#fenway park concert series

[cameoutstruggling93]

Our seats were laughably bad but I was just so happy to be there 💚

[greensparty]

Album Reviews: Paul McCartney and Wings / Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs

Paul McCartney and Wings One Hand Clapping

I guess you could say I've written a bit about Sir Paul McCartney on this site (read here) and his former bandmates The Beatles (read here). I've gotten to cover his 2021 documentary series McCartney 3, 2, 1, I saw him live at Citi Field in 2009 and Fenway Park in 2022, and earlier this year I got to cover the 50th anniversary of the classic album Band on the Run from Paul McCartney and Wings. This week UMe is releasing an often-bootlegged but never officially released live album One Hand Clapping.

album cover

In August 1974, when Wings were riding high with Band on the Run released in November 1973, they entered Abbey Road Studios to record both a TV concert documentary and a live album. For one reason or another the documentary and live album were never released. The band at the time was made up of Sir Paul, wife Linda on vocals and keyboards, the late great Denny Laine (1944-2023) on guitar, and new guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1953-1979, a member of Wings from 1974-77), and drummer Geoff Britton (a Wing from 1974-75). The film and the live recording became a popular bootleg among fans mainly because it wasn't commercially released. In 2010, the doc was finally released on the bonus DVD of the Band on the Run Archive Collection release. Select tracks were also includes on the bonus disc of that collection as well. Select tracks have also surfaced on the bonus discs of McCartney and Venus and Mars. To mark the 50th anniversary of this, it is finally being released in various formats. The version I got to review is the digital stream of the Double-LP that includes a special 7" single with 6 additional bonus tracks not available on the CD or digital versions.

Sir Paul at Fenway Park on 6/8/22

the late great Denny Laine at City Winery on 1/9/19

The thing with this album is much of it felt somewhat anticlimactic. I have the 2010 Band on the Run release that included the bonus DVD with the One Hand Clapping documentary. It was awesome and the band was in their prime. When I interviewed Denny Laine in 2019, he said Band on the Run was very significant to him. When I saw him at City Winery in Boston shortly after our interview he played much of that album as well. All of Disc 1 is from that special from the 2010 bonus DVD. Disc 2 gets into other live in-studio renditions, including some Beatle covers. But the real treasure that's been unearthed here is the 7" single on the vinyl edition that the band recorded in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios including The Beatles' "Blackbird" and covers of Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly hits. Wow! In the end, let's celebrate that this is finally being released and the extras that have never been heard before!

For info on One Hand Clapping

4 out of 5 stars

Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits

I've always considered guitarist Mike Campbell to be a secret weapon! In Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Petty was the singer and leader, but Campbell had so many memorable guitar solos. Campbell even played on Petty’s solo albums too. After Petty’s death in 2017, Campbell has been keeping busy. In addition to joining Fleetwood Mac in 2018, he formed his own band The Dirty Knobs, who now go by Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs. I got to review their 2020 debut Wreckless Abandon. Campbell actually formed the band while he was in The Heartbreakers but never recorded with them until that debut. Since then, they released a follow up in 2022 with External Combustion. Separate from Dirty Knobs, I was also lucky enough to get the 2022 live release Live at the Fillmore 1997 from the Heartbreakers and my album review was actually quoted on The Heartbreakers website for the album! But I digress. This week sees the release of the third album from The Dirty Knobs' Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits.

album cover

new album cover looks a little like The Heartbreakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More" music video with Campbell 2nd from right front row.

Since the last album there's been some lineup changes. Drummer Matt Laug left to join AC/DC for their tour and was replaced by former Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone. Guitarist Jason Sinay was replaced by Chris Holt (Don Henley). They joined bassist Lance Morrison and singer/guitarist Campbell. This album also features appearances from Graham Nash, Lucinda Williams, Chris Stapleton and best of all former Heartbreaker Benmont Tench. That makes three Heartbreakers on one album!

This album's got that trademark blues-rock sound they delved into on the debut. It reminded me of ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Texas blues bands. Even though Campbell himself is a native of Florida, I heard more of a Southwestern vibe than a Southern vibe. There's some cool guests. The thing is, I wanted to like this album more than I did. Campbell is awesome and the band is tight, but it just felt like an album that was pretty good instead of pretty awesome. Maybe it's going to take a few more listens but I had high hopes.

For info on Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs

3 out of 5 stars

[marisasmusicreviews]

Concerts I Have Attended (list in progress)

Matchbox Twenty (Train) - September 28th, 2001, Tour 2001, Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA

Paul McCartney - May 4th, 2002, Driving World Tour, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

Fitz and the Tantrums - April 5th, 2014, Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA (Opening Act: Bad Suns)

Kenny Loggins - July 10th, 2014, Fox Performing Arts Center, Riverside, CA

Weezer - August 2nd, 2014, Del Mar Summer Concert Series - Del Mar, CA

Fitz and the Tantrums - September 28th, 2014, Riverside Municipal Auditorium, Riverside, CA

Weezer - September 6th, 2015 - Del Mar Summer Concert Series - Del Mar, CA

Foo Fighters - September 22, 2015, Sonic Highways World Tour, The Forum, Inglewood, CA

The Darkness - April 13th, 2016 - Back to the USSA Tour - Riverside Municipal Auditorium, Riverside, CA

Matchbox Twenty (Counting Crows) - July 31st, 2017 - A Brief History of Everything Tour - The Forum, Inglewood, CA

Harry Styles - July 13th, 2018 - Live on Tour - The Forum, Inglewood, CA

Justin Timberlake - April 28th, 2018 - The Man of the Woods Tour - The Forum, Inglewood, CA

Justin Timberlake - February 22nd, 2019 - The Man of the Woods Tour, Honda Center, Anaheim, CA

Jonas Brothers - October 21st, 2019 - Happiness Begins Tour, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

Jonas Brothers - December 14th, 2019 - Happiness Begins Tour, The Forum, Inglewood, CA

Jonas Brothers - January 25th, 2020 - Citi Sound Vault, Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA

Jonas Brothers - August 20th, 2021 - Remember This Tour, Park Theater, Las Vegas, NV

Jonas Brothers - August 21st, 2021 - Remember This Tour, Park Theater, Las Vegas, NV

Jonas Brothers - October 1st, 2021 - Remember This Tour, Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Jonas Brothers - October 27th, 2021 - Remember This Tour, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

Russ - May 5th, 2022 - The Journey is Everything World Tour, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA (special guests BIA, Bugus, Ktlyn, YG, Ty Dolla $ign and Big Sean)

Jonas Brothers - June 3rd, 2022 - Live in Vegas 2022, Las Vegas, NV

Jonas Brothers - June 4th, 2022 - Live in Vegas 2022, Las Vegas, NV

Rick Springfield - August 20th, 2022 - Youtube Theater, Inglewood, CA

Jessie Reyez - October 24th, 2022, The Yessie Tour, Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA

Danny Elfman - October 29th, 2022 - From Boingo to Batman to Big Mess and Beyond, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

Harry Styles - November 9th, 2011, Love on Tour, Kia Forum, Inglewood, CA

Smokey Robinson - December 10th, 2022 - Music & Memories Tour, YouTube Theater, Inglewood, CA

Jonas Brothers - January 7, 2023 - AT&T Playoff Playlist (Openers: Em Beihold & DUCKWRTH), Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

Jonas Brothers - March 18th, 2023 - Jonas Brothers on Broadway, (The Album), Marquis Theatre, New York, NY.

Jonas Brothers - April 25th, 2023 - Los Angeles One Night Only, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles, CA.

Jonas Brothers - September 9th, 2023 - The Tour (Opener: Lawrence the Band), Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA.

Coldplay - October 1st, 2023 - Music of the Spheres World Tour (Opener: H.E.R.), Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA.

Jonas Brothers - October 29th, 2023 - The Tour (Opener: Lawrence the Band), Honda Center, Anaheim, CA.

Depeche Mode - December 17th, 2023, Memento Mori World Tour (Opener: Young Fathers), Crypto.Com Arena, Los Angeles, CA.

[fobdescribed]

[Images: Four photos from Joe Trohman at Fenway Park.

1/4: a black and white photo of Joe seated on a low couch in a dressing room, playing guitar. He is wearing a pocket tee, light joggers, and flip flops. Behind him are three tall, black wardrobe cases. Each one has a baseball jersey with the number 23 on it, and the three visible jerseys have the names “Stump,” “Wentz,” and “Hurley” on them respectively.

2/4: Joe on stage at Fenway Park, photographed from upstage showing the empty bleachers and field seating behind him. He is wearing a t-shirt and dark shorts. The sky above the bleachers is bright blue, with a few fluffy clouds.

3/4: Joe is backstage at Fenway Park, wearing the same outfit as the last photo and holding a takeaway hot coffee cup. He is looking at the camera and pointing to a large metal box. Taped onto the front of it is a laminated printout of the Simpsons character Fallout Boy.

