side, dancing)
——
Shake Me Like A Monkey
Simeon Sightings:
2:40 (right side, dancing)
3:10 (right side, dancing)