4/4: The Fenway Park scoreboard, an old fashioned green and white sign, and a large sign above it featuring a stylized guitar headstock that says “Fenway Concert Series.” On the scoreboard, the two lines that normally track the baseball scores read “Fall Out Boy.”]

joe really said why should pete have all the venue adventures and went out with a camera to explore

[captain-sodapop]

Things the CW could have aired on the night of November 5th, 2020 at 8 pm that would have been infinitely better than “Despair”:

A bunch of MST3K shorts

The Seinfeld finale back-to-back

The YouTube karaoke version of “La Resistance” from South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut on a loop

A marathon of Chris Fleming’s web series Gayle

Steve Kornacki standing with his back turned to the camera as he did election math on his board for an hour

Live footage of bears tromping around in the wilderness

Alternatively, live footage of a kitten rescue

The short film of an NYU first year film student

The short film of an NYU fourth year film student

A live reading of the Farmers Almanac

The first hour of any Ken Burns documentary

A livestream of a Rocky Horror interactive viewing

Paint drying

A couple episodes of a public access cooking show

A telethon

A fifteen-year-old's playlist of his favorite YTPs

A carefully curated selection of some of Conan O'Brien's best remote segments from his time in late night television

Every video on the channel Great Depression Cooking

Some middle schoolers' first band concert recorded on a camcorder in 2011

That Bernie Sanders filibuster lofi

Any of the Starkid musicals

A live reading of old forum drama

The Sherlock series five premiere

An episode of Antiques Roadshow

The full broadcast of the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game, featuring Bucky Dent’s three-run homer over Fenway Park’s left field wall that put the Yankees up 3-2 over the Red Sox

[night-filled-mountain]

so forgive me if this is kinda a stupid question but i have an oc from Boston and I've never actually been there (I'm from the south so my experience with anything in the north is limited lol) but I was wondering if there are like... certain phrases/interests/general info that I could use to build up her character a little more?

Not a stupid question! An exciting question!

So, disclaimer: I’m not a native Bostonian. I was born and raised in New Jersey. If I have any followers who can swoop in and correct or add to any of this, please do! But I’ve lived here on and off for 12 years and married a local, so I’ll give it my best shot.

First of all: Where in Boston is your OC from? This is pretty vital to pin down. It’d be a hugely different experience growing up in, say, Beacon Hill vs. Mattapan. There are plenty of basic breakdowns of the different neighborhoods online, but my one strength in answering this question is that I’ve moved all over this city like an erratic Ping-Pong ball. So if you need inside information about any specific area, I’ve lived or worked in: the Theater District, Back Bay, Allston, Brookline (not actually part of Boston, but closely associated with it), Kenmore/Fenway/Longwood (that’s kind of all one neighborhood, but I’ve got all three parts covered), the North End, Lower Mills (part of Dorchester, which is huge), and Mattapan. I’ve also hung out a lot in Downtown Crossing, Chinatown, Beacon Hill, and Cambridge (which is also not part of Boston).

If you don’t know what part of the city your OC’s from yet, think about her economic background, ethnicity/nationality, what she or her parents did/do for work, the kinds of places you imagine her spending her time, etc., and see if you can find a good match.

Other Boston things:

The accent: The Boston accent (as in “We pahk the cah on Hahvahd Yahd”) is real, but not universal. It’s mostly a thing in working-class families who’ve lived around here (and remained working-class) for at least a couple generations. My mother-in-law, who’s from a blue-collar Irish family in Dorchester, has it. Her husband is straight from Ireland with a full-blown brogue. And their four kids--all raised in the suburbs, all educated at private Catholic schools, after which they all went to college--have no trace of either accent.

Phrases: I feel like you want to be really careful with regional words/phrases in general, lest a character come off like a walking parody, but here are a few tips:

Possibly the most stereotypical Boston (and general New England) word is “wicked,” which is used to modify adjectives, as in “It’s wicked cold out” or “I’m wicked hungry.” (A girl from Maine was playing with my hair once and told me it was “wicked pretty,” and it was, like, the highlight of my life.) This is NOT something I hear on the regular, but I wouldn’t balk if your OC used it once or twice over the course of a story.

A liquor store is called a “packie” (short for “package store”). Don’t ask me why. My husband calls them this every time without fail, and was previously unaware that it was not a universal term.

A milkshake is called a frappe (which is pronounced “frap,” and does not involve coffee). Or at least, the drink in which you mix milk and ice cream, which would be called a milkshake in any other part of the country, is called a “frappe.” Supposedly, if you ask for a milkshake, you’ll get a drink made of milk and syrup with no ice cream, but I’ve never attempted this.

You don’t make a U-turn here--you “bang a U-ey.” Again, I can verify this one based on the fact that My Husband Says It. (And he once yelled it while playing a multiplayer video game involving cars, and was horrified when none of his fellow players had any idea what he was talking about.)

Interests: You’re probably already aware of the sports teams (Red Sox for baseball, Patriots for football, Celtics for basketball, Bruins for hockey). This is New England, Land of the Endless Winters, so hockey is pretty big (including casual kids’ hockey teams). Ice-skating is popular in general; the Frog Pond on the Boston Common (which doesn’t actually have any frogs) is a favorite spot.

As someone who is Not A Sports Person, I can also assure you that whether you want them to or not, the Red Sox will affect your life as a Bostonian. You will find yourself almost smothered to death on the T by dense crowds of drunk people in Sox gear on their way to or from a big game. You will be casually shopping downtown when a deafening wave of noise approaches, confetti rains down from the heavens, and you are nearly trampled to death by a post-World Series parade. You will be unable to sleep a wink the night after a game if you live anywhere near Fenway. And do not set foot in a bar at such times. DO NOT.

Other things that Bostonians care about more than the average person, in my experience: SEAFOOD; St. Patrick’s Day (I’ve never been to the parade because of reasons, and honestly, I’d also recommend avoiding the bars, the T, and even the very streets if possible); the Boston Pops concert and fireworks display at the Esplanade every Fourth of July (ok, that’s actually pretty fun); and all things American Revolution (well, you may not be interested, but you probably studied it intensively in school and visited a lot of local historical sites).

Public transit: Boston’s train/bus system is called the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), but literally everyone calls it “the T.” If you travel on the T regularly, you probably have a CharlieCard:

These are named after an old campaign song by a politician who promised to lower the fares. It’s absurdly catchy.

Knowing what neighborhood your character is from tells you which T stations she would’ve lived near, which is also super important to my Bostonian mind. Is she a Red Line kid? Green? Orange? Blue? Or maybe she mostly took Silver Line buses, or rode the Commuter Rail (a.k.a. Purple Line) to work. (I‘ve only ever lived on the Green and Red Lines and certain bus lines, so I have Biases.)

College town: Boston is a college town. It is lousy with colleges. That’s what first brought me here, and even though I’m a townie now, I remember the culture well. College students make up around 20% of the city’s population when school is in session, and the downtown neighborhoods in particular are crawling with them. They swarm the bookstores and museums and bars (with real or fake IDs) and trendy restaurants. They work in every cafe and perform in every theater. They smoke clove cigarettes and take Duck Tours and ride the Swan Boats. If your character is a local, she’s had annoying encounters with college kids at some point or another. I promise not to take offense.

The Emerald Necklace: This is the nickname for a giant string of parks and waterways that surrounds the city of Boston. No matter where you live, including the most inner-city neighborhoods (which is where I currently live and work), chances are good that there is a substantial amount of green space and water in your general vicinity. Complete with hiking/bike paths that, if you follow them long enough, will take you through literal woods where you can see nothing but trees and hear nothing but birdsong. This is possibly my favorite thing about the whole New England region. It’s so heavily forested that you can still find your way to a little bit of nature in the most unexpected places.

Miscellaneous:

Dunkin’ Donuts is not found only in Boston, but it is more beloved in Boston than anywhere else on earth. I swear there is one on every block in the city. It is the place to get coffee as well as doughnuts. Starbucks is around here too, but is scorned in comparison.

J.P. Licks is a local chain of ice-cream stores with locations all over the city. Everyone goes there. It is very tasty.

The annual Christmas tree on the Boston Common is donated by Canadians from Nova Scotia. There’s a story behind it. It’s pretty cool. (The tree lighting is a huge event with speeches, music, fake snow, and sometimes fireworks. They actually light up the whole Common, which is gorgeous at night. I could see it from my dorm windows in college.)

This is obviously just a tiny fraction of Boston lore, but it’s still probably more than you wanted, and I should wrap this up while the day’s still young, so...hope some part of this was helpful! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions. I’m happy to ramble about Boston all day (...which is probably obvious by now).

[an-olive-crown-blog]

THE A TO Z OF RYAN FLYNN

a.d.d. // you don’t get diagnosed with a.d.d. until you’re in the fourth grade. you’ve always know how smart you were, but translating the things going on in your brain into being a productive student caused you to struggle. your classmates always just assuemd you were stupid - the class clown who sat in the back and made the other students laugh. it was a role you happily slipped in to; even after the diagnosis. 

boston // it’s always been boston or bust for you. you didn’t grow up that far outside of the city but there was never a place in the world that felt as much home to you as boston does. you live and die by this city.

chinook // she’s named after a strain of hops - because of course you would do something like that. she’s the light of your life, the center of your world, the best brewery dog to ever grace the earth. she’s a swiss mountain dog; big, slobbery, and full of love. your girlfriend hates it, but she sleeps in the bed, nestled down by your legs. no amount of fighting will ever change this.

david ortiz // he’s a legend in boston and as a die hard red sox fan you almost crap your pants when you think you see him sitting at the bar in strip by strega on arlington. it doesn’t turn out to be him, though, even after you’ve made a spectacular ass out of yourself in front of your date. you don’t get a kiss at the end of the night, not the you were expecting one after the noise that came out of your mouth when you first thought it was big papi sitting three bar stools away.

exeter street // the last time you see olivia she’s outside of her hotel, clambering into a cab that’s idling on the curb of exeter street. you thought that seeing her after all these years would be fine, that you were over it. it was just coffee, for crying out loud. but she’s leaving again, back to the new life she made for herself in california. there was supposed to be closure but not it just feels like you’ve ripped the bandaid off the bullet wound she left in your heart. 

forward // hockey has always had a presence in your life, as it does for most guys who grow up in new england. you’ve been going to bruins games since you’ve been old enough not to cry about the noise or the cold. you’ve even worn your own sweater in highschool as a forward. you were good, but not great. a career in the NHL was certainly never in your future. but now that you’re older you appreciate it more; appreciate the fact that getting your ass up on sunday mornings to play as a forward for the beer league is important to your health (no matter how much your achy body says otherwise come monday morning). 

griffin’s wharf brewing // you go through name after name after name before you find one by mistake. griffin’s whart if the supposed site of the boston tea party, an integral part of the history of the city that you love so much. when you come across this fact in a book, it doesn’t take much convincing for your partner to agree that it’s the perfect name for the brewery you’re planning on opening. 

harvard // it was silly, ridiculous to think that you could be a harvard man. but it was what was expected of you - to attend your father’s alma mater, to get a degree in chemistry. but school was never easy for you, and while the classes you take aren’t hard, you can’t help but dig yourself so far into a hole that there’s no way out. you drop out at the end of junior year, just one year shy of graduation. looking back, you can boil it all down to self-sabotage. 

isla // everyone says that she should have been the first child, and honestly, you can’t help but agree. she’s two years younger than you but she’s always had her shit together, has always known where she was going in life and how she was getting there. she exudes what you’d expect from the oldest sibling while you’ve always flown by the seat of your pants. no one ever believes it when you say that you’re the older sibling. 

january // there’s new england blood running through your veins, a fact you can’t deny. there’s something peaceful about the cold of winter; when it reaches it’s peak right at the end of january, your favorite month. the city bustles along as usual, but there’s a quieter quality about it that you can’t quite put your finger on. 

kayaking // it’s one of the few things you love about summer, when the city is sticky and hat and ridiculously overpacked with tourists. the charles is actually nice when you’re on the water when in comparison to when you’re on the esplanade. it’s quieter, too, especially if you go in the morning before the sailing academy starts it’s lessons for all those privileged children of beacon hill. 

loan // you’re well versed in the world of loans - you’ve got a mountain of them from those unfinished years at harvard. but this is different. this loan, a business loan, could make or break you depending on what the bank says. there’s a fledgling, fragile dream you’ve concocted of owning a brewery and it’s the only thing you’ve ever felt so sure of over the course of your entire life (save for maybe one other thing, a girl named olivia, but that’s nothing more than a pipe dream at this point). when the bank gets back to you and agrees to the loan, it’s the only time you’ve ever cried tears of relief. 

massachusetts avenue // the location couldn’t be better - a refurbished building on mass ave in central square. it’s technically not in boston, like you’d originally wanted, but the rent is cheap and the space is good. central square is up and coming, anyway, bustling with hip college students and young professionals. it’s the perfect place for a brewery. 

newton, massachusetts // it’s a nice town, you can admit now that you’re older. you can’t really complain about the life you had growing up there because it was a good childhood. it was every suburban cliche you can think of, but it was your parents dream. and while you don’t necessarily share that dream with them - the white picket fence one - it really wasn’t such a bad place to grow up. 

olivia // she may be the only girl you’ve ever really loved. she was the big one, the epic love of your life. you’ll never admit it out loud, but it’s not like you have to. anyone close enough to you knows the damage that was done when she left for stanford and you stubbornly refused to follow her. there’s been an aching in your heart ever since. 

patriots // you aren’t as big of a patriots fan as you are a fan of the red sox, but there’s no denying that your blood runs navy and red. you are a walking, talking new england cliche, but there is nothing quite like shotgunning beers to stay warm in the parking lot of the stadium in foxboro.

quincy market // it’s the only part of the city that you truly detest and avoid as much as possible. it’s too touristy, too filled with people walking slow and doing what’s expected of them while visiting boston. the only time you ever go is in the dead of winter, when the big christmas tree is all lit up and beautiful in the middle of the marketplace. 

red sox // you’ve been going to games since you were too little to remember. there’s a familiarity about fenway; the green monster, the cold beer in flimsy plastic cups. you were there when they broke the curse in 2004 and won the world series, and while you don’t get to go to as many games as you’d like anymore, there’s a calender hung on the fridge of your apartment with the season schedule. 

simcoe hops // the first beer you ever sell to your first customer - your first real customer, who isn’t in any way, shape, or form, related to you or your partner - is made with simcoe hops. it’s one of your early favorites - dry hopped and earthy with fruity finishing notes. it quickly goes on to be one of the breweries most popular beers. 

thirsty scholar // you meet olivia at the bar in inman square as a sophomore with a fake ID. you don’t even know why you’ve strayed so far from the usual bars in harvard square, but when you lock eyes with her from across the dimly lit bar, you feel like the stars have aligned. like every decision you’ve ever made in life has led to this one moment in time (in a dirty, college bar of all places). 

urban legends // it’s a weird quirk, even for you. you’re very scientific minded - logical, analytical, quick to solve puzzles and rational, above all else. you can’t seem to define what the draw of urban legends are or why they are so enticing to you, but they are. you collect them, catalogue them in your brain. for every place you’ve ever visited, there’s some obscure urban legend you’ve researched and recited, much to the chagrin of your friends. 

verb hotel // it’s tucked behind fenway, not even really that from where you live. the sushi bar on the first floor is one of your favorite haunts. it’s always packed and busy, brimming with the after-work crowd and tourists. it’s a good place to people watch and the sushi isn’t half bad, so when you feel like you need to get out of the apartment but that you want to be alone, you always find yourself ending up here, even if you didn’t mean to. 

wonderland t stop // you take the blue line all the way out to wonderland. normally you wouldn’t be caught dead in revere but there’s a peacefullness on the beach that’s right down the street from the t stop. sometimes you just need to breath in that salt air, feel the sand beneath your toes. sometimes you need a break from the suffocation of the city. 

xfinity center // it’s a hike to get to mansfield from boston but when you’re young and carefree you don’t mind. you’ve seen dozens of concerts at the ampitheatre, and were there in 2003 when pearl jam played the longest set they’ve ever done. there’s memories tucked away in the back of your mind of piling into cars with all your friends and olivia and making the trek down. 

yellow // it’s the color of the mug that olivia gets you for the last birthday you two celebrate together. yellow, with black writing that reads ‘i am a ray of fucking sunshine’. you still have it, tucked way in the back of your kitchen cabinet, one of the few remaining reminders of your time together. 

zombies // it’s childish, maybe, but you’ve always loved a good zombie move. it doesn’t matter what kind (although comedic are your favorite). every year on halloween you sit down and force your loved ones to watch shaun of the dead with you. it’s tradition, and not one you’re likely to break any time soon. 

[atlanticcanada]

Maritime fans still optimistic about the Red Sox after a tumultuous winter

For thousands of Maritime baseball fans, it’s a love affair that has spanned generations.

For many, rooting for the Boston Red Sox pre-dates not only the arrival of the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays, but the arrival of television.

Radio waves drifting up from New England brought Red Sox baseball into the homes of young fans throughout the Maritime provinces.

“I used to listen to it on the radio before it ever came on TV,” says Nick Bonnar of Glace Bay, N.S., remembering his early days of Red Sox fandom in the 1960s.

“I heard a lot about Carl Yastrzemski. I played the outfield like he did. It just went from there.”

Bonnar thinks geography played a big part in getting young fansto root for Beantown. “I think that probably started with people from New Brunswick so close to the border, going to Red Sox games or getting them on TV more than the average fan could.”

“I think that’s a really common experience for a lot of Red Sox fans,” saysauthor Jim Prime. “We could pick up the games quite regularly.”

Prime’s lifelong love of the team also began through the radio airwaves. In the years since, Prime has written more than 20 books on the Red Sox, though he is based in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. The historical connections he sees between his beloved team and the region he calls home go well beyond bats and balls and radio calls.

“Babe Ruth used to come up here to the Maritimes quite often. I think he even did it when he was a member of the Red Sox. Ted Williams came up here to New Brunswick and fished on the Miramichi.”

In 2005, Prime co-founded the Bluenose BoSox Brotherhood, a group of Boston-loving baseball fans. “We had maybe 10 or 12 people at the first meeting,” he recalls, “It just grew from there.”

The group has since held two Nova Scotia Days at Fenway Park in Boston, and has twice brought the World Series trophy to Nova Scotia.

“A lot of Americans have joined our group, and we have a New Brunswick presence and PEI. We don’t turn anyone away. Unless they’re a Yankee fan,” he laughs. “They’re on their own.”

The Brotherhood serves mostly as a way to bring fans in the Maritimes together even during baseball’s off-season. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Prime says. “We have a Facebook site, and people comment. It keeps the winters interesting.”

Tumultuous month for Red Sox

It would be hard to top this winter in terms of “interesting” for the Red Sox and their fans. It’s been a tumultuous few months for the team, which has seen both its manager and one of its most popular and productive players depart.

In January, manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways after Cora was implicated in the Houston Astros sign-sealing scandal. Cora had been a bench coach for Houston in 2017, the year Major League Baseball now says the Astros engaged in a high-tech sign-stealing scheme that has been the talk of baseball the whole off-season. The scandal has angered many players and fans – who now feel like the Astros’ 2017 World Series win is tainted.

“That took the wind out of my sails,” Prime says of the Cora situation. “I like the purity of the game. I don’t mind getting on second base and stealing signs. That’s part of the game, but when you start using sophisticated electronics to do it on a concerted basis all season long, I can understand why the Dodgers and some of these teams would be very upset.”

It was the Dodgers who were the beneficiaries of the Red Sox’ other big offseason move. In February, star outfielder Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price were dealt to Los Angeles in a blockbuster trade. Betts won MVP honours in the American League in 2018. The Red Sox wanted to shed some payroll to avoid exceeding Major League Baseball’s luxury tax limits that try to prevent teams from overspending.

“I was upset with the Red Sox for not hanging onto him,” Prime says of Betts. ”Even if they had to go over the luxury tax limit.”

“It’ll be tough to replace Betts,” Bonnar laments. “It’s hard to replace one of the best baseball players to play the game.”

Like the promise of better weather, spring seems to provide annual optimism for baseball fans. And although it’s been a winter of turmoil for the Red Sox, diehard fans still have hope for 2020.

“Overall, there’s reason for optimism,” Prime maintains. “But it’s just the general tenor of the way things worked out. I’ve been a fan since 1960, and I don’t like to see things like this happen with teams. It hurts the chemistry of the team.”

For a team with four playoff appearances and two World Series titles in the past seven seasons, expectations are always high for Red Sox fans. “Our people want to win,” Bonnar says. “Anytime I’m in Boston, all they talk about is winning.”

And Bonnar says despite all the changes, winning might happen as soon as this season.

“I wouldn't be surprised if they got to the World Series and won it.”

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/3ctZoNI

[garudabluffs]

Dead & Company will return to Fenway Park for 2 nights in 2020

The jam band is coming back to Massachusetts.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, through RedSox.com/DeadAndCompany. VIP ticket packages will go on sale through CID Entertainment at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, while presale tickets for Citi and American Express card members will be available at noon Tuesday, Feb. 11, through 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13.

READ MORE https://www.boston.com/events/events/2020/02/06/dead-company-fenway-concert-2020

Dead & Company - August 7 & 8, 2020            

Live Nation and the Boston Red Sox are excited to announce the return of Dead & Company for a pair of shows, August 7 and 8, part of the Plainridge Park Casino Fenway Concert Series.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 14.

Friday, August 7, 2020/ Saturday, August 8, 2020 | Fenway Park | Boston, MA

Golden Road Super VIP Package

One (1) premium reserved ticket in the first (5) rows -OR- one (1) GA pit ticket

One (1) premium ‘Golden Road’ merchandise gift

Access to ‘Loose Lucy’s Lounge’ before and throughout the show, featuring:

One (1) limited edition, screen printed Dead & Company 2020 tour poster signed and numbered by the poster artist (shipped directly to your home after the show)

One (1) commemorative concert ticket and case

Parking pass (one per order)

Early venue entry and crowd-free merchandise shopping

One (1) commemorative VIP laminate

On-site concert host

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres

Cash Bar with two (2) drink tickets*

Comfortable Lounge areas to relax and hang with fellow fans

*Local liquor laws apply

Golden Road Super VIP Package $759 Pre Sale 2/11

Steal Your Face VIP Package

One (1) premium reserved ticket in the first (30) rows -OR- one (1) GA pit ticket

Access to ‘Loose Lucy’s Lounge’, before and throughout the show, featuring:

One (1) limited edition, screen printed Dead & Company 2020 tour poster – signed and numbered by the poster artist (shipped directly to your home after the show)

One (1) commemorative concert ticket and case

Early venue entry and crowd-free merchandise shopping

One (1) commemorative VIP laminate

On-site concert host

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres

Cash Bar with one drink ticket*

Comfortable Lounge areas to relax and hang with fellow fans

* Local liquor laws apply

Steal Your Face VIP Package $409 Pre Sale 2/11

Scarlet > Fire Seamless Package

One (1) premium reserved ticket -OR- one (1) GA pit ticket

One (1) limited edition, screen printed Dead & Company 2020 tour poster – signed and numbered by the poster artist

One (1) commemorative concert ticket and case

Scarlet > Fire Seamless Package $259 Pre Sale 2/11

Dancing in the Streets Experience

One (1) lawn ticket to see Dead & Company live

Early venue Entrance and access to the Lawn

One (1) limited edition, screen printed Dead & Company 2020 tour poster – signed and numbered by the poster artist

One (1) commemorative concert ticket

One (1) commemorative laminate

https://www.cidentertainment.com/events/dead-and-company-tour/

Q: Am I going to have an amazing time?

A: ABSOLUTELY!

Want to leave a comment? Be civil.  Be kind.Read our full community guidelines.

[mitrofan-online]

Forbes made a rating of Fab 40, in which he rated the most expensive brands in the world of sports - from manufacturers of training suits to football clubs.

Brands, like the athletes who advertise them, can triumphantly return - or quickly bother the public. The brand value of a sports team is influenced by the actions of managers and players. Sporting events may or may not be popular. All this is reflected in our assessment of brands, writes Forbes. A prime example: six years ago, Puma's profit fell while its rivals Nike and Adidas reported large revenues. Puma has devised an incredible comeback plan including collaboration with singer Rihanna and sprinter Usain Bolt. Puma shares rose 74% over the past year, while Adidas shares were up 46% and Nike were up 25%. Impressive? The Puma price / earnings ratio is 46, and against its background, Nike (35) and Adidas (30) look cheap. This year, Puma first entered the Fab 40 ranking and ranks sixth in the Companies category. Her brand - that is, only one name - is estimated at $ 4 billion. Back side? Take a look at Under Armor, whose brand is worth $ 3.5 billion - 36% less than three years ago. Under Armor is losing market share to brands like Puma and New Balance. According to CNBC, the company is growing concern that consumers perceive Under Armor exclusively as a brand of “gym wear” that sells sweatshirts and shorts. Since late July, the company's shares fell from $ 24 to $ 18. In addition to Puma, this year the newcomer to the Fab 40 rating was Gatorade (the manufacturer accounts for 77% of the sports drinks market, and we decided that it can be considered a sports brand). In addition, the Kentucky derby (last place in the Fab 40 in 2013), Conor McGregor and the Los Angeles Dodgers (Fab 40 participants in 2016) returned to the ranking. MLBAM (sold the BamTech brand to Walt Disney), NESN (lost in value to Gatorade and Puma), Usain Bolt (retired) and Manchester United (replaced by New England Patriots and Barcelona clubs) left the list.

Companies

1. Nike, $ 36.8 billion Over the past two years, Nike stocks outperformed Adidas stocks by more than two to one and Under Armor stocks by more than four to one. 2. ESPN, $ 13.1 billion ESPN's operating income exceeds $ 3 billion with monthly membership fees of $ 8 — more than any other sports network. 3. Adidas, $ 11.2 billion In April, Beyoncé and Adidas announced a joint project, in which the artist will develop branded clothing and shoes for the brand. 4. Gatorade, $ 6.7 billion Gatorade holds 77% of the US sports beverage market, while Powerade’s closest competitor is only 15%. 5. Sky Sports, $ 4.4 billion In 2018-2019, the audience of the Sky Sports Premier League television channel in the UK grew by 12%. 6. Puma, $ 4 billion In the first nine months of 2019, Puma shares went up 60% to $ 79. 7. Under Armor, $ 3.5 billion Over the past two years, Under Armor operating income (revenue excluding interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) has fallen by 72% to $ 157 million. 8. UFC, $ 2.4 billion Earlier this year, the UFC and Disney signed a seven-year contract, under which the UFC receives a commission from paid broadcasts on ESPN +. 9. YES, $ 1.5 billion In September, a consortium of investors led by the owner of the New York Yankees bought YES Network from Disney for $ 3.47 billion. 10. Reebok, $ 800 million Reebok sales in 2018 fell by 3%, but the company nevertheless became profitable again.

Sport events

1. Super Bowl, $ 780 million According to Kantar Media, CBS received $ 382 million in advertising revenue during the last Super Bowl. A year earlier, NBC earned $ 408 million on the decisive game. 2. Summer Olympics, $ 375 million NBC raised $ 1.2 billion in sales of advertising in America during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games - slightly less than at the previous Summer Games in London. 3. Final round of the basketball tournament of the first division of the NCAA among men, $ 300 million According to Kantar Media, TV advertising revenue during the March Madness ranged from $ 1.3 billion to $ 1.6 billion. 4. World Cup, $ 282 million About 2.49 million people watched at least 30 minutes of broadcasts of the 2018 World Cup in Russia - an increase of 27.7% compared to the previous World Cup in Brazil. 5. National College Football Championship, $ 255 million In 2014, ESPN began annually paying $ 470 million for the right to display the Playoffs among colleges under the terms of a contract that is valid until 2025. 6. WrestleMania, $ 245 million This year, WrestleMania earned $ 16.9 million at Metlife Stadium: this result is second only to $ 17.3 million in revenue at WrestleMania three years ago. 7. UEFA Champions League, $ 168 million Revenue from the sale of broadcast rights and sponsorship contracts in the Champions League and Europa League is expected to average $ 3.52 billion for one season from 2018 to 2021. 8. Kentucky Derby, $ 155 million In 2018, Churchill Downs Hippodrome was renovated at a cost of $ 37 million, as a result of which more than 1800 seats in 32 new boxes and a tribune on the third floor were added. 9. Winter Olympics, $ 150 million The games of 2018 became the largest Olympic Winter Games on hype on social networks - official materials attracted 300 million users, and the video gained more than 1.6 billion views. 10. World Series of Major League Baseball, $ 122 million The average cost of showing a 30-second commercial during the 2018 World Series match between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers was about $ 500,000 - almost the same as in Fall Classic a year earlier.

Athletes

Zhe Ji / Getty Images

1. Roger Federer, $ 62 million Federer’s revenue of $ 86 million off the court thanks to partners like Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz and Rolex is nearly 60% more than any other athlete’s total earnings. 2. Tiger Woods, $ 33 million Since the beginning of his professional career in 1996, Woods has received $ 1.4 billion from sponsors. 3. Cristiano Ronaldo, $ 29 million 24 hours after the start of sales of Ronaldo's branded T-shirt with the Juventus logo, 520,000 copies worth more than $ 60 million were sold. 4. LeBron James, $ 28 million In 2018, James teamed up with Cindy Crawford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lindsey Vonn to launch Ladder, a nutritional supplement manufacturer. 5. Lionel Messi, $ 20 million Messi signed a lifetime contract with Adidas, under which he allegedly receives more than $ 12 million annually. 6. Stephen Curry, $ 17 million In 2017, Curry founded the new company SC30 to manage his investments, brand contracts and charity projects. 7. Neymar, $ 15 million Neymar is the second most popular athlete on social networks: he has more than 200 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 7. Phil Mickelson, $ 15 million Mickelson's sponsorship contracts for his entire career brought him about $ 700 million. 9. Virat Koli, $ 14 million In 2018, Coley won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, which is awarded to the best cricketer of the year, as well as the ODI and Best Test Player of the Year awards. 10. Conor McGregor, $ 12 million Prior to returning to UFC 229, the Irishman extended a sponsorship contract with Reebok, which brings him about $ 5 million a year.

Sports teams

Legan P. Mace / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Legan P. Mace / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images 1. Dallas Cowboys, $ 1.039 billion Cowboys earn more on sponsorship contracts and selling tickets for premium seats (lodges and club level) more than any other NFL team. 2. New York Yankees, $ 815 million Yankees revenue is $ 100 million more than any other Major League Baseball team. 3. Real Madrid, $ 725 million Earlier this year, Real Madrid signed an agreement with Adidas to extend the contract for eight years, until June 2028. Under the terms of the agreement, the team receives a record $ 113 million per year, as well as 20% of the team’s souvenir sales. 4. Los Angeles Lakers, $ 674 million The Lakers earn $ 150 million a year on contracts with local television and radio stations. 5. Golden State Warriors, $ 606 million The contract, according to which the Warriors receive $ 20 million a year for placing Rakuten logo badges on T-shirts, was the best agreement among all the NBA teams. 6. The New York Knicks, $ 563 million Over the 2017–2018 season, the Knicks earned nearly $ 60 million selling seats at the stadium — more than any other NBA club. 7. Los Angeles Dodgers, $ 554 million In 2018, the Dodgers earned $ 170 million in the sale of the right to show matches to local television channels — more than anyone else in Major League Baseball. 8. Boston Red Sox, $ 532 million In 2018, more people attended concerts at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, than at any other baseball stadium. 9. Chicago Cubs, $ 518 million In 2020, the club, together with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, will launch the Marquee Sports Network, which will receive the exclusive right to show Cubs matches. 10. New England Patriots, $ 465 million In February, the Patriots beat Los Angeles Rams with a score of 13: 3 at the Super Bowl and won the championship for the sixth time out of ten that the team made it to the NFL Championship finals. 10. Barcelona, ​​$ 465 million In 2018, Barcelona signed a sponsorship contract for placing the logo on athletic t-shirts with the Turkish electronics manufacturer Beko. The sum of the three-year contract is $ 63 million. *** When compiling the Forbes Fab 40 rating, the cost of leading sports brands was taken into account, evaluating the contribution of a name or title to the cost of an athlete, sporting event, company or team.

A source: https://thinktanks.by

[greensparty]

Concert Review: Pearl Jam

9/2/2018 @ Fenway Park (Boston, MA)

Me at Fenway Park and the scoreboard

Every few years some snarky music journalist writes some condescending piece about how “Rock is Dead”. My guess is those writers weren’t at Fenway Park to see Pearl Jam the other night! It says so much that a band over 28 years into their career, who haven’t put out an album of new music in five years (2013′s Lightning Bolt I might add), can sell out a stadium like Fenway Park. I became a fan right when they exploded as part of 1991′s alt-rock explosion. PJ’s fanbase went far beyond college radio and alt-rock, they soon started playing arenas and attracting metalheads, Top 40 fans and the classic rock crowd (see their frequent collaborations with Neil Young). I was lucky enough to see them in Aug. 2000 at Great Woods in Mansfield, MA. After that tour, the band released their Official Bootleg series of every concert on that tour, so I immediately bought the CD of that special show (considered by many to be one of the highlights of the tour). Since beginning this blog in 2013, I’ve found myself writing quite a bit about PJ. So naturally getting the chance to review one of their concerts at Fenway Park (one of the most special stadiums to see a band - hands down) is one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do here!!!

Pearl Jam onstage

Earlier this Summer I was lucky enough to see Foo Fighters at Fenway Park and I mentioned how it was one of the best big rock shows I’d seen in a while. I can say the exact same thing about this show too. There is just something about seeing a great musician performing at a baseball stadium that is still around over a century after opening in 1912. Sadly I missed seeing PJ when they first played Fenway Park in 2016, which was a milestone for the band who have been frequent visitors to Boston over the years. On that same tour, the band played some special shows at Wrigley Field in Chicago. See my review of the documentary Pearl Jam: Let’s Play Two for more about that. I initially thought that singer Eddie Vedder, a lifelong Cubs fan, would do some trash-talking about the Red Sox. But even as a Cubs fan, he has the utmost respect and admiration for the Red Sox and Fenway Park. He actually recounted a story about how the band first played Boston on July 10, 1991, stayed at the nearby Howard Johnson’s and Eddie snuck into Fenway while the Sox were out of town to get some Polaroid pictures of Fenway Park just to be able to prove he had been there. He mentioned multiple times what a tremendous honor it was for him to play there! Mr. Vedder is a gentleman and a scholar!

Vedder’s solo acoustic part of the show and the audience

There was no opener for this show. It began quietly with No Code’s “Sometimes”, then went into one of my all time favorite PJ songs “Release”. Other highlights included “Elderly Woman...”, the cover of Little Steven’s “I am a Patriot” (crazy that I actually saw Little Steven do that song live last year), “State of Love and Trust” off the Singles soundtrack, “Alive”, their cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” and Vedder’s acoustic cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” (he played it on a guitar given to him by Petty). If there was a complaint (actually a compliment / complaint) is that I wish they had played some more of their 00s and 10s songs like “World Wide Suicide” or “Sirens”. I was kinda surprised they didn’t do “Jeremy”, but with such a vast catalog, some major hits had to be left out. Vedder introduced all of the band members, but when he introduced drummer Matt Cameron, he noted that PJ and Soundgarden were among the luckiest Seattle bands because they both got to play with Cameron! So true!

McCready doing a guitar solo onstage on a beautiful Fenway Park evening

Guitarist Mike McCready, who was on fire and even played the guitar behind his head like Jimi Hendrix, wore an Aerosmith Rocks t-shirt. Back in 2016, they brought out Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton as a special guest. I had hoped he or another Aerosmith member might join, but something equally special happened: Vedder recounted the aforementioned story about their first time in Boston in 1991. On that bill they played at Boston’s Avalon was Buffalo Tom. They are a band I always dug and I saw them live multiple times. Buffalo Tom’s singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz actually has a second job in addition to his music as a real estate agent and for a few years he actually worked in the same office with my Mom. But I digress. Vedder introduced a “hometown hero” and Janovitz came out to perform Buffalo Tom’s “Taillights Fade”. It was a very special moment in Boston music history! The whole time I was watching Janovitz onstage (he has performed with Vedder at the Hot Stove Cool Music Series before) all I could think was “I can’t believe this guy worked in the same office with my Mom!?!”. 

PJ billboard next to the iconic Citgo sign in Kenmore Square

I have to say, PJ has actually gotten better with age. This band is just so tight and the musicianship of the entire band was through-the-roof. I’ll admit it might have been cool to see them in a club circa 1991, but seeing the band now at Fenway Park was one for the ages! PJ fans are also on the level of Dead Heads in terms of fandom. Many of them travel a great distance to see them live. I bring this up because this was very much an audience experience. Every fan was singing along to even the most obscure lyrics, including the rare B-side “Out of My Mind” which they haven’t played live since 2009.

There have been rumors of a new album this year and earlier this year they dropped the new single “Can’t Deny Me”. Whenever they come back with a new album it is going to be exciting. In the meantime, the band is playing a second show at Fenway Park tonight. We can only hope they come back sooner than 2 years for the next Fenway show!

Concert Review courtesy of Peal Jam’s team.

[aestheticvoyage2019]

2019 Superlatives

2019 Word:  "With"

Notable Accomplishments/Hobby: a. No Beer Year b. Tucson Gardening c. Make Your Own Sushi d. Photoblog turns 3000 days e. Great Sports Year > Spartan Final Four, Blues Stanley Cup, Cardinals NLCS

Best Photo: Organ Pipe Sunset Sky

Best Sandwich:  Luke's Lobster Roll > Boston Drink of Choice: Multi Greens Kombucha Best Roadtrip: a. “la randonnée de cercle complet” with Dad (Wolfe Island, Montreal, Finger Lakes, Niagra)   b.  Reflection Canyon Loop   c. Mississippi Ramble (4th of July)  d. New Zealand Ramble  e. Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Best Adventure:  Havasu Fall Group Hike in April  and Cumberland Island Overnight Hike

Best Meals - Lucy Lui's, Melbourne,   Carne Asada Tacos & Steak/Egg Tacos in Havasu, Thanksgiving Dinner in Geelong (Macadamia Nut Crusted Fish with Lemon Burblanc Sauce), Chaps Pit Beef (Baltimore), Make Your Own Pizza Night

Favorite Restaurant:  Char's Thai Food

Best Fall Color: Flagstaff Aspens Best Breweries (Despite No Beer Year): Brutopia in Montreal Best Month:  December Worst Month: September

Best Beach: Ludington, MI Best Breakfast:  AC Breakfast Street Tacos Favorite Food - Ahi Tuna from Sprouts Best Sunset:  The 210 from Mt Lemmon Best Sunrise: Reflection Canyon, Lake Powell Best Town: Melbourne, Victoria Favorite Hike(s): Douglas Springs/Bridal Wreath (Rincons), Havasu Falls,  Cumberland Island, Reflection Canyon, Soldier Trail (Mt Lemmon) Best Book: Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey # of Books Read/Completed: 4 Best Camp Spot:  a. Reflection Canyon, b. Cumberland Island, c. Havasu Falls/Mooney Falls Best Skinny Dip:  Unknown! Must do better with this in 2020. Best Concert: The Revivalists, Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ Favorite Roads:  Road around Maui, Hole In The Rock Road (Utah), AZ 191 (Eastern Arizona),  Great Ocean Road Best State: Mississippi Best Nature Hug: Harveys Lookout, Lorne, Victoria, AUS Best Movie: Australia Best Rental Car (of the 20 rented):  Dodge Charger, Big Sur Favorite Show:  a. Game of Thrones  b. Yellowstone  c. Ken Burns, Country Music Best Shower/Bath: Cottage Spa, Lorne, Victoria Best Pool!: Infinity Pool in Hotel Avani, Box Hill - Australia Best Coffee Shop: Cafe Pase Tucson Hardest/Worst Day of the 365:  September 2-6 > Work Debacle Number of Flights Trips - 48 Favorite Game: Work Week Hustle Challenge, Fitbit Guilty Pleasure: Cigar - Warped Gran Serie Reserva 1988 Howd you spend Valentines Day: Watched Blues on TV with Dad/Bought Fire Pit. Howd you spend your birthday:   Havasu Falls Howd you spend AC’s birthday: Cedar Point / DetroitHowd You Spend Anniversary: Lodge On the Desert Overnight Howd you spend Christmas Day: Honolulu / Hawaii Ramble Howd you spend New Years Eve:  Ludington Ball Drop Closest to death: Wicked Twister / Cedar Point,  Rock Wall Scootcher at Reflection Canyon Worst Fight:  Anniversary MisHap Best Holiday: Thanksgiving in Australia Biggest Regret - Letting my weight slip back in last third of year Best Luck of 2019: Onsite Near Wolfe Island, Ontario (ancestral link) # of On Campus Work Trips in 2019 - 38 # of Weddings in 2019 - 1 (Kate & Ryan) Something new in 2019:  Gardening Best Song: Whiskey Myers - Stone Best Quote: “Time runs at the pace we allow it.  Where did the days go?  Id love to tell you! About the backcountry fire in the Everglades or at Nordhouse, the hot pink glow of sunset on Mt Baker, how quiet the snow falls in Antelope Canyon, and the sound of quaking aspen leaves. I would tell of how cold it was that night on North Twin after I chose to not turn back, and how cold the Teklanika River runs in June. Id describe the way that buffalo smelled during our interview, and how he is my favorite animal now.  Id share that day baseball in Fenway is the best park now that Ive been to them all; unless we’re talking National Parks and Id tell you all about The Narrows. where to catch sunrise on The Tetons or Half Dome, and that Rialto Beach is my ace in the hole. Id tell of how ice blue the water is at Havasu and try to come up with some relatable metaphor to describe it - and fail. Id tell of the best sunsets in Bellingham and Ludington where the sun dips into the water and paints the clouds.  Id tell of times out on my own where I felt strong, in my kayak, at Ross Lake, or the Boundary Waters, or Pine River - times where I doubted my self, but survived.  Don’t get me started about the mustard dress  - we definitely don’t have time for that.  But I will tell you about how I married that girl in the same place where I kissed her for the first time and how every adventure is sweeter now with her to tell about it.  I would tell of my favorite roads and my favorite towns, and how Lockhart TX is the friendliest of all. And Id tell how I fell in love with the desert a long way from where I started - a drunkard for red sandstone and the distinct smell when it rains.  I could go on and on - because there is plenty of time in each day to live your adventure of dreams and Ive filled them up best I could with similar treasure on this Aesthetic Voyage; the rhythm of life with attention paid, and intention given.  ~Day 3000 Aesthetic Voyage

Best Days of the 365:   a. Mississippi Ramble Day > July 5 b. Cedar Point Day 2 > May 17 c. Maui Ramble Day > December 26/27 d. Blues Parade Day - June 15 e. Great Ocean Road - Lorne to Port Nelson Light > Nov 30 Favorite/Most Notable Moments: a. Front Row of Steel Vengeance at Night / Cedar Point with AC b Stanley Cup Parade in St Louis c. Fresh Caprese Salad out of our Garden d. Jumping off waterfall with Mom in Havasu e. Blues Overtime / Game 7 Winner with Ben Jellen f. 4th of July Fireworks in Natchez, MS (Gods Country) g. 20 Year Class Reunion for BHS h. Going to Wolfe Island and Niagra Falls with my Dad i. Seeing Koala and feeding Birds at Cottage in Lorne j. Flying in Airplane with AC and Luke k. Smoking Cubans with Dad in Montreal l. Dancing at Kate and Ryan's Wedding as Soupmaster m. Compliments for my teal running shoes n. Visiting the birthplace of Muddy Waters o. Photo Book for Day 3000 of Aesthetic Voyage p. Eating Year Old Wedding Cake q.Riding the bike loop in Tucson at Sunset r. Middle of Night Visit to Cemetary to visit Grandma Audrie s. Party @ our house for Deni and Violet t. Nights sitting out around our firepit in Tucson u. Sunset in Organ Pipe National Monument v. Sushi Plate for Andrea's Engagement Party w. Choppo De Gallo from Our Garden x. Finishing the final 10 miles of Big Sur y. Overnight Crashes in Seattle, Boston, and Honolulu z. Ludington NYE Balldrop

[adondeirhoy]

FRIENDS 25 is moving to Boston.⁠ ⁠ Following its wildly successful New York debut, the FRIENDS 25th Anniversary Pop-Up is coming to Beantown. ⁠ SAVE this post so you can come back to the info again Follow us at @pontikmedia in ALL platforms  #Entertainment, #Music, Fashion, Concerts, #Trend & #Lifestyle News - Pontik.com ⁠ Fans can turn their calendar back to 1994 to revisit some of the series’ most iconic moments with an immersive pop-up experience created by Superfly, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Television Group. ⁠ ⁠ “The One with the Pop-Up” will be located in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood at 401 Park (corner of Brookline Ave. and Fullerton St.). Tickets go on sale Friday, November 1, at 12:00 p.m. ET, exclusively at www.friends25popup.com.⁠ ⁠ #Friends25 #friends @warnerbrosentertainment ⁠ #jenniferaniston #courteneycox #lisakudrow #mattleblanc #matthewperry #DavidSchwimmer⁠ ⁠ @jenniferaniston @friends @_schwim_ @courteneycoxofficial @lisakudrow @mleblanc @warnerbrostv (at Boston, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4QOFbIHknl/?igshid=fimj6btaadgv

[bluemagic-girl]

The 31 best things to do around Boston August

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The dog days of summer are here. It’s the last full month of the season, leaving plenty of opportunities to soak up some sun and stay cool around the city.

Check out 31 ways to delight in summer’s home stretch.

Thursday, Aug. 1

Boston Fest. Order food truck grub, rock out to local bands, and see if your employer is crowned one of BostInno’s 2019 Coolest Companies. (5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; The Lawn on D, South Boston; $25 – $35; all ages)

Friday, Aug. 2

ICA First Fridays: White Hot Vol. 6. Pull together your best ivory outfit and head to the Seaport to dance, drink, and check out contemporary art. (5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Seaport District; free for members, $25 at the door; 21+)

Saturday, Aug. 3

Roaring Twenties Lawn Party. Dance the Lindy Hop and enjoy afternoon tea at this period picnic, which also offers lawn games and a vintage fair. (Saturday, Aug. 3 and Sunday, Aug. 4 from 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.; Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich; $44 – $105, free for children 10 and under; all ages)

The Roaring Twenties Lawn party at the Crane Estate. —Mark Lorenz for the Boston Globe

Sunday, Aug. 4

Boston Seafood Festival. This seafood celebration includes an all-day lobster bake, chef demonstrations, oyster shucking contest, and a Harpoon beer garden. (11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Boston Fish Pier, Seaport District; free for children 5 and under, $5 for children aged 6 – 12, $15 – $85 for adults; all ages)

Monday, Aug. 5

North End $5 Bootcamp. All you need to join this outdoor workout is a mat and $5. (6 a.m.; meet at Cutillo Park basketball courts, North End; $5; all ages)

Tuesday, Aug. 6

2019 Fenway Challenge – South End. You’ll know you’ve found this event when you see Wally and Tessie with a replica of the Green Monster. (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; Carter Playground, South End; free; all ages)

Wednesday, Aug. 7

Artful Seeds: An Interactive Art-Making Workshop at District Hall. Show off your creative side at this session hosted by local nonprofit The Art Connection. (6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; District Hall, Seaport District; free; all ages)

Thursday, Aug. 8

Trustees Mobile Farmers Market. Take home locally grown, sustainable produce from this traveling market during its weekly stop in the Seaport. (1 p.m. – 3 p.m.; Pier Four Boulevard, Seaport District; free; all ages)

Friday, Aug. 9

Emerson Colonial Theatre Historical Tour. Peek behind the curtain of the city’s oldest continuously operated theater. (2 p.m.; Emerson Colonial Theatre, Theater District; $17 – $35; all ages)

Saturday, Aug. 10

Boston Contemporary Dance Festival. Choose between the afternoon showcase featuring local ensembles, or the evening show featuring professional companies from around the U.S. (2 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.; Huntington Avenue Theatre, Fenway-Kenmore; $15 -$55; all ages)

Boston Contemporary Dance Festival. —RJ Muna

Sunday, Aug. 11

Chinatown August Moon Festival. It’s the 50th anniversary of this cultural fete, which features dance, martial arts, and music performances, as well as food vendors and arts and crafts booths. (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Phillips Square, Chinatown; free; all ages)

Monday, Aug. 12

Harvard Ed Portal Summer Concert Series. The last iteration of this family-friendly concert series will feature Veronica Robles and her all-female mariachi trio. (6 p.m.; Honan-Allston Public Library, Lower Allston; free; all ages)

Tuesday, Aug. 13

ReachOut! Volunteering at the Emerald Necklace. Get your hands dirty at the Emerald Necklace’s Rose Garden to plant trees, flowers, and remove invasive species. (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; James P. Kelleher Rose Garden, Fenway-Kenmore; free; all ages)

Wednesday, Aug. 14

Boston Magazine‘s Battle of the Burger. Sink your teeth into 20 burgers and cast your vote for the champion. (6 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Flynn Cruise Terminal, Seaport District; $79 – $129; 21+)

Thursday, Aug. 15

The Fisherman’s Feast. This traditional Italian affair kicks off a weekend of festivities with its opening ceremonies and a performance from Street Magic a cappella group. (Thursday, Aug. 15 – Sunday, Aug. 18, multiple times; North, Fleet, and Lewis Streets; North End; free; all ages)

The annual Fisherman’s Feast festival in the North End. —Carolyn Bick for Boston.com

Friday, Aug. 16

Boston GreenFest and Tech Expo. Show your support of sustainability on the Greenway by checking out exhibits, films, live performances, and fitness classes. (Friday, Aug. 16 – Sunday, Aug. 18, multiple times; 296 State St., Boston; free; all ages)

Saturday, Aug. 17

Brew at the Zoo. Sip and sample offerings from breweries and restaurants while visiting with different species. (5 p.m. – 9 p.m.; Franklin Park Zoo, Roxbury; $55 – $100; 21+)

Sunday, Aug. 18

Boston Fermentation Festival. Experience all things fizzed at this one-day festival, whether it be visiting local vendors at the Makers Marketplace or relaxing with a drink in the Libations Lounge. (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Boston Public Market, Downtown; free; all ages)

Monday, Aug. 19

Ground Beat: BAMS Fest at the Hatch Shell. Youth and women empowerment are at the center of this production, which features performances from the OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center and Veronica Robles’ mariachi ensemble. (6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Hatch Memorial Shell, Boston; free; all ages)

Tuesday, Aug. 20

Single Mingle Patio Party. See if you can find a new mate on the dock-level patio of the Boston Tea Party Museum. (6 p.m. – 9 p.m.; Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, Boston; $15 – $20; 21+)

Wednesday, Aug. 21

MFA Music: Upstate. Groove to this sextet’s sound in the summer air. (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway-Kenmore; $24 – $30; all ages)

Thursday, Aug. 22

River Fit Sunset Yoga. Stretch and breathe through a series of poses led by national yoga instructor and award-winning author Sara DiVello. (6 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Fiedler Field, Boston; free; all ages)

Friday, Aug. 23

Off the Record with Lowell Spin. The Boston Music Awards has teamed up with a different local outlet each week since June to create an evening of live music. For their penultimate event in this series, they’ll partner with with Lowell Spin. (5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Hojoko, Fenway-Kenmore; free with RSVP; all ages)

Saturday, Aug. 24

End of Summer Bash at Atlantic Wharf. Take the kids out to celebrate the summer season with activity tables, food, games, and a children’s concert. (noon – 2 p.m.; Atlantic Wharf, Downtown; free; all ages)

Sunday, Aug. 25

Hear Me Roar at Democracy Brewing. It’s all about girl power at this event, featuring available work from a dozen local female artists. (1 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Democracy Brewing Company, Downtown Crossing; free; 21+)

Monday, Aug. 26

Fenway Park Marathon. With only 75 allotted entries, you’ll want to sign up for this race around Boston’s ball park soon. (5 p.m.; Fenway Park, Fenway-Kenmore; free; all ages)

Runners start take off on the first of 116 laps in the Inaugural Fenway Park Marathon on Sept. 15, 2017. —Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

Tuesday, Aug. 27

Outdoor Boot Camp at Bunker Hill Monument. Squat, jump, and plank your way through this open-air workout in partnership with Boston National Park Services. (6 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.; Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown; $16 for a single session; all ages)

Wednesday, Aug. 28

Guided Bird Walk on the Esplanade. The Esplanade Association has teamed up with Boston’s Feminist Bird Club for this one-mile stroll made for beginners and experts alike. (8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.; Charles River Esplanade, Boston; free; all ages)

Thursday, Aug. 29

“Stuff You Should Know” Live. See what topic co-hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant will delve into during a live taping of their hit general knowledge podcast, which has covered everything from “The Simpsons” to trickle-down economics. (8 p.m.; The Wilbur, Boston; $32 – $37; all ages)

Friday, Aug. 30

Huntington Theatre Company’s “The Purists”. Tony Award-winner and “Pose” star Billy Porter directs this play about the unlikely friendship between a DJ, a rapper, and a telesales director. (8 p.m.; Calderwood Pavilion, South End; $20 – $75; all ages)

Saturday, Aug. 31

Spectacle Summer Nights. Whether a ranger-led hike or roasting marshmallows on the beach is more your jam, this after-hours event on Spectacle Island has a little something for everybody. (4:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Spectacle Island, Boston; $35 – $57, free for children 3 and under; all ages)

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[themusicenthusiast]

Lady Gaga Announces ‘Joanne World Tour’ Presented by Live Nation; Coming to American Airlines Center in Dallas on December 8th

Lady Gaga will be traveling the globe with the ‎Joanne World Tour starting on August 1st in Vancouver, BC and September 22nd in Barcelona with a series of concert dates throughout Europe and the UK before returning to North America in November and December this year.  ‎Tickets for the concert in Dallas on Friday, Dec. 8th will go on sale Monday, Feb. 20th at 10AM. Buy tickets at Ticketmaster.com.

Grammy and Golden Globe winner and Academy Award-nominated Lady Gaga is a one-of-a kind artist and performer. She has amassed an outstanding 30 million global album sales and 150 million single sales, making her one of the best-selling musicians of all time. Gaga is also one of the biggest living forces in social media with over 61 million likes on Facebook, over 65.1 million followers on Twitter and over 21.3 million followers on Instagram. Her fifth studio album “Joanne” was recently released and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, marking her 4th consecutive #1 album - the first female to do so in the 2010s. Tickets for Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour are on sale Friday, February 10th in Barcelona, Paris, Zurich, Hamburg, Berlin and Koln. Tickets go on sale Monday, February 13th for the first leg of the North American performances as well as the balance of the European dates. Tickets for the second leg of the North American Tour will go on sale on Monday, February 20th. All arena performances in North America & Europe will feature general admission on the floor, the 4 North America stadium shows have reserved seating on the floor with reserved seating in all venues in the stands. There will be a ticket limit of 8 tickets per transaction for all first day sales. Once on sale, tickets to the Dallas show will be available for purchase HERE.

Citi cardmembers can take advantage of a special pre-sale opportunity for show dates in the United States, beginning Wednesday February 8th at 9am through Sunday, February 12 at 5pm for all performances going on sale on Monday, February 13th. For concerts going on sale the following Monday, February 20th the Citi cardmembers may access pre-sale tickets from Wednesday, February 15 a 9am through Sunday, February 19th at 5pm (all times local).  For complete pre-sale details visit: citiprivatepass.com.  There is an 8 ticket limit per transaction. Joanne World Tour Dates: August 1--Vancouver, BC--Rogers Arena 3--Edmonton, AB--Rogers Place 5--Tacoma, WA--Tacoma Dome 8--Los Angeles, CA--The Forum 11--Las Vegas, NV--T-Mobile Arena 13--San Francisco, CA--AT&T Park (Stadium) 15--Sacramento, CA--Golden 1 Center 19--Omaha, NB--CenturyLink Center 21--St. Paul, MN--Xcel Energy Center 23--Cleveland, OH--Quicken Loans Arena 25--Chicago, IL--Wrigley Field (Stadium) 28--New York City, NY--Citi Field (Stadium) September 1--Boston, MA--Fenway Park (Stadium) 4--Montreal, QC--Bell Centre 6--Toronto, ON--Air Canada Centre 10--Philadelphia, PA--Wells Fargo Center 15--Rio De Janeiro, BR--Rock In Rio Festival 22--Barcelona, ES--Palau Sant Jordi 24--Zurich, CH--Hallenstadion 26--Milan, IT--Mediolanum Forum 29--Hamburg, DE--Barclaycard Arena October 1--Antwerp, BE--Sportpaleis 3--Amsterdam, NL--Ziggo Dome 6--Paris, FR--AccorHotels Arena 9--London, UK--O2 Arena 15--Birmingham, UK--Barclaycard Arena 17--Manchester, UK--Manchester Arena 21--Copenhagen, DK--Royal Arena 23--Stockholm, SE--Ericsson Globe 26--Berlin, DE--Mercedes-Benz Arena 28--Koln, DE--Lanxess Arena November 5--Indianapolis, IN--Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7--Detroit, MI--Little Caesars Arena 10--Uncasville, CT--Mohegan Sun 13--Louisville, KY--KFC Yum! Center 15--Kansas City, KS--Sprint Center 16--St. Louis, MO--Scottrade Center 19--Washington, DC--Verizon Center 20--Pittsburgh, PA--PPG Paints Arena 28--Atlanta, GA--Philips Arena 30--Miami, FL--American Airlines Arena December 1--Tampa, FL--Amalie Arena 3--Houston, TX--Toyota Center 5--Austin, TX--Frank Erwin Center 8--Dallas, TX--American Airlines Center 9--Oklahoma City, OK--Chesapeake Energy Arena 12--Denver, CO--Pepsi Center 14--Salt Lake City, UT--Vivint Smart Home Arena

[biofunmy]

‘Hot Dogs! Cold Beer!’ M.L.B. Will Bring the Familiar to London Stadium

LONDON — Imagine stirring renditions of “Sweet Caroline” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” belted out by fans munching on Cracker Jack sold by roving vendors.

If that sounds like a typical regular-season game between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, that is the goal in England this weekend. But it will be anything but routine.

The teams are scheduled to play twice at London Stadium in the first regular-season Major League Baseball games in Europe, and organizers are working to give the games the flavor of a typical June series in Boston or New York — or at least as much as possible in an Olympic-size stadium in the East End of London.

“Baseball is a unique experience,” said Charlie Hill, the vice president of M.L.B. International, which is based in London. “We want to give people in London that taste of an authentic baseball game with all the little rituals.”

Baseball has staged regular-season games in Mexico, Australia and Japan, but bringing the big leagues to Britain, where cricket is the dominant bat-and-ball sport, will involve some of the typical sights and sounds of baseball, but with a slight Cockney accent.

King Henry VII and Freddie Mercury going toe-to-toe

As far as anyone can tell, there have never been mascot races at either Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium for a Red Sox-Yankees game. Those are mostly reserved for Milwaukee (sausages), Washington (presidents) and the more adventurous minors, but organizers of the London Series wanted to add that particular slice of Americana.

So, a Twitter vote was held to determine Britain’s four most mascot-worthy figures. The queen didn’t quite make the cut, although Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen was one of the winners. The other three to battle it out during the game will be Winston Churchill, King Henry VIII and the Loch Ness Monster.

(The Beatles and William Shakespeare failed to make it. And you thought the voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame was controversial).

The food will come to them

Baseball fans in the United States and Canada are familiar with concessionaires wandering the stadium selling hot dogs and the like, but roving vendors are not common in Britain. Soccer fans typically wait until halftime to sprint to the concession stand and get a hot cup of Bovril, so the idea of roving vendors in Britain are alien.

So the concessionaires went through a crash course led by a team of instructors from the United States to learn how to induce people to pay for food and drinks without ever leaving their seats.

“We’re going to ask people to hand their money down the row of strangers and then have a bag of peanuts tossed over to them by a hawker,” Hill said. “That’s not something they are used to.”

Even Dave Grohl thinks it’s huge

Baseball barely even registers as a niche sport in Britain, but every ticket for this series was snapped up in less than 45 minutes when they went on sale in December, organizers said.

M.L.B. said that 70 percent of the roughly 120,000 tickets were purchased from within Britain, presumably including ticket brokers, and that 20 percent were sold in the United States, leaving 10 percent for fans from other countries.

The high demand explains why the series is being held at London Stadium. It was considered the only venue with enough space to fit more than three acres of French artificial turf in front of 60,000 seats — nearly 60 percent more than the capacity of Fenway Park.

“London Stadium,” said Graham Gilmore, the stadium’s chief executive, “can do it all.”

The arena was built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and is now home to West Ham United, the English Premier League soccer club. It has hosted the Rugby World Cup and huge concerts by the Rolling Stones and Beyoncé. When the rock band Foo Fighters played there last year, the frontman Dave Grohl lauded the size of the building and made a disparaging comment about Wembley Stadium, London’s more famous venue, in a comment that forever endeared him to Gilmore.

Fitting a diamond in an oval

The area on the ground, including the running track, is so vast that it required 141,900 square feet of artificial turf, imported from France, to cover it, plus the infield dirt and clay shipped in from Slippery Rock, Pa.

The 16-foot-high center-field wall will be 385 feet away from home plate — the rest of the walls will measure between four and eight feet. There is also a roof that extends over home plate, so there will be specific ground rules pertaining to balls hitting it.

One unique feature is that home plate will be on one side of the oval — not one of the ends — creating vast amounts of foul territory. Most fields in oval-shaped stadiums, like the old Polo Grounds and Olympic Stadium in Montreal, had home plate tucked into one end, or in a corner.

James Williams, London Stadium’s head groundsman, said that his crew has had to learn many new things about baseball fields.

“We even learned how to roll out the tarp,” he said. “This is definitely the biggest project I’ve ever been involved in. There’s been quite a few sleepless nights.”

This is also the first time the Red Sox and Yankees have played a regular-season game on plastic grass. When the series is over, the turf will be rolled up and stored until next year when the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs play in London.

Custom-built clubhouses

Thirteen months ago, a contingent of major league officials toured the stadium with Gilmore, the stadium boss, to make sure it would be appropriate for baseball. The group included Commissioner Rob Manfred, Yankees and Red Sox owners, and members of the players’ association. Gilmore was surprised by something that had nothing to do with the field layout.

“I didn’t understand the power of the players union,” Gilmore said.

One concern was the clubhouses. Soccer locker rooms are generally more spartan than baseball clubhouses, so, swanky, temporary accommodations were built to accommodate the tastes and standards of major league baseball players. Dugouts also had to be built from scratch, along with a wall to separate the players as they enter the playing field.

What if it rains?

When a reporter asked organizers about the possibility of rain, the response was glowering stares. But, you know, it has been known to rain in the British Isles.

Every attempt will be made to get the games in, and Williams, the stadium groundsman, said the field drainage system — which was put to the test by heavy downpours earlier this month — was enhanced for the series, with extra piping placed beneath a layer of stone chips.

But even though both teams have an off day scheduled for Monday, July 1, they would not play a makeup game in London, according to Hill. It is a home series for the Red Sox, so in the unlikely scenario of a rainout, the game would be made up in Boston. Most likely, though, if there is rain, they will wait it out and hope for the best.

“There are some massive challenges,” Gilmore said, “including the expectations of M.L.B. and the players’ union. We have to make sure we are at the top of our game.”

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